Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Welcome to Create Wealth Through Franchising. I'm your host, Kim Daly.
Whether you're a CEO, a military vet, a real estate investor, or simply in career transition and ready to take ownership of your future, with each episode, you're going to learn valuable insights and hear inspiring stories from within the franchise industry.
On that note, my guest stories are their own. And as a franchise consultant, I do not make personal brand endorsements or earnings claims, but I do educate, motivate, and inspire dreams.
Now onto the show.
[00:00:44] Speaker B: Welcome back to Create Wealth Through Franchising podcast and Kim Daily TV in my studio today. He's a longtime friend. He's a franchisee. His name is Jody Donaldson from Raleigh, North Carolina. Jody, welcome to the studio of Kim Daly tv.
[00:01:03] Speaker C: Thank you for having me. I'm looking forward to today's conversation.
[00:01:06] Speaker B: Oh, my gosh. We have been trying to plan this for so long. So, ladies and gentlemen, guys and gals, followers of Kim Daly, one of my all time favorite candidates, now franchisee, I'm gonna call him a goat, but I got a couple of other goats. So he's in the top group and there's a reason for that. And you're going to get to know him and you're going to know exactly why. So Jody's here to share his inspiring story of why he loves the franchise model, what he's trying to build in his life using franchises, and why he keeps pestering Kim Daly about becoming a franchise consultant. So we're going to start all the way back with his government job and he's going to tell us, Jody, what was happening in your life when you first decided, I want to do something different with my life?
[00:01:53] Speaker C: Yeah, that's a great question. And so just going back a little bit, I'll share with you. So I started out in government work, out of college in law enforcement and public safety. And so, you know, you hear that, folks? And my parents said the same thing. You know, you got to get a good government job, get a pension, and it's kind of the golden handcuffs, right? They did with the best they, with the knowledge that they had then, right? So that was that generation. You get a good, stable job, get a pension, work your 30 years. Early on my career, I have been like this entrepreneur inside for my whole life. Like I mowed lawns when I was in high school and just always trying to work for myself and create opportunities that maybe others did. And so after so many years in that I got into real estate in Northern Virginia. Man, I ran a real estate business for a long Time I left my government stable job to get into real estate, it was a shift in mindset for me to understand that I've got to do this for me and I've got to create this opportunity because it's something that's burning inside. So it wasn't anything wrong with the job necessarily. It wasn't anything wrong with the work that I was doing. I was a public servant. I loved being able to help other people. That's why I got into law enforcement. And so when I decided to step away to get into real estate, I did get a lot of folks that were like, you're crazy, you're going 100% commission job, a stable W2 with a pension. And so that was a tough thing to get through at the time. Right. It was an obstacle that I had to overcome within my mind, within my confidence to know that, hey, I can do this. I went to school, I majored in business, got my master's degree, I know marketing, I could do this. And so long story short, 14, 15 years of that full time, provided for my family, had a great run. And then we had the opportunity to move as my youngest went off to college and moved down to North Carolina. So real estate business kind of starting over, but in a new area, didn't know anybody. And then I decided, is this really what I want to do? And it made me think. And I've always been into health and wellness and physical fitness. I love working out. It's my pros act. Like I just love getting that for my own well being. And so I started toying with the idea of maybe franchise is where I want to be. It's a stable game plan. You have a team that's already done a proven model. And so I really just started down that road. I came across on social media somebody named Kim Daly as a coach, watched a couple videos. I was like, man, this person's personality, he's out there. Is it crazy? Inspiring, motivating, happy. It got me excited and it got me thinking, you know what, I don't want to do this alone. I had previously, and I will share, looked into other franchise models in Northern Virginia when I was up there. It's overwhelming, right? So there's so many concepts, there's so many service industries. I said, I'm not going to go down that road again. That was very time consuming. Just didn't make that process very fun. And I'm like, if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it differently. And so I reached out to you and you helped guide me through that process. You met with me first, figured out was what I was looking to do. You got to know me, which I felt was super special because you weren't looking to just sell a business. You were looking to fit something with what I wanted to do and what my goals were. And then you presented many different options. We did the whole gamut.
