Franchise QB

Episode 99: Aaron Cash, Co-Founder and President- Garage Living

• Mike Halpern • Season 1 • Episode 99

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In this episode of the Franchise QB Podcast, host Mike Halpern interviews Aaron Cash, co-founder and president of Garage Living. 

They discuss the journey of Garage Living from its inception to becoming North America's largest independent garage storage and organization business. Aaron shares insights into the unique market opportunities in garage improvement, the customer experience, and the challenges faced during growth.

The conversation also covers the training and support provided to new franchise owners, the financial overview of the business, and the importance of lifestyle in garage improvement.

Takeaways

Garage Living started as a single location in Toronto.
The garage improvement market is rapidly growing.
Consultation is key to understanding client needs.
Garage Living offers exclusive, high-quality products.
COVID-19 increased demand for home improvement services.
Training for franchisees is quick and effective.
Initial investment for franchisees ranges from $270,000 to $315,000.
Average unit volume for franchisees is around $1.5 million.

https://garageliving-franchises.com/

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Mike Halpern, CAFC
mike@franchiseqb.com

This is the Franchise QB Podcast, where we empower entrepreneurs to win big in franchising. We huddle up weekly to educate our audience about the most successful small business model ever created. Franchise it! Welcome to the Franchise QB podcast. I'm your host, Mike Halpern, a 20 year industry veteran and entrepreneur. My mission is for listeners to achieve their American dreams of creating wealth and independence through franchise ownership. Every week we speak with franchisees, franchisors or vendors that support the industry. Thank you for joining us and let's get started. Joining us on the huddle today is Aaron Cash, co-founder and president of Garage Living. Welcome to the show, Aaron. Thanks, Mike. Happy to be here. Yeah, glad you're here. So it seems like you spent your entire career in the garage improvement space. You spent 10 years building and refining your brand, Garage Living, which is the subject brand we're going to speak about today, which is North America's largest independent single location garage storage and organization business. Then fast forward to 2014, you began expansion through franchise locations, both in the US and Canada. I know you're up in Toronto. Your franchise system currently operates in more than 50 locations throughout Canada, the US and Australia, international business. So really impressive stuff. You've come a long way over the past 20 years. Tell us a little bit about your background and how the idea for Garage Living came about. Absolutely. I have a business degree and prior to graduating college, I did a number of internships, mostly for large multinational companies and marketing roles. oftentimes the way things happen is you learn what you love and sort of what you don't like. And for me, uh I quickly realized that the corporate environment, large corporate environment, wasn't really a great fit. I didn't like the idea of climbing the ladder. I didn't like the idea of some of the constraints on creativity and the ability to be agile and move quickly and take an idea and, you know, if it's a retailer, get it on a shelf or produce a product and distribute it as quickly as possible. when I was done and I graduated, I was really interested in getting my hands wrapped around something that I could start as my first entrepreneurial venture. And it just so happens that it's stuck and it's been an overnight success that's taken 20 years. That's awesome. So tell us a little bit about what your company looks like today in terms of number of franchise owners, trucks on the road, system wide revenue, projects completed, those kinds of benchmarks. Absolutely. So, um, As you mentioned, we started in 2015 with just our corporate location in Toronto. That same year, we added a couple locations, one in Canada, one in the United States. And since that time, we've grown to approximately 52 territories. Mostly in the US, we have six plus our corporate location in Canada. And we had the opportunity to branch out with a couple locations in Australia over the last couple. Okay, so that brings us to about 50 territories with about 44 franchisees. Got it. um So for anyone that's listening, mean, Garage Living seems pretty intuitive, but very quickly, tell us a little bit about your brand and kind of what it does. Absolutely. So Garage Living, as you sort of alluded to, sort of how did I get into this, was created at a time when home improvement was really a rapidly growing category, probably for the first time. since the late 80s for the 90s recession. oh you know, it was at a time when Home Depot and Lowe's and stores, big box retailers, were opening a store a day. So home improvement, whether it was do-it-yourself or products that more contractors were going to get their hands on, was really exploding. HGTV um and channels like it, were also dominating airwaves with big, exciting shows, whether that was home organization, large makeover projects, or just the insight into construction works. know, historically Bob Villa was the guy that sort of gave you that look into the process. And then uh when HGTV came around, they sort of, you know, provided a ton of opportunity and visibility into home improvement. And