Latest / The Good Builder Podcast / The Daily Dose #191 | How Goop Guys Built a Franchise People Actually Want to Join — Sarah on Support, Culture and Choosing the Right Partners
Transcript
- Aaron Ng (00:02.203) Okay. Ready, right? Yeah. Here we go. Good morning and welcome to the Good Builder podcast. This lady here doesn't really need an introduction, but I'm gonna give her one anyway. We've had her on a couple of times and I just shot some awesome videos with her. We love chatting to her every time she's around. She, I was gonna say. holds the Goop Guys together, holds Goop Guys together in their franchisees and she is just an amazing lady that supported us from day one and it is Sarah from Goop Guys. How are you? Hey, I'm good thanks Aaron. How are you? Yeah, really good. It was so cool getting on site on that Homes by CMA site the other day. It was fun. It was a hot morning but yeah, it good. Oh my goodness. I know and just post our little chat. We're going to, I'm having a chat with Rick actually and I was saying to him just as before. this one that the heat this week has been crazy and I don't know how he's doing it. Yeah I think it's hard for the tradies on site definitely it's a lot easier in my comfy air-conditioned office. Yeah well that's what we're to talk about today we want to talk about your comfy air-conditioned office and well basically what you do and finding the perfect business partner and I think it's really one thing I found out well not found out but found about you Sarah is that The first time I met you and we started talking about franchise marketing and things like that and I was like, I did it for GJ. So I must know my stuff. Anyway, as I've gotten further down the rabbit hole, I've noticed that I don't know my stuff, to be honest. And I love the way you go about it. I love the way you qualify your franchisees. And I love the way you are trying to find the perfect partner on both sides of fence, you know, for you and for them and to make sure it's a good fit for them. Where I'm more of a, hey, you want to come do something, let's go. and that can get you in a bit of hot water. We do have quite a strict application process and for that reason we don't want to bring the wrong people on board. We don't want to set anyone up to fail. I want to ensure that we bring the right people into the network that will really succeed and be able to grow a successful business. Yeah, I love it and I think it's super important and it's a responsible way to run a franchise business. Now when you are looking for a franchise, Anzara, what are you looking for? We don't have any asset specific Aaron Ng (02:21.872) demographic or type of person, it's more the mindset that we're looking for. So we're looking for people that are driven, that want to build something successful, they have the right mindset and the right attitude, they're willing to work hard, they're not just someone who's going to sit back and wait for it to come to them. know, having that business background is always great, but we have first timers who've never owned a business before that can do great things, as long as they're willing to learn and listen and grow with that. they can be successful. we all know that it's, you know, in the construction realm. Are all of them in the construction realm, Sarah too? It's actually really funny. think more back in the day, obviously we've been around now for 25 years. We started franchising in 2006, so we're coming up to 20 years franchising. I think back in the day it was really targeted towards the tradies. But more recently we have accountants, engineers, we've just had nurse join us. So, yeah, all different backgrounds these days. We do get a lot of interest from tradies because they're the ones that see it on site every day. But it's anyone. Yeah, wow. I was wondering that and it's interesting and you know when an accountant's by businesses, I think it's a good business. Yeah, we've actually got two accountants now. Okay. And that's been a fairly recent... Yeah, the last sort of three years. Wow. Yeah. So it's not just construction people, it be people from any sorts of background. What would be sort of the qualities that would you see? You a good franchisee, you know, I you there's a bunch of franchise builders listening to this right now. So we're looking for people that have a confidence that they can go out and talk with people. If you're sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring, it's never gonna, I mean it does sometimes, but generally you have to be out there talking with people out on site, know, getting to know everyone. You've got to have that, as I said before, that drive behind you. So you want to build something successful. You want to get out there and make it happen. You want to, you know, really build something. Aaron Ng (04:26.39) of your own. