Kitchen Tune Up and Beyond: Lessons in Entrepreneurship Meet President Heidi Morrissey

Heidi Morressey President of - Kitchen Tune Up podcast

Phyllis Pieri

2:36

Hello, everybody. I'm super excited to be here. And Heidi, I can't remember how many years we've known each other now. But I have really enjoyed watching the growth of your company and what a wonderful job you did when you took it over from your dad. And what I'd like to do would be to have you basically give us a little history on the world of franchising as you've grown up in it and what that's been like for you.

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Heidi Morrissey

3:09

Sure, you know, I talked about my dad being an accidental franchisor because he was actually franchising but didn't know he was and then found out what the legal definition was and had to go in and figure out how to do it the right way.

Phyllis Pieri

3:22

Really funny. See, I lucked out, I know that.

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Heidi Morrissey

3:26

That was in: 1987

Phyllis Pieri

3:56

No, Shaquille, or was it Shaquille. That was Yeah, Shaquille O'Neal. That was that was our keynote, what, two years ago, he said that he bought the franchising for dummies book.

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Heidi Morrissey

4:09

That's why it was it was nice and basic. But then we also started going to IFA events, and I decided to get my CFP so I could really immerse myself into the world of franchising. And of course, just you know, up 20 years later, you know, you've kind of been through a lot of different things in the franchising world still is an amazing way to help people get into business and still love the concept of how that works and how we can watch somebody that comes in. They know very little about either running a business or the industry that you're in. I mean, sometimes they'll know one or the other, but they generally don't know both of those and watching them become superstars. I mean, it's like a drug. I said, a lot of times our team you know a lot of us have been here for a really long time. And we all say the same thing is when we get those wins, there's nothing like it.

Phyllis Pieri

4:55

Oh, isn't that the truth? And have you found because I know I have a Over the years, have you found that sometimes you bring a candidate in and you think, oh my god, this guy is going to be fabulous. And then you bring another one in and you're going, huh? I don't know what the wing and a prayer, you know, we hope this guy's going to make it. And the Mr. Fabulous turns out to be a dud. And the one you pray over ends up being a superstar.

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Heidi Morrissey

5:21

Yeah, happens so frequently. And I think it takes them by surprise, also. And so watching them have some self revelations, and I tell people at the beginning of the journey, you will not be the same person a year from now that you are today. Important to know. And you're going to find out something about yourself that will shock you. Huh? Yeah. They come to every time they

Phyllis Pieri

5:49

do. Yeah. So yeah, it's, you know, we can do the profiles, and we can do everything possible to try and find the very best for our brands. And yet, it really is such an inside job. And I don't think you ever know for sure. You know, what's going to be that tipping point?

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Heidi Morrissey

6:10

Yeah, there's internal and external motivators for each person. And depending on how quickly they can move to internal motivators, because so much of our world is designed for external motivation. To get praised as a child, you know, you get a raise as the air job, there's something that happens. And when you are an entrepreneur, you've got to dig into the internal reasons that you do this every day so that you can stay motivated and positive. And wanting to learn because I think those are really key to growing in any thing that you do.

Phyllis Pieri

6:42

Yes, I agree. Totally. So, give us a little bit of background on. So you started working with your dad, I think that is so fascinating. We didn't. So you know, the story about him not realizing he was a franchise. I mean, I've had people ask me about, you know, should I franchise this business? And, you know, I'm doing this, this and this, and I'll say, Well, as far as franchise, it goes, if it looks like a duck, like, so they're gonna make you become a friend, right? And that's what happened with your dad.

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Heidi Morrissey

7:13

He uses that exact duck analogy when he talks about it. That's hilarious. He was doing, he was with Montgomery Ward's. So he understood dealerships. And so you know, in the late 70s, is when the FTC came in and created the rules, right? And so it really wasn't well known if you weren't in the franchising industry already. So when he started to create dealerships in his cabinet business, and then started tuning up in his cabinet business and offering that to his dealerships. Somebody said to me, no, there's a seminar you should go to it's called dealerships versus franchising what you need to know and it was in Fargo, North Dakota, and my dad said, Well, I'll go to it. And he said the exact same words, if it looks like a duck, it sounds like a duck. It's a duck because I need to go do something about this. And so that's when he found a franchise attorney in Minneapolis and and really did everything the right way. But yeah, he didn't really understand that a business like his could be a franchise. He thought franchises were McDonald's and hotels. He didn't know service businesses could be a franchise.

