Episode Transcript
Speaker 1 00:00:06 Hello, everybody. Another episode of All Things Considered Franchised Franchising, powered by Scott, my franchise coach.com. All Things Considered Franchising is a podcast, uh, regarding franchise opportunities, business ownership, trying to answer those questions about people that are interested in exploring business ownership for the first time, or diversifying a portfolio. And Scott, my franchise coach, is a organization, my company that actually helps people kind of research and explore opportunities. I am Scotty, my, I am the, uh, founder of All Things Considered Franchising, and Scott Mylo franchise, uh, coach.com. We have a wonderful power couple with us today. Uh, a a a a a couple that, uh, kind of went through the journey for about six, seven months, maybe even a little longer. We'll find out, um, uh, for one of them, uh, Dustin, Dustin and Allison Bron to, uh, kind of explore, uh, business ownership. And, uh, uh, we, we, we met, uh, by chance, I guess through some, uh, marketing efforts and, uh, uh, started working together in, in, in regards to, uh, researching and exploring business ownership, a franchise. So, welcome Dustin and Allison.
Speaker 2 00:01:18 Hello. Thank you, Scott. Thank
Speaker 1 00:01:21 You for, it's good to have you. Yeah, it's great to have you on board. Um, you are out in, uh, San Antonio, correct? Texas,
Speaker 2 00:01:30 We're, yes, San Antonio. Um, we actually live in New Braunfels, Texas. Okay. So I, I'd say about 20 minutes from San Antonio. Okay. Um, right. Almost, I guess right in between, um, San Antonio and Austin.
Speaker 1 00:01:45 Say. Okay. All right. Good, good, good. Um, I guess I would like to just, you know, kind of educate our, our, our audience and maybe people that were in your similar situation that are, you know, kind of scratching their head and thinking about business ownership, small business, whether it's an independent or a franchise. Uh, you know, again, uh, you know, franchising has its benefits and we can talk about that, but y you, Dustin, you, you kind of exited the corporate world to take on, uh, the business that you in invested in 100% of your time. Uh, you, you made that decision, Alison, you're, you're focusing on your career corporate America. Um, talk to us about, uh, Dustin, maybe how that decision process or the idea of small business ship owning a small business, uh, investing in a business came about. Uh, you know, is it something that you just kind of woke up in the morning and said, Hey, I wanna own my own business, or has this been something you guys have been talking about for a while and, you know, maybe just kind of help us out a little bit, explain how you got or at least decided to make the journey to research and educate yourself on small business ownership.
Speaker 2 00:02:56 Yeah. So, um, I would say, I guess it was fester a while. Uh, reason being is, um, I would, you know, wake up early in the morning, um, come home late at night and was working very hard at my corporate job. So I, um, I was like, well, if I can do this for somebody else, I can do this for myself. Um, and granted, it's, you know, a big leap. Um, and, you know, you go back and forth in your mind, you have sleepless nights, you, um, you, but at the end of the day, um, if you work hard at, I had in my mind, if I work hard at it, it's gonna be successful and it's gonna go somewhere. And then that's when we found, um, I Tripp San Antonio.
Speaker 1 00:03:43 Okay, great. And I, Tripp, uh, is a short-term vacation rental business model, correct?
Speaker 2 00:03:50 Correct. We are a short-term property management company. What we try to do is we provide a boutique level service, or homeowners and guests, um, so you know, that white glove service. So we have, um, we have a national, uh, international background, but yet we're locally owned and operated. Okay. Um, so that's how we, um, being locally owned and operated, it's my baby. It's, you know, I'm gonna coddle it and I'm gonna make sure that everything is hopefully done Right.
Speaker 1 00:04:22 Alison, when, uh, you know, obviously I, I I guess Dustin didn't roll out of, uh, get up one morning and just kind of roll outta bed and just say, Hey, I'm gonna go find my own business. I mean, it's obviously a discussion. How long was the discussion or the thought process about this before you actually said, you know what, let's start the journey and, and, and, and learn and educate ourselves what, you know, kind of walk our audience through that conversation, some of the questions that you might have been bouncing off each other. You know, again, you know, I, I work with a lot of, I've worked with a lot of couples and, you know, one of the questions that comes up, can we own a business together? Are you gonna run the business? Am I gonna run the business? But talk to us about how that journey or those, some of those questions that were coming up, um, you know, when when, when Dustin said, Hey, you know, I'd really like to start thinking about owning my own business.