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's always very self driven. you know, you want people with that right mindset. They don't necessarily need to know anything about construction. they can come in completely fresh. Yeah, wow. That's what we're here to support them through that. And then in terms of that training, so someone that came in completely fresh, and when I came and I was annoying Rick at the job the other day, I don't know if you saw the video, but at the end I'm like, think he took off on me, but I'm gonna do it again. do you, you know, when you, I asked the question in the video, when you're starting a home and you're protecting the home, you know, where do you start and where do you finish? Is that all sort of told to you as a franchisee? We do full extensive training with all our franchisees. So we're never just going to say here you go, you're in, off you go. Obviously it's our brand of reputation that we're wanting to protect. And as I mentioned earlier, we're not going to set anyone up to fail. We want them to succeed. So we do all of the operations training, you know, all the ins and outs of the business management and what's expected and what they need to know and do. And then we also do all the onsite training as well, where they learn all different forms of application. So the windows, the floors, the benchtops, the bathtubs, all aspects of the application process we go through with them. And then especially in those early days, there's a lot of support as they go. So we're always there. We've got our head office support team. There's myself who individually supports the franchisees. So they're never just on their own trying to wing it. Yeah, well, well, let's talk a bit about that if you don't mind, Sarah. So what exactly do you do in supporting a franchisee? Yeah. Apart from sitting in my comfy office. Yeah, yeah, no you're doing. No, so I'm always a phone call away. So the franchisees can call me for any on-site issues that they might have or any questions regarding their business management. So how to run their businesses. We help them with their marketing and sales and who they're trying to talk to and the best way for them to go about that, how to build up their business and be successful. We do often try and do the field visits as we did with Rick the other day. So heading out on site with them, checking out how they're going. Aaron Ng (06:31.39) any issues that might be occurring for them that we can help them overcome. offer it all. That's amazing. You know, Sarah, we never did site visits at GJ's. really? No, we wouldn't go out. I think we used to spend, honestly, you're buying a building business. Sorry, GJ's, but you're buying a building business and you'd probably get the first week with us. and then you're off and running and they were operating a full building business and this is why I was so impressed with Goop Guys and I have made it known that I'm very interested in the franchise as well because I think it's an amazing business and I can see you know the benefits of doing it and obviously the way you guys operate in terms of your support is one of the best franchise networks out there. How did that all evolve? Where did that come from? Where did that culture of support, that culture of excellence as well, like you do a good product, you're always looking to do better. Like who comes up with the world's first sustainable protective surface product? Where does it all come from? So I can't take credit for that side of things. 25 years ago that was Shane and Kirstie. So Shane developed the product. Him and Kirstie worked together to build Group Guys. When they realised how successful it was and that, you know, hang on, we can't be working from 4am till 10pm at night. They looked into the franchising side of things. then they could service builders starting from the Sunshine Coast into Brisbane, Gold Coast into New South Wales into Victoria. We're now even in South Australia as well. So it's that I think the difference is that it's still family owned and operated. So it's all Australian owned family business still run that way that there is that that family connection in it. It's not just another franchisee another number. There's definitely that that care factor for our franchisees being a part of the team. 100 % you know we were lucky enough you would know because I think you may have invited us to come to your 25th birthday and big celebration big night. Man it was so cool Sarah like Australia Zoo guys and you walked in and it just felt like no one knew who we were. Aaron Ng (08:46.175) you know, we're the good builder, we don't, we partner with you guys, we don't put the goop on the stuff, no one really, but it just felt, we felt seamless in the party, like a family. Like people would come, what do you do? You know what I mean? It was just kind of like that. And everyone just felt like, as you said, just one big happy family. And they knew, I guess they were really... into Shane and Kirsty's story when they told about the 25 years and all that. And I think the culture was just incredible. And the other incredible thing was there were builders there from 20, 25 years ago. we've got long standing partnerships with many builders across the country. And I think, again, it comes down to those values that group guys has of that, you know, that family and that friendship and building strong partnerships. Again, not just another