Profiles In Success: Happy, Fulfilled Franchisees

by Pamela Gold

Charles E. Payton left a twenty-year career in human resources to open a mortgage loan company. When interest rates began to rise, Payton found himself unable to compete. With his entrepreneurial spirit intact, he opened a Mr. Handyman franchise, which offers basic fix-it services to time-starved homeowners and commercial customers. Payton has no desire to return to the corporate environment and states, I like being on my own because you control your own destiny. What is the secret to Payton's success and newfound happiness? With Mr. Handyman, it's immediate satisfaction. You get the satisfaction by going out, doing a good job, and hearing that the customer is happy with your service. That's pleasing to me. And when they're happy with your service, they're going to tell other people about you.

What Makes a Franchisee Happy?

So many factors play a role in the emotional state of a franchisee. From the mere fact that the individual is their own boss and is able to make powerful decisions, which can lead to future happiness, to an improved lifestyle, a happy franchisee tends to also be a successful franchisee. A successful franchisee grasps the opportunity and the business system, believes in the product they're selling, and has faith in themselves and their franchisor. Success is typically not enough to make a franchisee stand out as exceptionally fulfilled. There has to be more: That franchisee must have the backing of his family, the personal lifestyle that is ideal for him, and the feeling that he is in control of his life.

The exceptional franchisee has new ideas that he shares with his franchisor. Such an individual inspires others to become entrepreneurs. Their contentment and harmony with their business is obvious and contagious.

Happiness is Just Part of the Exceptional Franchisee's Profile

An exceptional franchisee combines a successful business with a balanced lifestyle, and an overall fulfilled attitude when it comes to their life and how their franchise fits in and compliments it.

An Exceptional Franchisee: Todd Whisnant

His passion for the business is incredible, states Jim Boinest, Senior Development Manager, The Athlete's Foot Group, Inc. And when one speaks to Todd, this statement is reinforced. I love to talk and sell shoes, states Todd. He truly enjoys his work and believes in the fact that The Athlete's Foot's way of doing business includes the technical aspects of fitting a pair of athletic shoes onto the customer's foot. Our competitors are skilled at figuring out what shoes go with what shirt. The Athlete' Foot employees are skilled at figuring out what shoes go on what foot. That is the difference and that is why I believe in the brand.

First job, only job, states Todd. In fact, Todd started working as an employee of The Athlete's Foot at age 15. At the time, Jim Boinest was his District Manager. Todd thought it was a fun place to work and enjoyed interacting with customers. He also loved the technical aspect of the job, fitting the right pair of shoes to customers' feet. He stuck with The Athlete's Foot and worked part-time all the way through to his senior year in college. At that time, he became a Manager of a The Athlete's Foot store and brought that store's sales from $900,000 per year to $2,500,000 in the next two years. He was then transferred to the company's second largest grossing store and brought that store to number one with a revenue of about $3 million.

In 1999, at age 28, Todd's godparents decided it was time for them to retire and they planned to open up a franchise. In fact, they thought they had settled upon the right franchise, when Todd mentioned The Athlete's Foot. They researched the idea and decided that if Todd would be their partner and run the store, they would open The Athlete's Foot.

It was a big decision for Todd to move from corporate to franchisee, but he has no regrets. In corporate, you get a paycheck every week. There's a lot more pressure when you own your own business, but at 30, I love what I do! My store is in a small, family-oriented community. When I'm in town, people commonly say, 'there's Todd, the shoe guy' and I like that! I feel like part of the community and I enjoy meeting people and having the time to talk to them, get to know them, and find out what products they want and need.

What is the secret to Todd's incredible success? My work ethic. I've never been afraid of hard work. I put in as many hours as I need to and I listen to my customers. I use my technical skills to get them the products they need and they come back. We have an incredible rate of return customers and I feel this is because we give our customers the products they need and we listen to them.

Todd says, They say if your alarm goes off in the morning and you want to hit the snooze button, you should probably find a new career. I've never wanted to hit the snooze button. I love what I do.

Todd will be opening his second The Athlete's Foot franchise this month. 

Pamela Gold is the Marketing Coordinator at Franchise Solutions Corp., based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Her primary responsibilities include the creation of original content on FS's web site, bi-weekly newsletter, and client ad pages.