Jordan Meinster: Stretching and Kicking Basketball Franchise Performance into High Gear
They say there’s a time and place for everything – Jordan Meinster says the time to start a basketball franchise is right now. There are many things that mark PickUp USA Fitness out from other franchises, but Jordan starts with two. ‘First, we offer new franchisees a turn-key business complete in every detail, including training and mentorship programs. And second, our whole environment is based upon allocating substantial resources to our training programs, whether it’s complete training or 365 day/year support. We at Fortunes Crown got into conversation with Jordan Meinster, Founder & CEO, PickUp USA Fitness, to know more about the company and how it is helping the businesses as a whole. Below are the highlights of the interview: Please brief us in detail about the current scenario of the franchise business. How have the customer preferences changed over the years? PickUp USA has awarded 43 franchises for our basketball-focused concept. We have a nationwide presence and are considered the industry leader in basketball facilities. We stay in tune with our customer preferences and continuously adjust our services to ensure we are providing a world-class basketball experience. Some recent examples include a members-only adult basketball tournament each week and a new Youth Development league for kids in grades 3rd – 8th. Could you please walk us through your educational/professional journey? What was the moment that triggered you to step into the franchise business? I went to college in Durango, CO and always played PickUp basketball at parks and rec centers there while I earned my Bachelor’s in Business Economics. I put myself through school managing a restaurant. When I wasn’t in school or working, I was playing basketball! I worked for several years in banking and finance and eventually enrolled in night classes at USC where I completed my MBA. I always dreamed of opening a basketball gym and one day I got the courage to quit my job and start PickUp USA! When was PickUp USA established? What are the prominent services/solutions offered by the company? The first PickUp USA was established in Irwindale, CA (just outside of Los Angeles) in June 2012. PickUp USA is a basketball paradise for youth and adults. We do group and private basketball training, PickUp basketball with referees, tournaments, Youth Basketball Leagues, and a lot more. All of our clubs also have full fitness centers with weights and cardio equipment. What measures do you incorporate to ensure motivation and productivity within the workspace? How do you respond to criticism and disagreements? I take a very hands-off approach with my team. We collectively determine goals and then I let them figure out how to get there. It is a very entrepreneurial workplace. We encourage risk-taking and making mistakes. That has helped us become one of the fastest-growing fitness franchises in the US. Criticism and disagreements are a natural and productive part of any business. Criticism provides great feedback and insight from customers, employees, and franchise owners. Disagreements show that everyone cares. Friction is a part of growth and we welcome it as long as everyone remains respectful and professional of all team members. What measures do you undertake to ensure optimum customer satisfaction? How much impact does the customer feedback have on the company’s strategies? Customer feedback is a huge part of how we shape our programs and services at PickUp USA. We continuously run member surveys and connect with our customers at our gyms. Our corporate team is consistently onsite at corporate-owned and franchised locations and we actively solicit feedback from customers so we can know how to best serve them. Our franchise owners also perform self-audits on their stores to ensure that we are living up to the high expectations that our members and guests have for our clubs. As a leader, how do you ensure hiring the ideal franchising candidate with the ideal qualities? How do you ensure providing effective training and mentorship to the team? When analyzing franchising candidates for PickUp USA, our development team completes a comprehensive discovery process to get to know the individuals looking to franchise our basketball concept. Our Franchise Development Manager sends e-Brochures and conducts initial phone calls to answer initial questions and determine if there is a fit. From there, she sends them an application to complete. Upon receiving the application, she determines if the candidate qualifies to start our discovery process. If qualified, our VP of Franchise Development conducts a series of interviews and webinars to build the candidates understanding of our program. After this process, the VP determines if we will award a franchise to the candidate. It’s a very thorough vetting process that ensures we have top-tier franchisees to deliver our services to the public. After signing on as franchisees, our training and mentorship programs are widely recognized as the best in the industry. We allocate substantial resources to our training programs and all franchisees complete a comprehensive curriculum through PickUp USA University. Franchisees work directly with our VP of Operations, our VP of Marketing, and our Franchise Support Associate to complete their training, and they are assigned dedicated reps at the corporate office for ongoing 365 day/year support. We also have a platform for franchisees to communicate with one another, either one-on-one or in a community forum. We all support one another. When one of us wins, we all win. How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact you and your company? What was your response to the unprecedented situation? COVID shut down all of our gyms for a brief period in 2020. We banded together as a company and weathered the storm. We quickly recovered and were back to pre-pandemic levels of business by Q3 of 2020. 2020 wound up being a record year for the company and 2021 far surpassed 2020’s numbers. Things have not slowed down in 2022. Q1 was our best quarter ever. COVID was scary, but we have an amazing group of franchise owners and a dedicated corporate office. We didn’t close a single location
