Advice From a Multi-Unit Franchisee: Steve Isom, Jiffy Lube

Multi-Unit Franchisee: Steve Isom

Franchise: Jiffy Lube

Steve Isom is the executive vice president for Stonebriar Auto Services, LLC and a Jiffy Lube franchisee focused on building ground-up Jiffy Lube Multicare locations across the country. He has opened an impressive 100 locations over the past four years and currently operates in 16 states. Prior to Stonebriar, Isom was the division vice president for Take 5 Oil Change, where he oversaw store operations and profitability in the southern division of the company. 

1851 Franchise talked with Isom about his journey in franchising, accomplishments in the industry and advice for other entrepreneurs looking to become the next great multi-unit franchisee.

“One thing I tell people is that we opened up 100 locations in 16 states in four years by not giving ourselves constraints,” said Isom. “It might sound crazy at the beginning, but as long as you build a plan and think ahead, it helps. While there are things you can't prepare for, building a plan that takes those things into account makes it a fun ride.”

A summarized transcript of Isom’s interview with 1851 Franchise has been included below. It has been edited for clarity, style and brevity.

1851 Franchise: We'd love to hear a little bit about your personal story. Going back even before franchising, what was your career path and how did you find your way to the franchise world to begin with?

Steve Isom: Well, that all started in 1990. I got a job working for Jiffy Lube International on the franchisor side, and after a year of helping franchisees, I got an offer to run store operations for a Jiffy Lube franchisee in Kansas City. So, I started that in 1991. We grew that franchise, and in 1995 we merged with three other Jiffy Lube franchises. At that time, we got to 67 locations. I led store operations for that organization and grew it to 450 — so, a little time on the franchisor side, and then years growing that large national Jiffy Lube franchise. After that, I spent some time doing M&A [mergers and acquisitions] work for a regional quick oil change service and then leading operations on the franchisor side for Take 5. Then I got the opportunity to start a brand-new Jiffy Lube franchise, which led to starting Stonebriar about four or five years ago.

1851 Franchise: Wow, a lot of experience with scaling up. So you had some experience on the franchisor side working with franchises, but going back to when you first became an owner yourself, was scaling always the goal? 

Steve Isom: Yes, that's always been the plan with almost every organization I've been with.

1851 Franchise: When you were evaluating the Jiffy Lube franchise or just the potential of it, what were you looking at? 

Steve Isom: Well, we were already looking in the quick oil change space, knowing that's where my years of experience were. We looked at a model that had future growth and expansion potential. Jiffy Lube had recently started this new MultiCare model where we also do repair work — tires, brakes, alignments, services like that. This new model felt like it gave us a lot more runway with the evolution of vehicles. We wanted to be able to pivot in the future if necessary, and this model versus others in the space felt like it gave us the ability to pivot in whatever direction we needed as the industry evolved. Knowing that it was fairly new in the quick oil change space, this one-stop-shop model seemed to have legs and a need that we could build to some scale.

1851 Franchise: If a franchisor wanted to capture your attention today and try to get you, as a great multi-unit owner, to invest in their brand, how would they do so? What does a franchisor need to do to capture the attention of a great multi-unit owner, in your opinion?

Steve Isom: I think the strength of the brand, the amount of support they're going to give the franchisees and the ability to scale are important. There shouldn't be a lot of constraints in the ability for a franchise to grow. It's important to know that whatever the concept is, there's a big need that you'd be meeting.

1851 Franchise: Over your career of franchise ownership and all these years of scaling, what have been some of the roadblocks you've had to overcome? 

Steve Isom: Well, really, in the current times, the availability of top-quality people has been a challenge. As you're growing, you're building a team and hiring much faster than someone who's not growing. Always hiring and training, dealing with typical turnover, you're doing this at a larger scale. Over the last few years, that's been a big challenge. The difference between a franchisor and a franchisee, besides the basic structure, is more of an entrepreneurial spirit and maybe a little more aggressive growth. You want to make sure that lines up and that you're not held back by any constraints that may be out of your control.

1851 Franchise: We talked a little bit about advice for franchisors looking for owners. What advice do you have for first-time franchisees who have big dreams of becoming great multi-unit owners? Any advice you would tell yourself back when you first started?

Steve Isom: It really comes down to people. Hiring people with shared values is crucial because if you're going to grow, you don't want to dilute your culture and what you want to bring to your customers. Hiring like-minded people and never settling on the quality of people is important. Also, hiring in advance is valuable. If you're going to grow, you want to be front-loaded and not catching up in terms of talent. Don't wait too long to hire operators at whatever level. If you're behind the gun and under pressure, you may convince yourself to hire people who aren't the best fit. Hiring ahead of time ensures you're ready for openings, maintaining the level of service and quality you achieved in your first store as you grow.

One thing I tell people is that we opened up 100 locations in 16 states in four years by not giving ourselves constraints. It might sound crazy at the beginning, but as long as you build a plan and think ahead, it helps. While there are things you can't prepare for, building a plan that takes those things into account makes it a fun ride. 

Watch the interview above or on YouTube.