Could A Franchise Help You Realize Your Dreams?

Could A Franchise Help You Realize Your Dreams?

Tim Fitzpatrick
Starting a business from scratch is really difficult. In fact, for a lot of people, it might make more sense to look at purchasing a franchise instead of starting from the ground up. That is why I have a franchise matchmaker with us today. She's going to dig into the benefits and the downsides of purchasing a franchise to help you determine whether it might be a good fit for you. Hi. I am Tim Fitzpatrick with Rialto Marketing, where we believe marketing shouldn't be difficult, all you need is the right plan. Thank you so much for taking the time to tune in. I am super excited to have Diane Pleuss with me today from FranChoice. Diane, welcome, and thanks so much for taking the time.

Diane Pleuss
Thank you so much, Tim. It's a pleasure to be here with you.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Yes. So before we jumped on, you were telling me your last name is spelled P-L-E-U-S-S.

Diane Pleuss
Correct.

Tim Fitzpatrick
But it's pronounced ployce, like choice, like Rolls Royce.

Diane Pleuss
Yes.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Okay.

Diane Pleuss
I did not come up with that. I used to be in advertising, and one of my clients nicely came up with a little bit of rhyme. Pleuss rhymes with choice, voice, or Rolls Royce. And I thank her for that so much.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Oh, yes. Now I'm excited to dig into this. I have never had anybody on talk about Franchising. I think it is something that a lot of people overlook, but there certainly are some really strong opportunities out there. So I think this is going to be a great conversation. Before we jump into that, I want to ask you some rapid-fire questions, help us get to know you a little bit. You ready to jump in here with both feet?

Diane Pleuss
Let's do it.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Okay. So, when you're not working, how do you like to spend your time?

Diane Pleuss
I like to get a run in. I'm on a running streak where I run a minimum of mile a day, usually 20 miles a week, and I'm approaching day 600.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Good for you. Consistency is key, right?

Diane Pleuss
Yes.

Tim Fitzpatrick
What's the best piece of advice that you've ever been given?

Diane Pleuss
The best piece of advice was from a former boss, and he said, "If you do what you say, you'll be successful. And if you're actually good at it, you'll be very successful."

Tim Fitzpatrick
Yeah. Sometimes it's the simple things that are actually the best. So what's one thing about you that surprises people?

Diane Pleuss
Probably that I'm a farm girl from Wisconsin. I was in Forage, and I used to take my cows to the county fair and state fare and show them.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Okay. I love it. What does success mean to you?

Diane Pleuss
It means setting personal goals that are stretch for you that work for you. And it should be personal financial work, volunteer, the whole thing. It's multi-dimensional.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Where's your happy place?

Diane Pleuss
My happy place is on my lawn chair on the deck, in the patio with a book or a magazine and on a sunny day. Indulgent.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Yes. Well, and you're in Northern California. We were talking about that. I grew up in Northern California, so you get plenty of days to do that.

Diane Pleuss
We do. Tim, I have to share with you that when we moved here from Wisconsin, we moved here in the beginning of March, and I was wearing a turtleneck and corduroys and a ski jacket. And neighbors were coming and introducing themselves in T shirt and shorts. And I thought, I'm going to like it here in those first couple of weeks. I kept saying, the weather is so nice. It's so beautiful. And finally one of my neighbors pulled me aside and said, Diane, it's pretty boring. It's always nice can we talk about more. Things other the weather here.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Yes. When I moved to Denver from the Bay Area, it took a little while for me to get used to it, because with the seasons, the colors are different, like in the Bay Area in the winter, it's green. In Denver, it is Brown because everything dies off, but it's the exact opposite in the summer. In the Bay Area, everything is Brown in the summer. But here it's green, and it's fun. So it took a little bit of getting used to adjust to that.

Diane Pleuss
And it took me a while to get used to saying, not Brown, but golden.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Golden. There you go.

Tim Fitzpatrick
That's right. Yeah. Golden is probably a better way to describe it. Last question I have for you. What qualities do you value in the people that you spend time with?

Diane Pleuss
Integrity, honesty, ability to communicate, people that are willing to give first and help out.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Awesome. Tell us a little bit more about what you're doing with FranChoice, how you're helping people. And then we're going to dig in and help people understand what Franchising is all about.

