The American Dream: Owning a Successful Values-Based Franchise Business

Do you have a heart for Values as Mission BUT want to be in business for yourself BUT not by yourself?

LIME:

1) Values-based business

2) Growing a sales force and service team in the home service sector

3) Emerging brand with successful processes and direct access to founder

4) Multi-unit model

5) Many prime markets are still available

6) Executive level salary

7) Home-based business

8) Sundays off

9) Minimal high skilled full-time employees with many subcontractors

10) Proprietary subcontractor coordinating process and platform

11) Own 100% of the equity and assets that are represented in the business

12) Franchisee chooses their location and owns 100% of it

13) Owner-operator for $750k of production

14) Premium brand: High customer satisfaction, repeat business, and loyal customers

Start up cost (low investment range):

$70k to $105k startup costs

$35,000 franchise fee

6% royalty

Best in class unit economics

Day in the life:

-Work on the business, not in the business

-Manage 1 to 4 employees

-Hire, train, and retain highly skilled employees

-Employees manage sales, production, scheduling, and admin

-Sales-driven organization

-Premium service provider

Chick-Fil-A:

1) Christian-based business

2) An owner operator model in the fast food sector

3) Established brand with rigid processes and minimal access to founders

4) Single location model with some multi-location owners

5) Many prime markets are unavailable

6) Executive level salary

7) Brick and mortar business

8) Sundays off

9) Many low-skilled employees

10) Payroll and product ordering provided by corporate

11) Own no assets and equity as Chick-Fil-A owns the real estate, etc.

12) Corporate chooses the location and owns 100% of it

13) Franchise owners are not allowed to be involved in any other business ventures

14) Premium brand: High customer satisfaction, repeat business, and loyal customers

Start up cost (low investment range):

Under $100k start up costs

$10,000 franchise fee

15% royalty + 50% of profit goes to corporate

Best in class unit economics

Day in the life:

-Work in the business

-Manage up to 100 employees

-Hire, train, and retain low-skilled employees

-As the owner-operator, manage sales, HR, ordering supplies and product, and admin

LIME is more than surface level stuff

As I began to think about what I wanted the LIME franchise to represent, I continued to ask myself, “Why? Why franchise?" The first thing that came to mind was that what we had created could benefit and provide for many communities. It almost seemed selfish not to share what had led to our success, especially because our business was so systematized. Secondly, I was living out what I knew at a very young age I was made for. Yes, that’s right; I was the twelve year old who wanted to be a CEO. However, something deeper within kept pulling at me.

I sensed that sharing our success and living out a childhood dream weren’t the right answers—at least they weren’t the full answer. Rather, my what was that I wanted to share our success, my how was that I was going to become that childhood vision of a CEO via franchising, but my why was more along the lines with my truest self—my values that made me who I am. I had realized that I could actualize the best-case scenario for not only myself, but for many people who shared my same purpose by combining business and values as mission within the franchise model. It was at that realization that I knew I had something special with LIME.

Sacred and secular, faith and works: They can work together (pun intended)

For nearly my entire life, I’ve felt a calling to serve on a ministry level, but I have also known that my gifts are in business. By building a franchise company that not only shares best in class processes, systems, and unit economics for our service, but that also equips franchise owners to be values based stewards of the legacy they build through their business, we can realize our truest selves together within this ecosystem of business as mission at LIME. As a franchise system, LIME is stewarding a community of business leaders with a heart for values as mission.   

After establishing a values-based franchise, one of the first things that I did was take a look at who else was doing this. From memory, the first brand that came to mind was Chick-Fil-A. In fact, it’s my favorite fast food restaurant. It is a Christian company, after all, and I love the spicy chicken deluxe sandwich. Yum! The more I looked into the offering, the more I realized that we have a similar purpose and a lot in common, but the ways in which we are going about our mission are different, so I wanted to provide a comparison of the two franchise offerings.

Two low-cost franchises with executive level income

Investing in a low-cost franchise business with established processes, systems, and training platforms, complemented by support from corporate and the opportunity to earn six figures a year, are some of the similarities that these two great American-based companies share. In fact, it makes the two offerings quite rare and unique.

As two exceptional franchise options for the business seeker, LIME and Chick-Fil-A share more similarities than differences. Some of the more prominent similarities are that they are both low-startup cost franchise offerings with high-income potential and they are employee-centric with defined values and high customer satisfaction. But there are some differences as well.

The largest difference is the buyer seeking an entrepreneurial opportunity, as LIME is an emerging brand that allows for franchisees to contribute to shaping the brand. LIME is definitely the offering that lends itself to more of the being in business by yourself, but not for yourself, model, as you are on the ground floor in terms of maturing the LIME brand. On the other hand, Chick-Fil-A is 100% established, and when you become a franchise owner, you learn the system and you execute it. This obviously lends itself to Chick-Fil-A being a much safer and less risky choice.

The low cost investment may not pay off long term—for one of these two franchises

Something else to consider in terms of the offering is the short-term vs. long-term return on investment. Both have low start-up costs with high potential for executive salaries. Granted, Chick-Fil-A’s start-up cost is lower. However, long-term they are drastically different. LIME is less than half of Chick-Fil-A’s royalty and doesn’t split any portion of franchisee profits. In addition, at LIME you own 100% of your business and equity that you grow over the time frame of the franchise agreement (both offerings are ten years), and you own 0% of the equity and assets at Chick-Fil-A.

Although LIME may be an emerging franchise, don’t be fooled by its lack of years, as this concept is well ahead of its time. You’ll learn this early in LIME’s discovery phase. Something to keep in mind when evaluating emerging brands is that each one is different, and therefore the risk is different from brand to brand, and that risk should be evaluated based on each brand’s leadership, technology, resources, training, support, processes, and unit economics. The main difference in emerging brands is that some go on to be successful and some don’t. Become a part of the ones that go on to be successful or you will kick yourself as the years pass and the brand grows because you dismissed an opportunity to be a part of shaping something special.

Getting in on the ground level comes with many benefits, but it’s not for everyone

What makes LIME special is its unique combination of elite business processes and values as mission. The model is based on purpose and fulfillment and is not driven by the bottom line, but rather the bottom line is a byproduct of industry-leading service and expertise. Being awarded a franchise in a system like LIME allows for franchisees to have direct access to the founder, contribute to the direction of the brand, have many prime markets to choose from, obtain high-income potential, become a part of a premium brand, learn and implement proven systems, and gain the rare opportunity to be a part of something special.

Do you have a heart for values as mission BUT want to be in business for yourself BUT not by yourself?