Have you thought about franchising your business and wondered what it might look like one year from now? Or maybe you’ve decided to franchise your business, and you’re trying to be prepared to make sure you take the right next steps.
Our guest today is Jeff Minder, who is a client we worked with to help him build his dog training franchise system. He launched his franchise efforts about a year ago, and he gives an inside look into how he has gone from zero franchises to nearly 10 over the last 15 months.
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LINKS FROM THE EPISODE:
- You can visit our guest’s website at: https://www.toptierk9.com/
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ABOUT OUR GUEST:
Mr. Minder is an award winning teacher and entrepreneur with degrees in computer science, mathematics, Informational Systems Design, and Search & Rescue. He has been recognized by Dell Computers and the National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) in their entrepreneur of the year awards. Mr. Minder was a nominee to the Air Commando Hall of Fame, and was recognized as one of the top Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) Instructors in the US Military. Mr. Minder has been mentioned in many books, articles and tv news segments pertaining to his past in the US Military and the accomplishments of Top Tier K9. As a business consultant and project manager, Mr. Minder has worked with several of the world’s largest and most successful companies including Lockheed Martin, Knowles Atomic Power Lab, and Motorola to name a few.
ABOUT BIG SKY FRANCHISE TEAM:
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If you are interested in being a guest on our podcast, please complete this request form or email podcast@bigskyfranchise.com and a team member will be in touch.
TRANSCRIPTION:
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (00:01):
Welcome to the Multiply Your Success podcast, where each week we help growth minded entrepreneurs and franchise leaders take the next step in their expansion journey. I’m your host, Tom DuFore, CEO of Big Sky Franchise Team. As we open today, I’m wondering if you have ever thought about franchising your business and maybe what it might look like a year into operation, or maybe you’ve decided to franchise your business and you’re trying to be prepared to make sure you’re taking the right steps as you venture into this expansion strategy.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (00:33):
Well, our guest today is Jeff Minder, who is a client that I’ve worked with and my company has worked with to help him build his dog training franchise systems. He launched his franchise efforts about a year ago, and he gives us an inside look into how he’s gone from zero franchises to nearly ten in just over the last 15 months or so. Now, Jeff is an award-winning teacher and entrepreneur with degrees in computer science, mathematics, information systems design, and search and rescue. He’d been recognized by Dell Computers in the National Federation of Independent Businesses in their Entrepreneur of the Year Awards. Mr. Minder was a nominee to the Air Commando Hall of Fame and was recognized as one of the top survival evasion resistance and escape instructors in the US military. Jeff has been mentioned in many books, articles, and TV news segments, pertaining to his past in the US military, and the accomplishments of his company, Top Tier K9.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (01:29):
As a business consultant and project manager, Jeff has worked with several of the world’s largest and most successful companies including Lockheed Martin, Knoll’s Atomic Power Lab, and Motorola to name a few. One note before we jump into this interview. We recorded this some time in the early 4th quarter of 2023, so some of the reference points to the dates and so on are in that time period as we go through. I’m so excited to share this interview with you as I’ve gotten to know Jeff over the last couple of years. He’s just an all around great person and he really, really cares. It’s something that I really admire in him, in addition to just running a great business and having a great system that he has developed as well.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (02:08):
Let’s go ahead and jump into my interview with Jeff Minder.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (02:12):
Jeff Minder. I’m the CEO and founder of Top Tier K9 and Top Tier K9 franchising.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (02:19):
Well Jeff, thank you again for being a guest here. Talk a little bit about Top Tier K9 and what you do.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (02:25):
We’ve been a business for about 10 years, we have a school that trains dog trainers from all over the world. We train them how to train pets for folks, that common dog in somebodies house, teach them to sit, to come, to not potty in the living room. Then we have another section of the program that teaches dog trainers how to train working dogs. That will be things like military canine, police canine, service dogs, protection dogs, and then what we call special security dogs, which will be dogs that are trained to really use their sense, like olfactory systems to find very complicated things like a virus or a bomb. We teach the dog trainer how to train pets and working dogs at the school.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (03:10):
Then we have a separate piece that is just pet training for our local community, where we go in and just train pets for folks, which is the business we eventually franchise. That’s where the real money is for folks. We also have a virtual reality dog training center for folks to practice working with dogs in the Metaverse. We have a canine warriors for women, where we do service and protection dogs for abused women and then we have a Build and Buy a Battle Buddy program for service dogs for disabled veterans.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (03:43):
The Top Tier K9 as a whole provides quite a few opportunities for folks, as dog trainers or just to have a dog trained for them. Then the piece of pet training is what Top Tier K9 Franchising carved out and build a support system for so that folks, they can go start their own dog training business in their own community.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (04:05):
Talk a little bit here about what led you to start franchising and go down this expansion route. You just mentioned a bit that you’ve been operating for over 10 years and training dogs and trainers and getting people through this process. What led you to think about franchising?