number, it's about working together to deliver the best that you can for the customers. Yeah, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, as I said, I was absolutely absolutely blown away because there are a few bigger and smaller builders there that you supported for all that long. Now in terms of your sort of footprint around Australia, how many franchisees do you have at the moment, Sarah? So we have currently 15 franchisees across Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria, as well as we do have a couple of licensees helping out in some areas where we're trying to find franchisees. We've got the builders, the customers need to be serviced, but we don't yet have a franchisee there. And we're fielding calls every day from other areas like Western Australia or Canberra where we don't have a franchisee and we're not currently able to service those customers. So we are trying to expand with a bigger network. That was the crazy thing that, and why, you know, I'll be really honest with everyone out there, we're very interested in partnering with you guys, my wife and I, because... You have the business coming in as well. Don't rely on that though guys. You have to be proactive to get your own. But it's there for you. The reputation is there for you. You know, I'm an absolute LinkedIn menace and I can see all the people you know and the builders you know. There's connection there. It just needs someone just to go and grab it by the horns and drive it in their local area. It's not that hard because the doors will be kicked down either for you or you should be doing it yourself anyway. think we're really lucky after Aaron Ng (11:03.563) 25 years that our reputation does precede us. So people know about us. A lot of that's why we're getting those phone calls saying we want you. And unfortunately, sometimes we have to say, we're not there. We're not in that area. can't. Most of the time across most networks, we make sure it happens. But those couple of areas where we just simply don't have people in there, where we need to expand to. Yeah, cool. Well, anyone out there looking for the business or looking to inquire, what is the process? sort of go like Sarah, what's the first step and how do you go through The first step is just a conversation. So a chat with me where we can sort of see what you're looking for, what your goals are, whether it might be a good fit for you or not. It's normally very hard to tell in that initial conversation. So we send through all the info, we get a bit of info from you and we just have a conversation. And if it's not the right fit, like I said before, I'll be quite upfront and say, look, I don't think this is right for you. I don't think this is the direction you should go. If it is a good fit we say, yep, you know, this is all looking good, we answer any questions, take our time, it's not a fast process, you should never just jump into a franchise and go gung-ho. You want to make sure you really do your research, ensure that it is the best option for you at that time, and then we go through the process from there. Yeah, yeah, cool. Well, what separates some of the... lesser performing franchisees to some of the higher performing franchisees. If you don't mind me asking the question. think the biggest thing is that go getter attitude. So those that are wanting to build something, they're wanting to get out there, they're wanting to grow and be successful, they get up and do it. As we said, they're not sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring. They're proactively out there promoting their services and growing their business. Whether that's chatting with builders on site, picking up the phone, popping into offices, doing great customer service to make sure you maintain those customer relationships, they're our franchisees that are most successful. And it gets to the point for them where they don't have to do much of that because the phone is now ringing. The phone's ringing off the hook because their reputation is there and they've provided that level of service that people want. And that's one of the things that I see as a benefit there is if you provide, as you said, the right customer experience, the right service to the right builder, they have multiple builds. They're a customer for a long time. And if you get the right builders, know, it would just Aaron Ng (13:30.521) Keep coming to you the work as long as you're doing the right thing absolutely pretty phenomenal business to be part of and As a franchise, you know when you look at franchise That you could purchase in any industry, you know from food and all that sort of thing into construction I think this is one of the best and low-risk franchise opportunities Out there as well I being a mobile business as well as you don't have all those overheads that you know You're looking at a coffee shop or something like that where you have to have the the building and the premises. There's a lot of startup costs involved in a lot of businesses, a lot of franchises. So the mobile business is good. All you need is a car, pretty much. And you goop. And yeah, that comes in your