Andy Luedecke is a franchise consultant and the man in charge of MyPerfectFranchise.net. If you're looking for opportunities to get into business for yourself, Andy is looking to help you out. Andy will be checking in on the board now and again and stopping by to offer up suggestions and answer questions about becoming a franchise owner for anyone interested. You can find him on the site @Andy MyPerfectFranchise.Net We're starting with a little introduction through this Q&A with him:
Gabe: Gives us a little background on yourself
Andy: I was born in Dallas and grew up in Atlanta and played tennis in college at a small private school called Birmingham-Southern College. After college, I traveled all over the Southeast taking various corporate sales jobs before settling back into Atlanta in an executive role with a Belgian-based company with US headquarters in Atlanta. In 2012 we decided to leave Atlanta, start a franchise, and raise our family in Fairhope, AL – which is an amazing town for those that have never heard of it or think that everything Alabama is backwoods-redneck. I am married and have 3 children (Acker 11, Percy 10, Catherine 4). My first franchise I bought (and still own) was a non-medical homecare franchise called Synergy HomeCare. It has been an amazing run and allowed me the financial opportunity to diversify into other businesses. Today I own Synergy, Big Red (dumpster company) and a franchise consulting company, My Perfect Franchise.Net, where I help others find franchises that match their DNA, so to speak.
Gabe: What inspired you to own your own franchise?
Andy: As I mentioned, I was following the corporate career path, living in Atlanta and working for a company based out of Belgium. As our business grew, I started to have global responsibilities, which was fun while single and the first year of marriage. First class flights everywhere, free drinks, places to stay…was lots of fun, until our first child came. Then I started realizing that I was never around for all the important stuff. First word, step, or when my wife just needed some sleep….I was never home to be a Dad or a husband. Something had to change. So, that is when I started my search. I didn’t know what I was searching for but I saw something online about franchising, filled out a form and then got linked up with a franchise consultant that helped match me up with a business based on my skill sets and the business characteristics that I was interested in. The process that I followed to find my first business worked so well and was valuable and informative that I decided to help others with the process as well.
Gabe: Are there franchise options for me if I have a full-time job and limited time to devote to a hands-on startup in my community?
Andy: Yes, there are 2 types of ownership models, owner-operator and semi-absentee. In an owner-operator system the franchisors require the owner/franchisee to work full time in the business until it matures. My homecare agency is owner-operator but I now run it semi-absentee, working 5-10 hours a week on the business. In semi-absentee franchises, the franchisors don’t want the owner working in the business but working ON it, scaling the business through multi-unit growth. They want owners to work 10-20 hours a week while letting their manager run the day 2 day operations. Good examples of this are Orange Theory, Supercuts, Massage Envy. You typically don’t see the owners ever in those types of franchises as they are all manager run.
Gabe: Has the pandemic led to any "buy-low"-types of opportunities with franchisors offering sweet deals to prospective franchisees?
Andy: No doubt the pandemic brought unique opportunities. Some franchisors were reducing royalties, delaying royalties, and offering unique incentives to become a franchisee now. Those deals really aren’t available anymore as most franchise systems are back to business as usual. Real Estate has softened and tenant improvement money (TI) is higher than ever and that should only get better as retail is getting hit hard right now. On the flip side, construction costs have increased recently as well.
Gabe: Over the course of a phone call, could you suggest franchising opportunities to me, based on my background, expertise and experience?
Andy: Not one call as I need to learn a good bit about each candidate I work with and then spend time matching up with franchises behind the scenes. The process works like this:
1) Introductory call - to get to know each other, discuss overall process.
2) Consultation - about an hour call where I learn about you and your skills, background etc.… 3) Matching call where I introduce you to franchisors that meet your criteria.
4) Introductory calls with each franchisor ….then the true due diligence process starts with each brand matched with.
And that is when the fun really starts. The franchise due diligence process is not an ‘ask-Google’ session. It is very comprehensive, with multiple calls and webinars with the franchisor learning about Marketing, Operations, Unit Economics, Calls with other franchisees for their feedback.
Gabe: Does looking into owning your own franchise make sense for someone who is in the latter stages of their traditional career and somewhat displaced due to the pandemic?
Andy: Franchise and business ownership is not for everyone. There is significant risk involved. But where there is risk there is also significant reward. I have unlimited PTO now. I make more money than I ever imagined making in the corporate world. My schedule is mine. I eat lunch with my kids, take them to school, coach their teams….all because of the quality of life franchise ownership has given me.
Gabe: Is financing available? What does that look like?
Andy: Yes. Lots of different options there from SBA, 401k rollovers. Right now the SBA is offering a unique stimulus package as well. They were paying the first 6mos of any new or existing loan, now through September it is 3 mos.
Gabe: What is the typical cost for your services?
