270: Once Again, the Return of the Non-Food Franchise King: Jon Ostenson of Franbridge Consulting

270: Once Again, the Return of the Non-Food Franchise King: Jon Ostenson of Franbridge Consulting

Background on Jon Ostenson of Franbridge Consulting:

Jon Ostenson is the Founder of FranBridge Consulting. Jon is a top 1% Franchise Consultant in the US, and frequent contributor on franchising across a variety of outlets and publications. Jon is a multi-brand franchisee himself, and along with his business partners, he has great operators leading these ventures. As a result, he is able to commit over 90% of his time to helping others achieve their own dreams of freedom and wealth generation through business ownership.

Prior to FranBridge, Jon was the President of ShelfGenie, a national franchise system with 200 locations. Before he had his start in franchising with ShelfGenie, Jon spent 15 years in the corporate world, most recently as the Vice President of Sales for Carter’s Inc., responsible for over $350M in annual sales. Jon began his career as a Consultant with Accenture, often working Internationally on behalf of clients. Jon serves on the Board of the Entrepreneurs Organization and is active in supporting charitable organizations such as Growing Leaders and Hope International. Jon has BBA and MBA degrees from the University of Georgia and lives in Atlanta where he and his wife, Jenny, have 3 children and are very active in the community.

Time-Stamped Show Notes:

[2:16] Jon gave a brief background on how he started in franchising.
[3:47] Austin shares his view on why franchising can benefit many entrepreneurs, especially new ones.
[5:04] Diving more into the topic of franchising.
[8:01] A franchisee has the opportunity to get to know other franchisees within their franchise community.
[9:57] Jon encourages franchisees to get to know other business owners in different industries outside their franchise system.
[12:13] This year, Franbridge has been included in the INC 5000 and ranked 584.
[13:47] After being in the corporate world, in his 30s, Jon had this idea of having his own business.
[16:03] The reason why Jon created Franbridge.
[17:42] Franbridge is continuing to refine its process in order to serve everyone better.
[19:39] For other business consultants, Jon emphasizes the advantage of having a small core team in his business rather than having a large team.
[21:35] Being a member of Entrepreneurs Organization or EO has been beneficial for Jon in his success over the years.
[22:47] Jon talks about work-life balance and his passive investments.
[25:27] Franbridge contact information – FranbridgeConsulting.com. People can download their free book, which is a great first step to learn more about franchising.
[26:58] Clients with a net worth of two hundred thousand dollars, they have the opportunity to get in the game.
[28:33] Many clients of Franbridge prefer the semi-absentee, semi-passive, or executive model. Jon discusses this type of franchising model.
[30:05] Jon provides more examples of what franchise businesses the clients can explore and check out.
[32:15] Last year, there were about a dozen Franbridge clients who went into the In-Home health industry.
[34:35] More details on the trampoline park franchise that Jon was discussing previously.
[35:21] Within the home service businesses, the most popular ones are paintings, floorings, cabinet designs, pressure washing, and more.
[36:42] Business coaching and cost mitigation strategy are examples of all online or digital franchise that does not involve too much human capital or physical service.
[39:00] Jon discusses more advantages of going into franchising and how it mitigates risks.
[43:26] Another interesting franchise opportunity that potential clients can check out is the testosterone replacement market.
[46:20] The pet space is another industry that Jon believes is a great opportunity for everyone.
[49:04] Car wash and self-storage are businesses that Jon does not recommend currently.
[50:02] Jon talks about franchise businesses that focus on kids.
[51:11] Enumerating the advantages why its better to franchise rather than putting up the business yourself.
[52:36] The discussion shifts to the real estate business and investors.
[56:08] Encouraging words from Jon for people who are interested in franchising.
[57:58] Franbridge works with 600 companies and their book provides more information on the industries that are out there to be explored.
[59:06] More words of wisdom and closing thoughts from Jon.

Fabulous 4 Questions:

📖 📚 Favorite Book(s)? Non-Food Franchising by Jon Ostenson, Purple Cow by Seth Godin, The Compound Effect by Darren Hardy, The Bible by Christian Art Publishers
🙌😎 Favorite Amazon.com purchase? Chilisleep Ooler Mattress Cooling Pad
🌱💸 Favorite Tool that’s GROWN your Business? Calendly
💭💡 BIGGEST Challenge keeping your Business from GROWING? Time limitations, time leverage

Key Point from the Interview:

“It’s fun for us to have those lightbulb moments with clients because probably 80 or 90 percent of them end up purchasing something that was not even on their radar from an industry standpoint when they approached us.”

Resources Mentioned:

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