Phyllis Pieri

8:16

Yes, I know. So to tell our audience about kitchen tune up, share, you know, what is the magic that kitchen tuneup brings in the history. So now we know he didn't know he was a franchise from Pima franchise. I love that. So give us a little bit of the backstory of kitchen tune up and how it all evolved. Sure.

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Heidi Morrissey

8:37

So kitchen Tunip was really designed as a way to save his cabinet business because he had been going through the early 80s recession. And people were not doing a lot of new kitchens. And he realized that most kitchens needed to have a little bit of fixing up and so decided that he could turn it up just like you could tune up a car. And so that's really where it launched, he thought it would be a part time franchise that people might take on and maybe a carpet cleaner could take it on as a side business. to his dismay, he never did sell a franchise to a carpet cleaner. But that was the idea. And so obviously, it continued to grow. As we got into homes, we realized people needed new doors, you know, the doors couldn't be repaired, or people needed to have something more different color, different style, and eventually even moved all the way full circle back into new cabinets again. So now we have five core services. And we've been in business for 35 years. And our franchise is beyond the five core services. We also have accessories and hardware and everything else that makes the kitchen look great. So what I love is that we can really take anyone's budget and do something with them and so they can always get a new kitchen. Mm hmm.

Phyllis Pieri

9:42

Nice new to them right there to them ask right? Absolutely. Very important. Because the kitchen I really do believe is the heart of the home. I mean, isn't that where everybody hangs out? I mean,

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Heidi Morrissey

9:55

it's so it's so emotional of a room. It's not like when you fix your roof or you fix Your Windows you have to do those people want to do their kitchen. And I always tell people be prepared to be hugged. Because you will be hugged and people will cry in a good way. And usually within a couple months, they said, Heidi, I didn't believe you when you said that. But you are right, I get hugs all the time. Or they bake me cookies, or they make me pot. I mean, in my past job, I did not get that sort of gratification. That was so immediate when the job was done. And so that's why they love having this business.

Phyllis Pieri

10:28

I love that. Yeah. So, um, what would you say is the biggest challenge that a kitchen tuneup? franchisee has?

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Heidi Morrissey

10:37

I always say we have two problems every year, and they are the same problems we've had for 20 years. We either don't have enough leads, or we have too many leads. Yeah, yeah. So if you have too many leads, then you are working to get the labor pool, you know, put together, you're looking at, you know, how do you manage your time, if you don't have enough leads, then you're looking to what marketing sources do I need. So both of them have been solved over and over again, they tend to, you know, pick up at different times throughout the business and then up throughout a career of a franchise, honestly. And so those are the two things that we continually solve all the time. But if I really thought about what it was that a franchise owners challenges, it's themselves, it is that thought work that mind that is constantly telling them things that may not be helpful. Yes, you know, you always have that little gremlin in your brain that tells you that, you know, you're an imposter or you're doing this. And so we do a lot of coaching around thought work and being able to manage those ideas, and pick the ones that are serving you the best. And I think that that's very, very important when you're trying to build a business is that you know, about managing your own mind.

Phyllis Pieri

11:52

You know, it's interesting, I'm gonna be having guests on that talk a lot about mindset, because I think it's so important, because people, you're right, especially, you know, impostor syndrome is such a big buzzword these days. But I do think I mean, look how long it's taken me to finally launch this silly pod. Here's the thing, the key didn't work. What can I say? So who cares? But yeah, so it's interesting, because people don't, you know, they, you know, one of the things I've been sharing lately is people have gotta have willingness, willingness to try new things. And for it, not to be perfect, and just to get going, right, just to get going. And I love the fact that you became a CFA. I think that is such an important part of franchising, and there's something about taking all those classes. And for people who don't know, as I, as you see, I'm very add, and I jump around.

