My name is Brandon Clifford. I'm the CEO of BA I at BA I, we're trying to build a culture of collaboration, accountability, being respectful of one another and, and leading everything with ethics and being completely ethical. I think that at the end of the day, we're in a people business. And so you have to make sure you're treating the person in front of you like an individual, not a lead source, not a, a deal source. You know what I mean? Doing business with people and changing people's lives, that's what Franchising really is at its core. So with everything we do, we try to lead with that and just treat people like you would want to be treated, right. So I've always been a big believer in kind of like less is more in a lot of ways. And I think that, you know, you see a lot of that these days with like the long form podcasts and you know, that kind of format really resonates with people where you can go deep, you know, you, you an inch wide and a mile deep, right? Instead of a, a mile wide and an inch deep because you kind of cast a wide net and you, you know, you take that shotgun approach to things. I it's so superficial, right? And in this day and age in 2024 quickly approaching 2030 right? Like we're entering a new millennia in many, many ways. There's a lot of information on the internet. There's the Instagrams of the world where people can sniff out superficiality very, very easily. And I, I believe in authentic communication, authentic connections is how you do business today. And vulnerability and, and, and authenticity is what wins the selection process for, for a member of, of, of the business. All Lions Inc network um is very thorough and that's the same for a potential consultant or a broker, a brand or a supplier. Um First and foremost, we want to get to know them as an individual. So you're gonna have a single point of contact uh regardless of, of what type of a member you're gonna be, they want to get to know you, you and, and, and, and understand what your goals are and what you're looking to get out of it. And then we're gonna talk about what we can provide. And if we think the value proposition aligns we'll move forward. But that because at the end of the day, the expectations are usually what's gonna make you feel whether or not you got value in terms of where your results come from, right? And if those expectations aren't aligned from the very beginning. There's no way that we're gonna help you succeed and help you be happy, right? Because at the end of the day Business Alliance, um it's not about us, you know, this has nothing to do with Brandon Clifford, the CEO or Gina Johnson, our president. What we really are is we're just a platform. We're here to allow brokers, brands and suppliers to connect with one another, to elevate their business, to really encourage people to bet on themselves and become a business owner through the the business model of Franchising. What I loved about having Joe Theismann be here was really his interest in essentially being a part of the network. I mean, from day one of the first moment I met Joe uh what a class act. I mean, he here he is Hall of Famer Super Bowl, MVP. Uh College football Hall of Famer 25 years broadcasting on ESPN. You know, he meets little old me on a Zoom. Three days later, I get a book in the mail handwrit note, handwrit a autograph on the inside cover as well from Joe Theismann, right? So talk about classy and thoughtful and those are the kind of people you want to surround yourself with. And then from the moment he arrived here early, he exceeded all our expectations. He was in all the sessions, he was taking notes, he was really learning and that way he could deliver a well crafted key note specifically for our audience. So I can't say enough good things about you. And I mean, just like a quick story throughout the whole event, he was around and got to know a lot of different people. But really, I think he and I connected quite a bit um on a really good level and right before he was leaving, he was like, hey, Brandon, let me walk you out, right? I was like, ok, uh I'm walking out with him. We're heading over to his, to his vehicle and we get to where his bag was. He, he goes, hold on one second. He goes into this room behind the desk of the hotel and comes out and hands me the shirt, he changes, hands me the shirt that was on his back. And I was like, wow, the type of guy who will give you the shirt off his back and he said you just met one and that's Joe Theismann right there. He, he's literally the type of man that would give you the shirt off his back. My name's Brandon Clifford. I'm the CEO of Business Alliance. Our mission at Business alli sync is to be the premier resource for brokers, brands and suppliers in the franchise industry. I believe one of the the most important things about business in general, especially what I'm trying to build here, a business alliance. I is to just surround yourself with people who are better than you, right? I think it was Teddy Roosevelt who said that the way you, you achieve new heights is by standing on the shoulders of giants, right? And to have people like, like Rocco from Beran Sherry from Fran Fund, the experts we had on our lead generation symposium, Joe Matthews franchise performance group, Don Shin franchise building experts, Dave Hanson and client Tether Russell Burnett and online image to have those giants in this space here. I mean, Doc Cohen, Doc Cohen, the very first franchisee to ever enter into the Ifa Hall of Fame to attend my event and be here. That's just so humbling. And he, he was a great presence on stage. I mean, that man has probably forgotten more about Franchising than I I will ever learn and just to be surrounded with these individuals, that's what makes us different and, and, and, and makes this such a special event. So my favorite moment a conference was at a big game last night. Right. So we had this marching band come out, we had the cheerleaders ch ba I, it's super cool. Right? But for me, it was actually after that, I stepped aside, I was with my wife, I was with, with, with Dave Hanson and his wife, Amy. We threw over, we stepped aside a little bit, we were playing, throwing some bean bags and we were a little bit over and I just looked over at the lawn and all these people just having like real authentic fun. They, they were so happy, the smiles, the looks on their faces, it filled me with so much joy. And so that's like really at the core of what we do and what we want to gift to others, right? We want to inspire them to, to enter into this Franchising space, whether it's someone who wants a solo printer who just wants to get in their first business, or someone who's owned multiple businesses looking for a, for a new investment, whatever it might be, those people are, are we, we're changing people's lives here at Business Alliance. Ultimately, that's what we're hoping to achieve. And that's what really, you know, gives me a lot of hope for the future is that we're full of other people who feel that way as well.
