It ain’t easy.

Franchising has been all the rage over the last several years, providing a path to wealth for many and a shiny escape for the corporate refugee tired of working for “the man.”  For me, it’s the second iteration of the company I helped start 12 years ago.  It’s an opportunity to grow Timber across the country and provide a path to entrepreneurship the same way this company paved the way for me.

Throwback to Luke Watson and I at our first IFA Convention in 2023!

One thing I’ll never be coy about when it comes to entrepreneurship and franchising: it’s not “an easy path to get rich.”  No matter the concept, no matter the brand, and no matter the market, if you think franchising is a hands-off way to grow wealth, you simply haven’t done your research. 

When we attended the IFA Convention for the first time in 2023, I was blown away by the number of franchise brands I had never heard of, the flood of home services brands and the amount of folks who owned or represented multiple brands. Having started my own business and understanding the hustle it takes to build, I wasn't naive to think “oh, this is mailbox money” or get ideas about jumping into another brand myself.

Proven systems are fantastic, but without a plan, the right people and adequate capital, neither franchisors nor franchisees will succeed.

We have learned a ton in our four-ish years in franchising at Timber.  Beyond it all, who you work with and how willing you are to bear the early lessons and get better will absolutely define your growth trajectory. 

And still, as we prepare to award franchises, we continue to learn so much every day. Sure, we might be building the car (or ’67 Chevy) as we drive it. We never try to act like a well-oiled machine that has it all figured out. That’s not who we are or who we want to be. I’d like to think even if we did, we would remain humble enough not to let it show. 

Both in the food and beverage industry and franchising, if you aren’t consistently dealing with issues and problem-solving, you are simply ignoring them or not paying attention at all.  It’s part of what I love about this business and part of what drives me up the wall on other days. 

The beautiful chaos. The consistent challenge to problem-solve and chance to build teams that can weather tough times.  We’re working to do that every day at Timber and can’t wait to continue building. 

Stay humble, stay hungry and don’t ever think for a second it’s easy. If it were, everyone would be doing it.

It ain't easyIt ain't easy.