Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Create Wealth Through Franchising.
[00:00:03] Speaker B: 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 A: Welcome back to Create Wealth Through Franchising podcast and Kim Daily TV. In my studio today, if you're watching YouTube, look at this beautiful face of Sonal Patel from Carrie, North Carolina. She is a Woodhouse spa franchisee, but she tells me there's more to her franchising story than Woodhouse. So with that introduction. So now, welcome to the studio of Kim Daly, tv.
[00:01:10] Speaker C: Thank you so much, Kim. I'm so happy and excited to be here.
[00:01:14] Speaker A: Let's jump into your story because I hear it begins long before you became a Woodhouse spa franchisee. So take us back to the beginning when you decided that franchising was something that you were interested in.
[00:01:28] Speaker C: Yes, I have been doing franchising for 20 plus years now. What I can say is I didn't get into it because this was something I was looking into.
I kind of was thrown into it, if I can say that right? Which, you know, it's great new experiences, you know, if they just come your way. I can only say that I'm so happy that I, you know, had these opportunities come by where, you know, I could make the most of it and learn from it and be where I am at right now. It so happened that back in, I would say, 2001, I had just given birth to my daughter, my first child. And I had been working in, you know, clinical research up until then. Before that, we had decided, both me and my husband, with my first child, I would take, you know, at least a year off just to, you know, be with her and, you know, enjoy motherhood and all that good stuff. But it just so happened that after she was born, I think just within her first year, there was a open house for Dunkin Donuts, Baskin Robbins in Raleigh, N.C. and my husband and a friend of ours, the two of them went to attend the open house. You will not believe it when I say that, that they actually signed a franchisee deal for three Dunkin Donuts and came home.
Both of them are full time working in computer software. And they come home and they Are like, okay, Sora, we just got a dog kid franchise. And I'm like, what is that? Like, the way my husband convinced me was like, oh, you'll have so much flexibility. You know, you can be home with our daughter as well as, you know, you can do work on your own time. You don't have to worry about anything. But I do have to say that I did have that little bit of flexibility. You know, I was answerable to myself and of course to my franchise zor. But also for the most part, you know, you are in charge of everything. It's how hard you want to work and how much you want to put it, which when you have your own something that you are building from ground up, you will never be shy off or doing what you need to do right, to get that up and running. And that's exactly what happened. We built out from like, you know, the three franchisee unit to. We went to six stores out of which like three were full scale Dunkin Baskin. And then three were only Dunkin Donuts. I ran that for about 10 years. The entire time my husband was full time working.
[00:03:54] Speaker A: So he did you a favor. So now he bought you a franchise on a whim. What a great guy.
[00:04:00] Speaker C: I have to say, he's always told me this and you know, sometimes just feel, you wonder, you know, it's your husband telling you. But right from day one, he has believed in me so much and he's always told me this, that I just know that you are so capable of running businesses or you are so good at these. And, you know, every step of the way, he's let me do my thing. He's let me be in there. So, you know, well, Dunkin is a huge franchise, right? I mean, it's huge. At the time when I got into it, they were already at 7,500 stores. So it's a very big organization. There's a lot to go. It's very complex. So it was not easy. Absolutely, it was not easy. I have worked like crazy hours, you know, just setting the stores up and, you know, finding employees and doing the whole nine yards. But I can do say that it taught me so much, while it did teach me in the 10 years that I had it that this particular business was not something I saw myself doing for the rest of my life.
[00:05:00] Speaker A: So I like being a business owner, but I don't like this model.
[00:05:03] Speaker C: I do not like this model. This is not for me. Right? So then at the end of 10 years, you know, when it came time to kind of, you know, renew your lease, like, every 10 years, your licenses and all. I was sure that I didn't want to continue with this. So we sold off the businesses. But even while we were in the process of getting out of Duncan. See how life pulls you right in different directions? But I was already. So my kids were at that age when education was a big part of their life for me. And right from day one, it's always been a big part for me, right?
So I used to take them to all these supplemental education classes. So it wasn't just about sports for me. You know, them getting that STEM was very, very important. STEM education.
