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 gonna 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.
Welcome back to Create wealth through Franchising podcast and Kim Daily tv. In my studio today, a lovely woman who I actually got to meet at her convention earlier this year.
[00:00:54] Speaker B: Who?
[00:00:55] Speaker A: Her name is Jennifer Lyons. She's a franchisee with Art of Drawers and she's here to inspire us with her story. Jennifer, welcome to the studio of Kim Daly tv.
[00:01:05] Speaker B: Hi. Thank you for having me. Good to see you again.
[00:01:08] Speaker A: So fun to see you again. Yes. And thank you for donating some time to the cause to inspire my listeners, my followers. I have an audience, Jennifer, of people who I've placed into franchises who just love to remain inspired, who love the coaching that I offer through the podcast. But I also have a lot of followers who are still on the sideline and we want to inspire those people to get in the game. So let's go back all the way to the beginning of your story. What was happening in your life when you answered the call to franchising?
[00:01:40] Speaker B: Yeah, of course. So I actually was a stay at home mom for many years. So I had this probably eight year career break where I was parenting little ones. And when I decided to get back into the working world, I had a little stint in the corporate world.
And what I found re entering the corporate world is I felt like I was a step behind. I took a career break. So it almost, it had me feeling like I was playing catch up.
And I'll tell you, the corporate stint lasted about six months. During that time, we coincidentally ran into a franchise consultant. And the second we were introduced to it, you know, it was kind of addicting. You wanted more information. I'm just gathering information. But we kept going further and further. So I short answer was I had a career break, I was looking for my next chapter. And we ran into a franchise consultant that kind of introduced us to this, our new chapter we were looking for.
[00:02:39] Speaker A: So good. I love that you used a franchise consultant. So what, what industry were you in? And when you went back, did you go back to the same kind of.
[00:02:47] Speaker B: Like, quote job a little bit. So I actually Worked for a startup company many years ago selling software. And since it was a startup, I wore a lot of hats from you know, client success, account management, a lot of B2B sales, things like that. And I loved it. I didn't think I was going to step away but you know, life had other plans.
So I was always attracted to business in general. And then when I returned back to the working world, like I mentioned, it's kind of hard to take that long of a break and get back. Obviously you can't go back to where you left off. So I ended up doing an executive assistant position which again I also loved in its own way. I was very lucky to have a really good boss, but something was falling short. I had a really hard work ethic, I had a lot of ambition, but it was almost misplaced placed. I felt like it was kind of getting wasted away which kind of had me and I being left open another direction.
[00:03:44] Speaker A: Yeah. And tell us a little bit about the emotional side of like eight years, you know, getting to be with your kids. And then I guess they were grown up now they were in school. So now you had free time and that's why you went back to work. But like even just like the freedom and flexibility you enjoyed with as being a mom and to stepping back into that corporate rigamarole and like getting dressed every day to go to work, all the things that like you don't really, we don't think about, then we're like, oh my God, I didn't have to do that for eight years.
[00:04:15] Speaker B: Honestly, it shook everything up. I think the whole family was used to me being home operating things. And by the way, I have the most respects for stay at home moms of young ones especially, it is a hard job. But when I entered back into the working world, commuting, you know, to Dallas, it just kind of, it shook up the dynamic at home a little bit. I think everyone kind of missed me a little bit but you know, we all kind of found the new normal.
But I think being used to being at home and kind of controlling things, I was wanting something I can control and call mine and do it my way versus just commuting, doing someone else's work, coming back home.
So it was, it was a scary thought for sure. It was one a scary thought to go back to working after so long and then even scarier thought of okay, I'm going to go from a stay at home parent to owning my own business.
I felt a sense of like having to prove myself.
[00:05:10] Speaker A: Yeah, and your husband was Supportive of the idea of you starting a business? Like. Or was he just like. No, we're really just gathering information.
[00:05:17] Speaker B: Oh, actually, funny story. So a little side fact. My husband actually used to play professional baseball. So when I had my career break, we were traveling and his career was our focus. And when he retired, that's when we shifted and I was like, okay, what do I want to do next?
