Tag: New Mover Marketing

Starting a business is hard. That’s why you may have heard, “Are you crazy? Don’t quit your day job.” Kurtis North isn’t crazy, but he did start a business – and what’s more, he didn’t quit his day job. Kurt is the owner of Our Town Northern Colorado in Fort Collins, Colorado, but he is also a Communication Studies instructor at Colorado State University, teaching courses such as Introduction to Public Speaking and Evaluating Contemporary Television. Until recently, he was also an assistant football coach at a nearby high school, but after eight years, he turned in his clipboard. He is a busy guy, after all. In addition to teaching and running his business, Kurt and his wife, Bridget—a fifth grade teacher herself—have three daughters, all under the age of nine. Still, they’ve made it all work, and they’ve put together a nice life – and Our Town America has been an important piece of the puzzle. The Our Town piece While not necessarily motivated by money or material objects, Kurt knew there was more out there for him. He thought about side jobs or entirely new careers. Instead, he found something else: a franchise. “I enjoyed teaching but wanted to try my hand at new things. Being an entrepreneur and a small business owner offered a challenge—something I’ve never done but felt I could do.” The franchise opportunity offered so much more than just a side gig or a career change. In many ways, it offered the best of both worlds, and then some. And while there can be financial limitations as a teacher, it’s a rewarding profession – and offers stability, something that Kurt never took for granted. He didn’t want to subtract teaching from his life, he wanted to add something else – and being a business owner seemed perfect. “I’d read that starting a side business is often less stressful, and often more successful, than just jumping in fully. Because of that, owning a certain kind of franchise seemed like it could be the right fit.” And with some availability over the summers and during the afternoons he used to dedicate to football, Kurt felt he would have time to run a small business. After weighing a few options and thinking about his strengths and experiences, Kurt started researching various franchise opportunities and ended up reading about Our Town America in a franchise publication. He was impressed. “It has a reasonable franchise buy-in agreement,” Kurt says. “And it just sounded like something that would work out well based on my schedule and commitments. Plus, I liked how well the leadership at Our Town guided me through the process. They made it easy and made me confident in my decision.” He also placed quite a few phone calls to Our Town America franchisees around the country, and he liked what he heard from the owners, which was important. Not only was it a good fit for his skill set and schedule, Kurt knew a tremendous amount about what it’s like to be a new mover and how unsettling it can be, not knowing what doctor to go to, where to have your clothes dry cleaned, or what restaurants are worth going to. Amongst some of the places he had lived, he had spent some of his 20s living abroad in Madrid, Spain, teaching English to adults. That’s where he met Bridget, a fellow American doing the same thing. They wound up moving to Fort Collins briefly, next to Costa Rica, then to Los Angeles and, finally, back to Fort Collins – and in the process, getting married and having three beautiful children. Kurt also had selling in his background. And while he didn’t feel that he was a typical salesperson, he had done his share of getting in front of people. Further, he even had experience on the other side of the table, having worked in small business—Kurt grew up working in his dad’s restaurant, starting at the age of five. Many of Our Town’s best partners are restaurants (not to mention doctors and dentists’ offices). “Part of why I chose Our Town,” Kurt says, “is that the concept made sense—not just for me, but for what I assumed about my potential clients as well. If I owned my dad’s restaurant, reaching new residents would seem like a foundation for that business. I feel like I’m a reasonable person, and there isn’t any reason why other business owners wouldn’t feel the same way as I did.” The more Kurt thought about it, the more he liked the idea of owning an Our Town America franchise. Sure, not giving up his day job could’ve posed issues, but Kurt felt he could balance both jobs well. By giving up coaching football, he knew he could find the time to put in the work. Plus, as he explained, “Yes, this is a part-time thing for me, but I’m not going to put my time, energy, and money into it and not capitalize on it.” That said, Kurt says he sees himself as a full-time dad and husband first, a full-time teacher second, and a full-time business owner third. He doesn’t really do anything part-time. Moving into Our Town America If I know I only have four hours to work on my business, I have to be efficient In 2016, Kurt made the leap and became a franchise owner. Three years later, he has no regrets, other than noting, “I just wish I would’ve done it sooner.” Still, there are always challenges. “The biggest obstacle is organizing my time,” Kurt says. That’s because from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, he is on campus. From 2 p.m. to 6 p.m., he works on Our Town America. During the two days he isn’t on campus, he splits his time on everything from spending time with his kids, just being a dad; to grading papers and working on lectures at CSU; to making calls, sending emails, and meeting with […]

