Should You Invest in a Franchise – Interview with Kim Daly | 412

Chris Miles (00:00):
My fellow Ripplers. This is Chris Miles. Your Cash Flow Expert and Anti-Financial Advisor. And I welcome you out for a wonderful show. A show that’s for you and about you. Those of you that work so freaking hard for your money and you’re ready for your money to start working hard for you. Now! You want that freedom. That cash flow. That prosperity. Not 30 or 40 bazillion years from now, but right now. So you have that freedom, that time freedom, that money freedom to do what you love with those you love whenever the heck you want to do it, right? But on top of that. So much more than just having that comfort and convenience and having that free life. It’s about having a life of meaning and purpose. A life where you could be a Rippler. We can create a ripple effect to the lives of others, not just your family.

Chris Miles (00:50):
And that’s awesome too, through generations, beyond you, but creating this real ripple effect of abundance, prosperity that expands beyond the community and the country and across the world. So guys, I’m excited to be a part of this with you guys, because, because of you, I can send my ripple effect for you as well. So thank you for tuning in for bingeing, for doing all the things you guys do. Thank you so much!

Chris Miles (01:11):
As a reminder, check-out our website MoneyRipples.com There’s a great ebook on there called Beyond Rice & Beans, Seven Secrets. If you have cash today, if you’re looking for ways to find more money now, so you can put the money to use to make more money today. So check that out.

Chris Miles (01:24):
Alright! So today I’ve got a special guest here, Kim Daly. Now, again, like you guys know if I bring on guests, it’s not done lightly. Like I keep deleting emails from guests being pitched at me left and right. And in fact, I actually was vowing. I actually had said to myself, the day I got this email, I said, I’m not going to take any more guests on. I’m already booked out about two months with the guest interviews. And then of course, especially with the one firm that I’ve used as well, they sent me an introduction then I said, okay, my listeners are going to want this. I can’t pass this up. And so, that’s where I have Kim Daly here. So Kim has actually spent the last 20 years helping people achieve financial freedom by enabling them to find the perfect franchise opportunities. I’m know there’s some of you out there have asked Chris, should I be buying a franchise? Like, is that the way to go? Could it not just be real estate or just being other alternative investments?

Chris Miles (02:17):
Could I be buying into a business, right? This is the show for you. Her skill is really matching the client’s background, their interests, skills, finances, and the life goals to be able to match up to that ideal opportunity has made her one of the top franchise consultants in the country. Today, we are here to pick her brain and get some insight on that and then find out what exactly it is like, where can we find these right franchise opportunities? Is it the right thing for you? Who is it right for? And of course, if it is, if it is right for you, like how do you know? Like what’s the best opportunity, especially in a world like today. So Kim, welcome to our show!

Kim Daly (02:51):
Thank you so much! After that introduction, I don’t know where we’re going to go, but let’s have at it.

Chris Miles (02:56):
You’re like, all right! Well I’m game!

Kim Daly (02:59):
My hand are this big now, Chris.

Chris Miles (03:01):
Well, Hey, there could be worse things happening to you. That’s for sure.

Kim Daly (03:07):
I’m a big fan of this show so, it’s really like, it’s kind of surreal to like be here. So that’s great!

Chris Miles (03:10):
Well, I appreciate that. Well, tell us more about you. Like, what led you down this path?

Kim Daly (03:15):
You know, and I didn’t wake up one day and go, Ooohhh! I want to be a franchise consultant!

Chris Miles (03:20):
Yeah. It’s always in some of these little girls vision board, right? You know,

Kim Daly (03:24):
Exactly! I didn’t want to be a motivational speaker. So, and that is sort of what I do every single day now is influence people’s lives and help them just make decisions that ultimately changed their lives. But I actually answered a classified ad in the newspaper. I was on my way to med school. That was my whole life was about going to med school. Always wanted to help people do something real, tangible, answered a classified ad in the newspaper that was for a franchise company and literally changed my life. And I’ve never looked back. I’ve been self employed since I was 25 years old. So you can do the math, but about 23 years. And I love to tell people that I am completely unemployable. Which I think you…

Chris Miles (04:05):
I understand that!