Speaker 3 00:05:14 Yeah, absolutely. Like Dustin said, it had kind of investing for probably a couple of years of this idea of business ownership. Um, we've both always, you know, worked really hard and worked for other people, worked for small businesses, and just seeing everything, you know, seeing the success of the small businesses we had worked for is inspiring. So when we had thought about businesses, we would literally, well, what if we start from scratch? What if we go into the industry you were in, or we go into the industry that I'm in and start something? And we just really didn't feel like that was the right thing to do. So whenever we came across you, like the entire path, I feel like, was it, it sounds corny, I tell everyone, it sounds really corny and cheesy, but I feel like we were meant to be on this path.
Speaker 3 00:06:08 We were meant to meet you, to go down the research of franchises, and, you know, inevitably I feel like we were meant to open I Tripp San Antonio. And one of the best things about the franchising process, it was very structured and laid out, which I liked. Um, you send us a book, a research like read it took all my notes. And that's the great thing about a franchise is that you have the support of a team behind you. And we are so grateful for that. Um, I talk with the, some of them almost every single day and just having the structure, the plan, the business processes, so we don't have to recreate the wheel, we just have to put in the really hard work. And, you know, we tweak it with our own ideas. But to have that business model and that plan and the support is just invaluable.
Speaker 1 00:07:02 You know, when we began the journey working together, you know, um, you, you, you obviously have a lot of experience in the corporate world and understanding business, so, um, you kind of got an idea that regardless of whatever whatev whatever you were going to decide to do was going to require hard work. But how important, and I know we talked about this in our process when we worked together, how important was it for you both to be on the same page in regards to the business that you were going to eventually invest in and, and, and, and, and understand each other's role? And I know, Dustin, you're, you're, you're a hundred percent in, obviously Alison, you're supporting him. You have your, your, your, your your position right now, your position and, and, and that's where you wanna stay. But how important is it for you to be on the same page as a couple? I remember I gave you an exercise saying, you know, sit at the end of the table, each of you with a yellow legal pad and a glass of wine, or a cup of coffee, and write down what each other's responsibilities are, what your anticipation is. And I know people chuckle about that a lot, but how important was it to understand and, and agree on a, a, a business or at least going into business, uh, as a couple?
Speaker 2 00:08:20 I'm gonna say, um, I remember when we were talking, um, the reason why we picked iri, not this is jokingly, is I remember you telling us, oh, you can be on a, um, with your computer on a beach <laugh>, and hey, you want me here? And I was like, you can be working for a beach. And I'm like, okay, let's go. That's go
Speaker 1 00:08:38 Route. Well, I mean, I know there are people at online trips that do run their businesses from the beach, so, uh, I not quite there yet, <laugh>. No, you'll be, you will be. But uh, but I mean, was there, but you know, in all kidding aside, I mean, is it, is it important, you know, know, especially for our audience that's listening, is it important as a couple to agree on what you're gonna do and what the goals are and really have that plan?
Speaker 2 00:09:05 I do. I, I truly believe that cuz everybody has different strengths and weaknesses, right? I mean, what's, um, you know, what, what somebody's strength is, they can obviously pull the weight in that area and then, and then somebody, um, like Alison, somebody else, uh, with our company that we hire later on might be, um, better at certain things than I am. And like I said, yes it is. Um, it's good to know your roles, I think type of deal. Um, and we did sit down and we did talk about, you know, stuff like that as far as what I'm good at, you know, and, um, as if I, if we hire somebody, you know, what we're looking for. Um, and then, uh, because obviously if I'm good in a certain area, we need to hire somebody where my weaknesses, where I lack, you know, or I feel like I lack. Right. Um, so yeah, we did sit down and um, there was definitely not glasses of wine, it was bottles of wine.
Speaker 1 00:10:04 <laugh>. I love it. Thank you. No, that's great. <laugh>,
Speaker 3 00:10:09 Very important, Scotty, because I think j I mean, spouses need to support each other no matter what, but when you open a business, it is all consuming. It is from sunup to, we are laying in bed and still talking things or the phone will go off and your spouse has to be on board no matter what business, you have to be supportive. Um, like Dustin said, there's things that he's great at and he takes the lead on, and then I'm able to still contribute and do a little bit toward it. And, you know, after hours doing reports and things that he may not enjoy. Like I enjoy the reporting and financials. Um, so Right, Josh is, you know, in a marriage, you've, we've, we've had a couple of, you know, definitely butted heads on some things. And so you've gotta be communicate and work together through it. Cause it's gonna be challenging at times.