[00:04:59] Speaker B: Plus, you're a sales guy asking me for brick and mortar fitness, and I'm like, I don't know, I want to give you brick and mortar when you can do it on sales. Yeah.
[00:05:08] Speaker C: So, you know, that was that process. Look through many of them, talk to several of them, great recommendations by you. And they were, all of them were great businesses. But it came back to what do I care about and what do I want to do and what can I see myself stepping into? Because right now, you know, I'm an owner that's hands are in it on all the days that I'm not working my W2 right now. But it's a lot of work. But what would I do if I had to step into the business is where I kept coming back to. And fitness was something that I love I can do. I used to be a certified trainer, group fitness instructor. It is something that comes natural to me and I enjoy it and I love helping other people achieve their goals and get to where they want to be. And so I thought this was the perfect fit.
[00:05:47] Speaker B: Such a good story right back to being a public servant. So you were a group instructor. Like, were you teaching like step aerobics classes in the 80s or what?
[00:05:56] Speaker C: No, but I'm not gonna lie, I do love a good step class to some good music, but no, I did boot camp fitness style stuff.
[00:06:04] Speaker B: So you are now a multi unit franchisee in fitness and personal training studio.
[00:06:10] Speaker C: Called Alloy Personal Training.
[00:06:12] Speaker B: Alloy Personal Training. My family and friends and those follow me know me, they know that I love Alloy. It's such a fantastic fit for this man. And you know what, if you're listening to this show, I have sometimes had this intuitive sense. Like sometimes the very first call when I meet you, your personality starts coming through as you talk to me about your life and about what you think you want to accomplish through a business. Sometimes I get like a download of ooh, I know exactly what I'm going to show you. And that's exactly how I felt about Jody and Alloy Personal training from the very first call. I don't know if I ever told you that. And then when I go to present companies, sometimes people Will ask me, well, which one do you like me the most? And I'll never say I have a favorite, even though I almost always know which one you're probably going to pick. Sometimes I get duped, but not too often. So anyway, it ended up exactly the way that I hoped it would go. I sort of knew it would go from the very first call with this man to. And that's just the benefit of working with someone like me who has so many years of experience. And I have literally funneled thousands of people. Like, I've created nearly 1,000 franchisees here in the US over 20 years. So think of the other thousands and thousands of people who funneled through my process who didn't say yes. Because, believe it or not, not everybody I work with buys a franchise. In fact, most people don't. So there's a lot more who haven't said yes. And that's what makes me kind of good at what I do, is I've just literally, you know, move people through my process so many times. I know exactly how it should go. So a little side plug on that. I want to go all the way back to the beginning of the conversation when your family and friends thought you were crazy because you gave up your good, steady job to go build a real estate business. And just insert a comment there that there's a lot of people listening who are shaking their heads going, yeah, I have that going on right now as I'm looking at franchises with camera. Yeah. My family and friends have literally talked me back. It's why I'm still listening to Kim and not owning a business. So if you're out there and you are trying to make a change in your life, know that those people mean well and they love you. But did you hear what Jody said? He said, I had a burning desire. It takes me back to my favorite book, Napoleon Hill, right, where he talks about the burning desire, and he had that desire. And when your family and your friends are nervous for you or trying to put their arms around you to protect you, it's because they don't know what's inside of you. Only you know what's burning inside of you. And you can't live to make other people happy. You only get one life. So you've got to be able to be brave and courageous and follow that, your own feeling. And I can definitely help you with that. And these stories just help you to know that other people had that same kind of resistance in their close circle and somehow push through. And what happens once you were successful in real estate, did anybody question what you were doing?
[00:09:17] Speaker C: Not a one.
[00:09:18] Speaker B: But it's true, right? It's like anything great that was ever accomplished. Any crazy invention. Think of the inventor who put time into that, whose family and friends were like, what are you doing trying to make an airplane fly or a car that runs, you know, without a horse? Like, these people were crazy until they weren't. You have to be willing to go down your own path and beat to your own drum and use people like Kim Daly and listen to shows like Create wealth and Kim Daily TV to be inspired. That it's all a normal part of the process. Those people, they're not ill meaning, they have good intentions. They just don't have the same dreams you or the same dreams at all that are in you. So you have to push through that. And so you did it. You started a real estate business. So let's now talk about some of the things that you've learned. So in your real estate business, did you start that from scratch? Was that more of an entrepreneurial venture where you had to sort of make it up as you went? And if so, I'd like to compare and contrast sort of what you're now gleaning from the franchisepreneurship path that is advantageous or different than what you did in the past?
