Veterans in Franchising September 2017 5#11 2

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Veterans in Franchising september 2017

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ASP Pool Franchise Looking to Expand

Offers Veterans Valuable Discounts

Military Skills

Opened the Door to Leadership Role

From Military Mechanic to Franchise Architect Franchising USA

SAME DRIVE. DIFFERENT BATTLEFIELD. TAKE THE NEXT STEP > VETFRAN.COM OFFERING FINANCIAL SUPPORT, TRAINING & MENTORSHIP Veterans interested in franchising can take their skills learned in the military to successfully own and develop small businesses. Learn more and support veterans in franchising at www.vetfran.com.

• 650 franchise companies participating • 151,000 veterans and their spouses found careers in the franchise industry • 5,100 veteran franchise owners

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V e t e r a n s i n F r a n c h i s i n g S u ppl e m e n t s e pt e m b e r 2 0 1 7 Our Veterans in Franchising special supplement has become a regular feature of Franchising USA. To share your story in the next issue, please contact Vikki Bradbury, Publisher Phone: 778 426 2446 Email: vikki@cgbpublishing.com

Contents On the Cover

Veterans Profile

45 American Swimming Pools: Pool Franchise

Looking to Expand Offers Veterans

Valuable Discounts

52 J. Anthony Hobson, OpenWorks

52 Military Skills Opened the Door to

Leadership Role

News and Expert Advice

50 From Military Mechanic to Franchise Architect

50 From Military Mechanic to Franchise Architect Jerry Hancock, Founder, Sub Zero Nitrogen

54 EventPrep

Ice Cream

54 Moments of Truth in the Customer Experience Roger McCoy, Franchise Business Consultant

and Army Veteran

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V e t er ans in Fr anchising

A mer ica’s S w im ming Pool C ompa ny ( ASP )

Pool Franchise Looking to Expand Offers Veterans Valuable Discounts

Veterans can enjoy year-round savings from the United States’ No. 1 swimming pool repair, maintenance and renovation company, but a lucky few get even more.

That’s because every year around Veterans Day, America’s Swimming Pool Company (ASP) holds a contest among veterans vying to become franchisees and waives the entire fee for the winning veteran.

Two runners up also receive a 50 percent discount on the franchise fee.

And during the rest of the year, all veterans enjoy a 15 percent discount on the franchise fee, Jef Flournoy, VP of Franchise Sales and Development at ASP, explained during a recent interview.

At the moment, the Macon, GA-based franchise has about a dozen veteran owners among its 99 franchise locations.

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Flournoy praised the great work ethic of veterans and called them not only great business owners, but great leaders within the ASP family.

Great for Customers and Owners Founded by current CEO Stewart Vernon in 2002, ASP has been franchising for the past 12 years.

With the swimming pool industry being so fragmented and offering a relatively low quality of service at the time, Vernon saw the opportunity to create a company that would become a national brand in the industry that promised professionalism, stellar service and the use of the latest technology for both customers and franchisees alike.

On the consumer side, ASP has Pool Ops. With Pool Ops, franchisees can schedule appointments and then track those service calls. When service is complete, Pool Ops will send a complete report via email to a pool owner outlining everything that was done to their pool — from a simple cleaning to any maintenance they

requested — along with a time-stamped photo of the clean pool or the piece of equipment that was worked on. From this report and photo, the owner knows for certain the service was completed.

The report even gives details like which chemicals were used to balance the water, how much of the chemicals were used and which technician completed the work.

On the franchisee side, ASP boasts a comprehensive training program and a strong support system.

For 11 days from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m, franchisees attend ASP’s Pool School on its campus in Macon, which features 14 working pools that have every kind of pool equipment conceivable. But, Pool School isn’t actually the beginning of their training.

“Before Pool School starts, they would receive between 30 to 35 hours of what we would call pre-Pool School training,” Flournoy explained. Much of this training happens online.

At Pool School, in addition to the hands-on maintenance training, franchisees receive instruction in every aspect of running

a business from marketing to billing to running QuickBooks.

After Pool School, brand new franchisees go through ASP’s Guerrilla Action Marketing Plan for another 10 weeks of training. This training is a little less demanding, consisting of a call once per week with an ASP operations team leader.

“We really want franchisees to get off to a good start and get into good habits,” Flournoy said.

