[00:00:06] Speaker A: Hello, everybody, and welcome to another episode of All Things Considered Franchising, powered by Scottmilosfranchisecoach.com. I am your host and founder of All Things Considered Franchising, and during our podcast, we focus on entrepreneurship, primarily in the Franchising space, providing information, guidance, and expertise, and also brands that we feel know, play an important part in the industry that can provide somebody with a strong business ownership. Scottmylosfranchisecoach.com is an organization, consulting organization that focuses in on helping people develop their roadmap, and, of course, introducing those concepts that best fit the services, guidance, and education that I
[email protected] doesn't cost my clients a penny. So today's guest, I guess if you've been sleeping under a rock and you're in the Franchising industry, then you're missing out, because there are certain brands that are iconic, and I'm not talking about the McDonald's and the subways. I'm talking about those brands that are just really play an integral part in people's success and getting into entrepreneurship. Today I have the president of Gotcha covered, Paul Leningberg, with us today. Paul, welcome to the show.
[00:01:32] Speaker B: Scotty, so good to be with you. I'm glad to be here today. Thanks for the invitation. Look forward to a lively conversation with you. We'll have some fun.
[00:01:40] Speaker A: Yeah, let's have some fun. And let's take a deep dive into this. Your background. You and I were chitchatting before we hit the record button, and you were telling me that you spent, I think, 1314, maybe it's a little longer years in the marketing side, ended up with Got You Covered, which is a premier brand, in the window dressings, I guess I call it. Business, I think is a great way to put it. But tell me about your thoughts about Franchising, how you got into this, and we'll kind of go from there and then take a little bit of a deeper dive into the Gotcha.
[00:02:17] Speaker B: Sure. Well, my background is sales and marketing. I have a marketing degree going back years ago. I don't want to date myself by telling you exactly how many decades, Scotty, but I got into Franchising probably like you did, and probably like most people listening to this call, which is accidentally. Right. I'm not aware of anybody that has ever intentionally said, I want to get into Franchising. But when you find this incredible ecosystem that we get to live in and you look around at all the opportunities in Franchising in general, it's incredible that the talent, the entrepreneurial spirit, and the lifestyle just the way that you can control your destiny in a way that it's the American dream, right. And all that's available in Franchising. So I'll keep my answer short. But I love Franchising. I love the opportunity it brings people, and just a huge fan and happy to talk about that.
[00:03:17] Speaker A: Yeah, you're absolutely right.
Like any industry, there are always those few negative Nellies. And I always like to tell my clients, and you probably agree because you've seen probably the bad side of franchising, brands that don't do things the right way or mistreat their franchisees. But the bottom line is that in every aspect of franchising, if somebody invests in a franchise, you have a partner. And if you follow the system and you follow the best practices in the case, like got you Covered, where you have an extraordinary successful track record with your franchisees, unless you're trying to reinvent the wheel, it's pretty hard to I hate to use the word fail, but kind of get yourself in a position where you're swimming upstream with salmon. So talk to us about Got You Covered, the identity of the brand, the support mechanisms, because I think it's important for our listeners to understand that when it comes to doing things right, gotcha Covered has got to be up there with one of Know iconic brands that really just knows how to support its franchisees.
[00:04:32] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I appreciate those comments, Kylie, because we try, and certainly we're not perfect. But what we have at Gotcha Covered is an ego free view at what we do. And our job, like, what gets us up in the morning and what drives us and motivates us is helping people be successful. That's why we do what we can do and you can. And I'm embarrassed to admit that my wife got into a franchise a few years ago that did not support their owners well, and she kind of got burned in it. So not all are created equal. And so that was an informative experience for us. Reinforcing my view, having run Got You Covered since 2010, that it's got to be about the franchise.
That's got to be your singular focus. You got to let everything else fall by the wayside, and you got to do everything you can to help your owners be successful. That's the thing right there.
[00:05:29] Speaker A: I know that a few of the clients that I have worked with that have done some validation on Gotcha Covered. One of the things that always came to the top of the page was the validation from franchisees in that relationship side, that franchiseors can't always solve the problem. But Gotcha Covered always seemed to have the ability to, I guess, not be shy about addressing issues.
