Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Create wealth through Franchising. I'm your host, Kim Daly.
Whether you're a CEO, a military vet, a real estate investor, or simply in career transition and ready to take ownership of your future, with each episode, you're going to learn valuable insights and hear inspiring stories from within the franchise industry.
On that note, my guest stories are their own. And as a franchise consultant, I do not make personal brand endorsements or earnings claims, but I do educate, motivate, and inspire dreams.
Now onto the show.
[00:00:44] Speaker B: Welcome back to Create wealth through Franchising podcast and Kim Daily tv. I have for you today another daily double.
So welcome back to the studio. Nate Van Valkenberg from Charleston, South Carolina. Nate, welcome to the studio of Kim Daly tv.
[00:01:05] Speaker C: Thank you for having me again, Kim. It's great to see you.
[00:01:08] Speaker B: Are you ready for this second inspiring episode with Kim Daly?
[00:01:13] Speaker C: I sure am.
[00:01:15] Speaker B: All right, so I loved my first interview with you, Nate. I told you that I think you're amazing. I have shared the episode that we created, I don't even know last summer sometime with so many people, especially those candidates who I have sent to Homefront Brands.
So I thought it would be fun to bring you back onto the show into my hot seat because you've done some amazing things that many of my followers aspire to do, and that is you've gone from a single territory, multi territory, like operator, to an owner operator, to an empire builder and a wealth builder. Right. All with home front brands. So you've done so many different things. And that's the conversation that I really want to have. It's a little bit more about business coaching and mindset coaching today than it is about your journey as a franchisee. But your journey is the story because that's where the coaching lies. So what I'd like to talk about is when you started your first franchise, the mindset that you were in when you signed that franchise agreement, did you know that you wanted multiples? Did you start with multiple territories? Did you start in it or did you start on it? Let's start there and then we'll progress out to where you are today.
[00:02:36] Speaker C: Yeah, that I'd love to. So, yeah, like I said before, if anybody's seen the past viewing, I was just a guy in summer rotation at a summer job and it turned into wanting more. I was running another business at the time that I had started in high school and then progressed into just having another job. The job, the business was running itself and just wanted to do more. So I hopped into Windowhero. I was Just doing the work. Was worked there for two seasons and then went to college and was doing it part time and was looking for more. The founder looked at me and said, hey, we have a good opportunity. Would love to try franchising. So knowing that I knew how to do the business, I could hop in and learn a little bit more the marketing side, what it takes to run a business on a day to day. As I've done that, I started from the bottom. Yes, I was in the business and that's all I really wanted to do from the beginning was to just window cleaning, pressure wash, that's what I wanted to do. Didn't necessarily care about a big business owning several brands, but it's just evolved and it goes working in the field to then working in the field and doing sales to just sales. And then years down the road understanding this business. Never completely, but pretty dang near, close to near, knowing pretty much as you can. And then we joined with Homefront and got my wheels turning of understanding what could I do. And here comes this, another opportunity there with Homefront and then another. And now just envisioning even, hey, where do I go from here? I said on the last call. I the sky is the limit, I imagine here with Homefront, I can't wait for the years to come. But it's, I'm here, I'm excited for what's to come.
[00:04:19] Speaker B: Okay, so that's the synopsis of what this young man has done already. And how many years have you been involved in the business?
[00:04:27] Speaker C: Yeah, 13 so far.
[00:04:29] Speaker B: 13 from when you were working as an employee to now owning?
[00:04:34] Speaker C: 15 technically, but I.
[00:04:36] Speaker B: 15 technically. Okay.
[00:04:37] Speaker C: I've owned since 20, early 2013.
[00:04:41] Speaker B: So, Nate, how many in distinct businesses do or under your umbrella and how many territories total?
[00:04:49] Speaker C: So three businesses and then territories within seven territories.
