The Franchise Dating Game: Finding the Perfect Match for Your Entrepreneurial Spirit, with Tim Parmeter | Restaurants & Franchises Series

Intro  

Welcome to another edition of inspired stories where leaders share their experiences so we can learn from their successes, how they’ve overcome adversity, and explore current challenges they’re facing.

Anthony Codispoti (00:35.182)
Welcome to another edition of the Inspired Stories podcast, where leaders share their experiences so we can learn from their successes and be inspired by how they’ve overcome adversity. My name is Anthony Codispode and today’s guest is Tim Parmeter, founder and CEO of FranCoach, which helps first -time business owners as well as the seasoned entrepreneur find the perfect business opportunity. They are partnered with nearly 600 franchisors spanning close to 70 industries.

Tim hosts his own podcast called Franchising 101, which you should definitely check out if you are involved in the franchising industry or are thinking about getting involved. And we’ll also find out why the letters FSO are so important to him. But before we get into all that good stuff, today’s episode is brought to you by my company, Adback Benefits Agency, where we offer very specific and unique employee benefits that are both great for your team and fiscally optimized for your bottom line.

One recent client was able to save over $900 per employee per year by implementing one of our proprietary programs. Results vary for each company and some organizations may not be eligible. To find out if your company qualifies, contact us today at addbackbenefitsagency .com. Now, back to our guest today, the CEO and founder of FranCoach, Tim, I appreciate you making the time to share your story today.

Tim Parmeter (01:56.633)
Anthony, thanks so much for having me on. I appreciate it.

Anthony Codispoti (01:59.372)
So Tim, how is it that you found yourself in the franchising space?

Tim Parmeter (02:04.025)
probably I can tell the answer that with two words and it’s the two words that basically sum up anything positive in my life. Dumb luck, was just, I, and I, like a lot of, of our clients that were, I was working in the corporate world, just, just because, right. I don’t know that I was particularly happy. It wasn’t particularly unhappy, but, the office that I was working in,

Anthony Codispoti (02:14.861)
I love it.

Tim Parmeter (02:32.889)
basically got shut down to the person we were working for. They committed a little fraud. Apparently that’s not something you should be doing in the financial services industry. And so like our whole office was in a transition. And so there I am basically like, my gosh, what’s next? And really just, I didn’t know anything about franchising at all. I just kind of stumbled upon.

Anthony Codispoti (02:40.107)
Mmm.

Tim Parmeter (03:00.793)
kind of what this could be and was really at a point where I’m like, I am done working for anybody else. If there’s anything that I’m gonna do, I trust me more than anybody else. So I kind of, I really, I didn’t know anything about it. I just like, just jumped in and was hoping like crazy my skillset aligned with it and that it worked out and you know, 10 plus years later, it’s.

Here we are, so it hasn’t been a complete failure to this point.

Anthony Codispoti (03:32.683)
So was your first foray into any kind of exposure to the franchise world starting your own company?

Tim Parmeter (03:40.057)
Yes. Yeah. I mean, I really knew nothing about it from a background standpoint. Worked in the corporate world for a while, but always kind of in like a recruiting situation, recruiting and training. And then prior to that, I’d worked in higher ed. I’d been literally a teacher and a coach. So my brain works like, let me teach you, let me coach you. Right. And also I can kind of find you to come in and let me teach you and coach you. So.

when I kind of learned there was a thing of just franchising, but there’s a thing called, you know, franchise coach, consultant, broker, those terms are kind of interchangeable in this industry. I’m like, wait, I can find talented people, educate them on something they don’t know about, and then they can not have a bad job like I just did and have that pathway. I’m like, I mean, it was really kind of as simple as…

being a little desperate and just wanted to trust myself. And I’m like, when I understood what it was, I’m like, OK, I don’t know anything about franchising, but I know that those are the skill sets that I possess and I enjoy doing. I’m like not completely stupid. I was pretty sure I could learn about franchising. I just had no idea how massive an industry it was and what all it entailed. But it just again, just it wasn’t really had it had.

everything not gone horribly wrong where I was working, I wouldn’t have been in any sort of like kind of fact finding mission for what’s next. So it just, as awful as that was at the time, it worked out. I mean, it worked out perfectly. It’s been the best thing I’ve ever done.

Anthony Codispoti (05:17.387)
So take us through a little bit of the early days where things are desperate at your employer. It’s a bad situation, a toxic environment. But I’m curious sort of those first steps of how did franchising at all even hit your radar? And then once it hit your radar, what were some of those early steps that you took to leveling up and becoming informed about it?

Tim Parmeter (05:42.553)
Yeah, so it was, I think just, you know, you kind of get back in the job search mode, right? And I had found, I think even on LinkedIn, like anybody that’s ever been in a job search, you know, you are going everywhere you can possibly think of to find what that next thing is. And I ran across somebody who was doing, was in this industry. And so we had a couple of conversations and really it was just as simple as like, Hey, we can, you know, give us a few months. I’ll kind of teach you, show you the ropes and let you go do it. Like.

Okay. wasn’t really that much showing me the ropes, but there were, there were some basics to it. and, and I got started and I was at a time in my life where I was, was single. I had a small child. We were actually living in a different, different state, living in a one bedroom apartment in Dallas, Texas. Right. And I literally like my, my brain works in such a way. The kitchen table was the office. Well,

half of the kitchen table was the office. The other half’s where I ate, right? I had that separation of dinner and work basically. And I just, and I sat there, I had my laptop. The only thing I got from the last job, fortunately was like, they let me keep the laptop, right? And so I knew I had a kind of method to kind of get ahold of people, but it was lonely, man. I’m sitting there, I don’t know anything. I’m getting people on the phone. I don’t really know what to say. I’m trying to sound moderately confident. And I had,

The two things I got from my previous office was a laptop and then like a binder of paper, like literally like printer paper. And so I was taking all my notes on it and I was just sitting there one day and I’m like, my gosh, what have I done? And I just, for whatever reason, I wrote the letters THTW and I still to this day, and I had it posted, I have it framed. I don’t know if you really can see that. Amazing artwork, not nearly as good as what’s behind you.

Anthony Codispoti (07:33.609)
can.