Andy: My services are always 100% free! Working with me is a no-brainer for someone that wants to learn about franchise options and business ownership in general. I get paid a commission from the franchisors and in return they get very qualified, high-level, engaged candidates as I work with my candidates to educate them on franchise ownership and prepare them for each step of the process.
Gabe: Why does a Rivals site make sense as a place for you to look for potential partners?
Andy: Great question! Here’s the backstory….I have been a paying member of Rivals.com (specifically Orangebloods) for over 20yrs. During that time I see people constantly posting about jobs and investments. When the pandemic hit and people started getting laid off, I thought I should reach out and see if I could help some of these folks and potentially change their income trajectory and quality of life forever. I also knew that at a very minimum I would be able to meet people with very similar interests to me (college sports, outdoors, beer, wine etc…) and have an enjoyable time getting to know them and working with them. And that is exactly what has happened. I now advertise at a handful of sites and have had a blast meeting folks at each site along the way.
Gabe: As a Texas fan, how many times have you spontaneously found yourself chanting S-E-C in the middle of the day and have you already fully bought into the SEC’s superiority in all regards?
Andy: I’m really excited about joining the SEC, no doubt about it! I live in Fairhope, AL and now will have games in much closer proximity. That said, only Aggie does that crap. I love the fact that they have been marketing themselves no...branding themselves as SEC to differentiate from Texas. Now that is all gone and I absolutely love it!
Gabe: Is it true that Texas’ worst years are better than Missouri’s best years? (it’s a Deloss Dodds quote just in case you don’t recall)
Andy: Ha! What an unfortunately arrogant thing to say. And since Deloss left, we’ve had a ton of terrible years. Texas football and basketball for that matter has been underachieving for over a decade. Is it that same arrogance that caused the downfall? Not sure, but we certainly had a country club/soft atmosphere at the end of Mack Brown’s tenure and it set the stage for this decade plus of mediocrity. I do think we’ve got the right pieces in place in both sports now and am extremely excited about both teams’ upcoming seasons.
Gabe: Saved the most important question for last. As a business partner, what kind of deal can you cut me on owning a What-a-Burger franchise? As a starting point, all I would demand is unlimited free burgers.
Andy: So of all the fast food franchises out there, you went with Whataburger? I love their spicy ketchup, but everything else is overrated, IMO. That said, if you buy a What-a-burger franchise, you can definitely have unlimited free burgers….the costs just come out of your bottom line.
Lastly, I’d like to thank Gabe for bringing me and my company on as an advertising partner and really looking forward to helping educate those of you that want to learn more about business and franchise ownership.
Gabe: Gives us a little background on yourself
Andy: I was born in Dallas and grew up in Atlanta and played tennis in college at a small private school called Birmingham-Southern College. After college, I traveled all over the Southeast taking various corporate sales jobs before settling back into Atlanta in an executive role with a Belgian-based company with US headquarters in Atlanta. In 2012 we decided to leave Atlanta, start a franchise, and raise our family in Fairhope, AL – which is an amazing town for those that have never heard of it or think that everything Alabama is backwoods-redneck. I am married and have 3 children (Acker 11, Percy 10, Catherine 4). My first franchise I bought (and still own) was a non-medical homecare franchise called Synergy HomeCare. It has been an amazing run and allowed me the financial opportunity to diversify into other businesses. Today I own Synergy, Big Red (dumpster company) and a franchise consulting company, My Perfect Franchise.Net, where I help others find franchises that match their DNA, so to speak.
Gabe: What inspired you to own your own franchise?
Andy: As I mentioned, I was following the corporate career path, living in Atlanta and working for a company based out of Belgium. As our business grew, I started to have global responsibilities, which was fun while single and the first year of marriage. First class flights everywhere, free drinks, places to stay…was lots of fun, until our first child came. Then I started realizing that I was never around for all the important stuff. First word, step, or when my wife just needed some sleep….I was never home to be a Dad or a husband. Something had to change. So, that is when I started my search. I didn’t know what I was searching for but I saw something online about franchising, filled out a form and then got linked up with a franchise consultant that helped match me up with a business based on my skill sets and the business characteristics that I was interested in. The process that I followed to find my first business worked so well and was valuable and informative that I decided to help others with the process as well.
Gabe: Are there franchise options for me if I have a full-time job and limited time to devote to a hands-on startup in my community?
Andy: Yes, there are 2 types of ownership models, owner-operator and semi-absentee. In an owner-operator system the franchisors require the owner/franchisee to work full time in the business until it matures. My homecare agency is owner-operator but I now run it semi-absentee, working 5-10 hours a week on the business. In semi-absentee franchises, the franchisors don’t want the owner working in the business but working ON it, scaling the business through multi-unit growth. They want owners to work 10-20 hours a week while letting their manager run the day 2 day operations. Good examples of this are Orange Theory, Supercuts, Massage Envy. You typically don’t see the owners ever in those types of franchises as they are all manager run.
