21 Years Old and Living In A Van, To Business Owner.

So when I, when I had actually decided to become a franchisee, I had been living in, in a van for a couple months prior to that. Actually like five months prior to that.

Hey, good morning. So we're on our way to Augusta. Long here, Walkin county, the Bellingham location. It's seven in the morning and it's 36 degrees out. We're going to catch Nick. Nick has a really unique story. Nick is about to become a franchisee. He has a really unique story of kind of his background, how he got to the point of wanting to be a franchisee. And we're going to ask him a little bit about like his background, the steps he took to get there when he thought he was ready and what he did to become franchisee and kind of what the mission is for his company. It should be a really, really unique story. So I can't wait to hear from him. And I'll see you in a few minutes.

Another beautiful day.

Got my coffee all good to go.

Go ahead and lock that one up. How's it going, everyone? My name is Nick over here at Augusta.

I started working here about over a year ago, over a year and a half ago. And when I started working here, I didn't really know too much about like. Well, I had done landscaping before, but I've never worked on a team with people just working at people's houses. So it was, it was definitely really different. My perception versus the actual reality. I kind of figured it would be just a bunch of grimy guys, you know, walking around, smoking, kind of being lazy and getting stuff done. It. That was just the negative perception that I had. But after working here for a while, like, I quickly realized that everyone here is like on a complete, completely different level than that. And I was like, wait a second. Like I stumbled onto something really interesting.

And yeah, so you know, that was after a couple months. I was like, wait a second, like people here are different. So.

So after the first year.

I took, I took about a month off in the winter and I came back for snow plowing and I was working with grad. Who, Brad's. Brad's been here for what, like three years or something like that.

So.

Yeah, so we were snow plowing and he was, he was talking about like franchising and you know how, how interesting the idea was because we actually Mike franchise the company in August of last year. So.

Yeah, we were just talking about it. It was a 18 hour snow around, lots of, lots of conversation. So we were just really throwing the idea around and I didn't think a lot of it at the time, but it kind of got the gears spinning in my head. I was like, yeah, you know, like, everything does sound really good about this. And I know Mike is a person, and he's like, he lives to give.

So. Yeah, that was when I first started consistent considering it. And then at that point, I was like, you know what? I'm actually gonna entertain this thought. And so over the next couple months, I, you know, I started talking about it. I didn't want to say too much until I was, like, 100 committed to it. And then, yeah, within three months, I was like, okay, like, this is what I'm gonna do. And then I just had to figure things out with my girlfriend, obviously, because we want to make sure that it works out for both of us. So.

So, like, what's kind of your background? Did you grow up thinking you'd be a business owner or anything like that? Or did you kind of have, like, a mindset change what happened, what happened there?

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, it was a big. It was a big mindset change.

My perception on, like, what I would do my whole life is just work hard and never really question it. Just get a paycheck and, you know, just live. Like, I worked at the ski area. I was gone, like, 13 hours a day and made minimum wage and only worked, like, six hours. Most of that was commute time and then time from, like, waking up in the morning stuff. But, yeah, so completely changed my perception. And in the last year, I've done a lot of, like, kind of. Of figuring out, I guess, like, what I want for myself in life. And this is a really good avenue to, like, start now and build something that's going to, like, keep me secure financially and then eventually give me the opportunity to, one, help, you know, people give people jobs. Like, people that want to be employed and have the same influence that I guess has had on me and also eventually be able to have enough money to help certain social programs and people that really need it around the world.

So, like, when you decide to become a franchisee, you made up your mind, you committed. Then, like, what steps did you say take to, like, say, save up the money, get yourself prepared, learn as much as you could, all that kind of stuff.

Okay.

Yeah. So when I. When I had actually decided to become a franchisee, I had been living in. In a van for a couple months prior to that. Actually, like, five months prior to that, and need two stroke. Yeah. So I moved into the van last year to save money, and I didn't know what I needed to save the money for.

Hold on a sec. Hey, I'll meet you at the Green Shed. We need two stroke.

So I wasn't sure what I wanted to save the money for, but, like, I just wanted it for something, right? I just. I was like, this could be a good idea. You know, I'm just gonna work and save money because money opens doors and still didn't know what I wanted to use that for. And then, like, we started talking about the franchise thing, and I was like, well, you know, like, I've been saving money for a purpose, and. And, like, this is the purpose. So kind of took it as maybe like a sign.

You know, just a sign that like. Like, I, for some reason told myself to save all this money, didn't know what to use it for, and then it was like, franchise, like, this is what I need to be using it for. Cool.

And then.

Like, what steps did you feel you had to change in, like, your mindset or anything like that? What steps do you feel you had to change in, like, your mindset? And, like, different things like that before you. Before you were ready to become a franchisee.

Yeah. Gotcha.

So in terms of mindset, before I ended up, like, saying, okay, like, I do have what it takes to become a franchisee. Like, I didn't have any business background. I didn't, like, like, all I know is how to do the actual work that we're doing every day. Let's walk over the truck here.

So a great resource that I turned to immediately was Mike's podcast business, boot camp and landscape business course. There are. Wow. He drove all the way over here with that on the hood. Good driver.

So that was the first resource, obviously, because, like, you. You know, he's the one that created the franchise, and he's the one that spends all of his time, like, sharing knowledge with others about it or just about business in general. And so that was. That was the first resource that I turned to. And then listening to books, audio books, was a huge one. Just about, like.

Personality shift, I guess. Just changing the way I conduct myself. And kind of this cliche saying, treat, like, every day that you're working in the business, like, treat it as if you were the owner. It sounds cliche, but it's, like, really important if you someday want to be an owner. Yeah. Because every. Everything. You're always thinking about efficiency. You're always thinking about, like, hey, like, if this was my money making all this stuff happen, like, how would I want it to be spent? What would I do. And not do stuff like that.

And so lastly, like, when you do start your franchise, first of all, where are you starting it at? And then when you do start it, like, what's the mission for your franchise? What do you want out of it that goes, like, beyond money and just beyond financial stability? Stuff like that.

Yeah. So in January, I will be starting my franchise in Marysville, which is about an hour south of us here.

And the whole purpose behind the franchise, for me personally, me personally, in my life, like, I want to create security for me and my girlfriend and be able to build a life together.

And beyond that, I want to provide people with the same opportunity that I was given. I was someone that was driven to be successful and didn't necessarily have an avenue to reach that. Like, I didn't go to college. I knew that that wasn't for me.

And I knew I wanted to be a good person and do good things. So, yeah, be able to provide people the environment to where everyone can grow and learn from each other, because that's what's happened here with me over the last year. The way I think and conduct myself is completely different from when I started here. So I would love to do that just by employing people and putting them through the same process and then hopefully eventually creating franchisees out of them as well. And also, like I kind of mentioned earlier, like, eventually once, because, like, I'm a minimalist person. Like, I've been living in the van for last year very cheaply. So I just want enough money to be able to take time off of work, travel and enjoy life, and also be able to, like, give people money in other places, people that really need it, in other countries or social programs. Because I think I would find a lot of personal fulfillment out of that, just putting in all the work of the business, like, from day one and just watching that evolve into me being able to provide opportunity for other people somewhere else who might not have the opportunity. So. All right, man. Good luck. Yeah. All right.

So there you got it from Nick. Kind of got his story how he's planning to start the franchise, and hopefully something that he said today will help you, even if it's not in starting your own business, just in your everyday work life and anything like that. Maybe his story will encourage you. So thanks for coming along with us, and we'll see you later.