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (04:21):
We’re what’s called a force multiplier. I was an old special forces guy in the military, and one of the things that we would do is go in behind enemy lines or go in to different locations. Our job was to teach other people to do what we do. So I could go in by myself or with a small team and come out with 300 trained people, ready to do things behind enemy lines. Let’s say, just as an example.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (04:44):
What I did was in building Top Tier K9 as a school to train other people, I started seeing ways that I could build a pattern or a process where pretty much anybody who followed that formula or that project process, if they followed what I taught them, they could launch a successful dog training business. Then what would happen is once they were successful, they would be off on their own and I would get calls a year later, two years later, they would need help or they would need business development or need help in some way, whether they wanted to go to another level for service dog training or protection dog training.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (05:23):
What I wanted to do was to find a way to make that a known entity, a known process. Well, what better way to do that then to take a successful program with 150 certified dog trainers around the world and say “Look, instead of everybody come to the school, learn all these great techniques to be a dog trainer, you can also let me help you with your business. If you do that, you’re going to be successful two years faster than if you try to do it as Joe’s Dog Training garage or Betty, The Dog Trainer.” If you’re just Top Tier K9, you can carry my process as my brand, my quality assurance programs and really make money quicker.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (06:05):
I didn’t understand franchising at all, until I called you. Then, you made me and helped me understand franchising in such a rapid fashion and a controlled learning fashion for me. It took the fear of franchising out and allowed me to really say “Okay, I’m going to see what part of this Top Tier K9 I can really carve out to help people be successful and do it legally through the franchising process.”
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (06:34):
I think I sold my first franchise maybe three months after meeting with you guys. By the way, I did get my trademark of Top Tier K9, because remember we started and you said “Jeff, it would really be wise to trademark the name, because there’s going to be states that you can’t sell in if you’re not trademarked,” and so I think I applied the day you told me. You said, “Boy, I’m not used to people like doing this right away.” I’d say maybe two weeks ago, I got the federal trademark for Top Tier K9.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (07:05):
That’s what led me to franchising and I’m so thankful for you guys, so glad I did it. It gives me an exit strategy for my original business, because now I can help other people with their business and each one I make a percentage on. After 10 franchises of pretty much what I can make on my own if I just run my own business. 20 franchises, 30 franchises, 50 franchises, that’s the heck of a retirement. That’s what led me into the franchising, was to take that technical skill, the business savvy, the hardcore marketing, the hardcore branding, and say “How can I make money from that in the future?” so that as I’m physically unable to do all this work, I can still make a living for myself, my family, my employees, the folks around me who I love.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (07:56):
Thanks for sharing that Jeff. One of the things we were talking about before we hit record on the episode today is you’re talking about a hurricane that came through. As I’m listening to you tell the story, if franchising wasn’t around, it would be a very different story, so I’d love for you to talk about that.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (08:12):
It’s ironic, because there’s stuff I didn’t tell you that this question now brought out. But I had set up a separate location in Milton, Florida, just outside of Pensacola, as my franchising location. This is where I was basically I’m sitting in the kitchen right now. I’m going to retire and wind down my work and run the franchising out of this location with my primary business of Top Tier K9 being headquartered in Madison, Florida. Well, two months ago the hurricane came through and wiped it out. Took out the house, took out the barn, took the roof off the business center. Just annihilated, we had 17 oak trees down bigger than three feet in diameter, just down. Everything’s blocked off, took out [inaudible 00:09:01] the water, the electrical. When they tried to run electric back to the location, it blew up. It sounded like a bomb going off.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (09:08):
I sit back and I scratch my chin and said “Okay now, remember when your insurance agent told you that they cannot write a wind policy” so knowing full well that I have no insurance to help me with it. Had I not established my franchise location, I would not have had another place to relocate my operations to. I instantly as a project manager, this was a little easier, but I was able to build out the facilities here, move the lion share of my operations from Madison to the Milton area. We didn’t miss a beat. I had six new pets coming in that first week. We had all kinds of sales going on. The business didn’t suffer at all, while our headquarters and main facility were wiped out by hurricane.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (09:53):