[00:04:55] Speaker B: So seven territories. So you started out doing the work as a high school guy with a lawn mowing company on the side, and now you own three businesses in seven territories total. Which in my mind equates to you're an empire builder, but you were always an empire builder, I think just in the making. So let's go back to college. So how does a young guy have the courage to say yes to an entrepreneur who's offering him an opportunity to be like a new franchisee? How do you have the confidence and the courage to make that decision? Because there's so many people out there who love the idea of this story, but they're stuck getting started, right? They're stuck in the what ifs, the limiting Beliefs. And that's part of why I have a business as a franchise consultant, to help people through that. But you've done it, right? So how did you do it? How do you have the confidence in yourself to just say, all right, I can go do this?
[00:05:52] Speaker C: Yeah, I'm. I've always been a bit of a risk taker. It really comes down to I was. I just trusted in the people. I truly believed in the founder, Tyler Kirk. I just. I didn't see. And I still don't see nothing but success. There isn't an option for failure just because I think the system is great. There are always. The world is always moving and changing, which creates this weird dynamic, but it is just full of opportunity and success.
[00:06:21] Speaker B: It's so good. So Kim Daly sits here at her desk every day and she tells people, franchising is who, not what. You heard it from the man, right? So when you are looking at a franchise, I want you to look up at who you're doing business with, not down at what the business is doing. Because ultimately your success is in the people and in your collaboration and in your belief that they can mentor and coach you. So it's always about who, not what. If you want it to be about what, go be an entrepreneur. But here in franchising, it's about who. So Nate said that. Okay, so now you just said you see nothing but success with this founder in this franchise. I'm sure there are varying levels of success. Right, among the franchisees. So with your knowledge, you said, like, pretty much you've done. That's how I feel about franchise consulting. Right. I mean, there's always like, some situation where you're like, wow, like, that's new. But at the end of the day, it's the same thing, like maybe packaged a little bit differently after you do it for so long, you know, like how to stretch and move your business in every which way.
So in your opinion, why do you think people in your particular business will not be successful? If you believe that under this guy Tyler, you only see success, why would.
[00:07:37] Speaker C: They not be successful?
[00:07:38] Speaker B: Correct. Yes.
[00:07:39] Speaker C: I think it's really following, trying to recreate the wheel. And it's really. We have to pay attention to what has been done and listening to what we have going on around us. So I've seen some people not do so well, and it's. They just lack of listening and following the system. They're trying to redo it.
[00:07:57] Speaker B: So what do you mean? People pay a franchise fee and then they go out there and don't do what the franchisor says every day.
[00:08:06] Speaker C: I hear about it, I see it, I talk to people and they don't understand why it's not working.
[00:08:10] Speaker B: And so can you give it. Not to put you on the spot, because I really do. I say it sarcastically, but I really do believe that people, for the most part, want to follow the franchisor's lead. Can you give us a specific example, or is that too hard of what you think? Okay, this is what we're supposed to do, but people going off the rails and doing it this way for this reason.
[00:08:33] Speaker C: Yeah, let's look at myself. I know recently, with the economics in the world changing, marketing, shifting, getting out and networking and being a part of networking groups, just stopping in, trying to get multifamily, working with hotels, property management groups. It's. I have been told for years we need to get out and start pounding the pavement, getting involved in talking to people within our community. And I am not the person who jumps at that. Unfortunately dipped slightly and I have rebounded since I've made up higher to actually have somebody do that for me. So I'm very thankful for him. But that is something I know I can reflect on myself. Is that something I went against the grain and I shouldn't have. I see the negative impacts of that.