Tim Parmeter (07:38.969)
but I was in my forties doing that and, and your, your, your little one’s a little younger than that. But THTW was this has to work. And I just posted it on the wall next to me. It’s still, it’s now it’s on this side in a, in a cheap little frame. Right. But it was like, this has to work. There was no other option. I wasn’t going to go back working for anybody else. I, I knew I could do it, but I didn’t really know I could do it. I just knew there was no other choice. Right. And so.

Anthony Codispoti (07:47.56)
Hmm.

Tim Parmeter (08:08.185)
It literally it’s stated it has been it has been by my side throughout all of this because I was just like I wasn’t going to go back and work for anybody else and just keep keep plugging away and there’d be some time I still had some hair back then I think I was pulling it out in clumps. But I would just glance over at the wall and I would see that take a breath and like all right let’s you know quit quit whining quit being a baby get back to work and let’s let’s make this happen.

Anthony Codispoti (08:35.177)
I don’t want to blow too much sunshine your way, Tim, but I think it’s worth taking a moment to really celebrate what it was that you went through. Because if nobody’s ever been in that spot before, you’re starting something brand new, you don’t have a great support system in place, you don’t have a lot of foundational or institutional knowledge. I mean,

you went to the edge of the cliff and you didn’t just look down, you jumped off into this great abyss where you didn’t know what was gonna happen. There was no promise, there was no assurances, there was no guarantees. Can you talk about, I love that THTW, this has to work. Where does that motivation, that drive come from? Because most people are sitting there thinking,

Well, Tim’s a special guy. He was born with that grit, that will to succeed, that he’s got something in him that I don’t have. Help everybody understand, hey, you’re a regular guy too. And you had a lot of self -doubt and somehow you summoned the energy to just keep going forward.

Tim Parmeter (09:53.049)
Yeah, no, and thank you for that, but I don’t think it’s anything special. It’s just, I mean, there’s a little desperation, right? Like I just, I didn’t want to go back to work. I was in a position where I really wanted to relocate from Dallas back to Arizona for my little kids, right? To be like, be a dad, right? And so to me, there was just, there was no other option, but I think it’s always there, right? Like, and there are times that I,

I’ve been able to summon that in the past and there’s other times where I’m like, nah, right? Like I know I should be a little bit more diligent about stepping up, working out, right? And I’ll do it, but I’m like, that was kinda, you know, I was kinda half -assed. Like, so it’s not always there. So I think a little bit just we get cornered, right? And that fight or flight thing, I felt like I didn’t have any choice and I saw a path.

not in my wildest dreams, that I think it was gonna turn into anything near what it’s turned into, right? But it was just, again, I think we all have it in, we just have to kind of set our mind to like, I’m actually gonna do this, I’m not gonna use all of the struggles as an excuse, because we know that’s so easy to do. I’m pretty sure later today, I might do that when it comes to working out, right? Like, I got some work, we gotta go to karate with my kid or whatever it is, like.

No, just like, it’s the great slogan I created years ago, it’s called Just Do It. Somebody in Oregon, like, I don’t know, they stole that from me and ran with it, literally and figuratively, but it really is just, that’s why it’s such a great slogan, right? It’s just that simple. And for whatever reason with this, and maybe again, it was desperation, but I just, I wasn’t gonna quit.

Anthony Codispoti (11:28.008)
came from you, huh?

Anthony Codispoti (11:46.952)
Okay, so we’ve heard a little bit about the origin story of how you got involved in the franchising space. Now let’s give some extra context to it. What is FranCoach? What’s the business? What’s the service that you provide?

Tim Parmeter (11:59.417)
So we work with individuals, many of them may have had kind of experiences like me, but that are at least interested in working for themselves, owning a business, right? And so everything with us is specific to franchising, but it’s really two goals. It is number one, let’s just get people properly educated on franchise ownership, what it’s all about to determine if it’s for them.

Let’s be honest, most people it’s not, but that’s okay. Right. so that’s first. And then second is if we realize this might be the path, then what’s the absolute best fit for them. There’s not a one size fits all. We’re partnered with over 600 franchises, but there’s about 4 ,000 in the United States. and so in many ways it’s like, it’s like dating, right? There’s not just one person we should all, we should all want to marry. There’s that specific.

one for each of us. It’s the same thing with franchising. So we’re just going to like, and it’s so much more attainable than people realize because it’s not all McDonald’s and Taco Bell’s, right? So it’s just, it’s just that education. If they have any curiosity and like control is usually the main thing. I want more control of my life, time, freedom, flexibility, money, whatever. If it’s ever crossed their mind, we encourage them to talk to our team and figure out if it is. If so, finding the best thing is for them.

That’s actually the easy part for us because it’s kind of what we do.

Anthony Codispoti (13:29.383)
So you made a good point there. It’s not all, I forget the examples.

I think of an outsider’s, I think of franchise world, I think of, yeah, all the chain restaurants. What kind of opportunities are you finding that your clientele most often end up in? Is it the restaurant space? Is it something outside of that?

Tim Parmeter (13:53.241)
something outside of that, right? So food makes up about 10 % of the franchises that are out there. And so, but I think that’s the, it’s the common place. We all think of the things that we can see. We tend to know the food places, mostly our franchises, but it’s also where the fear comes in right away. And like, you know, Taco Bell and McDonald’s, those are two and $3 million investments, right? And so you’re like, gosh, I’d love to own a franchise, but I don’t have.

I don’t know, Anthony, you got to spare 500 grand around that I can borrow to get the loan to get myself a Taco Bell, right? But about half the franchises out there are going to be the things that you physically see that the customer can walk into. The other half aren’t, right? There’s no office or maybe a small thing, and we’re taking the product or service to the customer, right? So…

The last person I was on the phone with was literally looking at, two franchises to give you an example. One does irrigation, with kind of an eco -friendly like a focus to it. and the other one does kind of like garage floor coatings, right? So two things that are super sexy, right? Every kid out there thinks, you know, mommy, daddy, when I grow up, I want to have this. and the other, I think myth in franchising is.

Well, if I own that irrigation franchise, I got to be out there, the one digging and doing all the work. And what you’re going to find out is the franchise owner is rarely the doer. Right. And so all of those to your industry background doesn’t really matter. My, my half hearted attempt at a joke is you could be the biggest slob on the planet and own a cleaning franchise. Right. They don’t care that you’re a slob because it’s not your job to clean. It’s your job to run the business.