The revenue stream from the franchising, the communications from the franchising, I was able to reach out to my franchisees and move some of my dogs to their locations for sales to disabled veterans as service dogs. They all stepped up, it’s a community that the franchise created. Not just, hey, I’m a franchiser and these are guys that I’m teaching to run their business. We’ve turned this into a family of folks that help each other and know each other and build confidence and can relate to each other. Every time they need something, I can change the franchise model and make it better for them, because they are my future as much as I am their future. It’s quite powerful to be in that position where one, you’re forced multiplier, so your ideas are going out for other people to use and benefit from without the struggles that I went through to get there, but I can create struggles for them so they own it. I don’t just give, they earn it, because if they don’t earn it, they’re going to flop, they’re going to fail and I’m not there to help them.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (10:59):
I make sure they’re ready. We put the pressure on them, they all stepped up. I mean all of them stepped up to help with the hurricane. Again, we were operational. I just finished moving everything … really, I’m not all done, but I’m close … over two months. But I just sold two franchises while I’m moving everything for the hurricane. I don’t know how to say it any better than say “Thank God that I have the franchise model” because that revenue stream saved the business and then the communications and relationships continued to grow the business.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (11:32):
How many franchisees are in the system now? Where’s this growing to?
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (11:35):
Well, we launched just about a year ago, I think October of last year was my first sale of a franchise. We’ve sold seven franchises already in twelve months. If I’m not mistaken, four to seven is the national average or somewhere around that, so we’re sitting really nice as a non-food franchise. With the seven franchises sold, we got two more in the hopper to close out the calendar year. I was only working honest to God maybe two hours a month on the franchising, because I have everything else going on. Now, I’ll be dedicating at least half of my time to the franchise and to making it even more replicable and getting it out there.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (12:20):
I’m hoping 14 to 20 franchises by this time next year.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (12:25):
Incredible. Well, let’s talk a little bit too about some of the work that you’re doing and just as your franchise network expands, certainly you mentioned about some of the differentiators where you’re able to train these specialty dogs for specialty purposes, as well as supporting even local veterans with what you’re doing. I’d love for you to talk about that.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (12:45):
Sure. We just did a big program in Denver. I was there this week for American Military Family, where we launched 15 dogs for 15 veterans. These are all disabled veterans, there’s 22 on average suicides a day for veterans and first responders and active military. You’re talking on average in the US, 22 suicides a day. Our goal with these programs is to help get these service dogs adopted to these disabled veterans and reduce that number the best that we can. Our 15 for 15 was a huge success. The hurricane forced me into that situation, because I didn’t want to put all of the dogs in the Pensacola area, because I didn’t have the facilities and the infrastructure I had in the Madison area. I had to use my noggin to try to really make a difference in a positive way for a negative event.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (13:37):
The franchisee stepped up. They all found the veterans in their local community, so then we at the central hub of the dogs are able to send them to a trained professional, our guys, who then train the veteran. Now, the veteran has ongoing support in their community, so the local franchise got the benefit. It’s Top Tier K9, Bradenton, Top Tier K9, Aurora, Colorado, Top Tier K9, Greenwood out of Indianapolis. Those trainers got the local press for getting this dog to this veteran, we were able to go across the country to get the 15 very rapidly and get the benefit to each of the franchise.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (14:20):
That opened up even a greater piece for our franchises, because now we have a level two franchise that we’re the hub, we’re the supplier of police canine, military canine, service dogs, protection dogs. The franchisees can be out there training pets making tons of money in the pet industry, but they never have to say “No” to a customer with the police chief comes and says, “I want to buy a police dog from you,” and they’re like “But, I don’t feel comfortable training one by myself yet. Hey Jeff, what do you got in stock?” “Well, I got 50 dogs, so which one do you want?” Then I give a 20% margin to the franchisee, simply to resell dog I already have. Then as the franchisee increases their training through a masters program of the school, they can start keeping more and more of the money based on the level of work they do.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (15:12):
In the end, they can train police canine and sell them and I’m out. I’ll give my stamp, maybe I’ll give a $200 inspection fee to make sure the dog’s properly trained, does the right thing, carries our quality assurance, but then they make all of the money from the police dog, the service dog, the military dog, the protection dog for abused women, but they can do that at any level that they’re ready for. I got a bunch of them, “Look, I want to train three or four pets of mine out of my house, I want to work a couple of hours a day.” They’re going to make $10,000, $15,000 a month depending on where they live doing that. I just want to resell some service dogs for you to help my community.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (15:54):
