Have you ever thought about buying your kid a franchise? For many of us, that thought is terrifying! However, after listening to today’s guest and his success you might just actually do it.
Jeremy Pourbaix shares his story and success in starting with 1 franchise, eventually opening 12 total units, building multiple area development regions, and then selling the business on HIS terms!
Jeremy shares his misses, makes, and multipliers and how to successfully sell and exit from your business.
Jeremy is currently the CEO and Co-Founder of Franchise Flippers, www.franchiseflippers.com.
LINKS FROM THE EPISODE:
You can listen to Jeremy’s partner, Chris Baker, on episode 3. You can listen to Chris’ interview by CLICKING HERE for iTunes or CLICKING HERE for the main podcast site.
ABOUT BIG SKY FRANCHISE TEAM:
This episode is powered by Big Sky Franchise Team. If you are ready to talk about franchising your business you can schedule your free, no-obligation, franchise consultation online at: https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/ or by calling Big Sky Franchise Team at: 855-824-4759.
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:
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (01:37):
Cool. Well I know it’s going to be great. I’ve been looking forward to it. Thank you very much. Well, Jeremy, thank you for being here today on the Multiply Your Success podcast. And we always like to ask our guests who come on as we get started, just to give us a little background, tell us about you and give us a little background.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (01:56):
Absolutely. And thank you for having me, Tom. And so, I live about an hour North of Denver in Northern Colorado at the base of the foothills, the base of the Rocky Mountains. In fact, my house is about 45 minutes from Rocky Mountain National Park. And so, we can hit the road and be in the mountains in just a few minutes and it’s a wonderful place to live. I’ve been married for 20 years. In fact, my wife and I just celebrated our 20th anniversary a couple of months ago.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (02:28):
Wow, congratulations. That’s like a big milestone anniversary.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (02:33):
It sure is. So, we enjoyed it and celebrated together and we have two boys and two girls ages eight to 14. And so, that are little personal facts about me. I’m also the CEO and co-founder of Franchise Flippers and I have a passion and an interest in the franchise industry. I have for a long time. In fact, I first dipped my toes into the franchise world when I was 23 years old. My dad called me on the phone one day and said, “Hey, I’m interested in this franchise but I don’t have the time. How about I buy the territory and you run the business and we’ll be 50-50 partners?”
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (03:18):
And so, I had graduated from college not long before that, had done what by default, many of us do. I took a job and did that for about six months and it didn’t take long before I thought, “I could probably make a lot of money doing this, but I’m not sure I’m going to enjoy the journey.” And so that was an opportunity to dive in down a different track and I took it and we started with a single franchise unit and grew it to multiple units, quite a few units, and a variety of other things over the 15 years or so that followed that. And so, that started my journey in the franchise industry.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (04:05):
Well, that’s a whole lot packed into a sentence or two there, Jeremy. So, well, at 23 we got our first and then 15 years later, we had a whole bunch of them.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (04:15):
The end.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (04:18):
The end. Right. So, I’m sure people are wondering if you’re comfortable sharing what industry you happen to be in and how you went from one, especially at 23, fresh into your business career, recognizing you wanted to do something. I guess I have a couple of questions for you. We have a lot of folks that tune in that are family-oriented businesses. So first off, what compelled you to want to go into business with your dad? That could be dangerous depending on the family.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (04:55):
For sure. And I think, yeah, that’s a great question. And I guess, for me, of course I was young and didn’t know all the dangers that lied ahead and I think that was to my benefit, but it was an easy decision. My dad and I have a great relationship and he made the invitation, we dove in together and so that was easy. But another thing too is it was literally, like I said, he did a lot of work behind the scenes, but I handled the day to day operations and so we found a good rhythm in how we ran the business.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (05:37):
So then, you were really, when you started, you were the classic franchisee owner operator running the day to day operation?
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (05:47):
Yes. That’s how it started. And yeah, that’s how it started. I was 23. I did everything from handing out door hangers to greeting customers at the door to you name it. The first year, I did everything.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (06:06):
Wow. And so then, as you progressed through that journey, I’m always curious for as you expanded into a multi-unit operator, that seems to be a jump, I think for any business to jump into multiple units, whether it’s an independent or even a single unit franchisee. Would you mind sharing some of that journey and some of what you did or what helped you get to that next level?
