Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to American wealth in Franchising and Kim Daly tv. I am your host, Kim Daly. 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.
Welcome back to Create Wealth Through Franchising podcast and Kim Daly tv. In my studio today, another full circle moment. A former candidate, now franchisee, here to share her amazing story of transforming her life. Please welcome Tracy Adolf from Asheville, North Carolina, who is now an Alloy personal training franchisee. Tracy, welcome to the studio of Kim Daly tv.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: Thank you, Kim. It is such a pleasure to be here. I thank you for the invite.
[00:00:58] Speaker A: It's such an honor to have you back in my studio, in my life. I'm excited for you to share your story. So we want to take the listeners of Kim Daily all the way back to what was happening in your life when you started thinking we might want to explore business ownership through franchising.
[00:01:16] Speaker B: That's a very good question because that is where we started from. So we were looking at options as far as investing is concerned. We wanted to get outside the box, you know, get out of the normal stock market. We wanted things that would be able to give us residual income without having to worry about what's going on outside of what we can control. Right. And we connected with money ripples, and through them, actually, we didn't even know there was a such thing as a franchise coach. We didn't even know that maybe franchising would be an option for us. So when they said, you gotta connect with Kim Daly, we said, for what?
Oh, franchise coach. So that's how we got connected with you.
[00:01:54] Speaker A: Okay, so you're calling in growth. You're looking for an alternative path to building wealth where you have greater control. And so the idea of building more cash flow, creating tax advantage, building equity that's yours to own and control for the future comes in to your life. So why franchising? Why was the conversation centered around business ownership versus maybe passive investments? Or was it doing all of the above? And there was like an order, a priority order.
[00:02:24] Speaker B: It came up with that same concept of which direction do we head and why.
So we did. We had a chunk of finances that came in from a sale of a piece of property. And I had just. Our last child had moved out of the house. Right. So I had been a stay at home mom, homeschool mom, that kind of deal. And now it was a question of what do I do with my time.
And I don't have a college degree. I am not a business individual. So for me, moving to the business arena was a little bit of a freak moment. I can't do that. I have no idea what I'm doing. I'll help you with your kids, you do the business. You know, I think even just for our situation, the franchise option was the best because you get thrown in and it's education and investing all in one. So that was perfect for our situation. But it also gave us the ability to. All those things that you just listed, that was exactly what we were looking for. And we didn't want something to where we could, you know, put our money into and just trust that the system is going to work out. You know, the hands off type investing. We wanted to have a little bit more control, more of that passive income, more of the revenue, all the tax breaks, all that good.
Yes, that's what we were looking for. So that's how they take care. So you need the franchise is your next best option.
[00:03:46] Speaker A: So when you came to me, do you remember what level of knowledge you had in a franchise? Was it something you had ever thought about? Did you ever walk into a franchise like a, you know, a retail store or food establishment, go, oh yeah, our dream's going to be in a franchise? Or were you really green? And you were like, I mean, we don't even know what this could mean to us.
[00:04:07] Speaker B: Totally green. I had no idea what it was going to look like to even start the process. I didn't even know until you sent that list how many franchise options there was. I had no idea.
Yeah. So totally new. Very green.
[00:04:22] Speaker A: So the goal from the beginning was, Nick, your husband keeps his job and you dive in and get drink from the fire hose and learn how to be a business owner.
[00:04:33] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:04:33] Speaker A: So let's go back to bringing your husband into this conversation and how when we got into that consultation and I started asking you and Nick questions to bring the two of you together, but asking you to answer the questions without cheating, like without looking at the other person and finding the similarities and finding the differences in the model that you are looking to achieve. And here's where I'm going with this for the listener out there. Oftentimes when we're married, we have ideas, we have expectations, we are assuming things.
And then when I get you and your spouse together, what I find is that there's discrepancy in those expectations and assumptions. And so often times when you're out there on your own trying to figure out what's the best franchise. You're not clearly communicating. And so the conversation stops and starts and stops and starts for no other reason than you need someone like Kim Daly in the middle of that who can really go, oh, well, you're saying this and your husband is thinking this. And so then there's no way to actually move forward. And that's why you're stopping and starting and you can't actually accomplish the goal of investing in a business. So do you remember when you were working with me, how this, you know, kind of back and forth went to bring you and Nick where you were to the same place?