I guess my question is this. As someone who's been president of a franchise for now, ten years, since 2010, how important do you think the relationship between franchiseor and franchisee is in not only the franchisee being successful, but the franchiseor being successful?
[00:06:19] Speaker B: Gosh, if you couldn't have asked a more fundamental question, Scotty, because I think that's everything that is there. I'm sure if you join McDonald's, you're not going to have a personal relationship so much maybe with the franchise or that's okay, they've got an iconic brand and they're known worldwide, right? It's not necessary. But for us, the trust. And so when you look at the relationship between franchiseor and franchise owner, it's the trust that makes it work. And so we have been extremely proud of the validation that our owners give to candidates and we joke around that we pay our owners for it, right. Good things about us. But it really comes from them knowing, hey, we're not perfect. We'll never claim to be, not even close. But we are focused on the needs of our owners and we have a lot of transparency. I know that's an overused word sometimes, right. But we just, again, operating without ego. We're able to address things together and collaboratively. We all have our role to play and it's critical that we hear from our franchise owners like they need to be able to come to us, hey, Paul and team, this is the good, the bad, and the ugly. And we need to receive that ego free and then that helps drive our behavior. One of the things I would recommend to anybody listening to this, considering a franchise, is to look at the franchise business review grade if the franchise or you're looking at has ever participated in franchise business.
[00:07:44] Speaker A: Right.
[00:07:46] Speaker B: I don't know what you say unbiased view of how any given franchise system is doing. In my experience, only the good franchise systems pay them thousands of dollars to get a report card from their franchise owners. So that, I think, tells you a lot about the authenticity, integrity of any given franchise system.
[00:08:07] Speaker A: That's an interesting point because let's face it, potential franchisees or franchisees already in the system have no problem pointing the finger.
And in a relationship, you have to be able to work out issues. And that's why I tell my clients when we walk through validation and telling people to get comfortable, that, yes, item 19, validation, very strong. But that operational marketing support. That when you pick up the phone and call someone and say, hey, in your case, maybe it's a design issue or a measurement issue or just how do I present this to my client, the franchisee that there has to be that connection. All franchisees and franchiseors, probably over a lifetime of somebody being in the system, disagree on certain things. It's the ability to be able to work through those issues so it doesn't become a quote. Fight your thoughts on that?
Yeah, sure, there's some handholding on both sides, but it's a marriage. You got to get along and be able to work things out.
[00:09:21] Speaker B: That's a great analogy and I learned long ago we can't please everybody all the time, but by explaining the reasons for our actions and our priorities and our policies, that's the best we can do. And if someone is receptive to understanding that, hey, I disagree with that, but I understand why you're doing it.
That's all you can ask for in an ongoing, long term, mutually beneficial relationship. And so that's what we strive for.
Interestingly, we have started to pay more attention to this too, Scotty, on our end, where we are getting more selective about who we invite to join Gotcha Covered. Because when we look at who tends to succeed in our system, there's a strong cultural fit there. And we think that when you agree to accept a franchisee into your system, you owe them. You owe them your best, you owe them the best chance to succeed. And now if they do, it's going to be on their effort. But by bringing people in that are a better and better fit for Got You Covered, that's helping us grow responsibly. Right. We do want to grow as a system, but it's got to be responsibly. With the right people, we feel like we could lower the bar and fill up Gotcha Covered very quickly, but we refuse to do that because it's not really good for anybody. Right. Again, we need to honor the trust that someone has placed in us by joining Gotcha Covered.
[00:10:44] Speaker A: Absolutely. We're talking to Paul Lindenberg, who is the president of Gotcha Covered franchising, a unique wall coverings, home furnishings, wall coverings franchise. And I got to tell you, it's a great concept. And like I said in my opening, that if you've been in franchising or looking for franchising and you're not aware of Got You Covered, it's definitely a consideration.
You touched on credentials for Got You Covered to award a franchise, a lot of people forget that franchises are awarded. It isn't based on financial means, whether you have the ability to get a loan or pay for it out of your financial background or your financial means. But in your experience, what are some of the mistakes that people make when they're researching and exploring business ownership, looking at franchises?
There are 4000 brands out there, and I think you and I can both agree, and based on our history of being in this industry, not all of them are good ones.