And it actually was him. I was working at my corporate job for that six month stint. He's the one that ran into a franchise consultant and he actually initiated the conversation, filled out the questionnaire, had multiple rounds of conversations for me. I always talked about it in the background, all those years of being interested in it.
So he actually started it with the idea in mind that it would be something I would do. So he was giving me the nudge. I think I need it. Because I was like, I just started a new job, why would I quit so quick? That's not me.
But very quickly down the road, I knew I was getting more passionate about that than what I was doing day to day at the time. So yeah, he was. It was his due.
[00:06:18] Speaker A: It's amazing. You're so lucky to have like the support of your husband in that regard. So did the franchise consultant build the model for you or for him? Like, did Art of Drawers come up in that model?
[00:06:30] Speaker B: It did. So he, my husband did a really good job that.
[00:06:33] Speaker A: Because I'm pretty much guessing that like for a baseball player, professional baseball player, Art of Drawers was not going to be at the top of the list.
[00:06:41] Speaker B: No, he, from. He had just found his new chapter, so his next job and he was getting started there. And so this conversation from the get go, he said, this is for my wife. It's something she always wanted to do. I'm just kind of getting her started.
And you know, he's always, he was involved every step of the way in making a decision and kind of implementing things. And then as we went, he kind of took a step back. He's got his focus and starting our drawers is my focus. So.
[00:07:08] Speaker A: And what were the characteristics that he said to the consultant or what were the things in your head that you're like, if I ever owned a business, I would want it to be like this. What were some of those characteristics that eventually led that consultant to serve up the company that you're in?
[00:07:23] Speaker B: Yeah, it's interesting. I wish he was here to answer that.
I think we were kind of drawn to the in home service industry, but also the idea of being a newer brand versus a More established one. There's pros and cons to both.
And so I think we like the idea of new. We selfishly really wanted a good territory in Dallas, which is hard to come by, which also steers you towards new. So I think. And I think he eliminated like, food industry right away. So it's some of these, like, key indicators in the beginning. And Art of Drawers was actually the first one that was presented to us. It was number one. Yeah.
[00:08:00] Speaker A: So you don't have any interior design background or love or like, say, hey, I just love organizing spaces. Nothing like that came up.
[00:08:08] Speaker B: No, actually I don't. I am more like a business person. That is the side that was attracted to me and. And thankfully the design part, in home consultations, that part can be taught. You can be good at it, you can get there.
[00:08:21] Speaker A: You're partnered with like an amazing, amazing franchisor.
[00:08:24] Speaker B: So, yeah, they help a lot. A lot of training was provided to help me get there.
[00:08:28] Speaker A: I also think, like, connecting your dots, like working in a startup, wearing many hats.
[00:08:34] Speaker B: Yes.
[00:08:34] Speaker A: Right. Might also like that sort of serves you well as a young business owner. Right. Where you definitely wear many hats in the beginning.
[00:08:43] Speaker B: Yeah, honestly, it did. Like, I saw all parts of that startup business and I think that's what kind of kept me intrigued all those years. Because even the time that I wasn't working, I would, looking back now especially, I'd find myself like driving by an Orange Theory and looking up Orange Theory franchise or whichever one I saw, I was always in the back of my mind. So I think starting my career and seeing so many sides of a business and how they all work together stuck with me all those years and I do think the foundation helped. I will tell you, when I got started with Arter Drawers, I had imposter syndrome. I felt like I had to cut again, approve myself a little bit, but it's honestly what fueled me. So it worked out well.
[00:09:27] Speaker A: So good. I think that's a very common thing, though. I think that's a great way to say it, the imposter syndrome, because you literally are morphing into a whole new identity. I'm a business owner now. Right. If you just do the logical or intellectual work of exploring a franchise, but you don't embody the belief that, like, you can do it and, like, see yourself as that successful business owner, you're going to look at franchises forever and, quote, never find the right one.
It's not because the right business doesn't exist. It's because you're not allowing yourself to to do the. The deeper work of self identity, which is what will actually help you cross that threshold and, you know, be able to say yes. Because you're literally overriding your biology to say yes. Because our biology in our body is built for survival, and survival means everything has to be familiar. Everything has to be the same. So that's part of that imposter syndrome, right? It's like you're, like, stepping out and saying, no, I'm a business owner. But you have no proof in your physical reality yet that you're a business owner, but you're calling yourself a business owner. So every cell in your body is going to scream, no, you're not. No, you're not. Right? And it's going to show you how uncomfortable that is. Only because the body's job is to survive the wild.