Kim Daly (04:06):
Yeah. And people are like, and I’m like, Nope. And then people like, Oh, I can offer you a lot of money. I’m like, it’s not about money! Because I am not selling money. I’m selling freedom. Right? So I’m completely unemployable because my freedom has no price, but I’ll always be self employed. I’ll always own businesses. And I think at this point in my life, as much as I know about franchising, I can also say that I’ll probably never start another business from scratch. I’m fully, fully, fully believe that if you’re invested in the right franchise concept with the right people, and it’s really about the right people, because when you buy a franchise, that’s what you’re buying. A partnership. So if you find the right people who can mentor and coach you and who have enough track record to help you kind of take that and leverage that, there’s really no reason to start a business from scratch.

Chris Miles (04:54):
I agree. That’s the only thing I think is so hard is that people say, should I start a new business? I said, well, if you do, I mean, it’s like trying to start a bicycle laying on the ground, right? It’s like, you gotta pick it up. You got to actually like sit on it, try to balance on it, get the pedals going, which takes almost all your energies to get that first little turnaround. And then it starts to build momentum over time. Right? And I always tell people too, there’s different personalities. Some people don’t mind starting things from scratch. Cause they just creators that way. While others loved us to jump into a system that’s already created for them and just, you know, turn the key in the ignition, so to speak and just let it go. Right?

Kim Daly (05:30):
Right. And with a franchise, it depends on the time frame that you’re trying to build something. But even as sophisticated, you know, experienced entrepreneur or sophisticated business owner could turn to franchising for the leverage because how many entrepreneurs do you know, really ever get to get out from underneath what they built. Versus the investors that I’m helping are setting up from day one for multiple units. And they’re buying into the infrastructure of a location, a brand, the initial training, the just the foundation so that they can work on it rather than in it from day one. And that’s how they can open three, five, ten locations in a short amount of time. And when you step back and you look at how is the wealth really generated in a franchise it’s through that scale.

Chris Miles (06:19):
Yeah. It’s funny. Cause like I remember, oh boy, this is years ago. This must have been like 15 plus years ago. There was a local battery franchise. Right? Well, I shouldn’t say local. Was a national brand, but battery franchise store. Right. You think, well, Hey, that should be good. The guy, the owner of the franchise was actually working in the store as the clerk. Right? And when asked he’s like, Hey, well how long does it take to make money? He’s like, Oh, I don’t take a paycheck really for the first two years. Which to me makes a franchise sound like a nightmare. Right? What’s your feedback on that? Like is that necessarily have to be the reality?

Kim Daly (06:52):
No, that does not have to be the reality. Now let’s just step back because for some people they want to be in their business every day. And so great. And there are businesses that are designed for the owner to be there every day. But for those that are looking more for a CEO role or even for an investor role where it’s almost what we would call semi-absentee, it’s all about selecting the right business. And Chris, this is why I have a business. People come to me and say, I think I want to own a business, but I don’t really know what I want to do. I don’t know what I can afford. I don’t know what the right investment for my goals. I get to know them. I build a model and then I bring the ideas to them. And these are ideas that are not just based on, well, this widget matches you.

Kim Daly (07:37):
It has nothing to do with that. I don’t care about widgets. I care about people. So my matching process is part science, but mostly part art and relationship. I’m bringing my experience. 18 years of relationships with these franchisors. Sometimes I’m matching a candidate or a husband and wife team based on Christian values, because I know that this franchise is a Christian value culture. And I know that they’re going to find people in that system that they can relate to. And when we step back again and we look at like, I’m trying to help people build wealth in their lives. It’s not just money. You know, I always say rich people have money, wealthy people have time to spend their money. And the other part, yeah. The other part of wealth and that lifestyle is being connected to people that you enjoy. Right now, I’m working with a couple of NFL football players and there are franchises where there are a lot of other NFL investors and they were very, their eyes were like, wow! And I’m like, I named dropped. And I was like, did you know? And they were like, we didn’t know! And I’m like, that’s your tribe. So when you get to go and interview those franchisees to say, how does your business work during football season? You don’t have to be talking to the franchisees. And this one particular come from the national football league. So they were just like, wow! But how would you know that on your own? You wouldn’t!

