Welcome to Elements of Community Podcast about discovering and exploring the elements of community. I am Lucas Root, and each week we talk with a community leader about what makes their community thrive and bring value to both the leaders and the members join me as we unpack the magic of the Elements of Community. All right, so we are joined here today by Giuseppe.
Lucas, thanks for having me, looking forward to it.
I'm super excited to have you this is gonna be a fun conversation. And in the greenroom, we discovered that we have some really interesting common interests, some of those around your community. So can you tell me a little more about yourself?
Yes, so, Giuseppe Grammatico. That's a mouthful. That's why my website is GG The Franchise Guide because my name is so difficult to spell. But we live in New Jersey with my wife and two children. I am a wannabe surfer. So one of these days I'll be able to surf. So that's on my bucket list to kind of figure out and I've had an interesting journey, I grew up in the restaurant business, worked on
Wall Street after that and decided that wasn't for me. And that's when business ownership kept coming up to the table by being in that family business and decided to get into franchising over 15, 16 years ago now. And during that journey, I realized how big of a decision that was for people to make, you know, financial decision next to buying a home. So I decided years ago to become a franchise coach and consultant and help people figure out if not just franchising, but if
business ownership is the right fit. And if it was did a franchise match what that individual is looking for. So we offer a free service, kind of like an executive recruiter where we help individuals across the US and Canada. Figure out which franchise is the right vehicle in order to get to where they want to be. So most people don't know we exist. So I'm here today, to share that we have a large community and we definitely like to help people along their journey.
That's really cool. What is your community call themselves?
So I mean, we have taglines. So instead of Fortune Favors the Bold the Famous. I changed it over to Freedom Favors the Bold. But yeah, it's basically that or corporate execs looking for freedom, and we keep it pretty simple. And then which leads into what what is freedom, and we talk about the various freedoms.
I love it, having been a corporate exec, I can totally understand being in that position and wanting freedom. That's really cool. Tell me more about that.
Yeah, so I was a corporate exec. So we own the family business, I became a corporate exec, money was great long commute, and just bounced around and said, okay, let me try a different division just wasn't happy. Money was good, but just wasn't happy with my job. And the progress I was making. So I interviewed with other companies to find out,
basically, in the same boat, there was no real difference. So I said, okay, let me reach out to a franchise coach, which is what I do today, and they said, well, have you explored more of a business in a box? And I said, yeah, look that Subway before, but not too closely. So we started diving into that, and we talked about freedoms, we talked about time freedom. My son was born that same year back in 07, time freedom of when he gets older to be able to coach soccer. I mean, I'm thinking
years and years ahead. We talked about financial freedom, being able to make more money, the tax benefits of ownership. We talked about the freedom of working with people I enjoy working with, I mean, how silly is that sound, but I can choose who I work with. I don't work with everyone that contacts me, right? Or every vendor. It's like, wow, with a job I was kind of stuck. And freedom of purpose. This is a purpose driven business. So I said I wanted a business that I can
really give back, help people. I talk half the people I talk to out of business ownership or tell them to maybe hold off until they've tried that other job or saved up some extra money. So I truly feel we help people, when people say what's
your success rate? And I sai, depends how you define success I talk to and help every single person, it's their decision if they want to explore the franchise or hold off but my success rate is based off of if they learn one thing for me and put up with my dry humor or whatever kind of humor you want to call it, then that's a win for me.
So that's near zero, right?
Yes, exactly. I gotta go back to these people, and then we're gonna do a survey. But it's, cool. It's a very fulfilling job, we have a great community, people give back, I have a podcast franchise freedom. And people always say if any of your listeners need help, we'll help them, there's no cost. And if they want to do business with them great. But we built a community based off of these first time business owners, and they've never maybe worked with
a CPA, maybe they did their own taxes. I've never hired an attorney to help with their legal entity. So we have a great community that really steps up and is able to help in a moment's notice.
That's amazing. I love it. Wow. So you're sort of segwaying into the next topic. And that's sort of how do you describe an effective community? And it sounds to me like you've got one? Can you put words into like a framework? What is it that makes it effective?
Yeah. So going back to the community itself, when I started the podcast, I didn't look at it that way. It was more for networking. And first time podcaster, we launched in February 2020. Right before this crazy pandemic hit
Turns out good and perfect.
