How Strategic Franchising Is Helping Ordinary Folks Live Extraordinary Lives as Business Owners

Strategic Franchising Systems (SFS) provides management and consulting services to five independently owned but affiliated franchise brands. As these brands expand the company’s footprint in open territories, SFS offers aspiring entrepreneurs from all walks of life and backgrounds the opportunity to take charge of their destiny, overcome their fears and start a franchise business in some of today’s hottest service industries. 

“The COVID-19 pandemic was really a huge wake-up call for millions of people,” said Dan Murphy, Executive VP and Chief Marketing Officer of Strategic Franchising Systems. “It forced them to stop and reflect on their lives and many realized that they weren’t fulfilled with what they were doing professionally. They craved to be more in control and make a real difference with their lives, and discovered that franchising is a great vehicle to give a buyer the necessary confidence and support to take the leap and finally do what they love.”

Today, Strategic Franchising has well over 75 employees dedicated to the mission of helping ordinary folks become independent business owners pursuing an enriched life and lifestyle for themselves and their family. The five franchise brands have dedicated personnel who help recruit and train new franchise owners and then provide ongoing coaching and marketing support to help drive their success and balance their lives. There are more than 600 franchise owners in more than a dozen countries with total system sales fast approaching $200 million.

Becoming a Strategic Business Owner

Murphy, who joined Strategic Franchising Systems in 2002, says he always admired entrepreneurs. “As strange as it sounds, instead of professional athletes, small business owners were always my heroes,” he said. “Even as a teenager, to me, they always had a glow of pride and an air of independence as they did their own thing. Yet they seemed to be ordinary folks in every way possible. As I got older, I realized the only thing that set them apart was they had the guts to pursue their dreams, control their lives, and to seek freedom, fulfillment and flexibility that came with ownership. All that stoked a fire in me to one day become an entrepreneur.”

This experience led Murphy to study business management and accounting in college. At first, he was a CPA at the accounting firm of Deloitte for seven years, but he didn’t love the corporate life and could no longer ignore the burning desire to start his own company. While he didn’t want to settle for the ordinary, he was battling with his nerves and doubts about making the leap.   

“As a recovering CPA, I had to overcome many of my own fears to pursue my dreams of becoming a business owner,” said Murphy. “Trust me; if I can do it, anybody can do it as long as they properly feed their dreams and starve their fears. The critical part is learning to diminish fears so you can move forward and take the first steps. You don’t eliminate the fears; you just learn to manage them, so they don’t stop you. After all, everything we truly want in life is usually outside our comfort zone and on the other side of fear. We must be okay taking reasonable risks and being somewhat uncomfortable to create a truly fulfilling life. I’m so glad I bet on myself.”

Murphy successfully ran his coaching business for 10 years and even wrote a book, “Becoming a Strategic Business Owner,” that shares his coaching processes and strategies any owner can use to gain greater success and personal balance in their lives. It’s all about a strategic mindset and approach to create a better business, better results, and better life. 

“There are surveys that show some 90% of all people dream about owning their own business, but so few actually do it,” said Murphy. “That’s because they keep putting it off as if there will be a perfect time. They procrastinate, and before they know it, life has passed them by. They take that dream to the grave. Bottom line, I faced the reality that I had only one life to live, and wanted to at least take the entrepreneurial plunge and make a fully committed attempt. I had a strong WHY as my driving force and didn’t want any such regrets on my deathbed.”

To help lift up more business owners and more communities, Murphy and his business partner, Gary Green, launched The Growth Coach in 2002 as a business and sales coaching franchise. He loved helping ordinary folks become successful and highly fulfilled business coaches. But soon, Murphy caught the franchise bug from Green and they co-founded other franchise concepts and their portfolio of brands exploded: Fresh Coat, Caring Transitions, TruBlue Total House Care, and the Pet Wants franchise. 

