Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Growing by Franchising – a conversation with Carson Wagner
16 Plays13 days ago
Reflections on the process of using franchising to grow a business
Carson Wagner was a teenager when she founded Lifetime of Love Nannies. Just six years later she is using franchising to expand her business across all fifty states in the USA.
Lifetime of Love Nannies provides a range of home best care services for children, the elderly and pets that are available 24/7.
In an episode of The Independent Minds Carson discusses with host Michael Millward how she has developed her franchise model so that she can expand her business. Their conversation covers
- The need that Carson identified that led to the launch of Lifetime of Love Nannies
- The unique selling point of Lifetime of Love Nannies.
- The lessons Carson has learnt about running a business.
- The pros and cons of growing in a conventional non franchise way
- The differences between recruiting employees and recruiting franchisees
- What Carson looks for in a franchisee
- How Carson identified what support she will provide to franchisees
- The value of systemisation and routines
More information about Carson Wagner and Michael Millward is available at abeceder.
Audience Offers – listings include links that may create a small commission for The Independent Minds
The Independent Minds is made on Zencastr, because as the all-in-one podcasting platform, Zencastr really does make creating content so easy.
If you would like to try podcasting using Zencastr visit zencastr.com/pricing.
Travel
With discounted membership of the Ultimate Travel Club, you can travel anywhere at trade prices on flights, hotels, trains, and many more travel related purchases.
Fit For Work We recommend The Annual Health Test from York Test; a 39-health marker Annual Health Test conducted by an experienced phlebotomist with hospital standard tests carried out in a UKAS-accredited and CQC-compliant laboratory.
A secure Personal Wellness Hub provides easy-to-understand results and lifestyle guidance
Visit York Test and use this discount code MIND25.
Visit Three for information about business and personal telecom solutions from Three, and the special offers available when you quote my referral code WPFNUQHU.
Being a Guest
We recommend the podcasting guest training programmes available from Work Place Learning Centre.
We use Matchmaker.fm to connect with potential guests If you are a podcaster looking for interesting guests or if you have something interesting to say Matchmaker.fm is where great guests and great hosts are matched and great podcasts are hatched. Use our offer code MILW10 for a discount on membership.
We appreciate every like, download, and subscriber.
Thank you for listening.
Recommended
Transcript
00:00:05
Speaker
Made on Zencastr.
Introduction to 'The Independent Minds'
00:00:06
Speaker
Hello and welcome to The Independent Minds, a series of conversations between Abyssaida and people who think outside the box about how work works with the aim of creating better workplace experiences for everyone.
00:00:23
Speaker
I'm your host, Michael Millward, the Managing Director of Abyssaida.
Carson Wagner and Franchise Growth
00:00:28
Speaker
In this episode of The Independent Minds, Carson Wagner the founder of Lifetime of Love Nannies, will be discussing growing a business by using a franchise model.
00:00:41
Speaker
As the jingle at the start of this podcast says, The Independent Minds is made on Zencastr because Zencastr is the all-in-one podcasting platform that really does make every stage of the podcast production and distribution processes so easy.
00:00:58
Speaker
Regardless of whether you are an experienced podcaster or just starting out, I recommend that you use the link in the description to visit Zencastr.com and take advantage of the built-in discount.
00:01:10
Speaker
Now that I have told you how wonderful Zencastr is for making podcasts, we should make one. One that will be well worth listening to, liking, downloading and subscribing to and probably good enough to share with your friends, family and work colleagues as well.
00:01:27
Speaker
As with every episode of the Independent Minds, we will not be telling you what to think, but we are hoping to make you think.
Founding Lifetime of Love Nannies
00:01:36
Speaker
to Today's Independent Mind is Carson Wagner, who at the age of 19 founded Lifetime of Love Nannies.
00:01:44
Speaker
In the six years since, Carson has built a business with a seven-figure turnover and is the proud employer of over 100 women. All of her employees are women.
00:01:57
Speaker
Lifetime of Love Nannies is not your typical childcare agency. Carson has pioneered initiatives like accepting state funding for special needs families and providing corporate event childcare across the country.