Yeah, I mean, talk about not having to meet people in person, like I was using Zoom for the first time. And like, this is pretty interesting. So like, why haven't we used this before? Not to say it takes the place of meeting people in person. But so my intention actually wasn't, you know, I was like, maybe I'll create a Facebook group, which we had started, then we kind of put that project on the side.
And we're gonna probably launch that again later this year. But the podcast turned into the community because I basically said, so going back to your question, a community, I think, you have to spell out what it is right, who you're looking for, and my community is basically, if you're going to be on my show, it's because you can offer value to my typical listener, which is typically the first time business owner, we obviously have existing franchise owners and people that
own multiple businesses, but that's the podcast are kind of the Avatar from people that we've spoken with. But in order for me to interview you, there's got to be value, and you need to be open. So we leave all lines of communication open. So I'm on all social platforms, so people are able, and I expressed to them, give me ideas for shows what questions you need
answered, let me know. And I talk about either on social posts on our future podcasts, I also tell them, if you're listening to this show, and something resonates with you, and you really need to talk this person, email me, I have no employees, I work on my own, I will make that introduction to
that person. So it's not like, oh, this is a big time author or an entrepreneur making hundreds of millions of dollars, they're not going to talk to me, if they're on my show, and I make an intro, I can guarantee they'll return that email with something either with some advice or a short conversation. So I think the openness, and if people aren't open to collaborate and help one another out, they just say, you know
what, not a good fit at this point. Nothing against you. But maybe maybe we can have a future conversation.
So to make sure I'm grasping this, you're telling me that in order for the community to be effective, they need to be bringing value to the community, one and every single person in the community needs to be enrolled in the community, ie: they show up when they're needed, they show up to make sure that the community together is receiving some value. Right?
Correct. Yeah. And everyone does, I think it's a common purpose and and the trick is you need to lay that groundwork in the very beginning. I think if you lay the groundwork, people have the expectation that they know what's to come and if you're an existing business owner, maybe you are giving more value than you may receive initially, but that's the whole point. We have to start somewhere and a lot of new business owners are going to require some maybe additional
support, or they're looking for that value. But I think it's great. This is just a small community. We're not a large community, but as we're slowly growing every year, I think, the people in the community are getting tremendous value.
That's amazing. I love it. Can you describe to me what makes an effective community leader?
A community leader, you know communication is big. So I think, as we talked about the laying out the groundwork, staying on top of people, constantly showing up. So if you're going to be a leader, you're not telling people what you need to do, you're stepping up and I try to religiously, every single week, at least put a couple social posts, a brand new episode to offer that value and keep the
lines of communication. So I think you're a leader by example, versus, you know, when one of my candidates comes to me, and they said, I'm really serious about it, about owning a franchise. And I said, and they go, how do you know, I'm a good fit? And I said, well, it's by action. And they go, well, what does that mean? And I go, well, if I send you a questionnaire, and you don't send it back, you're not engaged or the timing isn't right. It's not about you telling me how excited you are
and how committed you are. And I can't tell you how many people just flake out or don't have the time to fill out a questionnaire return me an email, so I get it, and it's not a knock against them. But I think it's all about action. So if you step up to the table, you come through, so if someone has a question, and you respond, and you don't get an answer right away, but you let them know that you're working on it, I think me personally, I
think that's what makes me an effective leader. And and I'm always learning I'm always reaching out and learning from others.
Amazing, so you're enrolled in the community as well. You're not a puppet leader, you're not a you're not a strings leader, you're enrolled in the community, you're a part of it, you're bringing value and receiving value, just like everyone else.
Correct. Absolutely. 100%.
And then you've touched on purpose a couple of different times. Do the members of your community understand what the purpose of the community is?
Yes. Because we talked about that in the very beginning. So absolutely, I've learned that from owning my other businesses, and what's the common goal, right, when you own a business, it's not about just making profit, right? You have employees, you need to treat them well. And and I wasn't the the perfect employer they wanted, it was something that I learned over the years and always try to strive and improve on but yeah, I think, with
purpose, it's really laying the groundwork. What's your mission statement? What's your vision? Which are, I guess, technically two different things. But where do you want to be? You know, when we work with people, we reverse engineer, where do you want to be in 10 years? By just I'm looking at a franchise right now, where do you want to be in 10 years? And let's figure out
in reverse, will this get you to where you want to be? Because there are other options out there, just like there are different vehicles to get you where you want to be, we want to make sure that we are looking at the right vehicle before we move forward. So yeah, absolutely. Making sure that it's crystal clear to everyone is definitely key. Hope that answered your question.
