“We’re continuing to open up studios of our own. We just opened up a studio in Indianapolis that's ours. We're opening up a second one in Indianapolis this year. Courtney and Dustin, our first franchisees to sign on, opened their second studio the day after we opened our studio in Indianapolis. It was a great learning process and so much fun to go through this process shoulder to shoulder with them. We're constantly growing and modifying things to provide better support for our franchisees. This affects us too, because we're opening and operating studios along with our franchisees. We’re experimenting so that our franchisees don't have to, and implementing new programs and new marketing to understand how it's working. And then we can go to our franchisees and say, ‘Okay, cool, here's a new thing, and you should implement it for these reasons.’ It's important for us to have our team operating studios so we have firsthand knowledge as we go through these processes with our franchisees.“

This shows a real alignment between franchisor and franchisee.

When franchises actively run their own locations, they aren’t just selling a concept, they’re in the trenches with you. That means every strategy, update, or innovation they roll out has been tested on their own dime first.

Opening studios side-by-side with franchisees creates real-time learning and support. It’s a collaborative, “we’re-in-this-together” environment. It also means the franchisor is constantly improving systems based on real experience, not theory.

Because they’re operating their own units, they can experiment, refine, and then confidently share what works. This allows franchisees to focus on execution, not trial-and-error, so there’s faster innovation with less risk.

We cover many current and relevant topics. A few include:

◈ What it takes to support the emotional leap from employee to business owner

◈ Why owning a business is not a passive investment

◈ Partnering with a franchise that has its feet on the street with its franchisees

“For almost two years, I had this constant back and forth of not feeling fulfilled. I didn't necessarily feel as happy as I once was growing my career in the corporate world. But then I had this other side of me thinking I had nothing to complain about. I had a fairly senior position. I was very well compensated. Then I'd say to myself, ‘Shut up, dummy. Tons of people would love to have your job.’ I was the primary breadwinner. I'm not right now, but I was the primary breadwinner for my wife and three daughters. And I would think to myself that I had nothing to complain about. Then I'd be happy again for a couple of days, and then I'd have a crummy day at work or something, and I'd go back to being unfulfilled and unhappy. This went on for a couple of years. I’m a man of faith and I kept having these signs. I felt like it was the big man upstairs telling me, ‘this is the time’, but it's just really, really hard to leave. There’s a saying about the golden handcuffs.“

For those who know deep down they want more but feel stuck, franchising can be the bridge to both financial stability and personal fulfillment.

Many high-achievers wrestle with feeling unfulfilled while knowing they “should” be grateful. There can be an emotional tug-of-war between security and purpose.

Leaving a well-paying job is daunting, especially when supporting a family. There are real-life stakes many professionals face when considering entrepreneurship.

The fear of walking away from financial stability is real, but so is the opportunity to regain control, purpose, and happiness through business ownership.

For those who feel called to something bigger, this validates the idea that sometimes, the right moment to leap presents itself - you just have to listen.

We cover many current and relevant topics. A few include:

◈ Needs-based businesses tend to be recession-resilient

◈ Fact - you don’t need industry experience when buying a franchise (most of the time)

◈ The process and emotional toll of escaping the golden handcuffs

“I think our biggest aha moment was when we were trying to figure out the right profile of candidates to join HOMEstretch. For us, it ultimately boiled down to the people themselves. Part of what we wanted to do at the outset was create a really dynamic culture where everybody believed in our mission of becoming the national leader in the home preparation space, and we got people in the door who truly wanted to create big businesses. I think that's what’s unique about HOMEstretch. It's a really good opportunity for somebody who wants to be an entrepreneur with the guardrails and the processes that we provide. Our business is a little bit different from some other opportunities. We're not asking our franchisees to spend a ton of money on marketing to kind of sit back and wait for the leads to come in. Our franchisees are going out to market, developing true relationships with real estate agents and referral sources, and building a moat around this business that will carry over for years. So getting the right people who wanted to roll up their sleeves and build a business that way and grow an empire was probably the biggest lesson we learned early. This really helped us hone in our candidate profile to get those types of people through the door.”

Franchising is a two-way street—not only do candidates choose a business, but franchisors also seek the right franchisees. This franchise isn’t for passive owners; it’s for driven entrepreneurs who align with its mission, actively build relationships, and take charge of growth. The vetting process ensures that franchisees fit the culture and long-term vision, not just the business model. We guide our clients to find opportunities that not only meet their income and lifestyle goals but also align with their values and work style.

We cover many current and relevant topics. A few include:

◈ An example of a successful partnership and why it works

◈ Focusing on solutions rather than the problems

◈ The difference in having a big marketing spend vs. community involvement to develop business