We’re really excited to officially announce a long-term partnership with Andy Luedecke and MyPerfectFranchise.Net.
Andy is going to be advertising on our site and on the podcast as well as sharing information here in a thread on the board once a month. He’ll also be available should anyone want to ask him questions if they’re interested in getting more details about what he does and how you can go about becoming a franchise owner yourself.
We thought we’d start today by welcoming him to CavsCorner and introducing him and his business. Here’s a little Q&A so you can get to know Andy a little better.
Brad: First, welcome to CavsCorner Andy. Why don’t you give us a little background on yourself and how you came to be here on Rivals.
Andy: I was born in Dallas and grew up in Atlanta and raising our family in Fairhope, AL – which is an amazing town for those that have never heard of it. I grew up a Longhorn fan as all the Luedecke’s are from Texas and I have been a Rivals subscriber (mostly a lurker) for nearly 20 years. I am married and have 3 children. I was working in the corporate world until 2012, when I decided to take charge of my life and exit the corporate rat race. My first franchise I bought (and still own) is a non-medical homecare franchise called Synergy HomeCare. It has been an amazing run and allowed me the financial opportunity to diversify into other businesses. Today I own Synergy, Big Red (dumpster company) and a franchise consulting company, MyPerfectFranchise, where I help others find franchises that match their DNA, so to speak.
Brad: What went into your decision to own your own franchise?
Andy: I was following the corporate career path, living in Atlanta and working for a company based out of Belgium. As our business grew, I started to have global responsibilities, which was fun while single and the first year of marriage. First class flights everywhere, free drinks, places to stay…was lots of fun, until our first child came. Then I started realizing that I was never around for all the important stuff. First word, step, or when my wife just needed some sleep….I was never home to be a Dad or a husband. Something had to change. So, that is when I started my search. I didn’t know what I was searching for but I saw something online about franchising, filled out a form and then got linked up with a franchise consultant that helped match me up with a business based on my skill sets and the business characteristics that I was interested in. The process that I followed to find my first business worked so well and was valuable and informative that I decided to help others with the process as well.
Brad: Are there franchise options for folks who already have a full-time job and limited time to devote to a hands-on startup in my community?
Andy: Yes, there are 2 types of ownership models, owner-operator and semi-absentee. In an owner-operator system the franchisors require the owner/franchisee to work full time in the business until it matures. My homecare agency is owner-operator but I now run it semi-absentee, working 5-10 hours a week on the business. In semi-absentee franchises, the franchisors don’t want the owner working in the business but working ON it, scaling the business through multi-unit growth. They want owners to work 10-20 hours a week while letting their manager run the day 2 day operations. Good examples of this are Orange Theory, Supercuts, Massage Envy. You typically don’t see the owners ever in those types of franchises as they are all manager run.
Brad: We all know the way it changed the sports world but how did the pandemic impact your business?
Andy: No doubt the pandemic has brought unique opportunities. In Brick and Mortar business, Real Estate has softened and tenant improvement money (TI) is more accessible and that should only get better as retail is getting hit hard right now. On the service side, things have never been better as we’ve all been stuck at home and home improvement is at an all-time high. As crazy as it sounds, many service based franchises saw SIGNIFICANT year over year/same store growth in 2020 and 2021 has only been bigger!
Brad: So, how does it work? You get on the phone and over the course of the call you suggest franchising opportunities based on someone’s background or expertise?
Andy: Not one call as I need to learn a good bit about each candidate I work with and then spend time matching up with franchises behind the scenes. The process works like this: 1) Introductory call - to get to know each other, discuss overall process. 2) Consultation - about an hour call where I learn about you and your skills, background etc.… 3) Matching call where I introduce you to franchisors that meet your criteria.4) Introductory calls with each franchisor ….then the true due diligence process starts with each brand matched with.And that is when the fun really starts. The franchise due diligence process is not an ‘ask-Google’ session. It is very comprehensive, with multiple calls and webinars with the franchisor learning about Marketing, Operations, Unit Economics, Calls with other franchisees for their feedback.