Anthony Codispoti (15:29.861)
Mm -hmm.

Tim Parmeter (15:47.897)
Right? So all of these things that people just the most random, you know, there’s franchises that pick up dog poop. There’s franchises that do client crime scene cleanup. And again, everything that you see retail wise view up and down a strip mall. And my wife and I do this and she’s been in franchising longer than me. Like it’s like, franchise franchise, not a franchise franchise, franchise, not a franchise. Those things in strip malls that you see and you walk into, you may not realize it.

They all are too, but in any business that could come to your house to do anything, they may not be a franchise, but I guarantee you there are franchises in that industry, in that niche that will do those exact same things.

Anthony Codispoti (16:31.076)
So do you find that typically the franchisee is not the one then that’s providing whatever the service is? They’re sort of running the business, they’re hiring people, they’re doing the marketing, you know, taking care of the books, the financing, payroll, but they’re not the ones who are doing the cleaning or, you know, doing the irrigation.

Tim Parmeter (16:48.025)
Correct. Yeah, correct. Almost all. Are there some, right? A very small percentage of franchises that really do kind of look for the doer. There are some out there. Again, that’s why this is such an individualized and personalized process. There are some franchise owners in a system where they’re like, hey, we don’t really want you doing the work, but the owner kind of likes it. Well, okay, right? So, but it’s really, really uncommon.

You know, McDonald’s owners don’t make fries all day. Do they learn how to make the French fries? Yes, they do. But they’re not in there doing it. So it’s again, really kind of building out. Our process is fun for people because it’s so opposite of anything else, like searching for a job. It’s an opportunity to actually be selfish and not get in trouble for it. Because normally we get in trouble for being selfish.

But with this, it’s really like, we call it the get out of bed test. What do you actually want to get up and go do every single day? The things you’re doing, people you’re around, core values, those lead us where we need to go. The industry is just kind of window dressing with it in most cases.

Anthony Codispoti (18:02.18)
So obviously this is different depending on the franchising opportunity, but I’m kind of curious about a range. Roughly how many full -time employees do the franchisees typically need to hire to run their business?

Tim Parmeter (18:17.337)
Yeah, no, good question. In your spot on it is it is from zero to, you know, we may start with McDonald’s and need 50 right off the bat. Right. So it’s and this is the part I think that people struggle with with franchising is because their mind can’t get off of the hunt. Right. So we know how to hunt for a job. We know how to hunt for where to go have lunch today. But this isn’t this isn’t that it is how many employees do you want to have?

Do you wanna have any? Do you like a big staff? Do you like something smaller? What kind of, do you like them being more unskilled where you can really be hands -on and teach them? Or are you like, hey, I don’t wanna do that. I’d rather own a great clips where the cosmetologists already know what to do or a plumbing business. Yeah, they got their thing. I’m gonna go let them do that. I trust them to do it. Maybe it’s a combo, right? So those things, when we really help people.

kind of look inward at themselves and again, what are you actually good at? What do you actually want? That ends up pointing us in the right direction because there’s always so much of a range in franchising. Whatever you want, there’s something out there like it and that’s what we’re here to do is help you find it.

Anthony Codispoti (19:31.492)
That was helpful to hear some of the questions that you’re asking about. Do you want it?

zero or one employees? Do you want something where you’ve got a bigger team? What are some of the other questions that you ask to help tease out what would be a good fit for them?

Tim Parmeter (19:48.889)
Yeah, no, and that’s, and it’s, and I think the other thing to point out is certainly on staff, a lot of people don’t know for sure, right? And so we’ll go through our process and we’re like, you know, okay, Anthony, this call is the most important thing we’re going to do. We’re going to build this out, but then I’m going to ask you some questions where your answer is going to be. Heck if I know it doesn’t feel like that’s helpful. But what that means is maybe we look at one franchise. We’re going to introduce you to three franchises.

Here’s one, this is all about skilled labor, because you were kind of open to that. Here’s one, it’s all about unskilled labor, because you were open to that too. Here’s one that does both, because you were open to either of them, right? And so it’s like the three bears, right? And so one of them is too hot, one’s too cold, one’s eventually gonna be just right. And the only way we know for sure, if I ask you a question and you say you don’t know, and our whole business model is educating you,

then we’ve got to take whatever you said I don’t know to, and we’ve got to let you see specific examples of all sides. So you eventually do know, right? But even just what are you doing every day? Are you, do you like being more forward facing? Do you like talking to customers? Do you like to be out in the community? Do you hear that and go, that sounds terrible. I’m more back office operational. Like there’s not a wrong answer because again, you’re the one that has to get up and go do this. It’s not like a job interview.

where you’re saying whatever you have to say to get the job and then figure it out later, right? So I think those things matter. And even as an owner, how much time do you want to spend? Is this going to be your full -time gig? Great. But there’s also what’s called semi absentee owners, which is essentially part -time, right? So maybe you’ve got a job that you want to keep, but you want to diversify and have that secondary revenue stream.

You’re going to spend, you know, 10, 12 hours a week managing the manager who’s running your business. You can do that also. Right. So it’s it is absolutely possible. Yep. Absolutely.

Anthony Codispoti (21:49.443)
That’s possible. There are opportunities like that. What kind of, you don’t have to give away names of particular franchises, but I’m curious what sort of sectors of opportunities exist like that.

Tim Parmeter (22:03.385)
great question. You’re teeing me up perfectly, Anthony. So I love it. So, cause, cause there’s, there’s not anything specific. You’ll find semi -absentee in almost every single industry. And this is what, this is kind of where our team comes into play is these are things that you can’t Google. I mean, you can, but it’s not going to help you, to know which franchise is open to semi -absentee and which isn’t.

And then even with semi absentee, it is the worst defined phrase in franchising. you could talk to 10 franchise ors and they will give you, I don’t know, like 15 different answers on what it means. Right. One may say we need 10 to 12 hours a week. Great. There might be another one that says we need 20 to 25. Well, if you can only do 10, that one, that’s 20 to 25 doesn’t do you any good. It’s not a good fit. Right. But it is, you know,

I mean, whether it’s food, fitness, retail, non -retail, there are going to be semi -absentee options in every single niche out there.