How Franchising Done Right Offers a Blueprint for Business Owner Success

Since day one, Strategic Franchising Systems (SFS) has been creating and offering affordable franchise business models to help ordinary people enter the world of business ownership. While Murphy no longer has operational involvement with any individual franchise brands, he does leverage his two-decades of franchising experience to provide strategic guidance and consulting to the brands through SFS as its Executive VP and Chief Marketing Officer. 

“A franchise gives the buyer the best of both worlds,” said Murphy. “You are still 100% an independent business owner, controlling your own destiny. But with a good franchise system, you get incredible training and proven operating and marketing systems out of the gate…a solid safety net and risk reduction. You can also start serving customers immediately, getting cash flowing early and often. With successful franchise owners already in the system, it’s not a matter of if you can be successful, but will you be successful? You can follow the same mindsets, habits and work ethic of the top performers to build an incredible business to whatever size that best meets your goals and lifestyle. It’s your choice, opportunity, and responsibility.”

When it comes to training and support, all new Strategic Franchising business owners are trained to understand the industry dynamics, what it takes to be a successful entrepreneur, and  provided with technical and operational training, business coaching, staffing strategies, marketing programs and trade secrets for each brand. That’s why Strategic Franchising requires no previous industry or business-ownership experience; you are taught everything and provided with all systems. Also, SFS offers flexible financing options through trusted third-party providers. 

“Most entrepreneurs, myself included, crave one value more than others…freedom. They start businesses, including franchises, because they want freedom of time and schedule to have the flexibility to work when they want,” said Murphy. “They also want the freedom to make as much money as possible by providing great value to customers. They want the freedom to pursue their purpose and passions to make a real difference. And lastly, they want the freedom to work with people they like and respect, such as employees, vendors, and customers. They get to set the rules of the game.”

Why The Sky’s the Limit with Strategic Franchising Systems

While Strategic Franchising provides the blueprint, Murphy says the beauty of business ownership is that true success comes down to the individual. “We have franchise owners who do extremely well and far exceed their revenue and income goals, a majority who pretty much meet their goals, and a small percentage who do neither,” he said. “The difference is simple. We live in a land of equal opportunity, not a land of equal results. The level of success achieved always comes down to the individual — the franchise owner — and how open they are to being coached and their personal drive, focus and what lifestyle they strongly desire for themselves and their family. All these personal variables and more determine the size of the business they build. Ultimately, a franchise owner gets the choice and right to determine how smart and hard they work, and how much they want to make. It’s up to them, as it should be.”

To create an even playing field in which ordinary people have the chance to invest in themselves as business owners, Murphy says every SFS brand is affordable and home-based to start, which allows owners to keep operating costs significantly lower than competitors’. The costs associated with starting a franchise will vary across the five concepts, but all offer competitively low initial investment requirements, ranging from $40,000 to $202,000.

As part of this strategy to stand behind their proven business models and franchise owners, SFS also offers an industry-unique Winner's Circle Program, which over time reimburses franchisees for up to their entire franchise fee as they achieve certain performance milestones.

Additionally, Murphy says that Strategic Franchising is very selective in which industries they choose to operate. “Our businesses are all based in caring industries, offering the kinds of services and products that are needed in good times and bad,” he said. “Everyone has to take care of their homes, businesses, elderly parents, and pets — we get into these evergreen industries, and so long as franchise owners are passionate about the quality services they are offering in their communities, the demand will always be there, regardless of the economy.” 

With lower startup costs, ongoing demand and an easier barrier to entry, Strategic Franchising appeals to aspiring entrepreneurs from all walks of life and backgrounds. Franchise owners should be eager to work as trusted partners with the corporate team, be coachable, remain humble and hungry, and be excited to follow proven operating and marketing systems. 

“We are a nation of small business owners,” said Murphy. “They are the backbone of our nation and the lifeblood of our economy. With Strategic Franchising, we want to support those ordinary folks looking to follow their entrepreneurial dreams to achieve extraordinary lives with more freedom, flexibility, fun, fulfillment and financial success. We are blessed to do this.”

For more information, visit https://strategicfranchising.com/.