Along with a local marketing team, the company has a national PR firm that supports franchisees, plus staff at headquarters who handle technical questions from franchisees throughout the day.

Regional round table meetings are held where franchise owners get together to discuss best practices and build relationships between each other. Flourney described those as meetings where six to 13 people who are all involved in the pool industry gather in a room to share their best ideas and best practices with the goal of making everyone a better business person.

Lastly, the annual owners meeting lasts for two days and is a smorgasbord of information for franchisees where industry vendors give presentations on the latest technology in the swimming pool market.

Nationwide Expansion Flournoy himself is a former ASP franchisee. About 10 years ago, right before his wife enrolled in dental school in Augusta, GA, he bought an ASP franchise in that city and ran it for about eight years while his wife attended school. After she completed her pediatric residency, she received a lucrative job offer back in Macon where the couple were both from.

Flournoy sold his ASP franchise, the couple moved back to their hometown of Macon and he immediately called ASP and requested a job on the corporate side of things where he remains today.

Typical ASP franchisees are between 25 and 55 years old and have to be willing to follow the franchise system. They do not need to have swimming pool experience, Flournoy noted, but will usually have

some kind of customer service or sales experience, although that’s also not required. But they do need to possess an undergraduate degree.

Right now the franchise is in 21 states, but the VP of Franchise Sales and Development is expecting to expand that.

“In the next three to five years, we should be in 30 to 35 states,” he outlined.

The only places the franchise is completely sold out is in Dallas, Atlanta, Orlando and in Montana.

There are franchises available everywhere else throughout the country and ASP is particularly interested in expansion in Houston, Memphis, Richmond, VA, Las Vegas and Tampa, FL.

“We really want franchisees to get off to a good start and get into good habits.”

- Jef Flournoy ASP starts as a predominantly homebased business and generally grows into a business that requires a small office and warehouse space, Flournoy noted. While it’s not really a retail franchise, some franchisees have added a retail element to their businesses.

For veterans looking to become business owners, America’s Swimming Pool Company offers great opportunities and for a lucky few, an amazing opportunity at savings while getting started. www.aspfranchising.com

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V e t er ans in Fr anchising

Jerry Hancock, Founder, Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream

From Military Mechanic to Franchise Architect

connec

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Putting my militaryfunded college degree and access to the U.S. Military Surplus to use, I founded an entirely new franchise concept.

I went through many ups and downs, years of preparation and even experienced a failing franchise before I realized what I needed to do to be a successful franchisor – use my military resources to create a process I believed in.

Finding the Right Process I was always attracted to the process of franchising. Seeing a designated formula for success and a method that makes sense is so important to me and to most veterans.

That’s why I believe veterans do well in franchising; we’re used to a definitive

“The military offers you a lot of ctions, networks and resources – use them!”

process. Everything in the military is a process and no soldier deviates from it. As a franchisor, I see the differences between veterans and civilians. Civilians will question everything and at times won’t follow the plan, where veterans follow the plan just as it’s laid out.

Veterans contemplating franchising need to consider all of their options. There are so many franchises out there that there’s almost always a proper fit. First thing to do is to evaluate the people behind the franchise. Determine their business plan, goals and their motivation to seeing the franchise succeed. You’ll also want to find a business that makes sense to you, something you can easily understand and execute. Perhaps most importantly though, select a process you believe in.

I originally went into a franchise that I thought I could stand behind. However, I wasn’t seeing the returns I had hoped for and quickly noticed the absenteeism of the corporate team. That’s where I originally started what would later become my own franchise. Looking for extra revenue and having to think of new ways to profit, I started selling ice cream using liquid nitrogen.

It took me almost five years to figure out how to find the best process to create never before seen ice cream. Thanks to my military background where no matter how good you are, you quickly learn to take your time to get the job done right. Once I figured out a profitable and efficient way to execute the process, I began franchising my own brand.

Using the Military as a Resource Most vets don’t have the capital to start a new business or buy into an existing franchise. That’s why we must be resourceful in finding funding. Luckily, the military offers many options. I used the U.S. Military Surplus as my main resource to buy the necessary equipment for my franchise.

I was so excited to combine my chemistry degree and love for ice cream to start an ice cream franchise, but I couldn’t afford a liquid nitrogen tank to experiment on my own. I found the best way to experiment

Jerry Hancock

with the creation process was to use the equipment found at the U.S. Military Surplus. I knew the military would help me in life but I’d never think that I’d be using the military’s equipment to operate a business!