00:02:11
Speaker
Both Lifetime of Love Nannies and Carson have received more than their fair share of recognition. The awards they've received include, well, for Lifetime of Love Nannies, has been celebrated with accolades such as the Rising Star Agency Award,
00:02:26
Speaker
and Carson herself earned the 20 Under 40 Award. Carson's ambition is to expand Lifetime of Love Nannies to all 50 states of the United States of America within 15 years.
Franchise Expansion Plans
00:02:39
Speaker
A large part of that growth will be achieved by using a franchise model. Carson is based in Reno, Nevada in the United States. I have never been, but if I ever get the opportunity to go,
00:02:51
Speaker
I will use my membership of the Ultimate Travel Club to make all my travel arrangements. Of course, membership of the Ultimate Travel Club gives me access to trade prices on flights, hotels, trains, holidays and all sorts of other travel related purchases.
00:03:06
Speaker
In the spirit of sharing, I have added a link with a built-in discount to the description so that you can become a member of the Ultimate Travel Club at a discount price and then travel just like I do at trade prices.
00:03:19
Speaker
Now that I have paid some bills, It is time to make an episode of the Independent Minds. Hello, Carson. Hello, Michael. Thank you so much for having me today. It's great pleasure to have you. It's a couple of weeks since we had the conversation to plan this, but at that point you were employing just over 75 people and now you're employing over a hundred.
00:03:40
Speaker
So congratulations. Thank you very much. Yes, we are definitely in growth mode over here to say the absolute least. And we're really trying to gear up for all of the childcare needs that come in the beginning of the year. As you know, there's New Year's resolutions for just about everything and childcare is one of them.
Inspiration and Customizable Childcare
00:04:04
Speaker
So we become really busy in January and February. So we want to make sure we've got care for those families that need us. That's great.
00:04:11
Speaker
Could we start by you explaining a little bit about, well, why a 19 year old decided to set up their own business? Because Reno is quite close to Las Vegas and that's the big party city in the United States. And like when 19, 20, 21 year olds are going out and partying, you're setting up a business. What prompted you to set up a business at the age of 19? Yeah, that's definitely a great question. And boy, did my family think I was insane when I first told them. ah um But yeah, i was I was just going to college. I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I mean, I feel like most 19-year-olds, you know that you know you're an adult now and it's it's a bit daunting. And I knew I wanted to do something that was meaningful and that I was passionate about.
00:05:02
Speaker
I just didn't know what in the world that would be. And while I was in school, I was doing behavioral therapy for kiddos with autism. And I just realized there was such a large need in my city for 24 seven accessible childcare that was a hundred percent customizable. Um, it had more of just a modern take on childcare. There's so many dual working households, single family households, and they need a village. They need that support. So I, woke up one morning and said, I'm dropping out and I am starting this nanny business. And I am so incredibly happy that i that I did.
00:05:42
Speaker
right So you were studying the childcare related subject in college university, and then you decided to become much more commercial than just the delivery of the service. I kind of wanted to be a doctor was, was something I was just like, do I want to be a doctor? What exactly do I want to be?
00:05:59
Speaker
I wasn't sure what my path was going to be, but I had always really enjoyed childcare and really enjoyed working with the special needs community. One of my first jobs when I was in high school was doing that. I didn't even know what in the world I had applied to or what job I was getting and they hired me and thank goodness they did because I just found a really great passion in that special needs community.
Franchise Expansion Across the U.S.
00:06:26
Speaker
At the moment you're in Reno, Nevada, but your other locations as well as spread across the west of the United States. Yes. And so we ended up expanding. I started mine back 2019 for Reno. i then expanded to Las Vegas about two years ago, corporate. And then I opened another corporate location in Sacramento, California.