startup kit and you're good to go. And you turn up and you do your thing and you're ready to roll. Yeah. Yeah, wow. It is. It's phenomenal because I know when you got a building franchise and I just interviewed a building franchise, lovely guys from Hatondo, but they're talking you need about a good one to two. million dollars behind you just to go okay I'm gonna get through the next two years you know and that that's a pretty wild business proposition if you ask me when you can you know do something like this working in an industry that you love and still work you know alongside those builders and things like that. Yeah and franchising is great for a lot of people when they want to have their own business they want to start something for themselves but there's that real scared you know that scariness of starting from scratch opening up your own and having no what you're doing and that's where franchising can really help because that structure is there, the foundation and the systems are in place, the reputation is there and you can build it on top of that. I was gonna say that Sarah, I think you know the reputation of Goop Guys, the brand, I think a big challenge a lot of small business owners do have is marketing as well, like just getting yourself out there. Where do you start, what do you do? and you just get a leg up when you're doing something like this. Well, in terms of areas now, what are your focus areas for anyone out there looking for a franchise? Where are you looking to sell, Oh, I've got a couple. Okay. We've got a few. So in Queensland, we've got the Gold Coast. We've got the Gold Coast West area that we are really quite busy in. We have quite a lot of work happening in that area that we are looking for someone to step in. Queensland, so sort of Sunshine Coast up to Bundaberg and Harvey Bay region as well. I'll take that one. You'll take that Aaron Ng (15:59.881) And then we've got a couple in the regional areas. Hang on, you've got to have an interview. right. Yeah, so sort of Sydney and regional regional areas in New South Wales. Yeah, I mentioned, we do have builders and clients down in Adelaide. Yeah. And I'd love to get a franchisee in there. Yeah, someone that can really build it up. At the moment, we're just kind of servicing what we need to. And there's a lot of potential. Adelaide is, you know, we report on the good builder, Sarah. And it blows my mind Adelaide. They say Adelaide. is the best place to do business in Australia. really? There you go. is the best place to do business in by long shot. So anyone in Adelaide or outside of Adelaide, buy a good guys business inside Adelaide. You make a lot of money. There's a lot of stuff going on down there. It's not about money, it's about lifestyle as well. I mean, it always comes back to money. You want to be able to have a comfortable lifestyle. I like how you're not uncomfortable talking about money. Now, yeah, well, that's some of the benefits too, think, Sarah. Like the other day when we were out on site with Rick, I had a chat with him and I was like, hey, mate, like... do you have to come outside on certain time, a certain day, or like how do you do this thing? And he sort of said that you can, there are days you have to be there, but you don't particularly have to be there at any particular hour. Sometimes you get a timeframe of when it needs to be done. It's just that Rick is such a good franchisee that he does it before anyone else gets in. He likes to do it after the tireless finish, windows are in and all that sort of thing. But is that part of the gig as well, Sarah? Is there a little bit of lifestyle? We want to make sure the whole purpose of doing starting your own business is that you can have a better work-life balance So we have our scheduling system and all of our jobs that are booked in there and our franchisees have the freedom to kind of work out their own day So yes, this job needs to be done. I want to get out decide early I want to start at 6 a.m So then I'm done by lunch and I can go pick the kids up from school and go to swimming lessons or dance or whatever It may be others might like to have a little bit of a sleep in and they start work at 8 a.m You know, whatever works for them. Yeah, so you want Aaron Ng (18:05.35) make sure you service the builders on time. Again, it comes down to good customer service, making sure that you're getting through your workload. And then for those franchisees that get busier and busier, they can then employ people to help them out. And you get to that point where you've got the employees doing the work and you can take a step back and focus more on just the business side of things. Yeah, wow. Yeah, I think that's everybody's dream, isn't it? And it seems like the business itself isn't a really, really complex business. that is another thing that I really like about the franchise. you try and buy a building franchise, for example, and you try and be a builder. It's why we started. It'd be a lot more complex. It's why we started the good builder, because it's really hard to be a builder and you wear multiple, multiple hats and you're managing all those trades. But