One of the other ways the military can assist is through networking options.

Finding the right business partner with the same morals and goals or highlighting veteran friendly franchises are useful tools when launching a business. The military offers you a lot of connections, networks and resources –use them!

The military gave me the patience, the understanding and the leadership abilities to become a successful franchisor and I’m forever grateful for my experience.

Jerry Hancock enlisted in the Air Force Reserve in 1985 and trained as a mechanic for the F-16 ejection seat, and in 1992 he was deployed to Alaska.

While serving, he attended Brigham Young University, where he received a Bachelor of Science in chemistry. After a short hiatus from the Reserves, he re-enlisted in the Air National Guard in 2003 and served as a Network Communications Specialist with a Top Secret clearance in the 151st Air Refueling Wing. While serving in the National Guard, he was deployed to Guam to assist in setting up their unit communications. Jerry founded Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream in 2004. www.subzeroicecream.com/franchising

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O p enWor ks

J. Anthony Hobson

Profile

Military Skills Opened the Door to Leadership Role with National Franchise Company For J. Anthony Hobson, life as a Sergeant in the Marine Corps taught him essential skills for business leadership.

As a veteran, Anthony had to face the difficulties of finding a career that fit his desire to lead. At OpenWorks, a national commercial cleaning franchise, he found a role helping fellow veterans succeed as franchise owners.

J. Anthony Hobson served in the Marine Corps from 1991 until 1997, eventually earning the role of Sergeant. After his service, Anthony decided to go back to school to finish his degree, and found work at a customer support call center.

He found “starting over” challenging, especially compared with the leadership roles he was used to in the Marines.

Luckily, Anthony found OpenWorks, a national commercial cleaning franchise company headquartered in Phoenix, where he stepped into a corporate operations role that enabled him to serve the company with his leadership skills and smarts.

“Veterans are often skilled communicators, leading small to large teams comprised of individuals from all walks of life, capable of accomplishing difficult missions,” says Hobson. “They can effectively follow a scope of work, communicate with customers of all types, train and lead staff members, and be organized and efficient.”

OpenWorks offers veterans transition from military life into civilian life through franchise ownership. What’s more, OpenWorks has recruiting systems in place and discounted rates that provide more support to veterans looking to begin in the franchise ownership business.

OpenWorks knows that veterans bring a certain skill set that most people do not have. Anthony found that many of the essential skills that veterans develop in their military career such as honesty, discipline, attention to detail and organization are useful in business.

Anthony believes that choosing OpenWorks was a great decision for him and is certain it would be for all veterans.

Anthony’s journey from veteran to OpenWorks leader was not easy, but it completely changed his life. He realizes

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that to get to where he is, it takes a lot of hard work, but also, support from the community. Today, he participates in veteran’s organizations even outside of OpenWorks, to help veterans that were just like him in the beginning.

“I have found my military experience to be invaluable in my professional career, and often rely on skills I learned during my time in the Marine Corps to achieve my objectives. The franchise system is an outstanding choice for veterans from all branches of service, and we would be honored for them to consider becoming an OpenWorks Franchisee. Semper Fi!”

By J. Anthony Hobson, Vice President of Strategic Business Operations at OpenWorks openworksweb.com

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Roger McCoy, A Franchise Business Consultant

Moments of Truth in the Customer Experience Do you control your moments?

Have you broken down the important steps franchise employees have with their customers and documented the best possible actions, feelings, and words that should be taken to enhance each experience – each Moment of Truth? You may offer exciting products and services, or sophisticated technical skills or tools.

But the perceived value of what you offer the customer can be reduced to zero by the wrong thing said or action taken during a contact with your customer.

Roger McCoy

Each customer contact is composed of decision points where the customer relationship can be enhanced or diminished.

Each point may just take a “moment”, but they combine to determine whether the

customer had a valuable experience with the company. In sum, these Moments of

Truth lead to a commitment for continued contact, or convince the customer they

want no further activity with your firm.

There are many factors that go into a

company’s success or failure. This is a

discussion of one of the most important factors; providing a predictable,

exceptional customer experience through contact with your employee team.

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model, the franchisor should take actions to ensure that it’s being used and prescribed practices followed. A typical franchise system has thousands of employees, continually having experiences in the name of the franchise.