00:06:50
Speaker
And now I've been franchising for about 90 days, I believe. It's been about 90 days. We have a location in Texas, in North Carolina, in Florida, and then another one in California. and we're getting ready to close out the year with about 12 franchisees. It's very rapid growth as well, though, isn't it? I knew that I wanted to grow my business. I just did not know how. And after opening three locations that I needed to put that TLC in and have my internal team, who's fantastic, help me run. I just realized, you know, we're in child care here and there's just no way i can give it the proper love and attention that this business deserves if I'm in all 50 states myself.
00:07:39
Speaker
That's when I just realized franchising really was the best model for us because it's such a personalized field and we're we're providing care in families' homes. You know, it's no easy feat. I just really wanted to find people that have the same passion that I do of one, running a business, but also two in childcare and and shaping young minds in our next generation. And franchising has been absolutely the best business decision i have ever made. i can confidently say now that we have some up and running that are doing really well. It's it's fantastic too, because it's changing these entrepreneurs' lives and families' lives. And it really is a win-win on all the courts. It's been a beautiful journey. It's only just beginning
Customized Care and Employment Standards
00:08:25
Speaker
though.
00:08:25
Speaker
And one of the things that is unique about your particular approach is that parents aren't taking their young children to a daycare center. It's the nanny that goes to the children. That's correct, Michael. Yes. We are a full service in-home care agency. And so really what we do is we like to customize our searches because every family's needs are so incredibly unique. And we want to make sure that we can provide the best support to those unique needs that they have. We provide nanny services, pet care, corporate care, church care, weddings. I mean, anything you can imagine that needs a kid's camp or has A lot of children there at once or just one kiddo in the home.
00:09:10
Speaker
That's what we provide. one of the things that really makes us stand out here in the United States, at least, is a lot of people in our industry will will pay nannies under the table or as a 1099 contractor when they should be categorized as a W-2 employee. We really took on the responsibility of W-2ing every single one of our nannies. which ensures one they're protected and it also ensures the family's protected. And then they also get access to things like healthcare benefits and different benefits and they can prove their income and it's it's taxable income. so Industry has some ways about it that I don't really love. And I want to be able to change this and make sure that the nannies are getting paid for the full time they're working. You know, even if they work five minutes past, you know, they're an employee, they should be treated just like anyone else. And
00:10:03
Speaker
In my opinion, this career in this field is one of the most, if not the most important field, you know, we're we're shaping the next generation here. They need to be classified as a W2 employee. I agree with you, which leads me on to think, okay, you're franchising your business.
Qualities of Ideal Franchisees
00:10:19
Speaker
You're going to have at least 50 franchisees at some point. You may have many, many more. What do you look for in a franchisee? What makes the ideal franchisee? Yeah, that's that's a great question, Michael. We really are looking for people that just have a passion in helping others because that's really what this business is based on. And what our foundation is, is we are helping families. We're helping parents, we're helping children.
00:10:45
Speaker
And someone that really understands it's a big job. it's It's a big, important job to take on. Someone that just has a passion, not only in childcare, but in business and has a growth mindset.
00:10:56
Speaker
We want to be able to serve as many families as we can. And with that, we want to have an entrepreneur and a franchisee that really has a growth mindset and a passion to not only help others, but also grow and continue to help as many people as they can.
00:11:15
Speaker
We have some different franchisees. We have someone that was working at a daycare. And she has Orange County in California, and she's doing fantastic. And I really think one of the big reasons for that is because she understands children and what it takes to put a family's mind to ease. We also have a speech pathologist that works with children children in Dallas, Texas. She's been fantastic and really focuses children. special needs and serving every inch of her community along with Charlotte, North Carolina. They are both moms themselves.
00:11:51
Speaker
Someone who really understands business, but also understands that this is a job you get into because you're passionate about it. So the soft skills are as important as the hard skills of the job itself. Exactly. Franchising relationships are not just about people going out and working into your brand and helping you grow your business. It's also about the support that you offer to the franchisee as well.
00:12:16
Speaker
So how did you decide what support you were going to provide to the franchisee?
Support for Franchisees
00:12:21
Speaker
You are just full of fantastic questions today, Michael. I... It's my job It's my job. Thank you.