Anthony Codispoti (23:10.563)
So are most of the franchise wars that you represent, do they tend to be brands that most people aren’t familiar with? And that’s part of maybe the value that you bring? Like if I wanted to get a McDonald’s franchise, I probably am, I don’t know, is there a point to go through you or do I just go right to McDonald’s?

Tim Parmeter (23:29.433)
Yeah, there are going to be certain things like that, that, you know, we’re a little insignificant to McDonald’s in the grand scheme of things, right? But there are, there are definitely franchises that we are partnered with that, I guarantee you, everybody is going to know, right? I’m like, cheers, everybody will know their name, right? So, well, old person reference, you young people Google that. so, so definitely that. and then there are franchises that have been.

You know, around for 20 years, they may have, you know, one of the biggest franchises in their sector. You may still not have ever heard of it. if you have never needed in -home senior care for somebody in your family, you may not have heard of any of those friends or I have never heard of that. Have you been a customer of it? Well, no. So you’re probably not going to, we’re all, we’re all selfish, right? Like I’m not paying any attention to the things I don’t need necessarily. So,

But then there’s also an opportunity to look at franchises that are more emerging. Maybe they only have, you know, 10, 20 owners. That can be super exciting for some people, right? Be a little trailblazer on the front end of a wave. Other people, that’s gonna scare the ever -loving crap out of them, because there’s not gonna be enough historical data, right? So again, certain things that there’s a little, it’s kind of sing -songy sometimes, like…

Let’s look at something new. Let’s look at something more established. Let’s look at something where there’s already one somewhere in your market. Let’s look at, Hey, you’re the first one to bring this franchise to the whole dang city. Right. Those things are, are, are pieces that people just need to learn over time as we, as we go through this. And then ultimately something in there becomes clear for them.

Anthony Codispoti (25:16.035)
to go back to early days. Do you remember getting your first client? You’re sitting there at the kitchen table. You’re looking at this has to work. I don’t know what I’m doing. Am I doing the right thing? Do you remember that first client? The first sort of validation?

Tim Parmeter (25:29.145)
I do and I’m going to tell you his name and what franchise he owned. And he just recently sold it after like eight years. But here, a fun little fact and I don’t know how this happens, but every job I have done, the first person I’ve literally had a conversation with ended up doing whatever I wanted them to do. So Mark, we’ll call him Mark.

was literally the first person I had a conversation with and ultimately ended up becoming.

Anthony Codispoti (26:00.291)
Get out. You’re starting this brand new idea. You don’t know what you’re doing. The first person that you talk to becomes a customer.

Tim Parmeter (26:07.737)
Five jobs, I can tell you that the very first person that happened. So again, dumb luck should be my middle name with this. And so, no, it really was. And he wasn’t the first franchise owner. There was somebody that got through it faster. And in fact, the person that franchise became super instrumental for me and kind of help guiding me and coach, he’d been in the industry a long time.

We weirdly had a connection. We both grew up in Indiana. We both are the exact same age. We were both athletes. We had like, we had all of these similar similarities in place. He helped me get to kind of, there’s a bigger organization we’re part of as a member. He helped me get there. And then through that, I ultimately met my wife, right? So in franchising, that’s a whole nother thing, but it really was like the very, very first part. So.

There’s a certain thing about like, you know, maybe just getting out of your own way and from that, but like seriously, I think it’s the craziest thing. If I ever do something else after this, I just know whoever I talk to first is it’ll be all downhill for a while until it goes back up. But yeah, so crazy.

Anthony Codispoti (27:25.507)
Well, if I’m starting a new business, I’m going to ask you to get involved and help us do sales right out of the gate.

Tim Parmeter (27:29.305)
Yeah, just just hire me for that that first week or so and then then you’ll then I suck after that.

Anthony Codispoti (27:36.771)
So you get that first client right out of the gate. That’s got to be validating. Was it at that point that you realized, OK, I think I can actually make a living doing this? Or did it take a little bit more momentum before you were like, OK, I got this?

Tim Parmeter (27:51.641)
It was, and this is another thing, if anybody’s ever been in sales, you hear the term like a sales funnel, right? And so I still remember the guy on the whiteboard in my first sales job and he draws the funnel, right? Leads are gonna go in here, you want a lot here and then they’re gonna work them and they’re gonna trickle out down here. I’m like, okay, that sounds cool. And he’s like, what you don’t want is the bucket theory where you put them on a bucket, you get a bunch of leads and then you dump them out, right? And then you forget about getting more leads.

I am the bucket theory guy. I always have been. It’s wrong. I know it, but I did. I got my first deal done. Very lucky happened pretty fast. And then it was a little bit. And then there were three literally all in the same week. Right. I dumped the bucket. Right. And then there’s a little bit of like, I got this. I’m good. Right. And then I just got the ever 11 crap smacked out of me for the next few months. Right.

going, right? This is, this is actually still hard. Right? So the winds are great, but there’s a lot, the, the peaks and valleys were like extreme back then. Right. So just to keep on, kind of like an even keel. And I, I had, there’s some metrics we use in our business to be able to just look week over week. Hey, did I have a good week? Right. Cause not everybody’s going to start a franchise. Most people aren’t. Right. So there’s a lot of nos in this.

to just kind of keep things on an even keel. And I mean, I still look at the same metrics week over week now. We teach them to our team. So like just that kind of grounding focus has been really key to like celebrate the wins. Don’t forget that, but also don’t get too low when something goes wrong.

Anthony Codispoti (29:39.171)
What are some ways that you fill that funnel?

Tim Parmeter (29:43.097)
goodness, we’ve got probably half dozen different lead sources, where we get, we’ve got different referral, partners that kind of provide us some stuff. we, we, we had a lot of people just come organically to us through, there’s this great podcast out there, Anthony called franchisee one -on -one. So there’s, there’s, there’s the, I don’t know, check it out.

Anthony Codispoti (30:04.803)
People should check it out. It’s well regarded.

Tim Parmeter (30:07.833)
so, and we’ve been doing this a long time. So whether it’s, whether it’s there, YouTube or all the different kinds of information that we’ve got published, you know, people, as people start doing those things. So, and I think that’s important in any business is. You can’t just have, I mean, you, you can just have one lead generation source, but you’re asking for it, right? anything changes or something goes wrong there, you’re, you’re, you’re stuck. And so.