that's increased not only our category, but pretty much all home improvement categories over the last 20, 25 years. So garage living was created at a time where our category garage improvement wasn't really anything at that time. wasn't even in its infancy. was really just being incubated. And there were some companies that had produced products for garage organization. And we're starting to lay the groundwork for why this space in the home was becoming that final frontier uh of home improvement. So, you know, the basement may be done. If you have basements in your market, exterior spaces are getting finished. Closets were now becoming standard that, know, closet organizers were installed either by a builder or after the fact in order to maximize that space. And the garage was left there. as sort of this last untouched, but very large room. So it presented itself as a huge opportunity, a ton of value to homeowners and an opportunity for business owners to say, we can take amazing products, add great service and assist our clients with transforming their space from what was traditionally dusty, dark, dirty. a dumping ground into one that is welcoming and bright and, you know, consistent with the rest of their lifestyle. Like even in the picture I have on my background, like that's, while this garage may not be typical of every homeowner, the fact that you can walk through the door into the house from the garage is very common. So arriving and departing through the garage and having a space that's bright and clean and organized is, extremely valuable to clients. And that's being part of our challenge, both from a marketing perspective to increase our brand awareness, but also from a category perspective to really make sure people are aware that their home and their garage has this potential. Yeah. I mean, for many families, the garage is their front door. It's the first place you enter when you come in the home. It's, you want to have that feeling when you get to your home that you've arrived in the garage can be that for you, especially if you do something that improves it, like what you have behind you. And I understand, I've kind of looked at your website, there's a lot of different options, which is really exciting. We'll get into that in a minute. But I know you couldn't have achieved all this growth on your own. Tell us a little bit about, you know, your partner and your corporate team that's helped you get to 50 plus. Sure. So we started the business, I have partners that we started the business with and grew our single location together. And then uh when we decided to expand through a franchise network, I sort of took on that side of the business and my partners really focused on sort of continuing to operate our local business. They would support me and we would do a lot of training and development and coaching and uh testing of products and services and best practices through our corporate operation. But ah it was really my responsibility to essentially create another organization. to support franchise partners and the entire system that is required in order for us to make this all work. So what began as just a single individual, myself and another person and sort of some infrastructure that we had within our corporate location has grown now to a supply chain team and an operations team and a field team and finance and uh Obviously our marketing department and a group of about 30 people plus staff in two warehouses that support our entire organization to allow uh all of our partners to execute on fantastic projects each and every day. Yeah. mean, thanks for that backstory. It's in my previous life in franchising, I used to help Independent multi-unit business owners make that transition into franchising and it's nice that you and your partner had the ability for one of you to stay back and kind of mind the store so to speak and then you could go out and kind of start the franchise side because they're two very different businesses even though they're interlocked and some founders don't have that luxury. They don't have someone else that has been there from the beginning that can kind of either stay there. and my partners had to be really patient because We invested a lot in the infrastructure as we grew. um There was a lot of growth before there was something to show for what we were building. And we had to sort of stick to our plan and make sure that we were getting to these milestones. And I think that is one of the hardest part. Building an infrastructure to support a franchise system is completely unlike operating another business in that type of, in your organization. um completely different tool set and a completely different structure. Yeah. You have to forward invest in the business and you have to take risk and you have to put a lot of resources into what the franchise system is going to look like in three years, five years. So I appreciate that. uh So we're going to talk a lot about the franchise system, but in terms of like the consumer experience, when you have a franchise owner that you know, either themselves, one of their team members goes to a client's house. What does that consultation process look like? um You know, when the design consultant kind of shows up and a client schedules with them. For sure. And I'm going to step back a little bit further uh prior to the consultation actually happening and talk a little bit about when the customer experience truly starts in our perspective. So the customer experience of the client experience starts uh the first time