We do a $35,000 dog, they made $7000 just by making the phone call. Then, they get credit for, they get the local attention. For me, I’m happy man. Here’s a quality dog that carries the brand, you made money, I paid the cost of maintaining this inventory dogs but nobody else in the franchise system have to have that overhead, so it keeps their dollars, their investment so low that they’re looking pure profit at 20% with the dog sale. Then, they’re out there on the news and they got a dog for a disabled veteran and now, three people want them to train the pet because they want to support companies that help the disabled veterans. It’s really huge.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (16:36):
Then, what really took off in Denver this weekend was our virtual reality dog training center. That’s where you put on the headset and you practice our method of training a dog, which is rewards and corrections. It’s called balance dog training. So, a veteran who is even in a wheelchair so put on that headset and work a virtual dog with the leash, corrections, rewards so if he rolls his wheelchair on top of the dog, the dog yelps and moves out of the way. If he’s too close to the dog, moves away, shuts down, doesn’t obey him, he gets to work practicing with all this stuff in his wheelchair on a virtual dog and not the real dog. Then, when he gets the real dog, his level of learning is up here and the dogs ready to bond with him, he’s comfortable. That has been an absolute God send in the service dog industry, let alone the pet training side of it. It’s just taken off.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (17:35):
That VR support system for the end users has got it’s proper attention this weekend during this 15 for 15. Again, the franchise model with us at the top, the hurricane that put me in a really bad position with inventory, the ability to quickly push out through the network the inventory, turn it into a positive for disabled veterans and have the training apparatus of the virtual reality dog training center, which means I don’t have to be online at 10 o’clock at night trying to help people learn how to use a leash, that they’re right it’s a pull system where they can just turn it on and learn it on their own, at their own pace. It just made it all possible.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (18:16):
Ironically, it made it into something that we’re going to replicate. I think the emergency situations just created opportunity to really test our boundaries and to test our creativity. As long as you stay positive and as long as you look for solutions and don’t complain and cry about the problems, but get out there and solve them, especially the network that a franchise creates opens up opportunities that nothing else ever could open up for any business, let alone my business with dogs.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (18:47):
Reminds me too, when I was a franchisee in a service-based business, it was one of those things very similar to what you experienced, where if something unforeseen happened with a franchisee and the network, they were able to reach out to the franchise network at large and say, “I need some help” and the franchisees were able to mobilize and help keep that business operational while they were sorting through whatever was going on. In your instance, you described a natural disaster, it’s sometimes is personal things, whatever’s going on.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (19:19):
Yeah, it’s true. Because I know if I didn’t have the franchise system, we would have been in a really tough spot with 15 additional dogs. Let alone being able to turn it into something very powerful and something very good for the communities, but you wouldn’t have the network of folks that have the relationships where people trust them to get things done. That is the power, that’s the most important power I think that I’ve learned thus far.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (19:45):
Again, I’ve only been doing this for a year. I’ve never been a franchisee, my first venture into franchising is the launch in idea that I had that I thought could be replicated that you felt could be replicated as well. Hopefully, I do what’s right by my franchisees because that’s really I think the future of the franchise is how you treat the individual franchisee. That’s it because anybody can call your franchisees. If you got a problem with a franchise and you’re making it personal and it’s not getting solved, well the next thing you know a prospect that you have that may want to get a franchise from you pulls that purse and it’s to say, “What do you think of Jeff?”
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (20:21):
Then all of a sudden, you just lost a sale because you didn’t solve this problem. You didn’t confront this challenge, you just let it fester. I think that it just you really got to take good care without coddling them. You got to be right and righteous about everything I think, but getting out there and making it right and fulfilling what you promise you’ll do. Again, I agree with you that the communication, the network itself, you don’t have to rely on someone elses network. You’re building your own network, and that’s really powerful. Especially as a veteran, a disabled veteran who would look at maybe the VFW as a network, the Vets Foreign Wars. You’re looking at the VA system as a network. You’re forced into those. Those aren’t something you have any control of at all, but with a franchise you’re surrounding yourself with like thinking people.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (21:07):
Like you had said in your service industry, if I’m going to be a fence builder and buy a franchise as a fence builder, well, my network are all fence builders. They’re dealing day-to-day with exact same challenges I am, so those are like thinking people. That’s what I consider like thinking, you’re challenged with the same stuff, you’re dealing with the same problems. That’s the network I really enjoy being a part of. Real value really quick.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (21:34):
Well Jeff, this a great time in the show where we make a transition and we ask every guest the same four questions before they go. The first question we ask is have you had a miss or two on your journey and something you learned from it?
