Franchise Friday – Episode 203 with Nathan Millhouse of Bubbly Paws

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Franchise Friday – Episode 203 Melissa Pang is joined in conversation with Nathan Millhouse of Bubbly Paws

About Nathan Millhouse, MBA, Franchising Professional

Experienced Owner and Franchise expert with a demonstrated history of working in the management consulting industry. Skilled in Coaching, Sales, Business Coaching, Franchise Development and Management. Strong business professional with a Master of Business Administration – MBA focused on Accounting and Business/Management from Webster University.

Located in Clearwater, FL Nathan’s career in franchising began in 1996 and he has been in this industry for over 20 years. He developed extensive franchise operations experience, holding positions as Director and Vice President, in health and wellness, senior home care and trade franchise concepts; where he led teams, who were responsible for the growth and profitability of existing franchisees.

In 2006 he decided to take his experiences and became a franchisee himself, owning and operated an automotive franchise for over 7 years. He then partnered on several medical device franchises in Florida for over 3 years before selling his shares.

About Bubbly Paws Dog Wash

A dog grooming and self-serve bath concept on a mission to make pups feel as good as they look.
With the vision of creating an elevated self-service dog wash, the first Bubbly Paws opened just outside of Minneapolis. After 10 years of fast-paced growth at 4 stores, they’re thrilled to announce that the Bubbly Paws name is officially a franchise!

Our Bubbly Paws grooming salons are bright, open and contemporary, featuring plenty of windows that put our team’s amazing work on full display. Take a peek to get a feel for what it’s like to step inside.

If you’re searching for a supportive and growth-minded franchise opportunity, Bubbly Paws is excited to work with you. We’ve infused the best of proven franchise models with feedback from seasoned franchisees to design a system that sets leaders up for success. Get in touch with our team to tell us more about your goals — we’re looking forward to getting started.

According to Nathan,

I am interested in a franchise that’s unique, has a demand and obviously has their chickens or ducks in a row, Bubbly Paws met that criterion when we started talking to them back right around the COVID era 2020. And we found that while they were unique in their space, they weren’t one of these brands who jumped into something because it was trendy. There’s a lot of thought and research done behind it by the bubbly paws team of Keith and Patricia. They now have an 11-year track record behind them successfully opening multiple businesses every couple of years.

Bubbly paws have really got nailed down their operations manual, their marketing and the way they’ve even designed all their support structures. They understand what it’s like to start a business from scratch. Keith and Patricia had an independent doggy daycare and still do. And so, they understand the nuances of creating something from nothing, the same thing they did with Bubbly Paws, again, a concept that came with obviously research and feedback from all over the US and even Europe, where they went and talked to different concepts over there to create this brand. But they were very diligent in that approach. They wanted to make sure that they were and be set up for success. Because you and I both know people get into franchising, because they want to mitigate risks, can’t eliminate, but you can mitigate your risk and in a good franchise system will help mitigate those risks and allow somebody to get into that ownership mentality that they’re all striving for, and not be in business by themselves. They literally are in business together with a partnership, someone who has a vested interest in their overall success at the end of the day.

According to Melissa,

We talk about it all the time at The Entrepreneur Source the creation of a great client experience. First and foremost, they’re the ones who are going to be making this investment. You want to make sure that they have all the information they need. And then also the collaboration between you and the coach, that’s going to really help the client to kind of get past any obstacles. It’s just human nature and normal for things to come up especially when you’re looking at such a large investment. A lot of times the clients are first time business owners, they’re looking at franchising for the first time, which is wildly exciting. Let’s get more people into franchising and let’s do it in the right way, where they understand what they’re getting into. And, what I see and what I hear from coaches and other franchisors is, the client maybe starts a little skeptical. And as you’re helping them to learn, and it’s not pushing, it’s not forcing to make a decision that selling like you said, it’s just education, they start getting so excited as they continue to move through. And by the end, they’re the ones like okay, what do I do next? Should I do more than one? Should I be doing three? Like, how quickly can I open? Like, they’re the ones who get excited.

More About our Host, Melissa Pang