Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to American wealth in Franchising and Kim Daly tv.
[00:00:04] Speaker B: I am your host, Kim Daly.
[00:00:06] Speaker A: I want to educate, motivate and inspire your business ownership journey by interviewing business leaders, coaches and exceptional franchisees to learn their valuable insights and strategies that we can apply to our own business ownership dreams. Now onto the show.
[00:00:29] Speaker B: Welcome back to Create wealth through Franchising podcast and Kim Daly tv. So my special guest today, all the way from Castle Rock, Colorado Springs, and she is a franchisee of Homestretch, one of Kim Daly's new latest greatest little gems. Shara. Welcome to the studio of Kim Daly tv.
[00:00:50] Speaker C: Thank you so much for having me. I'm excited to be here.
[00:00:53] Speaker B: Oh, I'm excited for you to share your story.
So we started to talk a little bit before we hit record and I said, we gotta stop this and get this on the recording. So, Cheryl, I would like you to take the followers of Kim Daily TV all the way to the beginning of when you decided you wanted to explore a franchise and why you landed on Homestretch.
[00:01:13] Speaker C: Absolutely. My exploration into franchising really began when I opened up my own business a few years ago and, and I was striving to be an online coach for single moms. What I learned through that experience was it was really hard to like get all the backend stuff set up. And I was spending a lot of time learning how to run a business, learning how to market the best sales strategy, the social media, all the things that went into that and building that structure was taking a majority of my time and I wasn't able to actually start executing on what I was intending to do in impacting other people's lives.
[00:01:52] Speaker B: The part that actually makes you the money too. Exactly right.
[00:01:55] Speaker C: So it wasn't making good financial sense for me to continue pouring myself into this. And I really thought there had to be a better way to be able to more quickly impact other people and have a positive influence in my community.
So I started exploring Franchising, looking for a baseline business structure that I could immediately start building on and having an impact and influence in the community.
So through my franchise exploration process, I looked at everything from, you know, fitness studios, kind of getting in on that higher end fitness studio. I looked at senior care and helping families that way. And Homestretch became the very natural winner for me. I have a background in real estate. I used to be a new home sale sales, and I also have spent the last 15 years in IT project management in the corporate world. And I really just wanted to be able to execute and influence people's lives in a more unique way.
So that's the kind of shorter version of how I landed on homestretch.
[00:03:05] Speaker B: Okay, so many questions. I want to go back in there. Okay. So when you were going to coach moms, I'm just curious, what were you coaching them on?
[00:03:11] Speaker C: I was helping single moms through all of the unique experiences of dealing with divorce, co parenting, how to raise strong children in a dual influenced household, but then also self care. Like how do you take care of yourself when you are in the midst and being torn in 20 different ways and dealing with all the emotions of divorce and raising kids and through the different stages of. There's just so much. I'll back up even another half a step. My background is in psychology is where my schooling is all in. And then I also have a master's degree in school counseling. So I've kind of dabbled in a lot of different.
[00:03:54] Speaker B: I really have. I really have. I think that's very valuable content. Maybe you could create a podcast. Just an idea.
Now that you have a revenue generating business, maybe this could be your little passion project. Because I think that would be a highly sought after podcast with great content and it shows your heart. So I'm glad I asked that question. Okay, so now what I love and I just want to go back and insert my little business coaching $0.02 into so the plight of every entrepreneur, that's what you went through, right? Like the startup phase. There's so much. Even in a simple coaching business, you spend so much time and money trying to figure out how to make money. And guess What? That's where 90% of small business startups fail. Because the entrepreneur runs out of money in a lot of cases before they ever get to the point of making money. And that's the greatest advantage of a franchise. And it's so awesome that you had the foresight or were contacted by a franchise consultant to start thinking about a franchise. Because now we get to buy down that learning curve because we paid the franchise fee and all of that tool, all of those tools are ready made and packaged and blah. They're all yours. And now you're going to get trained and you're going to get supported. So from day one, you get to hit the ground running, moving towards profitability. We're not getting ready to get ready. And of course that doesn't mean there is no getting ready to get ready on a franchise, but it's greatly reduced. And you've heard me say again, if you follow me, you've heard me say this in the Same three to five years that an entrepreneur may spend just trying to solidify the business model and, and become profitable or even cash flow. I can take that same franchisee with that empire building mentality and the right amount of investment and build three to five locations.
