As a franchisor of a long-established financial service system we are often asked, ‘do I need a financial
background to become a franchisee?’ It is a logical question and comes up many times. Our answer is
always the same – NO.
We like to build our team with individuals that bring a variety of backgrounds and experiences to our
model. While we never turn away people with a financial background, we do not specifically seek them
out. Building a system with individuals that bring variety to the mix is a great asset when dealing with
small business clients as we do. From our team, we can always find someone that has specific
knowledge of a problem or set of circumstances that are prevalent with our clients. That ability to
respond with accurate and timely knowledge is a great asset.
If a financial background is not all that important, where then do our franchisees come from? We would
like to share with you some ‘life before franchising’ backgrounds.
Jim came to us after a 25-year career in the telecommunications industry. He wasn’t really intending to
move into the world of franchise ownership, however, the demise of his employer helped to speed his
transition. In his former life, he worked in a fast-changing industry, moving from 3G to 4G service, the
whole shift to cellular networks and the like. Jim was involved in day-to-day problem solving activities
surrounding large telecommunications network systems.
What helped him make the transition was the fact that many of our clients were also in the
telecommunications industry, so he was able to take our service and talk their language.
Joe, on the other hand, had a career that started by being drafted into the military during the Vietnam
War period, and serving as a military policeman. On his discharge, he entered the world of insurance. He
spent some 30 years turning around distressed insurance companies, and getting them back on their
feet. He had zero background in our particular financial service. He did, however, possess the ability to
solve problems – an asset that has proved more than useful in his present franchise role. Working with
small business clients to accelerate their cash flow is the nature of our business, and Joe quickly learned
to use his problem-solving skills, as cash management is a daily problem for all of our small business
clients.
Mary did, however, come from a financial service background, but at a level well above our small
business platform. Mary spent many years in the institutional bond markets servicing municipalities and
the upper echelon of multi-national companies. This was indeed a far cry from our average client, where
their cash needs might be around $30,000.00 as opposed to thirty million dollars. For Mary the
transition worked because her focus was very much on owning and running her own business. The fact
that it was a business that offered a much needed helping hand to entrepreneurs was a bonus.
Our team also embraces franchisees that in a former life were educators, served in the military, owned
retail establishments, physicists, etc. Having a financial or non-financial background is not an issue as we
can build on top of a solid business background the elements of our specific service.
We are The Interface Financial Group, a 42-year old company engaged in invoice discounting. We work
with small businesses that are expanding rapidly and, therefore, need extra working capital to fuel their
growth. With today’s banking environment, that extra working capital is often very hard to find. This is
where the expertise of The Interface Financial Group comes into play. We are able to accelerate their
cash flow through the purchase of specific receivables to generate that ‘extra’ cash needed for growth,
without creating a loan situation.
Interface franchisees work in a direct one-on-one relationship with these clients, and bring their prior
business skills to the table to solve cash flow problems and apply the Interface approach to creating
growth and jobs.
As a franchisor, we continue to grow; and as we seek out new franchisees, we always look for individuals
that can bring a solid business background to our table – that ‘been there – done that’ approach is a key
ingredient in our team.
For more information visit, www.interfacefinancial.com