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Dave Butz is in the zone. Being a business owner isn’t easy – but he makes it look that way. Before Butz became an Our Town America franchise owner in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, he worked as a plant manager. In fact, for eight years, Butz worked at an industrial factory that made building components. When we caught up with Butz recently, the former plant manager turned Our Town America franchise owner, he was a fountain of information. Here are a few highlights from our conversation. How Butz got started. Butz was good at his job and doing just fine at the factory, but it was a demanding profession, one that required him to be on call, 24/7. “After my son was born, I started thinking that I would like to do something on my own, so I could work my schedule around watching my kids grow up,” Butz says. He began doing research, looking into starting a business or buying a franchise. “I thought about restaurants,” Butz says, adding: “I have no restaurant experience, so I’m so glad I didn’t go that route. I’d probably be back working at my old employer if I had.” He also concludes that even if he had been a successful restaurant owner, it may have been a more time consuming job than being a plant manager. “I work with so many restaurant owners now,” he says. “They’re always working.” Butz learned about Our Town America through a business broker who introduced the franchise to him. Butz liked the concept of the New Mover Marketing company, and the rest is history. The best part of being an Our Town America franchise owner. The last dozen years have demonstrated that Butz’s decision to become a franchise owner was undeniably a good idea. When asked what’s the best thing about being his own business owner, Butz can’t quite come up with only one thing. “You’ve got a lot of flexibility in your schedule, and that’s nice. You’re home for the holidays. You can determine your own income. You’re your own boss,” he says. “Geez, what don’t I like about it?” Hardest thing about being an Our Town America franchise owner. But that isn’t to say running an Our Town America franchise is easy. Being a business owner never is. “You know, if you don’t work, you don’t get paid. So you’ve got to be very motivated,” Butz says. “Plus, there’s no water cooler, where you have a crowd of people with whom to interact.” Working in a city that’s known as a tourist destination. Being the owner of a New Mover Marketing franchise in a city like Myrtle Beach can be interesting. Some businesses in vacation destinations, of course, feel that they don’t need to necessarily market to the locals moving in as they have a slew of tourists paying money. Other business owners are desperate to market to the locals; it isn’t like a lot of tourists are flocking to a chiropractor or an auto repair shop in Myrtle Beach. Still, many business owners recognize that they want to attract everyone, local or not. In any case, for Butz, Myrtle Beach has been a good location to set up shop. It’s the second fastest growing area in the country, according to census data, Butz points out. “It’s awesome,” he says. “People are moving down here in droves. It’s turned into a place where people move to year-round, and that’s reason enough for business owners invest in New Mover Marketing, even during the winter, when many owners are careful about their spending.” What businesses seem to really gravitate to Butz. Restaurants, he says. “They’re a dime a dozen over here and very competitive.” The fun stuff. Butz is enjoying being an Our Town America owner, especially the work-life balance that he has managed to create. Butz and his wife, Tanja, are often at the beach or on their boat with their son Finley and daughter Emily. Butz often fishes with his son. The family skis, snowboards and mountain bikes. Tanja runs triathlons, and the kids are both on a soccer team that travels and occupies a lot of time, especially on the weekends, according to Butz. When they’re at home, they hang out with their dog, Lilly, and Finley’s pet turtles. Our Town America is a pretty great business for someone plugged into the community, according to Butz. “You absolutely build some great relationships doing this. I’ve become friends with a lot of my sponsors (clients), and you end up running into your sponsors at the grocery store. This is a small town.” And it probably helps if you’re an extrovert? “Actually, I wouldn’t call myself an extrovert, but I’m not an introvert either. I can turn it on and off when I want to. If someone is 100 percent introvert, this may not be the best fit for them, as relationship building is a large part of this business.” Advice for fellow franchisee owners, especially the new ones? In the beginning, Butz says, it can be challenging to start an Our Town America franchise. “There’s a sink or swim mentality when you first start the business, and if somebody does tell you no, that they aren’t interested, you have to work a little harder. But after a while, when you have a lot of accounts and somebody says no, it gets easier.” But whatever you do, Butz says, “Don’t take rejection personally. Maybe that sounds kind of cheeseball, but it’s all business. You have to stay motivated and not take a ‘no’ to heart. It isn’t personal.” Are you looking to get in the zone as a business owner, like Dave Butz? Does the Our Town America franchise opportunity sound like it could be for you? If so, learn more at https://www.ourtownamerica.com/franchise-us/. Brittany N. JohnsonBrittany is the head of Our Town America’s corporate marketing department. She specializes in digital and print media, social media, and public relations. […]

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