[00:09:19] Speaker B: Okay, so you were solely relying on the marketing plan at the expense of building these rich relationships where you could get referrals from these sort of lead sources already out in the community, coming in contact with your customer. I love that because that is one of the key points in running a franchise business that a lot of candidates overlook. They believe that they're buying a franchise, and this turnkey word means they're going to turn the key and all the people they ever could want are going to come their way. And they don't really think that, but they do think that. They think that it's the franchisor's job to find their customers for them. And so I sit over here and say, well, owning a business is about customer acquisition, right. So if all the businesses had all the customers they ever wanted or needed, no business would ever fail. So I love that when I'm asking you why will people in your business basically fail? And you say they're not following system, and I say, what's the system they're not following. And you go right to the lead gen. If I could have scripted that, I couldn't have scripted it any better than that. Nate. That was pretty. Pretty epic. Yeah. Because there is this belief out there that franchising is building and they will come. And nothing could be further from the truth. There are those elite brands, like the brick and mortar Chick Fil A's and those kind of brands, but that's because we as consumers are looking at that brand 40 years in the making. 40 years ago, nobody knew what a Chick Fil A was. And so those franchisees had to tell a story, right? The same thing with Massage Envy. I was around when Massage Envy first got formulated and nobody knew what a membership for massage was. Then came the Stretch Lab. Right? Nobody knew what a membership for stretching people. Some people still don't know, even though Stretch Lab is like a national brand. So there's an education piece in the emerging side of launching a franchise brand in most cases. And those founding franchisees are some of the most critical characters in terms of lifting that brand and telling the world what that brand story is. And then as consumers, when we know a brand like Chick Fil A without being in the skin, sure, I know what Chick Fil A stands for.
It's because all of those franchisees before now carried that flag and executed on the proven plan with such precision. They greeted every customer with the same way, they treated every situation with the right kind of attitude that was led into them, just taught to them by their leadership team. And so today, all these years later, consumers know what that brand stands for. But most franchise brands are not 40 years. They're not working with Kim Daly if they're 40 years old. And so we have to be telling that story. And so networking, even in a brick and mortar business is a critical part. And I know it's the thing, it's funny you said that. It's the thing that changed my business when I went from just buying leads through franchise to saying, hey, I got to figure out how to prospect for myself and put my head down and had no skill for it. But unlike you, I decided to take on the task myself because I do and I actually do enjoy it. And one year later, I grew my business by 350% in one 12 month period just by owning my lead flow.
[00:12:37] Speaker C: Life changing. It's wild.
[00:12:39] Speaker B: It's a game changer.
[00:12:40] Speaker C: It really is.
[00:12:41] Speaker B: So I, and I love that you hired somebody. How do you hire the person who you want to represent your business? And you, what kind of characteristics do you look for in that person?
[00:12:50] Speaker C: Somebody who just enjoys talking, that can carry on a conversation, who's really just excited about what can they help with. And it's really, it goes further than just what can they help with truly caring about people. And naturally. Yeah, just naturally wanting to have a good conversation.
[00:13:04] Speaker B: And so you hired that person. Or if you're listening to this, you could be that person. A lot of franchisors want it to be the person whose money's invested. Because let's be real, no one's really going to go out and carry the flag like you're going to carry the flag. If you're lucky enough like Nate to be able to attract somebody to you who will care about your business as much as you do. That's amazing. But I do think it also, by going out and doing it, it helps cement like is, you learn your elevator pitch and you learn right what to say to people. It helps build your belief in yourself and what you're doing. And, and ultimately, going back to my story, Nate, okay, you said to me, kim, so you grew your business by 350% by prospecting. There's two theories to this epic conclusion at the end of that 12 month period. So one is, yes, it's a math problem. I tripled my pipeline. I tripled my financial result. Okay? I helped, I met more people, I helped more people. I made more money. Okay, that's a math problem. But if you asked me 13 years later, this is why I now have a coaching academy, because it's not a math problem. There was something much deeper going on inside Kim Daly because, listen, my skill set didn't change in that first year. My franchise process never changed. I've been doing it for 23 years. Like what I was trained on in 2002, I'm still using today in 2025. So, like, the system worked, right? It always worked, but it was how well I was working the system that changed everything. And that's what he just said, right? It's how well he's working the system with networking that's making a dramatic impact in the business. So if you asked me today what really caused your business to grow by 350%, I would say it was my attitude. So what happened, Nate, is as I started committing myself, like going to the gym, right? And I started following through with prospecting, and the phone started ringing from people that I had reached out to and they were like, yeah, you know what? I have been thinking about changing my life. Talk to me about franchising. What do you think happened to my confidence? Right? When I started realizing that I could cause an effect, and the effect was what I wanted people calling me, I got more excited about picking up the phone to prospect, right? Cause in the beginning, you hear, no, you don't get any. You don't hear anything. And you're like. But you got to push through all of that. It's like going to the gym. And like you, you don't see the result of your effort right away. You have to live with the faith that over time, those muscles are going to appear. Well, the same thing in a lead building, a lead generation or referred lead network. It works exactly the same way. I didn't mean to take over the conversation, but I just wanted to say that. So I really think at the end of the day, it was my attitude, because as I gained confidence, as people started calling me back, I started getting more excited about reaching out, and that fueled me. And so then as I started to feel unstoppable, here's what happened. Initially, it started out as a financial goal, but once I gained control over the thing, customer acquisition, it became less about money. Why? Because I felt in control.
