Five Ways Your Father Affected Your Career in Franchising

Growing up as a son or daughter, fathers play many roles.

They can be a source of embarrassment, constantly cramping our style by pairing socks with sandals and cracking cheesy jokes. They can be a source of stress, constantly pushing us to get that A+ and make the varsity team. They can be a source of ridicule, making sure we are home by curfew and on our best behavior.

But what about a source of inspiration?

As kids grow out of the awkward high school years and enter post-college independence, many come to realize that their parent has never meant to be the enemy playing against them. Rather, they’re the ones who will always be on their team, playing alongside them—especially when it comes to making those first big moves in the work world.

Dipping one’s toes into business ownership can be difficult, even more so without someone to guide us. It is often easy to get so caught up in searching for the answers to our questions that we forget that they can lie within the person who has been there all along. When preparing for the massive career step of entering the franchise industry, many experienced individuals credit their fathers for giving perhaps the most important pep talk yet.

We asked three individuals in the franchise industry to tell us the top ways their fathers have impacted their journeys.

1. My education.

Fast-Fix Founder and now Franchise Sales Manager Mark Goldstein grew up as the son of a jeweler in inner city Philadelphia. Similar to many rebellious children, he had no interest in joining the family business. However, to his dismay, at age 13 his parents decided it was time to work in the jewelry store. Goldstein’s father sat him down and taught him the basics of the industry. He met with his father's colleagues who taught him about sales and the basics of diamonds and precious stones.

These lessons were not Goldstein’s idea of a fun after-school activity—after all, most of the other middle school boys played sports. Little did he know that these very lessons were the groundwork for a lifelong successful career.

“I swore I’d never work in a jewelry store again. But truth be told, I learned a tremendous amount more than I thought I would,” Goldstein said. “My father really broke down the basics of running a business, and the others taught me what sales are all about, and the quality of diamonds and how to sell those diamonds. After college I tried to get as far away as I could from jewelry. But look where I am now.”

2. My ability to take risks.

When Goldstein was searching for ideas for businesses to start, it was his father who helped him develop the groundbreaking idea of bringing jewelry repair to mall kiosks—something that had never been done before. His father’s creative thinking propelled him into what evolved into a successful career, and helped create the Fast-Fix we know today.

“My dad had always had the idea of doing jewelry repair while people did their shopping at the mall. At first, panicked, I was thinking to myself how this was just an idea and it was something no one had done before—how could I be sure it would make money?” Goldstein said. “My dad told me that I needed to make it happen. Not just for myself, but for the family.”

3. My independence.

When Jeff Neelon became a co-franchisee with this father Josh with ARCpoint Labs, he was enthusiastic about the potential for collaboration and working together. However, Josh soon taught Jeff an important lesson: as a co-business owner, the ability to work independently is equally as important as the ability to work together.

“We work together a lot, but we also work on a lot separately. We handle aspects that fit our individual skill sets. We have been successful co-franchisees but he has shown me that sometimes that success comes from going after opportunities together, and sometimes going after opportunities individually. We want to build the business as fast as possible and sometimes going different directions can be the best way to do that.”

4. My work in the field.

Wireless Zone franchisee Jeffrey Swackhammer Jr., grew up watching his father Jeffrey Swackhammer work in the franchise industry with a group of dollar stores they owned, and later on, with Wireless Zone. No matter which business it was, there was one thing that Swackhammer Jr., always observed about his father’s work: he was always on his feet, and remained involved in every facet, no matter how big or small.

Swackhammer Jr. has carried this on into the fourteen stores they have added to the business together.

“My dad always told me to view the work from the trenches and not from behind a desk at an office. He encouraged me to stay involved in every aspect, no matter how small,” Swackhammer Jr. said.

5. My employee relationships.