For us, there’s really kind of six main ones, but we’re always tweaking with, you know, what else is out there? How can we, what else could we do? Right? It’s a little, little trial and error from that standpoint, which as, as a, as a startup, as an entrepreneur, I’ve got to figure all of that out. This is one of the things we, we, we coach our clients on. When you’re looking at a franchise, you don’t have to figure that out. They have that plan already laid out for you. So it’s your job to implement and execute where even after 10 years, we’re still.

We’re still doing trial and error and we’re still, you know, there’s some things going on internally for our systems. We’re making some adjustments to the CRM and some automation and I hope it works, right? So whereas with the franchise, that’s already all the testing is done. It’s been proven out before it comes to you as a franchise.

Anthony Codispoti (31:27.171)
What’s the typical profile of someone who’s looking to buy a franchise? Is this somebody who’s been in corporate America? Is this somebody who’s maybe owned a small business and it failed? What do you see?

Tim Parmeter (31:39.705)
I think the biggest profile is 40 to 50 -ish year old corporate executive. They’ve been director, VP, C -suite. I always say vice president is, that’s the title, that’s where careers go to die. Because there’s just really no place, there’s a place to go, but it’s really hard, right? And so,

the frustration of that. And that age demographic is, and I fall into the older end of that age demographic, but we were all told as kids, go to college, right? Get a degree, go get a job. You’re gonna work there. You’re gonna retire, get your gold watch and your pension. Well, our parents were dirty, dirty liars, because that’s not how it works anymore now, right? So that age group,

bought into that and they’re just frustrated and looking to, I’ve been running a big chunk of somebody else’s business. It’s time for me to do that myself, right? We’ll get the older group some, right? Like I don’t want to, I don’t want to work for anybody. I want to be able to have a business and maybe I can run. And when I’m ready to back off a little bit, I can still be now a semi absentee owner, semi retired, but I got stuff to do so I don’t slowly die in retirement. But we get the 20 year olds.

youngest we’ve had is a 22 year old that has started a franchise. And that age group has figured out in a couple years what mine took decades to figure out. Working for somebody else, isn’t all that great, right? And being able to, and younger, they don’t have the financial burdens that us old people have. So it’s sometimes a little easier for them to be able to, you know, not…

not overthink it like we do sometimes and go, now let’s go. This is a good fit. I don’t want to work for, I don’t want to climb the ladder, right? That’s all my, all my parents do that and how frustrated they’re, I want that. So we really, we’ve had from 22 to the oldest is 77.

Anthony Codispoti (33:49.564)
Wow, and ready to get into something new, huh?

Tim Parmeter (33:52.569)
ready to get into something new. So, and for that particular gentleman, he was including his whole family in it. So it was like a three generational thing all in this business. So it was super cool for him to be, and he was in a position to do that for himself to again, as he said, he wanted to keep himself young and active, but also have some fun with his family and give them kind of a legacy business right off the bat.

Anthony Codispoti (34:19.068)
What are some things that when you hear them from a new prospective client is kind of a red flag that says, maybe this person probably isn’t going to work out in the franchising?

Tim Parmeter (34:31.289)
I’m risk averse. and even that you can kind of work through a little bit is, cause a lot of the, a lot of times, like, is it, are they truly risk averse, right? Or is it the fear of the unknown? Right? So this order is going to go back to our, let’s get you properly educated on franchise ownership is, again, does it just, it should feel risky if you and I are having a first call today, Anthony, and you’re like, man, this feels kind of risky to own a franchise.

Yeah, it should. You don’t know anything about it yet, right? Do you want to learn more? Yeah, okay. Then let’s, we just like it’s cliche, but it really is kind of that step by step. And when people get all the way to the end, it doesn’t feel risky anymore, right? It is so clear people don’t even make a decision because you’re, the unknown is not unknown anymore, right? And you’re seeing yourself in it. You’re excited. You want that control of the day in the life.

And then ultimately, we had somebody, one of our clients said this on our podcast here just a couple of weeks ago. Like he was transitioning out of a really good job that he actually didn’t hate to jump into a franchise full time. And I’m like, how’d you get over that fear? And he’s like, ultimately I just decided it was time to bet on me versus we’re all like, we were all one day away from getting let go at the job and could be for no reason or no fault of our own. He didn’t want to risk that. He didn’t want to risk that.

anymore, he wanted to he wanted to have the control in bed on himself.

Anthony Codispoti (36:03.579)
Tell us about the letters FSO. What does that mean? Why is that important?

Tim Parmeter (36:08.825)
Figure stuff out. Family show, Anthony. So figure stuff out. Obviously we use a different S word. So why is that important? And so as an entrepreneur in general, but even as a franchise owner, right? The plan is laid out. Your job is to implement and execute.

but you still have to figure stuff out along the way. There’s going to be the day to day things that pop up. Sally called in sick today, right? What do I do? I, as the owner, I have to figure stuff out. I can’t like every single thing that goes on call the franchise or, my gosh, Sally called in sick. What do I do? Like, I gotta figure it out, dude. What are the things that in place you have to want as an owner?

and forgive the sports analogy, but you need, you want to want the ball in your hand for that last shot of the game, right? And you have to, with everything in this journey, you have to be very self -reflective and honest with yourself. And if you’re like, I like being the Monday morning quarterback. I like, you know, sitting around the water cooler going, man, why are they doing this? Right? Our boss is dumb. It’d be so much better if I was running it. Do you really want to, or is easier to say it?

And it’s okay if you wanted to say it, but you have to constantly be ready to FSO as an owner. And if you like and want the challenge of that control, because it’s not all rainbows and unicorns, right? So it is the stuff’s gonna go wrong, but you know what’s gonna hit the fan. Do you wanna be the one to figure it out? If so, then this really may be a path. And if that causes like your body to literally kind of tense up.

then maybe it’s not. And that’s okay too, but it is, I think it’s, when you talk about one of the red flags of why somebody may not be a good fit, to me, this is one of the things, the intangible kind of pieces of an individual that I’m like, you have kind of that it quality because you want that, you have the desire to want the ball at the end of the game.

