How a Calgary couple used franchising to bring a spark of adventure to their retirement
By Suzanne Bowness
After retirement, some people put up their feet or take up golf. Emma Southwood and her husband, Dan Kolody, decided to become franchisees.
As a nod to their new life stage, the pair set some criteria for their post-retirement venture, mainly that they were looking for increased quality of life—as in, weekends off. Vowing to do their research, they approached a franchise broker to explore their options.
“The franchise broker was really grand,” recalls Southwood. “Listened to what we wanted, in terms of our aspirations, hopes, what was important to us, and then matched us with a bunch of franchises.” From there, they began a process that Southwood says felt like dating.
“Some of them fell off during that time for different reasons. And Image360 was the one at the end. We went down to see them, they rolled out the red carpet on Discovery Day, they answered my millions of stupid little questions. They impressed us with the depth of their knowledge and support levels.”
As a graphics and signage business, Image360 provides other businesses with custom signs and graphic solutions, including environmental graphics, mobile graphics, wayfinding signage, and promotional displays. From custom signage outside a retail store to vehicle wraps that advertise a business on the road, to window decals on a car dealership, they’re the kinds of graphics that people see out and about, every day. As a one-stop shop, Image360 simplifies the process for creating and supplying clients’ visuals, plus it ensures that a company’s branding is consistent throughout these visual elements.
Fit to print
Besides the great vibe she got from the franchisor, Southwood also had a comfort level with visual communications, thanks to her former career in sales and marketing. “When it comes to ideas, talking about branding and branding strategy, that’s not unfamiliar to me.” Kolody’s background in the window film industry was also a fit, and while the pair knew there would be a technical learning curve in the production aspect, they felt energized by the thought of joining a franchise in this space.
So, they took the plunge and signed up for the territory of Calgary South, aiming to complete training in March and then open their doors in…May 2020, as luck would have it. Not the best timing for a new business.
Despite the pandemic, Southwood said the new business survived fairly well, in part because their property manager, who is also a commercial developer, was very supportive. “When COVID happened and they had tenants moving in and out of their properties, they threw business our way, in terms of doing sign installations or removals,” says Southwood. “They introduced us to their tenants and others in their network.” Soon, they added another commercial property client, and their network continued to grow.
Today, repeat customers remain a major source of business, although referrals, word of mouth, digital advertising (on Instagram and YouTube), and networking (in their case, the Calgary Construction Association and their local chapter of the global networking group BNI) also play a large part in driving revenue.
Southwood still counts commercial property managers as some of her best clients. The franchise also does window graphics for retail stores and businesses, which Southwood loves because of the opportunity it provides for creativity. Aside from Southwood and Kolody, the operation includes two other employees, and they divide up the work according to their skills. The workday starts around nine in the morning with a “work in progress” meeting where the team reviews current and upcoming projects. From there, the crew runs out to work on their action items.
Routines and challenges
For Southwood, daily tasks include two important facets of the business: sales and management. But beyond that, client consultations (both in person and virtual), creating estimates, sourcing materials, and supply chain are all in a day’s work. Kolody handles a lot of the production and installations, although Southwood occasionally steps into the fray as well. (Case in point: she spoke with Franchise Canada via a Zoom interview while wearing a fluorescent green safety vest, after briefly stepping off site from a parking lot signage installation.)
Since opening more than four years ago, challenges at their location have mainly been the production learning curve and staffing. But thankfully, each challenge has become more manageable as they’ve gained experience. Given the technical nature of the sign business, Southwood says that at the start she and Kolody spent a disproportionate amount of time working on production. Now that they’re a few years into running the business, they’re working on putting processes in place and looking for technologies that can support their operations. They also have their searchlight on for new technical talent that can be hard to come by.
Because potential clients are served with automated online quotes from general-purpose graphics providers and even Amazon, their business has to be very responsive and must focus on customer service as a differentiator. All these lessons learned are tips that Southwood would pass along to new franchisees, along with the advice to really lean on head office and follow the franchise system.
Franchise fan
Southwood is also glad she chose Image360, as she notes that her franchisor is always thinking ahead about new innovations. “You get industry knowledge. They bring that next level of forward thinking, like about AI, just all these really relevant topics,” says Southwood. “The franchise brings that to you in a consumable fashion, in terms of how you can put it into your business. Cutting-edge stuff that can keep you innovating and growing.” She also appreciates the support of the two coaches provided by the franchise, one for the overall business and the other for sales and growth. “You wouldn’t get those things if you went [into business] as an independent. And then there’s also the sense of camaraderie when we reach out to other franchise members.”
Despite the learning curve, Southwood says the sign business is very satisfying in terms of making a difference to customers, and she loves the fact that she gets to use her creativity every day. “We said when we started that we wanted to create something, we didn’t just want to sell. This was something that, for us, made us feel like we were making a difference. This business does that. The best moments are like, right now, we’re installing parking lot signs. How simple is that? But the clients are standing right over there, and they’re watching us install these signs, because these parking lot signs mean the difference in a level of frustration between them and their neighbours. They’re very excited.
“I love it—the minute you put the signs up, they’re going to be out their door. They’re going to be high-fiving each other.”
Learn more about franchising with Image360