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Heidi Morrissey

12:58

We all are, right.

Phyllis Pieri

13:01

But the CFA program, I think, is something that is so important, because if nothing else, it gets you connected with so many other people in the franchise family. I do. I do consider it a big family. I was so upset that I couldn't go this year, I was all packed and ready to go. And then I had this stupid lake behind me of which we're still in a holding pattern. They're coming tomorrow

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Heidi Morrissey

13:27

while I was looking for you, but I thought maybe there's so many people, I didn't see you. So if you go,

Phyllis Pieri

13:33

Oh, I couldn't make it. I had every intention of going and then I had this leak going on. And they thought they were going to do work that week. And anyway, so we had these big stalling,

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Heidi Morrissey

13:43

what are you going to do? No, I probably need to have somebody to fix that. Then I need to come up with a to universe in a way to do those types of projects. So you didn't have to have the headaches?

Phyllis Pieri

13:54

I know exactly. So okay, so you're doing kitchen tuna. Now you have bath tune up? How is to end up doing and tell us a little bit about how is it different than other people out there?

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Heidi Morrissey

14:05

am that we had in place about: 2010

Phyllis Pieri

16:54

Oh, yes. Imagine. Oh, that's fabulous. So, wow, for so what our argument doesn't realize, you know, franchising has been around for a long time, but there are franchises that never make it past 25 locations. Correct.

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Heidi Morrissey

17:09

Only about 20% ever go past 50. Mm, yeah. Yeah, it's quite an amazing feat, to be able to grow and to be very, very grateful, obviously, for what we've been able to do, especially through HFC. And their support of helping us to grow very quickly. But we're growing, I think responsibly to I mean, we're not trying to put in 50 locations in a year, we're trying to do about 18 to 20, get them open, get them successful, because we feel like that is a lot more important. And we can have the patience with a big organization, right? Yeah, no,

Phyllis Pieri

17:43

I really admire that. Because I think a lot and you and I've been in this industry, enough time that we know, we've seen things that happen. And my biggest fear always when I hear a new brand that's all excited and pumped up. And they're going to do you know, 50 100 units, it's like, Oh, my God, how can you possibly service those people, I mean, it's really almost impossible, I don't care how much they bring on. So you know, those are the red flags that I want people to really pay attention to. Because, you know, it may sound really great. But at the end of the day, it's really the most important thing is to find out. If you have a CEO like Heidi, that's going to take good care of you, and you're going to get the support you need and you've got happy franchise owners and and so what is the future look like for you, Heidi?

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Heidi Morrissey

18:33

Yes, this has been really interesting. I get this question a lot. Everyone is very curious. After an acquisition, especially as a family owned business, you know, how long do you think you're gonna keep working? You know, I get that a lot. And I don't know if that means I'm aging fast, or what people are seeing. You can always tell people, you know, here's the thing, as long as we are still having fun, and I'm making a difference. This is where I belong. The two universes, you know, kind of a part of me, and I just don't see myself anywhere else. And so it's it's going to be the universe and tell. But we have some goals. We obviously want to continue our growth, we would love to be a household name in my dad's lifetime. You know, even though my dad, you know, sold the company. He obviously follows everybody. It's fun to watch him. He like likes everyone's pictures. He's always commenting on them. And it's his way to stay connected with everyone. Even if he never met that franchise. He's still so excited. Yeah, it is his baby. And he loves that I'm still here to connect him to you know, how are things going and he's very proud of the growth that's happening and and what we're able to do and the fact that we pick the right place to land, and they're taking very good care of us. And, you know, I said that at IFA, we had a franchise that one franchisee of the year so we got to spend some time together just in Vegas a few weeks ago. And one of the things he's said to me at dinner was tidy, one of the best things you ever did for this company, besides showing up and coming in was that you sold it to HFC. Really said, because you pick the exact right place for all of us. And I just said, Well, I'm so glad that that is your takeaway two years later.