Anthony Codispoti (38:25.05)
What do you feel separates you from others in the industry? What does somebody get when going with you that they may not get elsewhere?

Tim Parmeter (38:34.585)
Well, I think, and these differences may not be better, right? So is, I think our approach is trying to be genuine and really focus on every person that we’re working with and focus on exactly that person. If Anthony, you’re a client, I don’t care about anybody else I’ve ever talked to or who my next call is or who my last call is, my focus needs to be on you, right? I really know franchise X is great.

that may be a bad fit for you. So what? That franchise X is great. Franchise Y is better for you, right? And so if we have that really the focus on you and listening, it’s kind of this like great skill that’s out there that I’m listening to hear what you say versus I’m listening to wait on a gap to jump in so I can talk. But that educational mindset, because it takes a lot for people to just get on the phone with us because this is not.

anything that they’ve done before. And again, I think a lot of fear comes from the unknown. If we can just learn a little bit, the opportunity and the success and all those things are just on the other side of the fear, but we’ve got to be properly educated on it. And so we’re trying to take that approach, right? And not, I’m not lying to you. I’m not trying to sell you a shiny object. I’m terrible at sales. So it’s why I don’t do it, but it’s really that educational approach.

We are gonna tell everybody this, we’re gonna get you outside of your comfort zone, which is not always comfortable, but you’ve gotta be willing to do that because this is totally different than what anybody’s ever done.

Anthony Codispoti (40:15.097)
Yeah, actually you raised a good point there. You know, you’ve got folks who have, most of them it sounds like, they’ve had probably a somewhat comfortable job in corporate America for a while and now later in life they’re considering becoming a business owner for the first time. If you’ve never done it before, it’s gotta seem scary from the outside. It has to feel untouchable and inaccessible. What are your thoughts on that?

Tim Parmeter (40:42.969)
Well, because I think that’s the salary that we get, right? Hey, they pay us every two weeks, right? Or I get paid on the 1st and the 15th. It’s like crack. It’s an addiction and it’s a security blanket and we think that it’s less risky, but maybe there’s somebody out there that is retiring from their job and it’s the only job they’ve ever had. Right? But if you look at the industry stats, it’s like 12, 15 different jobs over one’s lifetime that they’re going to have now.

So you got that paycheck that feels really comfortable, but at some point it’s going to go away. Then what? And the higher you get up the corporate ladder and the older you get, the harder it is to get there. Because there’s gonna be that 32 year old version of you 15 years ago that was the up and comer that’s gonna work harder, doesn’t have…

a spouse and three kids, two of them in college, right? And all the different things, and they’re going to do it for less, right? So it becomes harder and harder to do that. So that comfort of the salary is it’s a hard thing to break away from, but it’s honestly, it’s just as risky because you have no control over how much more money you make next year. As an owner, I have control of making however much money I want.

Right. I’m going to put my hard work and effort into growing the business and making, making more money. when I decide to sell my business, I get to cash out at the end. When you’re leaving that job, you don’t get to say, I’m going to sell this to the next person. You’re just, you’re done. Right. I don’t get to pass it on to my kid. Like you don’t have any of those things, the ownership piece, you have ownership of it. and all of those things. And so again, it’s.

That’s where it’s that mindset of, if you’re comfortable, like keep the job. Like that’s awesome. There’s nothing wrong with that. But if you have some level of frustration with it, then that’s again, that’s where it comes into our team of just educating you on what this is all about to see if it might be a path.

Anthony Codispoti (42:54.52)
What are some of the most common mistakes you see people make when choosing a franchise?

Tim Parmeter (43:01.817)
Anthony Codispoti (43:02.807)
Obviously not your clients because they’ve been well guided, but outside of that.

Tim Parmeter (43:06.777)
Yeah, we smack them around if they do that. But it’s, no, I think there’s, Google is not our friend in franchising, or somebody that is saying buzzwords, right? Like, this is the top franchise. This is the hottest industry. Our industry is a $25 billion industry, blah, blah, blah. They all are, get over it. And the franchisors are,

All of them, I don’t care how unsexy the franchise industry is, it’s a shiny object, right? They’re gonna be able to put together, look, all the things that we have to help you succeed. We’ve got this training and the marketing and the operations, we’ve got a call center for you, we’ve got national accounts, we’ve got this, this, this. my gosh, that’s amazing. Look how great our owners are doing. my gosh, that’s amazing. What gets missed in all of that is what are you doing every single day as an owner?

Cause if it’s a bad fit, you’re just, you’re gonna struggle. You’re gonna be miserable. That’s where that’s where any failure can really come in more times than not. It’s that because we’re looking at the shiny object stuff and not really being self -reflective on, do I want to get up and do that’s awesome. All the things I love it. I love how successful all your people are. What about me? Is that something I want to get up and do every day? That’s where when people get in the wrong franchise, it is almost always that.

Anthony Codispoti (44:32.607)
Where’s home for you, Tim?

Tim Parmeter (44:37.113)
depends on the week. So, half the time I am in Arizona in the middle of nowhere, smaller to rural town. if I turn the camera a little bit and see a big giant mountain out the window. and then the other half of the time is in Tampa, Florida.

Anthony Codispoti (44:54.775)
Why such diverse geographies?

Tim Parmeter (44:58.329)
I am a dual snowbird. So, but part of my bizarre life is Arizona is I have a almost 11 year old son that I co parent his mom and family all live out here. This is, I like to refer to it as my witness protection home out here. So my kid weeks, I am in Arizona. When I don’t have my son, I am married and my wonderful, amazing wife.

Anthony Codispoti (45:00.439)
Ha ha.

Tim Parmeter (45:24.985)
lives three time zones away in Tampa, Florida. So, I get custody of my kid for a week. I fly to Florida and get custody of my wife for a week. I’m back and forth. I’ve really good relationship with everybody in American airlines, Tucson to Dallas, Dallas to Tampa, that, that, that back, back and forth. So yeah, it’s a little crazy, but again, back to that business ownership thing and you know, like, Hey, you got to figure stuff, figure stuff out. I love, love, love being a dad. I was.

fortunate enough through this industry met my wife and way overachieving and somehow I suckered her into marrying me. So, and probably still together in some ways, maybe, maybe I’m better in small doses. So maybe that’ll keep us, keep us married a little bit longer, but yeah, not ex.