Speaker 1 00:11:02 Yeah. I think, uh, you know, one of the things that I had mentioned to you, and I think we all chuckled when I said it to you is, is that, look, you can't, you don't have necessarily have to agree all the time, but you gotta be able to get along. And that's not, and and that's not only on the relationship side side, the marriage side, but it's also in relationship. I i I in the relationship with the franchisor in this case I tripp. So I think, you know, and that leads me to my next question, you know, um, educating yourself about franchising. Um, you know, I if you were, if you were gonna shed some light to our audience, um, obviously we got connected and you started to ask a lot of questions, a lot of great questions about business ownership and franchising. But if, if, if, if you were passing on some guidance, um, and suggestions to our audience about people that are interested in starting the search or learning more, where would you say is the best route to go? I mean, is it, I mean, the internet is just full of information, but as we all know, you start clicking boxes, you're just inundated by information and phone calls that you probably don't even want. Um, so is there a kind of some guidance or, you know, uh, you know, bet you can pass on to some people that may be thinking about this and how to start that journey?
Speaker 2 00:12:18 Well, yeah, I think you were, um, obviously, um, speaking with you, Scotty, it was, it was great because we, uh, we would, uh, kind of tell you what piqued our interest, you know, and then you gave us a list of different franchises that he thought we might be interested in. And, uh, so we, you know, went through the list, went through the list, and, and, um, so you helped the process a lot, I feel like. Um,
Speaker 1 00:12:46 Well, thank you. I appreciate that. It
Speaker 2 00:12:48 Made it easy. Um, and then the next step was like, okay, what would we like to do? Because you have to do something that you like, right? Um, and we felt like, who doesn't like vacations? And that's when we end up with iri, you know, <laugh>. So, um, uh, but that's, at the end of the day, I think you made the, the process so much easier, um, giving us guidance and showing us the different franchises, like I said. Um, but at the end of the day, um, you were great.
Speaker 1 00:13:21 Yeah. Well, at the end of the day, it's also your, it's also at the end of the day, it's your decision. I think, you know, I think one of the things that's important for people to understand that, um, and, and I joke, and I think I even said this to you during our process, that your decision process and on the, the franchisor side, the brands that you talk to, you know, they're, they're not offering timeshares. It isn't. Do you want it now? And the price goes down every half hour. I i, it, it, it really boils down to your decision and their decision because franchises are rewarded, but it it, it's just Alison, in, in regards to your education, um, you know, you mentioned reading a book and, uh, you know, uh, uh, and educating yourself. Do, do you, do you feel that your process could have improved? Or do you, I mean, what direction would you push people into at least get started? Uh, I guess is the way to put it,
Speaker 3 00:14:16 Honestly, to get started, I think, and it's part of the, the book that you sent, and I think part of many franchise consultants, like, you know, the process of researching this, I think the most important step is knowing yourself. And we literally wrote down, what are my strengths? What are my weaknesses? What are his strengths? What are his weaknesses? So I would say for anyone considering a business to really get to know yourself and what are your strengths and what are you truly wanting and capable of? Cause if you don't know that, you're gonna end up on the wrong path.
Speaker 1 00:14:55 Right. No, I, I that, those, those are great words. Great, great advice.
Speaker 3 00:15:00 I would say go with a coach too. Go with someone like you, Scotty, because we would've never been where we are had we just are Googling franchises. Never would have.
Speaker 1 00:15:09 That's great. Well, I appreciate that it's readable, <laugh>. Um, as far as the franchisor, you know, one of the things that we had gone through in our discussion was as you start to learn about different brands and talk to 'em, understanding the support levels, uh, of a franchise or system, because it's one thing to invest in a business, but you know, you wanna be able to get that support, the marketing support, the operational support, you know, somebody that you can pick up the phone and call at 11 o'clock at night, so to speak. I mean, we all chuckle about it, but what are some of the things, you know, I, I get a lot of people that call me, not a lot of people, but typ, typically the first question is, well, how much money can I make at this brand? So that is important. Ultimately, owning a business is about financial reward, uh, that ROI on your investment, um, you know, your financial goals. But talk to us about how you analyze businesses and franchises on the support side, and is the support side as is important, as I kind of pushed you two to kind of focus on as well. Because like I said, some people just kind of look at it on the financial side, wanna see an item 19, and you know, if they don't like the item 19, it's, you know, let's move on.