Phyllis Pieri

20:18

So share with our audience who was tipsy? And why did you make the decision to sell your company and why HFC I mean, I think they're a great company, but I just

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Heidi Morrissey

20:31

o we made the decision in mid: 2020

Phyllis Pieri

22:55

Well, you know, that company was founded by a great group of men. budget line. So it's guys, it's funny, I used to tell their story a lot. Because Budget Blinds was founded by five guys, two brothers and three best friends. Yeah, and they each pitched in the same amount of money. And they each had a designated role in the company. And to me, that was my way of educating my clients on what makes up a good partnership. And so I really admired how much they grew that business. And they grew it the right way. They took care of their franchise owners. And you know, they were very careful when they brought on other brands. So are you great home? Yeah. And you guys are working on owning the home. Right? So you want you know, there's people don't think about the fact that there's so much power and cross merchandising, you know, they've got two maids in Omak.

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Heidi Morrissey

23:50

Yes, right. And that's what I forgotten Aussie pet. I forgot those. That's right.

Phyllis Pieri

23:55

Yes. Funny because obviously pet will home franchise concepts is up here in Irvine, Newport Beach, California. And Ozzy pet will be ill I'm in Mission Viejo. So I'm halfway between the needs to be in Dana Point. So

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Heidi Morrissey

24:07

no install yet. They still are. So

Phyllis Pieri

24:11

So part of the the concept with what they're doing is to be able to have two maids in a mop comes in and they clean the house and they notice that the bathroom really can help. You can drop off a flyer Right?

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Heidi Morrissey

24:25

Right. That's right flyers, cross referrals within the different brands. There's even an app for that. So that it's makes it easy for people to find who's close enough to them. So there's some amazing things that you can do with that synergy.

Phyllis Pieri

24:40

Now, Heidi, if I own a kitchen tune up in California, California is a little tricky. So would do they have to have a contractor's license?

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Heidi Morrissey

24:52

They do. And so there's there's four different ways to probably get a contractor's license license. Usually they need to have somebody that is going to be qualified or somebody that will basically already has a license that will help them, depending on their level of education that they've gone through, some of them will qualify faster, like an architect or somebody that has gone through in a very similar type of industry, they can get their own license also. And so that's usually what we see happening. We've actually been growing fast in California as of late. So there, there's obviously that excitement that that is there. And, you know, different states have different licensing. Different ones will have your time periods versus a test that you have to take. But it's probably I would say, maybe eight states out of the entire US and I haven't yet seen anything in Canada that shows restriction and licensing.

Phyllis Pieri

25:42

Nice. Well, that's good. All right. So um, who are you looking for as far as a really good franchise owner for your brands?

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Heidi Morrissey

25:52

Yes, I'm glad that you asked that. There's definitely some characteristics that I'm looking for. And I think that for most people that run a business, honestly, these are true across the board. But I definitely look for people that are kind of naturally optimistic. I tell people all the time, I don't need any yours. We are looking for people that have that positivity there because it at least plants that seed for them. But this is kind of the basis of where we're going to bring everything else is from a positive point of view. I also look for people that are wanting to continue to grow in their own personal growth. So I like to ask what book have you read recently? What are you listening to what podcast because I believe personal growth only enhances your ability to grow. As a business owner, I think those are very, very critical. Maybe it's my teacher and me from before. But I like to see that people are interested in continuing to learn. We always look for people that have a strong interest in passion for just the home improvement industry. Usually people that come in, they're like, I love HGTV. What they love is the reveal. And I said that is what you're going to find when you work in a business like ours, because they're not going to do the work themselves. I don't want I don't need contractors to come in or anything. I mean, we have a few here and there. But less than 5% of our franchises have any industry experience. They're coming in because they have a passion for home service for giving the customers a different experience, I find a lot of them either themselves or a family member have had a negative experience with someone and they're like, there has to be a better way to offer this service, right, there has to be somebody out there. And once they find us they're like this is the way this is the better mousetrap and how to do this. So we're definitely looking for people that have a passion for the industry, because this is what they're going to be living for the years that they're doing this business. So those are a couple of the things. Obviously, we have people that are marketing and sales focus, but I also have people that are operationally focused. And so either one of them there, we're going to fill the gap with the training on the side that maybe they don't have the strength in when they first come in. But everybody that is willing to learn and wants to grow can learn anything. Right, of

Phyllis Pieri

28:09

course. Well, I would think you wouldn't want tradespeople anyway because they it's kind of like when I sold sir speedy franchises, I would never sell a franchise to a Pressman, because we catch him running depress right. So you don't want a guy doing the work.