Diane Pleuss
Sure. I work with people many times that are in what's called career transition. They don't necessarily want to stay in the corporate world and they're looking for other opportunities. They may or may not think about business. If they do, they might think about a franchise. And Franchising is more than just fast food and French fries. But most people don't know that, so they don't know what are the good franchises and not so good franchise. How do they go about it? Could they be a good fit? It's a bit overwhelming. So as a matchmaker or franchise fitter, I basically match good people with good franchises based on the person's goals, their skills, their interests, their investment level, so they can be successful, happy and build an asset either that they could then sell or possibly hand down to family.

Tim Fitzpatrick
So as a franchise matchmaker, who's paying you? Is it the franchisor or the person purchasing the franchise location?

Diane Pleuss
It is the franchise company. So FranChoice will prescreen the franchise companies. And if they pass that prescreen, usually they're quite happy because FranChoice is quite selective. And that way we are introducing them to qualified candidates that would be a very good match. So they look at it most of the time and say, "Gee, we could advertise on this website or participate in this trade show, but we might not get the quality of people that we want. So if we are approved, we can work with FranChoice. They will bring us a few great people." And it's a two-way street if we like them and they like us and we award them a franchise, then yes, we will pay FranChoice a fee for that prescreening that qualification education that we do. And Franchising is highly regulated. So the franchise fee for a new franchise is exactly the same whether someone works with us or not.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Yeah. So it's not like you're getting a better deal going directly to the franchisor?

Diane Pleuss
No, the franchise fee. It is what it is.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Yeah. This is really similar. Most people will be able to relate to this. When you go buy a house, you work with a real estate agent, you're not paying the real estate agent. The seller is paying the real estate agent. So there aren't any fees coming out of your pocket. In the case of a franchise, you're not getting a better deal by going direct. But I think the benefit in working with someone like you is that you have somebody that's really invested in looking out for your interest because you don't want to pay for somebody that's not going to be a good fit.

Diane Pleuss
No. And I've been doing this now for 17 years and hopefully have a good reputation. I love when franchise companies call me, for example, after the national convention. And they'll say, "Remember Bob?" "Remember Mary?" "Well, they were the rookie of the year." Or "They're now in the President's Club." And they'll say, "You probably want to give them a call and congratulate them." And then they'll say, "Oh, and by the way, introduce us to more good people just like them." So they remember exactly where their good people came from.

The Types of People that are Great Fit for Being a Franchisee

Tim Fitzpatrick
Awesome. Let's jump into this. So you touched on this a little bit, but let's dig a little bit deeper. What types of people tend to be good fit for being a franchisee?

Diane Pleuss
Thank you for that question, Tim. I've identified actually five categories of people. The first one is the people that I call 50 plus and downsize or disillusioned. They could stay in corporate America. They've got great experience. The future doesn't look brighter. They have been downsized, maybe once or twice, three times or more, and they don't necessarily want to go back. They want to build equity for themselves and their families. So they look at a franchise as an option. And many times with those folks, they'll take a dual path. They'll look at a job, and they'll also look at a business. They may know what the job looks like, but they don't know what the franchise opportunity looks like. And many times when I work with people, I chuckle because I say, "You're probably going to be in the enviable position that because now you see options and choices, you're going to be more attractive even for employment opportunities." So you might have a job option and you might have a business option. And it would be a great place to be so that's one person or one type of category, another person that I work with, I called employed but nervous, and they tend to be in a company where there's downsizing going on. So one Department might be hiring, but another Department might be laying off and they've dodged the bullet so far, but they know their neck could be next. So they want to keep the job, but they want to diversify. They want to have a safety net. They want to have another revenue stream as a bit of a protection mode. So usually they will do what's called a manager run business. They'll keep the job, they'll do the franchise, that's manager one put it in place. And many times year one, they'll open up the first location or unit. Year two, approximately the second unit, year three, the third unit, and then they're in that enviable position. They might say, "Gee, I'm cash flowing now and this is going good. I might say goodbye in the corporate world and continue to grow and scale more units." And if not, they've got this additional revenue stream that they've built.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Is now an OK time to dig into this manager run.

Diane Pleuss
Sure.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Because this is interesting because I think a lot of people don't think about this. There are a number of franchises out there where they like, when you buy in, they are expecting you to be there and run it. But there are also some, as you touched on, that are more manager run where you don't have to be there. Can you dig into that a little bit? Because it seems like a manager run option is something that somebody who wants to invest and diversify but does not have the time to do all the day to day.