So anything unfamiliar is unknown, and the unknown is scary.
So this is me again as a mindset coach, where I'm teaching people, you got to recognize fear for what it is, where it's coming from, understand it, put your arm around it and be like, I hear you. I see you. But no, we are stepping out into the unknown because I don't want to stay the same. I don't want to be in my comfort zone. I want to stretch. There are no fears. There's no threat in the unknown. Right? It's all a lie that our bodies tell us. And so congratulations on stepping through that threshold. Now, how long have you been a franchisee?
[00:11:25] Speaker B: It's probably been. I started January of 2024, so about a year and a half.
[00:11:29] Speaker A: So you're off and running. So tell us, let's leap on that imposter syndrome. Like, how long do you think you had to go, and I'm assuming it's over now before you really, like, felt like you could fully own the title of, hey, no, I'm a business owner.
[00:11:43] Speaker B: You know, it happens pretty quick. I mean, you said it, right? You're scared in the beginning. You have to have a belief in yourself to even do it. I did say loud. I told at Discovery Day, if I do this, I will have imposter syndrome. And they talked me out of it.
And it was actually quick. I mean, three months, and you feel like an expert because really, there's no one else like you pouring everything in to learning the industry, learning customers and the operations, the marketing. So I would say three months in, and I felt. Not like I was done learning, but I had a grasp. I knew enough that I knew more. More than the common person that I run into about custom cabinetry.
[00:12:24] Speaker A: So be also part of like buying down that learning curve of starting a business because you partnered yourself with some amazing people. Right. So a little commercial interruption on that one because that's really the greatest value that a good franchise consultant can offer to you in your process is helping you to align to the right franchisors, not the right widgets. Right. You didn't hear her say, yes, I was in love with interior design. I was really love in love with organizing spaces. I. It was the business model. It was home services.
That's. And she had a really, really, really solid franchisor. So there's a lot of franchisors out there.
Most of them are not worth your hard earned life saving. Sadly, you shouldn't be their guinea pig. So while there are emerging brands where it's. You're not really a guinea pig like the one she's in because the founder started another business just like this that today is like a national franchise. He, you know, he like waited his non compete, kept some of the intellectual property that he created and he's now building his like second dream home. Right. With all the learnings of his first endeavor. And so it's an emerging brand. Yes. But is it an emerging brand?
[00:13:29] Speaker B: No. Right.
[00:13:30] Speaker A: Because it's built on the foundation of an already very, very well established national franchise brand in the exact same industry. So this is where a good franchise consultant can meet you and understand like, okay, you're going to thrive in a more emerging option. Or like Jennifer said so well, because Dallas was the number one market I played in for 18 of my 23 years for lead gen and a hundred percent what you said is so true. Especially if you want Frisco, Plano, McKinney, you better be on the emerging side. Because any company that has any kind of track record, those three markets will be sold out. Is that where you live?
[00:14:07] Speaker B: Yeah. Yeah. And that's the market I have too.
[00:14:10] Speaker A: Dallas is like the number one market in the country for franchising anything that like they could have no franchisees, they could have five in Dallas, McKinney, Frisco, Plano will be sold, will be one of those five. Right. So like you have to be on that emerging emerging side if you live in certain markets. But also there are certain personalities like my personality. I would drown in a company that had, you know, 2,000 franchises and I'm a number and everything is so systematized that I don't get to bring anything of Kim to the model. Like that's just not my Comfort zone, like, that doesn't make. That doesn't fulfill me. It's not a comfort zone thing, it's a passion thing. But for a nervous, let's say, accountant who's really stretching themselves to start a business or an engineer, right, Personalities that are more introverted or just, like, less risk aver, like, more risk averse, they're going to die in an emerging brand where there's not a lot of proof and there's not a lot of data to grab onto. And so part of using the consultant is having the person like me who understands the landscape and what all of the options are and knows how to assess who you are as an investor and can create alignment there.
[00:15:24] Speaker B: He was great.
