From 26-Year Employee to Multi-Brand Owner | Jessi Chichelli with The Designery

This is the complete transcript from Episode #6 of The Franchise Champion Show, where host Alan Regala interviews Jessi Chichelli, a multi-brand franchise owner who built a million-dollar Budget Blinds business with a single territory, then expanded vertically by adding The Design Ready for kitchen and bathroom remodeling. Listen to the full episode on your favorite podcast platform.

Alan: Our next guest couldn't handle being a rock star in just one franchise business, Budget Blinds. No, she had to go kill it in a second home improvement brand, The Design Ready. I'm excited to introduce Jessi Chichelli. Welcome to the franchise champion show.

Jessi: Thank you, Alan. Nice intro. Thank you so much.

Alan: Of course, of course. Well, I'm really excited to have you as a guest on the show. Please do us a favor and tell us what you were doing before. You know what got you into franchising.

Jessi: So I actually, before I got into franchising, I was working with a local supermarket retail chain, regional chain here in the Rochester area, and they do a lot of work with private label branding, a lot of home decor products and things like that.

I actually had a 26 year career with them that started, you know, ground level working with customers in the store and working my way up to management and then up into the office where when I left there, I was a buyer. So I sourced goods, you know, worked on merchandising plans for the stores and, you know, took care of a lot of things around the home decor and the importing areas for the company.

Alan: Well, it's unheard of that people work for one place for 26 years or even like ten years. So that's pretty amazing. It must have been - you must have enjoyed what you're doing over there.

Jessi: Yes. Yeah. It was a great company to work for. They did embrace a lot of entrepreneurial and pioneering spirit. So, you know, I think there's a lot of things that I bring from my experiences into the work that I do in our own businesses for sure.

Alan: Yeah. So, okay, so 26 years, that's a really long time. You know, sounds like you had a good career there, you know? What got you thinking outside of the whole corporate world?

Jessi: Well, I think, you know, there's funny - you hear a lot of franchise stories from folks that are entering the franchise world. And I think it happens to a lot of us. When you get into your 40s, you start to take a look at, you know, am I going to do this for the next 15 to 20 years? Do I want to do something different?

In a lot of corporations, it was a very good company we worked for. But corporate environments are still corporate environments, right? And I think when you're young and energetic, you feel like I'm eventually going to get to this point and I'm going to have all this experience and they're going to listen to everything I say, and it doesn't work that way. Right?

You know, and so you find yourself sometimes feeling like maybe you feel like you have expertise that you can't lend to your position, or you're a bit on a hamster wheel of always kind of making recommendations of what to do. But sometimes other people in, you know, whether it's leadership or other departments, end up kind of taking that opportunity to follow what you think is the right direction away.

And it can be disenfranchising for folks. Yeah. In addition to that, my husband also worked for the same company. Both my parents worked for the same company.

Alan: Wow. That's incredible.

Jessi: As a family, we kind of felt like, wouldn't it be great if we maybe had a change to this dynamic a little bit, maybe diversify a little bit.

Alan: Yeah. Yeah. Wow. Yeah, I can see what you're saying. You know, I guess what I've heard from several of my clients, the word bureaucracy comes into play with the corporate world. Just like, you know, there are things that you see on the front lines that, hey, these are meaningful changes that could be made to really have an impact on this organization.

And, you know, you have great ideas for the good of the company and the clients, your customers. But then, like, you're so many layers removed from the people, maybe making those decisions and you're like, man, if I had the control of this, like, I know I could do this so much better. But not being able to have your voice heard, or at least, you know, heard or implemented, it must be frustrating.

Jessi: Yeah. And I think it happens a lot to folks, you know, where you feel like you've built the knowledge base, and you want to be able to share that into the work that you do. And when you feel like you can't, then it starts to make you feel stuck. You know, you still got a lot of life left in, you know, in your 40s and in your 50s.

Alan: So I get that. So I guess - okay, so when you're feeling stuck - what happens after that? You know, what's that - for you, what happened?

Jessi: So, you know, we had decided that my husband and I had decided that I would look for a new opportunity, and he would kind of stay where he was at. And so that really left me again, you know, being that I was in my early 40s, well, if I'm going to do something or make a change, I want it to be something I love doing right. I want it to be with something I really enjoy. And I had always been focused on home decor, home improvement. It was a passion of mine.

I did some work on the side that I used in my work with, you know, the company I was with. And so, you know, I started to explore what could I find in this area that would allow me to use the marketing and business skills that I've learned over the years? Combined with my, you know, natural talent and my desire to work in, you know, home improvement and home decor.