Brad: What kind of situations make sense? For example, does looking into owning your own franchise make sense for someone who is in the latter stages of their traditional career or maybe even someone who is somewhat displaced due to the pandemic?
Andy: Franchise and business ownership is not for everyone. There is significant risk involved. But where there is risk there is also significant reward. I have unlimited PTO now. I make more money than I ever imagined making in the corporate world. My schedule is mine. I eat lunch with my kids, take them to school, coach their teams….all because of the quality of life franchise ownership has given me.
Brad: What about financing? Is that available? What does that look like?
Andy: Yes. Lots of different options there from SBA, 401k rollovers. Right now the SBA is offering a unique stimulus package as well. They are paying the first 3mos (it was 6mos!) of any new or existing loan. In fact, I just bought a dumpster business and was able to condense the loan term from 10yrs to 4yrs and get a huge chunk of principal and interest paid off due to this stimulus package. I did it again to buy another round of dumpsters and porta potties, so I got 2 rounds of 6mos of free payments. Very cool deal!
Brad: What’s the typical cost for your services?
Andy: My services are always 100% free! Working with me is a no-brainer for someone that wants to learn about franchise options and business ownership in general. I get paid a commission from the franchisors and in return they get very qualified, high-level, engaged candidates as I work with my candidates to educate them on franchise ownership and prepare them for each step of the process.
Brad: Alright, let’s finish this up on a fun note or two: Are you aware of what a Hokie is and why do you hate them so much?
Andy: I have no freaking clue what a Hokie is actually. When I think Hokie I think of two things 1) Beamer Ball 2) Dog fighting
Brad: Lastly, as a long time Texas fan maybe you can settle this for me: Do you concede that Phill Dawson’s 50-yard field-goal attempt as time expired in 1995 was actually no good and therefore UVa should’ve gotten the 16-14 win over the Horns?
Andy: WHAAAAATTT??????!!!!!!! You are trying to tell me that the greatest college field goal kick of all-time was a miss???? I had to re-watch just to confirm. While the video is not great, the reaction from the fans behind the goal post and the two officials give me enough data points to confirm that the 50yd field goal into near hurricane force winds, was, in fact, GOOD! You all be the judge:
Andy is going to be advertising on our site and on the podcast as well as sharing information here in a thread on the board once a month. He’ll also be available should anyone want to ask him questions if they’re interested in getting more details about what he does and how you can go about becoming a franchise owner yourself.
We thought we’d start today by welcoming him to CavsCorner and introducing him and his business. Here’s a little Q&A so you can get to know Andy a little better.
Brad: First, welcome to CavsCorner Andy. Why don’t you give us a little background on yourself and how you came to be here on Rivals.
Andy: I was born in Dallas and grew up in Atlanta and raising our family in Fairhope, AL – which is an amazing town for those that have never heard of it. I grew up a Longhorn fan as all the Luedecke’s are from Texas and I have been a Rivals subscriber (mostly a lurker) for nearly 20 years. I am married and have 3 children. I was working in the corporate world until 2012, when I decided to take charge of my life and exit the corporate rat race. My first franchise I bought (and still own) is a non-medical homecare franchise called Synergy HomeCare. It has been an amazing run and allowed me the financial opportunity to diversify into other businesses. Today I own Synergy, Big Red (dumpster company) and a franchise consulting company, MyPerfectFranchise, where I help others find franchises that match their DNA, so to speak.
Brad: What went into your decision to own your own franchise?
Andy: I was following the corporate career path, living in Atlanta and working for a company based out of Belgium. As our business grew, I started to have global responsibilities, which was fun while single and the first year of marriage. First class flights everywhere, free drinks, places to stay…was lots of fun, until our first child came. Then I started realizing that I was never around for all the important stuff. First word, step, or when my wife just needed some sleep….I was never home to be a Dad or a husband. Something had to change. So, that is when I started my search. I didn’t know what I was searching for but I saw something online about franchising, filled out a form and then got linked up with a franchise consultant that helped match me up with a business based on my skill sets and the business characteristics that I was interested in. The process that I followed to find my first business worked so well and was valuable and informative that I decided to help others with the process as well.