Speaker 2 00:16:23 Yeah. I can say, um, when we, um, when we got into I Tripp, you know, we researched, I Tripp obviously before we bought the franchise. Um, and when I looked into, I didn't realize the software, everything that goes on behind the scenes of short term rentals. Um, so it, that was kind of, wow, you know, you got that wow factor. But, um, there, there's, like I said, there's a lot behind the scenes that you don't, and that's any business that you don't see, it's a lot of late nights, stuff like that. Learning, especially learning, I mean, something new, right? It's like right. Speaking, it's like pig Latin, right? You don't <laugh> you, it's, and, but once you learn it, it starts coming to you. And to answer your question, Scotty, like we do have our corporate team has been awesome. I, I have to say that it's, it's been, we can call, we have a software lady and she's always helping us out, just little questions here and there. And she, they're on top of it. And that's one thing I've been very happy about is I was scared of that, that gray area I guess so to speak, is, um, you don't know you gonna buy something and is it gonna be there or not, you know? But with our corporate, it's, I can say it's been there for sure without
Speaker 3 00:17:50 'em. And you said, Scotty, most people are concerned about the financial impact. You know, what's their roi? What is the item 19? How much money are they gonna make? But they're directly connected. I mean, if you've got the support behind you, you're gonna do better. You're gonna make more money. So that's crucial. Um, knowing that we had like being laid out in this, the franchise research process, just getting to see mm-hmm. <affirmative> like their training program and learning about their training program and the one-on-one coaching that we get, and just anytime we've had calls with the entire corporate team on special issues and they've just been rock stars, so great,
Speaker 1 00:18:32 Great. And
Speaker 3 00:18:32 That helps us, like, they help us, which is gonna help us get money,
Speaker 2 00:18:36 And I'm, it's gonna be hard work. Um, just know that going into it. I mean, it's gonna be Yeah.
Speaker 1 00:18:44 I, I,
Speaker 2 00:18:44 Yep. It's gonna, you're gonna reap the rewards later on.
Speaker 1 00:18:48 Yeah. I think that's a common, you know, there's a common thing out there, a common thought process for people that, you know, the franchisor's gonna do all the work for you. You know, you, you write 'em a check and, and, and, you know, uh, but I'm, and I'm glad you said that, you both said that, that it is hard work and I, people have to understand that, you know, um, starting a business is hard work. I mean, it's, uh, you gotta put the time, effort, and energy in. And, and I think I might even have said to you during our conversations, you know, how long, look how long it took you to get to where you are now and how successful you are. You know, it, and it, it took you, it took you some time and it put, took you a lot of hard work.
Speaker 1 00:19:23 So why would it be any different starting your own business, um, as we close out here, um, and, and to help our audience out, again, those who are thinking about, uh, investing in or researching or exploring business ownership. And again, i i if you can kind of point us into the direction, what are, what are two things, one or two things that somebody should be asking a franchise or as they go through the validation, uh, process, uh, understanding the brand Are, are, are there one or two things that you kind of, kind of recall that really stood out that kind of got you on that direction to iri, you know, what are those one or two important questions that somebody should be focusing in on? Have any?
Speaker 2 00:20:12 Uh, not off top of my head, honestly. I, I was trying to think of something. Um, I've slept a lot since then and we've
Speaker 1 00:20:21 <laugh> Yeah.
Speaker 2 00:20:23 Um, I'm trying to remember back to that.
Speaker 3 00:20:28 I think the validation calls were one of the most beneficial.
Speaker 1 00:20:33 Okay.
Speaker 3 00:20:33 Um, parts of the process, which I feel like is someone who's interested in, obviously in researching a franchise, that's their opportunity to ask those questions. So taking advantage of that and picking the, the other market's brains and we got some just great, great feedback and not one of them regretted the decision. Um, and then knowing, maybe asking those questions like, what, what qualities do I need to be successful? Like, what does it take to be successful in this? And then going back to knowing yourself, like if, if people are telling you one thing, like, Hey, you really need these qualities and skills and you've already identified that you don't have them, or you do, you need to listen to that. So
Speaker 1 00:21:23 Great, great, great advice.
Speaker 2 00:21:25 The validation calls, like I was, was talking about the last, one of the last ones that we did. Uh, this is what kind of, I mean, we were gonna probably do it either way, but this is what said, okay, we're doing it, is, um, we had one and the guy was like, we were, you know, talking with him asking questions and he's like, he's like, Dustin and Allison, if y'all don't do this, I, um, I'm gonna push you from the back and make you do this. This is how good I feel. And that's, that's what he's said. Great. And, alright, we're in <laugh>.
