Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:04 Hey, everybody. Scotty Myas here, Scott Myas franchise coach.com. Another episode of All Things Considered Franchising. What's your Know and Know Your Why? Hey, um, I have to say that I have probably, uh, one of the, and I I, and not one of the, the nicest guy in franchising, uh, that I have come across in all the years. Uh, I like to refer to him as, refer to him as the, uh, gentle Giant. Uh, you know, I, I, I can never find anybody that says anything negative about our guest. And, uh, he is definitely a, an encyclopedia a, a wealth of wisdom and knowledge on franchising. He's been in the industry for probably 30 years now. He's, uh, spent some time in the, uh, senior care market, and now he's with a brand called Fiber New for about 10 years. Um, and, uh, not only does the industry really love him and respect them, I mean, I, I don't think I've ever found a client or, or heard of anybody that had a client that just, you know, just said, wow, this guy's really awful. But, uh, anyway, please welcome Bob Johnston to the, uh, program. Hello, Bob.
Speaker 2 00:01:14 Hey, good morning, Scotty. How are you?
Speaker 1 00:01:16 Uh, you know, it's, uh, the year is over. Uh, you know, uh, it, it's, uh, I I've come outta hibernation. I was down in Florida doing my, uh, revamping for, uh, next year and what I want to do. So, uh, but it's great to have you. And, uh, I guess my first question, this, uh, Bob, before we take a deeper dive into Fiber New is, um, you know, and again, you know, maybe take 30 seconds, 45 seconds, tell everybody how you got into franchising and, you know, just tell us a little bit about your background, uh, because you, you know, again, like I said, you're a living legend. This, this just great Papa Bear in the industry.
Speaker 2 00:01:55 Okay. Well, I started in the, believe it or not, in the flooring industry. I was a carpet salesperson and I ran into a franchise owner who really liked my style, my attitude, my personality, and he didn't find any carpeting from me, but he gave me a job offer and asked if I'd be interested in running their franchise development de de, uh, division because of my personality. And I'm, gosh, I never knew nothing about franchising. And he kind of took me under his wing and he explained things to me. Um, he let me go and, uh, I did fantastic with them. And then when Fiber New came along, I, I just thought it was the perfect fit for me, uh, for my personality and everything, being able to tell people and explain to people what the whole program's all about. And to me, I find it so exciting because I talk to so many people that are so tired of corporate America.
Speaker 2 00:02:55 They got released or they went through the pandemic and, you know, all the things, all things considered, they're looking for flexibility. They wanna be their own boss, control their destiny, and they wanna make money. And, you know, with an opportunity like Fire, I get to explain it to 'em. And I always tell people it isn't a selling point, it's an educational steps. We have a five step program, which I'll talk about, right, right. Going through the steps really educates 'em. And I tell 'em, there's no pressure here. And then I always tell them, I applaud them for taking the first step to learn more about the opportunities.
Speaker 1 00:03:30 Well, let's talk about the industry in a sense. Uh, and again, in your 30 years, I am sure you have come across, uh, a cross mix of the different personalities and people that are interested in business ownership. And I've always been a believer that, um, you know, owning a franchise isn't necessarily a step into entrepreneurship because being an entrepreneur is a kind of a visionary, somebody who wants to put together all the bells and whistles. Uh, I look at franchising as someone who wants to be in business, but has all the pieces to the puzzle there and just really has to learn to delegate and put that puzzle together, uh, through training and, and support. So when you look at franchising as a business tool for people to get into business ownership, how do you look at it? I mean, do you see it for, uh, the masses or is it really take a, a certain character for somebody to be a successful franchisee?
Speaker 2 00:04:25 That is probably one of the best questions you could ask. We all look for the right individual. When I have my, when, when I talk to coaches, when we explain our model, we tell our coaches all the time, what we look for are these five qualifying traits. They cannot be colorblind. They've gotta enjoy working with their hands. They've gotta be, of course, trainable and coachable. Because a franchise brings to the model, they've gotta be in decent physical condition, cuz occasionally they might kneel or bend and use their hands. And lastly, I look for that networker. I look for that person who really wants to solve problems for people, save them money and save 'em downtime. And that's what five brings to the table. So we go through the selective process on the first call, we determine whether or not we're gonna be the right fit, because I ask the candidate, quite frankly, those five questions, that's good, answer 'em for me.