It's part of the answer. I think. So everybody understands that there is a purpose? How do you help people understand what that purpose is?
Just reminding them, reminding them as to what we're looking to accomplish here.
How do you remind them?
Reminding it's constant. So I stay on all platforms. So people, I'm on Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, we're on YouTube, we're on all the audio platforms, the website, email text. So I've realized over the years that just because I'm sending an email out doesn't mean people are reading it or even getting it may go to spam. Maybe they're
not big email or so that's why we added and console added. So I think by the console reminders, and jokingly saying, hey, we haven't heard from you in a while, or what were your
thoughts on this last show? It keeps them a little bit engaging, and the people that just maybe aren't as engaged or are not that interested, maybe they kind of fall off, and maybe they've had other interests, or maybe they join a different community, but we try to stay engaged, we try to add value, and we constantly try to remind and just jokingly say, hey, it's been a while, what were your thoughts? Where do you need help? You know, anything new in your world that you can offer? I
had one guest come back three times. Because every time he brings value to different topics, like, you just bought a franchise, and so the show was about, how do I sell it? And people are like, Well, why are you talking about selling it? And I said, why wouldn't you? When you buy a franchise, my second question was, how much do I write the check for? And the second question was, how do I sell this? And that's a true story. I wanted to know, in 10 years, I held that business well
over 10. How do I sell it? What do I have to do? What's the process? So I hope, that's that's how we stay. As I mentioned, we don't have an actual Facebook group, the community that I'm referring to is just everyone that we're kind of talking to, and we communicate via various platforms.
So in your particular case, and I don't disagree, I think this actually makes perfect sense. You don't actually have a place where people co locate virtually or physically, you don't have like, a place where people congregate?
Not at this time. But we invite the community to when we do live streams, webinars, which we were just on last week with another gentleman. So Facebook group or LinkedIn group is kind of we started but we put that on the side. But eventually, yes, we will have just a group and just make it much simpler for people to share ideas.
Yeah, I mean, having a place where people can co locate, again, virtually or physically seems to simplify things, but I don't think it's necessary as long as people know how to get the value that they need from the community. And that will come from connecting with some of the other members, and it will come from connecting with your message, right? I think that makes sense. How do you help people to stay engaged enough so that they do extract the value that they need?
I think that's through the constant reminders and emails. We tag people on posts and ask him to comment and things like that. So I may need to do a better job there if I'm completely honest, that is one area that we definitely need to work on.
There's always room for improvement.
Yeah, I definitely have to improve there, I definitely try to show up as much as I can and bring as much value but to your point, it's definitely an area of improvement. So got to work on that area.
Amazing. So going back to what it is that makes an effective leader. Here's what I've pulled out of what you've shared so far. So you're enrolled and engaged. And I really like this, I think this is really worth noting and paying extra attention to, you don't just have a purpose. But you circled back to the purpose over and over and over again, to keep that purpose firmly in mind of the community so that they don't forget, right? So you're enrolled and engaged, you circle
back to that purpose, often. And help them keep it firmly in mind. You bring your value. So it's not just about creating a value feedback loop, but you're actually putting value in over and over and over again. I 100% think that most communities will get to the point where they're self sustaining, but that's not what you're trying to do. It may be there. It may not. But you're injecting value intentionally. And it's more than just enrolled
and engaged. That's like, extra, you're feeding your you're investing. That's the word. You're investing additional value.
Yeah, we try, and because of the nature of my business, I think I always have to be because there are owning a business. There are a ton of preconceived notions about a business, about a franchise, oh, I can lose all my money. Sure, we can definitely lose your money in a business. But I say I don't I don't sell anyone on the idea of business ownership. But I want to educate you squash any myths so that you can make an educated decision. So my goal is to really level
the playing field. So if you have money, you don't have money, you went to college, you didn't go to college, it makes no difference yo me. It's really giving you real life examples. There's a risk, but open up your eyes and realize there's also a risk and being an employee. If you don't realize there's a risk in being an employee, then you're missing. I think half of it. And I'm not saying business ownership is for everyone.