Brad: Are there franchise options for folks who already have a full-time job and limited time to devote to a hands-on startup in my community?
Andy: Yes, there are 2 types of ownership models, owner-operator and semi-absentee. In an owner-operator system the franchisors require the owner/franchisee to work full time in the business until it matures. My homecare agency is owner-operator but I now run it semi-absentee, working 5-10 hours a week on the business. In semi-absentee franchises, the franchisors don’t want the owner working in the business but working ON it, scaling the business through multi-unit growth. They want owners to work 10-20 hours a week while letting their manager run the day 2 day operations. Good examples of this are Orange Theory, Supercuts, Massage Envy. You typically don’t see the owners ever in those types of franchises as they are all manager run.
Brad: We all know the way it changed the sports world but how did the pandemic impact your business?
Andy: No doubt the pandemic has brought unique opportunities. In Brick and Mortar business, Real Estate has softened and tenant improvement money (TI) is more accessible and that should only get better as retail is getting hit hard right now. On the service side, things have never been better as we’ve all been stuck at home and home improvement is at an all-time high. As crazy as it sounds, many service based franchises saw SIGNIFICANT year over year/same store growth in 2020 and 2021 has only been bigger!
Brad: So, how does it work? You get on the phone and over the course of the call you suggest franchising opportunities based on someone’s background or expertise?
Andy: Not one call as I need to learn a good bit about each candidate I work with and then spend time matching up with franchises behind the scenes. The process works like this: 1) Introductory call - to get to know each other, discuss overall process. 2) Consultation - about an hour call where I learn about you and your skills, background etc.… 3) Matching call where I introduce you to franchisors that meet your criteria.4) Introductory calls with each franchisor ….then the true due diligence process starts with each brand matched with.And that is when the fun really starts. The franchise due diligence process is not an ‘ask-Google’ session. It is very comprehensive, with multiple calls and webinars with the franchisor learning about Marketing, Operations, Unit Economics, Calls with other franchisees for their feedback.
Brad: What kind of situations make sense? For example, does looking into owning your own franchise make sense for someone who is in the latter stages of their traditional career or maybe even someone who is somewhat displaced due to the pandemic?
Andy: Franchise and business ownership is not for everyone. There is significant risk involved. But where there is risk there is also significant reward. I have unlimited PTO now. I make more money than I ever imagined making in the corporate world. My schedule is mine. I eat lunch with my kids, take them to school, coach their teams….all because of the quality of life franchise ownership has given me.
Brad: What about financing? Is that available? What does that look like?
Andy: Yes. Lots of different options there from SBA, 401k rollovers. Right now the SBA is offering a unique stimulus package as well. They are paying the first 3mos (it was 6mos!) of any new or existing loan. In fact, I just bought a dumpster business and was able to condense the loan term from 10yrs to 4yrs and get a huge chunk of principal and interest paid off due to this stimulus package. I did it again to buy another round of dumpsters and porta potties, so I got 2 rounds of 6mos of free payments. Very cool deal!
Brad: What’s the typical cost for your services?
Andy: My services are always 100% free! Working with me is a no-brainer for someone that wants to learn about franchise options and business ownership in general. I get paid a commission from the franchisors and in return they get very qualified, high-level, engaged candidates as I work with my candidates to educate them on franchise ownership and prepare them for each step of the process.
Brad: Alright, let’s finish this up on a fun note or two: Are you aware of what a Hokie is and why do you hate them so much?
Andy: I have no freaking clue what a Hokie is actually. When I think Hokie I think of two things 1) Beamer Ball 2) Dog fighting
Brad: Lastly, as a long time Texas fan maybe you can settle this for me: Do you concede that Phill Dawson’s 50-yard field-goal attempt as time expired in 1995 was actually no good and therefore UVa should’ve gotten the 16-14 win over the Horns?
Andy: WHAAAAATTT??????!!!!!!! You are trying to tell me that the greatest college field goal kick of all-time was a miss???? I had to re-watch just to confirm. While the video is not great, the reaction from the fans behind the goal post and the two officials give me enough data points to confirm that the 50yd field goal into near hurricane force winds, was, in fact, GOOD! You all be the judge:
