Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to american wealth enfranchising and Kim Daley TV. I am your host, Kim Daley. 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. Podcast and Kim Daley TV. I am your host, Kim Daley. And in studio with me today, all the way from Tallahassee, Florida, is Katie Webb of Stretch Zone. Katie, welcome to the studio of Kim Daley TV.
[00:00:46] Speaker B: Thank you. I'm excited to be here.
[00:00:48] Speaker A: I am so excited to have you because I love, love, love the offering of the stretch zone. And I am just excited to meet somebody who's been a franchisee and can share kind of the inside scoop. So my listeners love to hear what was happening in your life when you decided, I need to own my own business and I'm going to find a franchise. And then why did you pick the stretch zone?
[00:01:14] Speaker B: Yes, thank you for asking. I had been toying around with the idea for some time. I actually have a cleaning company I started when I was in college 13 years ago, and it was not a franchise and it was hard to, you know, get it to where it is. I was actually out of town. I had been researching different franchises and decided that I wanted my next business to be a franchise because of the community of the support. Being a business owner can be lowly sometimes if you don't have, like, a team in that support. So I decided I wanted to look into franchises and I actually went to a stretch zone when I was out of town. I think it was Hilton head, South Carolina, and I was out of town for a conference, and I was like, that was amazing. Like, we need to have this in tallahassee. So I started researching stretch zone. I went to the discovery day. I had talked to some other franchises and I was like, these are my people. Like, we have a good system, good support. I liked to get to know them. I was really curious about who they were, and I felt like we aligned a lot.
[00:02:26] Speaker A: Okay, so you're out of town, you find a stretch zone. So were you into fitness or was your back hurting because you were traveling? Like, what led you into the stretch zone? Or was this, like, a passion that you had, like, health and fitness in your life? Before that?
[00:02:40] Speaker B: It was. I actually worked at a chiropractic office in college, and I knew that the clients that did their at home stretches and followed that program recovered quicker I was in my early twenties, and I remember googling a place that I could send them that wasn't quite physical therapy, but something to help them get their stretches done because we all know we need to stretch more, but nobody does it. We all talk about it. We do, like for five minutes here and there and get off routine again. And there was a few things in Tallahassee, but not to take, like the capacity that I realized, you know, our city needed. So I just kind of like, I liked researching stretching, and I knew it was important and mobility was important. I do work out pretty often, but it was kind of in the back of my mind. And yes, when I was at the conference, I was sitting a lot more than I was used to for long periods of time, sleeping in a new bed. So I was like, meeting something. I found them and I was like, this sounds awesome. So I went and checked it out.
[00:03:36] Speaker A: That's awesome. And going back to your original comment about starting a business when you were in college, but then the comment that entrepreneurship is just lonely, I totally second that. I mean, one of the greatest advantages to owning a franchise is the collective or collaborative environment. There's just people around you to support you and cheer you on and pick you up when you fall down and, you know, and help guide and direct your growth because you're not like, out there on your own trying to make it up as you go, right?
[00:04:07] Speaker B: Absolutely. And not only is it within the corporate side, you become friends with other owners. You talk to them. Do they have different coaching programs? So it's the community in that area as well, somebody else the same exact job as you.
[00:04:22] Speaker A: I totally love that and agree with that. The validation or the friendships with other franchisees in your system becomes, I think, over time, even more important, especially once you're established and you're successful in your business, you need less of, like the corporate initial training support that you get, but more of the nuances of your business. And by befriending people that are out there who are at the same level of business ownership as you, it just helps you kind of learn from each other and just everybody gets a little bit better. I love that. How many studios do you own today in Tallahassee?
[00:04:57] Speaker B: I have two in Tallahassee, and then I have one in Pensacola, Florida, so I have a total of three. I wouldn't mind having a couple more.
[00:05:06] Speaker A: Wow. So you're running these as a hands off like a manager? These are manager run studios?
[00:05:12] Speaker B: Yes. I have general managers and assistant general managers in all the studio. I like to call myself like, the acting regional manager right now. And I'm also obviously the owner. I visit all the stores, I help run the meetings, and I'm, you know, support for our management team. One day I might have someone take my place and be the regional manager. But I love what I do. It's a joy to go into work every day.
[00:05:36] Speaker A: So do you still run the cleaning company as well?
[00:05:40] Speaker B: I do, yes. And I've actually learned so much through owning a franchise that my cleaning company has seen significant improvements. For instance, just learning a better way of a pay structure. And so things that I've learned there, I've implemented at my cleaning company. So they're all right around the corner from each other. So I'll hop to the cleaning company and then go into my two studios. Pensacola is 2 hours away. I drive down there about once a week and check on that store.