a customer lays eyes on any of our marketing or our truck passing by or our showroom location or our website, which often happens. That's really when the journey begins, when they see our product services and our imagery for the first time and uh truly conveys the sense of lifestyle that we're trying to express and we're trying to communicate. No, we don't just sell products and services and here you go, this is a widget or this is a uh fixed sort of package. That's not how we work. So as you mentioned, the consultation is a critical component to that. But we try and communicate that lifestyle right off the bat. And ah once we get to the stage with the client where we've, know, assessed that, you know, it makes sense for us to come out to the house and... um and discuss with the homeowners exactly what they're looking for. We book that consultation uh and we go through a number of steps prior to that to make sure that they have all of the information about our different products and services and what they may be interested in. Definitely what specific price points are. One of the unique things about our industry is that uh clients don't have much in the way of context as it relates to this space. The products are available, the costs associated with it. we really have to do a good job educating uh all of our prospective clients so that we're aligned on the solutions, their needs, and what we can put together in an offering for them. But directly to your question, once we get to the home, um it's very much a, um I'd like to think it's a very informal conversation ah in the garage about what the client needs are, what they value, uh what they're looking for in terms of a design aesthetic, in terms of their stage of life. Because we have clients in their prime child rearing years where they have lots of stuff, whether that's sports equipment, holiday decorations, a million and one different things that need to live in the garage. And we have to identify that and sort understand what their lifestyle is and not try to fit it all into a solution, but rather create a solution to fit their lifestyle. So it's very much a conversation about that, what they need, what they're looking for. And I mentioned what they value. um Some people um perceive the space as just a garage and that might be fine. Just a garage to some person may be a clean, empty, uh completely organized space where you don't see anything. To another person, it may be a workspace where they have all of their tools neatly organized in a way that they can find everything very easily and they don't mind seeing more things on the floor. And there's so many variations in between that. So really aligning on what they're looking for, on what the scope of work is, what they need, what they value is critical for us to then actually measure the space provide samples, provide suggestions, provide solutions that we then take and go back to create 3D renderings and an itemized quote and a complete package that again aligns with that discussion and their needs and their values. Yeah, when you think about it, the garage is kind of a unique part of the home. Like if you're getting a kitchen remodel, there's, you know, the appliances and the countertops and plumbing fixtures, but in a garage it can be so many different things and that's evidenced by some of the different solutions you guys come up with. So if you're design consultants, probably, you know, after speaking with a homeowner, I'm sure that there could be a big departure from where they started to what they end up seeing when all is said and done. Absolutely. And that's, where it gets a little bit tricky because you can have two homeowners on the same street with identical homes and want completely different things. So when someone asks you to ballpark a project based on their neighbor or someone they saw down the road, you can give them an idea of what that project costs, but that project may be completely irrelevant because that's not how they intend to use the space or how they require uh products and services from us in order to make the space more functional. again, it's always a needs and a values based approach that we take. when we're consulting with a client to put something together that works for them. Not every client needs wall-to-wall cabinetry, again, if they have nothing to put in. ah If they don't have a lot to hang up because they use a gardening service rather than doing some of their own uh landscaping, then great, we don't need to have that level of product in the garage. So it's very much customized and tailored to their needs. And we put a ton of effort into this. on understanding those things so that when we do have a conversation about this being the solution and this being the cost, it all makes sense. Aaron, what sets Garage Living apart in your view? Yeah, so some of the things that we've already discussed are core to sort of what differentiates Garage Living. First and foremost, we view the space not as just a um a wide open space in the home for parking, it's really about the lifestyle of the client. So again, it can serve many different purposes and have many different functions and that is unique to each and every client. So we always try and uh provide the content and creative that illustrates that to the client. So you're not going to have, while you may see our products in our photography or in our videos, they're always in the background because how someone uses the space is what we are looking to provide. We're looking to provide that lifestyle. So