He presented us multiple options. And even when I was drawn to Artadore's first, he pushed me to go through the process. And we played devil's advocate a little bit to make sure I thought everything through. Because you can kind of first glance, look at the flashy thing and go towards it. And he kind of pulls me back in of like, no, no, no, let's look deeper. Let's consider this, look at this to where by the end of it, you feel really good about your decision, you have other things to compare to and you've done your due diligence. And then you feel more confident by the end of it, you're like, okay, come on, when are we moving forward? I'm ready to start.
[00:15:58] Speaker A: Amazing. I love that. And it's so true.
You can't say yes confidently if you haven't said no. Right? The no helps to clarify what you're actually most interested in. That's why very, very rarely, you know, if someone's like, I only want to look at one, I'm like, that's not. The process isn't going to work. Right? And then there are other people who are like, no, I want to look at 10 or more. And I'm like, that process isn't going to work. Trust me. I have 23 years of experience, right? If you're asking me for help, like, you might just want to follow my lead on this one. Because, like, I know, like, the magic number is about four options that we can compare and contrast, and you can very quickly eliminate one, maybe two, then you have two or three that you can track and you can compare and contrast the characteristics, the leadership, the confidence that's conveyed to you, like, all the different variables. So good for you. Okay, so you're a year and a half in, you're way past your honeymoon period. So what advice? Like, what are some of the things you've learned about yourself? I always say that business ownership is, it's the best personal development playground there is for adults. Like, it's a chance for you to level up against you and see what you're made of and see what your weaknesses are, decide how much you want to grow and how much you don't want to grow. And nobody gets to judge. You're. You're the only judge and jury. So what? You're laughing. So I think you're, you're on my wavelength. So tell me, like, what are some of the awarenesses you've had in your own personal growth journey of morphing into successful business owner?
[00:17:25] Speaker B: Yeah, well, it's an ongoing journey. You're never done.
Honestly, I think I learned about myself. I have a little more grit than I realized, which I think is important for a business owner because, you know, things don't always go perfectly. Things break, things don't go as according to plan and it's how you handle it and adapt and push forward and don't think it's the end of the world.
So, yeah, I would think. I think I look back and realize kind of proud, like, look what I've done. And I think it took a little more grit than I realized to not, not just keep going forward.
[00:18:00] Speaker A: Do you think that some of that grit. I have two angles. One, from your competitive, athletic husband and two, because you're a mom.
It takes grit to be a mom.
[00:18:14] Speaker B: Honestly, that one hard thing just don't bother you anymore. You're just like, what's the challenge? Okay, let's go.
[00:18:22] Speaker A: Bring it, baby.
[00:18:23] Speaker B: Yeah, come on. And that.
[00:18:25] Speaker A: I got three sick kids. I can do anything.
[00:18:27] Speaker B: I, I slept a little last night. We're good now.
[00:18:30] Speaker A: You're like, you, you can't bring me down on that one. You can try, but that isn't going to take me down. That's amazing. Like, I think that there's a lot of stay at home moms who, like you, find themselves at that place where it's like, oh, I have a lot of free time. I could contribute to our finances. I could do something meaningful for me where I'm not just mom and wife and, you know, caretaker to all. And so they think about it, but they might shrink back feeling like, I don't have the skills, I don't have an mba. I've never owned a business. So let's speak a little bit to those. I mean, you already have in terms of like, yeah, it's real Imposter syndrome. Right. Because I was maybe your thought, I'm just a mom, right? I've been a mom for eight years. Who do I think I can be to be a business owner within 90 days? You're moving past that because you had the right franchisor beside you, guiding you, leading you, teaching you. So what else? Are there other things that you could say to those stay at home moms who might be holding themselves back, thinking, I can't go do that?
[00:19:25] Speaker B: I would say you can.
I kind of got stuck in this thought of I didn't want to become complacent. Like, if I was getting too comfortable, which at that point, kids get older, they move on your purpose and needs kind of shift and change.
