Over the past 20 years as a franchise coach I’ve worked with thousands of individuals. When I ask about objectives one term appears more often and any other. That term is ‘Financial Freedom’. It seems that everyone is pursuing financial freedom but when I ask individuals, ‘What does fina...

I have a couple of friends that like to share their opinion. They generally do this by forwarding emails that show the opposing side (the side they do not agree with) in a compromising position. However, when I do my due diligence, I...

When To Start A Business? Often, I hear the question, ‘When is the best time to start a business?’ When you are Young! Is the best time to start a business when you’re young? Advantages of youth include energy, passion, self-confidence, and a can-do attitude. When you’re young you th...

Who Are You? Over the last twenty years I have had the pleasure to work with thousands of individuals who were looking to change the trajectory of their life. Every one of them begins the process with the desire to create a better future. However, at the end of the process only a portion are…...

Wu Wei of White Water  |  By Chuang-tsu The great waterfall of Lu Canyon is thousands of feet high, with a halo of mist that can be seen for many miles.  Nothing survives the violent waters at its foot.  Yet once K’ung Fu-tzu saw an old man swim the tempest.  K’ung Fu-tzu and his retainers&...

Fred Muse – Thank You My first job out after graduating from Washington University in Saint Louis was with Monsanto.  Gene Krajack hired me, placed me in the Agricultural Division, and promptly relocated me to eastern Washington state for training.  At that time, I literally did not know the...

The Door Is Open Most people find change difficult.  Change involves doing things differently.  It necessitates moving from a known, familiar pattern to an unknown, unfamiliar pattern.  For those of you who have read my blog or my book, The Educated Franchisee, you know that the ‘Unknown’ is ...

With consumer confidence shooting straight up and business growth all around us, everyone seems to be focused on opening a business.  But what about selling a business?  Every person who starts a business will, one day, want to sell their business.  Anecdotally, we know that franchised businesses...

The Test Everyone who has read The Educated Franchisee knows how I feel about keeping things positive, aggressively dealing with negatives, taking ownership and learning.  Well, two weeks ago I was tested. On March 19th, a hacker accessed our system and sent out a malicious email to everyone in our...

Many years ago, I lived in Montana and became friends with a body builder named Jim.  Jim spent many hours in the gym each day building the type of body that wins competitions.  As I got to know Jim, I learned a little bit about body building.   As Jim explained it, early on it…...