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (06:40):
Absolutely. And I was ambitious like a lot of us are, and right out of the gates, we started with the single unit, but I knew I wanted to have a handful of them and pretty much control the entire market in our area. And I was impatient. And so, that second year we opened up our second location.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (07:01):
Wow.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (07:02):
And so, we were one of the top performers for first year location that first year and decided let’s keep going forward. And so, we went to a second location very quickly. And something I learned about that, one of the mistakes that I made along the way was you oftentimes, if you replicate what you have, so when you go from one location to two locations, the things that are strong about that first location will likely you’ll do well in that second location. On the flip side, the things that you don’t do well that you haven’t perfected, you’re likely to replicate that in your second location as well. And that was one of the first lessons I learned in running multiple locations is the good things get multiplied and the bad things are multiplied as well.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (08:00):
Oh, that’s a great, great lesson. I love that. I haven’t heard anyone describe it in quite that way as you put it here so that you answer one of the questions we always like to ask. This idea of misses makes a multiplier. So, for a miss or a miss or two coming along the way, is that what you might describe as one for you?
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (08:24):
Absolutely it is. I believe, you can’t wait till everything’s perfect to expand your business because it never is, right? But on the flip side, you want to make sure that the fundamentals are in order because if they’re not, when you expand the misses that you have in your single location, you’re likely to do that again in your next location if you haven’t addressed that properly, and I didn’t. I was 23 and I thought, “Hey, we did well up here on the top line. Let’s do this again.” And when all is said and done, it was fine, but it wasn’t the easiest path to go from that single unit to the second unit.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (09:17):
Sure. Wow. Wow. I really like that story that you said there. The good stuff gets increased and multiplied, but the areas of struggle or that needs some attention, that gets multiplied as well too. So, I think that’s a really, really great lesson and reminder for folks coming in and really maybe even a testament to the single unit operator, the power of a single unit operator running a business. Because now you’re getting stretched as a multi-unit.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (09:54):
Well, let’s turn things around here, flip things around, Jeremy. On the opposite end of the business, let’s talk about a make or two or three that you had along the way because for you to go and run a successful franchise enterprise for 15 years, that’s a big deal. So, fire away.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (10:16):
Sure. I think, for me, there were a number of little victories along the way, accomplishments along the way, benchmarks along the way. But for me, perhaps the most notable make was being able to start from scratch, build our own little mini empire. I think we had nearly a dozen locations over that 15 years and grew it to about, I think our largest point was seven units at once. But at the end of that, when it was time for me to move on to something different, to be able to sell it and realize the reward on the back end, I feel like in that journey I was able to realize what I call both halves of the American dream or the full American dream. And it starts with being able to own and operate and lead your own company in business. And that’s half of the American dream I think a lot of us dream about and get to experience.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (11:23):
And then, there’s the other half of the American dream, which is being able to sell it and move on when it’s time to do that and go on to new ventures. And I was fortunate enough to be able to experience both halves of that American dream and it’s very gratifying to be able to do that. And I guess, I would say in that journey, that was the biggest make was being able to sell it at the end when it was time to move on. And I enjoy, that’s what I love about business and you get to see what you’ve built, still carried on by someone else and they may continue it as it was or make it better, but it’s still there and that’s quite satisfying.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (12:08):
Well, that’s a great point and I’d like to maybe dig into that a little bit Jeremy, because that’s a really great point that so many entrepreneurs come in into business. And I’m a big believer, myself included, I’m one of those entrepreneurs that I have always felt I have almost an obligation or a duty at being in the United States that I have to start and run my own business, at least try. I’ve always felt compelled that it’s part of our responsibility as an American to do that, at least once. But on the other hand, on the flip side of that, what you just said, it’s the other half. It’s not just starting the business but also seeing the reward that comes from that.
