The year of grind that changed my life

Hi folks!

I often hear from people who want to buy a business, but don’t think they’re ready.

The truth is, they’re probably wrong. 

Because anybody can make money in franchising.

When I started out, I had no special skills, no fat bank account, and no high-powered connections. I’m a totally normal guy — some would even say boring. 

Here’s how I did it.

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My year of grind

In 2019, I was a college student at UNC. 

On the side, I was working for a multi-unit fitness franchise ownership group, helping out with the sales and whatnot. They wanted to expand into the home services space and buy a new business — and since I was around and working my butt off, they asked if I wanted to join them to run it.

I said yes, without really knowing what I was getting into. 

I scraped together $4,900 — literally my entire savings from a few seasons of lifeguarding — and bought in alongside them. I figured I’d work hard, make some money, work myself out of the business, and use the cash flow to pay for law school when the time came.

Instead, I ended up handling everything at the new business. Hiring, firing, dealing with customers, making every mistake in the book. It was the most aggressive learning experience I could have asked for. 

When COVID hit, my college classes moved online… so I started watching lectures at the office while taking customer phone calls. I was living and breathing work.

I knew I couldn’t do this forever. 

But building something means your personal life might take a temporary hit — and I was okay with that.

From swamped to scaling

Some days things went great. I even doubled the franchise’s first-year revenue record for holiday lighting.

Other days it was a hair-on-fire scramble, like when two of my three employees quit on the same day just before my 21st birthday. I scrambled to bring in anyone who wanted to work, got a dozen people, then cut two of them every day until I had a team again. 

I learned probably my most important lesson: that business ownership is just a series of moments where you have no idea what to do—and you figure it out anyway.

It was a rollercoaster of a year. 

And at the end of it, I realized: I didn’t want to go to law school. I wanted more of this.

Before too long, I was able to hire a manager to take over the day-to-day operations of the business. 

It’s been a winding road since then. I bought my first franchise with my heart, not my head (and lived to regret it). Later, I moved to Cincinnati for a deal I thought was solid… but it fell through and I had to move back to my parents’ basement. 

But I’ve built a multi-brand portfolio, scaled a waste management franchise to four territories, and optimized myself out of most of the day-to-day.

My life today

I’ve been sharing my whole journey on social media. And as more and more people were asking me franchise questions, I decided to become a consultant.

Because if I’ve learned one thing, it’s this: 

There are tons of options out there. But ownership only works if you find the right match for your mindset, your means, and your mission.

So now, my business is helping people find clarity. 

• Is business ownership for you?

• If it is, is franchise ownership for you?

• If it is, which franchise best fits your goals?

I love to geek out on this stuff. So helping people find businesses is basically my dream job — and the hard lessons I’ve learned let me save people years of heartache from a bad fit. 

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So that’s a little about me!

I’d love to hear about you, too. What’s your story? What made you subscribe? 

Hit reply and let me know. 

And thanks for reading!

Connor

P.S. Are you ready to go on finding your first franchise? We can get started right away. Book an intro call here.

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