362: Building a Fortune through “Boring Businesses” with Brian Beers

Show Notes

Brian’s family got into owning Midas car services centers in the late 70’s.  His dad and uncle grew it from 1 location to 6.   As Brian was getting out of college, his dad and uncle were ready to get out owning them and weren’t making much money.  They had just gone through the recession of 2008-2009 and had enough.  Brian came in and decided to take it over. He went around the country to meet other owners and learn how to make the business run better and more profitably.  He started to have success.  In 2016, his brother joined him, and they bought 2 more stores and it went from there to where he bought out his dad an uncle as well as other franchises to where they now have over 30 locations.

Talk about your business and how in a short amount of time, you’ve grown it over 500%...

One benefit of being in a franchise business is that other franchisees want to sell to other franchisees.

This kind of gives an unfair advantage as a franchisee as you are already approved, you have the systems in place, the management, a lot of economies of scale.

It is easier to scale this way and Brian focused on staying in his lane.

He keeps a network of franchisees who know he is willing to buy their franchises.

It’s not right for everyone.

For those that it is, it can be very successful.

Franchises are a brand and business in a box with all the systems already proven.

You don’t have to reinvent anything.  The job of a franchisee is all about operations and execution.

The most important piece of a franchisee is leading and training people.

95% of Brian’s efforts are focused on following the processes.

If you focus on one thing, you can be really good.  People that have their attention split between a number of things get so diluted that everything becomes just average or below average.

Franchising gives you the ability to focus as the franchise helps with many of the other areas.

Another important benefit is the strength of the community of franchisees.  You are part of a group of fellow business owners who are going through the same things as you and you can support each other.

You’ve said, “Now is the best time to buy a franchise.”  Why is that?

One is that there are many people retiring, and many franchisees are retiring and want to sell.

Franchising allows you to control your own destiny and build something for yourself.

There is no better time to start on having the life you want than now.

Franchises will teach you everything you want to know.

Home services is a great area as well as home health.  There are so many different opportunities available.

Do you think “boring” franchises are the best ones to buy?  Why?

Yes.  They are stable and consistently growing.

There isn’t a lot of disruption.

Boring businesses are also straight forward, easy to understand, and run.

They are also lower cost to entry.

At the 18:30 mark, Brian talks about verticals and specific franchises in the boring space that he likes.

Rolling Suds is a power washing business that looks good.  This vertical has a lot of unprofessionalism.  Franchisors love this because they can bring professionalism to these verticals at competitive pricing.

Best advice on how to find the best opportunities?  And what should we know about the buying process?

Franchising has a huge spectrum from fast food for millions a location down to just a few thousand dollars.

Ask yourself, why am I buying a franchise?  What am I looking for in my life?  And so on.

You can find them by searching on your own, which can be a laborious process.

Working with a broker cuts the time down and helps you to find the best opportunities that fit what you are looking for.

Talk to us about the buying process.  What should people be aware of to ensure they are successful?

The initial conversation to ensure a fit.

Then you have a meeting to go over the brand and unit economics.

You will get the FDD and proforma.  You will do a deep dive into the FDD which is really the contract of what you are signing up for.

You then go through the territory or market/location.

It is important for you to meet the franchise leadership and understand their vision.

Lastly is validation in talking to other franchisees.  It is actually better to do this toward the end after learning about the franchise.

From there, you decide.

Can anything be negotiated?

Yes, but typically franchise fees cannot be negotiated unless you are doing multiple territories.

Other items can be negotiated.

The downside protection area is important to look at as if it doesn’t work out, you can be on the hook for royalty fees – you can negotiate caps on this.  Many good franchisors will already have this.

Taking a business from hobby to empire – tell us more.

Your goal is to replace yourself at every level as you grow the business.

You want to be focused on higher value tasks hiring people that are better than you at the role you are giving up.

Best lessons learned from your entrepreneur journey so far?

Ask the question yourself, “Why not me?”  If someone else can do it, why can’t you?

We have limiting beliefs that limit ourselves to what we are capable…but if others can figure it out, so can you.

Surround yourself with people that are at or higher levels.

Masterminds are great places to learn and connect with other successful people.