Struggling Franchise Owner? What You Do Next Changes Everything | David Lemaire

What do you do when your franchise is struggling, money is getting tight, and the business you were once excited about starts filling you with fear?

Anyone can feel confident when business is booming.

But what do successful business owners do when the clients aren't coming, expenses are mounting, and everything they can see seems to be telling them that their business isn't working?

That's the conversation I'm having with franchise owner David Lemaire.

David's journey to business ownership didn't begin in a boardroom.

As a child, David survived a near-death experience that profoundly shaped the way he sees life. Years later, while driving for Uber, he discovered something else that would change his direction: he loved helping seniors.

One ride became another.

David began networking and building a reputation as the person seniors and their families could trust to help them get where they needed to go.

Eventually, he saw an opportunity to turn that heart for serving seniors into something bigger and invested in a HomeWell Care Services franchise.

But something changed when money, expectations and the pressure to make the business succeed entered the picture.

The business became hard.

After approximately one year of franchise ownership, David had signed just five clients and was struggling.

That's when someone referred him to me.

After our first coaching conversation, David signed three new clients within 48 hours.

Five in a year.

Then three in two days.

So what changed?

The franchise didn't.

His territory didn't suddenly change.

David began changing the way he was thinking, feeling and showing up in his business.

I encouraged him to read Earl Nightingale's The Strangest Secret, and he began seeing his business and his possibilities differently.

Hope returned.

Things started happening.

And then life got hard again.

David learned he was losing his lease. Financial pressure resurfaced. The excitement faded, and the familiar negative thoughts began creeping back in.

And THAT may be the most important part of David's story.

Because personal development isn't about learning how to think positively when everything is going your way.

The work matters most when your circumstances are giving you every reason to think negatively.

Losing a lease can mean:

My business is failing. Everything is going wrong.

Or it can mean:

An expense is being removed. What if this creates an opportunity to become more profitable?

The circumstance hasn't changed.

The meaning you give it has.

And that meaning influences how you feel, what you see, the conversations you have, the opportunities you notice and ultimately what you do next.

This episode of Create Wealth Through Franchising isn't a polished success story with a neat ending.

David is still in it.

And that's exactly why I wanted you to hear his story.

Because there are franchise owners listening right now who are in it too.

You're working hard. You're worried about money. You're questioning your territory, your franchise, yourself—or all three.

And your current results are making it increasingly difficult to believe that something better is possible.

Please don't make your biggest decisions from your smallest thinking.

David's story demonstrates how quickly something can begin to shift when a struggling business owner gains a different understanding of where results come from.

It also demonstrates why this work isn't a motivational speech, a book you read once or one powerful coaching conversation.

It is a practice.

And it's why community matters.

When your current reality is screaming that something isn't working, being surrounded by people who are training themselves to think in possibility, rather than limitation, can influence what you see and what you do next.

David and I talk about where he's been, what he's learning, why he sometimes loses the belief he's building and what he's learning to do when fear comes back.

Because the goal isn't to never have another negative thought.

The goal is to recognize when you're letting fear run your business and know how to choose differently.

David's story isn't finished.

I have a feeling that's exactly what makes this episode worth watching.

Resources

Want to learn more about the work we do inside The Zee Suite®?
Get started here

What You'll Hear

• David's near-death experience and how it shaped his outlook on life
• How driving for Uber led him to discover his passion for helping seniors
• Why he invested in a HomeWell Care Services franchise
• What changed when serving seniors became a business that had to make money
• Why he struggled during his first year of franchise ownership
• How five clients in a year became three new clients in 48 hours
• What The Strangest Secret taught David about his thinking
• Why hope and possibility began returning
• What happened when financial pressure and losing his lease triggered old thinking
• Why the meaning we give circumstances influences what we do next
• Why personal development requires practice not one motivational moment
• Why community becomes especially important when business gets hard
• What David is learning to do when fear returns
• What he believes could still be possible for his business and his future

Approximate Chapters

00:00 – When Business Gets Real
01:32 – Meet David, HomeWell Care Services Franchisee
02:08 – David’s Life-Changing Diagnosis at Age 12
07:51 – The Childhood Experience That Shaped His Future
08:41 – From Uber Driver to Serving Seniors in Nevada
10:48 – 15 Months in Business and Struggling to Find Clients
11:16 – The Mindset Shift That Changed Everything
12:15 – From 4 Clients in 15 Months to 3 New Clients in 48 Hours
15:52 – How Money Pressure Can Strangle the Vision
20:00 – What Happens When Old Doubts Creep Back In
23:43 – Making the Transformation Sustainable
25:56 – How David Feels About His Future Now
30:41 – The Missing Link Between Your Franchise and Your Wealth