Tom Dufore, Big Sky Franchise Team (12:55):
So, it’s not just building a certain lifestyle or a certain income level or whatever it might be, it’s also then turning that and getting the reward of exiting out of the business. So maybe, you could talk us through your mindset and process of when you knew that was the right time when you started thinking about it. Just to share that with our listeners as a lot of folks may be thinking about an exit in three years or five years, or maybe they’re thinking right now about that.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (13:24):
Yeah, it could look different for any individual. There are so many reasons. I had been part of a great franchise organization. It was a lot of fun and I made a lot of friends and found success in that. I also had accomplished what I had set out to accomplish. And I think I mentioned earlier, I wanted to dominate the market that we were in and have a handful of locations and I had done that. I also was able, was fortunate enough to be involved on area development level where I was able to help other franchise owners, coach them and help them build their own franchise empire and that was very satisfying.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (14:16):
And I got to a point where adding another location or building my business a little bit more was just not going to be all that satisfying. I had accomplished what I set out to accomplish and I was ready for a new challenge and that was really the driving force behind it.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (14:36):
Well, thank you for sharing that. And you brushed over this a little bit and for someone who’s not familiar with franchising may have just brushed over that with you, but what you mentioned in there was a really big deal that you were a multi-unit operator and as well as being an area developer. So, how in the world do you go from being a single unit operator, the multi-unit thing makes sense, right? You see yourself having success, so you open up several more and you mentioned it sounded like you were up to 12 at one point or had opened 12 franchises.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (15:16):
And then, how do you get into the area development? What compels you to get into there? How did that happen? And one other quick thing, Sorry to interrupt, Jeremy, maybe you could also just explain for some of the listeners here what an area developer does, what your responsibilities are.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (15:34):
Yeah, absolutely. And not all franchise systems have an area development program, if you will, but the one I was involved with did, and really the responsibility in its simplest form is twofold. One is to help develop an area, take a metro area and to grow it, whether opening locations yourself or helping to find franchisees that want to become part of the franchise and open their own locations. And then, it’s to support them and coach them and be a partner, not in a technical sense, but in helping them grow their business. And I really enjoyed that and I was asked to do that for some other area developers.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (16:27):
And I did that and enjoyed it and really enjoyed coming alongside other franchisees who I’d been in the trenches with doing the same things, learning the same lessons, and in some cases maybe a few years ahead of them and trials ahead of them, but able to come alongside them and say, “Hey, this happened to me too. Here’s how we can get through this together.” And so that was enjoyable for me. And so, that’s what area development is, and I was fortunate enough to be invited into that and then I expanded that. So, I did that in a variety of different places around the US actually had a lot of success in that.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (17:15):
And just to recap for the listeners here, an area developer that Jeremy was doing. So, he had a responsibility in, when they say develop a territory, as he mentioned, it means opening your own franchises. And in most cases, it means you’re actually selling franchises, oftentimes supporting those franchisees that you bring into the system. So, you’re in between layer between the franchisor and the actual franchisee that’s operating it. And it’s no small task when you’re doing all of that.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (17:49):
So, Jeremy, in my opinion, that’s impressive. And what you’ve done is impressive there because not everyone is able to sell the franchises and then be able to coach and train and support. You’re a mini franchisor really in that role. And I think that’s really impressive as you go through that. I really think that’s a big deal. So, I know you’re a very modest person, but I can tell our listeners that it is a very big deal. It’s hard to do well. And the fact that you were able to build it and now when you did your exit, was the area development and the multi-unit, was that all one package deal that you did or how did you go about doing that?
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (18:36):
Great question. I was able to sell all of them, all the units and the multiple area developments around the country, but they were done separately. So, actually, it took a couple of years to sell a handful of locations, to sell a couple of area development, but the persistence in patience pays off and was able to realize that on both sides as a multi-unit franchisee and an area developer.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (19:06):
Yeah. Well, great. And we always like to ask every guest here, in addition to your misses makes, we like to ask about multipliers. So, as you were building and going through this, were there any multipliers that you used in your business personally, professionally as you were expanding?