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Heidi Morrissey

28:24

We don't want people doing the work. It just limits their growth. And quite honestly, it's not it's more like buying a job than it is learning how to run a business. Exactly. You know, I think there's a gift in franchise ownership. And part of that gift is learning these new skill sets that you maybe have never had to put out in display before. And all of a sudden, you get to see those come to life. And I think that's one of the gifts of that you find when you do on your own business.

Phyllis Pieri

28:53

Yeah, I think that's great. So now you mentioned to me that you do a podcast for your employees. So tell us about that. I

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Heidi Morrissey

29:02

di say today. But ya know, in: 2018

Phyllis Pieri

30:48

So smart. Such a good use of time, too. Yeah, so um, so what is the typical day like for Toony?

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Heidi Morrissey

30:56

Well, I tell people that it's probably going to be different most days, because you're working with different clients all the time, different homes, different types of projects, because of the variety of services that we offer. So a lot of our owners probably get up, you know, maybe they listen to their podcasts as they're getting ready. I hear that a lot. That's kind of the first thing they listened to. And then they're going to probably check and see what's up for the day do they need to meet with their team does? Do they have to meet their project manager, they may be out doing promotional things. A lot of times, they are just kind of deciding what do they want to do? What hat are they going to where some franchises like to do some sales calls, some of them like to make sure that they're at every single reveal. So they get a part of the hug. You know, they want to see that experience, because that was what they were buying it for. A lot of times, you know, they might be doing some paperwork, they might be doing some ordering. I tell them that one of our goals when they launched with us, and we have a franchise that was with us 27 years that came to start working for us last year, he said he always wanted to work for the home office, couldn't wait to do it. And he's our launch coach, he helps people when they first launched their business to stay, you know, on track with where they're going. And so, you know, as we are doing all of these launches with people, you know, we're kind of tracking some of the what are they doing each day, they may be checking in with their launch coach, they could be checking in with their regional operations manager, there's so many different things that they will spend their day doing. But my goal for each of them is that at a certain point in time, maybe it's one year in that you could take four consecutive weeks off and your business wouldn't change. And so we try to help them set up their business for that eventualities.

Phyllis Pieri

32:42

That's fabulous. Yeah, you know, it's so funny. I've always, I've pretty much always been self employed. And I've never understood why people wouldn't want to be self employed. Because if I want to take a trip, I take a trip. Right. So yeah, I think there's nothing better than having your own business. So tell me about some of your successful female franchise owners because I'm dying to have one of them on my podcast. And because, you know, how do you one of the goals I have for this podcast is, I think franchising is a business that gets overlooked. And I think people when they think franchising, they think food, I can't afford food, I don't want food. And so they just pass, I was talking to somebody said it's like they passed by past my store and don't look inside. So I'm trying to figure out a way to, you know, make my store more visible and have people open their eyes to possibilities, and I think franchising is one of the best ones they should consider.

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Heidi Morrissey

33:42

sting, because when I came in: 2003

Phyllis Pieri

35:08

Imagine that, it's.

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Heidi Morrissey

35:12

And I love that because they don't have a lot of other preconceived ideas of doing it differently. And I know I was on a panel a few years ago, and it felt like a lot of people were kind of slamming that millennial age group. And like, I love the millennials, not only are a few of my children, millennials, but I also love the fact that they love the systems, they appreciate them, they put them into into practice. And they mentioned. So yeah, we've got the females that are out there that are doing some sales, or they're coaching people in their group. I've got one female franchise owner in Minneapolis that has hired quite a few females, you know, to help him be installers to, you know, some of the idea is, how can we open this industry up? Yes, right, the home improvement industry, how do we open this up as a viable option for everyone, for anybody that wants to get into it, because the work can be very satisfying, it can be well paid. So this is something that we're kind of putting initiative, you know, on the ground to say, how do we keep on attracting more people, you know, to come in and work in our businesses, as well as having lead owners being female, because that obviously attracts in more females?