just our positioning and our overall thought process, I think is unique. Then once we get into the space and we're actually working with the client, um Garage Living um has all exclusive product that's the highest quality in the market. So there are independents, there are um companies that will buy product from a number of different sources. When you buy product through Garage Living, it's only available through Garage Living. ah Many of our cabinetry lines, our wall organizers, our accessories, all the things that we do, were specifically designed to be highest quality in their class. uh And that means uh all steel cabinetry. don't sell any MDF or plywood or particle board products. in our opinion, it's not. high enough quality for the environment of the garage, whether that's an extremely dry, hot climate or an extremely humid um dam. Um, so we operate in pretty much every climate within North America and also in Australia. So we have to have product that's going to be robust and stand the test of time and all of those different products. And we don't believe that, wood based products in cabinetry lines allow that to Yeah. as we talk, I was just curious, like, You know, when you talk about home services, there's a lot of different things you can do, right? We talked about kitchen improvements. You could do a lot of things in and around the home. What did you see in the marketplace, like from an opportunity standpoint that you felt like garage improvement can make an impact? And why did you choose? Yeah, for sure. So in terms of the market, our entire market continues to grow. So We may not be the first in the door when someone's looking to do a home improvement. You mentioned lots of different things that a client may do first. They may do their windows, they may do their ah kitchen, they may do basement, they may do all of those things. um But at some point, those projects are complete and the garage is left there to be done. uh Naturally speaking, um just organically based on what we do, um our clientele tends to be able to afford those other projects in addition to the garage. So oftentimes they're not choosing between replacing the roof and having to do the garage. It's that that's a priority too. And this is affordable as well or within the budget as well. So our market continues to grow. Awareness of the category continues to grow. The recognition of the value of this space increases every year. So the opportunity is immense. Um, and I think it's just a matter of time before more demand, um, higher quality finishes, whether it's from a builder or a developer or, uh, requirement provider to move in or something that they want to do. Um, now more than ever. I mean, you've been at this for more than 20 years, you know, between operating your own company there in Toronto and then scaling it through franchising. Every entrepreneur faces challenges and I'm sure you're no exception. Can you kind of speak to some of the challenges that you faced and how you overcame those challenges? Sure. sort of the, I would say the biggest one that we faced was probably not unique to any home service business or any business on the planet. COVID really was a unique experience. I would say that our organization and company and companies like us have a net benefit from that entire experience as it increased demand on home improvement across the board. But those demands also put a ton of stress on all local business operators, our franchise partners, our vendors, our organization itself in order to meet that demand, to scale rapidly, to adjust how we did things in order to make sure that We were not only operating safely at certain times, but that we were on compliance with different things. ah So that was a unique experience and it continues to have changed the landscape ah for how we operate moving forward. They'll always be sort of before that period and then after that period. And so I would say that talking about our growth, which happened right around the five-year mark, you can't talk about our growth and our business outside the context of the pandemic. It's been a part of our experience growing a business and um quite a unique one. And one that's taught me a ton of lessons about being extremely agile, being willing to change and adopt new things that we didn't uh understand before, that we weren't willing to tackle before, being exceptionally communicative with our partners, with our vendors. with our clients and to a level that we probably wouldn't have always been, whether it's being transparent about a delay on a shipment or someone on our team not being available or any sort of challenge in between. We've always taken the approach and have a philosophy from a client service and a customer satisfaction perspective that home improvement isn't always a exercise in perfection through the process. And anybody who's done any renovations or home improvement will know that it doesn't, nothing goes 100 % to plan 100 % of the time. just, those expectations are unrealistic. And we always talk to our clients about that. However, what the expectation should be is that you're going to get open, honest communication from us. You're going to get solutions presented to you. And no matter what, we're going to work with you until ah the job is complete to your satisfaction. If that is good enough for you, then we'll always have a happy client. If an expectation that will never have a hiccup is part of a client's expectation, then it can make for a challenging uh experience for us both. And again, ah