And I didn't want to be complacent. I found myself thinking, I need to step outside the box. I need to do something that makes me feel uncomfortable. And this was something that inner voice inside me that always was interested in. And then with a nudge from my husband, we did it. But kind of part two of that, I will say, evaluating different franchises and comparing it was really when we got to Discovery Day and meeting the people, the franchisor, that kind of helps bring it all together because for me, you know, I knew I was going to need them, I was going to lean on them for their support and, you know, training and teach. And I need someone who can answer my questions in the beginning. And so I needed a group that I felt comfortable with. So they were kind of the last missing piece was meeting the team in person. That kind of got me there.
[00:20:27] Speaker A: That's really good. It's very well said. The Meet the Team Day experience is really the culmination of your entire discovery process, where you and the leadership of the team get to be face to face. Sometimes it's over, zoom. Sometimes it's a live event, but either way, it's an opportunity for you to really get to know your partners and for your partners to really get to know you. Because at the end of the day, when you say yes to a franchise, that's what you're buying is a partnership. If you want to go do it on your own, go be an entrepreneur. But as a franchisepreneur, you're buying down the learning curve of starting a business by partnering yourself with people who have experience, who can lend that experience and lend ideas to you and lend support to you so you're not out there trying to figure it out on your own and do it for yourself. So we use that very cliched Expression, you're in business for yourself, but not by yourself. And that meet the team day is kind of like seals the deal.
[00:21:22] Speaker B: It does. It did for us for sure.
[00:21:25] Speaker A: When you think about the future of your business, okay, you're. You're a year and a half in. Do you have one territory, multiple territories? Do you look forward to expansion?
How have you has your thoughts? I guess I'm gonna like, it's a lot of questions, but like, you can answer the one you want. Have your thoughts about what's possible shifted in from the time you started to where you are today. And like, how does that shift what you see in the future?
[00:21:50] Speaker B: Yeah.
So we initially started with three territories and six months in, we got another free. I saw the vision quickly.
I love the brand and believed in it. And once I started working in it, I wanted to secure an area that I knew I could be successful in. So one, we already expanded a little bit, but two, a year and a half and we're still babies. So the part that excites me is we've just barely gotten started. I feel like we've scratched the surface as a brand.
We're, you know, still evolving and making improvements and changing. And I can't wait to see it is in three, four, five years when Art of Drawers is more of a household name, it's more recognizable. You know, all of us working together to get the brand out there. I think there's. It still excites me. I think there we have not nowhere close to hitting the ceiling. Like I said, we're just babies. So the opportunity that's still there excites me. So I have the territory. I'm ready to go now.
[00:22:49] Speaker A: Has the size of your financial goal moved since you started?
[00:22:54] Speaker B: Yes, it has.
You start or difference in personality. But you can start low because you don't want to fail. You know, that's scary. And then as you get into it, you start raising your bar higher and higher and higher and it goes back to, you don't want to be complacent. So. So if I was getting comfortable, it's probably time to take up the goal again.
[00:23:12] Speaker A: And so when you started this, you envisioned having a small team, I guess with six territories. Will it still be a small team at the end of that or a much more substantial business now?
[00:23:22] Speaker B: I envision a much bigger team. I have stayed small so far.
I felt the need to kind of jump in and learn the day to day myself. I wanted to be the expert in every role where every hat and now yearn happen I'm building out that team and I hope to continue to grow it now that I can coach and teach the way I want to.
So that's actually a big goal, is to build up more of a team and I'll take a little step back and kind of manage a bigger picture operation.
[00:23:50] Speaker A: The most amazing thing, you dare to follow your dream and look at the lives that you're impacting because you're going to create these jobs. You're going to get to be this amazing boss that these employees just love to work for and who knows, set them on a trajectory that's different because you dared to follow your dream. Like when people are like, I want to build a legacy, I'm like, initially we think the legacy is the business we're going to pass to our kids. But there's so much more to the term legacy. Right? And let's, before I ask you the final question about your advice, let's bring it back to the legacy, to your family. So talk a little bit about what so you said the family was a little rocked when you went to corporate America, right? So I'm sure they were rocked again when mom started a business. But tell us a little bit about the how you have found like, kind of a balance between work and life now that you're a business owner and how that feels and like what you feel you're showing your children because you're following your dreams.