Speaker 1 00:22:01 <laugh>, so that's great. Well, as we close out here, one of the last things I just want to kind of bring up, and I know we had talked about it on numerous occasions, and I would kind of squeeze it into our, you know, our calls just as a reminder, and that's fear and anxiety. Um, you know, it, uh, and I remember, and, and, and, and I remember, you know, our conversation when I first mentioned that at sooner or later, fear and anxiety is gonna rear its ugly head. And that you really have to really not let fear be your decision driver. Uh, and that you have to look, make sure that the, the decision you make is a validated decision. I mean, obviously there's some emotional decision here, but the basis of your decision should be validation. Was that, is that accurate? I mean, is there fear and anxiety in this? I mean, and, and, and you know, sleepless nights, I think we talked about that earlier, but I mean, how, how did you approach the fear and anxiety part?
Speaker 3 00:23:00 Prayer, <laugh>
Speaker 1 00:23:01 <laugh>, that's a good one. I mean that, that definitely, yep. Okay.
Speaker 2 00:23:06 Yeah, obviously there's a lot, I mean, you're laying a lot on the line, so there's gonna be, right. But anything you do in life, you know, whether you're getting up on a diving board in a swimming pool, some people have fear and anxiety over that, right? So it's, it's, um, but it's getting over it and jumping in the pool, right? Right. So once you jump in that pool, you're like, let me do it again. I wanna go do it again. You know, so it's, um, it's just, yeah, there is definitely fear and anxiety and sleepless nights. But, um, in the, I I believe, like I, um, like I said earlier, if you put the work and effort into it, you're gonna get what you put what you put into it at the end of the day.
Speaker 3 00:23:50 Great. And Friday, uh, we always had two questions that we would go back to. Like when we'd be up at night laying in bed, our two questions were, would, do we think that someone else will come in and, and buy our market, get San Antonio and be successful? Yes, without a doubt we know that someone is going to take this. And two, would we regret it if we didn't do it? And again, the answer was yes. So just knowing those two things, I think it was like, okay, then we can overcome any of the fears because we know that we would regret it more if we didn't do it. Um,
Speaker 1 00:24:24 That's, that's great that, that, that's great advice.
Speaker 3 00:24:26 The thing is, uh, there was actually a man who reached out to us a month ago. He called us, saw Dustin on LinkedIn. He had looked at IRI, San Antonio, I think a year, a year and a half before, and hi, he and his spouse weren't completely on board. It didn't happen for them. Um, he went down to do a different business or something, but he reached out and wanted to talk about it, and man, how are y'all doing? Like, so it's like, it's very cool not to have that what if,
Speaker 1 00:24:55 Right. No, that, that, that, that's awesome. Well, uh, our time is winding down here. Um, any last advice, anything you wanna mention? Uh, you know, uh, uh, how I, if somebody is in the San Antonio area and would like to talk to you about, uh, the short-term vacation rental, putting their property up for, uh, availability, is there any way that somebody should be able to get ahold of you or just look you up on LinkedIn or, um, any last minute thoughts here?
Speaker 3 00:25:23 Yeah, absolutely. Uh, we're always happy to talk to homeowners and investors about their short-term rental and how we can earn them money. Um, you can reach us at San Antonio dot i tripp.co or look Dustin up on LinkedIn search. I Tripp San Antonio. We're happy to talk to anyone.
Speaker 1 00:25:43 Great, great. Well, I
Speaker 2 00:25:46 Tell you website, it'll show all of our houses and, um, come stay
Speaker 1 00:25:50 <laugh>. That's great. Well, hopefully in a couple years or maybe next year, I don't know, but, uh, I, I think the Super Bowl will end up coming to San Antonio at some point, right? <laugh> awesome.
Speaker 2 00:26:01 Yeah, I know they're, I know they're doing the new, um, X Ffl, I think. Yes. Um, we have a team in San Antonio, so I'm excited, see how that goes. Um, but great. Yeah, definitely come, uh, I think, uh, San Antonio's the eighth most visited city United States, so, uh, we definitely have some attractions here.
Speaker 1 00:26:22 Wow, that's great. Well, Dustin and Allison, I appreciate your time. Uh, again, we've been speaking to Dustin and Allison Braun, uh, of San Antonio, Texas, uh, uh, franchise owners of I Tripp Vacations in the San Antonio area. Uh, this has been your host, Scotty, my All Things Considered Franchising, powered by Scott, my franchise coach.com. Anybody who's interested in learning more about business ownership, feel free to reach out to me. Uh, just look at, you know, you'll see the, uh, information on the screen. Or call me at (860) 751-9126 or go to my website, Scott, my franchise coach.com. This is Scotty my, until next time, all things considered franchising.