Absolutely not. But when you look at entrepreneurship, you got to do your due diligence, there's going to be that risk. But look at all the benefits but if you go back to that employee, which I have a whole webinar that we talked about it, I say to people this is not to change your minds, but realize, one employer is one revenue, one revenue stream, one source of income. And then I always say, and I come from the investment
world. So I can say this, we now blindly invest 5, 10, 15, 20% of our income into a 401k, that we also don't manage.
100% blind. Yeah.
You know, who's managing this money? So and so on Wall Street that's managing a mutual fund. Yes, you can pick the mutual fund, but you can't pick the group of funds that were actually in that mix. So do we really have any control? Are we at the mercy ever of our manager? Absolutely, 100%. So it's my job to awaken people and say, you know, I've had people come back to me and said, you totally spoke directly to me and a business business ownership is actually not for
me, but I actually change jobs, and I'm so much happier. And I love doing that.
Oh, that's awesome.
I put him in touch with a career counselor, career coach, and they said, You solidified business ownership not being a good fit, but you awakened me to the idea that I've been in finance, but that doesn't mean I can't work in the food industry, or vice versa. So I get that feedback. I wish I would get it more. And I love hearing those stories. But they mean a lot that that totally makes my day.
That's amazing. I love it. Um, we keep coming back to purpose, can you share what the purpose is of your community and how that purpose builds continued success within the community?
So the for the purpose is, you hear the expression, knowledge is power. And I don't really agree with that.
Me either.
And it's probably because of the internet, which I think has made it worse, where there's, I think, too much knowledge and there's too much confusion. So the purpose of the community is to not sell any concept, but to educate. But not just educate. And that's the knowledge piece, it's apply it. So applied knowledge is truly, I think power, it's showing you how to gather this information to make your own decision. And here's a big secret for everyone
listening in. There's no right or wrong. I was an investor for years, people come to me and say, well, what's the best investment? And I go, Well, I don't know you enough. Well, what do you mean? I'm looking at Money Magazine, I'm on Yahoo, finance, or Google, whatever site that they're on, and I go throw it all out, It's garbage.
Yep.
What is your risk tolerance? Do you have children? Do you have a business? When do you plan on retiring? And they're like, I'm just looking for a couple stock tips. And I'll say, well go to someone else, because I think that's really poor advice. And I get the same question, what's
the hot franchise? Go buy Entrepreneur Magazine. So I think if you educate and then you show people how to put this in action, step by step, we've had guests talking about the community, we talked about doing all this stuff, making sure you have this this lifestyle to support business ownership, and we dive into business business business, but how the hell do
you even schedule your week? So we talk about putting your rocks on your calendar, Google Calendar, you pull it up, you put a soccer game for your son or daughter or dance or you put a date night, I have lunch today with my wife at 12 o'clock, it's on every Friday 12 to two, no one could book an appointment with me, those are the important things. And then you fill it in with the business. So going back to the purpose, the purpose is supplying that knowledge and then giving that action plans,
okay, these are all great ideas. I know I got to do this, I got to do that. How do I actually incorporate this? And my coach years ago said you throw out your To Do lists and and just work off your calendar. And if you're going to prospect for two hours put from 9 to 11 prospect right on the calendar, just like you would treat a phone call or podcast like we have today that you're not going to miss put that on the calendar so that it's forced upon you and it's not the to do list that you push
day to day. So I think the marriage of knowledge and showing people the action plan, which is what I'm always asking, like great advice, show me how I think that really helps and brings a tremendous amount of value.
Amazing. Okay, so I love it. That helping people connect knowledge to action is the purpose. I love that you keep going back to this idea that success isn't necessarily somebody who gets into business ownership, but success is actually the people who come through your community and find a path forward that makes sense for them. And that may mean continuing in a job. It may mean embracing the job that they're in right now as the path for them or changing jobs or moving
into business ownership. That's fantastic. I love that. How would a newbie to any community but yours in particular, how would a newbie to any community recognize that the purpose of that community is going to help them succeed and thrive, and let's use your community as the example.