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (19:25):
Yeah, for sure. And I’ll answer the professionally or the business side of that first. First was building a team of the right people doing the right thing. And I think our largest payroll was around 90 people at our largest point. So, we had quite a few employees that were part of our team. And both the biggest challenge but also the biggest multiplier perhaps, was having the right key people in the right roles. And that was twofold. They had to have the skill and ability and the right attitude there, but also, it had to be a challenge and something that they enjoyed.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (20:09):
And so, piecing that puzzle together and building a strong team was certainly one of the primary multipliers. I wasn’t the reason that we grew the way we did, it was those key people. And if I had anything to do with it, maybe it was finding the right place for them to fit in our organization where they could contribute the right amount that could contribute the to their potential.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (20:37):
So, that’s one. And then another multiplier, and this is why I love franchises, is either creating or adopting systems. Systems that are efficient, that are effective, that are repeatable and reliable. And so, of course, a good franchise will have those in place for you. But there’s also little mini systems that you can create in your organization that are necessary. And so, adopting the systems from the franchisor, executing those well, that is a giant multiplier for any franchise, any business, and it certainly was for us.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (21:26):
And then lastly, on the business side, I would say a multiplier, both in this franchise and other businesses I’ve been involved with is having complimentary partners. And I know oftentimes here, having a partner in business is dangerous and that’s true. And I’m certainly not an advocate of having partners in every business or for every individual, but for me, it was a giant multiplier. Having a partner who complimented the skill sets that I didn’t have and where I could compliment the skill set that they don’t have was a tremendous multiplier on top of that. As you know Tom, being an entrepreneur yourself, it’s a hard road and not every day is roses.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (22:16):
And in fact, a lot of them are difficult and entrepreneurs have a mindset, they get them through those days. And we look beyond those days and continue the course. But when you have a partner or multiple partners that can get you through that rough day, see the light at the end of the tunnel and it’s not just you, that’s a big deal. And it was a big deal for me. It always has been. I’ve always had complimentary partners and I think I’ve been better off for it.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (22:50):
Well, that’s great. And with the partners side of things, you had, was your dad, your partner all the way through with your franchise system that you were part of?
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (23:02):
Yes. Yeah, he was all the way through. In fact, at some point, we brought one of my brothers in as a partner as well. And he was a major contributor and a great partner to work with as well.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (23:15):
Great. And now with Franchise Flippers, you have a partner as well, and is that complimentary? Can you talk about your roles there?
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (23:26):
Yes, Chris Baker is a co-founder and president with Franchise Flippers, and he and I do not have the same skill set. There’s some overlap. If you were to draw a circle of our skill set, there’d be some overlap, for sure. But he is a great communicator, he’s a great sales guy, he is great at vision. I’m more of an operational guy. I like to manage and work with people as well, but on an operational level. And I think I’m also fairly capable on the vision side, but Chris would be a better judge of that. But nonetheless, we have a little overlap, but we really have different skill sets and that enables us to do more.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (24:22):
That’s really, really great, really great. And for those that are listening into this and haven’t heard any of our earlier episodes, we actually had Chris Baker, who is Jeremy’s partner on an earlier episode for the podcast. We’ll list a link to that in the show notes here if you’re interested in hearing Chris’s journey on how he came here. And so, and Jeremy, in terms of Franchise Flippers, Franchise Flippers, for those who aren’t aware is a business that helps specifically franchise companies. It’s a listing service or a for sale website where you can list your franchise for sale. And I’d be curious, maybe you could share how you ended up in this, I mean certainly with your background in building a franchise system, selling it, going through that, you’ve done it. So maybe share a little bit about that and how the idea came about.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (25:22):
Absolutely. There are probably a couple of factors that contributed to starting Franchise Flippers. The primary one for me was the story that I shared at my history in franchising and realizing that full American dream of building, running, and then selling that business. And when it was time for me to sell my business, I wasn’t particularly happy with the options that I had. I could put it out on different websites where I was buried between a gas station and a liquor store and not to be found and I could hire a business broker, which is oftentimes a very good option but there are pros and cons to that.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (26:18):
And I could work with my franchisor, but franchisors are great at selling new territories. It’s a different animal to sell an existing business, and that’s not what franchisor are in the business of doing. And so, luckily, my franchisor and a business broker and some of my own efforts all work together to sell my different franchise holdings when it was time to do that. But it wasn’t as clean as I would’ve liked it to be. And I also, having worked with a lot of franchisees over the years, it had come to me and said, “It’s time to sell. What do I do?” And I knew what the options were.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (27:03):
And so, over that experience I said, “There’s got to be a better way and there isn’t.” So, let’s create a resource, a marketplace, a service that helps franchisees decide if and when it’s right to sell and then how to do that. There’s a number of courses that you can take to sell your business, particularly your franchise, when it’s time to do that. And so, we’ve created something that helps guide franchisees down the right path and make the right decision for their unique circumstance so they can sell their business when it’s time. And then we give them the tools and resources and the network to go down that course once they know what the right course is.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (27:58):
Thank you for sharing that. And I think you’re right. I’ve been in franchising now for goodness, over 16 years or so now, and have seen exactly what you’re talking about. I know the options are just really not that great, especially for a franchisee. So, I love your service with what you’re doing and the value add that you provide to a franchisee and to a franchisor to be able to offer a real solution to partner with that franchisor organization. So, for any franchisor that’s tuning in here, if you’re trying to figure out a solution for your franchisees, you need to check out Franchise flippers, because I know they have franchisor programs to help specific brands onboard and bring their franchisees that are ready for that sale to come through their system and they have a whole program set up for you.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (28:51):
We do. Thank you, Tom. Yeah, we love working with franchisors and we like to see a win-win between the franchisor and the franchisee and the incoming franchisee and that’s what we shoot for.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (29:07):
Great. Well, the kind of closing question we always like to ask every guest, Jeremy, is what does success mean to you?