There are a lot of bad apples. But what are some of the things that I know you look for certain things in franchisees, but what should somebody look in a franchise system? For example, Gotcha Cufford that is important in that validating decision process?
[00:12:10] Speaker B: Yeah, that's another great question. I would sort of be weary of a flash in the pan, like something that's so hot and so trendy that might be profitable for a year or two, but after that it's going to kind of fade away. I would make sure that you do your due diligence.
Be careful about just getting emotionally involved in the decision. Like this is the greatest thing.
Hope for the best, plan for the worst. Right. Things may or may not go as you forecasted them, so be ready. In case they don't, for whatever reason, just be realistic.
Do your due diligence. Again, it's easy to get emotionally attached to an opportunity at Gotcha Covered. We know that nobody's got it. Nobody in the history of Gotcha Covered has ever grown up thinking they want to sell window treatments. Right?
[00:12:56] Speaker A: Exactly.
[00:12:59] Speaker B: Everybody comes from like, oh, interesting, I never thought about that.
They're open minded to explore the opportunity, and some join, some don't, and that's fine, but it's not an emotional decision to join Got You Covered. It's a very thoughtful decision. And we are very firm in telling people, eyes wide open, man. Eyes wide open. Make sure that you understand. Got you covered. As much as you possibly can. So listen to us, like all the things we're going to tell you, but please, please, and we mandate this, make sure that you talk to enough franchise owners where you understand. Like, ask the hard questions, ask what they don't like about the business because we don't want anybody to join got You Covered with, oh, man, I never thought about this, or Nobody told me about this. That's bad for everybody involved, so we try to avoid that at all costs. You got to join. Got you covered. Fully aware of what this is all about, right?
[00:13:54] Speaker A: It's kind of interesting. You made the point that nobody wakes up in the morning or goes to school. But if you really think about it, most of us in our lifetime not in our lifetime, but as we're growing up, elementary school, high school, college, if we choose college and so on, we're not taught to be business owners. So unless we're brought up in a family of business owners, independent or franchise owners, we're not educated, we're not taught that. So it's a challenge in regards to finding that right. Business. I'm a believer and I teach my clients. There's no such thing as perfection or that perfect fit, but you've got to be pretty close. It's like marriage.
Take us through Got You Covered, because it's a very unique brand.
There's a sales aptitude part of this brand that I think is important.
It's a go out and get type business customers.
A lot of husband and wife teams.
[00:15:04] Speaker B: Yeah, very much.
[00:15:05] Speaker A: Tell us about the brand and maybe some of the backgrounds that you're seeing of your successful franchisees people coming into the system.
[00:15:13] Speaker B: Yeah, we have a kind of a running joke around here that whatever someone says is their background, our response is, well, that's a perfect background for selling, because really, we don't want you to have any industry experience. Please don't be an interior designer. You don't have to be good with a drill or a hammer to be successful.
I would say that maybe 20% of our owners have a formal sales background. But it's about relationships.
It's about being interested in relationships. And so the more extroverted you are, the stronger the correlation to success is. We have owners that are introverted. They say they're introverted. We know they are. They know they are, and they found a way to make it successful here. But the more you desire building relationships and the better at it you are, the more likely you are for success. I like to throw out a thought experiment to people that are seriously considering gut cover, which is, let's say that you're lying in bed one day and you have a networking event later that day. And as you're kind of mentally preparing for the day in that event, are you dreading it because you think to yourself, oh, man, I got to go to this thing, and I got to work, and I got to put my face on? Or are you thinking, I can't wait? This is going to be great. I get to meet people and learn what they do. So the more you are to the latter of that, again, the more likely you are. So whether you've been in sales or software development or teaching or engineering or being running a home, whatever it is, the more social you are, the more extroverted you are, the more likely you are to be successful. I've got you covered.
[00:16:48] Speaker A: Yeah, there's got to be that networking part. I use the word sales aptitude, and I'm not referring to Death of a Salesman Willie Loman. I mean the days of dialing for dollars through the White Pages or Yellow Pages or knocking on doors. But the networking part, chambers, BNI meetings, there has to be a sense of comfort in that. And if not, then you're going to have to either walk away or partner with somebody who has that ability, because if you're wanting the business to come to you and that kind of leads me to that. Common question I get from some of my clients is, what is the franchise or going to do for me in regards to getting clients? Well, it's not so much what are they going to do for you, what are you going to do for yourself? Are you going to utilize their marketing and initiatives to be able to go out and get clients? So it's not what they're going to do for you? We touched on it briefly. I just want to circle back before we run out of time here.