I think telling them what the community is. And you know, we always will welcome someone that that's new. That's the beginning of the journey. So I'll kind of lay a roadmap of where the information is to so basically saying, okay, this isn't a community about franchising. This is that community, as I mentioned, where we're bringing in some great
information, and this is how to go about it. So I think, for the new person that maybe can't contribute as much, I think if you lay out the groundwork, as to the purpose of the community, this is where you can gather the information, start here, start with maybe these five podcasts before anything else, that gives a little bit more of the groundwork, and then from there, then you start a conversation, then, don't read everything, and then you have all this knowledge in your head, you don't know
what to do with. So maybe review these five podcasts, one podcast a day for the next five days, Monday to Friday, come back to me with your thoughts or direction, and then I could supply you, maybe it's a connection, someone I had on the show directly. Maybe it's, you know, what, based of your questions and what you're saying, it sounds like more of a career change, maybe review this webinar, give me your thoughts, and then I can put you if need be in touch with a career
counselor. So the new people that are coming into the community, obviously, they don't know what they don't know. So I want them to go in, absorb some of the unbiased, we try to be as unbiased as possible. And then show them and going back to the
roadmap. Look at this first, don't just go to the website, and we were close to 100 episodes, and you're going to spend the rest of the year reviewing these episodes, break it up into chunks like Tony Robbins talks about, break it up into chunks, absorb it, come back to me, and then I'll point you in the right direction.
I love that. So you have these five that you've picked out, does that list change?
Yes, well, not as much more, depending if they're brand new, never own the business, it's typically four or five of the similar podcast. But if it's someone coming in, that has own business, they're in a different spot. So we may show them it may be two of the same. And then three additional four people that have actually owned businesses, since we have some great stories of people that have owned business. And have
already made that transition from employee to employer. So yes, it could change based of their experience level.
Awesome. And while they listen to those first four or five, they're getting a couple of things out of that they're starting to understand your purpose, because you probably show up and highlight that purpose first and multiple times throughout each and every one, right. So they're getting a flavor of the purpose. They're getting a feel for the way that you communicate so that they know best how to receive that
information, right. They're getting sort of the baseline understanding that they need to be able to navigate inside the community. So and that could be, who do I need to talk to? It could be what kinds of episodes should I go and listen more of? It could be, I love you, you're amazing, and this is not for me. Thank you very much.
Yeah, that's exactly it. I even had a mentor years ago, I wrote a book two years ago. And he's like, bundle your ideas in a book. Some people prefer reading and I think the book outlines a lot of the thought process and even talk about how to build your own team or community. It's chapter four in the book. So we talk about that, we call it a team, it's essentially a team or community because you can expand
on that. But if you bundle your ideas in a book, I think that is almost better than a conversation because initially I should say, because they have the groundwork, they can read it on like wow, I've had people that were interested and they go I go read the book first the 30 Minute read and then come back and say wow, I really realized that I don't want a franchise, I really realize like, oh my god, like I didn't even know there were franchises that existed in industries and that they do the
marketing for you. I'm just throwing out examples. So I think if you can bundle the ideas both I do it in audio and and obviously in print with the book. People absorb knowledge in a different way. So I try to accommodate the best I can via different platforms. and media options.
That's great. Yeah, I love to read, I read very quickly, I prefer to consume most of my information via reading. So people who only have audio podcasts, like, for example, Tim Ferriss, I love him. But he only transcribes about one in four of his episode. So I actually only consume about one in four of his episodes, because I just don't prefer to listen. So it's awesome that you've done that you like you, you put it into a book so that people can read if that's what they prefer. That's fantastic.
And part of that going back to the community was people requested, do you have an audio book? You have this? That why I try to accommodate. But there comes a time where, okay, you can only do so much. It's just me doing this. So we try to accommodate we try to answer questions, the best we can. But sometimes it's just, you know, the audio wasn't available initially. So we kind of said for now, and now it's in
print. But eventually, actually, I didn't do a formal audio book, I did a podcast where I basically went through chapter a chapter. So it was almost like a summary. But we touched on each chapter, and I actually added additional real life stories that happened after the book was written.
Oh, that's cool.
So I kind of I kind of did that. So it's not an official audio book, but as close to it as yet.