[00:06:08] Speaker A: That's awesome. So a lot of times I think people feel like if you're going to run a business, like you have to be there. So talk a little bit about how you open these stores that are 2 hours away or though your cleaning company is running and you're not there. How do you have the confidence in yourself or what lessons or, you know, skills, I guess. Have you developed along the way that enable you to set the business up and have the structure but not need to be there?
[00:06:36] Speaker B: Yes, that's a great question. I think that's a fear that everyone has initially.
Well, you want to make sure you have your management team set up, and you want to empower them to make decisions based off your core values. So if you're not there and you're not available, and they need to make a decision, as long as it goes around your core values, then I trust that you're making the right decision. That goes for hiring and firing all the way to small things like printing, you know, something for marketing. I don't need to have my finger on every single part of that. And then just setting up, I mean, technology is amazing. We have a weekly virtual meeting. We have, our front desk has their own meeting. We can get everyone together, even from that studio. The furthest one away is my newest studio. And we've learned so much at the Midtown studio, so they can collaborate and learn from each other as well. You don't have to be in the studios as much as I am. I try to, like, not go, and then I'm like, I'm just gonna go check on them over there, maybe get a stretch. So I don't even have a desk or anything set up in there. So I'm there just kind of interacting with everyone. I do like my day to day stuff from home.
[00:07:46] Speaker A: I love that. So about how many hours a week are you putting into, I guess, the stretch zone businesses?
[00:07:53] Speaker B: I try to make sure I'm doing about 10 hours a week per business, so I try to keep my hours in the 40 hours range, like a normal work week. Technically, all four of my businesses are separate s corps. I did that for protection purposes, so I do that. But then one business might need me a little more than the other that week, and then I just kind of move my energy where I need to.
[00:08:17] Speaker A: I love that. So are you doing this all alone? Like, do you have a partner? Are you married? Are you just single? Like, driving all these businesses like a yemenite girl boss?
[00:08:26] Speaker B: I'm doing that now. I'm not married, and I like to envision that I'm working really hard now. So that time does come, and I have kids. I will have systems set up where I can still make an income and be essentially like a stay at home mom.
[00:08:40] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. You totally already have it down. This is, like, amazing. I love this story. So let's go back and let's talk a little bit about some of the things you've learned. Let's kind of compare and contrast being the entrepreneur and starting that business from scratch and lessons that maybe things that you found were hard versus when you opened your stretch zone and you had support and you had systems and you had people training you and you weren't making it up on your own. Can you speak a little bit more to that? Because I do think there's a fair amount of people that follow me who kind of sit back and think, you know, should I go it alone? Should I invest in a franchise? What about those fees, Kim? If I go it alone, I don't have the fees, you know, and I'm like, that's such a short sighted reason to not invest in a franchise. So you've been at. You're in both camps, so speak a little bit to that, if you can recall. I mean, I know you said it was 13 years ago that you started.
[00:09:36] Speaker B: Your company at the beginning of those years. Those were some tough times, and a lot of it comes down to even just making a decision. Again, you don't have a lot of people that know exactly what you're doing on the day to day to help you make small decision. So the decision making, like, you know, do golf tournaments work? Where should I put my energy, like little things. You have all the support that you need to kind of have some data to help make decisions.
[00:10:04] Speaker A: Like about marketing. Is that what you're talking about when.
[00:10:06] Speaker B: You say small things like what's the best personality traits for this particular role? Like the general manager all the way to. Yes. For marketing decisions. Like, you know, where do you see the best return or the lowest roi for a lead? The fees. You don't even notice. Like to me, I don't even look at that. I see what my net sales are and I automatically know what the fee is going to be taken out and there's still plenty of money left. You just don't have to find the bookkeeping service, find the company that's going to do your marketing, do all the legwork. When you get started, all of that is done for you. There's just a lot less to think about. And, you know, when I started my cleaning company, I was young and I did all the cleaning myself and trying to run my business. So a lesson I've learned from that is don't do that. This time around. I didn't get stretch certified. I'm not a certified general manager. I know I need to be an owner and do all the owner duties. Otherwise you just get too busy and you don't take care of the things that you need to to continue growth and building your culture and all the things that an owner is supposed to do.
[00:11:11] Speaker A: Oh, my gosh. Okay, wait. We are totally diving into that comment because there's a lot of candidates that I funnel through the process who say yes, but Katie, what if one of my stretch people doesn't show up? What do I do if I can't pitch in and they limit that? And now I know, like, that's a limiting belief that they don't have to make. True. But so speak to that very argument. What am I going to do if I can't pitch in and do the job?
[00:11:39] Speaker B: Well, you're going to figure out that there's either a bigger problem. Do we have an hiring problem? What's our funnel look like? You're going to start problem solving with Kleene. It took me a long time to really fully fall back because I know how to do it. I was so good at it and it was easy for me just to stop what I was doing and jump in. So there was a lot of problems I didn't solve until I got a coach, actually. And my coach said, if you want to be in this group, you are not allowed to clean anymore and you are not allowed to be your front desk anymore or your office manager. And so I was like, what?