00:12:30
Speaker
Thank you very much I, you know, one of the biggest things when I first started my business, like I just really thought when I was going to franchise, like what are the things I wish...
00:12:42
Speaker
little 19 year old me had as support that I can offer to these business owners that will take some stress off their plate. And one of the things is in this business specifically is we are 24 seven over here.
00:12:56
Speaker
We are getting calls on the weekends. We are getting calls at 6 AM at 10 PM. You name it. We're getting a call at that time. I just knew in order to create thriving business owners and not burnt out operators,
00:13:10
Speaker
I needed to offer an after hours support team to support them. So what we do for all of our franchisees is they answer the phones from 9am to 5pm but we have a fully trained support team that is able and equipped to handle any of the phone calls that come in for their branch during those times. So they have a sense of work-life balance, you know, starting a new business. It's hard. You know, we all have high highs, low lows, but I also want to make sure that they can take care of themselves and get a decent sleep at the very least.
00:13:45
Speaker
Offering that after after hours support was a no brainer for me in the beginning. And then i do weekly calls as the founder with all of my franchisees. It's an hour long. And then they also have access to me whenever they really need my support along with my internal team who's been with me for years, runs the three corporate locations. They also do trainings and they meet with them on a regular basis when they do need help. And then we have them fly out to Reno, where headquarters is, and do a full submerged training for five days to really learn the business, learn how to grow and learn how to thrive in this industry. So we really try to do as many touch points as we can in supporting them on every level. So you've been learning from the big franchise organizations as well, but also reflecting on the experience that you had
00:14:41
Speaker
as you set the business up and what you really wanted and needed to get you through all those various different lumps and bumps that go with setting up a business and learning on the job in many ways. Yes, most definitely. And you know, we we want to be able to give them this business in a box. We have worked tirelessly to systemize every single aspect of our business to make it manageable, sustainable, and also user-friendly for both nannies and families and also the operators. We want to be able to really show them like, these are the things we have done. So you don't have to jump through these hoops. We've jumped through them for you. So you are not learning through this trial and error. There's still going to be trial and error. Don't get me wrong. but not to the extent of not having that support. It's really been interesting for me too, Michael, I'll tell you, because I was so used to running a nanny agency, you know, a household staffing agency. And I am realizing, not so slowly, but surely, i am now
00:15:51
Speaker
running a business that's helping other business owners. And so it's it's been quite a shift for me as well to just realize that my role has vastly changed so quickly. Yeah. And being a college student to running a business to running a business that supports other businesses is a massive change through that process.
00:16:14
Speaker
What would you say was the the challenge that came up that you didn't
Challenges During Rapid Growth
00:16:18
Speaker
expect? In the beginning, when i first was running my business, you know, it was just me. COVID had happened and we went from like three to 30 employees in a very short amount of time because all the daycares shut down. And so we were one of the only things open to run that were like essential workers for other essential workers in the field, a crazy, crazy time to be in business for anyone. And it it really pushed our business to grow faster than i had imagined. i was, i didn't even know how to write a contract. I didn't even know how to write an email. My punctuation was horrible. I mean, I was not a straight A student. This was the craziest hands-on learning I had ever experienced when I started my business. And I just took such pride in it because I was like man, i've I've really done something here. And I feel so proud for the first time. feel so proud of this thing I've created. And with that, I was so scared to trust others in my business. And so I waited.
00:17:22
Speaker
really honestly too long to bring people in to help me run the business so I could focus on it instead of in it. I think the biggest lesson that I've learned is that I am not the best at everything. And my job is to find people that are the best at that thing and help them be the best at what I'm needing support in. Uh, cause there's people out there that know how to do things or have different skills than I do. that just fit so much better in the positions that I need help with. The minute that I stepped out of my way and I learned to trust others and realize that I am not going to be able to grow sustainably whatsoever if I don't hire people internally to support this operation. That was my biggest hurdle in business is learning to trust others and give them the reins and just trust that I hired the right people in place. But the minute I did that,
00:18:21
Speaker
Such a weight was lifted off my shoulders. And now I feel like I can't hire enough people internally. I'm like, Hey, want to work? Come on in. Cause you know, we just, we need help with so many different things and learning new positions and all the operations you can imagine. And it's just been the biggest.