something like this, a lot less stress seems like a bit of a less complex business. I'm sure there's still a lot of business that you have to do and a lot of things that you have to do. It seems like something that, you know, like you said, the nurses of the world, the accountants of the world, they don't want that headache of paperwork and stress and things like that. Is there a lot involved in being a good franchiser? There is that paperwork side of it. I guess any business will have that. But we do try and keep our systems as streamlined as possible, super simple and easy. That's where my support for the franchisees comes in as well. So it is, I would think, compared to especially a building franchise, it's a lot less than that. It's fairly straightforward and simple. Nowadays we have technology that does a lot of it for you as well. All your accounting software and things, it's all done at the click of a button. Yeah, and I think that's the thing, hey Sarah, having all those systems in place for you, doing it as a small business owner, I like to think I'm a fairly savvy small business owner, but before I the good builder, I had another small business. Man, was I unorganized, Sarah. To the point where some days, I probably shouldn't say this, but I'd be driving down the Bruce and I'm like, I want to hit that tree in my car because I can't stand to go back and untangle all the best that I've made because I'm unorganized. It can be really stressful. So I actually know from experience myself as well. My husband and I started our own business, 2017. So I don't even know what year we are. Eight, nine years ago, we started our own business. So we did it Aaron Ng (20:27.696) from scratch, we had no idea what we were doing. He just walked in the door one day and said he's quit his job and he's starting his own painting business. So we did do the same thing. We were so unorganised, I had no idea. I had to go through all of that, learn and create systems for ourselves to be successful. It was a very stressful time, so I understand. And that's where I feel like the value in franchising comes in because you don't have to go through that. You don't have to try and figure it all out yourself. You have someone there, a whole system there supporting you to And you know the other thing that I do love about this whole conversation and what you do Sarah is when I again when I first met you and you told me that you own your own small business You know that whole thing as well because same sort of thing as I said I've worked in franchising But I've worked in franchising with some people who have never owned their own business. So you're Someone who's never owned their own business and you're trying to tell someone how to run a small business that is owning their own business It's a very different conversation And I'll tell you like, maybe I sound like a hypocrite now but... When I was working at GJ's it was the same thing. I never had my own business. So I was the marketing manager and I'm, you know, national marketing manager, whatever, and I'm working with all these franchisees. And in my head I'm just like, how come you didn't get to that? How come you didn't get to that Why are you struggling? Why is it hard? Come on man. Like, cause all I knew was marketing. Sarah. So like in my day to day, that's in my day to day. Not in my day to day was trudging through mud to make sure that the pipes are laid properly. That, you know, the frame has got there on time. So you don't understand and that's where I have noticed a hell of a lot with you and Kirsty and the rest of the team is you have an emotional intelligence around a franchise and owning a business because you've done it. Yeah and I think it's... Aaron Ng (22:18.506) easier to empathise with people who might be struggling or they're having a hard time or there's a difficulty that they're trying to overcome. Most of the time I've been there. I've struggled with that as well. I don't necessarily always have the right answers, but I have skills that I have learnt over the years that I can say, look, this is the best way to go. This is what worked for me. This is my advice. Yeah. And you've got the experience. I love it. I love it, Sarah. think I always think proof's in the pudding. You've got to kind of go through things to be able to teach things. And you've gone through things and you teach still going through them Yeah, you do and like you said you've got your nine-year-old business with your husband over here And then you've got good guys over here, so you're seeing so many business experiences across both businesses I think he's phenomenal because I don't think there's anything that you probably haven't touched yet You know and haven't seen come across your desk to help find a solution to so That's the type of support you want behind you if you're buying a business I think favourite part is I do get to sit there and watch the successes happen. So obviously in our own business, yay, great, doing well. But then with my franchisees as well, when someone really hits a new target or they're really succeeding, working with new builders, everyone's