I was, I was in corporate America for 30 plus years and this was a pretty significant pivot for me. So what drew you here? I had looked into a franchise before earlier in my career and it wasn't the right time or the right one for me, went back to corporate America, didn't enjoy it. And I figure at this advanced age, it was time for me to do something. I enjoyed a little more and take control of my own destiny. But when I was ready to get back into Franchising, I called up the franchise consultant that I was working with and instead of uh suggesting a new franchise, he said, why don't you do what I'm doing? I think you'd be good at it. And I said, you're crazy. I can never do it. But with the support and the assistance from the team at BA I uh Natalie Gina and Heath and, and company at the time they on boarded me and it's been a really great ride and a great success for me. We were trained and on boarded to become uh consultants. And it was right during the beginning of COVID. So there was no travel. It was all done virtually online lengthy zoom calls, which was great. But um the real support comes from the day to day interaction that I have with the team at BA I being able to help me target the right franchises for my clients, providing resource partners for the CRM for funding for legal assistance. They help me through the process. If there's ever a candidate that I'm having difficulty working with, they're always there to help me ID to find a good solution to help maintain the candidate's momentum and inertia through the process. So B I will support me and support my efforts as a consultant in their network by holding regular webinars where we get together and we either talk about a particular brand or a category or different resource options, functionalities, whether it's funding or legal or CRM or other marketing, whatever it may be to, it really set us up for success because the success that we have, the more success that we bring as consultants, the more successful, the whole BA I network is. So at these events, I have the benefit of meeting with. Literally, I, I guess over 100 different franchisors that are in the network, people that I speak with over the phone or I'll see in a little box in zoom on my computer and it's just nice to press the flesh and get to know these people a little better. It's a good way to build trust and rapport with them. And it, it, it makes, it, it, it makes a much more seamless relationship and a, a better relationship for working collaboratively with our clients and with our candidates, it really is a team effort. I know it's cliche, but it takes a village to get some of these candidates over the line and nurturing that partnership and creating a AAA more. Um What's the word? I'm looking for a more a seamless relationship with them, a friendlier relationship, either a more trustful one. It just makes that collaboration go so much further. When I talk to different brands here, I do get those aha moments where I didn't know that about your brand and that's really good information and you don't get that when you have a phone call, it's really when you're sitting beside someone at lunch or at the happy hour and just talking to them about their brand and what makes it unique, you get those opportunities, more opportunities to get. Have those aha moments. I've been with BA I for four years. I really didn't consider any other broker network because of the relationship that I had with my former franchise coach. But I have met people at events that do not work within the BA I network. And I'm, I'm just not as impressed with them with their approach to working with candidates with the, the way to go about making sure that you get the right candidate and to the right franchise for some of those folks, it seems like more like a numbers game for BA, I, it seems like we're looking to put quality people with the right franchise.