And so I remember the conversation I had had a year beforehand with a Budget Blinds franchise owner and how he had gotten into the business when he was just there doing our window treatments. And I said, well, that would be interesting. I wasn't looking for a franchise. I was really looking for a job, but something that would be, you know, meaningful.

And the next thing I knew, I was talking to a franchise licensor and had gone down, you know, this journey that, you know, I really didn't know much about. So it was, you know, kind of an interesting opportunity to just dive right in.

Alan: Yeah. Yeah. No, that's kind of crazy. And did you end up working with a like a consultant or you just contact the brand directly, like how did that work?

Jessi: In my case, I ended up talking to the brand directly. So, you know, the conversation started. Like I said, I didn't really know what I was getting into. And so, you know, we started the conversations. You know, I think a lot of these brands, you know, Budget Blinds was a very developed brand. So they had a pretty solid path of discovery that they put me on.

And honestly, in the beginning, you know, for the first week or so, I didn't even say anything to my husband because I wasn't really sure what this was. And if it was, you know, valid. And then as I got down that path a little further, then I, you know, said, hey, I got an opportunity for a job and said, let's buy a business.

Hey, look what I just bought. What do you think? So, you know, and in every strong couple there is, you know, the roles that we all play. I'm a little bit more of kind of a "yeah, let's just go for it and figure it out" kind of person. And then Steve's, you know, my husband's the one that pulls back and says, okay, let's dot our I's and cross our T's and make sure this is gonna really work.

And so we continued the exploration. We got to talk to lots of franchisees, which was super helpful. And you know, the further we went down the path, you know, we got to then meet the team, go to corporate, meet the people you'd be working with in support of our business. And we just really couldn't find a reason not to go for it and do it.

And so almost ten years later, here we are today.

Alan: Wow. Well that's fantastic. Okay, so for those that may not know what Budget Blinds is or does, you know, tell us what they do.

Jessi: So Budget Blinds is a window treatment franchise. So we sell and install custom window treatments - blinds, shades, shutters, draperies. We do free in-home consultations. It's a business that operates out of - yeah. So one of the things you have to do is you have to buy a van that has a company logo on it. But you really start out, you know, going house to house - deliveries were coming to our garage in the beginning. And we manage it all, you know, through an in-home office.

And then we provide installation, warranty coverage, all of those things as well as part of our operation.

Alan: That's awesome. And what market do you serve?

Jessi: So we serve the Rochester area. In the Rochester area there's actually central to Rochester. There's four territories. We own what is called the Northwest Territory of Rochester. So on the northwest side of the city and service about - I think the total is around 50,000 households in our territory that we service and maintain.

Alan: That's great. So you started this business. What led you to search for the next brand? Like what was that process like? Why did you end up going outside of Budget Blinds?

Jessi: So, you know, the business has really grown over the years. Our Budget Blinds business, we did open a showroom a couple of years into our business in 2018, which was really successful and really helped give us, you know, not that you need a showroom to have that business, but it gave our customers a place to go, a place for us to be recognized as part of the community and really helped accelerate our sales.

So, you know, as our success grew, we built a team. You know, we had an office coordinator, support, had an installer that then we branched into a hybrid role of selling and installing, brought on board another installer as a 1099 employee. So we had a team that was really built for growth. And our hope was to expand.

And, you know, we knew we were going to eventually kind of hit sort of the plateau of where our business and our current territory could go. But we were hoping to expand into a neighboring territory that was looking to retire. But unfortunately, you know, price negotiations didn't go the way I hoped that they would go. We had, you know, a year long kind of conversations.

And then at the end of the day, you know, the numbers just weren't - the math wasn't working anymore to do that. So we had to kind of walk away from that opportunity. And that kind of left us at a point. Well, we built this business to grow. I bought the business to be a business owner, not just somebody - I didn't do it to buy a job. Some people do, you know, in smaller franchises you can do that.

So we thought, well, if we can't expand horizontally, what can we do vertically that will allow us to engage our customers even more that we've already had and grow. And yeah, so we kind of started - I didn't look a lot in all honesty. The Design Ready kind of found me. So their marketing must have been good, I guess. And, you know, you click on something once, and then they're stalking you on Facebook forever. So, you know, that's kind of how that goes.

