Adventures in Advertising Franchise Owner - Mark Stephens - Austin, TX

by FBR ViewPoints

Franchise: Adventures In Advertising

Location: Austin Texas

Age: 48

# of Years Franchising: 5

Previous Occupation: Owned both a welding supply company and a steel company

Top Reason you chose your Franchise: I came in to the industry without any previous experience. I felt that the help AIA would provide would help me learn and grow the business faster.

Best part of being your own boss? Too many to list. Freedom to do so much on my own schedule.

Worst part of being your own boss? Having to work so many hours when business is really good.

Craziest/most interesting thing that has happened to you as a franchise owner? Having a prospective client tell me on our first meeting as we walked down the hall to her office all of the reasons why she would not be able to do business with me. After spending about 30 minutes with her, she confided in me all of the things she did NOT like about her current supplier and I left with a project to do for her. Her company has since become one of my largest clients.

Advice for prospective franchise buyers? Know that you CAN learn a new business but realize that if it requires a sales background and you have NOT been in sales it will be tough. Find something you know you will enjoy. Makes it much easier to put in the time necessary to succeed.

What was the total length of time from when you started researching franchises to when you purchased? I spent about a year and a half looking into my next business venture. I did not really look into franchises until I decided on getting into the Promotional Products industry. That was about the last 6 months of the decision process.