if you take this within the context of a pandemic, um everybody needs to pack their patience at times to make sure we get everything right. Yep. So let's kind of flip the script a little bit and look at the kind of benefits of being in business for 20 years. That's a big milestone. It's hard to be in business for 20 years. That's a big accomplishment as an entrepreneur. What are some of the highlights that come to mind when you think of this journey over the past two decades as co-founder of the company? So there was some validation when we first started franchising that, you know, our model, one that we had spent 10 years building could be transferred to another uh market. And another individual or franchise partner could take the lessons that we had developed in the processes we had created and whether it was marketing material or uh actual products that we had worked on and simply make that model work in their market. And I remember getting off a plane and getting picked up by a franchise partner and we had a full day of consultations booked in Manage. And I remember pulling up to the first house and thinking to myself, could be in a community back home. There's nothing that is different about this client. There's nothing that's different about this area. There's nothing that's different about anything that we're looking at right now, which was incredibly rewarding. We hadn't sold any of them. So, it's not like we made any money yet together, but there was tons of validation and saying, yes, we have this model. And if we take a look at the target market and we work to find those same individuals and use the same process to, um, attract them, to engage them, and then provide them the same level of product and service in that local market, we can achieve something. And so being able to do that at scale has been incredibly rewarding. Well, speaking of scale, let's talk a little bit about if someone listening to this wants to become a franchise owner, thinks your model is really interesting. Can you kind of explain what it looks like when they start up and then when they scale up uh that next phase? I know there's two different phases. An owner operator comes in, there's a certain amount of expectations in terms of volume they can handle, and then they have to kind of like ramp it up to get to phase two. So can you tell us a little bit about that? So we are an owner operator model. um That's ideally what our candidate includes. Sometimes there's partnerships, sometimes there's an investor and then a partner that's the owner operator. But in essence, whether it's a partnership or there's someone in the background, there is an individual that's on the ground that is in the field, that's the owner operator, the designated operator. um Driving that ship. That being said, I think what you said is exactly right. um When we sort of get off the ground, We complete our training and on our onboarding and we find our premises and we get that all set up and we start to go out and get clients and get an install crew. And all of a sudden we've got sales on one side and we've got execution and install on the other side and things are rolling. It lasts until there's a capacity. And within our business, we have two capacities. We have our capacity to market and then leverage all of the sales opportunities we generate. So that's the capacity of the design consultant, whether that's the owner operator to do all that work, plus the administrative work, plus all of the other things that go into business, hiring, managing. And then we have the capacity of the install team to actually get the work done within a reasonable amount of lead time uh because clients are prepared. It's always a running joke that if the guy that you call is available to start the next day, you should probably be concerned that they don't have a lot on the go. when clients say they want it done yesterday and you sort of say to them, listen, if we weren't in demand, that would reflect a lot on the type of work we are and the type of company we are. That being said, there is a lead time or tipping point where we could be losing opportunity because it's taking us too long. to get the work done. we also don't want to, growth means more revenue in the same matter. So there's a tipping point with those two capacities. And as we get to sort of milestones of whether it's a million dollars or a million and half dollars, there are specific uh milestones in which we recognize and have documented that a franchise partner needs to those team members. And sometimes they happen very quickly and other times they take longer depending on ah certain expectations, the market, the individual and their capabilities, what they can hire, what they need to do, what their strengths are, their sort of gaps are, those types of things. But yeah, we have key markers within our organization that help tell us, okay, you're now at that point. And I was talking to a franchise partner just the other day who not only six weeks ago was telling me sort of that he was finding August quite, you know, not six weeks, but maybe four weeks ago, was finding August a little slow and um July was really, really busy. And he was just nearing that point where he had to put an ad to hire staff and get another crew up and running. But he sort of his foot off in August because he wasn't as busy. And now he's swamped and he needs help sort of just getting, you know, getting to that next level with, you know, his business coach working with him on that, but really getting geared up