Alan: If you're wondering if franchise ownership is right for you, I'd love to help. As a franchise coach, I work one on one with my clients to find the perfect business match for their goals, skills and investment level, and to help them prepare to be champions in their business. Here's the best part. My coaching services are completely free. To schedule a 15 minute introduction call visit athletetoowner.com. The link is in the show notes.

Now back to our show. Before we get into The Design Ready, I'd love to hear - I think the audience deserves to hear a little bit more about your accomplishments with Budget Blinds, because I think it's pretty phenomenal. And so, you know, when you got into it, there was only one territory available, correct? The one that you got. And you know what did you end up accomplishing? You know, revenue wise, if you don't mind me asking.

Jessi: So, you know, our big success where we hang our hat on is, you know, a couple of years ago, we hit $1 million. And that's kind of a big threshold for Budget Blinds. You know, they kind of have the Million Dollar Club.

But, you know, in our franchise network there, I kind of refer to myself as a unicorn because years ago you would see a lot of single territory owners in the business. But over the recent ten years, I think there's been more often, you know, seeing franchisees that own two, three, 4 or 5 franchises because they're just taking that footprint and skill set and growing it.

And, you know, it's not common to be a $1 million franchise owner with a single territory. So that is something that we're really proud of, especially in the area that we're in. You know, we're not in an area where we sell products at a higher margin or anything like that. You know, we're kind of right around the average as far as, you know, how we shake out.

So that was a big one for us. We've also been, you know, to me, you know, franchising is an important thing. I always tell people when I'm talking to new franchisees looking to get into either brand is that there's accountability in franchising both ways. It's important. I think a lot of people ask questions about what is the franchise going to do for me, what did they do for you?

How are they going to train me? How are they going to do this for me? How are they going to do that for me? But really, franchising is accountability in multiple ways. So you're accountable back to the franchisor to communicate, to follow the general procedures and guidelines and things like that that are built to help protect the brand and the brand integrity.

And then you also have an accountability to your fellow franchisees, because, you know, if somebody Googles that brand, they might see a bad review from, you know, Fred over here and just assume that that's you as well. So it's really important. And we really - you know, I've involved myself right into the brand. So you know it's really important to be a part of, you know, whether it's beta testing programs, having really good dialog with vendors on how they can help us improve, sharing feedback in a constructive and professional way that helps us grow.

You know, those are all things that I think in my franchise network, I'm known for. And I think that's a really important accomplishment as well.

Alan: Yeah. That's fantastic. Well, congratulations, first of all, on hitting that million dollar mark. That really is an accomplishment. And especially with one territory, you know, franchise brands, you know they all have different territory sizes of course.

But I've got to say I mean, you know, knowing in general how things work, you know, one territory and reaching that mark, it really is an accomplishment. And if you said 50,000 households - like that, wow. That's very impressive.

And I think that's another hallmark of high performers like yourself. It's the accountability piece is huge. It's one of the principles that I strongly believe in as well. And it does go both ways. You know, being someone who, you know, you have to help - obviously everyone wants the franchisor to do stuff for them, but really contributing back to the system and you're really helping everybody out. You know, when you're upholding your brand in your area and your neighbors doing the same, you know, you're all helping each other out and helping the system grow together.

And that, to me is what makes franchising so special, is having this whole community of people doing pretty much the exact same thing as you just, you know, different areas and being able to help each other grow. It's fantastic.

Jessi: Yeah, I really think that's a pivotal thing. And I think one of the things that always impressed me when I would go to a Budget Blinds convention, we had this big board and it had, you know, all the Wednesdays of the week on there because we needed somebody to host a, you know, new franchisee call every week.

And that board would be filled in like 15 minutes, you know, so that's just like an indicator that you're in a good network of people that really care about the brand because, you know, you're going to take time out of your day an hour and a half, you know, at the end of the day usually, and just share with new franchisees your experience and answer questions or whatever.

So that always kind of impressed me, because I felt like that really just showed who we were as a brand. You know, when that board filled up so fast, you couldn't even get on there.

Alan: That's really cool. That is really cool. I had a similar experience when I was when I had my Shelf Genie business and just, you know, we had calls every other week. There were individual like, you know, mastermind groups with franchisees and it was really nice, you know, when we were able to have conversations about not just growing the business, but also just like what we're doing for our clients, you know, like everyone just cared about not just making money, but actually providing a great experience for our clients and our teams and all those sorts of things.

And then, you know, how we can work together and figure out how to obviously make our businesses grow. But just people just cared, you know, and people were really engaged in the system, which is like you said, it's a really great sign for that brand. If people are engaged that the owners are engaged in the process.