[00:05:59] Speaker B: Yes, I absolutely remember that because it was a little moment of encouragement on our end, like, okay, we're doing really solid in our marriage. And even just in the direction that we're headed, we are on the same page. But I also remember because I thought, what a brilliant way to start this whole process.
Because if you're not on the same page, if you have two different expectations, how in the world are you going to ever land on something and be able to move forward without this? You said marriage, kind of a marriage counseling, like, are we going to end up with a franchise or a divorce? Right. So I thought it was brilliant because it brings us both to the same page. So I remember you saying, okay, I'm going to have a meeting with you, Tracy, and then I'm going to have a meeting with you, Nick. Totally separate. We had our print offs and all the questions and we had to actually answer them and then go through them with you. So it wasn't an option to cheat. Right. We couldn't look at each other's papers. And I remember you saying, oh my word, you guys are. I mean, our answers were almost identical in all situations. And you asked really good questions like, where do you want to see yourself in the future? What is your 5 year goal, your 10 year goal, and what are your hobbies? What are your desires? You know, what kind of franchises do you see yourself going into? So you ask all these questions that are great to start on the same page with at the beginning of the journey rather than going through part of the process. You're picking out a franchise, your husband's got a franchise, and we're like, oh my word, I don't want to clean windows, I want to own an alloy. Right. So it was great to be able to start with that and then move on from there because it helps answer the questions of how do we get ourselves on the same page? Are we even Going to be able to franchise as a team, or does it have to be a separate individual's, you know, way forward?
[00:07:36] Speaker A: It's really, really important. And I do remember that you and Nick were very unique in that. I almost didn't believe your answers because they were so aligned. It's one of the things. I'll give you a little shout out right now. Like, look, I meet thousands of couples, and, I mean, I'm not judging anybody in anybody's marriage, but I remember, like, special relationships. And I believe that you and Nick have a truly special relationship. Even the way that the two of you would look at each other when asking each other questions, I'd be like, oh, my God. They're, like, giving each other googly eyes, like, after being married. Like, it's just so special. It warms my heart even to think about it now, going back and thinking how special it was at the time. So that's a lifelong dream for many of us. And kudos to you for finding that and having that and nurturing that. It was really good. And so for those who are out there, the reason that there's so much gold in this, because getting your spouse involved early in the process is one of the key parts to the success of what I do. So my ratios with the people that I help, you know, from a first conversation to actually saying yes to a franchise, not to scare you, but they're very high.
And the reason they're high is because I recognize there are certain things that we have to do in order to get you to a yes. So if you want to be sloppy and you want to just like, hey, I just want to kick some tires, like, that's not the Kim Daly way. You certainly can do whatever you want. There's a lot of other consultants out there who will help you with that. But when you come here with the intent of, I don't know if the answer is going to be a yes, Kim, but I'm genuinely interested in learning how to say yes. Because saying yes to the franchise is the natural thing to do. When you've asked enough questions in the right order, in the right context, with the right support and guidance, and you're happy or satisfied with enough of the answers, then saying yes becomes the natural conclusion. So there's no pressure that this has to be a yes. But there's certain things that I do in a certain way and with a certain cadence, and that leads to the yes or no coming really quickly. And you aligning with your spouse early is one of the most important Things a lot of people will say, well, I'm going to start the process and then when I get serious, I'm going to include my spouse. Now, most of the time the person that's reaching out to me is the more adventurous one and the person who I'm not talking to is the more risk averse one. So which one do you think needs more time in more data, in more conversation with Kim to actually get to a conclusion? That feels good. The person I'm not talking to. So by waiting and holding your spouse at bay until you think you're serious, all you're doing is delaying the entire process. And the franchisors pay me to do this to avoid that. They don't want to go 2, 3, 4 steps in with you and then you bring your wife in and now we're back at ground zero and we're beginning again. And oh, by the way, while you did that, somebody else came in, moved faster than you, and now the territory you were looking at is sold. And so all of that work is for nothing. And so, not to belabor this point, but since we're talking about a great marriage, that was a great example of how husband and wives can work together in this process, I thought I would just expound on that. So back to Tracy's story. We get through consultation. Do you remember? You don't have to remember the specific brands, but we knew fitness was going to be in your mix because you guys are both fitness people. But you know that I probably challenged you because I don't believe there is a model where I just only show fitness. So that's another thing. If you're listening, like, that's a limiting belief that you have. There are many different ways to accomplish the goal of building a business that you're passionate about. It doesn't have to be. Your hobby is your business, right? Sometimes keep your hobby your hobby and your business your business.