[00:10:29] Speaker C: Great question. And so switching over to real estate was fully your. A hundred percent commission. Got my license. I was affiliated with a brokerage. They have game plans and templates, but it's all on you. It's all making the connections, you know, working your sphere of influence, going to BNI groups or chambers and trying to build relationships. Fortunately, I grew up in that area, lived there my whole life. So I had a big network of people which helped launch my business because they knew me, they knew what I was doing, they knew what I was about, and that helped really get me going. But there was no set playbook. There are real estate coaches. Not all of them are great. I'm a lifelong learner, and I always want to be learning. So I have the saying, it's like, always be learning ABL is what I call it. And so on my own, seeked out folks that I saw, you know, doing things that I liked, learned their model, talk to other people that I'm like, hey, I like what you're doing, and took bits and pieces and kind of formulated what worked for me and what I wanted to do in my business.
[00:11:30] Speaker B: I love it. And in the meantime, what is your wife doing? Is she just like a deer in A headlights around your energy.
[00:11:37] Speaker C: My wife, 100% supportive with every venture that I've gone on and is just got the biggest heart. She is a public servant in her world and does her work but a hundred percent supportive of what I wanted to do to this day still, still continues to support me in these ventures.
[00:11:54] Speaker B: Does she share the love of owning a business or is she like that's all you babe.
[00:12:00] Speaker C: She shares the excitement I think that I put off and is supportive of that. But she is a introvert that extroverts herself all day at work and then is tired. And so I think for her she's like, hey, I'm 100% in, I'm on it. And that's you. So that's where it's kind of been all the way along. She did real estate for a short period of time when the kids were young and stayed home too. We kind of had like a husband, wife, tag team business for a while. It's hard raising a whole family on Both a hundred percent commission and the market fluctuates.08 was not a good year for real estate and so that kind of changed some things and priorities in our life to where she went back to government work and has been there ever since. And so that also creates a little bit of stability for me to go off and look at these other opportunities to help create a legacy for my family and do the things that I want to do in my day to day. So.
[00:12:51] Speaker B: And what are those things that you want to do?
[00:12:53] Speaker C: I get excited every day about what's next and what does it look like. Maybe it's undiagnosed adhd, I don't know. But it's just something that's super. I get excited about, you know, the opportunities. Some people just are fearful, they're risk adverse, they don't want to take chances. I wouldn't say that I'm super risky or I want to, you know, blow it all, but I do calculated research. I don't try to get frozen, you know, a paralysis by analysis. I try not to get there. I'll do enough to make me feel comfortable with my decision and then I'm going to go for it. So. And that's kind of what we did in this, is that with your help. We did a lot of research. You said several people ask you what's your favorite? I know I asked you that because I say let's just cut to the chase. What do you like? What do we want?
[00:13:37] Speaker B: The pressure's on me to make the choice for you. And then if I'm wrong, you're gonna be like, she told me to do it.
[00:13:42] Speaker C: I mean, we need a scapegoat. You said, no, we're not gonna do it that way. Here's your list. Here's service, here's brick and mortar, here's fitness, here's whatever concepts you're looking at. And that was super helpful because it also made me look inside and figure out if I had to step in in a day to day function and run it, where am I gonna be passionate about? You know, there are some great service, home service industry, lucrative franchise opportunities. I don't see myself in that. Right. But I could see myself jumping in and helping someone get fitter and healthier, lose weight, get on a program, because that's what I'm passionate about. And so that made it easy for me to come back to Alloy.
[00:14:19] Speaker A: Hey, Daily Coach fans, if you're ready to begin your own journey to find the perfect franchise, please email me right now at InquireimDaily TV. My services are totally free for you. That's InquireimDaily TV. Now back to the show.
