The Growth Coach Welcomes Long-Time Franchisee as the Company’s New Chief Operating Officer

The Growth Coach, the 65-unit small-business coaching franchise, has announced the addition of Brad Schneider as the company’s new chief operating officer. Schneider is no stranger to The Growth Coach mission — he himself is a franchise owner and coach in his community of Central Ohio North. 

Becoming a Growth Coach

Schneider started his career in technology consulting, instructional and marketing communications and training and development for consulting firms. “As I entered that world, I realized there was more to making business grow and people change than just technology,” he said. “They need to understand why and how to use that technology.” 

With that experience, Schneider decided to move more into HR leadership positions, handling all of the people-related work for major organizations. “The focus there was offering executive coaching and leadership development for teams internally, as well as organization development work,” he said.

During his HR career, Schneider says he had an experience that really soured his taste for the corporate world. “I worked with a publicly traded company, which was frustrating, because I saw people get laid off and it had very little to do with performance,” he said. “Financial analysts would ping organizations to make stock details look good, but it wasn't always the best decision for business. I didn’t want to continue to work in that environment, where my expertise was irrelevant if it didn’t fit in the right spreadsheet in the right way.”

On the personal side, Schneider was also exhausted of the long hours and wanted to control his own lifestyle. “I have kids that are involved in sports and activities, so I didn’t enjoy having to work a 12-hour day and then still have to ask for PTO to be able to go see them,” he said. “I didn’t ever want another position where I had to do that.”

Why Choose The Growth Coach Franchise Ownership?

After leaving corporate America, Schneider set out to start his own consulting business, but quickly realized he may not be able to do it alone. 

“I had a few friends from my consulting days who had gone on their own and ended up back in the corporate world, and both of them, despite having different experiences, told me that the one thing they wished was that they had somebody to partner with,” Schneider said. “You are working with a client all day and then you have to go network at night to find the next opportunity and then you have to build that next solution and do it all over again the next day. It gets exhausting. So their advice was: Find a partner who can help you along the way so you aren’t delivering, developing and selling all the services yourself. That led me to franchising and ultimately The Growth Coach.” 

As an experienced consultant and facilitator, Schneider says he recognized the value of The Growth Coach business model right away. “The Growth Coach offered those products and services that weren’t necessarily in my wheelhouse,” he said. “I could always reach out to my franchise for support, products, marketing, etc. It was all taken care of for me, which opened me up to more growth. That allowed me to do what was most important — talk to people and serve clients.”

Schneider opened his The Growth Coach operation in May of 2015 in Columbus. Since then, he has not only been expanding his own business, but has also been helping out with the training and operations behind the scenes. 

“I started to lend my expertise in a consultative role, but the team wanted to formalize that role so we could provide more support to franchise owners,” said Schneider. “They asked if I could guide operations and work more directly with the franchise development team, and I jumped at the opportunity.”

From Franchisee to Franchisor

Schneider officially stepped into his role as COO of The Growth Coach at the start of 2023. Today, he manages the operations team and takes care of all coaching support and development, as well as marketing efforts for franchise owners. He also aids in the franchise development process and works to recruit great coaching talent.

In this new role, Schneider says his experience on the franchisee-side of the equation has already proven to be invaluable. 

“As a franchisee, there may be times when you find yourself in the corporate office and you are flustered because it feels like they are not engaged,” said Schneider. “Now, I have the ability to explain the life of the coach, showcase their needs and make resources more available to them. On the fran dev side, I speak with candidates regularly about my process and my journey and guide others like me to help them understand how they can be successful with The Growth Coach.” 

Looking ahead, Schneider says he is eager to continue balancing his roles as both a franchisor and a franchise owner. “My business continues to grow, and this COO opportunity has also driven me to expand the impact my business is having in Columbus,” he said. “Even though I am not just dedicating my time to my own business anymore, everything I am doing to impact our operations is also impacting my own experience as a franchise owner. I have a truly vested interest.”

But what Schneider is most excited about is the ability to have a greater impact on The Growth Coach network overall. “There are a lot of great aspects to becoming a Growth Coach, but the most valuable part for me has been the strong network of coaching peers who are willing to share, collaborate and support each other. As COO, I am able to lead that network and have a real impact, which is very exciting and rewarding for me.”

The total investment required to start a The Growth Coach franchise ranges from $42,000 to $63,900, one of the lowest in the executive coaching segment. This also includes a franchise fee of $27,900.

For more information on franchising with The Growth Coach, visit: https://growthcoachfranchise.com/