So if owning a business is about making money and building wealth, which way feels like the faster, easier path to building wealth? Franchising.
[00:05:53] Speaker C: I learned that the hard way. Yes.
[00:05:55] Speaker B: Okay, so let's go back. So do you end up on finding a franchise consultant or how did you make your way to franchising?
[00:06:02] Speaker C: I knew my good friend Jessica. We worked together eons ago, probably 15, 20 years ago. We were coworkers. And I remember that she, you know, I see on occasion on LinkedIn, she'll make posts if you're interested in franchising. And so I finally reached out to her and I'm like, tell me more. I need to learn more about franchising. What all goes involved, how do you find a franchise? And. And she was instrumental in learning more about myself and my goals and being able to deliver on that and give me options. It was, it was amazing. It was a seamless process.
[00:06:37] Speaker B: The only thing that was missing that I was wondering, did you look at like a business coaching franchise? Because those are out there. But everything else you mentioned, based on your background, I am like, especially after you came back and said that you had a psychology degree in school counseling, like, all of the options for provided. I mean, I love that I would second, you know, wow, check the boxes. Who's a very good listener. And for those who aren't sure what Homestretch is, I'll let Cheryl tell us. But I'm just going to say, picking up on the real estate background, the project management background. Right. And a new home construction background, I mean, these are like, there were some very good signs that Homestretch would be a very good fit. So with that kind of layup, Cheryl, why don't you tell the listeners, what exactly is Homestretch? Not that we're here to sell Homestretch. We're here to help those people on the sideline get inspired to begin their own journey and hopefully want to work with Kim Daly. But for the context of understanding what the heck we're talking about, what is a Homestretch franchise?
[00:07:35] Speaker C: Yes. So Homestretch helps prepare homes to get ready for sale and get ready to go on the market. So we're typically partnering with Realtors and the homeowners to determine what updates need to happen, what changes need to be made to a Home. So we do everything from a clear out and just think of it like in an estate situation. We'll come in and we'll do the clear out, the post estate clear out. We'll put in new flooring, we will repaint, we will clean up the landscape and get it picture perfect for curb appeal and do that move out clean. We'll change out light fixtures, do some minor handyman work that might need to be done as well.
[00:08:12] Speaker B: So.
[00:08:12] Speaker C: So really just making those cosmetic updates.
[00:08:15] Speaker B: You as the franchisee are not doing the cosmetic updates, correct?
[00:08:20] Speaker C: Correct. Correct. So I have a team, I have a project manager, business development individual as well that's helping to build the business. And so as a franchisee, I'm able to stay above that a little bit and run the business and just make sure that everything's going smoothly for the team.
[00:08:37] Speaker B: Do you need a real estate license or any special skills, in your opinion, to be a good franchisee with homestretch?
[00:08:45] Speaker C: The biggest thing I can say about this business, it truly is a relationship business more than it is a construction business or a contracting business. Right. 100% it is a relationship business. We are building relationships with realtors, with the homeowners, as well as our contractors that are working with us. So I have a great relationship, for example, with my painting crew and we help each other out. And it's been such a rewarding, like beyond what I was expecting. It's been one of the most rewarding experiences I've had in my career.
[00:09:17] Speaker B: Oh my gosh. Tell us more about that. What does that mean?
[00:09:20] Speaker C: So I'm going to use a very recent example where we were helping out this family whose son passed away and the family lived out of state, his parents lived out in state. He's an only child and just a very heartbreaking situation. He was in his early 40s and we came in and we did the clear out. We found some personal belongings of his. And so I called this his father and I said, can we return these to you? You know, where do we need to send them, et cetera. Cause everything was remote. I've never met his parents. So we packaged everything up. He was former military, he's a captain in the army. And just being able to send that back in the email, I can't read it, I will cry. But the email I got back from his parents was heartwarming and they just really appreciate, appreciated the fact that we went in, we handled his property with respect. And yeah, it just is the heartwarming side of the business that I didn't really think about when I joined as a franchisee with Homestretch that we really, really are impacting people's lives in a way that I couldn't have predicted.