[00:24:48] Speaker B: I love that question. One wouldn't be able to do it with my husband. We tagged tag team things at home so it wouldn't be possible without him. And my kids are still really young, but I love it. They pretend to sell drawers now. They'll get in my kit. They make drawings, they're designing.
They know what business owner is. They know entrepreneurship is when they have kind of bring someone to from work, career day at school, they're bringing mom and talking about running and owning your own business. So their, their expectations and their dreams are just kind of getting bigger and bigger and they, they see how hard I work and I think that's getting instilled in them. I could go on and on. Mine are still pretty little. So I love that they're seeing me be passionate about something, work at it, and they're copying me. They're trying to, you know, sell drawers. It's actually very sweet and endearing.
[00:25:40] Speaker A: Well, other kids are out there dreaming of becoming nurses and firemen. Jennifer's kids are learning how to like. Alan Young will love to hear that. Right? The founder of, of Art of Drawers. Right. Like these are entrepreneurs in the making for the future years. Alan Young. Right. Because you, because mom dared to do it. And you know what, Jennifer, My story is exactly the same. I have two boys, they're now 18 and 19 years old and they both are, you know, planning on. One of them's in college studying business, the other one wants to be in college studying business. They both want to work with mom for mom. They both are so proud and to, you know, I have swag. Kim Daily TV swag. And all of their friends wear my merch. And they, they love promoting their mom. And it's the greatest testimony because when we say as parents, you know, our kids don't do what we ask them to do, they do what they see us do and that's what is happening. They role model us. And so the legacy that you're actually building for your kids is the role model that you become when you dare to follow your dreams. And I couldn't have said it any better than you just said it was awesome. Congratulations to your whole family because that's a game changer. You literally forever change your kids lives. Well, you're amazing and such a pleasure again to see you again and to have you in my studio and thank you for sharing your story. I never end an interview though, without asking you the question of. For those listeners who are on the sideline who haven't yet taken the leap, maybe they're a stay at home mom listening to this and they talk themselves out of it a hundred times. Or maybe they're in a cubicle listening in their ears thinking, I got to get out of this 9 to 5 job. How do I change my life? Wherever they are, what advice do you have that might inspire them to get in the game of business ownership through Kim Daly?
[00:27:23] Speaker B: Yeah, great question. There's a lot. Um, I think if you're even thinking about doing it, keep going down the road, get more information, go through the process. If you're even thinking about it, you should do it. Just take the risk, get to the other side. Most people, it's the thought of failure that keeps you there.
But from my experience, just work really hard every day, follow the process, trust the process and work really hard. And failure, failure won't be an option. So I say do it. Kind of cross over to the other side.
[00:27:54] Speaker A: So good. And I think one of the key things that going all the way back to the beginning of the interview and you're, you're, you and your husband said you were just gathering information like that's where the conversation should begin. Nobody knows if this is the right thing for you. Right. So you have to gather the information. And I always say, like, investing in a franchise is the logical thing to do when you've asked enough questions and you're satisfied with enough of the answers.
[00:28:21] Speaker B: Right.
[00:28:22] Speaker A: If you're trying to get to I'm going to buy a franchise, but you haven't even asked any questions, of course you're going to talk yourself out of it because you don't even know There's a big gap there. We got to build a bridge of belief. And the bridge of belief comes by asking questions and staying open. And as she said, interviewing or discovering, exploring multiple franchises, you can compare and contrast the nuances because it's not about finding the perfect widget. It's about finding the perfect people that give you the trust that you need and the partnership that you need to feel comfortable that when you take their hand, they can lead you down a really good place to a place of success.
So thank you so much for that wonderful advice. Thank you for being our special guest here today. Jennifer, it's a pleasure to see you.
[00:29:04] Speaker B: Thank you for having me. It's good to see you, too.
[00:29:07] Speaker A: Thank you, thank you, thank you. And I hope you'll join me in the Z suite. Okay, so for those who are ready to begin your journey, you know, this is your call to action. Kim Daly wants to be your franchise consultant and your daily mindset coach. So please follow the link in the description right now because I can't wait to meet you.
You can find more content just like this on my YouTube channel @kim. Kimdaily TV. And if you're inspired to take the next step to explore franchises matched to you, please email me right now at inquire at KimDaily TV. That's inquire at KimDaily TV.