Anthony Codispoti (46:11.99)
Maybe your unusual circumstances are actually playing in your favor here.

Tim Parmeter (46:15.353)
Yeah, it’s funny when we tell people our situation, we get one or two looks and all your listeners may have probably had one of these two things when they heard that. It’s like people are either going to go, like in their mind, they’re going, that’s never going to work. Right. There’s some like painful look on their face. And then then there’s the other group that’s going to go, how’d you pull that off? Right. So I had a husband, wife last year.

awesome couple, they ended up owning a franchise in a home service industry. And I was kind of sharing that story with them on the phone. And the husband goes, that sounds awesome. And then all of a sudden I hear a slap, right? And so, so, and they were super cool. So they were playing, playing around, but it’s, it’s usually one of those it’s either that’ll never work or how’d you pull that off? Like I got to, I got to look into that myself.

Anthony Codispoti (47:08.086)
That’s funny. Tim, any specific books or mentors that have been particularly helpful in shaping your career or your personal life?

Tim Parmeter (47:22.233)
Moneyball.

Anthony Codispoti (47:24.374)
Why?

Tim Parmeter (47:24.825)
So, and this is pre -movie. I read that probably 20 years ago when it first came out and I was way other industry at the time. I think I was fascinated by a couple things and it is, it stuck with me. It still is an integral part of our business. Is essentially they were like, you know, this is how we’ve always done it. This is how we’re supposed to do it, right? And if anybody’s read the story or,

Watch the movie, you know, it’s Brad Pitt, he’s dreamy, so it’s all great, but it’s about the Oakland A’s in the early 2000s and how they really, anything that is in sports where they talk about analytics really was driven from that, was what were the market inefficiencies? Everybody’s doing this. We either can’t do it or we don’t want to do it. We have to find another way, right? And so it has stuck with me in everything that we’ve done. And even some of our, there’s some things in franchising and people that do what we do.

lead gen, they all do the same thing. Like they’re zigging, we zag, right? And so it’s just always really stuck with me. And then plus I like from being an athlete and being a coach, I like, I love statistics, right? Probably could tell you, you know, go back, go back to the eighties and you know, tell you what my, my shooting percentage was, right, or something. But I love the metrics of things because the numbers don’t lie, right? You need to have to track them. You need to have to understand it.

But that was also part of that money ball is looking at like, people are using the wrong stats. This is actually better, more indicative of how we succeed. And so it’s just, it stuck with me for, I mean, really it’s been 20 years since I first read that book.

Anthony Codispoti (49:06.997)
How are you applying lessons from that book to running your business today?

Tim Parmeter (49:13.913)
I think a few different ways is the marketing for sure. There’s just different things that we’ve always done. There’s certain things that kind of in our industry would make any sense, but everybody does X, Y, and Z. We do A, B, and C, right? Because one, everybody’s doing this, but they’re doing it because that’s the way, right? And if…

If your answer for why do you do this, whatever this is, whether it’s business or life, if your answer is that’s how it’s always been done, that’s a really bad answer. And you’re setting yourself up for failure, right? It may still be the best way, but if you’re not open to a conversation or exploration, is it really? then that’s a, then that’s a problem. So definitely there. and even just some of the things we do with some resources for our clients that are looking at franchises.

to making sure that we’re again, we’re positioning everything the right way. You asked why would somebody get into a bad franchise? They’re looking at the wrong stuff, right? And so everything is kind of driven that way versus shiny objects of that sometimes the franchises and not maliciously, but you’re gonna, it’s like in a, in a dating profile, right? I’m not gonna say, you know, like I’m horribly overweight. I watch.

you know, Star Wars, I play video games all day and I live in my mom’s basement, right? I’m not leading with those things. I’m going to talk about the good qualities that I may have, right? But it’s not focused on what’s really important. And so I think that there’s a couple of things with the resources that we have for the clients down the road to help them. And again, just be properly focused on what’s truly important.

Anthony Codispoti (51:04.755)
Passions or interests do you have outside of running your company, Tim?

Tim Parmeter (51:10.201)
travel apparently. So, so no, it’s funny, my wife and I were just talking about this, like we need a hobby. And probably a little too driven from an entrepreneur standpoint. But I mean, I genuinely enjoyed like being a dad and spending time. He still thinks I’m kind of cool. I can I can embarrass the heck out of him, but it’s not old enough to like, completely ignore me. I’m a sports person. So I like watching attending.

my wife and I do a lot of travel concerts when we’re in Florida, we’re on a boat, as often as we can. we’re trying to get back to playing golf, but that’s probably not going to happen. I don’t think we get the attention for, for that anymore. But, I think, but it’s a good question because I think it’s really important and try to like. Get exercise and activity on a regular basis because you’ve got to be able to step away from what you’re doing. And sometimes I think the least.

creative place I can be is sitting at the desk in my office. If I get my butt out of the chair, my brain starts to work. And so being able to get out and do any little thing, it could be, you know, going for a walk or a bike ride or whatever, just it’s, it’s, it’s a break and it gets the brain kind of back refreshed. So trying to like nothing specific, but just a lot of little things. And also I think the more things we have that keeps it fresh as well.

Anthony Codispoti (52:40.754)
Yeah, I think there is a huge amount of importance to being able to step outside of the traditional work environment because there’s something that takes place in your brain that it shifts into a relaxed mode and suddenly you’re seeing things that you weren’t seeing before and you’re spotting new ideas and new opportunities. But it’s probably really hard for you right now. I think you mentioned this maybe off air. You guys have been going through a lot of growth in the company lately, so you’ve got to be pretty busy with that.

Tim Parmeter (53:08.185)
Yes. which is again, always say better busy than bored, and broke, but, it, it is, but that is even more of a reason to, to step away. I mean, literally last week, my wife, was helping me with some, some things with kind of our, the automation we have. Like behind the scenes for, for our team and revamping some of that. And we were sitting in our office in Florida and it was literally like, we got to get up like,

And we grabbed her dog, we went for a walk, right? Because we were kind of stuck sitting there. It was a sidebar to the sidebar to the tangent, right? And all of a sudden, magically walking the dog for 20 minutes, it was like the light came on and we’re like bam, bam, bam. We literally like, and to the point where I’m grabbing my phone and we’re doing like a voice memo as we’re walking and then got back to the office and we had it.