Diane Pleuss
Exactly. And there are certain industries that do very well in that category that are designed to be manager run. And those could be, for example, fitness. And most of the time people think that, "Oh, they have to be in shape or they have to be a fitness nut." And they don't have to be because they're going to hire that person who's going to run the business. So they are not going to be the face of it. They have to see that it's an industry that's growing. Many times people like fitness because people renew from month to month, so it's predictable coming in. And surprisingly, again, with the good fitness companies, there's still a category that is growing, particularly in boutique fitness. Another industry would be hair salon. Other ones are kind of crazy. You might think of an oil change business, but that can be manage or run. And you could again keep a job. So there are categories similar to that. Some of the office rental could also fall in that category, and there's a variety of others as well.

Tim Fitzpatrick
So with manager run, obviously, they're still spending time. Do you have any idea the average amount of time that a franchise owner is spending with the manager run option?

Diane Pleuss
Franchise companies will generally want you to be able to spend 10 to 20 hours a week managing the manager and the business. And certainly, in year one, I would figure on the higher end of that. And then you set up a good structure and then the hours and the commitment will decrease or should decrease. And again, when you are talking with franchisees as part of what we call validation, you're asking them questions. You can also ask the other franchise owners and say, "How much time did you spend in the first six months in the first year? How much time are you spending now?" And so you get to verify everything that the franchise company is telling you. And you might see that Rick is running it really well and spending fewer hours and someone else who might be struggling and you're thinking, "Okay, where would I fit in there? And how would I run it? And how many hours could I dedicate or do I have a spouse that could also be involved in helping to run it as well or partner?"

Tim Fitzpatrick
Sorry, I kind of went off track there. So the types of people that tend to be a good fit, a lot of them seem to be what I would call kind of corporate refugees in some way, shape, or form. Are there any others outside of corporate refugees?

Diane Pleuss
Well, certainly we have to acknowledge our veterans. We always want to thank them for their service. And franchise companies love veterans because they are used to following systems. They usually have great management experience. So many franchise companies will give a discount off the franchise fee for veterans. Interestingly, veterans tend to outperform franchisees in general. So franchise companies give them that discount a to say thanks for their service. But also they know that usually they do extraordinarily well, and it's mutually beneficial.

Tim Fitzpatrick
That's an interesting type that I really did not think about. But the systems and the frameworks that are in place for the military, it makes perfect sense that they're a great fit.

Diane Pleuss
It does. And not everyone transfers to civilian life well, or they have been in the military and they've retired, and now they want to do something. And again, they don't necessarily want to start at the bottom. They want to have some of that freedom and flexibility and control. And they want to build something that they can put their stamp on. And a franchise would allow them to do that.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Do you see entrepreneurs that have started businesses from the ground up investing in franchises. Specifically, my guess would be manager-run options are probably make the most sense for people like that. But in your experience, what have you seen?

Diane Pleuss
I've seen both. I've worked with people who have built businesses themselves, and they've come to me and they said, "This time I want to buy a franchise." And I quiz them pretty hard because my concern is, will they follow the systems and infrastructure? Are they used to creating everything themselves?

Tim Fitzpatrick
Yes.

Diane Pleuss
And the people I've worked with have said, "No, I've done it. I know how much work it takes. I have an appreciation for it. I want to get down the road further and faster this time. I see there's value in that franchise fee. So I know I can do it. But this time I want something that's faster, easier, bigger, better, and that I should be able to sell at a higher multiple." So they've been successful owners in the past. And again, not everyone would translate well because not everyone would want to follow a system. There are some, what I call Renaissance people that want to do everything themselves. But sometimes after they've done it and they know how hard it is, how fraud it is, they go, "I know I can, but I don't want to this next time."

The Benefits and Downsides of Owning a Franchise

Tim Fitzpatrick
Yeah. So what are the benefits and downsides of owning a franchise?

Diane Pleuss
Well, the benefits are you have that infrastructure. You have the people to support and train you. They've done it. They know where the potholes are, so to speak. They say, "Do this." "Don't do this." "This is what it's going to take." Sometimes you have licensing requirements. Sometimes you are looking at negotiating leases and build out. And if you've never done that before again, it could be very costly. It could be very time consuming. And you don't want to have those errors. So you look at a franchise to save you that time to have the people that have gone ahead and forge the path and continue to finetune and tweak and say, "We've made many mistakes. But look at how we've improved it." And we welcome people who have an appreciation for that, who still want to contribute and grow and be part of this successful operation.

Tim Fitzpatrick
This is a loaded question.

Diane Pleuss
Okay.