We have a cleaning company. And I thought I, like, made it once I didn't have to clean anymore. And then I realized, oh, I just created a different job for myself, which is now I'm the office manager. So once I was forced not to do the jump ins, I was forced to resolve the actual reason that that stuff happened and look at the problem, and problem solved. I don't think we've had somebody call out from my cleaning company or even my stretch zones for, like, no call, no show has not happened in years. And maybe they call if they, like, wake up with a fever and I feel like people have gotten in a car accident and they're like, I can still be there by three, though. So that speaks to the problem that I solved, which was, you know, my hiring funnel and that process. And you won't solve problems in your business if you're working in it on a regular basis, especially on the things that should be being done by other workers that can't do the things that you can do.
[00:13:08] 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.
That's amazing. I mean, you are a true business owner, and I love that you mentioned that you have a coach. I'm big on, you know, having a coach in your life if you really want to be excellent. And I love that coach for saying, you can't be in this group if you want to be the doer in your business, because if you're trading your time for money, you might as well go work for somebody else, right? If you want to be a business owner, you have to be disciplined to not be in it. So kudos to that business coach, and kudos to you for being like, all right, I'm going to follow your lead. I'm going to trust your ways and for following through because it gave you more freedom, which then freed you up to then go and look for another business. And now you've got multiple businesses of that second business, and there's really no end in sight to what you can do at this point, which is how well is created. Correct, Dee? Dee Dee?
[00:14:17] Speaker B: Absolutely. And just a testimony to for coaches. I mean, if there's anybody thinking about a coach, you will regret it. I mean, it changed my life. It changed me as a person. It was probably one of the best things I had done for myself. The initial investment sometimes feels like you're not going to get this immediate benefit, but had I not done that, I probably would still be cleaning houses. I knew what I needed. But it was a coach. They have, you know, a tactical coach, but they also. It's the mindset coach that really helps you rethink the way that you're thinking. We get coaches for so many things. Athletes get coaches. We hire people to do things all the time that we can't do. And sometimes you need that for your business.
[00:14:59] Speaker A: It's amazing. And Katie Webb doesn't know Kim Daley that well. She doesn't know that Kim Daley is a mindset coach. But I'm just smiling over here from ear to earth.
[00:15:08] Speaker B: I wanted a good testimony for you. I mean even if somebody decides a different coach, but like its important to consider that and make sure that thats part of your budget for the year.
[00:15:19] Speaker A: Its amazing. And so going back to the entrepreneurship versus franchise preneurship, so now you own one of each as you move forward. I totally agree with you. You dont focus on the fees that you pay or the expenses you have because its a franchise. Do you see yourself always getting involved in franchises for acquisition of more businesses versus going and starting something again from scratch on your own?
[00:15:44] Speaker B: I don't think I would ever start something again from scratch on my own. You have to make so many decisions and like I said, there's a lot made for you already. There's a brand there. When I was young, I was like local only was kind of not sure how I felt about franchises. But now it is my business. Like I run it, it's my business. I can do things how I need them to be done, but they've already caught up on all the decisions that you would have made a few mistakes on in the beginning and deciding this or that. So you get to surpass all of those learning curve things and just get to the meat and potatoes and create the company and the culture that you're looking for. I think it's a great idea. And they have all sorts of franchises out there from ones that are good for people that are may not have as much finances in the beginning. And just because you're not 100% sure how to do something doesn't mean that it's not a good franchise for you. Because I didn't know how to stretch people and I still don't. And I own three stretch zones, hopefully more in the future.
[00:16:51] Speaker A: Oh, good. Oh my gosh you're a rock star. You are a total girl. Boss. Katie, I'm so excited to meet you. This is so great. I'm guessing you've had a good experience with, you know, the support staff at your franchisor. Because I think, you know, one of the things that people don't clearly understand when they're on the outside is that not all franchisors are created equal. Like, part of the reason I have a business, it's not just to match opportunity to you, like, based on, you know, how much you have to invest and the kind of business that you're going to excel at based on your core skills. But it's also because I have 22 years of relationships and knowledge of who to and what's what in franchising. Not all franchisors are created equal. That is a fact. Not every franchisor is worth your life savings. So that is a reason to use a very experienced consultant in and of itself just to guide you to the highest caliber franchisors out there. So tell us a little bit, because you kind of got lucky, right? Like, you stumbled into stretch zone, were like, wow, this would be a good business to own. And I sounds like you didn't really look at any other options or work with anybody, so you happen to land in a very good spot, maybe without even realizing how lucky you were. But now that you're in it, do you see, like, so much value and do you feel well supported by that corporate franchisor?
