ActionCOACH Franchisee Juliet Kyes
Tampa Bay, Florida
Franchise Owner Since 2008
Employees: 6
A year after she graduated college with a business degree, Juliet Kyes’ parents purchased an ActionCOACH franchise. “Neither my parents nor I had prior experience in the industry. My experience was in retail customer service, and my background was in Healthcare. My father was CEO of a large hospital and had mentored professionals but never in a formal way, and we were never business owners,” Juliet said.
“When my father transitioned out of the hospital CEO role, a non-compete agreement prevented him from taking a similar role in the same region. I remember encouraging my parents to meet with a franchise broker, so they could achieve the desired career change while remaining in our local community. I didn’t know then that I’d join them just a few months later!”
“The franchise broker helped us prioritize our needs and criteria, then provided three brands to explore. We were especially interested in ActionCOACH because my parents saw how the work would be similar to diagnosing businesses and helping them thrive, which they were familiar with in the healthcare sector. Also, we saw the need for these business services in our area and knew we could apply our passion for helping others succeed in this rewarding business model.”
Conducting Due Diligence in Franchise Research
“The main criteria during our research were having time flexibility, helping people, and being within the budgeted investment level. The most important elements to us had to do with lifestyle and positively impacting our community. After completing a Discovery Day with ActionCOACH, the franchise stood out from all others—no contest!”
“Getting insights and data from the FBR website also helped us to compare different opportunities and formulate the questions we wanted to ask franchisees and franchisors.”
“It was impressive how much franchisees were willing to share with us—including financials. We wanted to understand their first-year financials, monthly expenses, services they chose to sell, marketing strategies, the good and the bad of the franchise global office, and overall satisfaction with franchise ownership. I could feel the culture of abundance before I even became an official franchisee.”
“When speaking with franchise owners, it was important to hear what may not be going well—not just what was great. There had to be something that needed improvement. But, the franchisees’ positive mindset made it hard to uncover any negatives. Today, I understand that it wasn’t just presenting a positive attitude. This franchise really does have mostly positives to offer, and it has continued to provide positive experiences over the last 15 years!”
Finding Success In Helping Others Succeed
“One of our challenges early on was that ActionCOACH was new to our community. Most people thought we were a busing company. Then the recession hit within one year of opening. These challenges made it difficult to produce enough revenue to pay the overhead we committed to for the beginning years. Consistently marketing and improving sales while keeping expenses low helped us to overcome the challenges. Hiring coaches has helped our current firm thrive!”
“Looking back, if I could do some things differently, I would keep expenses tighter in the early years, follow the system more closely, and grow a team with coaches that are salaried employees rather than commission-based.”
“Our firm has been a member of multiple organizations in the community, such as rotary chambers, BNI, networking groups, professional associations, and volunteer boards. We give back with complimentary coaching sessions, seminars, presentations, and even board facilitation.”
“Our franchise and our community have recognized our firm many times over the years. Our success is the success of our clients and members. Being in business for 15 years has allowed us to see businesses grow and exit successfully. The national statistics say only 15% of businesses listed will sell, and I’m proud to say 100% of the businesses our firm has worked with that have gone to market have sold and have sold for more than they expected to get.”
“We actively participate in franchisee satisfaction surveys. ActionCOACH absolutely values our feedback. I’m even on the Partner Committee that the franchise created to allow us to gather and communicate feedback for improvement on a monthly basis.”
Envisioning a Bright Future
“We started our franchise with four territories and now own seven. The short-term expansion plan involves hiring and training more business coaches. The long-term plan is to grow the markets in our newer territories and offer partnerships with coaches to expand beyond that.”
“Today, we are successfully following our succession plan, which has allowed me, as the daughter of the founders, to take over as Managing Partner for the last three years and provide a successful exit for my parents this year. I’m excited to see this franchise has provided them with retirement and afforded me a way to provide for my family and the families of our team in the future.”
“The personal and professional growth I’ve gained in this environment is amazing. I’ve seen growth in my communication, sales, marketing, and presenting skills and my overall emotional intelligence. This culture of abundance helps me maintain a forward-thinking mindset that expands the scope and magnitude of my dreams and vision for the future.”
“The thing I enjoy most is seeing the positive impact we have on the businesses in our community. Many business owners were so stressed they were having health issues and self-isolating, and now they are flourishing personally, financially, and mentally!”
For more information on the ActionCOACH franchise opportunity, Call: 888-483-2828, Email: [email protected], Visit: actioncoach.com/franchise