Okay. So let's talk about The Design Ready now. How did you end up getting into that and tell us what The Design Ready does.

Jessi: So The Design Ready does - we design and sell and install kitchens, baths and closets. So we provide cabinetry, flooring, countertops, tile, closet systems. And I'm probably missing some things in there. So our goal is, you know, has kind of grown to sort of be that place where a customer can come and there's so many selections and choices you have when you're redoing your bathroom and your kitchen.

It's like, you know, every time you turn around, there's another decision to make, oh my God, it's the worst. If you're the homeowner and you're not great with making decisions and knowing what looks good with what and what is popular, there's like another one to make. So our goal is to really guide the customers through that decision making process.

We offer full design services. We do full rendering and plans and things like that for customers. So they - it helps them visualize. We have a system that allows us to actually even put on an Oculus. And you can see and walk your way through that space. So, you know, the biggest thing that you'll hear about, and I'll hear it in all of my businesses is, customers are just - they have a hard time visualizing what their decisions are going to look like in their home.

And so, you know, those processes really help the customer feel more confident in their decisions and in the design and the plan for their remodel. So, you know, those are kind of the things that - that's one of the things that sort of sets us apart as well as the scope of products that we offer, as well as those design capabilities to support them.

Alan: Got it, got it. That's amazing. The whole Oculus thing. And is it, I guess, virtual reality, where the whole space is all virtual or is it like augmented where you can still see like their actual space but then overlaid is the 3D?

Jessi: It's virtual reality based on the rendering that we built. So we kind of go in, rebuild their walls and everything. And then, you know, we do everything - the wall color, the tile, everything, put it all together. And then that gives them the opportunity to see it. So they can see the renderings - we do them in print. They can see it on the screen. But then if they want to, they can do that other feature as well.

And it's kind of a cool option. So that was very intriguing to me when I saw that, you know, just with knowing how customers struggle to visualize and the growth of AI tools and things like that. You know, one of the things that drew me to The Design Ready was the fact that I could tell they're embracing technology and wherever that takes us. Right? Because in just three years, it could be something completely different. So being partnered with somebody who's already embracing the technology where it is today kind of shows that they're ready to move it into the future as well.

Alan: So yeah, that's a really great point. The visualization first of all, is huge for I think most people. I found the same thing with what we were doing, you know, selling pull out shelving in someone's kitchen and you're designing like a pantry or retrofitting, you know, cabinets. Being able to show that 3D rendering, just like you could see it in their eyes, like, whoa, okay, now I get it.

Now I see, like, that's amazing. And to go a step further and, you know, you have the 3D or the virtual reality stuff, I can imagine how even better that is. That's cool. And, you know, having the franchisor - it's all about the mindset, right. And having that same mentality of, you know, being on top of things and trying to think ahead to where those trends are going and, you know, how we can better serve our clients.

And so I agree like that technology piece really is so important. And I can imagine another five years or whatever. It's probably going to change even more with AI and all the other stuff too, as things get developed.

Jessi: Well, our leadership - so we fall under a brand group of Home Front Brands. And I will say, like, I'm pretty confident saying that our leader just - he lives 80% of his life thinking about the future of Home Front Brands and those things. Like he is just very forward thinking. You can tell in any conversation you have with him and presentations that we get and everything. He's just always thinking about how do we stay on top of technology and how it will - you know, what do we need to do to stay competitive, to stay, you know, in front of what customers are looking for in order to ensure our franchisees are taking advantage of these opportunities to build their success.

So, you know, it's a really neat experience to work with him and see that mindset every day.

Alan: That's very cool. Very cool. All right. You can help get him on the show with me so I can interview him.

Jessi: He's all about that. Let's give it a go.

Alan: All right, all right. I have heard his name before. And you know, I'm not new to franchising in general, but in this kind of role, I am relatively new and I have heard his name spoken very highly of in the industry. And that's great to have someone like him as a leader of the organization that can, you know, look forward and anticipate what's coming next and to be able to help your business continue to grow and to develop, you know, and succeed.

That's cool.

Alan: If you're finding today's conversation valuable, I'd like to offer you my free guide, The Franchise Fit Playbook: A Champion's Guide to Choosing the Right Business. This comprehensive resource walks you through the exact process I use with my coaching clients to identify their perfect franchise match. Download it for free at athletetoowner.com/playbook. You'll find the link in the show notes.