[00:14:41] Speaker B: So where are you in your like stage of development? Because it's been a while, but I know brick and mortar takes a while.
[00:14:47] Speaker C: So yep, we are actually in the build out right now of our first location of the three in Raleigh. So we are hoping that mid March, April timeframe we'll have our grand opening. So we are excited. The finding a location is probably was a long part of the process and then permitting was the other part of that process that took so very long. But again, being a first time franchisee owner, Alloy had the systems in place, they had the team to help walk you through that. So for every question I had, they had an answer or could steer me in the right direction to get that. So having a commercial real estate broker, having a group to help with the construction layout, the architects and really the system that they had in place made it easy for me to say, yep, they're who I want to work with. Everybody at corporate was great. I like their personalities. They mean well, they want to help people. And this is a concept that has been proven for many years. They've been around since 1992. So it's nothing new, it's just new to franchising. And so being part of a newer brand was also super exciting.
[00:15:47] Speaker B: It's really good because a lot of times people do worry, like even from our first call, like I don't have any experience, you know, getting a lease and I'm like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. We don't have a business yet that needs a lease. So, like the whole back it up, it's one step at a time, right? You work with Kim and we'll find you the right business. Because what if you end up in a business where you get to run it from your home office, Right? So all that worry about stuff that you don't feel qualified for, don't do that. It's just a waste of your time and energy. Come to me. We'll remove the clutter, we'll dial you into the right types of concepts. And if you end up in a business that does require you to have a brick and mortar lease, chances are 99.9% of the time with Kim Daly, you're going to be talking to a franchisor who has support to guide you every step of the way. Just like Jodi just validated to you. So you are not out there on your own. You're not trying to make it up as you go along. You don't have to have the background or the experience or prior knowledge. It's all going to be given to you. This is why you want to be a franchise, right? So the support is there for you.
[00:16:51] Speaker C: Think about it. Like you just said, open a brick and mortar. The thought of that whole timeline and what's involved is overwhelming, but that's not how it goes. And I'm an impatient person usually. So for me, I was like, what about this? And what about. And it's like, once you break it down, you get the franchise agreement, the commercial brokerage you start working with, you start vetting properties and locations and territories. It really is much simpler. It's just really having the patience. It could be a long time frame. And I think that's where folks just get overwhelmed, like you said. But don't. Because each step of it is something new and you're learning and you don't have to have all the answers. I still, like, wait, I never even thought about that. Okay. But it's not a problem. It's just now I got to know, I got to do this. Right. I think that's what really also is super helpful. Getting with the right franchise and working with someone like you that can help the folks that are on the fence and scared because they look at the big picture instead of just thinking like, okay, I can do this one step at a time and it's going to be just fine.
[00:17:48] Speaker B: Thank you for saying that. It's one step at a time. Right. So your Headlights in the fog, they don't show you the entire lights. They just keep lighting up what's coming up and what's coming up. You got to think like that, right? So one stage of the process at a time. That's a first class problem you get to have if you work with Kim Daly and you actually can say yes to the franchise. So let's dial it back to you trying to be like, all right, first of all, I got to find the right franchise. Okay, so let's talk about some of the lessons. I think the internal lessons are the most important. Like, you know, every franchise is going to have its own, you know, good, better, best in terms of, like, how they train people and all that. But I think what's universal in business ownership is that this is a personal growth journey. Business ownership is the best way to grow your personal self. Like, there's no better way. Right? You're going to learn more about yourself or have to learn in order to survive in order to be successful. So you mentioned patience. Let's talk about some of the personal growth journey lessons that you're taking away from this process just so far before you even hit your soft opening.