Phyllis Pieri

36:21

Yeah, you know, it's interesting. So I've got a daughter that sporty and she is so good with her hands. But she's only five, no, she's 411. She very little. And, but I keep telling her, she needs to be an appliance repair person, because I swear to God, she picks my girlfriend up in Washington, she fixes all of her appliances, she took the dryer apart, and then she took the I've got pictures of her inside the freezer, trying to get to the back part.

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Heidi Morrissey

36:50

That's amazing. You know, she probably she probably do great as a tuneup artist for us, right, somebody that comes out and makes those cabinets just look amazing. Again, after people think they're done. Now, the tuneup artists, you know, we find that a lot of females love to be that artists that gives them an outlet, they're getting done with their work, and, you know, six to seven hours, you know, each day, so if they happen to be maybe have a, you know, another job like Mom, which is a whole nother job for them, they could easily get that done at that time period. So, you know, it's great to see all of the female energy coming through and influencing everyone else to, you know, just kind of seeing that different side of the business mind that I think a female brings in which I think they'd bring in more compassion, empathy and things, you know.

Phyllis Pieri

37:37

So Heidi, if, if somebody was listening to this podcast, and maybe they'd liked working with their hands, and they going, Oh, I'd like to explore that. Maybe you and I can get together and in the show notes, we'll put some information in there so they could reach out to somebody, I guess, in your HR department or something that can or how,

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Heidi Morrissey

37:58

yeah, the franchise owners, right, the franchisors all have listings, national listings, and so people would be able to see what was available. But yes, I can get you some links for that.

Phyllis Pieri

38:07

Okay. Yeah, that will be fun, because I want people, you know, we're going to build up like a, I don't know, database or something, to help people, you know, think outside of the box. Because people need to open their minds to the possibilities and have willingness to do something different.

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Heidi Morrissey

38:27

Sometimes they just need an invitation, sometimes is that they might be thinking, but they haven't had the invitation yet.

Phyllis Pieri

38:34

Well, we'll give them the invitation.

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Heidi Morrissey

38:35

Let's give him the invitation.

Phyllis Pieri

38:36

All right. All right. Heidi, is there anything else that I haven't asked you that you wanted to share on this episode?

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Heidi Morrissey

38:45

You know, I think that this is a really great platform. I can't wait to listen to all of your future podcasts and hear all the fierce females and franchising because I learned something new every time I listened to anyone really speaking. But when we start listening to the females in franchising, I know that it's just going to be like a note taking session for me. It's going to be great.

Phyllis Pieri

39:07

Well, thank you. I'm so appreciate you being on my podcast. And this is a dream come true for me. I have to do a little plug here. I was I published my book. see anybody considering a franchise book, and it's available on Amazon and all you have to do is put my name Phyllis Pieri and in the search bar and I'll pop up and you can buy the book. It's bullet points and paragraphs, very simple, but it just basically gives you a very well rounded view of all the things you need to do look to look for a franchise.

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Heidi Morrissey

39:42

Yeah. And Phyllis knows she's been around for a really long time.

Phyllis Pieri

39:47

I would like to admit

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Heidi Morrissey

39:50

the industry around the industry

Phyllis Pieri

39:54

around Yeah, I have a long time. Well, you know, I started back as a sir speedy working for speedy In Newport Beach, California, then I owned a speedy in downtown San Francisco and then I worked sold for them for many years. So started in printing manufacturer Minuteman Press guy was our guest speaker today in my chamber group. And I mean in my networking group and was so funny listening to him, he bought a resale big surprise. And he's loved the business and I was at a shop three days ago and it just it doesn't smell like a print shop anymore because they don't do ink on paper. I missed that smell. But I got a little ink in my blood. So what kind of Thank you, Heidi, this has been delightful. I so appreciate you being on the show. And thank you to our viewers. And stay tuned. We'll have another episode next week. All right. Thank you. I'm going to stop the recording