[00:11:31] Speaker B: So.
[00:11:31] Speaker A: But in this case, it worked out that way. But do you remember when I came back with the other ideas, how long you might have kept them in or what your initial thoughts were and ultimately why Alloy rose to the top?
Hey, Daily Coach fans, if you're ready to begin your own journey to find the perfect franchise, please email me right now at inquiremdaily tv. My services are totally free for you. You. That's inquireimdaily tv. Now back to the show.
[00:12:07] Speaker B: Actually, it's funny that you say that because I think we had our own ideas when we came in as to what we wanted or didn't want. Right. So there was no fitness in our request. We didn't want fitness. We didn't want anything to do with a brick and mortar. Right. I don't know if you remember these, but we're like, no brick and mortar, no fitness.
[00:12:28] Speaker A: All I remember is that you're like this, like, Annie gets your gun. Like, I live in the backwoods of Asheville, North Carolina, like in a mountain. I like being outside getting dirty. This chick can do anything hardcore. Like, that's what I remember about you. But I don't remember the specific companies I showed to you or that you came to me not asking for fitness.
[00:12:48] Speaker B: Yeah, those are things we were like, no go. But I loved working with you because that was one of the things that you were like trace. Okay, I know that you're not wanting this. I know that these are your specific requests. And here are some options I think might fit all of the questions that we asked at the beginning. Your hobbies, your desires, your goals. Here are some options that I would not have put in place as, okay, I'm going to look into this because I didn't want it. So it wasn't for the fact that you brought it to me. And I love that that's what we ended up with because we ended up with a brick and mortar and fitness. That's the beauty of having a coach, because I didn't know what I needed or what exactly I was looking for. I just thought I had the best options or the best kind of checklist of this is what I'm looking for. So to have a coach come in and say, okay, I know this is what you're saying no to, and if you would be willing to take a look and do a little bit of due diligence, this might fit your parameters better than what you're saying yes to.
So thank you to you because shout out. If I did not have Kim Daly, I would be doing gutters, because that's what we were looking at. We were just about to sign for the territory on gutters and that whole thing fell through. It was a little bit of a disaster, but thank goodness it happened. Now we ended up with Alloy and you came back. We wanted to be done. We were like, okay, that's it. A year and a half of maths and we. This fell through. Thank goodness. Because I really don't want to have to do gutters, but I would have been willing to do whatever. Right. And you came back and said, would you be willing to look at four more? No pressure. Just I'M going to bring you four more. We'll see where it goes. If you want to say no to them all. Okay, we'll take a pause and we'll revisit in a little while. And you sent the last four, and I remember seeing Alloy on there, and I went in and looked at the model and I was like, baby, I know we said no fitness and we said no brick and mortar, but so it was because of you that we're here.
[00:14:39] Speaker A: Oh, that's awesome. I do remember that story. And there was something with a FedEx route in the middle of that, too. Right. That we kind of got distracted with. And you went down that rabbit hole and then it came back. Yeah. I mean, this just speaks to, like, life has to unfold as it's unfolding, and we don't know what we don't know. And everybody that I work with is on their own journey, and so it's not on my timeline. It's your timeline, and I'm just here to help meet you where you're at. And I'm so grateful that I came back and that you didn't end up. I mean, gutters is there. It's a great business, the brand that you were dialing into, But I'm so happy that, you know, in the end you found the people, and it's really the people behind Alloy that make this the brand, in my mind that it is. I mean, personal training is personal training, but when you're partnered with, you know, somebody who's been literally in the personal training business for over 30 years, who, like, knows every season and every dark alley that you can find yourself in in this business and has worked his way out of it and can offer you advice. Look, when you're investing in a franchise, that's what you want. You want who, not what. So. So this. She got both. She got a who and a what. So how long has your personal training studio been open?
[00:15:45] Speaker B: We've been officially open since April, so it's been about six months. Right.
[00:15:49] Speaker A: So the time of this recording, It's September of 2025. So she opened in April of 2025. So take us on a little bit of the journey, you know, from like, signing your franchise agreement to getting through the construction and the opening. And, like, I think the emotional state, story of that is the real story, like, how you kept yourself, like, in a good, happy place. I'm sure there were setbacks along the way. Share a little bit about that.