[00:19:01] Speaker C: There's lots of them, I feel. I mean, patience has definitely been one that I've had to personally grow on and learn and kind of slow down and just embrace the process. But within slowing down and embracing that, I've learned so much. I study business in both undergrad and grad, and I gotta tell you, like, there's stuff that I'm like, I wish they would have taught us about this. Right? So the real life MBA by going through this has been super helpful. It also has built some confidence and like, okay, the stuff that I was worried about or maybe maybe just, I don't know, am I doing the right thing? Was like, I'm absolutely doing the right thing. I feel so good about where we are in this process. You know, we just hired our first director and our head coach, and they just started and thinking about each of these little milestones that you're able to check the box, okay, we did this. We did this. Like, I just get goosebumps. I just got goosebumps thinking about. Right. Because it's part of that excitement, which is what brought me here to begin with. Right? Like, it's that inside of the what I want to do, the person I want to be, the legacy I want to leave for my family, my community, my friends. That's why I'm here. And now when I'm going through these it's the personal growth inside, it's the lessons I've learned. But it's also the calming piece of like, I'm where I'm supposed to be. This is what I'm supposed to be doing. I have a great day job with great people that are passionate about making things right for the citizens they serve. Right. But I also get to do this. And this is also another passionate project that is so, so good. I just love everything about it and I feel good about where I am. And there's going to be more lessons I'm going to learn.
[00:20:36] Speaker B: Let's get to the part of you wrote a book. In the process of all of this, he comes out and he's like, yeah, I wrote a book. I'm like, oh my God, you really are like, I'm going a million miles an hour. I think I go fast. I think you go faster journey. So tell us about your book. What prompted you to want to write the book? What is the book about? And then I want to know how to find the book.
[00:20:56] Speaker C: Yep, absolutely. So the book is called the Progress Zone. It's unlocking your full potential. Find it on Amazon and I'm hope that you'll be gracious enough to put in the show notes, the links to it. If folks are interested, there are chapters. I mean, it starts with mindset, it starts with health and wellness. It goes into communications. Where it came from with me is that I've gone through a lot of leadership programs within my jobs throughout the years. I also have kids that have just gone through college. One's graduating, one's getting ready to graduate and listening to some of the struggles and things that they have with what it's going to be like to be an adult and be in the world. I just thought, like, what are all these things that I've been through that I've learned bits and pieces of that might not be like in a flowing story, but like health and wellness mindset, you know, innovation and creativity, leaving a legacy, financial literacy, all these things that I talk about in the book where things like just take a piece of that, implement it in your day to day, and over time it's going to get better. So it's really just about being persistent, taking little progress and unlocking your full potential, whether it's in relationships, in your day job, you feel stuck. You know, one of the things too that was kind of a motivation was I'm middle aged. I fit the demographic for Alloy, right. So. But you know, I talked to so many folks that are also Middle aged and they're just stuck. They just seem unhappy, they don't feel good about how they look and feel. Their head's not in the right space. They might have had struggles, but they haven't been able to get through them or didn't know where to go. And so I'll tell you, taking bits and pieces from this, I felt like these are little things that people can implement right away. It's a super short book. It's really a guide. Just pick one of those areas that you feel like you're stuck in, grab a piece of it, implement it in your day to day and hopefully there'll be some momentum, you'll feel better, you'll figure something out, whether it's in your business and you're just stuck. Take a training, push yourself. I mean that always be learning is a real thing. Like our mind can take so much and we use such a little percentage of it, right? Like it's so much and as we get older we need to continue to do that. No one of us knows everything and we're never going to know everything. But the more you can do to improve yourself, take a lesson, learn something, go to a class, learn a language. So that was really the motivation. But I'll tell you another thing is that I didn't make a big to do before it launched and then I launched it. But I've gotten such great feedback from folks and just said, you know what? I felt like this spoke to me. I'm not happy where I am. I'm struggling a little bit. This spoke to me. And so to me that was like something that I hadn't really prepared for. It just felt so wonderful that okay, this gave back to a few people. I hope it does that for folks. And it also ties into kind of what we're doing with the gym. Right? We're bringing this opportunity of personal fitness to a community. And so I'm hoping that it just kind of goes hand in hand and if we can be here to support anybody that's trying to better themselves in any way that we're that resource for them.