Gabe: Has the pandemic led to any "buy-low"-types of opportunities with franchisors offering sweet deals to prospective franchisees?
Andy: No doubt the pandemic brought unique opportunities. Some franchisors were reducing royalties, delaying royalties, and offering unique incentives to become a franchisee now. Those deals really aren’t available anymore as most franchise systems are back to business as usual. Real Estate has softened and tenant improvement money (TI) is higher than ever and that should only get better as retail is getting hit hard right now. On the flip side, construction costs have increased recently as well.
Gabe: Over the course of a phone call, could you suggest franchising opportunities to me, based on my background, expertise and experience?
Andy: Not one call as I need to learn a good bit about each candidate I work with and then spend time matching up with franchises behind the scenes. The process works like this:
1) Introductory call - to get to know each other, discuss overall process.
2) Consultation - about an hour call where I learn about you and your skills, background etc.… 3) Matching call where I introduce you to franchisors that meet your criteria.
4) Introductory calls with each franchisor ….then the true due diligence process starts with each brand matched with.
And that is when the fun really starts. The franchise due diligence process is not an ‘ask-Google’ session. It is very comprehensive, with multiple calls and webinars with the franchisor learning about Marketing, Operations, Unit Economics, Calls with other franchisees for their feedback.
Gabe: Does looking into owning your own franchise make sense for someone who is in the latter stages of their traditional career and somewhat displaced due to the pandemic?
Andy: Franchise and business ownership is not for everyone. There is significant risk involved. But where there is risk there is also significant reward. I have unlimited PTO now. I make more money than I ever imagined making in the corporate world. My schedule is mine. I eat lunch with my kids, take them to school, coach their teams….all because of the quality of life franchise ownership has given me.
Gabe: Is financing available? What does that look like?
Andy: Yes. Lots of different options there from SBA, 401k rollovers. Right now the SBA is offering a unique stimulus package as well. They were paying the first 6mos of any new or existing loan, now through September it is 3 mos.
Gabe: What is the typical cost for your services?
Andy: My services are always 100% free! Working with me is a no-brainer for someone that wants to learn about franchise options and business ownership in general. I get paid a commission from the franchisors and in return they get very qualified, high-level, engaged candidates as I work with my candidates to educate them on franchise ownership and prepare them for each step of the process.
Gabe: Why does a Rivals site make sense as a place for you to look for potential partners?
Andy: Great question! Here’s the backstory….I have been a paying member of Rivals.com (specifically Orangebloods) for over 20yrs. During that time I see people constantly posting about jobs and investments. When the pandemic hit and people started getting laid off, I thought I should reach out and see if I could help some of these folks and potentially change their income trajectory and quality of life forever. I also knew that at a very minimum I would be able to meet people with very similar interests to me (college sports, outdoors, beer, wine etc…) and have an enjoyable time getting to know them and working with them. And that is exactly what has happened. I now advertise at a handful of sites and have had a blast meeting folks at each site along the way.
Gabe: As a Texas fan, how many times have you spontaneously found yourself chanting S-E-C in the middle of the day and have you already fully bought into the SEC’s superiority in all regards?
Andy: I’m really excited about joining the SEC, no doubt about it! I live in Fairhope, AL and now will have games in much closer proximity. That said, only Aggie does that crap. I love the fact that they have been marketing themselves no...branding themselves as SEC to differentiate from Texas. Now that is all gone and I absolutely love it!
Gabe: Is it true that Texas’ worst years are better than Missouri’s best years? (it’s a Deloss Dodds quote just in case you don’t recall)
Andy: Ha! What an unfortunately arrogant thing to say. And since Deloss left, we’ve had a ton of terrible years. Texas football and basketball for that matter has been underachieving for over a decade. Is it that same arrogance that caused the downfall? Not sure, but we certainly had a country club/soft atmosphere at the end of Mack Brown’s tenure and it set the stage for this decade plus of mediocrity. I do think we’ve got the right pieces in place in both sports now and am extremely excited about both teams’ upcoming seasons.
Gabe: Saved the most important question for last. As a business partner, what kind of deal can you cut me on owning a What-a-Burger franchise? As a starting point, all I would demand is unlimited free burgers.
Andy: So of all the fast food franchises out there, you went with Whataburger? I love their spicy ketchup, but everything else is overrated, IMO. That said, if you buy a What-a-burger franchise, you can definitely have unlimited free burgers….the costs just come out of your bottom line.
Lastly, I’d like to thank Gabe for bringing me and my company on as an advertising partner and really looking forward to helping educate those of you that want to learn more about business and franchise ownership.
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