Nora Farhat is a franchisee of Mathnasium, Wonderly Lights, Real Time Property Management, British Swim School and Pool Scouts. She opened a location for each brand because of needs she saw in her community.
“When I was looking to relocate back to the U.S., I thought it’s now or never,” said five-brand franchisee Nora Farhat. “This is something that I’ve always wanted to do.”
Living in the United Arab Emirates capital of Abu Dhabi at the time and working in corporate management for a government hospital system, when Farhat decided to move to Detroit she also decided to switch careers.
She opened her first British Swim School in 2015, followed by Mathnasium, Pool Scouts, Wonderly Lights and Real Time Property Management. The addition of brands is tied to her personal life and the needs of her community. As the mother of three daughters, she went with her first franchise because of them.
“My kids needed swim lessons,” she said. “They were young, and there were no good programs in the community that I was living in when I moved.”
The same thing happened with Mathnasium, as Farhat noticed a lack of math tutoring in her community. Neighbors didn’t have someone to take care of the pool? Time to open a Pool Scouts. Winter means Pool Scouts’ maintenance services aren’t as needed, so outdoor lighting franchise Wonderly Lights fills the offseason.
“For me, it really is just more businesses that I feel that are missing in the communities that I’m in,” said Farhat. “Everything really has such a personal journey for me.”
On her podcast, “Upside Down Entrepreneurship with Nora Farhat,” she draws on her experience to offer advice to other franchisees. In addition to researching brand stability and the financial performance of a model, Farhat said self-reflection is key to the selection process as prospective franchisees consider their own needs and those of their market.
She needed to account for when her children were home, and she wasn’t about to open “the eighth pizza shop” in the neighborhood, she said.
“There’s so many different brands out there, and what I love about franchising is it does allow you to maybe explore things that you didn’t even know,” said Farhat. “If you’re able to see all of these different brands that have had success, whether it’s near you or in different states and cities, and then you can say, I love this brand and what it does.”
Farhat is often asked how she balances work and motherhood. Her answer? She doesn’t. Farhat said balance isn’t a factor. Instead, she keeps focus on what needs her attention in the moment. She’s in mom mode when she needs to be with her daughters and at their school, and will likewise put the needs of her business at the forefront, such as during prime operating months.
Farhat knows the ins and outs of each brand, and isn’t afraid to be the one doing the hard labor.
“I think the biggest mistake people make going into business is that they’ll just hire out every position,” she said. “I truly believe that I have to be the expert at my business to fully understand it and run it at a high quality.”
Once she masters her own business, finding employees is much easier. If they have questions or need further training, Farhat can provide it based on her experience. As her staff become more confident, she starts to step away. Using that process, she opened five different franchises—but only when she was fully prepared to do so and not a moment sooner.
“I remember thinking, oh my God, did I really just quit my very lucrative corporate job so I could go work hundreds of hours a week?” Farhat said. “For me, business ownership paid off absolutely 100 percent. I think that the version of myself now nine years later, after owning different brands and being in this world, there is something so exciting to me about it.”