Million Dollar Minute with Kristin Selmeczy

by Elizabeth Denham

This month in our Million Dollar Minute, Elizabeth Denham decided to ask Kristin Selmeczy about achieving “million dollar” status. Is it attainable and how do you do it? Here’s the scoop!

Elizabeth Denham: I thought it would be interesting to discuss how you get to be a million-dollar business owner in franchising. You know, we talk about all of our million-dollar mentors - We’ve got Jerry Akers, we’ve got you, we’ve got Ray Pillar. And we define that by those franchisees who have reached the million-dollar dollar mark in revenue. So, for those of us who are interested in becoming a franchisee, how attainable is that, really?

Kristin Selmeczy: I mean, we talk about this clearly. All of our million-dollar mentors have had successful businesses. We have learned tons along the way, made tons of mistakes.

E.D. So, how hard is it to achieve that level and what does it take?

K.S. Well, you know, it’s interesting because I think, first of all, it’s all about finding the right fit. Because if you don’t find a brand or a category that you can be passionate about and have fun with and really fall in love with, it’s not going to work. Now, I don’t fall in love with cleaning toilets. That’s not what I do. But what I do is I fall in love with having such great people and fostering an environment in which they enjoy going in and seeing, you know, a completely filthy, upside down house and walking out with it looking like a model home. So, for me, that’s what drives me — not clean toilets.

First and foremost is finding the right fit for you. Absolutely critical. Second of all, it’s making sure that you truly understand what the business model is and understanding what your KPIs are. So, there are key performance indicators put in place for a reason. And is it always easy to get to all of those at the same time?

No, it’s not. I’ve said before on the show, I started the business and surprise! I’m having another baby. Oh, great. I just quit my job and started this business. We’re in the hole right? The interesting thing, especially when you have a franchise, is that often you can kind of ebb and flow with the business.

So, I take my foot off the gas a little bit. But now that I have grown the business, I know that by September, I’m gearing up for the holidays And so you have to understand the seasonality of your business. You’re not going to get in immediately and make $1,000,000. Let’s put this in perspective, right? Some brands, you do $1,000,000 right off the get-go because your a restoration company and the jobs that you’re doing are high-dollar jobs.

My average job’s like 178 bucks or something, right? So, it takes me a lot longer to get to $1,000,000 mark than it would if somebody has a $25,000 average ticket. You have to put that in perspective.

E.D. So you have to know if you’re a volume business or if you’re going to get to do several projects a year, they’re going to add up. But the interesting thing to me about your story is you mentioned having a baby, right, when you opened your business. And so, part of the history of your story and your businessis that you did not put your foot on the gas immediately.

You grew your business, your children got more independent. Then you were able to really focus in. So, a lot of it is franchisee driven, right? You can decide how many territories you want. Do you want a small one? Do you want to grow and multiply? Do you want high-ticket items that get you quick returns? Or do you want something that’s more of a volume sustained business? Right.

K.S. Right. And, you know, Ray and I talk about this often too. When we started, I opened my business in 2007. And if everybody remembers what happened in 2008 2009. Yeah. Hello! People are worried about how they’re going to keep their house. The last thing they care about is whether or not it’s clean. So, I did follow the model. I continue to dump good money after bad because you’re marketing to people who have not the slightest interest in cleaning. They just want to keep a roof over their heads. But you’re keeping the brand out there and the perseverance that it takes and the preparation that you need to have when things improve, As Ray and I talk about, you begin with the end in mind and make sure that whatever they tell you, you need to have in terms of liquid capital for that first year, double it because you don’t know what will happen. .

E.D. Right. Who would have thought we would have gone through COVID and now we have a recession on the horizon.

K.S. So, do I think that everyone has the opportunity to be a $1,000,000 owner? Absolutely. There are weeks that I work 60, 70 hours a week. Just like I did when I worked for corporate America. And now there are weeks that maybe I work 15 to 20 hours a week. I have a great office manager and if I were in every day, I would drive her crazy.

Now, I could really invest a lot more and, in relatively short fashion, make an impact to hit the $2 million mark. But I’ve got teenagers. I’ve got a girl who’s going off to college next week. I have a high school freshman who’s got some situational things that I need to be in touch with. And so, there are a lot of different things that, as an owner, you can just say, you know, how important is $1,000,000?

E.D. And what does that number really mean to you and what’s the cost to your work-life balance? We talk to Jerry Akers because his kids are older and they’ve now stepped in to help him run the business. So, for Jerry to help him hit $1,000,000 is a piece of cake, right?

K.S. Right. I’ve got four territories where he’s got a giant territory. You really must consider where you are in life to determine how important that million-dollar mark is and what you’re willing to give up. But without hard work and perseverance, if you don’t have those, forget it. It’s not going to happen.

If you have an interest and becoming a franchisee, we can both help you find the franchise that’s right for you, or we can mentor you through those first few years and help you really avoid some of the same mistakes that some of our mentors made. Please reach out to yourdream@pillarsoffranchising. com for more information.