Tim Fitzpatrick
What's the range of you mentioned the franchise fees, right. So when you decide to purchase a franchise, my understanding, everyone I've ever seen has a buy in upfront some type of initial investment, and then they are paying. Typically, it's a percentage of top-line revenue. Correct?

Diane Pleuss
Well, there's two costs. So let's talk about that. There is a franchise fee, which is a one-time payment that you make when you sign the agreement. And that generally ranges in the $50 to $70,000 category. It could be as low as, let's say, 15,000, such as a subway or it could also be a six-digit number. But if we look at just round numbers back the napkin math, so to speak, we could save $50,000 for that one-time fee. And then franchise companies will also have a royalty. Most of the time, it's a percentage. Occasionally it's a flat fee. Sometimes the royalty is inherent in the products, such as ice cream. So you don't pay a separate royalty. But you're buying the product. And that again goes towards the franchise. Franchise companies are not for profit. They are for profit. They're not for profit organizations. If I'm saying that correctly, but you're looking at that and you want value, you want to be able to see that the royalty that you're paying and no one likes to pay fees. But if you're getting value and you're saying, "They introduced this program, they're doing these things. I could never on my own do that. I could never pay for that or take the time for that." Then you've got value. And if you don't see the value, then you shouldn't do it.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Yeah. So if you're not getting value from the money you're paying a franchisor they're not doing what they need to do to support the individual franchisees.

Diane Pleuss
Exactly. And I've worked with many people over the years now that have renewed most agreements or ten years. And after they renew, I'm thinking of one woman who is in the President's club, and I was chatting with her and she said, "Yeah, my royalties are pretty significant." But she said, "I'm still getting tremendous value from the franchise company. And I recognize that I could never do this alone." So while no one likes paying those fees, they go, "I wouldn't have the business that I have today if I didn't have that partnership."

Tim Fitzpatrick
Yeah. So the big benefit in going with the franchise is you're buying into a system. You're hitting the ground at 60 miles an hour, not starting from zero. Downside, of course, there is initial investment. You've got your ongoing royalties in some way, shape, or form. You do have guidelines, right? And structure that's in place. There's a benefit to that. But there could be a potential downside for certain types of people. Are there any other benefits or downsides that we haven't touched on?

Diane Pleuss
One benefit, I think, is the franchise community. So people sometimes minimize that. And they are introduced to their fellow franchisees. They go through training and they say, "Man, these people are helpful. They're giving they're in the same boat as me. We're all working together." And sometimes when people come out of the stereotypical corporate world, one person succeeds, sometimes at the expense of someone else. And here you could be a fellow franchisee in Denver and I'm here in the Bay Area, and we can both succeed. And we can both help each other. And to me, that's a huge benefit. Many franchisees will go to the national convention. They'll fly out early or they'll stay longer, their family will go and the families become friends and the kids know each other. And one time I was talking to one franchisee in California and their corporate office so the franchisor was on the East Coast, and I was quizzing them about a variety of different things and asking about the support. And they finally looked at me and said, "Diane, look, everything is fine. The franchiseor supports us. All is good." But we have a great group of franchises here in California, and we've got questions. We usually call someone else in our little group first. And if we can't figure out then we call corporate because we know they'll have the answer. But we've got this close-knit group here. So we'll work with them first. And that's certainly not unusual.

Tim Fitzpatrick
So in the right franchise environment, you basically have a built-in mastermind.

Diane Pleuss
You could. Excellent. I've not thought of it that way, Tim. That's a great description. Yes. Not everyone contributes. Again, one time I went out and I have tendency to call franchisees that are local and introduce myself and say, "Can I spend a little time with you and get to know you because I'm matching people and I want to know some of those nuances?" And one time I went out and I met this person who had been a CPA. While I was there corporate call for a monthly checking call. And he was very polite. He just said, "Things are fine. I have no questions." Talked to him for five minutes and said, "Give the rest of my time to someone else who needs it." And so he was doing well. He was confident he wasn't this particularly sharing kind of person, but he was still running a good business.

How COVID Affected Franchising

Tim Fitzpatrick
So it's difficult to have a conversation these days without talking about the pandemic. How has COVID affected Franchising?