That's what all business owners actually want. Right. So we buy a franchise thinking that's how we're going to feel, in control, only to realize there's a mindset added to the strategy of the business plan that actually is what gives the control. And that's what I've learned, and that's what I've honed. And that's why I now coach franchisees, because I believe everybody wants to follow the system. I was following the system for eight years. I just follow the system a little bit better for the last 13 with a dramatically different result.
[00:16:35] Speaker C: You're on fire. This truth right there to everything. You said so and you know it.
[00:16:40] Speaker B: That's why I wanted to get you back, because I recognize that when I was talking to you the first time, okay, so you hire this person. So now let's go from your story of so how long were you only in one business before you were ready for more growth and added in a second business? I think that's clarified by why not just adding more territory to the existing business? Why diversify to another?
[00:17:04] Speaker C: Yeah, so I was probably in with Window hero for probably 10 years, and I didn't get bored, but was just looking for more. And I own all the territories in Charleston and everything around. We could probably go to a different city, but it would be hour and a half, two hours away. And I wanted to stay local. Just started a family a few years ago and don't necessarily want to be traveling all the time more than I already am. So we looked into a different business and got that off the ground and Started on the third, and the designer is really where I've fallen in love and my passion. And that's where I was supposed to be pretty much my whole life. So I've just now found it and I'm excited. I literally. The world has changed since I've started that business.
[00:17:50] Speaker B: Okay, Sway, we're going to come back to the designery and finding your thing here in just a minute. But. So you came back and bought a second franchise overlapping the territories you own for Window Hero so you could serve the same customers.
[00:18:04] Speaker C: Exactly, yeah.
[00:18:05] Speaker B: So in franchising for those following, there's many different ways to build your empire. Right. So you can buy 2, 3, 4, 5, 10 territories of one business.
Right. Which is what he did. He bought it all. He doesn't, can't expand anymore without having a logistical nightmare of traveling. And that's a quality of life diminisher. So you come back and you layer on another business. Now. Lucky for Nate, and he's part of a parent organization called Homefront Brands that has multiple home services. So he didn't even have to go to a consultant or go shop for a new franchisor. He got to shop within his parent organization.
Now, do all of the brands run on the same platform of technology?
[00:18:44] Speaker C: They do, yeah. And I can toggle between all of them. Yeah.
[00:18:49] Speaker B: Wow. So the learning curve is so greatly reduced. And then the comfort level and trust was already there because you've been part of WindowHero for 10 years.
[00:18:59] Speaker C: Yep.
[00:18:59] Speaker B: This is going to resonate with so many people out there thinking about, how do I build my empire? So you start where you start. You don't start with three brands and all these territories. You start with one brand and then you scale that up and then you come back and you overlap another brand and then overlap another brand, and then for other people, they're going to end up owning 10 or 20 or 30 units of one particular franchise. So everybody gets to do it a little bit differently. So let's go to your comment about you found your thing.
