1851

1851: Who is buying franchises right now and what type of activity are you seeing?

Bob Johnston, Director of Franchise Development at <a href="https://www.fibrenew.com/fibrenew-franchising/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=franchise-forecast-bob-johnston-of-fibrenew-2710435" target="_blank" rel="nofollow" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">Fibrenew</a>: A lot of people who are displaced out of corporate America. They&rsquo;re fed up and don&rsquo;t want to go back even if they have a job offer&mdash;they want more flexibility.&nbsp;

1851: What&#39;s the number one thing franchisees are looking for in the conversations that you&#39;re having with prospects?&nbsp;

Johnston: Flexibility and freedom. They want more time with their families. They&rsquo;re tired of being on the road for an hour to work and back. Let&rsquo;s say their son has a football game that starts at 5:30, but they work until 5&mdash;they don&rsquo;t get back from work in time and have to miss it. We offer a <a href="https://1851franchise.com/tips-for-choosing-the-right-franchise-to-fit-your-lifestyle-4116" style="text-decoration-line:none" target="_blank">lifestyle franchise</a>, so they can work their schedule around their families.

1851: Do you have an ideal franchisee in your system, and what are their qualities?&nbsp;

Johnston: First, they can&rsquo;t be colorblind. They work with materials and colors. Second, they&rsquo;re someone who enjoys working with their hands. We also need people who are not afraid of networking and marketing. What sells our business isn&rsquo;t someone talking about it&mdash;it&rsquo;s showing before and after photos. Candidates should also be trainable and coachable, as they have to follow our programs and system.

1851: What&#39;s the biggest challenge facing franchise development right now and how are you overcoming it?&nbsp;

Johnston: We always want more leads. The way I&rsquo;m handling that is reaching out more and more to consultants personally. I check in to see how they&rsquo;re doing to develop those relationships. I&rsquo;ve been doing this for 27 years, so I&rsquo;ve built a lot of great relationships.

1851: What&#39;s one thing prospective franchisees should know about your brand and franchising in general before buying?&nbsp;

Johnston: Our training and our support are what we hang our hat on. It&rsquo;s all about training, and when you&rsquo;re out in the field, you&rsquo;ll be ready. People say, &ldquo;I want to go into business for myself, but not by myself.&rdquo; With Fibrenew, you&rsquo;ll never be by yourself. You also need to work hard during training and follow the program to be successful.&nbsp;

1851: Why should franchisees invest in your industry and in your brand specifically, and why should they invest now?

Johnston: There&rsquo;s not a more diversified franchise company out there. Everywhere you look, there&rsquo;s leather, plastic, and vinyl. No matter what type of building or business we work with, they will have those materials to work with, so the work will always be there.&nbsp;

As for when it&rsquo;s the right time, if it&rsquo;s the time in their life when they have the time and want the flexibility, then they&rsquo;ll know when to dive in. It&rsquo;s a great opportunity, and the market, for us, is always there. Why work for others when you can work for yourself and make the profits?

<div>&nbsp;</div>

Bob Johnston | Franchise Forecast | 1851 Franchise

1851 Franchise

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