Now let's get back to our show. Okay, so you know, Budget Blinds is going fantastic. You know, you get to a point where, you know, making that million dollar mark and you decided like, okay, for growth, I can't, you know, I'm not able to buy another business or get an - there's no available territory. So you start looking at new opportunities to go vertically, right, utilizing the same customer base potentially.

So you can have one lead for multiple businesses. Just a fantastic idea. Tell us how you know that transition into a second brand while still operating the first one. And you know, just you know, how - when did you even start this?

Jessi: So the exploration started last year, the spring of 2024. And we moved ahead and signed contract in July and went right to work. Now we were fortunate in that - so this is obviously this is a business where you have to have a brick and mortar store. So the onboarding is a little bit different and slower than it is with some home services brands, where you don't need that. But we were fortunate in that we already had our space and we really wanted to stay in our space because we felt like it was very centrally located to the Rochester area.

And with this business, not wanting to get kind of pigeonholed into one territory with this business, our mindset was we wanted the whole pizza here. So we wanted to make sure that was all part of our plan, going in. So we feel like we have a great location. We have a really - don't tell my landlord, but we have really reasonable rent.

And so we were able to get additional space available for our Budget Blinds, a warehouse in another part of the same plaza where we are. And then we ended up renovating our existing space. So we have a designated space for the Budget Blinds showroom area. It's a little downsized from what it was before, but still, you know, very relevant and helpful for customers. We kind of have workspace in between where we all, you know, do our work.

And then up front we have our Design Ready business. So we started that remodel in January. Actually, it was New Year's Eve and we completed our grand opening on March 27th of this year. So it was about three months - three months remodel, which was not easy. So I would say this transition was sort of the combination of renovating your kitchen and bathroom at the same time as having a second child.

Alan: That sounds very accurate.

Jessi: So you've got a toddler that you're trying to keep, you know, still mother and keep aware of and keep engaged. And, you know, you're living through a remodel and at the same time you're getting ready and starting to have a newborn and, you know, going through that transition.

So I definitely had some sleepless nights. But, you know, we're getting to the other side of it now. And, you know, we had a great grand opening. And I would say, you know, layering the brands just gives us this opportunity to help customers that have loved working with us in a whole new way.

Because in Budget Blinds we found we have many customers that we did multiple projects for, and we get to the point where their whole house is done and it's like, we got to say goodbye now. And so now we've got a whole new set of things that we can help them with. So it's been a really great opportunity to leverage our relationships with existing customers.

We've had customers coming in for one and knowing then that, oh, I can work with you on this too. And so it - it already - it is not unusual for us to have a kitchen consultation with a client and the following week. Our employee Tim, is out doing a blind consultation with that same client. So as I say, the evil plan is working.

Alan: Yes, yes, your evil plan is working. That's wonderful. You know, I think there's, you know, a couple ways, like two main ways, it seems like to really scale your business or I guess businesses. One of them being, you know, the thing that you had initially tried doing, which was, you know, having multiple territories, right. Whether that's starting with one, then expanding by acquiring an existing one or, you know, if it's available territories. To me, it seems like the easier route if it's a possibility because it's one system and just, you know, especially in the home improvement business where, you know, you're just kind of adding zip codes for the most part, versus having to build an additional storefront for every single, you know, territory.

And then the other is, you know, having multiple businesses, different brands, but that have the same base of customer, the same demographic, so that you can sell multiple products to the same, you know, client. And that's what you guys have done here. And that's the evil plan that I'm glad is working for you guys.

Very smart for those that are, you know, I think it's really smart for new potential franchise owners that are in the process of thinking about, getting into the business to think about that ahead of time and, you know, think about like, territories. So what's available, you know, and, you know, if that's something you know, you want to do kind of immediately is, you know, that could be one of your criteria.

Just like, do they even have enough territories available up front for me to expand into, whether you start with one and add or you buy, you know, a three pack and, you know, dominate the market right from the beginning.

Jessi: Yeah, that's definitely something that when I have conversations with new franchisees, I always refer to that. Like if you're thinking about that other territory, do it because it gets really painful. You know, one of the ways we built our business to that million dollar mark was our marketing, you know, our organic marketing, our local area marketing. We invested, you know, our time, ourselves and money into that. And when you have neighboring franchisees that, you know, in multiple services because they're territory based, you can't assist people in those other areas.

So when you're getting those phone calls on a regular basis and you have to turn them away, it kind of stings a little bit. Right? So yeah, I tell people if that is your plan, if your plan is to really be a business owner and not, you know, just a worker in your business, then, you know, having that next plan - like in hindsight, I wish I would have, you know, maybe known about that plan sooner, although I don't know that it would have changed my outcome at the moment.