So what is it about the designer eggs? I'm sure you didn't wake up and go, oh, yeah, my dream is in designing. Or maybe you did. Maybe that's what it is, or I don't know, design. But tell me why you feel this is like your holy grail.
[00:19:43] Speaker C: I've always had an engineering mindset. I love things coming together from nothing to a built a home apartment complex. Whatever it is that we're putting together, the process fits in my brain perfectly. I love what we do I'm able to, yeah, design, but work with different people. Thankfully, it's a few less people, so I can really dive into the relationship side of things with my customers, and I really understand their needs. A lot of them are building several million dollars of multifamily, so these relationships are crucial. We're a big supplier of cabinetry for them, so we just want to make them feel special and we want to obviously continue to be a good customer for them.
[00:20:24] Speaker B: Have you gone from CEO of Window Hero down to owner operator of designery? Are you in sleaze? Rolled up in it and on it.
[00:20:33] Speaker C: I love it. Yeah. And I. Obviously we could hire somebody else, and we probably need to here soon because we're really busy. I think we're the top performing designer in the country. We are off to the races here. But, yeah, we're excited. We're very excited. And yes, I am back into it, really. Yeah. Just delivered to two different kitchens here today before we hopped on the call.
[00:20:57] Speaker B: It's so awesome. So you found your passion in the designing. So if you had to go out and network, or are you even for the designery? I guess the question is, if you had to go out and network and do that piece for the designer, or would you have more chutzpah, like more energy to go do that? Because it's something you're more passionate about, perhaps, than the windows cleaning part.
[00:21:20] Speaker C: Yeah. Thankfully, I do have a business partner with the designery, and he and I are very well partnered. We have had an employee in the past who had drummed up some work, and they did. He did the networking side of things for us, and we have probably five customers now that will bring in several million dollars worth of design work and cabinetry.
[00:21:39] Speaker B: So going back to your network is your net worth.
Listen to that. So you've got. You've already got these relationships. Are you doing any marketing with the designery or are you just really going B2B and allowing these referral relationships to send the customer?
[00:21:56] Speaker C: Yeah, we're doing some very basic marketing. The majority of what we're doing is just. We're looking to just grow these relationships with these customers. Gift cards, tiny gifts here and there, but just really making them feel special throughout the process.
[00:22:10] Speaker B: It's really basic stuff, right?
[00:22:12] Speaker C: Yeah, it really is.
[00:22:13] Speaker B: Yeah, that's the winning formula right there. People think that it has to be this big, grandiose thing, and at the end of the day, people just want to feel liked and respected and thanked and feel the gratitude that you have. And, like, you Treat them like a human being and like with kindness and like that multiplies back to you many times over.
[00:22:32] Speaker C: It allows you to get deeper into maybe they, it comes down to dollars and cents and they actually come to you and have an honest conversation about why they need the price to be lesser. Or we're able to have honest conversations where it works for them, but it also can we find the middle ground where it works for me and it works for them. It makes the whole relationship truly a relationship and not like a one sided deal.
[00:22:55] Speaker B: It's really awesome. The last thing I want to just talk about a little bit is this and I pointing it out, like going from employee to business owner to CEO. Now you're back in that design role, more in it and on it all at the same time.
Share some of the lessons you've learned around hiring and firing and like how you lead your team to be there and do their job without you having to like micromanage everything that they do. You don't have time for that because you're running this giant empire.
[00:23:27] Speaker C: When you have the relationship with the employees, it truly comes down to caring for them. We do care about our customers, but it really does come down like with the window hero side of things. I have the most employees through that business and it comes down to them. They're the ones who are going to be out there selling for you. They're going to be the ones performing the work, the ones selling the jobs. And so it's important they are taken care of and they feel loved and they are encouraged by what they are coming to work to do and know their mission.
[00:23:57] Speaker B: Have you ever struggled to find good people or have you always attracted them to you?