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (21:45):
Oh, sure. I’ve had a lot of misses in my journey. I think that one of the biggest misses that I’ve ever had was facilitating an acquisition between two companies. My job was to get out there and get my organization to buy a certain technologies that were big, I’m talking $100 million acquisitions. Well, I failed miserably on one of them because I made it all personal. It was very difficult for me to go from I have this energy, I have this motivation and I can’t understand why you can’t see what I can see. All I had in my inventory of tools was a hammer to get out there and say “No, look at what I see and buy this.” Well, I learned to one, be more straight forward and less emotional about things, to get to the point but also understand that you may have to say “No” to something that’s really good.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (22:52):
That you realize, hey, in the right universe, in the right alignment of energies this would be hugely successful however right now, it’s not. I think that being able to say “No”, being able to eliminate emotion from those types of decisions were created, the power to do that were created by that miss and misses like that, many misses like that. To learn that, to get in there, both feet, keep the emotion but don’t expect everybody else to have your level of drive, and your level of emotion and build a place where people can communicate and say “Yes” or “No” in a very logical way.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (23:34):
That’s the big miss. Now, you asked about the good hit?
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (23:37):
Yes, let’s talk about amaze. Yes.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (23:40):
Okay, that was when I trained the world’s first COVID-19 detection dog, bar none. Everybody told me it can’t be done, the CDC tried to stop me, the governor tried to stop me, nobody would support me in it. That same thing that I learned over here that I got to be careful of because I was by myself with … nah, I shouldn’t say by myself. I had my staff that I couldn’t have done it without them … but I’m talking external forces that would stop me, there was nobody out there that was going to let stop me. I just charged forward and proved for the first time in the history that a dogs olfactory system is strong enough to find something that’s 1/4 the size of a wave of light. In doing so, now the army has validated that it’s done, Helsinki, Finland proved it could be done, Dubai has proved it can be done, Saudi Arabia is running them now.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (24:37):
We were the first in the world to do it, but that same energy that I said got in trouble over here at the right time I employed it, it worked. I guess it’s recognizing if something is worth falling on your sword, you’d better be ready to fall on your sword, but you’d better recognize that there’s many, many times it’s not worth falling on that sword. That not losing the energy to use it when you need it, but finding that piece to where you define success, deliver on it, and keep the emotion a little less …
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (25:16):
Interestingly enough, that internal drive is what created the failures and created the successes. I’m sometimes feel like I’m just an observer in that chaos that becomes somebodies life at those levels of living.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (25:32):
Wonderful. Let’s talk about a multiplier. You mentioned and used the phrase “forced multiplier” several times. Have you used a multiplier to grow yourself, other businesses that you’d like to share here?