We went to many different ones. Med, Nasium, Kumon. And I would always be like, I wish this one had this in it, and I wish this one had the Senate, you know, kind of. And I was talking to my friend in California, my best friend. She's one of the biggest reasons why I am where I am today. Where, you know, you have this friend that you talk to probably three, four times a week, you know, just spilling out, like, whatever, rightly talking about what's going through your head, your desire, everything, right? And it's just a friend talking to a friend. But to have somebody who's actually also listening, even unconsciously trying to figure out how to put you in the right direction. So that's what happened. Like, I was talking to her about, you know, kids, and she goes like, you know, sonal, my kids go to this, you know, for supplemental education. They go to this JEI Learning Center. And she was very happy with it. And she is like, sonal, I feel like you might want to look into that not just as something.
There were no JEI Learning centers in North Carolina.
So she was like, why don't you look into that? I was a big proponent of education. I still am. So I did. I looked into JAI Learning Center. I looked into their workbooks, and I actually really liked that program.
Loved their workbooks, right? Something very close to what I was looking for for my kids at that point in time. So you know what I did? I contacted them in New Jersey, the corporate office. Me and my husband, we drove down to New Jersey, and I told them, I want to put in the first JI Learning center in North Carolina. And that's what I did. I opened my first JEI while we were still, like, you know, in the process of, you know, selling Duncan, right? I opened my first JEI Learning center in Cary, North Carolina.
[00:07:32] Speaker A: So I wish your husband was here, because I'd like to be like, okay, so who thought about this decision more? You when you bought Duncan or her when she bought jl? So good. Okay, so you bring JL to Carrie and what happens?
[00:07:45] Speaker C: So I brought JEI Learning center to Carrie and I went from one location to two. This was post Covid. I opened a second location in this area for Jei. Unfortunately, with COVID you know, everything shut down for a good two years. So while the business went on online, I really didn't see the purpose of having a second location because I was doing so well with just the one location plus online classes, which is what we all learned how to do during COVID Right. Biggest thing that it taught us was that. So I closed the second location, but I actually had that one location till January of this year is when I finally sold the business to another passionate person or franchisee who is just as passionate about education. Because that was my big thing was I didn't want to see it just closing down. I wanted somebody to carry it on forward.
[00:08:43] Speaker A: Right. Let me say it correctly. It's J E I. I've never heard of this.
[00:08:47] Speaker C: It is J E I Learning Center. It is a South Korean concept. It is completely workbook based supplemental education program for math, English, reading and writing, problem solving, math. They have a program called Brain Safari which is very much analytical thinking, developing it at a very early age. I'm talking about like four to eight years.
[00:09:10] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:09:11] Speaker C: Okay. They have an excellent program. They are really good. Again, it's just something that worked for me for the 10 years. So from 2014 to 2025, January, I had Jei Learning Center. You know, I enjoyed working with the kids. But you know, at a certain point then, you know, right. Like now it's time to go into the next phase.
And that's where it happened. Where I would say right before COVID again, the same friend of mine who lives in California, she used to frequent the Woodhouse Spa.
She is actually a amazing entrepreneur who started off her business from scratch, from home. Her own thing in Quinoa where nobody even knew how to pronounce quinoa. She got into that and some spices and stuff like that. And she built her company getting quinoa from Bolivia, South America and you know, distributing it up here, sold it, you know, got bought out by Smuckers.
[00:10:14] Speaker A: Wow.
[00:10:15] Speaker C: You can imagine, right? She herself also was an entrepreneur who did her own small business and went from that to that. And I've known her since school in India. Back in India.
[00:10:26] Speaker A: Isn't that amazing? Like the people that we hang around, our closest friends have such an impact on who we become.
[00:10:34] Speaker C: They do. And they inspire us so much. It's like every which way, if you go to cc it from a woman to a woman perspective, you know, you know, you are up there. You are pulling other people up, too. You are thinking about what other people would like to do. I mean, you know, you know that person so well that you can kind of gauge their capabilities or their interests and kind of guide them in that direction. And honestly, that's what she did for me with Woodhouse Spa. But she used to frequent the one in. In Walnut Creek. She was a very regular guest there. And every time we would talk, she would tell me, sonal, I don't know why. Every time I enter that spa, I think only of you. I think how good you would be running. I can totally see you doing this. And I would just go, like, the reason why also, because I'm like, a big fanatic skincare fanatic. I love, like, you know, learning all the new facials, any new skin treatments, anything new that's out there, Right. In terms of wellness, whenever we took vacations together or she went for a vacation, or I did. Yes. Spa was a big part of our ritual, Right?