Culture. We talked about the relationships between franchisee. Franchise or a lot of that comes from culture and the people within the Gotcha Cover organization and being able to deliver that culture, that cultural feeling to franchisees and people coming into the system. Is there anything unique or what's unique about the culture at Gotcha Covered? I know longevity is there because you have it amongst your employees, but what are some of the other things that really drive the success of Gotcha Covered and the culture of the.
[00:18:35] Speaker B: A? That's a million dollar question, scotty and I wish I could bottle what we have. It's pretty special, and I think that it comes partially from me and the leadership team. That sort of sets the tone. But we know that we do not own the culture. It is not ours to distribute and make.
[00:18:55] Speaker A: It's not bottled up and open it up and somebody drinks it. It's either in or out, I guess. Is that a good way of putting it?
[00:19:02] Speaker B: It's also not top down.
It comes from that lack of ego. And I have shared this with our owners because as we grow, the culture is at risk. Right? So how do you preserve culture? These are things I think about in the middle of the night. How do we do this?
But I make it known to our franchise owners that they own the culture as much as we do, maybe more, because they're out there in the trenches and our culture revolves around being mutually supportive. And I can't make that happen. It's up to our owners to attend events, come to meetings, be there for their peers, and do all those things. And I'll kind of end this point with it's easy to talk about culture, and I think it's a buzword today. But going back to that franchise business review survey that we do for our owners every year, the single highest score that we got across I don't know how many metrics, how many topics, and whatever, hundreds of them, the single top score we got was supportive of each other. And so I think that that speaks to who we are and why that culture is so important, because our owners really embrace it themselves. And so it becomes this thing that continues to grow and evolve based on an understanding that we all own, if not just corporate.
[00:20:21] Speaker A: Right now, that's an interesting point. Culture is important, but it's not a one way street on culture.
All of your franchisees have different personalities, different characters, different character to them, their presentation may be slightly different than the guy two states over or whatever. So that's an interesting point about culture, but there has to be that comfort for the person coming in to feel that culture is there, kind of that warm and fuzzies. I mean, that's the best term that I like to use.
Paul if somebody wanted to learn more about Gotcha Covered, obviously it's something I talk to my clients about. So somebody wants to learn more about Gotcha Covered, they can reach out to me. We'll give my contact information a second. But if somebody else wanted to take their initiative and learn a little bit more about Gotcha Covered, what's the best way to do that?
[00:21:16] Speaker B: Yeah, I'd say maybe start on our website, Gotchacoveredfranchising.com. That's a pretty good place to go and get some high level information about Gotcha Covered and get to know us and the opportunity a little bit more. And then, of course, reach out to any of our franchise development folks who are awesome and amazing and just do a great job. Our candidates love the people we have in that role because they're just super helpful and enthusiastic, and we just want to help our candidates understand got you Covered. Right. It's not salesy whatsoever. It's just an information gathering process, as you know. Also.
[00:21:51] Speaker A: Well, yeah, any closing thoughts, anything that I may have forgot to ask you, you want to share about Gotcha Covered or anything else you want know, let our viewers know.
[00:22:03] Speaker B: Yeah, well, I appreciate being here, Scotty, thanks for the invitation. I would just say for anybody that's seriously considering like it's not for everybody, kudos to anybody who explores business.
[00:22:15] Speaker A: Right, great. Well, you know, Paul, I appreciate your time, I know you're busy over there, so for us to have you as a guest, we really appreciate it. We've been talking to Paul Leningberg, who's president of gotcha covered. I'm your host of all things considered. Franchising scotty Milas. Powered by Scottmilosfranchisecoach.com. Visit allthingsconideredfranchising.com for a recap of all of our podcasts that we've done. And of course visit Scottmylasfranchisecoach.com if you like to fill out an inquiry form and learn more about business, ownership, investing in a franchise. Until next time. This is Scotty Milas. Make it a great day and hey, go live life the way on your terms, as a good friend of mine says. Thanks very much Paul, have a great day.