But just I think being aware of that, because one of the challenges is when you get to that roughly million dollar business, it's a very tricky business to run because you can't just be a worker in your business like you were when you were doing 500,000, and at the same time, you're not at a high enough level where you can kind of step to that next level of just really being a business owner.

Right. Hiring a manager or just, you know, having the people in place that can, you know, do the work and you're just guiding, leading and doing the marketing and the connections that you need to do to grow the business. It's a tricky place. And I kind of felt that way. And it was funny because after I sort of acknowledged that there were a couple different, you know, presentations or podcasts or things that I've been on, and I've actually heard that from other, you know, business experts.

It's just a tricky level of business to run. So you kind of got to make a decision like, am I gonna just settle in and work in it, you know, as a few, you know, one full timer and a part timer, or am I gonna make some kind of move and then really establish myself as a true owner?

Alan: So, yeah, I think that's definitely something that a lot of people don't think about at the beginning. And, you know, like you said, you have to have enough revenue coming in so that you can hire enough people to run the business and run the day to day without you having to be involved in every little thing in the day to day.

Whether that's, you know, the individual employees or management. You know, hopefully the ideal situation is, like you were saying to, to be an actual owner working on the business and having buffer between you and all the little decisions that need to get made on a daily basis, which would be, you know, like having a manager. You know, for me, when I got my franchise business, I started off with three, a three pack.

And you know, I didn't have to open them all at the exact same time. I could stage them out over the course of, you know, a year between or whatever it was. But my mindset from the beginning was, I just want to own the entire market, like, give me the whole greater Seattle area, you know, is the area that I want to control.

I don't want to have neighbors. I just like the advertising that I do is going to result in, you know, work that's coming to me regardless of where it's at. And, you know, I kept adding to that, and eventually I ended up with 12 territories, but it allowed me to bring in enough income to have the right levels within my organization that I could work on the business and not be in it day to day.

So that's great. So you start in March is when you had your grand opening, right. Tell us how it's been so far.

Jessi: Crazy. Crazy good I hope. You know so yeah - we started off really pretty strong. We've got a lot of things in the pipeline. I think, you know from the end of May to June like that month period was just like we closed a ton of business at one time for our brand new business. So, so I think within our first four months, we managed to do about $300,000 in sales.

Alan: That's amazing. That's incredible.

Jessi: And that was so, you know, hey, I've done this before, but we can still make mistakes, right? I did not hire soon enough. So we should have hired a design consultant to work with me, probably right before our opening. And we didn't. You know, you just - everything's going out. You want to make sure it's going to work. I've already advised everybody like, don't do it, don't do it. I'm working way too hard. I mean, like I've never worked so hard in my life, but we have somebody now. She's picking up on things really quickly and you know, the interesting thing is like we were just talking about working on the business, not in the business.

I'm anxious to get to that point, and I'm starting to do some of those things now, getting to work on the business, which I'm really excited about. And it's kind of interesting because I feel like in your first business and again, I just always compare it to having kids, but, you know, you have a hard time letting go, right? That first baby, everything. You know, you're washing the pacifier all the time and all that stuff.

And it's been really interesting with our employee that we brought in. She is fantastic. And that's probably part of the reason. But I also think just the nature of the fact that I can't be involved in every single detail is actually allowing me to give up that control very quickly. Like I find this time I'm much more laid back, seeing what she'll deliver. So, you know, I think you get better at that as you grow out of necessity. So I know that's one thing that I see in myself is that, okay, that's not exactly how I do it, but it's still okay. Right.

So, you know, which can be a challenge for somebody who always kind of has a grip on everything.

Alan: I think you said something very important right there, which was, you know, hey, that's not exactly how I would have done it, but it seems to work, you know, it worked. I think, you know, with, you know, one thing with business ownership that I really love is the personal growth, the personal development that comes through it. Right? And that's one thing - just being a leader is not telling everybody what to do. Right. But to be able to set the right vision. And you have the systems in place, but then be able to inspire people to want to be there and do the right things for the clients and be able to think kind of like you as the owner, like, you know, with the clients and the business's best interests in mind and the release of control is like such a huge thing because you're always going to feel like no one can do it as well as you.

Right? And in certain cases, that's probably true, right? In certain cases, you probably have people that actually can do a better job than you because maybe it's not your forte, but even for those things which you could do a better job, you have to be okay with, hey, this is 90% right of like kind of what I would do, like 90% being good enough, you know, like you shoot for perfection but you settle for excellence.

