This week, Morgan DeBaun sits down with Melinda Sykes, a powerhouse in the salon franchise industry. Melinda opens up about her entrepreneurial journey, from staying in her 9-5 job longer than expected, to scaling her micro-empire of wax studios through franchising and acquisitions. This episode is brought to you by:  Go to Zocdoc.com/journey and download the Zocdoc app for free. Head to https://www.squarespace.com/JOURNEY to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code JOURNEY. Visit BetterHelp.com/DEBAUN today to get 10% off your first month. In this episode: 00:00 Introduction and Guest Welcome 00:16 Diving into Franchising and Entrepreneurship 01:18 Melinda's Journey from Corporate to Entrepreneur 02:58 Launching the First Franchise Salon 04:18 Scaling and Expanding the Business 05:20 Balancing a Corporate Job and New Business 09:17 Operational Insights and Business Economics 15:27 Acquisitions and Future Plans 17:04 Insights on Business Acquisitions 17:39 Balancing Business and Personal Life 18:14 The Passion for Real Estate 19:29 Defining Financial Independence 24:46 Navigating Franchise Opportunities 30:03 Steps to Launching a Franchise 32:14 Resources for Aspiring Franchise Owners 33:54 Conclusion and Final Thoughts In the episode, Melinda Sykes shares her insights on what it takes to run a thriving studio or salon, from shaping the company culture to hiring a director of operations. She reveals how memberships have become the lifeline of her business, providing the cash flow necessary to sustain growth and operations. Melinda delves into the complexities of being a franchisee, highlighting both the freedoms and restrictions that come with it. She also discusses her experience acquiring franchised businesses and offers practical advice on what the entire process looks like. Morgan and Melinda highlight how entrepreneurs should understand their desired lifestyle so they can reverse engineer business efforts to align with financial goals that support that lifestyle. They also discuss the critical aspect of exit planning, even if an exit is not on the immediate horizon. Tune in to hear Melinda's wealth of knowledge and gain actionable tips for your own entrepreneurial journey. Whether you're considering franchising or looking to grow your existing brick-and-mortar business, this episode is packed with valuable insights you won't want to miss. Don't forget to check out this episode on YouTube and subscribe to the channel there! More from Melinda: https://melindasykes.com/ Join the Newsletter for More Exclusive Content: https://worksmartprogram.ac-page.com/thejourneypodcast Make sure you are following Morgan's journey on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@morgandebaun?_ Visit Mormatcha.com to make a purchase. Follow us on Instagram: https://instagram.com/thejourneybymdb Produced by MicMoguls.