That's pretty cool. I like it. Um, do the people in your community follow your lead on this? So they see what you're doing, you're reaching out to the community members in all the different platforms where they might show up. Like, where are you hanging out? I'm going to go there and talk to you there. Do you prefer audio or reading up, I'll help you get the information that you need, I'll help you get the content that
you need in whatever preferred format? Are your community members following your lead on that?
I believe so. You know, when we ask for feedback, and follow up, I mean, I've had people in the community start their own podcast, after being in the community, I've had people move forward with a franchise either with me or through somebody else. And then come back and offer additional advice, or thank us for some of the knowledge. And now that
they're at a different spot, they're coming back. And we know you have a solid community when they come back and give solid feedback to say, yeah, I learned so much from the community now that I own a business. I also want to kind of reengage and bring back some of the knowledge I've learned by owning the business, the good, the bad, the ugly, you know, it's not always
great. You know, I always tell people, if you're always hearing great things, that's a red flag, it's business ownership, you want to hear about the first couple months that you didn't get to pay yourself and real life stories that you can't learn about in a book that you're going to learn directly from people that went through this. So yeah, I think they have and we like to see growth and where people end up.
That's amazing. I love it. Um, all right, curveball, I hope you're ready for it. Curveball is what question have I not asked you yet that you'd like me to ask?
You know, for me, I didn't maybe envision it this way. And it kind of just worked out. So I think, move forward with your big plan. And sometimes it's going to go in different directions. So I didn't plan to have the podcast even go on this long. It was something I was sampling. And then obviously, we've got this community we've built out of it.
So you know, going with a purpose that for me, it was networking and bringing value to the masses the best I could and just getting in front of people that maybe normally would not be able to get in front of. So I think sometimes it's about
really the who not the how, right? Not how am I going to get there but who which was a company we had hired to help me figure out like I knew how to launch a podcast by reading about it, but I just needed that company to really help me launch so which is by the way a book by Dan Sullivan from it's Strategic
Coach. And it's called Who Not How, it came out last year so I think going out there with what you want to establish and then finding the people that can truly help you establish that whether that's be setting up the podcast for you, writing the
book, helping you set up the community. I think having the big purpose in mind and then relying on other people to kind of leverage your efforts and and guide you is key so, Who Not How is a book that as I mentioned came out last year but I think when people say you know I did it all on my own that's tough to say you know, you're working and networking with people that have guided me, whether they were a paid coach or someone that from
my network. So I think the people that are in your network in your community are the key to your success.
I love that. Yeah. Amazing. Thank you. Um, Giuseppe, where can people find you if they want to?
Just if you go right to the website, so it's GGTheFranchiseGuide, and that's a GUIDE realized sometimes it sounds like GUY, but it's GGTheFranchiseGuide.com and you can check out our podcast, you can download our book franchise freedom, which is also the name of the podcast for free. There's a webinar. So if you're thinking of employee versus employer, what are the risks? We talked about it, we talked about the risk on both sides. And if you're ready to talk, our
services are free. We are as I mentioned, if you're an executive recruiter, you can book a call right on top of the screen, send me a message or check out our YouTube or social media where we've put together a 25 FAQs for anyone thinking of about business ownership as well as franchise ownership. So really simple website where I will give you everything and I'm looking forward, I respond to every single message and looking forward to questions, concerns. You want to be a guest on the
show. We'd love to love to speak with you.
Yeah, right. And do reach out because you'll help them figure out which of the 100 episodes are the right first four or five for them to listen to.
Absolutely, we'll go through and based off your current situation, if you're wanting to tackle a subject matter, we could definitely get that for you and make an introduction. So looking forward to that love to speak with everyone.
Awesome. Thank you so much, Giuseppe. I really appreciate you talking about your community here.
Cool. Thanks, Lucas. Appreciate it.
Thank you for joining us this week on Elements of Community. Make sure to visit our website www.ElementsOfCommunity.com, where you can subscribe to the show on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or via RSS so you'll never miss a show. If you found value in the show, we'd appreciate a rating on iTunes. Or if you'd simply tell a friend
about the show that would help us out too. If you like the show, you might want to check out our EOC inner circle where we deep dive with each guest on the inner workings of their community. We cover things like community model, profitability and engagement strategies. You can join the inner circle at EementsOfCommunity.com/inner circle. Be sure to tune in next week for our next episode.