Guide To Franchising Your Business: Q&A With Rich Moyer, Hoppin’ Brands

Franchising a business is a significant step that requires careful consideration and strategic planning. For entrepreneurs like Rich Moyer, founder and CEO of Hoppin’ Brands, the decision to franchise wasn’t just about expanding locations — it was about sharing a successful business model with others and helping them achieve their own entrepreneurial goals.

To help demystify the process, 1851 Franchise spoke with Moyer about his journey to franchising with Hoppin’ Brands and his advice for others looking to follow a similar path.

A transcript of Moyer’s interview with 1851 has been provided below. It has been edited for clarity, brevity and style.

1851 Franchise: Why did you decide to franchise your business?

Rich Moyer: We opened our doors back in 2017 and our first year was great. We poured over three and a half million ounces, and we had so many people coming from other cities and states who told us they loved the concept and what we were doing. That validated that what we created was something that could be bigger than just one location. So we opened up to two more locations after that, and looked into franchising in 2019 and then that led us to starting the process. And then in 2020 came COVID, so we stopped the process of developing our FDD [franchise disclosure document], and then that rolled into just kind of keeping our head above water.

Once 2022 came, we got back into franchising. But the biggest reason that we got into franchising was the ability to expand our brand across the country faster than if we were to do it corporately, one at a time. As an owner and founder, I’m very passionate about helping other people and being able to provide opportunities to individuals who have always wanted to start a business or open up their own bar/taproom, but don’t really know how to do it.

1851: What advice would you give to someone thinking about franchising their business?

Moyer:  I would highly recommend reaching out to any other franchisors or people — even franchise brokers — or anybody in the industry. It’s a very tight knit community and everybody’s pretty much willing to help out as much as possible. Pick people’s brains and ask them as many questions as you can — some of them will even spend a little bit extra time with you to dive into your business a little bit. And then there are also some consultants that you can pay to really dive into it and help you launch and help you make sure that you’re actually set and ready to franchise. 

I think most franchisees or franchisors jump into it super early in their business. In their mind, they have all the systems and processes in place, but they don’t really have the ability to actually have it on paper and be able to replicate it and have somebody else do it. So, I always recommend reaching out to franchisors like myself and other ones. We’re all willing to help.

1851: How many franchise consultants did you look at?

Moyer: Early on, we didn’t look at any. And then, about a year in, we started to look at some. It was just some that were recommended from another franchise over here in Charlotte, North Carolina, that they worked with, and we ended up going with two of them. And then we actually just dropped two of them over the last year and just went strictly with another one. For us, it was just a better relationship and just better for our budget as we’re growing. 

1851: What made you pick the consultant that you picked? 

Moyer: The one I’m with now, it’s the way that they’re structured. There’s no monthly fee and you only pay if they produce. So you’re only going to pay a commission if they actually bring you deals and those deals close.  I think, when you’re an early stage franchisor, every dollar counts.  The other ones were charging a monthly fee, and then they weren’t really providing any value or bringing any deals to us at the speed that I would have liked it. 

1851: What is one or what is one thing you wish you knew about the franchise process?

Moyer: I think the number one thing I always say is really just having all your data and everything that you can get out of the heads of yourself, your director of marketing and your director of operations down on paper. Take the little bit of the systems and processes that you have and make it into an actual entire brand guide, brand book, operations manual and marketing guide. I could have done a lot of that legwork upfront before franchising. You wouldn’t be building the plane as you’re flying it and that’s just normal for franchisors. It’s just the way the game goes, but I think being able to do some of that and leg work in the front end would have been helpful.

Growing and selling franchises is difficult. No great franchise did it alone. Want to learn more about how 1851 helps franchisors grow their franchises with confidence? Visit www.1851growthclub.com and see what we can do for you.