Jordan Meinster: Stretching and Kicking Basketball Franchise Performance into High Gear
They say there’s a time and place for everything – Jordan Meinster says the time to start a basketball franchise is right now. There are many things that mark PickUp USA Fitness out from other franchises, but Jordan starts with two. ‘First, we offer new franchisees a turn-key business complete in every detail, including training and mentorship programs. And second, our whole environment is based upon allocating substantial resources to our training programs, whether it’s complete training or 365 day/year support. We at Fortunes Crown got into conversation with Jordan Meinster, Founder & CEO, PickUp USA Fitness, to know more about the company and how it is helping the businesses as a whole. Below are the highlights of the interview: Please brief us in detail about the current scenario of the franchise business. How have the customer preferences changed over the years? PickUp USA has awarded 43 franchises for our basketball-focused concept. We have a nationwide presence and are considered the industry leader in basketball facilities. We stay in tune with our customer preferences and continuously adjust our services to ensure we are providing a world-class basketball experience. Some recent examples include a members-only adult basketball tournament each week and a new Youth Development league for kids in grades 3rd – 8th. Could you please walk us through your educational/professional journey? What was the moment that triggered you to step into the franchise business? I went to college in Durango, CO and always played PickUp basketball at parks and rec centers there while I earned my Bachelor’s in Business Economics. I put myself through school managing a restaurant. When I wasn’t in school or working, I was playing basketball! I worked for several years in banking and finance and eventually enrolled in night classes at USC where I completed my MBA. I always dreamed of opening a basketball gym and one day I got the courage to quit my job and start PickUp USA! When was PickUp USA established? What are the prominent services/solutions offered by the company? The first PickUp USA was established in Irwindale, CA (just outside of Los Angeles) in June 2012. PickUp USA is a basketball paradise for youth and adults. We do group and private basketball training, PickUp basketball with referees, tournaments, Youth Basketball Leagues, and a lot more. All of our clubs also have full fitness centers with weights and cardio equipment. What measures do you incorporate to ensure motivation and productivity within the workspace? How do you respond to criticism and disagreements? I take a very hands-off approach with my team. We collectively determine goals and then I let them figure out how to get there. It is a very entrepreneurial workplace. We encourage risk-taking and making mistakes. That has helped us become one of the fastest-growing fitness franchises in the US. Criticism and disagreements are a natural and productive part of any business. Criticism provides great feedback and insight from customers, employees, and franchise owners. Disagreements show that everyone cares. Friction is a part of growth and we welcome it as long as everyone remains respectful and professional of all team members. What measures do you undertake to ensure optimum customer satisfaction? How much impact does the customer feedback have on the company’s strategies? Customer feedback is a huge part of how we shape our programs and services at PickUp USA. We continuously run member surveys and connect with our customers at our gyms. Our corporate team is consistently onsite at corporate-owned and franchised locations and we actively solicit feedback from customers so we can know how to best serve them. Our franchise owners also perform self-audits on their stores to ensure that we are living up to the high expectations that our members and guests have for our clubs. As a leader, how do you ensure hiring the ideal franchising candidate with the ideal qualities? How do you ensure providing effective training and mentorship to the team? When analyzing franchising candidates for PickUp USA, our development team completes a comprehensive discovery process to get to know the individuals looking to franchise our basketball concept. Our Franchise Development Manager sends e-Brochures and conducts initial phone calls to answer initial questions and determine if there is a fit. From there, she sends them an application to complete. Upon receiving the application, she determines if the candidate qualifies to start our discovery process. If qualified, our VP of Franchise Development conducts a series of interviews and webinars to build the candidates understanding of our program. After this process, the VP determines if we will award a franchise to the candidate. It’s a very thorough vetting process that ensures we have top-tier franchisees to deliver our services to the public. After signing on as franchisees, our training and mentorship programs are widely recognized as the best in the industry. We allocate substantial resources to our training programs and all franchisees complete a comprehensive curriculum through PickUp USA University. Franchisees work directly with our VP of Operations, our VP of Marketing, and our Franchise Support Associate to complete their training, and they are assigned dedicated reps at the corporate office for ongoing 365 day/year support. We also have a platform for franchisees to communicate with one another, either one-on-one or in a community forum. We all support one another. When one of us wins, we all win. How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact you and your company? What was your response to the unprecedented situation? COVID shut down all of our gyms for a brief period in 2020. We banded together as a company and weathered the storm. We quickly recovered and were back to pre-pandemic levels of business by Q3 of 2020. 2020 wound up being a record year for the company and 2021 far surpassed 2020’s numbers. Things have not slowed down in 2022. Q1 was our best quarter ever. COVID was scary, but we have an amazing group of franchise owners and a dedicated corporate office. We didn’t close a single location