Chris Miles (09:01):
It seems like almost every football player now either go into the restaurant business or a gym, right?

Kim Daly (09:07):
Not these two. I got, I’m going to get them going down a totally different path.

Chris Miles (09:13):
That would be good. That would be really good!

Kim Daly (09:13):
I explained to them the leverage. And once I talked to them about fixed expenses, they came to me thinking the gym, but they got so far off of that gym thing so quickly. That’s what happens, people, and I love it when people come with an idea of what they think they wanted. It’s almost like a personal challenge, unless it’s a business that I feel that actually fits them. But most of the time, the options that people think are right. When we really start looking at what they’re trying to achieve, it’s not generally the right business. Could be. And you know what? A lot of times people think franchising is only food and retail. And there’s a whole other world out there that doesn’t require the construction and the fixed expenses of a real estate based business.

Chris Miles (09:56):
Yeah. So who would it not be for?

Kim Daly (10:00):
I think if you are really, really, really risk averse, now I’ve helped people in 18 years who are super conservative and risk averse by franchises. In fact, I had a guy yesterday, say yes, and we were laughing. Cause I read to him, he started the process April 7th. So yesterday was May 19th. And I told him in the beginning it was a six week process. And he said, and I was saying to myself, BS on that! I’m never going to buy a business in six weeks! But here we are. And on the initial form that he emailed into me through my website, he said, I’m going to tell you I’m super conservative. And I’m a self proclaimed scaredy cat. So yesterday I was reading back to him and I said, I want you to put this on your wall because you are not risk averse. First of all, you came to me in the heart of a pandemic. And second of all, you’re not a scaredy cat because you just bought, you are now a multiunit franchisee. You just signed a franchise agreement for three store yoga studio business in California. Like in the heart of pandemic. In 6 weeks! You know, just my normal time for working with people. So I just said, what it does is that my process works. So, you know, but some people are really too risk averse. You’re not financially qualified right now. I encourage everyone to reach out to me because I love the opportunity to educate people. Different money buys options. That’s all. There are low investments. There are big investments. But I think franchising can work for anybody that is willing to be coachable. The number one thing you’ll hear consistently across all franchise systems from successful franchisees is to do what they tell you to do. Follow the system.

Chris Miles (11:43):
Right! You know, there’s one unique thing too, that sometimes will come up on a show is that you can actually use IRA money to fund a franchise. Correct?

Kim Daly (11:51):
That is true. Yes. It’s called the Rollover For Business Start-ups. Or the ROBS program. So I, people that work with me know that I stay in my lane, I am the franchise consultant. I know enough financing to be dangerous, but I lead all my people to my amazing friends who all they do is fund franchise businesses. So they would give the specifics of that program and how it works and help people get started. But yes, using the 401k without creating a taxable event is one of the number one ways that people will finance their business. Because, you know, even with an SBA loan, the bank is typically going to require 20% or 30% cash injection. So where are you going to come up with that cash? If it’s 50,000 or a hundred thousand, or even, you know, 35,000, a lot of people don’t have that kind of cash sitting around, but they do have it in a 401k

Chris Miles (12:43):
That’s right. Well, and here’s the unique thing with this year is even if you didn’t use that money to roll over, right. You know, so to speak, I mean, if you’ve been affected by COVID in any way, shape or form this year, you can pull out without the 10% penalty. And if you have the tax, the thing is, if you use it for business purposes, you kind of wash out the tax anyways. Right? So it’s a write off at the same time as the income. So ends up being like a, almost like a, you know, not exactly, but like a tax free exchange. You know, it’s almost like, Hey, I can just move this money over into a business. And boom! I’m done. Like, I don’t have to worry about whether I’m paying a tax bill because there isn’t going to be one.