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (25:43):
Yeah, the key to life in my opinion was defined by Dr. Benjamin Bloom. He created a levels of learning, it’s called Blooms Cognitive Taxonomy, but it’s how people learn. That up until 1979, our schools systems used it, our military still uses it, but in ’79, the federal government took over the schools systems and they stopped using it. You can do a direct correlation to the decline of America’s education system based on leaving the foundation of Dr. Blooms Cognitive Taxonomy. I employed that in building Top Tier K9, so that when I needed a right-hand man, I got it in a woman, her name’s Alyssa, but when I needed that it was through the levels of learning and exposure of learning through the school that allowed her to achieve the synthesis level of learning so that she can provide the support I need so I can focus on the franchise, as a for instance.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (26:47):
That’s where I used an educational model around the school I built in order to train people to be part of my force. Then I used the same taxonomy to train franchisees and I used the same taxonomy to train employees for franchisees, because the franchisees come to you, I teach them business, project management, business analysis, accounting principles, legal principle, I teach everything to them so that they can go out and actually have a core understanding of it, not just do it for them. I teach them how to train dogs. Well, when they send an employee to me, I’m not going to teach that employee all of the business side of it. I’m going to teach them how to train dogs and support the franchise, so I can separate the school and the classes and the curriculum because it’s designed using these levels of learning.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (27:42):
I think that the individual multiplier was done by being able to coordinate the training of someone in a non-emotional way, where they earn that position to then replicate what I do, so I can [inaudible 00:27:57] and then the modification for the business is exact state model, it’s just that the franchisees don’t go as high as Alyssa did. They can jump off and make their money and make a fortune because they only learn what they need to learn to be successful. Then, as things pressure them, where they have opportunities for service dogs or protection dogs, I have the model to take them to the next level of training when they need it, not just pile them with a bunch of education and say, “Now, go make it work.” It’s this process of learning and applying what you learn, making money, seeing what works and then putting some money back in, where it’ll work to make more money back.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (28:41):
Modification is based on positive feedback that equates to money. If people aren’t willing to pay you for something then what you’re providing them in worthless. That’s the bottom line, but having a measurable and a way to say “I’m getting paid because of that piece”, not a big hype thing but you can really break it down to say, “That’s the quality I need to improve, that’s the quality I need to focus on that makes me the biggest return” that means I’m providing value on meeting peoples true needs and they’re willing to pay me to do it.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (29:15):
I think that the Blooms Cognitive Taxonomy allowed me to be a multiplier for myself through people like Alyssa and then the same model allowed me to be a force multiplier by training dog trainers and business people out there that carry our quality, carry our brand. Again, they make a bunch of money. I make 7% of that, which is fine by me because I didn’t use to make anything and do that, so the franchise allows me to make a little back from that, which keeps me engaged to assure that they stay successful and it keeps me coming up with new ideas to help them even more, which I don’t believe I would really be doing without the franchise model.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (29:54):
And the final question we ask every guest Jeff is what does success mean to you?
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (30:00):
This is my military background and I taught survival in the military, I taught people how to survive in the wilderness and escape POW camps and resist interrogation, but it’s about being that rugged individual and realizing you truly are in this alone. You come in alone, you go out alone. I think that success to me is having a replicable legacy whereby this isn’t Jeff Minder dog training, this is Top Tier K9. Where all of the franchises that are giving of their blood and giving of their money and giving of their soul into the program to be successful, that the day I die they don’t miss a beat. I think success is having a system that continues to run forever, even when you the inventor, you the idea guy are gone.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (30:53):
That’s what I define success as. Really, everything else is the struggle to succeed. You’ll have daily wins and short term wins but I think for the overall success is that what I know, it’s over. There’s no doubt in my mind that five franchises you’re signing up three months after I die and everybody who has made your investments in this program are still growing, and their kids are growing, and their grandkids are growing, and they have just ongoing success. That’s what I would consider success.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (31:26):
As we bring this to a close Jeff, is there anything you’re hoping to share or get across that you haven’t had a chance to yet?
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (31:33):
The one thing that I learned a lot more about this weekend is one of my young franchisees. She’s 20 years old, in Denver, Colorado and she owns Top Tier K9, Aurora, which is a suburb of Denver. She’s 20. When she first came to Top Tier K9 to learn how to train pets, she had so much anxiety, she could barely come up on camera in a Zoom conference. When she was here, a water hose broke. Just issues with daily challenges, she would shut down, she would cry. Saturday night she got up with her dog that she trained through the program, it’s her demo dogs. What they taught their canine guys is when you start a franchise, you have a demo dog, a demonstration dog that you trained, that we help you. I’m talking bike work, tracking, set work, advanced obedience, everything.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (32:31):