[00:11:40] Speaker A: Of course.
We do our best thinking in the spa and all.
[00:11:44] Speaker C: Absolutely. So it just so happened that she was listening right. When I was talking, and my kids at that stage and point had grown up and were, you know, they're that independent that you kind of start thinking, what next? Right. JI was great as that intermediate business where it wasn't a very big. See, Duncan was a monster. You could get lost. I mean, it's a big franchise by Monster. I mean that. It's huge, complex. You know, you could get lost in there. JEI was a very, very small boutique, you know, franchise, which was perfect when I wanted to spend so much time with my kids, still be with my kids while doing my business, all that stuff. Now the next part was, what can I do that I truly am so passionate about or I love so much? Right? And she was seeing all this, right? And so she kept telling me, and this went on for, I would say, at least a year, where every time we would talk, she'd be like, sonal, you need to go. Is that a Woodhouse bar around you? You need to go check it out. And I'd be like, ah, I'm not interested. Whatever. But, you know, I went down to Charleston, and it just so happened. And I did, you know, I went to a Woodhouse bar and I did a service there, and I Fell in love. You know how you just go somewhere and you just know, oh, my God, yes, I can see myself here. I think I can do this. Right? And that's what it was. I went there and I experienced the whole Woodhouse experience. I did all the treatments and I loved every single minute of it.
[00:13:18] Speaker A: You're like, I mean, I did all the treatments in the name of research.
[00:13:22] Speaker C: Totally right. And I mean, what is there to not like about somebody pampering you? Because I was smiling by the time I came out, I was happy, I was smiling. All this good energy that was generated, you know, within me. Just imagine to do something that brings that smile to people's faces, that makes them feel so happy, so relaxed, in a much better place physically as well as mentally when they leave your place of business.
For me, like now in my 50s, to me, that is my, like, the best service.
[00:13:59] Speaker B: Hey, Daily Coach fans, if you're loving this episode, please do me a quick favor and leave me a five, 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.
[00:14:17] Speaker A: Share a little bit. In terms of the owner that was required, the person you had to be to run six Duncans and the person you get to be while you run.
[00:14:29] Speaker C: Wodehouse Bar, that person was a volley. Inexperienced, you know, novice business owner, you know, going in without having absolutely zero knowledge.
[00:14:41] Speaker A: But I'm sure you did a great job because you don't just grow, go from 1 to 6 if you weren't like figuring it out.
[00:14:48] Speaker C: Totally. No, it was like I said, I do have that Persona where, you know, what you need is truly hard work. What you need is to be ready, to be adaptable and changing to environment. Because that's what business is about, right? Every day is not going to be the same.
Some people love that cup of coffee and they may be very, very mad that, you know, they come five days a week and today's the day you forgot to put in sugar when you knew. And again, you are not personally there making that coffee. But, you know, you understand where people come from. But you know, that's the kind of business very fast paced. So it's very quick. You learn something from that, right? Which is to be that quick, that efficient, having that flexibility, you know, that adaptability to change. And that's what how to deal with employees, like how to deal with people. And you know, there's all kinds, right? You kind of have to work with every diverse group of people. So this is everything that that business taught me. Right. What JI did was the next part of business owning is how to individually talk to every parent and make them feel that their child was the most important part of their lives. Was also important to me. How I could make a difference in their child's education as well as just their overall growth. So you have to be able to talk to every single parent because I was the one who was doing everything there. I didn't have a manager. I mean, I was the director. I was the face of the business. And that's what for 10 years, that business taught me, right, Is to connect with each person on a level where they had that confidence when they saw you that their child was in good hands, that that child would definitely get something out of whatever they were doing. Now comes Woodhouse, where actually both of these, whatever I learned from both of these businesses, I'm really putting to use up here. We don't need the fast paced environment here. Nobody is in a hurry when they come to a spa. But they also want to feel like they were individually recognized, that this was something that was for them, done for them. So how do we make them feel like this was one of that signature moments or their best part of their day? If we know they're celebrating a birthday with us, which we try to ask them, or an anniversary, we do write, you know, we have lockers for them. We write their name on the lockers and we'll write happy birthday up there. When they come in, our staff will wish them, right. Happy birthday. We just see that today's your birthday, you know, like, just make that person feel good.