Kim Daly (13:18):
Right, right. There are special circumstances, which is why when people are like, why would I ever consider? Am I sane to be thinking about starting a business right now? And I’m like, I mean, yes, if you have the dream, why wait? Because nothing that we do today, when you say yes to a franchise today impacts your life tomorrow. I mean, right. Owning a business is about a one year, three year, five year, 10 year plan. So if you want to be open in six months or year, yes! The time to start talking about it is now! Right? And that’s what happened. Like April ended up being one of my biggest months ever in 18 years. And as you go to the beginning, I am blessed to help a lot of people buy a lot of franchises. And April was an amazing, amazing month for me.

Kim Daly (14:03):
And May has been pretty fantastic as well. So, and the reason is because when I helped people see like number one, the financing options that are available, the government has created a nice little pile of money because the government loves small business, right? Small business stimulates local economy, creates jobs. And when people start thinking about, I have to hire people it’s like right now is a better time to hire people than February was. Right? There’s so much good talent available. And so there’s that part. But also because mainly the driving motivation for people was when I started having them ask questions about timing. So if I signed a franchise agreement today in a normal time period from signing to opening, how long is that? And all of those people in April, once they asked that question, came back to me and were like, I need to sign tomorrow. One guy was like, I’m six months behind. And I’m like, God, six months behind! Like, but the reality is, it’s just, if you have the dream, it’s go time now.

Chris Miles (14:58):
Well, it’s perfect timing right now. I see. Because one, I mean, some people have been cash, they’ve realized two things, right? Those people have been risk averse. You know, those people have thought they’re conservative. One usually had a full time job. Right? And then that full time job realized that’s not, that’s actually highly risk, you know, highly risky. Right? They don’t have any guarantees with that. And then two, the money in the stock market, isn’t safe either. You know, that’s also all over the place and volatile, right? So you have two things at risk and you think about, wait a minute, if I’m going to invest anywhere, invest in myself or even invest my money in it. If I’m going to be putting mutual funds in everybody else’s company, why not put in my own where I can call the shots.

Chris Miles (15:38):
I can actually manage that risk. You know? So instead of, that’s the thing that drives me nuts. When I get business owner to say, I’m going to throw money in the market. I’m like, why invest in everybody else’s business, but your own? That doesn’t make sense to me. Who do you believe in more? Obviously you don’t believe in yourself because you’re trying to throw it in something, just because people tell you that’s where it should be. It’s like, no, get that money out of places you don’t have any control, and invest in a real business. You know, invest something you can control and manage and monitor those risks and even amplify the returns. You know, based on what you’re doing.

Chris Miles (16:10):
This is why I’m such a big fan of your show! Because we sing the same song every day. And you just said it so brilliantly. Exactly!

Chris Miles (16:19):
Yeah. Well, awesome! So if people want to like understand more, like how would they reach out to you or what could they do to learn more about what you do for people?

Kim Daly (16:26):
Okay, great! So, TheDalyCoach.com www.TheDalyCoach.com on my website. I’m very proud of my videos. I put a lot of time and energy into trying to create real valuable content for people I myth bust. I love taking those big misconceptions and myths about how evil franchisors are, and they’re just there to take your money and they don’t care about your success and, you know, help people understand where those myths come from and then give them the truth. But I have testimonial videos where I actually go in and I’m sitting in the Supercuts location of the person I held to. Was the self-proclaimed scaredy cat and using her life savings to start a business. And what am I crazy? And now I, and I interviewed her, you know, in this environment, I have 10 videos like that. And just hundreds of testimonials from people. So my website is a great resource to see like what I’ve been up to for the last 18 years and understand the depth of my knowledge and my experience. You can also contact me through my website as well.