Speaker 2 00:05:23 And if there's something wrong, then we know maybe it's not the right fit. If it is right, which I would say 99% of the time it's right on. Then I get to tell 'em the story about fiber new. And when I'm done, they're usually pretty pumped up because you as a coach, Scott, you in particular, you really do a good job. And I'm not just blowing Sandy or he does, he knows what we want in a candidate. And that's what you get with a good coach, is they know the right individual. And as you do your testings and you do your things, Scotty can say, Hey, these are the options I want you to see. And I'm gonna tell you all folks, he sets you up with all the best companies out there for your personality and for your traits. Take advantage of inspecting all of
Speaker 1 00:06:06 'em. Thank you. I appreciate that.
Speaker 2 00:06:07 Appreciate it. So you do a fantastic job. I did some coaches Scottie, where they failed. Uh, they, they're colorblind line
Speaker 1 00:06:15 <laugh> and it's like, I know that's one of the first questions I ask clients when I'm presenting the brand. I I, I tell 'em, I look the prerequisite here, number one is you can't be colorblind. So if you are, we can move on to the next one. But, uh, but let me ask you this, Bob. You know, um, franchising plays a very big role in, um, driving the economy in the US It is a small business. It is a, uh, you know, there there's a stereotype about franchising that you're part of a, a a a, a big company and you don't own the company really, but you actually do own your franchise. And there are a lot of, um, I think my friend Emily had said it best, uh, at one point that there's a lot of open doors be, uh, behind the gr the the golden arches and the five and the $5 foot long. Cuz when people think about franchising, those are the two things that really kind of come to, uh, the forefront. So when you, when if, if you are going to give somebody guidance on why they should be getting into a franchise and the the kind of the ethics and the process to follow to make that validated decision, do you have any words of wisdom before we take a deeper dive into Fiber New?
Speaker 2 00:07:32 My words of wisdom would be investigate every opportunity you've been presented and do it Soul search. Does this sound like me? If it does know what a franchise brings to the table is not only the the training and the support, but it's the ongoing support that's there. Correct. When I hear from the franchise owners as I placed, and I've been with <inaudible> a little over 10 years, let me just say I get a lot of Christmas cards, people are so happy because they tell me point blank, you know, Bob, you said this was like a family. Everybody helps everybody. It's not just a support, it's even fellow franchise owners helping each other. And I think those are some of the key areas you really gotta focus in. If you're looking at a franchises, how is their training, how is their support, uh, support and they're products. Like with us, we're always dealing with products and we're always coming up with new products. So, you know, you wanna deal with a company that's trying to be a leader in that field. And one thing about is, I'll blow my horn, is that we are the leader in our division by
Speaker 1 00:08:33 Right. Absolutely. Right, right. Well I think what's interesting about your market share outside of the independent type, uh, owners that are in your field, uh, fiber New is definitely the leader in that franchise space. And I think what one of the things that has always attracted me to Fiber new, obviously as an organization, you're polished. I mean, there's no doubt about it. You know, the, the people that I've placed there, uh, you know, I've never heard an unkind word about the operation, but I think as a business, one of the things that fiber new brings to somebody and puts on the table is the multiple revenue drivers that you have and the repeat business in the event that it's needed. So talk about the services for fiber new. Talk about the, the revenue drivers again, you know, uh, take 60 seconds, 45 seconds and really kind of paint this picture on, on, on that. Cuz I think that's an important, you know, if, if you're gonna buy a hamburger franchise, it's great, but not everybody eats a hamburger every day. But somebody potentially with your revenue drivers really need your service once or twice a week or once or twice a month or three times a month. Am I correct?
Speaker 2 00:09:51 Yeah, very correct. All right. Here I go. First of all, ours is a business where we save, it can be residential, it can be commercial, it can be medical, it can be the boating industry, it can be, uh, transportation business, the aircraft. It can be almost anything. Just remember this, whatever is leather, plastic, and vinyl, we can repair it and make it look beautiful. That's what we do. And when you think about it, everywhere you look, leather and plastic is, it is everywhere. And when we go out and we work with a customer, we typically save 'em about 70, maybe 80% of what a replacement cost would be versus a repairer. Secondly, interesting repair items, it's back in service typically in about 24 hours or less. That is huge. Now with the revenue drivers we have, I always tell people there's three things about our model. It's the most recession resistant cuz
Speaker 1 00:10:48 They can absolutely Yep.
Speaker 2 00:10:49 Comes and blazes on during the pandemic. So many people were home and they were looking at their furniture going, oh geez, that couch looks a little rough, that armrest looks, you know, it's just so many things like that. It could be, we could, the economy could be bright and rosy. We're doing great when the, when the one recession hit us back in 1987, we flourished in, in 38 years of business. We're not some flash in the pan in 38 years of business. We've never had a down year. And now we're at over 300 and I think it's 305 franchises around the world. We're in six different countries. So the need and the want is there. When you're looking at a business, you want something that's recession resistant, you want repeatable, like you just said, right?