So everything that I learned in the previous 15 years of doing business from Dunkin to Jei, I am completely and totally using here in Wodehouse Spa, as well as learning more things. But it definitely honed me into the businesswoman that I am today.
[00:17:50] Speaker A: Amazing. Amazing. One more thing. So you went from the monster big corporate franchising, which is Dunkin, to the boutique, and then Woodhouse is probably somewhere in the middle because it's backed by Radiance brands, correct? Yes. So moving forward, if you had to pick your ideal franchisor, do you have a feeling like, is it in the middle? Is it the small guy or is it the big guy, do you think? It doesn't matter.
[00:18:18] Speaker C: So knowing myself, I think I would pick up the middle. The reason being that you don't want to get lost. When it is very big, you do get lost. Right. There are so many franchisees and then when it's really small you don't know where the growth is, right? For something like Woodhouse, where it is, like, you can see that they are growing. They're doing so much. And it's not just that. It's like that bond between the franchisor and the franchisee is still strong because it's not so big that the franchisor has no idea now, like, whether it's their, you know, 55th hundredth store that they have just, you know, signed up. Like, it's so big, right? It becomes a corporation.
Woodhouse is not a corporation yet.
All the franchisees pretty much know each other. So you get that bond, right? And the corporate knows us, so you get that bond with them, too. And they're willing to listen to you. They want to grow with you. They want you to grow while they are growing, which is, you know, very important at this stage, right? Because Woodhouse is not one of those inexpensive franchises. So you're putting in a lot of investment. When you are investing so much, you want to see not just the roi, you also want to see that coming from the franchisor itself, too, that it's not a numbers game anymore. They want you to grow. And I would say that Woodhouse so far definitely distinguishes itself in that aspect.
[00:19:48] Speaker A: I really love it. You know what else I love? Sonal. So a lot of times candidates will say, oh, you know, if the business is so good, why is that one for sale? Or why are those owners getting out? And what's so obvious by this story is just how a business suited you at different stages of your life. Nothing wrong with the business.
It's that the business is a vehicle driving your life personally, professionally, and financially. And when that ride is over, you know it and you're ready to move on to the next ride. And so I want to share that message with the listeners because it's a very important message to hear. I say it to you all the time in my process, that the franchise is a vehicle, the gas in that vehicle is the clarity of your goals and dreams. And so we're not trying to fill a void in our community. We're not trying to bring the newest trendy thing to the market. We're trying to find a business that aligns with your goals. And when you've achieved those goals, sometimes you've outgrown the opportunity and you're ready for what's next. And that is what was 100% clear through this amazing journey and story that you've shared with us over the last 20 years. I mean, I love it. So I have a question for you. So you've owned three different types of franchises and we've talked about the big, the small and the middle. So are you fully sold on business ownership through franchising or can you ever imagine going out there like your mentor, friend and just doing something completely on your own? There's no right or wrong answer. I'm not judging you, I'm just asking the question.
[00:21:26] Speaker C: If I'm looking at a concept, if it is something I feel like I've generated on my own, I will always look to see if somebody has already made this into a model. Because in a franchising role, 90% of the work has already been done for you. And special event. No, I mean truly. Right. And you know what? You never know. Maybe I will find such an idea and I might want to do something with it. If you ask me right now, I think I like the franchising business. Because you know what? Somebody has already put in the effort to work out so many aspects of a business which are very, very intense and which are actually very time consuming and very, very difficult and don't really.
[00:22:09] Speaker A: Return you the money.
