Athlete to Owner

10/17/2026

I used to think building something from scratch was the only "real" path to business ownership. Buying into someone else's system felt like skipping a step.

Then I actually tried it. Before I ever franchised anything, I invented a product and built an independent business around it, manufacturing and all. It did well, for a very short period of time. Then it didn't. And that failure is what sent me looking for a franchise coach in the first place, not because I'd run out of ideas, but because I'd just learned firsthand how much of building a business from zero is stuff that's already been solved a hundred times by somebody else.

I went on to run a home improvement franchise for 14 years, across an entire region, and sold it after doing over $4 million in sales. None of that came from being a better inventor the second time around. It came from not having to invent the business model too.

If you're weighing building something of your own against buying into a system, the Franchise Fit Playbook is a good place to work through that decision. It's free at https://www.athletetoowner.com/playbook.

10/16/2026

The franchises I trust most are the ones that try to talk candidates out of buying in. That should sound backwards, and it kind of is.

A franchise that shows you every problem it's ever had isn't trying to scare you off. It's filtering for people who can actually handle the hard parts, the ones who can't are usually the ones who quit two years in and blame the brand.

A slick, smooth pitch doesn't tell you any of that. It just tells you the developer is good at selling.

Swipe for what to actually look for in how a franchise handles the hard conversation.

09/29/2026

https://youtu.be/06goMkJyW5Q
Ty McBride built Preservan, a franchise that repairs wood rot with epoxy instead of costly window and door replacement, often finishing the job in a single day.
🎤 Episode 57 - Alan sits down with Ty McBride, Founder and CEO of Preservan, a franchise that repairs wood rot on windows, doors, siding, and more using a proprietary epoxy system instead of tearing anything out. Ty grew up in a three-generation construction family, left a corporate job to come back into it, and spent years running the business on chaos before a mentor and a well-known book on systems changed how he thought about the whole thing.

Learn why Ty considers undercapitalization his single biggest mistake and how a 45-day payment gap on one commercial job taught him more about cash flow than anything else, why he believes work-life balance is the wrong goal and "work-life integration" is the right one, how he and his wife April split responsibilities in the business using the Predictive Index tool, and why his advice for anyone leaving the corporate world is to find a real guide, not ChatGPT. Whether you're weighing a franchise decision, thinking about bringing your spouse into a business with you, or just want an honest account of what building something from scratch actually costs, this conversation covers all three.

Ty McBride built Preservan, a franchise that repairs wood rot with ...

09/23/2026

https://youtu.be/dFCy2-b5Pxc?is=r_JgD11_1ggp2aLV

Steve Anschutz signed with Square Cow Moovers back in May. Since then: federal delays, a lease that changed overnight, and a launch date that keeps moving.

In this episode, Alan sits down again with Steve Anschutz, a returning Square Cow Moovers franchisee last on the show in Episode 43, mid-loan-process. Since then Steve finished training and got funded, but he's hit one delay after another on the road to actually opening. He and Alan dig into what's been in his control, what hasn't, and a landlord situation that nearly went very wrong.

Learn why a federal system change pushed his opening date back by over a month, and why his insurance has kept charging for a business that still isn't open. Hear how a landlord quietly rewrote a lease after weeks of friendly talks, and why Steve walked away without a lawyer in the room. Whether you're weighing franchise ownership or already signed and waiting on your own opening date, this is an honest look at the months between signing and opening.

Steve Anschutz signed with Square Cow Moovers back in May. Since th...

09/21/2026

Owning a service business is not about being the person holding the tools every day. It is about building the team, systems, and customer experience that keep the business moving.

09/19/2026

Every corporate professional who calls me still introduces themselves by their old title, months after they've stopped using it. And I get it, because when you spend twenty five years being "the exec who ran HR for six thousand people," that title is doing a lot of work. It's your résumé, your handshake, and half of how you explain yourself at a dinner party.

Then you leave, and the title goes with it. I heard this from a franchise owner going through exactly that transition, and he put it better than I could. He said the hardest part wasn't the money or the risk. It was sitting there thinking, now I'm just me, and who is that guy, is anybody even going to know him.

That's the part nobody warns you about. Not the financing, not the training, not the twelve hour days. The identity gap. You spend your whole career building a professional self that has a name plate on it, and then you build something of your own, and for a while there's no name plate at all.

If you're circling this decision right now, that gap is normal, and it closes faster than you think once you're building something that's actually yours.

09/16/2026

A smart answer feels good in the moment. The right partnership helps you make a six-figure decision with clarity for you and your family.

From Episode #50 — why a coach who pushes back matters more than an agreeable answer.

09/15/2026

Most people research the brand first. Smart buyers research the owner role. Here's what you're actually buying in a franchise — and what AI can't tell you.

From Episode #50 of The Franchise Champion Show — why starting with YOU beats starting with brands.

09/15/2026

https://youtu.be/4ZGQWD7AQOY
im Dunn built his consulting practice completely on his own, no franchise, no system, just an LLC and a website. Six months later, once it was already working, he joined FocalPoint Business Coaching anyway.

Alan sits down with Jim Dunn, a FocalPoint Business Coaching franchisee running LD Human Capital Consulting after two decades in corporate HR, including six stints as a sitting Chief Human Resources Officer. Jim walks through the family emergency that pushed him out of corporate for good, and why he built his practice on his own before ever joining a franchise.

Learn why his father's cancer and his mother's dementia diagnosis were the real reason he left corporate, why he built an LLC and a website on his own before he ever considered franchising, what made him join FocalPoint six months later anyway, and how he built a 20 to 25 person coaching team inside a single franchise territory. Whether you're weighing franchising against going fully independent, this is an honest look at both paths.

Jim Dunn built his consulting practice completely on his own, no fr...

09/10/2026