[00:23:53] Speaker B: So amazing. For those of you who have made it this far in the show, are you just like, I know why she's calling him a goat. Like, you're just so fun to talk to. I'm inspired by you. I love it. We will absolutely put a link to your book. I'll find it on Amazon and we'll put that in the show notes below because we want you to be successful. I want you to be Successful in everything that you're doing. Jodi, you're so great. This is just so inspiring. So we'll put the link to the book and I love that it's like, just pick a place to start and create some momentum and then it's like compound. It will start to snowball, like, as you move. Love it. That's the thing. The secrets to success, they're not really secrets. Everybody knows them. We have to be willing to like, use our will and follow through. Right. To create a new habit. And it takes time to override our paradigm. And I think the reason that there's so many middle aged people who feel stuck is because they've stopped growing, they've stopped learning, they've stopped dreaming. The whole point of life is growth. So if you're just waking up on a hamster wheel and sometimes we have to do that, we have, you know, responsibilities. But that doesn't mean you can't take a class somewhere. It doesn't mean you can't do something new outside of your comfort zone every month or every week or whatever it is to make you feel alive. Right? When I got divorced at 40 years old, I said there's two things I always wanted to do. I wanted to learn to ski. I taught myself to ski. I signed up, I went to the mountain by myself. I got a ski instructor. I did it every weekend. And then in the summer, you're gonna die. I don't even know if you know this, but I said, I'm obsessed with motorcycles. Like, obsessed. Your good friend Rick Mayo knows this. And I was like, I'm gonna get a motorcycle license. Why do I have to be on the back of the bike? Now I have my motorcycle license. But the only thing that taking that class did was convince me that I'm better off on the back with a guy who's been riding dirt bikes since he was like 5 years old. So I got more respect. That motorcycling is not for Kim Daly. But I did it. That's the whole point. I did it right. I had to reinvent myself at this time in my life. I never saw happening to me. And I did it and I'm so proud of it. And skiing is like the greatest friggin thing I ever did in my life. It's one of my most favorite things to do. And all because I stepped out of my comfort zone and decided to grow. There's so many things that I know the listeners out there are like, yes, we get it, Kim. And I want you. If you're out there and you're listening and you're thinking, I've got to own a business. Just don't make it so hard. Just email me right now. Like, let's just start the conversation, have some fun, see where it goes. And if it's not the right time, you'll figure that out pretty quickly. I'm never going to judge you for it, but you'll go away more inspired even just with the growth that will happen from the learning curve.
[00:26:43] Speaker C: Right.
[00:26:44] Speaker B: There's no shame in that. So it's all good however it works out. So, Jodi, I'm going to toss this back to you one more time. So as we wrap up this awesome episode, I would like you to share just parting words of for those people who really are on the sideline and they followed Kim Daly and they're listening, but they haven't made the move to reach out, what kind of advice do you offer?
[00:27:09] Speaker C: I love this quote. I look over here to make sure I get it right. It's from Walt Disney. And it's the way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing. And I put that in my book because all you got to do is take that first step, make that call. Like you said, if it's not the time or place or you don't have the resources at the moment, it's not the end of the world. But you took one step closer to finding out if this could be something that changes your life. Get you out of the rat race, get some spirit inside that body because there's so many zombies and, you know, cold, dark shells inside of humans that are just walking around miserable in their day to day and there's so much out there and there's so many different things. Just take that first step, Reach out to Kim. She'll help guide you through the process. Buy my book, take a step. Yeah, I mean, there's so many things we can do and I just think just do something. That's it. Just do something to make progress from the progress zone in your daily life.
[00:28:05] Speaker B: Oh, my God, that's so good. Thank you so much. You're such a blessing. God bless you. I definitely want to have you back on after you've made it maybe through a whole year, maybe by this time next year when that first location is just booming. Let's go. Jody Donaldson, let's get you back in the hot seat. Well, thank you so much for being my special guest today, for making me smile and just inspiring us all. You're amazing.
[00:28:26] Speaker C: Thank you, Kim.
[00:28:27] Speaker B: Yeah, thank you for those who are inspired themselves and ready to begin your own journey. We have given you all kinds of tips, tricks, tools, and hopefully advice, and we hope that you will take some action today. So please follow the link in the description right now and I promise I will reach out to you right away. Thank you so much for listening until the end. My name is Kim Daly and I want to be your daily coach.
[00:28:55] 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.