Right. And that's hard. It's so hard to do.

Jessi: I've been - I tried it. I've just been spending ever since we started this transition, try to spend time listening to or taking the advice from Dan Martell's system of, you know, buying your time, right? You have to. You can't. There's only so much of you available. So you have to know the value of your time and what you can spend your time on.

I also remember in my Budget Blinds training ten years ago, it still sticks with me. One of the franchise trainers said saying yes to something is saying no to something else. And it's like sometimes I have to, like, force myself to remember that. Like, you know, yes, maybe I want to do this thing, but then I have to acknowledge, if I'm doing this, then I'm not doing something else, and is that something else more valuable to our customers, more value to our business and our team.

So it's an ongoing battle.

Alan: Well, it's an ongoing battle, but I think you're winning. I think you're winning this battle. You know, it seems like you're doing all the right things. And it's never easy. Especially like right now, I mean, this is such a crazy time because you're still in the thick of things right now. You know, having only opened the doors in March and dealing with all sorts of, I'm sure, lots of good things, the great sales for those, you know, first six months or three months and then but I'm sure you've had a lot of learning experiences along the way as well.

Jessi: Yeah, for sure. And our brand is a newer brand as well. So you know, with even with, you know, not just me, but you know, as a whole our network is, you know, they're constantly evolving and changing as we grow to support, you know, and to support whatever processes and products and things like that, that we need to be successful. So that's definitely changing on both sides. So it's a really important thing to just remind myself that we'll get there.

Alan: So I'm glad you brought that up. So The Design Ready is a relatively new brand. And there are tons and tons of contractors out there or, you know, kitchen bathroom companies or whatnot. How is The Design Ready any different than these other companies?

Jessi: Great question. So one of the things and of course this will vary a little bit within each market and what each owner wants to bring to it. But one of the things that's great about The Design Ready is we have an assortment of products that allows us to offer some affordability, you know, some of the products that they're getting. So, you know, kitchen remodels have gotten very expensive and, you know, not everybody is in a position where they can take that on.

But in a market like Rochester where, you know, a lot of our real estate has been developed for many, many years. You've got a situation where we have a lot of homeowners that they can't afford to move to a new place because there's not enough new places being built. And so they're deciding to stay in place and renovate their existing home to meet their needs.

And, you know, but at the same time, you know, they don't want to over invest in their home, right? They don't want to take it to a point where, you know, they're putting $100,000 kitchen in a home that isn't going to get that money back. So we have an assortment of cabinetry. We have prefabricated lines that actually do full assembly for us and that streamlining of that manufacturing.

And, you know, some of the work Design Ready corporate has done with these vendors to get us good pricing and more, you know, more SKUs and things like that, that we need to design a nice kitchen with these products gives us a really great cabinet that is, you know, all the things people are looking for - wood boxes, undermount slides, lots of, you know, accessory availability, soft close, I mean, all those things that people look for in a quality cabinet that is manufactured mass. So it makes it more affordable. And then at the same time we're getting it delivered to us assembled. So the manufacturers are doing the assembly for us before they ship that order to us.

So that gives us a wealth of products that we can offer in a more affordable price point, then a full custom cabinet. We still offer full custom cabinetry as well, and some of our customers, because of their needs or what they're looking for, we need to go there. But that range is something I think that makes us different. It's certainly something that makes us different in my market. So we're really able to get customers to a more affordable overall price point by having a more affordable cabinet.

The other thing that we're targeting in our market is really working with local contractors. So in Rochester, we have just a ton of small contractors that are really good at what they do. Some of them are second or third generation, so they really do a nice job. And if they send their customers to a kitchen showroom, that kitchen showroom has their own installers and might kind of take that job sort of from them.

So they end up sending them to big box stores sometimes for those selections, which is not really the best experience for anybody. So what we're really targeting is that market. We're really trying to partner with small contractors and be like, look, you can send your customers into us. We're going to do the designing and the planning and all the things you hate doing.

We're going to help them make all the selections. We're going to make sure they make those selections in a timely basis. We're going to get all that stuff ordered. We're going to track the shipping for you. We're going to tell you when it's coming so you can plan and then boom, you can swing your hammer and get doing what you do well.

So a lot of small contractors I talked to before we bought The Design Ready, I reached out to contractors I knew and said, do you feel like this is something that's missing? And they all say the same thing. They're like, oh my God, this would be great. So we have a really nice showroom experience as well.