Speaker 1 00:11:34 Absolutely.
Speaker 2 00:11:35 Oh boy, those people are gonna love you. And number three, it's, and it's a word I I coined, it's called what a trickle down business because people tell people
Speaker 1 00:11:45 Exactly. Yep, yep. No, you're absolutely right. You're absolutely right. You know, one of the things that always fascinates me about Fiber new is that not only are there multiple revenue drivers, but there's really a number of different options about how you wanna build your business. You can keep this business model to a, you know, you're the man in the van, the woman in the van. Keep it simple. No employees, you know, maybe you have, uh, your wife or girlfriend or significant other answering the phone for you, but you can keep it really simple to that one van. But in, in, in reality, if you really want to, you can make this into a multi van scalable business. And I ought to use the word when I present it, build it as large as you want and then stop. So I mean, is is that a correct assessment that it, it could be simple, not a lot of moving parts, but you can also build it to have multiple territories, multiple vans
Speaker 2 00:12:50 Right on the head. That's one of the things that when people go into validation, I hear this all the time, is, oh my gosh, Bob, I talked to this guy, he's the man in the van making great money, happy as can be, works the schedule. He wants to work. I've got the other guy who's maybe got eight or 10 employees and he is building an empire. So you take it wherever you want to take it because you know what, it's your business. We're not big brother breathing down your neck. We're telling you you want help. We got support, we got a business development coach, you wanna add team members, we help you every step away. And I'm really happy and glad you mentioned the word about men or females,
Speaker 1 00:13:27 <laugh>. That's right.
Speaker 2 00:13:29 This isn't an all boys club. You know, we have like 13 or 14 women owners out there and we do have a lot of, like you mentioned husband and wife teams, right? Where the wife will wear the hat of the office manager, which really helps the owner a lot because she can answer phones, she can set up appointments, she can take care of billings and things like that. So that is a real great positive when a significant other can help out either way, even if it's a white run in the business of the husband, you know, about a little bit. So Right. It gives you a lot of options because like you said, the man in the van, there's some people, I'll be honest with you, get displaced by corporate America. They're, they're pretty happy. They've got they're nest egg put away, but they, you know, they, they don't wanna, they don't wanna bring in a huge team. They're happy doing what they're doing. They don't wanna sit on a couch, be a couch potato, they gotta stay active, right?
Speaker 1 00:14:23 Yep.
Speaker 2 00:14:23 To tinker. So
Speaker 1 00:14:25 Well, I think that you hit the nail on the head, the beauty of your program, I mean, obviously look, you would probably love to see all of your franchisees be multi-million dollar business rev drivers, right? I mean, I think every franchisor would love to see that, but the fact of the matter is, is that there are some people that are just content with making a living, but creating that work life balance just, you know, hey, I don't wear work, uh, don't send any appointments for me on Friday because uh, my wife and I are getting away. I mean, your business is typically Monday through Friday. Maybe you make that occasional Saturday call. Uh, but the model itself, I mean, I tell people, look, it's not the sexiest thing in the world, but I gotta tell you, if you're really looking to make, you know, own a business, create your work life balance, kind of be in your own driver's seat, get the support, fiber do really just has all those bells and whistles.
Speaker 2 00:15:22 It, it really does. And like you said, you want to take off time, you take off time, you control your schedule, the schedule doesn't control you. And we're now out, we're not typically out there doing evening calls and early morning calls because when we go in and fix it during the daytime, it's usually pack in service the next day, right? So it's not a light or death situation where, oh, I gotta get out to that house and cover the windows or do this or that. I can go out there and have my own schedule and have a life. So if your kids have got a game, a soccer game at four o'clock after school, you're off at three 30. So you can get there and see their games because on a blink and I, our kids grow up and you wanna be able to enjoy that family time.
Speaker 1 00:16:07 But I I it's safe to say though, Bob, and you touched on this earlier, that the, the candidate with that sales aptitude, that networking ability, it's important part trait of being a successful franchisee within the, uh, fiber new system. Correct? I mean this, this is not a retail business where people are gonna walk in your door. Uh, sure, you could probably do some social media type work to promote your business, but you really gotta get out there and network, um, kind of not knock on doors. I mean, I mean, look, you and I, you may chuckle when I say this, this is not a Willy Loman, you're not gonna carry a briefcase around and knock on doors, <laugh>, you know, it's not the death of a salesman. It's, it's, it's, it's a networking. I mean, you gotta get out there and show people what you do and let, like you said, that word of mouth trickle down and and grow your business.
