Nothing was more scary and more life-altering than this...

A story of what it was like to leave the Corporate world for franchise ownership.

Written by Scott in North Carolina

Nothing is more scary and life-altering than going totally against the normalcies society has engrained in our heads. I am talking about the belief that success in life and career goals are best achieved when goals are entrusted to someone else or a company. From day one, we are influenced to believe our endgame should be to acquire skills and qualities that procure a stable and secure career in corporate America.

In the spring of 2020, I began to wonder if I could achieve something more in my life? Did I have the resolve and drive required to make a leap of faith and start my own business? A former manager of mine and mentor had recently been laid off from big pharma. He was done with allowing his destiny to be controlled by others. He worked with Melissa Lewis to uncover franchises that met his and his family’s time, investment, and life goals. He raved about Melissa’s personality and genuine spirit of caring for people. He said Melissa would do everything in her power to present you with options that meet and really exceed your expectations as you go down this path. I decided it couldn’t hurt to give Melissa a call.

Melissa began our interactions with a phone call. I could immediately tell something was different about her. She had a spirit about her that is usually not found when interacting with a consultant. She asked a lot of questions and listened more than she talked. She really listens! That conversation led to me filling out a questionnaire that went into more detail about our family goals and what financial risk and rewards we were looking for. There was no pressure at any time from Melissa to move forward or move quickly when making such life-altering decisions. Despite my hunger and desire to work for myself, I once again gave into the belief that security and career success was best given by working for someone else. Honestly, I let fear control my destiny once again. I decided to give corporate America one last try and once again found myself in a sales career for a pharmaceutical company.

Fast forward to July of 2021. It wasn’t surprising to me that after another year, I was still unhappy, and I knew I was ready to make a permanent change. The realization that no corporation or company truly has my best interest at heart was solidified. I called Melissa and told her I was 100% ready to trust her knowledge and years of experience. She welcomed me back, and her enthusiasm was just as evident as it was the year before. Melissa included my wife in our discussions and considered her dreams and goals just as much as mine. My wife has a different perspective of my skills, and we wanted to get her take on my strengths and weaknesses. After a few weeks of discussion, Melissa brought me three businesses to research. She told me to keep an open mind and trust her. I have to admit the three business models were none that I envisioned for myself. However, that is precisely why we work with someone like Melissa, right? We trust them and know that they have done this many times with people just like us. I knew she had my back and wouldn’t just force a business on us. Now the hard part began.

The research phase. Melissa was right there with me. Coaching me and being a counselor with every step. She helped me with establishing a corporation, how to read an FDD, what questions to ask franchisees and franchisors. Weekly Zoom meetings and check-in calls kept me on track and moved the process along as quickly as I chose. Let be clear; I chose this! She never once pressures or makes you feel like this isn’t your journey. After weeks of research and long hours, I narrowed my choice to a business that meets our family values and financial goals. Melissa is the differentiating factor that moved me from being a dreamer to being a doer. One of Melissa’s themes is “Dream Big.” We did that together.

Are you like me? Do you know you have something special inside you driving you to make a change and be your own boss? You might not be ready to start a business today, but I encourage you to call Melissa. Get the conversation started. When you decide you are ready to move forward, she will be right there waiting to guide you and coach you. DREAM BIG. BE A DOER! Thank you, Melissa for becoming part of our family. We couldn’t have done this without you.

This post was written by one of the candidates I helped to take the leap into business ownership.