00:18:39
Speaker
help I genuinely could not do this without my internal team or without my, the nannies that are on the team, you know, like it, every single person matters so much in this business. We're a people first business. That's what we are really finding that good, valuable help has been fantastic. And also to say my little sister, she works in the office with me every day in Reno and works as our scheduler in here for all of the employees. She's fantastic. And it's been really cool to be able to work hand in hand with a family member.
00:19:14
Speaker
Sounds great. You've got a family business growing as well then. Yes. Will you bring bring your sister into the business as a, like may turn it into a family business or is she always going to be your employee? I've had some discussions with my internal team. They really love this business. They believe in it wholeheartedly. and It's been so exciting for all of us to witness this franchising and the growth and the new business owners that we're supporting. And I think it's definitely sparked some interest in a few of them and wanting to have a franchise themselves, which is fantastic. And so I would really love to get to the point with whomever is in this office that's been with me for years, if you know they would want to
00:20:00
Speaker
take on having a franchise that I would be more than happy in supporting them in that. And my sister included, i know she's very, very interested in having a franchise location. So like, just tell me where on the map and, you know, we'll make it happen. and You,
00:20:16
Speaker
You just got to tell me where. so I think her thing right now is trying to figure out where exactly she'd want to go because she would also need to move there, which makes my heart a little sad because of course I want to see her every day, but I also would be so tremendously proud of her and I know she'd kill it. Now we said that you've got over a hundred employees and I'm wondering with my HR professionals hat on, have all of them been ideal
Staff Management Challenges
00:20:43
Speaker
employees? Has every hire been successful? No way. i sure wish I'm assuming that your work experience as a 19 year old was not very much. And so you're not only setting up a business, you're then also becoming an employer and a manager with very little experience or training in anything really.
00:21:07
Speaker
And very little experience of being managed. It's great when you've got your sister working with you and other people that you've Like you say, you've got over that hurdle of learning to trust people who've got more expertise than you.
00:21:20
Speaker
But the first time that you have an employee where you're thinking, yeah, the person that I appointed was not the person that turned up on the first day. now It's the evil twin that turned up to come and work for me.
00:21:31
Speaker
How did you deal with that? Yeah. You know, for as far as nannies go, you know, i definitely have learned over the years, just, i mean, honestly, every year we learn so much about like how to really refine hiring. We're constantly doing so. Actually one of my nannies at the time. She came in the office and I was like, Hey, do you want, like, you're such a good nanny. Do you want to help me hire other really good nannies? And so she's been with me ever since, I think it's been almost five years that she's been with me and she
00:22:06
Speaker
she's been fantastic at recruiting. She knows how to find the best people and make them feel appreciated. And she just does such a good job, you like genuinely such a good job. I couldn't do it any better. But as far as hiring an office team, you know, like there were definitely in the beginning, a few times where i was like, oh man, like I think what was so challenging about it was how, how do I be a good boss? Like I'm working with this person hand in hand. I haven't had many employers myself. So like,
00:22:36
Speaker
When am I crossing the personal line? When am I being too professional and not being personable? Like it was just such a, a time in my life of learning and figuring out like, what is the relationship that I want to build here? And how do I do that successfully? Because there were times in the beginning that I just was like, these people are great. Let's be best friends. And I realized quickly that That can be really hard to mix personal and business. And I think there is a way to do it it that's a really healthy balance. But I think it's also really easy to tread in that gray area where it's kind of going over that fine line in the sand. And so just learning how to be an employer, to your point, like was a huge challenge for me And I mean, me being so young at the time and hiring people that are twice my age, you know, I was always told by my parents, you know, you, you are not an authoritative figure whatsoever to people that are older than you, like you, that is, that is not the case. And so it was, it was very morally kind of challenging in the beginning to be leading these people when i felt like if anything, they should be leading me in a sense. you know i I still had so much to learn. And so, yeah, that was a challenge. But I feel like over the years, I really know what works for me as far as hiring goes. And I really know what works as far as traits go for finding a great nanny and a great fit. And so we've really just...