And it was really like, we just sat in there frustrated and probably fought at some point. Had we not just simply taken 20 minutes, walked the dang dog around, you know, around the block a couple of times and it just opened it up.

Anthony Codispoti (54:20.498)
That’s amazing. What’s something fun or interesting that most people don’t know about you, Tim?

Tim Parmeter (54:28.249)
Gosh, probably nothing.

Anthony Codispoti (54:31.057)
You’ve spilled all the beans already, huh?

Tim Parmeter (54:33.145)
Yeah, I am and you probably see behind me a little bit. I’m a Cubs fan. So don’t hold that against me. But it probably means I’m I’m loyal. I’m eternally optimistic and I’m a little bit stupid. So there’s there’s those things. And so a lot I have done a very good job of brainwashing my kid into being a Cubs fan as well. So he’ll he’ll need therapy for that later in life. But.

No, I just, I think that I think the one my, my wife cringes when I tell the story is I went, I was, I was a played basketball in college. One of my teammates ended up being a professional wrestler for like in the WWE for 20, 25 years. So, that was, that was fun to watch, watch that. And I got to meet a couple other like stars years ago with like one of their, one of their events with him. So that was like, kind of, kind of cheesy, cool to see.

Anthony Codispoti (55:30.194)
What was their stage name?

Tim Parmeter (55:32.217)
was yeah, probably it was, his name was Kane. so if you ever watched wrestling, he had, he was all red. He had a mask for awhile and he was in the, in story mode with WW was the undertaker’s brother. So, yeah, super. It was, it was always cool. I got to see him live a couple of times. That was kind of fun. so, you know, don’t, don’t, don’t think I’m a total wrestling wrestling person, but.

My kid and I did go to an event last year when they were in Phoenix and just it was anything live I think is always fun. So that was just kind of a little random, random fact. And he’s now mayor of a city in Tennessee.

Anthony Codispoti (56:15.152)
no kidding. Fun story. Thanks for sharing that. I just have one more question for you, Tim, but before I do it, I want to ask, I want to do two things. First of all, if you like today’s content, please hit the like, share, or subscribe button on your favorite podcast app. Secondly, I want to point everybody to the best way to find you and everything that you’re doing, Tim. We’ve got your website, which is FranCoach .net. So F -R -A -N Coach .net.

There is your podcast, Franchising 101, and we’ve got you on LinkedIn. We’ll include your LinkedIn URL here in the show notes. Any other ways that are great for people to get in touch with you? They’re maybe interested in what you’re doing, they want to learn more.

Tim Parmeter (57:06.425)
Yeah, come on over, Thatcher, Arizona, if you can find it, or my witness protection home, feel free to stop, feel free to stop by, much more convenient than that. Again, Fran coach .net franchisee one -on -one is on, I’m sure like yours on all the podcast sites. the website for that is Fran coach or franchisee and one -on -one podcast .net. there’s another company kind of does what we do. They sometimes steal us on the .com side of things.

The way I always just say it is I was a basketball guy, so we are nothing but net from that standpoint. So no, really there’s, I mean, we have a YouTube channel too, but just again, if there’s, I always tell people if it is pique your interest at all, there’s no, we didn’t mention this, there’s no fee for our service either, which how’s that possible? We’re kind of, we’re kind of like a recruiter in the corporate world. So we’re compensated by the franchisors. So.

Anthony Codispoti (57:40.624)
I like it.

Anthony Codispoti (57:55.759)
that is interesting.

Tim Parmeter (58:03.353)
It really and truly doesn’t cost anything to us to just have, usually an initial call with us is maybe 15 minutes. So we’re kind of like Geico, right? 15 minutes and minus the annoying little Gecko dude. So, but, I’m happy to dress up in the Gecko suit if, if anybody that really is seals the deal. so.

Anthony Codispoti (58:23.248)
I want somebody listening to hold him to that and please do it over a Zoom call. I want to see the footage. That would be a good time.

Tim Parmeter (58:29.761)
Yes, exactly. So, but really that’s, I mean, brain coach .net is every, everything is there. And then certainly, feel free to find us on Spotify or Apple or wherever on that you get your podcasts.

Anthony Codispoti (58:42.96)
Great. Last question for you, Tim. How do you see your franchising business evolving in the next five years? What do you think the big changes are that are coming?

Tim Parmeter (58:55.929)
I think there is, that’s a good question. Cause my mind went to one thing that I don’t know is particularly relevant, but from a legislative standpoint, you’ll hear the term, joint employer. If there’s a fear in franchising, there’s that. I don’t think it’s, it’s not anything imminent, but it is, I think it’s a good thing from a perspective. It’s making things a little bit more,

regulated and protecting the franchise owner. So I think that’s a very, anything we’re doing to help protect that franchise owner is hugely beneficial. So I think there’s that and I think the growth is no matter what goes on in the economy or even the pandemic, franchising continues to just truck right along. There are a lot of franchisors that’ll tell you even 2020.

the last half was the busiest they’ve ever been. Because again, it just forces people to take like a little inventory and what’s truly important to them. Like me, my time, my freedom, flexibility, all of those control things. So like to me, I don’t think that’s ever gonna go away. And then there’s always new things coming on from an industry standpoint. 10 years ago, how many people knew what a infrared sauna was or IV drips. And there’s always gonna be those new kind of cool shining objects.

But then there’s also going to be the, you know, the handyman franchise that’s we’ve been doing handyman stuff since we lived in caves, right? So there’s there’s always the there’s the old and there’s the new, there’s the big, there’s the small. But it all comes down to people are always going to want control over their life and feel less and less fulfilled working for somebody else. So that’s where I think the growth is going to continue. If we continue to make it safer and safer for people to do so.

protect them more and more, all the better.

Anthony Codispoti (01:00:57.231)
Tim, thanks so much for sharing your time and your story today. Myself and the audience really appreciate it.

Tim Parmeter (01:01:03.449)
Anthony, it’s been my pleasure. Thank you so much for having me on.

Anthony Codispoti (01:01:06.798)
That’s a wrap on another episode of the Inspired Stories podcast. Thanks for learning with us today.