[00:16:14] Speaker B: Tracy. We are in Asheville, as you said. Right. 2024 was a massive disaster in Asheville because we had that huge hurricane, and that was in the exact moment that we were supposed to find our space and start construction.
[00:16:29] Speaker A: And the whole town went underwater, literally.
[00:16:31] Speaker B: Yes. So, thankfully, everybody was amazing. This whole franchise process has been incredible because all I had to do, I mean, we'd already had. We just found our space, just sign the lease. And that part, that wasn't really that bad for us. I mean, it took us a little while of trying to find the right location, just because of our demographic and what we're looking for. But everybody in this franchise process was amazing. I just sent out emails to each individual I was working with and said, hey, we just got hit by a major storm. Everything has stopped. We don't even have an option to move forward because we were on timelines that were required from the franchise. You know, all these builders and all these things had already been put in motion of we can't even get trucks with supplies into our location.
So that was crazy. Just natural disaster. I mean, I don't know if anybody will ever.
[00:17:22] Speaker A: I hope.
[00:17:22] Speaker B: I hope they don't experience that, because that was crazy. But it was so beautiful. And it warmed my heart that every single person that I communicated with throughout the entire franchise process, it wasn't just the franchisor. It was the builders and the real estate people. And everybody was like, you don't worry about it. You take as much time as you need. We'll hold your supplies for you in our facility until you tell us. Go. It was awesome.
[00:17:49] Speaker A: These are the things that, like, when people are like, I want to negotiate this franchise agreement, and, you know, franchising is so unfair. It's like you're reading legalese that doesn't fully represent the human relationship that you're saying yes to. And what Tracy is speaking to is the actual reality of how a good franchisor is your partner, not your enemy. It's so beautiful. Keep going.
[00:18:15] Speaker B: Yeah. And because of that relationship, I sent a message to Rick Mayo and Suzanne, and I said, listen, I mean, we don't have an option. And everybody was like, don't worry. You take your time. Whatever you need. We are in no rush. So that timeline that we had, you know, that year just went to a year and a half, right? So it was beautiful.
[00:18:35] Speaker A: Being delayed by our dreams by natural disasters. It's totally beautiful. No stress, no problem. I love your attitude, but this is why you're so amazing and why you will be successful. Keep going.
[00:18:45] Speaker B: Yeah. So I was like, okay, we're now ready Things have settled down here in Asheville. So we're going to get started with the construction and even just that process in itself because when you're dealing with a franchisor and somebody that you have to do construction with, you have different options of who you want to use for that process. And they've already vetted all those people, so I don't have to try to go vet somebody. And the quality of what they're going to be doing, they've already done all that work. So for me I just chose, you know, I interviewed and chose who I wanted to work with and the whole thing started and it was just outside. I mean every construction project has setbacks. There's just no way around it. You're not going to have a perfect construction process. But just the people that I dealt with because they've been vetted because you know, it's part of the franchise process and what they offer package. It was awesome. Then we had the fires, we had the forest fires. So we were getting ready to open and we had another natural disaster and it freaked everybody out. I mean, we just got down the storm and now we're having fires. And people, people are not spending money.
But the coach from Alloy, you know, the one that they partner because every franchise, you know, as you buy into the franchise, you also get a franchise coach who's going to help you. What, what do we need to do? What's our next step? I'm so happy. It's been an amazing process and I am very thankful that we went the franchise route. My husband has asked me before, would you do this again? And I said absolutely, I would do it again. I feel like I've gotten an education at the same time as a wonderful business and just knowing that if you work the play, it's gonna work when.
[00:20:18] Speaker A: You actually opened your doors again. I'm not trying to do any promotion of Alloy personal training. This isn't an endorsement or anything. It's just curiosity on my part, which I believe might also be on the listeners part. So you opened your doors in April and I know that Alloy is really big on pre sales and helping you generate some income as you go. So we don't have to get too specific on this, Tracy, but I'm just keeping curious. Like has that part of the expectation or plan that you were planning for before you opened been met or exceeded.
[00:20:49] Speaker B: When we initially opened? And I don't put any fault of this on Alloy. I put it on what we were experiencing here in Asheville because I believe that if you run their play, you're going to meet the expectations, if not exceed the expectations. I think because we were working off, people were not in our area, they had flood because of the flood. There's a lot of people that have second homes here. So we were dealing with a lot of things that aren't necessarily. And I think that now that we're in, you know, five, six months, those things are settling down and we're starting to see that come into fruition and we're working the play and it's working. So I believe that if we didn't have those external, you know, playing on what we've got going on, I think we would have met if not exceeded the expectations.