Speaker 2 00:16:57 Well, one of the best tools we have is when they become a franchise owner with us, they get their iPad, the iPad's completely downloaded with all of our tools, but there's three tools in there that really, really help them succeed. The first one is what you're just describing, it's called the photo gallery. When you open up the photo gallery, each one of our referrals has before and after pictures. You and I both know pictures speak louder than words. When they can show a customer what they can do and say, give me an opportunity, you won't be disappointed. They look at those pictures and they look 'em and say, you really can do that. Give me one opportunity. You won't be disappointed. So that really helps. We have another tool called The Color Eye. It's a, it's like, um, looks like a TV scanner you go up. Interesting. And it gives you the color codes right there. Now it's not always a hundred percent, but we're finding color very quickly. Before we had this, we used colored charts and wheels and they were great, but they, they were a little time consuming, right, with this defining colors so much quicker. And the elastics, we provide them with a C R M program, it's called, uh, we use, uh, jobber and it keeps 'em completely organized and they're trained on all facets of that, which really gets 'em up and going pretty quickly
Speaker 1 00:18:10 Right now. One of the other fascinating things about, um, fiber new, um, and I think, um, you know, as people are listening to this, you know, they probably got in the back of their head that this is a brand that, an investment that's just way off the charts and frankly it's not. And I think that's the remarkable part about this is, is that, and correct me if I'm wrong, cuz I know you just went through re uh, uh, uh, renewing your F d D and, and up and, and your item seven, but you can really get into this business with a van, renting a van or using an existing van, or I think you can use an existing vehicle, get it wrapped, but you can get into this business for just slightly under a hundred thousand dollars. Am I correct?
Speaker 2 00:18:52 Yeah, I would say would be between about a hundred, 105,000. Ok. If they have one vehicle, if they don't have their own vehicle, well then you're gonna have to invest on a vehicle, but almost any type of vehicle will work. And what it does is it gets wrapped and your vehicle becomes your drivable billboard. So you get phone calls, people packing in, emailing you, they even honk their horns at ya <laugh>, you do a lot of work and get a lot of jobs at the gas pumps where people are reading the log. Can you really do that? And then they show 'em a couple pictures, give 'em their car, and they get a phone call, Hey Mitch, you at the gas pump the other day? And I, I got something I
Speaker 1 00:19:28 Want you to, that's interesting. Now you are on the SBA registry, so you are financeable, right? I think it falls under the SBA express loan. Um, so, uh, no, I mean the, I gotta tell you, uh, you know, to the audience out there, if, if, if you're looking for something that does not have a lot, like I said before, a lot of moving parts really is not stressful. I mean, yes, you are dealing with a consumer, so to speak, but it's not that stressful consumer. It's, it's a need, it's not a want. I mean, they need to get something fixed on the, on the commercial side, business side. These, you know, you definitely don't wanna sit in a dentist chair with the, with the chair being ripped and, and, and it happens. So I it, it's definitely a plague. But Bob, let me ask you this. Um, franchising as an industry, you've been around the block for 30 years, you've seen a lot of things change. Um, you've seen a lot of things happen. What is it about the franchising industry that you see that makes this all fun? That it continues to be a major element in, in today's economy as far as business ownership? What, what is most fun about the franchising industry to you?
Speaker 2 00:20:40 Most fun to me is when I meet the individuals and we walk through the steps and I can feel the excitement growing. People realize the needs and the wants. They also realize that, hey, you gotta be trainable and coachable because hey, come on. I use the analogy, you, we don't, you don't have to reinvent the wheel. The systems are there the problem, right? Are there, that's the biggest obstacle of success. You're not throwing money out the window. You're following a detailed program that's gonna lead you to whatever level you wanna be. You wanna be in a van, in the van, you wanna be an empire builder, become a semi absentee owner. You have it all available, right? And that's, I think a lot of the companies out there are striving for a lot of the franchise opportunities and you know, I, I think that we want you to be happy.
