Business consulting brand Exit Factor lists its unit counts in its franchise disclosure documents like all franchises do. However, those units in most cases aren’t traditional brick-and-mortar office spaces.
President Jessica Fialkovich founded the brand in 2018, originally under the name Prep to Sell, to help business owners increase the value of their entity if they’re planning to sell or exit. While consulting began face-to-face, Exit Factor had to transition in 2020 to a virtual space.
“I hate to be another pandemic story, but that’s just what we are,” Fialkovich said. “During 2020, we had to pivot to remote work instead and meet with our clients on Zoom. Coming out of that, our clients have told us they prefer that remote environment. There were more reasons to do it, too.
“We’re usually talking about sensitive and confidential information, so sometimes they don’t want to be in an environment like their business operation where someone could overhear,” said Fialkovich. “They also enjoy the flexibility of remote sessions where they can meet from the comfort of their own home or if they’re on the road.”
When the time came to expand the business, Exit Factor made the move to franchising, as Fialkovich had experience with the business model and saw it as a good way to build a brand with local connections. She gained that experience as a franchisee of Transworld Business Advisors since 2013. She and her husband own 38 locations.
“I believe when you’re working with businesses, you’re actually working with the owner, the person behind it,” Fialkovich said. “With Exit Factor, even though it can be virtually operated, there are people who want to do business locally. Franchising made sense because with the model, we could affect more businesses, help more people and do so with local outreach.”
Another inspiration from Transworld was the ability to have franchisees operate their businesses remotely. It’s what Exit Factor incorporated right away when its franchise system was launched earlier this year.
“It’s pretty straightforward,” Fialkovich said. “We describe in the FDD how client delivery sessions can be conducted in a remote environment. They still can be done in person if a franchisee desires, but we say all of our client work can be done remotely. They don’t need to have a traditional brick-and-mortar office.”
Exit Factor has nine franchisees who own 45 territories. The brand has a large presence in the mountain states, such as Colorado, Utah and Idaho, but has also spread to Texas, Massachusetts and Michigan.
“They have a defined territory, because we want them to focus their marketing on their communities, but it also gives them flexibility with their work,” Fialkovich said. “I think it’s a big benefit for franchisees because we work in a very diverse, global market now. As entrepreneurs, we have connections all over the country, so we’re also not limited by a traditional location.”
Fialkovich said the brand aims to have 25 franchisees signed on by the end of the year. Both Exit Factor and Transworld are within the United Franchise Group’s network of affiliated brands, with the former having an initial investment between $55,000 and $60,000.
Most franchisees in the system utilize co-working spaces allowing them to have mailing addresses and conference spaces available. Just as they can have non-traditional locations, Fialkovich said franchisees can build their brand with a unique staff.
“It’s designed to scale through 1099 consultants,” Fialkovich said. “Most of our franchisees, as they’re starting off, do so as solo operators with maybe one consultant or virtual assistant. However, when working in business services, there’s a cap on how many clients you can take on at any given time. By adding consultants, you can add more clients and there are usually other business coaches or people who’ve been through exits who want to affiliate with Exit Factor.”