really happy. That makes me happy. Isn't that the most satisfying thing? Yeah, it is. I think that's me too. I've got that same love for... I've got a real love for small business. I've got a real love for seeing people succeed Yeah, pushing through stuff and making something. You making something that's yours and it's a bit of a legacy. Absolutely, build up a good guys franchise, like potentially I may go and do after this. then you pass on a Lily and off she goes. It's a family business. It's a cool little thing to be part of, absolutely. Amazing opportunity. Well, I've gone to talk to a lot of staff. You tell her, anyone listening, it's Boring Group Partnership. Aaron Ng (24:25.644) What's the first step they can take? already talked about that. We sort of did, yep. They can just pick up the phone and give us a call. Is there anything else they want to talk about, Sarah? We could just cut all this out. Like are there any other areas or... Talked about the process, areas, who you're looking for, who they are, that you don't take everyone on. Yeah. No, I think that... I think it's pretty covered. Unless you can think of something. Aaron Ng (24:59.106) but I will sign that in and get it over to you. excellent. Yeah, so Sarah, like it was so cool. Thank you so much for taking us through, know, what you're looking for in franchisee. how you support your franchisees and then obviously how successful they can be. And as I said, I may take that Sunshine Coast franchise unless someone can beat me to it. Let's see. But finally, for anyone that's listening, you know, what would you say to someone that may be considering starting a small business? Whether it be with Goop or their own set because you've done both. I say do your research. So don't ever just jump into something with, you know, your blinders on. Make sure that you do. do the research, you talk with other people that are either in that business or in that industry, really know what you're getting into. It can be incredibly rewarding. Owning your own business is so rewarding. There's so much that you can gain from that. But it is also challenging. There is challenges that can arise. So choosing a business, if you're looking at franchising, choosing a business that does have the right support that you're looking for, that has that long standing reputation behind it. And yeah, just do your research first. be the best decision that you make. think so too Sarah. Just a personal question for you if you don't mind. Do you think owning a business like yourself has changed you as a person? It absolutely has. 100%. I think that I got a lot more knowledge obviously in business management. I had managed other people before but I had never managed my husband in that way. It's hard work and his business partner as well. So having to learn all of that, gaining a lot more skills, lot more more knowledge within the industry has definitely changed me and it's given us a much better work-life balance as well. I love it. Yeah and you know what I think for me Sarah, just for everyone out there, I know this is it's not off topic I think it's the same topic. I think owning your own business and like those accounts that made the leap and or maybe they own their own accounts, they then bought the good I don't know but if they did I think what it's taught me it brings a lot of resilience and confidence to me. Like I changed a hell of a lot over the last decade I think owning my own business. Aaron Ng (27:12.482) as a person. in the resilience and confidence. the pride. You feel a lot of pride when you see that success happening or you see something that you've built up and it went from here and look at where I am now. There is a real sense of pride with what you've achieved. there is. And I think like that alone should drive more people to do their own businesses. Like I think it's a pretty special thing to do. You know, we're all kind of bred to go to school and do university and go work for somebody. But, you know, obviously the good builder. we've got a lot of the guys that don't do that and go off and do their own business. And I take my hat off to every one of them out there and including yourself and your husband and Kirsty and Shane. And I think it changes you as a person. I think it's a cool thing to do in your life. you got to experience that maybe some people aren't built for it. if you are. I would say I don't think every single person. I think some are great doing, working for someone else and they do really well. So yeah, but for some people it's the best decision they'll make. Yeah, love it, Sarah. Well, thank you so much once again being on the Good Buddha Podcast. We will have you back on, we'll find out what's going on next year with the franchise areas, if they're gone, how I'm going, if I'm in the group, we'll see. Yeah, we'll tell the real truth, This is gonna be interesting, yeah, no, let's do it, let's see how we go. I'm pretty transparent on this podcast, so I will put this out there and, if you see me driving around in a Goop Guys fan, just fricking hire me and give me some work, it'll be good. Thank you so much. Thanks, Aaron. See you.