Diane Pleuss
Well, here I think we have to look at what we hear in the media and take that with the grain of salt, if you will. Certainly when we look at the fast food establishments and the restaurants, it has had a major effect and has altered menus, has increased drive-through, has had an effect on employees, and certainly that has been very challenging for them. On the flip side, there are a number of business and industries that were deemed essential and that thrived actually, during the pandemic. I would say that the first month or two, everything was almost a pause. But then things started to come back. So if you look at some of those industries, they don't tout it because no one wants to talk about their success at the expense of someone else. But many of the franchise companies, when you dig in, they are very proud of what they have done. They are very proud of how they have supported the franchisees. Many of the companies looked at how they could further help. Some of them reduce their ad fees. Some of them went to the vendors and negotiate better contracts. Some of them called the real estate companies to renegotiate leases or see what they could do there. Some of them provided, for example, PPP equipment, because they said, "Our franchisees are busy running their business. We don't expect them to be able to find and source these types of things." So we will do it. We'll have it shipped to our home office. We'll send it out to our franchisees so they can focus on what they need to do. And they just did these things. Some of them hired people to help the franchisees fill out their PPP and their EIDL forms because again, they weren't familiar. So these are things that franchise companies just did. They don't tout. And sometimes they're actually rather quiet about that. Probably about a year and a half ago, I wrote an article about the Pandemic Pivot and what some companies had done. And I interviewed one franchise company, and they were very clear. And they said, "Diane, we will share these things with you. But by no means do we want to construed that we are touting things because that's just not how we operate." So keep in mind that, again, anything to do with home services has done well because people were home, and they realized that they wanted things done. They didn't necessarily have the skills or the tools or the time. So the franchise companies, for example, that do painting again, the franchisee is not the painter. They are running the business. They are hiring or contracting with the painters. So those companies, their sales can off the charts. They have had banner years, companies that are doing handyman services. And there's a whole host of home related services from roofing, insulation, gutter repair, the painting, the handyman, HVAC, electrical, plumbing, flooring, window coverings, lawn care, pool care. All of those things were deemed essential and franchisees were to continue to operate their business. We don't think of those things initially because they don't have the flashing sign of the side of the road. And yet they have done very well.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Are you guys seeing increased interest in Franchising with all the people that are resigning currently?

Diane Pleuss
We are. I think a lot of people don't necessarily want to go back to the office for a myriad of reasons, or they realize that they have more options. They may have gained more confidence. They realize they can manage more things. They don't miss the commute. They enjoy, possibly more family time. And they can look at that and say, "Here's another option for me." So I think the door has been opened. And one time I worked with someone who had a business, maybe getting back to your point, and he said to me, "Once that Genie is out of the bottle, it's hard to get her back. So I've had a business and I want another business."

Tim Fitzpatrick
Yeah. Once you go down that path, it's hard to go back. That's for sure. One of the things you touched on earlier was just the initial franchise fee. With companies like FranChoice, do you guys help potential franchisees find funding? What does that look like?

Diane Pleuss
Sure. There are funding companies that we work with that we will make introductions to and they are the specialist. So they will talk with the candidate and they will help them determine what would be the best way to finance a business. So they may want to do an SBA loan. They may want to do a home equity line of credit. They may want to use retirement funds and do a rollover program where they can invest in the business with no penalty and actually some tax advantages. It's not something that people can do individually, but they can learn about that. They can be educated. Again, most of the time people don't come with a bag of cash and purchase a business and pay for it outright. Most of the time it's just like your house example, they come to us and they have some savings or retirement that they can use and they will finance the balance. So if they can have 25% or 30% skin in the game, as we say, they can finance the balance.

Tim Fitzpatrick
I would assume, too, that a franchise compared to starting a business from scratch, it is easier to get financing for a franchise location than starting from scratch, because the banks know, "Hey, this is a known entity, and it's not nearly as risky." Is that an accurate assumption?

Diane Pleuss
It is an accurate assumption. There is a registry where franchise companies can be listed. And again, the funding companies work with a number of banks and they know who has an appetite, which is their term for different franchise options. So they can basically look at that person and say, "We know that this bank or this bank or this make might be interested. So let's talk to those folks and see what kind of terms and conditions they have." Otherwise, I've had people who have come to me and they're just bewildered because they say, "I've worked with this bank. I've banked with this bank for 20 years. I haven't missed a mortgage payment. I used to get oodles of solicitations for credit cards or home equity lines of credit. And now I want to borrow money for a business, but I don't have a track record. So they aren't lending me money." And most of the time, people, as I said, are just flabbergasted at that. So usually this is where a funding company can help. And certainly once that person has two years of experience in the business, then usually the banks are knocking out their door saying, "So, would you like to expand? Would you like to add an additional unit? We'd like to lend you money," because now they have that track record.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Yes. So are there any common mistakes that you see people make when they're investigating a franchise opportunity?