Can they each be trusted to behave for the benefit of the franchisor without a clear, understandable experience model available, trained, and enforced for the betterment of all, including the customer?

Most companies have determined the cost of acquiring a new customer, and it’s typically very high. Once you’re in contact, you need to ensure nothing is done to prevent the retaining of that customer. It is typically hard to gain customers, but very easy to lose them.

We need to ensure our employees take the right customer-facing actions.

We’re not talking about creating “robots” reciting trained scripts and procedures.

Instead it’s providing a flexible structure of concepts and actions that free the team member to customize the experience within set guidelines and personalize the experience, while ensuring all key steps are completed. The personality of the team member must come through to allow the creation of trust and rapport required for a positive customer experience.

Your Franchise Model

A training exercise

Does your Franchise Model clearly detail the customer experience that will enhance the customer relationship? I expect many of yours do. But if not, that should be a priority for your near future.

A predictable, exceptional customer experience is your goal. And that can only be reliably achieved if your team understands the value of these Moments and understands how best to enhance them. Relying on each team member to use their “best judgement” in the customer contact experience provides unpredictable behaviors and results.

Along with offering the enhancement

When I visit franchisees, I will frequently offer training for their employees. As part of an exercise to reinforce previous training, the team will generate a list of our Moments of Truth that make up our customer service experience. I’ll moderate as the team helps me list these steps and I’ll ensure nothing is overlooked. This exercise has training reinforcement value itself. But then we’ll get down to the real value of the session.

I then break the team into groups and assign Moments to each group. Each group will then be given time to list what behaviors or actions go into getting the

“It is typically hard to gain customers, but very easy to lose them.

We need to ensure our employees take the right customer-facing actions.”

most out of each Moment. Then together we’ll review the findings of each group.

As expected, they list many of the steps that are part of the franchise model. Other groups will fill in the steps that may have been missed. And the entire process is reinforced for the team. It’s proven to be a useful exercise.

And occasionally something extraordinary happens. A group will offer an additional step or a step enhancement to improve the franchise model. We’ve found the most exciting ideas come from the field. This is a method to reinforce and enhance our model.

Your competitive advantage…

Your Franchise Model is a description of who you are and how you differ from the rest of the marketplace. You can’t depend upon each franchisee employee to make their best effort to maintain the integrity of the model. There must be a “road map” the employee follows consistent with the underlying franchisor’s intent.

If you have a customer experience model, make sure you train and enforce it. If you don’t have a model, develop one that will provide you confidence that your entire organization’s team members are consistently providing their customers

predictable and valuable Moments of Truth.

Roger McCoy is a Franchise Business Consultant for a national home services provider. Roger has held management and ownership positions in the home services industry since 1994, the last 13 have been in franchising. He is a Certified Franchise Executive (CFE), has a Texas HVAC contractor’s license, and is a US Army Veteran. He is currently working toward his PhD in Management.

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EventPrep 速

Military Veterans Join Ranks to Launch New HomeBased Franchise Model

Paul Trapp and Steve Davis are the founding owners of National Conferencing, Inc. which is currently dba/ FederalConference.com.

With over two decades of successful event planning and management experience in the private and government sectors, Paul and Steve have harnessed the science and the art of successful event planning and established themselves as industry leaders. In 2013, FederalConference. com earned the #2 spot on the Inc500 List with $49 million in revenues and a 24,830% growth, and was subsequently

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named to the top five places to work in the industry by Meetings and Convention Magazine. Today, FederalConference. com employs over 50 full time event planning and management professionals at their Northern Virginia headquarters, and successfully plans and executes over 3000 events annually.

In 2016, Paul and Steve leveraged their industry experience, resources and professional relationships to create and launch a new brand: EventPrep速.

EventPrep速 operates as a homebased franchise model as opposed to their previous corporate-owned growth strategy.

The franchise approach was chosen to scale more quickly while providing franchisees the opportunity to be in a successful business for themselves, but not

by themselves. The first two franchisees (Florida and Colorado) experienced

remarkable success and exceeded every

established benchmark the company set out to achieve during their beta test.

Paul and Steve are both military veterans and consistently credit their success to

the experience and education they were afforded during their time serving our country. They know from experience

that veterans make great business owners, and as such, they offer all honorably

discharged veterans a 20% discount off the initial franchise fee.

For more information about EventPrep速, please visit www.eventprepfranchise.com

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