quickly because based on what he's quoted and what he's closing, he won't have the runway to get that work done. So I think you hit the nail on the head. Scaling is about managing those capacities, recognizing sort of when you're at the tipping point that you need to have more staff in order to allow you to continue to grow and allow you to continue to do the most valuable out of tasks. And we talk a lot about that in our training and onboarding that our expectation is never that our franchise partners um are in the field on the job site to uh complete the work. uh Now, I was in a local business for 10 years, like you said, and even beyond the 10 year mark. um When someone calls in sick or you have something that has to get done, it's all hands on deck and everybody rolls up their sleeves. So that's our attitude. That being said, if you're throwing yourself into the field and into the work all the time, you're not focusing on the higher value uh tasks that really will drive the business forward. And that's really the sales, marketing and overall administration of the business uh and hire staff members and manage them and coach them and build them and train them well to execute at the same level you would so that you can do your work. and they can do their work just as if you were inside. Yeah, you touched on a couple of things there that are interesting. Like number one, you always have to be ready to jump in and do it. I mean, you want to replace yourself and get someone that's better than you at doing that task so you can focus on higher value things and scale the business. you know, and that's not easy to do. A lot of people, they get really, you know, good at something and they just say, well, I'm the best at this. That's it. I'm going to do this one task. And if you can, you know, fine, like put your ego aside and hire someone you can then open yourself up to new things. So appreciate that. Yeah. And, and you know, that's something we talk about when we're speaking to candidates and looking at what the ideal candidate is, is some will naturally have skills and abilities and, and, attributes that make them a better fit for certain parts of the business where then they will have gaps in other parts. Um, and then you get individuals that just have, ah this perfectly well-rounded skill set and they're an ideal candidate, but that's not always the case that you're going to have everything. So you're going to have to discuss that and sort of, you know, be very clear about where you want to add sooner than later that are going to, that's going to help you get to where you want. Yeah. So talk to us a little bit about your training and support. know you could probably go on for a while about this, but if a new owner decides, Hey, garage living is my brand. What do you do to kind of get them up to speed and get them to market? Sure. So, um, what's. We are a uh bricks and mortar business in the sense that we do have showroom space within each of our markets and within each of our territories. That showroom space um is uh somewhat variable in terms of the size and scope and scale, depending on the real estate that's available in every market. tend to occupy flex space. So office, showroom space in the front with warehousing in the back. Every location is going to need warehousing in order to have the materials delivered and have trucks in a place to operate their business. The showroom aspect just adds that component to the front because it provides a ton of value for our clients, especially uh at the positioning that we uh have created where they have the ability to touch, feel, see the products and services that we are offering uh and giving them that comfort that we have a physical presence that they can come to, whether it's just to know that we're there or to pick up extra parts or anything in between. So in saying that, uh that build out of that showroom doesn't happen day one. So, and that's very, very common that we will get started in the business. ah We're looking to identify the right location, but the onboarding begins fairly quickly and we start ah getting to a point where the franchise partner is marketing, is generating qualified leads, is doing in-home consultations. Very early in the process, they're going to get their equipment and an installation vehicle and all of the oh tools and things that they're going to need to execute, as well as the training to do that. So both the front of house and back of house training happens fairly early on. And then we go through a period of two to three months where they're ramping up and getting those initial deals done. They're closing those projects all while determining exactly where they're going to be located and what that showroom is going to look like and what that build out is going to require. But it's been as quick as within a few weeks, we've had franchise partners generate leads either from their own network or from some of the initial marketing that we do prior to sort of that brand opening. And sometimes it's taken a few months. ah But once they're done, they're sort of early onboarding, we can generate revenue pretty quickly. Yeah. I think that's pretty cool that you guys are pretty quick to revenue. I know a lot of new owners are like, all right, how are they going to help me with client acquisition, marketing? Sounds like you guys have a pretty robust tech stack. You've been there, you've done it. You can get these guys launched with, know. Yeah. I mean, you know, they're not, again, once we do a couple of our key modules