A few years ago, I heard someone describe my wife, Shari, in a way that made me smile.

That’s how I talk about her, too.

Shari works with deaf and deaf/blind children in our community. At home, I call her The Resident Philanthropist because she has a habit of finding people who need help and somehow making room for them.

It’s one of the reasons I’ve come to believe that community is more than a nice word.

Community is infrastructure.

It is the landscape around you that helps you grow.

And, sometimes, it is the thing that keeps you moving when the road gets unfamiliar.

Franchising Sort of Found Me

I didn’t set out in 2004 thinking I’d spend the next two decades helping people explore franchise ownership.

I started my career in advertising.

Then a company recruited me to help lead its national expansion. It was an advertising franchise, and being close to the model changed the way I looked at business ownership.

I saw regular people building businesses.

They weren’t all business-school graduates.

They were parents. Couples. Professionals. People with ideas for what they wanted their lives to look like.

At 28, I bought my first franchise.

Looking back, I realize the biggest education was learning the landscape.

I talked to a thousand franchisees.

Franchisors.

Operators.

Investors.

Advisers.

People who had made smart decisions, people who had made expensive mistakes, and people who knew the difference.

Your Network Can Become a Compass

That network became a kind of living map.

Business ownership still happens in the real world, among real people.

That’s what makes a community an asset. 

The right people can introduce you to a franchisee who will tell you what the sales brochure doesn’t.

They can help you understand an industry before you invest in it.

They can challenge a decision that looks good on paper but doesn’t fit your life.

They can help you evolve.

And sometimes, the most valuable person in your network isn’t the person with the answer. It’s the person who knows who has the answer. 

I Know Because I’ve Been On Both Sides

Over the last two decades, I’ve built a portfolio across franchise companies as a franchisee, managing equity partner and passive investor.

I’ve also helped thousands of people evaluate business ownership through franchising.

One client once told me I was unusually well-linked into the actual franchise landscape.

I appreciated the compliment, but I think the real value is simpler.

I’ve spent years listening.

Listening to franchise owners describe Tuesday mornings.

Listening to spouses talk about risk.

Listening to people explain why they want more control over their schedules.

Listening to people admit they aren’t sure what comes next.

Because when you’re trying to choose a business, you aren’t only choosing an income stream.

You’re choosing the people you will learn from, work beside, and call when things get difficult.

That’s why I think Fit includes community.

Closing Thoughts

The right business can help you grow.

The right community can help you evolve.

And sometimes those two things arrive together.

I think about that whenever I watch Shari work with the children and families in our community. Her work reminds me that a meaningful life rarely gets built in isolation.

Neither does a meaningful business.

Before you ask, “Which franchise should I buy?” it may be worth asking a quieter question:

“Who will be around me while I become the person capable of owning it well?”

That question has followed me since I bought my first franchise at 28.

Two decades later, I still think it’s one of the most important questions an aspiring business owner can ask.

If you’re exploring business ownership and want someone who knows the landscape to walk through the options with you, let’s work through it together. 

I’d be glad to help you find the right people, ask the right questions, and understand what could fit your next chapter.