Chris Miles (17:31):
And the thing I love is that, unlike some franchises, you don’t have to be as hands on, right? Where some people might feel maxed out with time. Some people might have lots of time available right now, but others don’t. You have options for either don’t you?

Kim Daly (17:43):
Exactly, Chris! I do. One of the people that said yes this month, both he and his wife are full time executives, but they have no children. And so they have a large pool of money that they really want to put in something other than the market. And they are investing in, what’s called a Salon Suite. And a salon suite, it’s sort of like being like the landlord of a mall. Where you, it’s a big construction project, right? Cause you’ve got to construct, you know, your individual salon suites, but then you rent them. And these salon suites are going, they were big before COVID. Now they’re going to be like, they’re going to explode! Simply because the stylists can now get out of, kind of the gaggle of girls and in a big salon. And they can control their own environment and make it safe for their clients to come in one on one.

Kim Daly (18:33):
So, but really this is an investor’s dream business. It looks and feels very much like real estate, but it has more of a business ROI. So he said yes to that. And after it’s constructed, it’s probably less than five hour a week time commitment for him. So to answer your question, yes, we have businesses where people want to be consultants and they, like my business and they are their business. But then we have, you know, things like a laundromat or a car wash or a salon suite where it’s really leveraging your money.

Chris Miles (19:04):
Right.

Kim Daly (19:05):
And getting a business return instead of a real estate return.

Chris Miles (19:09):
I love it! Wherever you go check out TheDalyCoach.com it’s TheDailyCoach.com. Right? I said that all right. D A L Y correct? Awesome! Yeah. Go check that out. Like, guys, if you’re looking for something different, I know some of you are because you’ve told me that this is the very thing you were considering, and you’re like, Chris, should I do this or not? You know, some of you have been asking me personally and I’m like, it depends. I don’t know. What kind of business do you want? Are you going to be hands on or not? And the great thing is you can get matched up with someone that actually understands the business and says here, here’s how you can find the right business for you. So guys, make sure you check that out. Check out Kim Daly’s stuff, TheDalyCoach.com.

Kim Daly (19:45):
Thank you!

Chris Miles (19:46):
Kim. Thanks so much for being with us today. I really appreciate it.

Kim Daly (19:49):
I appreciate it too. One thing that I just wanted to add before we go is, my services are free. So I’m paid by the franchisors to basically prospect for them. So when you come to me, it’s not me pushing franchising onto everybody. As Chris has said, my role is to help you understand what it could mean to you, but to understand in proper context. So to educate you about what franchises cost and why. So if you decide now is not the time financially, you’ll walk away educated knowing when the right time is to call me back. And if we start moving forward together, then you sort of already checked these money boxes in your mind, which really, I mean, that’s 90% of the reason, probably why people who think about franchising, don’t do it. It’s because of the money. So right away, we’re going to talk about money and get it clear, kind of black and white. And then the rest of the conversation becomes a lot more fun, dreaming about the potential of quality of life and waking up and creating jobs and managing people and building inspiring teams and all the rest that, you know, owning a business can mean to you.

Chris Miles (20:55):
Well, now there’s no excuses to reach out to you. So, there’s not even a point of entry guys. Like the biggest thing is just you showing up and finding out. So, Kim, I’m so glad that I did not delete that email.

Kim Daly (21:08):
I’m glad you didn’t either, because I’m a big fan of the show and I’m so happy to be on here. So thank you so much!

Chris Miles (21:13):
No, this is extremely valuable. I really appreciate it. And I know that, there’s gonna be a lot of interest from this because this is the perfect time. Right now is, I mean, what better time to look at things when so much is up in the air, than to find something that they can actually control and do? So this is perfect. So I appreciate your time so much today, Kim. It’s been a pleasure.

Kim Daly (21:30):
Thank you. Same here.

Chris Miles (21:32):
Everybody else. You heard it. You have no excuse. So if this is anything that’s been pinging you and saying, listen, I need to like find out more, reach out to Kim. Make sure you guys do that. Everybody I hope you make a wonderful and prosperous week. And we’ll see you later.