Our showrooms are open, light. We have a lot on display, but it's not overwhelming - sometimes that's the biggest challenge for people other than the visualization is it's just so overwhelming. Like I tell people all the time. People say, don't show me like 40 things, like 2 or 3.

So it's a very comfortable space that, you know, just feels current. But is inviting. And it just creates an environment where it's easy for people to work with us and, you know, for our contractors to come in and work with customers, if they want to. You know, those are some advantages that we have. And I think really where our niche is going to be.

And then we do have some franchisees that are really going after a lot of new construction, large multi home work and stuff like that. And we have some products that really give us a competitive edge there. So I think that's going to be another area where we're going to be different than the competition.

Alan: That's very cool. That's great. Yeah that sounds exciting. Lots of differentiators. And yeah, sounds like a much needed service for those contractors who want their clients to get really great service. And then to still be able to, you know, do the installation work, have a little bit more control with the trusted source through you guys. That's really cool.

So, you know, many of my clients are in their late 40s or mid 50s. Maybe they're within 5 to 10 years of retirement. And they question whether or not it makes sense to take that plunge into franchise, you know, business ownership and put their savings or retirement, you know, at risk potentially. What feedback would you have for these people?

Jessi: That'll be fine.

Alan: Yeah, you heard it here, folks. You've heard it here. Jessi says that it's going to be fine. So we're good. Let's just give them your number and we'll be good.

Jessi: You know, I think, you know, the big thing with and I kind of speak specifically regarding home services, you know, home services brands within franchising, which is, you know, it's not going away. This is an area where people, as time goes on, people have less and less personal knowledge of what to do to service their home, and they need people to still do it. AI where maybe on the design side, I can help all these other things - it really can't help with. So I think within the home services area, I think it's a really good investment in any market.

So I think that's a win. Number one, as far as franchising goes, I think one of the things I always try to recommend to people is to bear in mind that in my opinion, in my opinion only, and this is not the kind of business that you sort of buy it, set it and forget it. You know, home services is - it's personal.

Your folks that you hire or yourself, you're going into people's homes. You're hearing how they live their lives. You're solving problems for them in their homes, where they live their lives every day. And that's a responsibility and a joy that I don't take lightly. And therefore, you know, we're personally invested in it as owners. You know, if somebody gets a bad hamburger, I have a feeling you don't lose sleep that night.

But if I have a problem with somebody's kitchen installation, I'm not going to lie, I do. I have trouble sleeping that night, you know? So I think it's important for folks to know that this isn't something you kind of just offhand - like some franchises you might be able to do that don't have such a deep interaction with the customer.

You know, when they're spending $10 with you, it's a lot different than when they're spending $30,000.

So but you know, it can be really rewarding. And I think if you put the work in and follow the models that are there for you and take advantage of those opportunities and you enjoy working with the franchisor and the other people that are part of that network, I think it can be a really great experience.

I mean, we've made really good friends that I'll have forever through our brands. You know, we've just had very positive experiences overall with both of the brands. And, you know, it's really taking us to a point. You know, I can kind of see where we're going to be. And we, you know, we will sell our brands.

You know, we will sell our business at a profit because, you know, we're doing all the things to make sure it's, you know, successful and sellable. Which is another thing that to your point before franchisees don't always think about going in, but you should really start thinking about what you want to sell your business for. And when you think you may want to sell it right from day one, because the things that you do heading into that will help ensure that you're successful in achieving that goal.

Alan: Yeah, I love it, I love it. Some great advice. Start with the end in mind. You know, plan to have your business running in a way that people want to buy it. You know that it's a smart thing to do. And people you know generally don't want to buy a business that they're going to have to work, be the person working the business, you know, buying a job, right? They want something that's running without the owner, preferably as ideal.

Well that's fantastic. I've learned a lot from you today, Jessi, and I hope our listeners have as well. Thank you so much for joining me today, and congratulations on being a franchise champion.

Jessi: Thank you. I appreciate being a part of it, and I'm excited to listen to more podcasts.

Alan: Yeah, yeah. And Jessi, how can people get ahold of you?

Jessi: So they can search us on Facebook. They can look for The Design Ready in Rochester or Budget Blinds, Northwest Rochester, and they can contact us through there. Or they can always fill out a form on our website, and we'll be happy to give that to them.

Alan: All right. Excellent. Thank you so much, Jessi. Have a wonderful rest of the day.

Jessi: Thank you.