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Aaron Smith — Best franchising advice from Australian success story

32 minutes

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$20K debt to $20M fitness empire

In this episode, we’re joined by one of The Entourage’s greatest success stories. Aaron Smith, the Founder of KX Pilates. In less than a decade, and with the help of The Entourage, Aaron took the business from being $20K in debt to a 60+ studio franchise turning over an incredible $20M+.

For anyone who wants to know how franchises work, how to make a franchise successful from both franchisee and franchisor sides, and much more in this week's episode. And while not every business is right for the franchise model, Aaron still has some tips and tricks up his sleeve around launching into overseas markets, hiring the right teams, and how to innovate within your own business.

Aaron himself has recently stepped down as the CEO and from the day-to-day running of the business, and will now focus his time on new business and innovation opportunities - he’s truly had an amazing journey, let’s have a listen.

Aaron Smith, Founder of KX Pilates on The Make It Happen Show

"It comes down to people first, timing second, and probably just hard work, which equates to a bit of luck as well."

— Aaron Smith

In this episode, you will learn:

  • 1:48 - The hard lessons in building 60+ pilates studios in Australia
  • 3:37 - How franchises work and how they learn to run a business
  • 11:42 - Launching a franchise overseas
  • 14:53 - The keys to a successful franchise
  • 17:53 - What a franchisor should do to become successful
  • 23:43 - How head office of a franchise looks after their franchisees
  • 29:39 - Make It Happen In A Minute

DID YOU ENJOY THIS PODCAST?

PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW ON

TOP 10 BUSINESS PODCAST ON ITUNES

Great insight for business owners and super practical takeaways!

Bruce Casanovic

Amazing guests, great insights into their journey and what has helped make their businesses successful. Great to hear how some of the guests have navigated challenge as well. Loads of good practice takeaways.

Perfect for the Monday commute

innov8me

Great to listen to on the commute to work on Monday mornings. Great content, well delivered and plenty of insights from industry leaders in a variety of fields. Good to see the entourage getting out there with a podcast series

Top-shelf guests. Top-shelf conversations.

podcast_junkie_18

This is so awesome, so helpful, and so fresh. Right from the get-go, the team at The Entourage have brought out the big names in the Aussie entrepreneur and business space to have conversations that every business owner should listen to. I can't wait to see who they bring on next.

Amazing guests

Komesy

Loved the episode with Tim Fung, Airtasker CEO! You guys are getting some awesome guests in! Thank you!

Entourage on point again!

Adz Rodger

Great content again from The Entourage! Particularly like the 1st episode and the points Tim Fung made about making sure you make time to map out the future and don't get stuck on day to day 'work', as well as the observation that you really need to be strategic about your people management and not just try to save money. Two awesome take homes I have already taken action on!

For entrepreneurs and non-trepeneurs alike

kylie_73

Well this was one of the best things I’ve heard in a while. I’m by no means the target demographic, having zero business or entrepreneurial experience at all. Luckily the advice given for business growth and success is remarkably applicable to personal growth and success. Loved the conversational style, by the end of the podcast I felt like I knew both Tims personally, which is a great mark of engagement. And I loved hearing about the humble beginnings of Airtasker from the founder himself. Give this a listen if you’re craving a bit of personal or professional inspiration.

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