Fantastic Sam's

Franchise Interviews Meets with Master Franchisee to Fantastic
Sam’s Jerome Williams

Any time you hear the word ‘franchise’, people think of fast food. However, did you know over
seventy-five industries are now franchising? One of these industries that more professionals from Corporate America, the IT world and aspiring entrepreneurs are entering is the hair care industry. Fantastic Sam’s® is the world's largest full-service hair care franchise, with salons located throughout the United States, as well as some salons in Canada, Singapore and Japan. Their first salon opened in Memphis, Tennessee in July of 1974 and we began franchising in 1976. Their salons have earned a reputation for providing quality hair care services, including cuts, perms and color, to the entire family. The goal at Fantastic Sam’s® is to provide our guests with unexpected quality, unexpected service and unexpected style at a great value.

With over 1350 salons, Fantastic Sam’s® provides a wide range of services including: haircutting & styling, hair coloring, texturizing and a variety of hair treatments. Their
stylists are continually attending classes presented by our very own educators to keep up with all the latest styles and trends. I had the distinct pleasure of meeting Jerome Williams who owns a Master Franchise for Fantastic Sam’s. Jerome provided us with the keys to success
in finding a franchise, training for Fantastic Sam’s’ franchisees, and the characteristics of typical Fantastic Sam’s franchisees. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did. Definition of Master Franchise Master franchises offer the opportunity for qualified individuals or corporations to purchase the rights to sub-franchise the brand within a given country or territory.

Master franchises acquire an area franchise, as well as operate in its own location. Some of the services normally provided by the original franchisor will be provided by the master franchisee and between them they will divide the franchise fee and subsequent royalties paid by
the sub-franchisee.

The Interview
Franchise Interviews – What
were you doing before getting
involved with Fantastic Sam’s?
Jerome Williams – I used to be a
medical equipment and supplies
sales representative.
Franchise Interviews – That is a
big difference from franchising.
How did you get involved with
Fantastic Sam’s?
Jerome Williams – Although I
worked in Corporate America, part of
my game plan was to one day own a
business. At least twice a year, I
would meet with a franchise broker.
I did that for 5 years until I found
something I wanted to investigate
further which was Fantastic Sam’s.
Pictured above is Master franchisee to Fantastic
Sam’s Jerome William.
Franchise Interviews – What is a
typical day like as a Fantastic Sam’s
franchisee?
Jerome Williams – Because we are a
master franchisee, there is no typical
day. It includes some of the following:
· Helping our franchisee under us with
daily operation questions,
· Creating new marketing and advertising
materials,
· Planning meetings with current and
new vendors,
· Looking for real estate for a new
franchisee,
· Interviewing and prospecting
candidates,
· Resolving problems,
· Negotiating letters of intent for real
estate,
· Creating sales and marketing materials.
-continued on back page-
M
Franchise Interviews, LLC● 327 Waterford Terrace● Easton, PA 18042 Phone 1-888-722-2785● Fax 1-800-784-8374● email- marty@FranchiseInterviews.com
An exterior view of a Fantastic Sam’s salon
franchise
In addition to all of that, we own a
Fantastic Sam’s in Lawrenceville, NJ,
which is our prototype store.
Franchise Interviews – Who is the
typical franchisee that purchases
a Fantastic Sam’s franchise?
Jerome Williams – It may be people
from Corporate America, who may
have just been downsized. We get a
lot of people from the IT world. We
also get a lot of entrepreneurs.
Franchise Interviews – What type
of skills or qualities should
someone have to be a Fantastic
Sam’s franchisee? What skills do
you typically look for?
Jerome Williams – They should have
an entrepreneurial spirit. They should
also remain open to learning as well
as be a team player because
franchising by nature is about building
a brand.
Franchise Interviews – It seems
better that a prospective
franchisee doesn’t have
experience in the industry
because they would be more open
to learning.
Jerome Williams – Without question.
Someone who has owned a salon may
struggle because they would ask
questions like, “Why are these guys
doing it this way?” and “Why do I
need to pay a franchise fee and
royalty?”
Franchise Interviews – They don’t
understand franchising.
Jerome Williams – That is right.
Franchise Interviews – What is
the training like for a new
Fantastic Sam’s franchisee?
Jerome Williams – Training is
intense. New franchisees go to
Fantastic Sam’s University, which is
a weeklong and is located in the
Boston, Massachusetts’s area or out
in California at our old corporate
headquarters. They learn
everything from soup to nuts about
the business from how to price their
products and services and how to
deal with people. There is a wealth
of information provided in the
training. The beautiful thing is
training doesn’t stop there. For our
salon owners, training is continuous.
We have a monthly meeting at our
regional office in East Brunswick, NJ
where other owners can share best
practices.
Franchise Interviews – What
advice would you give to
aspiring entrepreneurs looking
to buy a franchise?
Jerome Williams – That is a big
question that I would answer with a
couple of suggestions. Buying a
franchise is a very involved process.
If you are doing it alone, I would
suggest using a franchise broker
because they can present you with
various options based on your
interest, finances and skills. A
skilled franchise broker will help
guide your through the due diligence
process and present more than one
option to look at. That type of
guidance, which is usually free, is
invaluable. If you are researching a
franchise with a partner, than you
can divide tasks for your search.
The key to both scenarios is
education. Make sure you know
everything about the opportunity
you are looking at. Also make
certain you are mentally,
emotionally and financially prepared
to move forward if you find
something that your like.
Franchise Interviews – A lot of
times we compare it to a
marriage Jerome.
Jerome Williams – Exactly, and
like a marriage, you can lose your
shirt if you are not careful.