[00:18:15] Speaker B: I absolutely do. I did look into some other ones. I didn't know there was people out there that matched you with franchises and that sort of thing. I was in the beginning phases of, like, mentally processing like, what my next steps were. So I had looked at a few and just even the initial communication didn't seem like a core values match for me. And so I was like, maybe I was right about franchises and, like, it, you know, just this huge corporation and they don't really aren't as involved as I was imagining they would. But I don't think that's true with everything. You're right. They're not all made equal. Not everybody's for everybody. And when I went to stretch zone corporate, I knew, like, I mean, I have the CEO's phone number and, like, he'll see me on a Zoom call at a training, and he'll text me and be like, don't you usually go to the dog park at this time? Like, they know me. They come and visit your studios when you're doing well. The founder was at our last owner's meeting and we both had a retainer. And we're talking about it like they're regular people, but they also know what they're doing back there and they work hard and they care about all of us.
[00:19:20] Speaker A: I love that. That is so great. Aren't you normally at the dog park at this time, the CEO of the franchise, asking you that? That's so great. I love it. Well, you are dispelling myths about franchising and franchisors all over the place, girl, you don't even know it. But I'm smiling from ear to ear because any of those things that you just said, I have multiple videos on my YouTube channel to help people come to that reality. But when you say it, it has way more power than when I say it just because you are the franchisee and it's coming genuinely right out of your mouth. So I love it. Thank you so much for validating, like, multiple videos that I've made about how franchise genuinely do care. But that's the right franchisors, you know, and going all the way back to the beginning of the interview, and you just said it again when I went to corporate, it was the culture. You knew that you found your people. I was like, this is amazing. Because again, I spent so much time helping people realize that you're not investing in a widgethood, you're investing in people. If you're a widget investor, go be an entrepreneur. But if you want to find people that can coach and mentor and support you on your growth journey as a business owner, that's franchisepreneurship all day long. And so you also said not every franchisor is good for everybody. And that's so true. Your personality may lend itself better to this particular franchise or culture, and somebody else's personality lends themselves better over here. And that's also part of what a very good experience franchise consultant like Kim Daley would do for you without you even having to think about it. I'm doing all of that work behind the scenes for you when I present opportunities to you. Katie, you are a rock star for so many reasons, but I just really have to congratulate you on deciding to become an entrepreneur at such a young age.
[00:21:08] Speaker B: Right?
[00:21:09] Speaker A: The courage that that takes and the discipline and then the fortitude to stay the course when it is so hard. And then, you know, jumping off into franchising and hiring a business coach because you knew that you needed to grow and then being coachable because that's a thing in and of itself. Right? Just because your coach tells you to do something doesn't mean you're going to do it. So you dared to do it. And look where you are now today with multiple businesses thinking about growing. You're not even a mom yet, right? So it tells me you're fairly young. So, like, imagine where your life is going to go and the legacy that you're going to be building for your kids one day. As a mom who's so massively successful as a business owner, like, it's so inspiring all over the place.
[00:21:56] Speaker B: Thank you. I didn't know I was going to come on here and get all the good feels. I'm about to cry. I appreciate that.
[00:22:02] Speaker A: I'm serious. Like, you're a rock star. You are a Kim Daley rock star for sure. I am so thankful that you decided to be my guest today on Kim Daily TV. Thank you for sharing your very inspiring story.
[00:22:14] Speaker B: Yeah, my pleasure. Thank you, too.
[00:22:17] Speaker A: I have one more question for you. So there's a lot of people who will listen to my show and follow me, and they're like, right there. They might even be in process thinking about it, exploring franchises, but they're right there and they can't push themselves through that final, you know, bit of fear that kind of holds people back and makes people go, well, I didn't look at enough options or, oh, I need to keep validating, or, oh, you know, like, should I do it? And they stop themselves. What advice do you have from the other side of that fence that you could offer to those people who are right there?
[00:22:53] Speaker B: Well, I mean, this is something that you'll hear all my employees say, just do it. Like, make a decision. Even if you make a decision and it's not the best one, you can make another decision later and figure out what to do. But you can't move forward unless you move. So you gotta keep it moving. Just go for it.
[00:23:14] Speaker A: Amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing, amazing. You really are a rock star. Thank you so much. Just do it, everybody. Just do it. Thank you, Katie Webb. So for those who are inspired by this conversation, like I am, if you're ready to just do it, well, you know that I want to be your franchise consultant and your mindset. Daily Coach, please follow the email on the screen right now. Just do it right now. Follow the email on the screen or reach directly out to inquireyimdaily tv. That's inquireyimdaily tv. And until next time, my name is Kim Daley and I want to be your daily coach.
You can find and 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 enquireimdaily TV. That's enquiremdaily TV.