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (29:20):
Oh, that’s a great question. And I think it’s twofold for me. One is enjoying the journey and just doing something that I love with people that I love and care for and to have fun together. And of course, as we talked about earlier, not every day is a fun day. It’s not all fun. But a lot of times it’s challenging and you get to overcome that challenge and achieve and accomplish something with other people or for other people and that brings a lot of satisfaction. And so, enjoying the journey to me is part of what makes up success.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (30:02):
And then the other thing is to give more than I get. And so, with employees, with colleagues, with customers, with friends, with family, I think that true success is largely found in being able to give more than I take. And not saying I do that perfectly or that happens every day, but that’s how I define it, that’s what I aim for. I was fortunate enough to receive a number of awards and accolades and recognition over the course of my professional career so far. And those are satisfying and they’re good and there’s nothing wrong with that, of course. But I don’t think that’s the pinnacle of success, at least not in my mind. So, at the end of the day at my career, I hope that I can give more than I get to those around me.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (31:05):
Wow. Thank you for sharing that. I really, really like that. And certainly, I hear win-win, my ears perk up. We have a win-win segment on the podcast. And our number one core value at our company is win-win relationships. And certainly, it applies to franchising and just looking at it to work to help others. If you can help someone else think of the other person first, and it inevitably will end up circling around at some point in time. Well that’s wonderful, Jeremy. As we wrap up here, is there anything you’d like to share, leave with the listeners? Anything you’d like to close out with?
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (31:56):
I don’t think so. I think you asked great questions and hopefully I gave helpful responses and insight from my experience other than just thank you, Tom, for inviting me in to participate. And I know you and your company and your colleagues offer a variety of great services and I’ve personally experienced that in another business I was involved with in the franchise industry. And so, thank you for that. And no doubt you’ve done a number of great things for other people in the franchise world, so keep doing that.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (32:37):
Well, thank you, I appreciate that and thanks for being on. We appreciate it. And we’ll make sure we list out any details, information so people can get in touch with you. Of course, we’ll link back to franchiseflippers.com in our show notes for everyone. And I want to make sure we say your name correctly on the intro. So how do I pronounce your last name? I want to make sure I say it correctly.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (33:03):
Pourbaix.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (33:06):
Pourbaix. Okay. I would have been correct, but I…
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (33:08):
It’s a tricky one.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (33:13):
Yeah, yeah. I want to make sure I say it correctly there. So, that’s great. And I think this was great. Was there anything you had wanted to say that we didn’t get around to talking about that we could slice in or move around there?