Diane Pleuss
Yes. There are some mistakes that people make one I call franchise infatuation. So sometimes people fall in love with the business. So they go on vacation and they see typically a restaurant that they don't have in their hometown. And there is a line and they're enamored and the place is busy and it's hopping and they're thinking, "Oh, this would be great. It would do so well." But they're not thinking, what is the investment? How long is it going to take for the build out? What are the hours look like? How many employees will they have to have? All of these types of things, of running the business and would that be a good match for them and the lifestyle and what they want? So just because it's successful one place and maybe a good business, would it be the best business for them, or could we look at that as a starting point and say, "That might be a good business. Let's see if we should look at that. And maybe we could find something even better that would be customized for you." So that's one concern.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Okay.

Diane Pleuss
Maybe another first cousin to that would be when people again have a holiday. Sometimes Thanksgiving, Christmas, 4th of July. People are gathering around the campfire and then they say, "Yeah, I'm about ready to go with the franchise." And someone goes, "No, my uncle had a franchise and he lost his shirt. Don't do it, don't do it." And the person knows nothing about that individual's goals and skills and abilities. They just had one bad experience and they're projecting it and they can deter that person. And I think it's appropriate. If you truly want to help that person, think of questions to ask to say, Have you asked this question? Have you considered this, then you can be that genuine help. But if you're just doing that blanket no, I think that's candidly more harm than good.

Conclusion: Could A Franchise Help You Realize Your Dreams?

Tim Fitzpatrick
Yeah. This has been a great conversation. Do you have any last minute words of wisdom, thoughts you want to leave us with on this?

Diane Pleuss
I do want to share. There are two more categories, if you will, of people that I love working with. And one of them tends to be women who are returning to the marketplace. And I don't want to be stereotypical. I certainly welcome men who have taken a break for family or to care for elderly parents, but they've taken some time off. They look at jobs that are available, and most of the time they are not appealing or they've got great skills and they don't necessarily want to start over. So when they discover a franchise option and that they can have flexibility and sign the front of the check instead of the back of the check, they go, "This is pretty interesting. Let's talk further." And then one other person that I very much like to work with is what I call that plug and play entrepreneur. So they're the hardworking salt of the Earth person who wants the business. They want to grow it. They may want to work with a spouse or partner or leave it for kids, but they don't have the big idea, and they don't want to create the website and develop training manuals and all those things and ad programs. So they just say, "Give me the playbook, give me the toolbox, train me and let me go." So I call those my plug and play entrepreneurs. And I again, very much like working with them and helping them be successful.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Love it. If people are interested in this and they want to just chat with you, dig into it to find out whether you've got franchise opportunities that might be a good fit, where's the best place for them to find you, Diane?

Diane Pleuss
The best place is to probably go to quick chat with Diane dot com, where they could book a short 15-minute call with me, and I set that up because again, as we started the conversation, Pleuss is difficult to pronounce. It's difficult to spell, but hopefully people can remember quick chat with Diane. They can also look me up on LinkedIn. Diane Pleus The Franchise Fitter, which is the moniker I gave myself so that hopefully people could find me. I post a lot of articles. I like to be active. I encourage people to look at some of the posts or the videos or things that I've done to make sure that you would be comfortable working with me.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Awesome. And they can also go to your website, Diane Pleuss dot com as well.

Diane Pleuss
Exactly.

Tim Fitzpatrick
That's D-I-A-N-E-P-L-E-U-S-S com.

Diane Pleuss
Perfect. You got it.

Tim Fitzpatrick
Thank you, Diane. Thank you so much. This is a great conversation. I know there's a ton of people out there who are thinking about getting into business. Don't poo poo the franchise opportunity. I think it is worth looking into to see if it's a good fit. And Diane is the perfect person for you to talk to. So jump on over there, chat with Diane and see if she's got some opportunities that may be a good fit for you. Other than that, guys, thank you so much for listening, for watching. Again, I'm Tim with Rialto Marketing. If you are struggling with your marketing, you're not quite sure what that next right step is to get where you want to go, hop on over to our website at Rialto Marketing dot com. That's R-I-A-L-T-O Marketing dot com. Click on the Get a Free Consultation button. I would be happy to chat with you and help give you some clarity on what those next steps should be for you and where you want to go. Thank you so much. Until next time. Take care.