I recently went one-on-one with Scott Abbott, CEO of Five Star Franchising.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Scott: Great question, Adam. For me, being accustomed to failure or being told no started very young. I started slinging fishing tackle as my first business at age 16. I was constantly learning to develop grit and commitment to my goals. I truly believe that became foundational for me as I continued on in business. I learned very young that failure was simply a part of the process. The key was for me to evaluate what I was doing, how I could improve, and stay committed to excellence.
I started my first franchise brand at age 30 after having had a mixed bag at various ventures. What I knew from past experience is that scale was key: keep it really simple and focused, and choose an industry that was large and had room for innovation. When Five Star Painting was born, my co-founders and I built one of the most successful brands in the home services field. I am very proud of what we did, the lives we impacted, and the people that we worked with in perfecting our model.
One of my first failures was Five Star Christmas Trees. The thesis was that painting was seasonal, we had capacity to take on a new project in the compressed off-season, and no one had ever simplified and mastered a Christmas tree delivery service. The demand was there, and we envisioned that we could deliver 50,000 trees in one season. The issue was being able to learn from my mistakes fast enough to iterate in the same selling season. New problems would arise each year, and we wouldn’t be able to correct them until the following year. We ultimately sold the business, which ended in failure. This taught me the very important lesson of compressing learning cycles and learning to be nimble and focused on mastering the business through data.
Adam: In your experience, what are the key steps to growing and scaling your business?
Scott: Nail it then scale it. Franchising’s cornerstone is what we call unit economics. Franchisees have to be profitable. They need to have a business that can provide for them and their families and help them fulfill their ambitions of independence, both financially and personally.
Once we developed a business model worthy of scaling, we applied those foundational principles and then leveraged the model of franchising to add thousands of locations over my career. Today, we have 1,600 locations operating under a Five Star brand.
Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?
Scott: Be curious. Be open to feedback. Be candid and real with your people. Speak your vision into existence, over and over again. One of my favorite sayings is, “Find ways to say things that are very important in seven ways at least seven times.” Live by a value system and tell the world what you and your business stand for. Do the hard things in your own personal life so that you can do the hard things in your business. Challenge yourself constantly, physically as well as mentally, and find people that have that kind of mindset for your business.
Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Scott: The best way to get to the next level is to surround yourself with people at the next level. Join an organization like Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO) or Entrepreneurs’ Organization (EO). The sooner the better. I have been in EO for 13 years, and it has been instrumental in my success.
Adam: What are your best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?
Scott: Focus on things that create real value. Avoid busy work and time-wasting activities. What unique value proposition do you have to offer? Do that as much as possible.
Surround yourself with people that can complement your weaknesses. Play to your strengths, and let others do the same.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?
Scott: Read the books No Rules Rules (Reed Hastings, Erin Meyer) and Radical Candor (Kim Scott). Both of these speak to the critical nature of focusing on the goal and bringing others with you by speaking honestly and directly to what others can do to improve and achieve their own personal greatness.
I have discovered that people who are top performers want to know how they can improve. Find people that are like that and help them level up.
In short: Invest in people.
Adam: What are your best tips on the topics of sales, marketing, and branding?
Scott: In our industry, you have to have a clear understanding of the entire customer journey. Yet so many businesses I have looked at acquiring, and even some that I have acquired, have dark spots in the data needed to deliver a clear picture.
I would argue that this is one of the most important things in any home services business. Yes, you have to take care of the customer, and in our case, deliver on the Five Star promise, but if you don’t know things like your customer acquisition costs or return on ad spend, you will be challenged to scale efficiently.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Scott: Be curious. That’s it. Ask questions. Everyone has something they can teach you.