In Home Personal Services
As more and more Americans hit old age, concerns around activities of daily living (ADLs) are top of mind. Old age is the most vulnerable phase of a person’s life. These senior citizens spend their lives sacrificing and caring for their younger generation. It is the responsibility of society to take care of and cater to their needs. At this stage, when they are feeble, they depend on the next generation for some support and assistance with their daily life. Many senior care organizations are coming forward to aid these senior citizens with their daily chores, medical appointments, etc. Franchising such businesses filled with humility can bring extra smiles to wrinkled faces. And if it provides an in-home care experience, would be the best possible. Here, In Home Personal Services, the leading senior care in-home service provider maintains the feeling of independence at home with the best care structure. Talking about the journey as an entrepreneur, Michael A Collura, President and CEO of In Home Personal Services says, “We all want the same independence from our youth and the freedom to live our lives. The reality is we can still have those things as we age, even if we need a little help to get there.” Being intrigued by the social vision and philosophy that Michael possesses, we got an opportunity to interview him and share his caring thoughts through this article. Please brief us in detail about the current scenario of the franchise business. How have thecustomer preferences changed over the years? The senior care industry is not just in a boom, it is a long-term and sustainable growth model within a high-demand industry. Economic, pandemic, and job market resistant the business model with In Home Personal Services has not just survived, it has thrived, over its decades-long run and today operates as one of the most forward-thinking and innovative brands available to prospective entrepreneurs today. Could you please walk us through your educational/professional journey? What was thethe moment that triggered you to step into the franchise business? Built by an entrepreneur for entrepreneurs the franchise system has clear differences that favor the franchisee and their ability to grow and run their business free from many of the “normal” constraints often found within a franchise model. It is not just a franchisee-friendly brand, it promotes inclusion, cooperation, and control for the franchisees. This system was made for the entrepreneur looking to grow a business, not someone looking to purchase their next job. With a truly open environment, the franchisees themselves of the system have made many of the significant improvements to the system supported by the franchisor. A proven model, once again proving, is built for and made by the entrepreneur. When was In Home Personal Services established? What are the prominentservices/solutions offered by the company? One could say the company started unofficially in the early ‘90s when its Founder, Michael A Collura was first introduced to the senior care industry by his own Mother. Fast forward to 2004 and a brand of this size and scope was never intended. But when you do good and you do it this. Well, growth comes naturally. Offering seniors, a true choice and with real flexibility, theindividualized care that was being offered was unlike anything else. No minimums, no contracts, no commitments, no kidding! In Home Personal Services provides the compassionate care one was seeking with the freedom and flexibility to make it their own. The clients and families identified the immediate difference and the brand quickly grew. What measures do you incorporate to ensure motivation and productivity within theworkspace? How do you respond to criticism and disagreements? The team itself drives the motivation to do good, the result and the feedback received show what In Home Personal Services provides matters. But the real strength behind the brand isn’t about the innovation. It’s about the people. Founder Michael Collura explains; “What we do is more than provide care to your loved one. We provide the safety, peace of mind, compassion, and independence we all crave. We all want to age with grace, dignity, and respect. We all want the same independence from our youth and the freedom to live our lives. The reality is we can still have those things as we age, even if we need a little help to get there. It is our team of care providers that make this a reality for countless seniors across the country today.” What measures do you undertake to ensure optimum customer satisfaction? How muchimpact does the customer feedback have on the company’s strategies? As a leader, Michael A Collura has built a team around him to ensure quality and compassion drive the brand. The team throughout the entire brand is committed and he has one prevailing requirement of anyone on the team; “There is one single requirement and that is you must possess a genuine desire to care for the elderly. Without it, you will not make the impact or uphold our vision the way we have been entrusted to do so. This is how the quality and the ongoing commitment to the brand’s mission and vision is upheld.” As a leader, how do you ensure hiring the ideal franchising candidate with the idealqualities? How do you ensure providing effective training and mentorship to the team? With the expansion of the brand these values, and that same quality is at the top of the list of requirements for prospective franchisees. There is no other real requirement to join this amazing brand other than you must care about what you are doing. It seems like a radical and unconventional way to grow a brand- or is it? It may be the truly perfect means by which to convey and grow the brand’s mission without ever sacrificing what matters most. The work that is done, the care that is provided, and the lives that are impacted. As a decorated leader, what would be your piece of advice for entrepreneurs seekingcareers in the franchise