So they do they push pre sale. We want you to open and be successful right out of the gate.
[00:21:42] Speaker A: I love that. So. And you have your little daily plan we talked about that I share with all my candidates how to reverse engineer your outcome and have that daily plan. So you're not living in overwhelm. You're not thinking about all the people you need. You're only there to show up today to play the daily, to get go for the daily win. Right? That was the mindset that shifted me from eight years out of average performing feeling stuck to one year later in my ninth year growing my business by over 350%. It was a small mindset shift that changed everything.
And part of that shift was going from overwhelm to being present and showing up for how I had to just perform today. So if you're interested in that, you can follow me for more information. I certainly have more videos on my YouTube channel about how to build your daily plan if you're a business owner. So Tracy, this has been so amazing. So you started this journey looking for an alternative investment you called yourself in the beginning. I'm not using these words. These are your words. You know, just a stay at home mom. I didn't know about business. So clearly that was way downplaying what you're capable of doing. But here you are now, six months into your journey as a business owner. You're happy knowing what you know. Now you do it again. You said that again. So you share with the listeners some parting advice about, you know, going from the sideline where you never owned a business and you hadn't even really had the corporate skill to bring to drinking from this fire hose and opening your business and getting up this growth curve, like just kind of zoom out and like have an out of body experience with us and share like the takeaways from that in your own personal growth and satisfaction. And I like this cellular joy. There's a certain amount of satisfaction and pride that you can't find doing something else. But you always find it in business ownership.
[00:23:39] Speaker B: You know what?
[00:23:40] Speaker A: The pride is greater when the challenges are bigger.
So speak a little bit to that.
[00:23:48] Speaker B: A little bit. I remember sitting down with you and there were a couple times where you said, you have got to move away from the fear. Because I think out of all things that could hold anybody back, that's what it is. It's fear. Fear of failure. Failure in the business, failure in yourself. So I think moving away from that and allowing yourself to trust the process, trust in kin shoe, that's what you do, right?
Trust, you know what you're talking about and be able to let that fear go and know that whatever this looks like it's going to work out okay, you know, whether it slots or not, there's so much that you're going to be learning through this process. So I feel like you're right. I kind of downplayed maybe a little bit on my ability, but I was a stay at home mom and so to come into this and say, can I run a business? I had a ton of fear. I don't think that I am capable. There's so much that we're going to be learning and having to grow, but then to see it succeeding on the other side of all of this process, see it succeeding, it's like, oh, my word, this is working.
And this might actually get my husband out of corporate America. There's so much pride and excitement and joy and we're helping people on their life journey. And that to me brings so much joy. I walk out and see these people working out, thinking their lives are changing and that helps me know that I'm on the right path. And so there's. It just is like a bubbling of excitement. Oh, this is an awesome journey. I'm super happy. Amazing.
[00:25:18] Speaker A: And what a great way to end this video. You're an inspiration. So for those out there who are thinking, I don't have experience, I don't know how to do this, I've been a stay at home mom. If that's you, it doesn't matter.
Franchising invites all of you and has the systems support training tools that you need, the guidance, the mentorship. But it all starts by partnering yourself with the right franchisor. There's a lot of franchisors out there that may not be able to take your hand and meet you where you're at. It's why I am so passionate about sharing what I do to help prevent people from investing in the wrong franchisors. Not just because they have bad intentions, but maybe they're just not the right partner for you. That's why you come to Kim Daily. It's a totally free service. You have nothing to lose and everything to potentially gain. Like Tracy. So, Tracy, thank you so much. I wish you all the best as you continue in this wealth building journey that you and Nick are on and continuing to work with money ripples. And I'm hoping that overflow from your Alloy personal training business will ripple out into the world and more passive investments and just create that generational wealth that I'm sure you're trying to build. I have a feeling that that's part of probably one of your goals as well.
[00:26:33] Speaker B: And we might be back for the second franchise.
[00:26:36] Speaker A: I love it. Well, thank you for being our special guest here today. And for those who are ready to begin your journey, this is your call to action. There's no better time like today, so please follow the link in the description right now because you know that my name is Kim Daly and I want to be your daily coach.
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.
