Wild Birds Unlimited Franchisees Brandon and Trisha Lohman are Franchisee Rock Stars

Many people decide to get into franchising in order to take control of their lives and their future. This was true for Brandon and Trisha Lohman. As a former sales rep. and teacher, Brandon and Trisha were ready for a change after years of Brandon being away from his family on business. When they found Wild Birds Unlimited, it seemed almost too good to be true.

The family found the franchise when they were shopping to stock up their own bird feeders. Ready to move on from his corporate job, Brandon thought “I could do this!”

“In October we reached out to the franchise support center and started the process,” shared Trisha. “After talking with franchisees, we learned the owners in Chesapeake, VA were retiring. By March, we had the information and by the following October we purchased our first store.”

Less than two years later, the couple purchased another existing Wild Birds Unlimited store in Virginia Beach, VA and they are planning to open their third location in Suffolk, VA in late 2018.

Chief Development Officer Paul Pickett quickly took notice of the rock star couple. “The Lohman’s are excellent examples of self-starters who have the ability to grow their business with a strong personal-professional balance. They have made a huge impact on their local community, conducting regular events, putting on presentations about the joy of the hobby of bird feeding and delivering our brand promise in an exemplary fashion.”

Due to their almost immediate success, Pickett nominated the couple for Franchise Business Review’s 2018 Rock Star Owners list. After reviewing and researching more than 300 franchise brands for high performing franchisees, FBR put out a list of the top 50 franchisees who truly stood out.

The couple made the list due to their commitment to the Wild Birds Unlimited brand, their motivation to grow their presence in their markets and their focus on delivering the best customer experience to the communities they serve.

“The goal all along was to own more than one Wild Birds Unlimited stores, but we thought within 5 years,” shared Trisha. “The opportunities presented themselves faster than originally planned and you just don’t turn down opportunities like the ones that kept coming to us.”

The Wild Birds Unlimited franchise support center team aided in the couple’s success by offering a robust training program that helped shape their future with the company. Pickett shared “The Lohman’s chose to join the most intense form of consulting with WBU. They have willingly joined our omnichannel beta test group, have empowered and developed their staff to new heights and truly embody the WBU definition of delivering joy and an exceptional customer experience to their customer base.”

For the Lohman’s, the success came naturally. The couple is passionate about nature and having the opportunity to join a community focused on embracing nature was an easy fit.

“We’re just so passionate about what we do. We throw ourselves into our events and everything we do because we want more people to be introduced to the hobby,” shared Trisha. “It’s just a great franchise to be a member of, we really do love it.”