This article is a letter to all the potential franchise owners out there who are reading this because they are searching for something new in their life, maybe a home-based franchise business. 

Please know that wherever you are on your journey for finding your passion and purpose, increasing your earning potential, or creating a fresh version of what your own day-to-day looks like, you’re right where you should be right now.

What I’ve learned is that there are unforeseen paths and opportunities ahead that might not be part of your vision today, but taking one step after another leads you forward. I didn’t study business in college and I didn’t start a business to become a franchisor, but here I am and now I hope to have a positive impact on other people through my experiences.

My business inspiration started with my oldest child who has Type 1 diabetes and other autoimmune diseases so I felt that I could not take a traditional job when I needed to be available to her. As we learned about how to manage her health and food challenges, I met other families with kids who were navigating life with celiac disease or other serious food allergies.

My father, Joe Hall, and I sketched out a business idea—literally at the family kitchen table!-- in 2011 for after-school enrichment cooking lessons in Denver where I live. As we grew from three schools to 30 schools to 300 schools, we were able to intentionally begin the process of building systems, relationships, and a reputation. 

A Pinch of This, a Pinch of That

When we were five years into the business and seeing steady growth, I joined an entrepreneur group and was connected with Carrie Dorr, founder of Pure Barre Method. She is exceptional and she became my mentor.

You know how when you’re cooking and you’ve added all of the ingredients and then the recipe simply reads, “Simmer.” 

This is the moment I was in when I met Carrie—my business seemed like it was in growth mode, but it actually needed more time to simmer before it was just right to become a franchisor. I had been thinking about expanding and believe in what we do so it is important to bring it to more and more kids across the country. I didn’t know anything about franchising. I quickly realized in my conversations with Carrie that we needed to work on our systems first.

We began work in earnest as a team to make sure that our proprietary systems were absolutely solid. When the business first started in 2011, we realized there wasn’t software that met our needs and kept kids safe. I would be up at 2 a.m. with a spreadsheet hoping I didn’t make a mistake! In order to make our business the best, we had to develop the software so we could track things like kids’ food allergies, host our curriculum, communicate with parents and venues, and so much more. It’s really the heart, soul, and brain of what we do, so it had to be PEAR-fect before we could offer it to franchise owners.

During Covid in 2020, as we saw every school close, my team did what we do best with trying to connect with kids and support families. We had to pivot and find ways to continue to stay in business with online programs and new cookbooks, but also took the time to explore becoming a franchisor.

Our Souffle Moment

Cooking a souffle requires perfect timing, but also ingredients and patience and practice. When the pandemic changed how we did business, we had the proverbial lemonade moment (lemons into lemonade!). Our silver lining was that we had the time to publish five cookbooks, created new online cooking classes across the world, and doubled down on making our systems the best. I saw that Sticky Fingers Cooking was now primed to become a franchisor. This business might be the answer for people who couldn’t return to their former jobs either as the result of a layoff or because as parents they had to remain in their caregiver roles.

My team and I have developed this incredible education franchise business that is a win-win because it has technology, flexibility, and everything someone needs to become successful as a Sticky Fingers Cooking franchise owner.

I often say that it takes a special unicorn to become a franchisee: they want to take their own life and their own destiny by the horn, and they also love following systems and a brand.

Finally, Time to Ice the Cake

Have you ever tried to ice a cake before it cooled enough? If so, you probably experienced a lot of crumbling and broken cake bits rather than the smooth application of tasty sweetness on the layers.

If starting a business were a recipe, it might look like this:

2 c. GREAT IDEA

2 c. amazing team

1 T. curiosity

1 T. passion

1 c. mentor

Whisk together, perhaps much longer than is comfortable or expected.

Oh, be prepared for previously unlisted ingredients such as software development.

1 c. proprietary software

Stir. Ask others to take turns stirring until batter has no lumps.

Put in oven to bake for longer than you initially think is needed—and sometimes at higher temperatures. Add a sprinkle of patience, and keep adding to taste preference.

So that is my story of how I went from mom to entrepreneur to franchisor. Today, Carrie and I are dear friends, with her expressing happiness at our success in part thanks to her lessons and stories. Thank you to Carrie and other women entrepreneurs who have provided support! 

What will your story or next chapter be? If a Sticky Fingers Cooking franchise sounds appealing to you, please reach out today so we can see if we’re a good fit together.

Take a few minutes to explore our website and learn more about franchising too.