within our training program, they're able to quote, they're able to design, they're able to measure, they're able to They're able to have the conversations I described with the client about what their needs are to assess how to build a project. And once they get back to their market after doing some head office training, um they can start to do that work, whether it again is through some word of mouth lead generation, know, this is any business for me. you should talk to so and so that type of thing, or I'm giving a call to a builder who I've seen working down the street. and seeing if they need any of this work. And, oh yeah, yeah, my client mentioned that they might like to have something done in the garage. Why don't you come take a look at it? Yes, sounds very great. early grassroots marketing can be done. Plus we, you know, very quickly kick into high gear, the entire program, the digital marketing program and the other programs that we have to get that funnel full right away. Yeah, I think it's a really good blend of digital marketing techniques and grassroots, good old fashioned, like networking and referrals. Sounds like a good blend of that is going to be great. And in the beginning, think a lot of it's going to be digital. And then they kind of transition into those referrals. Once people, you know, word spreads around town that, wow, look at the before and the after of my neighbor. Um, so Aaron, let's talk a little bit about what it costs to get into the business. know item seven has a range and that's probably going to vary based on that flex warehouse space you discussed, but what's our. Low end and high end to get into a garage. it ranges approximately from about $270,000 to about $315,000 all in. Okay. And that includes again, that that's a round number because again, you're right. It does include leasehold improvements and build out costs for that showroom, may not likely are not on day one. um It includes inventory and some opening inventory that you're going to have in the warehouse and includes working capital. In addition to sort of all some of the basics of our, you know, initial territory food and some marketing costs that you're going to have to incur to get up and running, training costs and travel for training, things like that. But yeah, some of the harder assets like equipment is included in that number, but is often leased by our franchise partners, um which preserve some cash flow, is excellent. So that when they do need that second set of tools, they don't have money necessarily parked in that first. can add a low monthly payment to acquire another set oh of large equipment, flooring or an entire rig in terms of another truck. So the initial investment does lump some of those things in, but oftentimes franchise partners will lease that to stretch out their cash flow time. Okay, makes sense. And can you share any item 19 financial data with us today? For sure. roughly speaking, and again, don't don't quote me. I'd have to go back to the FD and make sure that my numbers were accurate. So our cost of goods sold as we look at sort of revenue, cost of goods sold, including labor, is right around 40 percent. So 60 percent gross margin before labor. that's the system average. Our AUV last year was sitting at about a million and half dollars. And our goal is really to grow that exponentially with a lot of franchise partners that are growing their businesses right now. And just thinking what else is in there that you might want to know. But those are some of the key numbers that franchisees would like to sort of typically see in terms of margins and sort of top line average revenue numbers that would be, I think, important to evaluate when thinking about the size and scale of the business. When you're getting into a franchise organization, understanding whether it's a job where revenue may be sub $500,000 or it's a business that you can build where in that Item 19, we have franchise partners that are between four and $5 million in terms of size. um It's important to understand that you have the room to grow this to an entire organization that you're building around you with some significant inherent value. Yeah, really attractive gross margins. It's a great revenue average and it seems like you have some really big businesses out there that franchisees have grown. So that's really exciting. Aaron, this was an awesome today. I really appreciate your time. Anything else you want to add to the mix before we wrap up? No, just I'd be happy. We've got some great uh open territories that we think would do fantastic with our market. I'd be happy to introduce you to your local franchise partner to discuss your garage. uh And always the best place to find more information about us and find who you can work with locally is on our website, garageloving.com. Awesome. And I will post that link when I broadcast the episode. Aaron, appreciate you joining us. If anyone listening wants to connect with Aaron and his team to learn more about becoming a Garage Living franchise owner, contact me at FranchiseQB.com or on X @QBFranchiseQB. I'll get you connected with this franchise development team. Thank you, Aaron, so much for taking the time to get in the huddle with us today. Great. Thank you. You got it. Thank you for listening to the Franchise QB podcast where you're at the helm of your future as a franchise owner. If you enjoyed the content, please rate the show and recommend it to anyone that might be interested in franchising. 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