Chambers Brings Over Two Decades of Franchise Experience to the Role
REP’M Group, a leading franchise development organization, added Christina Chambers as vice president of operations and project management for Build’M. The development company’s Build’M division helps brands and their franchisees open locations. Build’M focuses on site selection, buildout and post-construction assistance and more. Build’M is one of REP’M Group’s four pillars along with Brand’M, Grow’M and Scale’M. In addition to Chambers, REP’M recently expanded its team with Spike Albrecht and Will Siegel. Chambers looks forward to applying the next level of data analytics and process improvement to reduce the time and cost for franchisees to open their locations. “Both the franchisee and franchisor win when locations open on time and under budget,” Chambers said.
She was previously the chief development officer at Franworth, which recently formed a partnership with REP’M to help emerging brands grow and scale. When that partnership was finalized, Chambers was excited to join REP’M Group with a focus on real estate and construction.
REP’M Group’s leadership team believes that she’s right for the job. “We are very excited to have Christina join the REP’M team. Her extensive franchising background and desire to help franchisees and franchisors scale confidently is a fantastic addition to our group. Christina is going to continue to optimize our systems and will prove to be a catalyst for growth as we continue to contribute to the success of franchising as a whole,” said Jason Ryan, co-founder and managing partner of REP’M Group.
Chambers has been in the franchise industry for over 22 years, working across all aspects of franchise support, from sales, real estate and construction to onboarding and financial analysis. From the first time that she awarded a franchise and helped stores open, Chambers caught the franchising bug. “It is rewarding to see families realize their dreams and build generational wealth through their businesses,” she said.
Importance of Real Estate
In Chambers’ view, real estate is the foundational basis for a strong business. “By working with franchisors to understand their customers, brand standards, and successful trade areas, our real estate team helps franchisees find the right site to maximize their potential return on investment.”
She added that once the build-out phase begins, using an experienced team to select and manage the architects, general contractors, and furniture vendors to keep the opening costs within budget is vital. Additionally, a good construction management team is well worth the fee and pays for itself in terms of cost and time savings, she said.
Buying a Franchise
For anyone looking to own a business, Chambers suggests taking a step back and making sure you understand your “why.” “If your answer is simply ‘I want to make money,’ then you haven’t dug deep enough to unearth your true motivations that will keep you going when times get tough.” She added that while owning a business can be rewarding, it can also be difficult. Based on her experience, she knows that franchising reduces risk by providing a roadmap and a support team to work with along the way.