[00:24:02] Speaker C: Yeah, thankfully our my businesses, no one's excited to leave. Not many people make that decision. And so once they come they typically are here. And it's. We're always hiring, we are always looking for new additions to the team and it is survival of the fittest. We do fire quickly. Sometimes it's only because we need to continue to get stronger and continue to grow the team.
[00:24:29] Speaker B: You adapt to that mindset of hire slowly and fire quickly.
[00:24:33] Speaker C: Yeah. And it's, it works and a lot. Thankfully we just, we do. I've always done this, but networking through friends and family is always the best way to find good employees. And then if you can't find any friends or family, you go to your, the employees that you have and you have them do it. And it always brings in great employees every time.
[00:24:55] Speaker B: There's a lot of People who I talk to every day who have that limiting belief. If a business requires a, you know, like a general labor, a minimum wage staff that, oh, I don't want to own that business, that's going to be. People don't want to work hard today. And I spend a lot of time talking them down from that to look, you got to be the inspiring boss who creates an opportunity for these people where they want to work. Right. That actually ultimately falls on you. Because to your point, I know without just by talking to you, why people want to work with you because you're growing and it's an inspiring environment and they feel that people want to be a part of something that's growing and is inspiring. Everybody does. And so even at the lowest level of a laborer, they want the same thing. They're humans too. And so when you treat them like that and you give them an opportunity and maybe an opportunity even to grow. I remember when we were talking before, you were saying that you took some of your seasonal employees and with the designer where you were looking to be able to use them in a more full time way. Has that panned out?
[00:25:59] Speaker C: Definitely, yeah. It helped us. Winter Heroes does get a little bit slower during the winter and we had people building all winter to just make sure everybody was getting paid and all numbers made sense for each of the businesses as opposed to before we had layoffs or people who just didn't work as much and they're able to continue to grow financially and continue to grow with us.
[00:26:22] Speaker B: It's so good. It's another economy of scale that you is afforded in a franchise where you go from that owner operator mentality to that empire builder mentality. Whether it's growing from a single store to three stores or from a single franchise to three franchises, it's the same leap and it's the same economy of scale that can be accomplished. So it's so inspiring. Nate, I love you. I know you're going to do amazing things. I can almost guarantee there's going to be a daily triple, which might be the first on the franchisee side. So I can't tell you this is the last time I'm ever going to meet you in studio. But I do want to give you one more chance because you're just so, so inspiring. I think everything you're doing speaks to the American dream. It speaks to how franchising can change people's lives. It changed this guy's life. It's changed my life. And the listener out there, it can change yours too, Nate. On that, what final parting words do you have for those people who are not yet in the franchising game who are just thinking about it, but stuck behind their own limiting beliefs or whatever reason, they're just waiting to reach out to Kim Daly?
[00:27:28] Speaker C: I honestly, it's at least start asking the questions. It is funny how things tend to fall into place. I work with a lot of people who don't do this franchising thing full time. They have a franchise and they're still able to keep their current job. So I would definitely advise just getting in, asking the questions and just seeing if it's a good fit for you. Because nine times out of 10, it's funny how it, it ends up working out.
[00:27:52] Speaker B: That's amazing. Yeah. What he's saying is there is that semi involved, semi active ownership role in some businesses and it works in some more than others. But you and I can talk about that when you dare to reach out to me. So if you're looking to get control of your cash flow to create tax advantages that the wealthy people enjoy and to build equity that is yours to sell at the end of the day or leave as a legacy for your kids and your family, Kim Daly wants to be your franchise consultant and your daily.
The way that we start that is for you to follow the link in the description below right now because I can't wait to meet you. And until next time, my name is Kim Daly and I want to be your daily coach.
[00:28:37] Speaker A: You can find more content just like this on my YouTube channel at KimDaily TV. And if you're inspired to take the next step to explore franchises match to you, please email me right now at InquireimDaily TV. That's InquireimDaily TV.