[00:22:10] Speaker C: Absolutely. It is not easy to set up anything on your own from scratch. There's lot of tears, lots of hard work is involved, which is involved even in a franchise. But you know what? 90% of it is worked out. If you choose a franchise that you see what their success rate is, how good they've been doing, you're not going to just jump in blindly anyways. You're going to do your research, right. To know, number one, whether it is a good fit for you. If it's a good fit, if you have the passion for it, you will automatically make it work. That's also a very big part. It's not only about making money.
It is very important that you have the passion for it, that you feel like doing it.
[00:22:52] Speaker A: Money is a result of your success. People think that money equals success and it's not true. You earn money as a result of being successful. So what she's saying is the passion for the business and serving the customer is what makes you successful. And when you're successful, then you earn money. That was awesome. Yes.
[00:23:15] Speaker C: So and then with franchising, that's the other part, right. They have already, if you see it's a success, it has been a successful winter. That's that other checkmark that you already have. Then you get the support, right? From your construction to you know where to get your goods or your materials from, to the selling aspect, every which way? They have protocols in place, they have policies in place, they guide you, they have distributions in place. So you know, there's so much of the work is already done. Why not go, go in there. So for me, I will look at franchising first versus anything else.
[00:23:51] Speaker A: I love it. I think your story is so great.
[00:23:54] Speaker C: That's just my take on it. Yeah.
[00:23:56] Speaker A: Yes. That's why we're here. We want to hear your take on it. I think it's amazing. And I just want to like hug your husband for like buying a Dunkin Donuts on a whim one night at a Little west conference that he went to. And it changed the trajectory of your life. And like you said in the beginning, the reason I asked the question of how did you get into franchising is the very common question that's asked in franchising is how did franchising find you? Because not too many people wake up and say, oh yeah, I want to own a franchise, right? Like nobody really says that. But what happens is they find themselves at a fork in the road being laid off, or they're just ready for a transition or their husband goes out and buys the franchise and then all of a sudden, voila, you're a franchisee and you got to work it out. It's such a great story. Oh my gosh, you're so inspiring and I love your friend. I love that the person closest to you in terms of that female dynamic is like so inspiring to you. I mean, how blessed you are. All of us wish we need those people because the people we surround ourselves with do matter. And that is actually a part of a beneficial part of being in a franchise is that you do have this community of other business owners, like minded people working out the same challenges, going through the same day to day life as you. And so you can really find your friendships and those people that you want to be influencers in your life, role models in your life from within your franchise. If you're fortunate enough to find be a part of a company that has franchisees maybe that are a little bit ahead of you, you know, maybe they're the top performer and you aspire to be that. And so you saddle up next to them and befriend them and just sort of grow alongside of them. That's a huge benefit to franchisepreneurship that entrepreneurship out there all alone on your own little island doesn't really allow for. And you need to find those mentors sort of on your own. So this is just such an inspiring, inspiring Story. Thank you so much for sharing. I want to ask you one more question before we wrap this up. I ask all of my interviewees.
So you've been doing this now for 20 years, and like you said, you didn't find it. It sort of found you through your husband. And here you are 20 years later. So for that listener who may just be turning on Kim Daily TV for the first time today, and this is the first thing they're hearing about franchising, and they're thinking, wow, should I do it? Shouldn't I do it? What advice do you have for that listener?
[00:26:27] Speaker C: I say do it.
I say if you feel like this is something that has always been there in your mind, it's not just about being your own boss, but just creating something and being there for yourself and making something out of it, too, making money along the way, do it. Definitely do your research fully on and then go in. Work hard. You will be successful.
[00:26:52] Speaker A: I love that advice. So for those who are ready to take her advice, well, you know that Kim Daly wants to be your franchise consultant and your daily coach. So please follow the link in the description right now because I can't wait to meet you. So now, thank you so much for being our wonderful, amazing, and inspiring guest here today.
[00:27:13] Speaker C: Thank you so much, Kim. It was really fun talking to you.
[00:27:16] Speaker A: Really fun to listen to you. So until next time, please don't forget that my name is Kim Daly and I want to be your daily coach.
[00:27:26] Speaker B: 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.