[00:10:24] Speaker B: It's so amazing. In almost every business out there, the successful people are the ones like Cheryl, that identify that all business is people to people. And so the more that you're willing to engage with your customer and be emotionally involved, if you will, that's where the magic happens. That's when you're not selling anybody, right? You can tell anybody what you do and you're like, there's no discomfort, right? People are afraid of sales because they don't feel genuine, because they feel like they have to, like, lie to somebody. But when you really understand the value of what you're offering to your customer, it's so natural to share with everybody you meet, what you do. And when you are in that alignment place with your business, then that's where all the magic happens because everybody knows somebody who they want to refer to you and people start raising their own hands and you start getting great 5 star reviews without even asking for them. And then, you know, more leads are coming. And so that's the momentum that can be created when an owner really understands the role that they have to play and what their part in that is. So you heard her say she doesn't need special skills, she doesn't need to be a handyman. She's a business owner who's offering a business that may do things that require those special skills, but she's in charge of the relationships. That's what I love capturing in a podcast. That's amazing, Cheryl. Okay, so when you were comparing and contrasting franchisors, we was there anything in particular with your particular franchisor that stood out to you? And that advice you would have for those who may be listening, who are working with Kim Daly right now or another consultant and are in the process of exploring a franchise, trying to figure out, well, which, you know, they tell us it's about a partnership, but which partnership is the right one for me. Any advice on that?
[00:12:19] Speaker C: A hundred percent. I will say, hands down, Home Stretch checked every single box in terms of being relatable, available, answered all the questions. The entire staff at the corporate office, for lack of a better term, they are all just authentic and genuine human beings. And they were all people that I would genuinely want to hang out with. They checked all the boxes in terms of being responsive. Everybody I talked to within the franchise system was like, yes, they a hundred percent honor their Word in terms of support that they provide.
And so I would just say trust, Trust your gut and find the best fit for you in. In terms of how that relationship feels. When you meet them in person, do they feel equally as authentic as they do when they're kind of going through the validation process?
[00:13:09] Speaker B: Do you feel like you were sold a franchise? I put it in air quotes if you're not watching the video. Or do you feel genuinely like it was a mutual evaluation and both parties wanted to make sure it was going to be a good fit?
[00:13:22] Speaker C: 100%. It was a mutual evaluation. I feel like it. Nothing was sold to me through that franchise process. I feel like this is a good fit. And they're like, yes, we also feel like this is a good fit. And it was just a very natural process.
[00:13:35] Speaker A: Hey, Daily Coach fans, if you're loving this episode, please do me a quick favor and leave me a five star rating and a short review. Your feedback fuels my growth and rankings and shows others that this podcast is valuable. Now back to the show.
[00:13:54] Speaker B: Cheryl doesn't really know me, but my followers know me. I'm a Mythbuster Cheryl. And there's a lot of people who may be listening to this going, oh, yeah, well, those evil franchisors, they don't actually care if you're successful. They just want to take your money.
So I love just sort of walking you gently down the path when you don't even understand my little backstory story. But those who follow me watch my videos. You may know where I'm going with this questioning. The precious little Cheryl is just following right into my little black hole.
So good. So good. Okay, so you're off and running. So when did you start your homestretch business?
[00:14:27] Speaker C: I just launched in January of this year, Mid January.
And we took off. I would say six weeks in, we were running like we went from barely a crawl into full sprint. So we were profitable in March.
[00:14:42] Speaker B: So she's talking about January of 2025, and at the time of this recording, it is June of 2025. So you heard the woman.
Six weeks in, she's profitable. So profitable to your cash flow or profitable to your business, Cheryl, because this is another myth that I have to bust a lot.
[00:15:01] Speaker C: Absolutely. That is profitable to cash flow.
[00:15:04] Speaker B: And when you were doing your validation, because this is a fairly young franchise and we might should talk about that and how you got over like, you know, without a lot of validation, but with whatever Val validation you had, were you prepared that within six weeks you could be positively cash flowing or did you have a faster than normal start?
[00:15:21] Speaker C: I definitely had a faster than normal start, at least for what my expectations were, because I always tend to be conservative in terms of anticipating how quickly we might be able to get up and running and things like that. There is a need in the market for the package services that we offer. Realtors right now are contacting five different vendors to get five different things done and extended timelines for something that we can get done in seven to 10 business days. It's amazing. It's definitely needed in the marketplace.