She gets up with her dog Coda, and she does a demonstration of her service dog that also protects. We did bike work and everything in front of the crowd of 300 people in the Omni Hotel, you’re talking just richy, beautiful layout. She came back up on the stage, put the microphone in front of her mouth, and she has to talk. She eloquently expressed herself and her franchise in a demo [inaudible 00:32:58]. That all came from a kid in high school who just decided there’s nothing in traditional government run colleges that are going to benefit them in their future, nothing. Now, she owns her own business at a time that some kids that were going through college, her classmates have already dropped out or they’re waitressing at a restaurant that may be getting ready to shut down, that don’t know what they’re going to do. Here she is running her own business, in control of her own destiny.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (33:29):
Here we are as the franchisor out there putting on these big events to bring her up and expose her in a community that I just think for anybody who might be watching this, who either wants to do a dog franchise or just wants to franchise their own idea, I think that the future of America has always been self-employment and people starting their own businesses, but I think as a franchisor, where you absolutely have the responsibility to teach the basics of business, the basics of capitalism, the basics of accenting, of integrity, of ethics, of contract negotiations. If you have to include that in your franchise offering, that business development or you’re not going to have a group of people ready to move into your franchise because that is no longer offered in high school. That’s no longer offered in most technical schools, that’s barely offered in most colleges. That by having that business platform and that business development as part of the franchise offering, that’s what’s going to create young entrepreneurs from the millennials, and Z gen and everybody we have now that can’t even spell “business”.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (34:44):
They hear the word “capitalism” and they’ve been conditioned to vomit. They basically indoctrinated so badly, you as a franchisor need to do prepared to bring these young folks in, help them launch their business. That truly is the future of America. Self-employment honestly, I don’t see it happening a whole lot more outside of franchising just because the trainings not there for the young folks to even think about setting up their own accounting system, just as a for instance. I would say that that’s the big point I wanted to make, that older folks like myself that may want to make a difference in the youth today. You may not be able to do it by screaming about the colleges messing up or screaming about the high schools messing up or yelling about the next election. None of that matters as much as taking your skill set, teaching the younger generation, helping them get started in their own business.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (35:36):
Franchising’s an easy way to do that and we owe it. I think we owe it to the younger generation to help them understand that what they’ve been learning and seeing is not what America’s supposed to be, that being self-employed, being your own boss, making your own way, taking these risks, being rewarded for these risks, that’s America. That’s what my brothers fought and died for and that’s what I stand up for and that’s what our franchise is all about.
Jeff Minder, Top Tier K9 (36:01):
If anybody wants to see what it is we do, understanding our systems, understanding our processes, it’s TopTierK9.com. That’s Top Tier letter “K”, number “9”.com and in Top Tier K9 franchising.com. It’s two different websites, two different offerings. You can see everything about our business, our business structure, our franchise system and how we’re working with disabled veterans, how abused women, and of course young folks and run … and you don’t have to be young folk … to start a topic [inaudible 00:36:38] on franchise. It’s just that I have a lot of satisfaction when I see these young people, lights come on and I’m like “Oh wow, this is great”, how to start my own business. I really enjoy that part of it.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (36:50):
Jeff, thank you so much for a fantastic interview. Let’s go ahead and jump into today’s three key takeaways. Takeaway number one is how Jeff shared that franchising has been a force multiplier for his business. He’s been able to build a school that trains other people and now to franchise it to teach other people how to run their own business as well.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (37:13):
Takeaway number two is that he’s been able to build a community through his franchise system and franchise network that growing. He gave the great example and maybe unfortunate example that occurred to him, when a hurricane knocked part of his operation to be unusable and he couldn’t operate. The franchise system was able to provide him income during that time when he wasn’t able to generate revenue from his core business.
[NEW_PARAGRAPH]I’d just like to make that point for someone that’s thinking about franchising their business. For most we’ve worked with, they have maybe one or two locations that are all close together. If an unfortunate circumstance were to come through, such as a natural disaster, this franchise system provided a solution to him that he wasn’t even thinking about. I think that was great. He said that that franchise community allowed him to still operate not only through royalty income that was coming through but in addition, he was able to have his service dogs that he had trained or needed help with to other franchisees that were operating, to support and help make that happen.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (38:17):
I just think that’s a great story. One of those stories that is often missed in the discussion of franchising.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (38:24):
Takeaway number three is when he talked about a make that he had, which to me was incredible, how he was able to train the first COVID detection dog. That’s just amazing to me.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (38:37):
Now, it’s time for today’s win-win. Today’s win-win is when he talked about how as a franchisor, he’s able to train and coach and teach future business leaders. Whether that’s as he said millennials or generation Z or any other future generation that comes along, but that he’s able to teach these franchisees business and what it means to run and operate a business and how to do that effectively and help build leaders to help build a better future and to build the future of America. I just thought that was a great conclusion to talk about, that he’s doing that and he gave the example of 20 year old franchisee in his system that has gone from having high anxiety to now building a successful operating franchise in his network.
Dr. Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (39:34):
That’s the episode today, folks. Please make sure you subscribe to the podcast and give us a review. Remember, if you or anyone you know might be ready to franchise their business or take their franchise company to the next level, please connect with us at Big Sky Franchise Team.com. Thanks for tuning in and we look forward to having you back next week.