00:24:11
Speaker
trial and error our way into making sure we have the most systemized and turnkey solution for families. And with that comes our hiring process. You know, it, it needs to be perfect. It sounds as if the key to running a business and franchise business and a lesson that anyone running any business could take from your experiences that it is the systemization of everything that you do creates a franchisable business, but also even if you didn't have the franchises, it would create a more efficient and effective business as well. Yes. I wholeheartedly agree with that statement 110%. And ten percent and i have a lot of business owners that they're starting out and they're there to the point where they're like, man, I need to hire someone in my office. I feel like, honestly, that's probably one of the hardest hires you can make. a lot of people ask, what position do I even hire for? What, like, how do I even know what position to hire for? it Because this position doesn't exist right now. I'm doing it all. I see that stop a lot of entrepreneurs and business owners and hiring and getting that help because they don't even know what they need help with. And I understand that completely and it's scary and it's daunting, but it's so possible and you'll be so happy you did it. One of the biggest things for me when I
00:25:34
Speaker
realized that I need to hire someone internally was i just got to the point where i was like, I'm going to bring someone in. I'm going to have them sit down, shadow me, see all the things I'm doing on a daily basis. And then they're going to write down what they think they'll be really good at.
00:25:47
Speaker
and what they think they'll enjoy. That's how you create those positions. You know, it's it's not something you need to necessarily overthink, in my opinion. You just get them in, you do it, and you'll be happy you did. Great stuff. What does the future look like? The future looks really bright
Ambitions for Franchise Doubling
00:26:04
Speaker
for us. Franchising this year has been such a beautiful journey. I've loved mentoring and coaching and helping these women grow their businesses. And I absolutely love what I'm doing and my team does too. We would love to double by next year, the numbers we currently have. My big goal is 50 by the end of next year. So maybe I'll shoot you a message, Michael, when that happens and I can be like, Hey, we did it. Great stuff. I look forward to it. That's my big crazy goal. is Definitely.
00:26:39
Speaker
only But for today, you know, Carson, it has been really interesting and I'm so grateful that you were able to join me today. Thank you very much. Yes. Thank you for your time, Michael. I am Michael Millward, the managing director of Abusida, and I have been having a conversation with the independent mind, Carson Wagner, the founder of Lifetime of Love Nannies.
00:27:00
Speaker
You can find out more about both of us by using the links in the description. One of things that is important when you're running your own business is staying healthy. one of the best ways to stay healthy is to know the risks early.
00:27:13
Speaker
That is why we recommend the health tests provided by York Test, especially the annual health test. The annual health test from York Test provides an assessment of 39 different health markers, including risks of chronic illnesses like crest cholesterol and diabetes, vitamin levels and organ functions, as well as a full blood count.
00:27:34
Speaker
The annual health test is conducted by an experienced phlebotomist who will complete a full blood draw at your home or workplace. Hospital standard tests are carried out in a UKAS accredited and CQC compliant laboratory.
00:27:49
Speaker
You can access your easy to understand results and guidance help you make effective lifestyle changes anytime by your secure personal wellness hub account. There is a link and as you would expect a discount code in the description.
00:28:03
Speaker
I'm sure that you will have enjoyed listening to this episode of the independent minds as much as Carson and I have enjoyed making it. So please give it a like and download it so you can listen anytime, anywhere.
00:28:14
Speaker
To make sure you don't miss out on future episodes, please subscribe. You will probably want to share the link with your friends, your family, and your work colleagues as well. Remember, the aim of all the podcasts produced by Abbasida is not to tell you what to think, but we do hope to have made you think.
00:28:33
Speaker
Until the next episode of The Independent Minds, thank you for listening, and goodbye.