[00:15:50] Speaker B: It's so hard for me not to go into the, like, let's talk about, like, for the naysayer out there who's like, well, how does this business work when, like, the houses go off like this and we don't even need to spend money? And then another question would be like, why is a homeowner paying for that and to sell their business? But we're not going to answer those questions on this podcast interview, even though I know the listener may be wanting to ask, because that's not the point. Point of Kim Daily tv. I don't quote, sell franchises. I want to sell the dream that you want to be in control of your financial future and that franchising is a viable option for you. That's what we're doing here. So I always have to remind you of that. I have to remind myself of that because, trust me, I want to ask her the same questions. But we're not going to do that. All you have to do is reach out to me. You want to learn about homestretch, I'll get you financially prepared and make sure where you live is open. And then we can let the people at home stretch. So sell you on how this bit works, regardless of the economy and all the things. Okay, so we're going to go back to Cheryl's story in this one. So you had a faster than normal start. Some of that might be just that, you conservative thinker, or maybe stretching it out a little bit or couldn't believe that you could go that fast. Anything you want to share about what you think caused that Faster than normal.
[00:17:03] Speaker C: Start out of the gate, building relationships 110%. So it's just meeting the right people at the right time. I started at the right time. I think in the year, kind of getting ahead of the real estate boom in the summer. So being able to have those conversations with realtors early on, with estate sales folks early on before their busy season hit. So they were open to having those conversations. They were open to Learning they had the time to learn about homestretch before the busy season was hitting. So we were just able to establish those relationships early on.
[00:17:39] Speaker B: It's good. So since we talked about the this being a people business earlier and now she's equating her faster than normal start to relationships. Cheryl, what would you say the main skill for an owner in this particular business who would want to have success?
[00:17:58] Speaker C: The ability to build those relationships. Just being able to be authentic and genuine in how you are approaching and working with people, being transparent. I'm not out there selling anything. I'm out there educating about what we can do to help them. That truly is the difference maker and that tweak in the mindset of I'm not selling. I am absolutely here to help you and if you don't need my help, that is okay.
[00:18:25] Speaker B: And when you're here to serve, you can never give too much and you will always get back what you give because that is the law. We reap what we sow. It's so good. So what are you looking forward to over in the rest of 2025 and into 2026? Like what kind of stuff, scale or growth are you hoping for?
[00:18:42] Speaker C: Absolutely. So a majority of my focus has been more closely reside in Colorado Springs area. So we are in the process of onboarding our business development person. I have a great project manager who joined the team a few weeks ago. So we've got a very solid base here in Colorado Springs. So my goal is over the next few weeks to shift my focus and start focusing more. We've had some jobs in the Castle Rock and south Denver suburbs already is to shift my focus into growing that area. So just wanted to get our wheels under us, get our processes more refined and developed for our local community and now we're going to transition that and start building out Castle Rock and south Denver suburbs in that area.
[00:19:27] Speaker B: So in how supportive in terms of the franchisor and you know, you didn't have a background in any of this like home project, you know. So how much training and how support supportive has your franchisor been? Are there any places, I guess where you feel like they haven't met your expectation or have they exceeded your expectations all the way around?
[00:19:47] Speaker C: They really have exceeded my expectations all the way around. So I remember my very first job and I got contacted by my estate sales guy and we're doing a clear out and I'm like okay, this is happening. I'm two weeks in, what do I do?
[00:20:00] Speaker B: How do I figure all this out?
[00:20:01] Speaker C: You know, and so it was a combination of reaching out. Even our owners are available.
I can call them and have those conversations with the owners of Homestretch. And that, to me, has been incredibly rewarding. They'll call and check in. How are you doing? Do you need anything? They're always telling us, if you're ever stuck on something, just call us. Reach out. We will help you through whatever issues you're having. So they've been amazing, and they've been lock and step every step of the way. It's been amazing.
[00:20:29] Speaker B: Have you formed an accountability group or a partnership with any of the other franchisees so you can kind of run parallel with each other to kind of keep each other going?
[00:20:39] Speaker C: I haven't, and the main reason is I've been too busy.