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (33:35):
I’ll leave this up to you. We didn’t get to the personal multipliers.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (33:42):
Oh yeah, yeah, let’s add that in. Yeah, yeah, we’ll splice that in there.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (33:46):
Okay. So yeah, I think there’s, as I thought about this prior to our conversation today, what are personal multipliers for me? And there are a couple that came to mind. The first one is attitude. And attitude is a choice that we make. And when we have a good attitude and the right attitude, we come across an obstacle in life or in business. And the right attitude creates a path around or through that obstacle. The wrong attitude creates that obstacle and makes it into a roadblock.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (34:27):
And so, I didn’t talk about this previously, but I had a business in college and it actually extended and overlapped with my franchise venture for a while. And my business partner and I in that business had a saying that is this, there’s always a way. And we believed that no matter what the situation, no matter what the challenge, there was a way through it, there’s a way to overcome it. And that when we were young and dumb and didn’t know better, that served as well, but it still serves us well in our businesses today. And that’s really just a mark of attitude.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (35:09):
And then second is learning from my own misses and my own mistakes and taking time to think about them. Not what I want to do is ignore them and pretend it didn’t happen and shove them under the rug and move on. And maybe every so often, that’s maybe just the best thing to do, right?
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (35:28):
Sure.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (35:29):
But really, it isn’t. It’s to understand it, to learn from it and that helps you move forward more successfully. And so, I’ve made a lot of mistakes and in learning from is actually better than not making a mistake in the first place. And then lastly, is having a group of other people, surrounding myself with people that will question, that will challenge me, that will give me advice that will help me when I need it. And I’ve always had that. I’ve been fortunate to have that. And that’s been a significant multiplier for me, both in individually and in business.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (36:13):
That’s great. Beautiful. Really. And you’re right, you need to have that personal support network is so critical. And you had mentioned being, celebrating your 20 year anniversary, so it sounds like your wife’s been along the ride for most of it here.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (36:32):
She’s the first advocate and advisor and challenger in that circle, in that group, no doubt. Yeah.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (36:47):
Yeah. That’s amazing. And just out of curiosity, you’ve got young family, four kids, how do you balance it? I think that’s something that a lot of entrepreneurs that have families and kids while they’re doing this that they struggle with. How do you do it? What do you do for that?
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (37:09):
Yeah, that’s a challenge, isn’t it? And I guess we talked about misses. Earlier in my entrepreneurial career, that was miss. I love entrepreneurship, I love building businesses and I could think about it all day long and all night, and I did. But that was one of those misses that you contemplate and you’ll learn and then you move forward more successfully with more balance. And so, for me, it’s looking back at the season where it wasn’t in balance and remembering that and saying, “I’m not going to do that again.” And family and balance is more important at the end of the day, it’s more important.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (37:59):
And so, I remind myself of that every day. And sometimes you just have to be willing to stop for the day and regardless of what’s going on, and it’s a hard thing to do. I don’t always do it perfectly well, but that’s in the essence of how I try to maintain balance now.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (38:23):
Wow. Well thank you for sharing that and I’m glad we could talk about it. Because look, we have three kids, they’re not that far off. They’re six, eight and 10 right now. And so, I think for all of us that are running businesses and so on, it’s always that finding that balance, finding the balance. We just finished summer baseball here with our sons. Our two boys were involved in summer baseball, and I’m not kidding, it was seven days a week, whatever day one of them had didn’t have practice or a game the other one did. So, it was literally seven days a week for about five weeks and it just closed out here. And it was a joy and so much fun to make it to practices and games and such. But boy, it is hard to try to figure out that balance.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (39:22):
Right. It is. But it’s worth every effort though. It’s worth taking that time. And it’s awesome that you’re able to participate with them and watch them. And I think you coach them too, don’t you?
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (39:36):
Yeah, we do. Yeah. Yeah. If I’m not the head coach, I try to finagle my way as an assistant coach somewhere. I beg the coach or usually for the rec leagues, the head coach is desperate for any warm body that will volunteer to help out. But occasionally, the head coach has their crew that they like to coach with. And so, I finagle my way in to help out any way I can, even if it’s just warming up with the kids or whatever it might be.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (40:11):
Yeah. That’s awesome. Well, that’s it right there, right? That’s the balance we’re talking about.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (40:16):
Yeah.
Jeremy Pourbaix, Franchise Flippers (40:17):
It isn’t easy.
Tom DuFore, Big Sky Franchise Team (40:18):
No, that’s right. That’s exactly right. Well, Jeremy, this was phenomenal. I really love your story and I cannot wait to share this with the listeners and with the people who are tuning in. I’m going to pause recording here and one of the things, just so that you know…