Speaker 2 00:21:29 That's why I always told people in the beginning, I'm not here to sell you a darn thing. My role is to educate you. And the first four steps are learning, learning and learning, right? Yep. Again, you get to go on a physical ride day and you got to go live. You get to see everything happen in front of your eyes and you get to participate. And when people get done with their ride day, oh my gosh, a lot of times we have a meeting two days later and I get a phone call as they're driving home saying, oh my gosh, Bob, what a day it was. So, right, right. That's, that's what I see as the excitement. And it gives people and, and consumers an opportunity to be their own boss, to control their own destiny. So many times I hear Scott when I'm interviewing him is, you know, I wanted to always do this, Bob, but I couldn't afford it. Now I can afford it. I have the funding, I have the money. I want to be my own boss and I want to control my own destiny. And that, it's so great to hear that for people. And like I said, when they go through the process, it, it's, it's just, it is awesome. It, for me personally, I just love it. I mean, it's exciting. Well,
Speaker 1 00:22:35 I think that's the, you know, Bob, you, you just said something that I think I have to bring to the attention of our listeners. You know, um, uh, I, I, there are those brands that I deal with and, and, and I deal with a lot of great developers, people, brand representatives, people that represent the brands. But you're one of those guys that really has a passion for what you're doing with Fiber New. I mean, you really believe in the process and the product and the company. I mean, more importantly,
Speaker 2 00:23:01 Well, you know, being here for 10 years, I wish the heck I could have been here for 30 years because I never look back. I'm looking straight ahead and I see what we're going for, you know, and we, we bring on quite a few franchise a year, but I always tell people in the, in the United States alone, we still have over 400 openings still available. We're still growing and growing. We're trying, our goal is by 2026 or 2025 to be at 500 locations worldwide. And that's quite an accomplishment cuz right now we're at 3 0 5, I think they said in the la la, la latest resources. I read that only 18% of franchises achieve over 300 franchise owners.
Speaker 1 00:23:45 Yeah. Wow. That's, that, that's interesting. So, uh, Bob, you know, uh, you are an outdoorsman, if I remember correctly. Uh, you know, you love getting that fishing pole. You love, uh, you love getting outdoors. Um, what's next for Bob? I mean, what, where, where is, where is fiber new going? Uh, you know, any, any exciting thing planned for Bob Johnston and his family? I mean, uh, you're, you're, you're an outdoorsman, if I remember correctly.
Speaker 2 00:24:11 Oh yeah. I'm looking forward. Um, I fish, I bow hunt. I gun hunt. Uh, for those of you who don't like hunting, I'm sorry, but I love it
Speaker 1 00:24:19 <laugh>.
Speaker 2 00:24:20 I've got three sons and now I got some grandchildren and granddaughters that are participating. We love to get out there and fish. We're really looking forward. We're such a tight-knit family. We're looking forward for the Christmas holidays. And I'm very lucky and blessed that all three of my sons live in about a three mile radius of us. So I get to see the grandkids and they, my kids all the time, we support 'em in all their sporting events, go to as many games as we can. And to me, that's what life's all about. It's about our families and, you know, for people looking at a franchise, that family thing is what I hear all the time. Yep. Able to have that with their family. And by getting into an opportunity where you can control your time and your schedule and still make very good money and be your own boss, I think that's, that's the, the best thing for everybody.
Speaker 1 00:25:09 That's great. Bob. How, uh, what's the best way for people to get in contact with you? What is, uh, you know, contact information you'd like to share? If somebody would like to just have a general conversation if they, you know, uh, if for some reason they bypassed me or how, how, how could someone get ahold of you
Speaker 2 00:25:26 If you'd like to reach me by phone, I'm on Central Time and my phone number is (262) 457-4272. I'm in Wisconsin and my email is B Johnston, j o h n s t o n, at fiber new.com. And Fiber New is spelled a little different. It's f I b r e n e w.com. I'll be more than happy to answer any additional questions or anything you'd like to discuss.
Speaker 1 00:26:01 All right. Well, Bob, look, you know, this has been great. It's always fun talking with you. Um, I'm, I'm looking forward to, uh, uh, getting to, uh, share a, uh, a cocktail with you at one of the upcoming, uh, conferences we usually run into, uh, each other at. And I wish you and your family a, uh, wonderful Christmas and a safe and healthy New Year. It's, uh, it's always great to talk with you and, uh, please stay in touch. We look forward to getting you back here in a little bit and, uh, giving us an update. But, uh, we've been, we've been talking to Bob Johnston who is, uh, part of the development team vp, uh, actually not director of franchise development, I guess is the best way to put it. For Fiber New, uh, this is Scotty Mylo Scott Mylo franchise coach. Uh, you can reach me at 8 6 0 7 5 1 9 1 2 6 or Scott at scott myles franchise coach.com. Another episode of All Things Considered Franchising, what's Your Know and Know Your Why. Until next time, have a great day.