So we're hopping between networking groups and just getting the name out there. I do have great relationships with the other two franchisees in Colorado so far, and we do have those conversations. It's just hasn't been able to get formalized.
[00:20:56] Speaker B: Yeah, yeah. You know what? That's been good that you bring up that there are other franchisees in the market and you're friendly together, because that's another myth out there, right? That, like, we're competing against each other, but since everybody has a protected territory of zip codes, and when we're all winning, we're all winning because the brand equity is lifted in our area. The more people in the entire Denver market that know that Homestretch exists and what they do and the caliber of the experience, the better all the franchisees do. So I love that you mentioned that. I think this is a great story. Do you think that you could build. Not to put you on the spot, but I'm just curious, Is this the kind of business that you could build into a multimillion dollar, like, little empire for yourself?
[00:21:34] Speaker C: Absolutely. Absolutely. The business is out there.
[00:21:37] Speaker B: We're going for it.
[00:21:39] Speaker C: We are absolutely going for it.
[00:21:41] Speaker B: Are you using this business to, like, have you ever made that kind of money in any job or business you've had before? Or is this like, you're using this platform to launch yourself into the financial stratosphere?
[00:21:52] Speaker C: Absolutely, this is my platform. I'm not gonna lie. I did make really great income as a consultant in the IT Project Management system space. But this is the big dream, to live in this space, to do really great things in our community. But also that financial success that will eventually launch us into retirement, we're ecstatic about it.
[00:22:12] Speaker B: When you work for other people, even if you make great money, it's totally a different feeling when you're making great money for yourself, right?
[00:22:20] Speaker C: Yes, a hundred percent. And I feel good about the way that I'm earning my income.
[00:22:24] Speaker B: Right. And you're doing it, and you're in control of it. Right. And so no one can take it away. It's yours. And you have the ability to keep thinking into that result and building it as big as you want to go. I want you to go all the way. I just love your personality. It's so good. I can see why you know and I know the founders at Homestretch. I know I placed multiple people into that franchise, and I can see why you're thriving, and I think you've told an amazing story. So for those people who we may be inspiring right now, Cheryl, hopefully everybody who's listening to this episode wants to invest, if not in Homestretch, at least in a franchise, and wants to work with Kim Daly. What advice do you have as one person who, you know, was trying to go about it on your own as an entrepreneur, and now you're in a franchise, and within six weeks you're profitable and you're dreaming about building this true financial wealth? What advice do you have for that person who isn't yet thinking, I need to get in this franchising game?
[00:23:19] Speaker C: I would say, and even for me, it's a scary step initially. Right. Making that initial investment and things like that is believe in yourself.
Trust yourself, trust your gut. If you really are feeling pulled to go in this direction, do your research, but trust yourself and make that leap. This has been by far the best decision that I have made by far.
[00:23:44] Speaker B: I love it. I love it when franchising changes another life. And I love that you bring the reality of, like, of course it's scary. Whenever we're stepping out of our comfort zone into the unknown, everything in our body that wants to maintain homeostasis for survival screams, don't do it. Like, I've been doing this for over 20 years. I've ushered tens of thousands of people down this exploratory path, every single one of them, whether they had a $500,000 net worth or a $5 million or $25 million net worth, it doesn't matter. Everybody has some amount of fear. So whether it's your first investment or your fifth investment, it doesn't matter. You're stepping into the unknown. And so in order to get to the other side, across that bridge, you have to push through that. Just recognize it for what it is and say, I know you're trying to keep me safe. But right now, this isn't about safety. This is about figuring out how to thrive in my life. And I can't do what I've been doing because I got to do something different if I want to create a different outcome. So good for you, Cheryl. You're very inspiring. I'm so happy to meet you, and I wish you the very best as you go on to build that franchising empire and build your dreams. Thank you for being my special guest here today.
[00:24:55] Speaker C: Thank you so much, Kim. It was my pleasure.
[00:24:57] Speaker B: Thank you so much. And for those who are inspired as I've inspired, please follow the link in the description right now. Because you know that Kim Daly wants to be your franchise consultant and your daily coach. And until next time, don't forget, my name is Kim Daly, and I want to be your daily coach.
[00:25:22] 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 matched to you, please email me right now at InquireimDaily TV. That's InquireimDaily TV.
