Female Founders
painted this. I’m going to buy a frame and
put it on the wall!’”
Franchisees are hands-on owners from
an operational and business perspective,
but are not necessarily artists. Rather, says
Bigley, they hire or contract out with local
artists. “Their responsibility is to be the
host of their studios and grow the business.”
Most of the artists do other things
full-time. The studios usually are held at
night, so it provides them with supplemental income—and being artists, they
have a passion for the work. “They love
it,” says Bigley.
The brand also hosts corporate teambuilding events in the afternoons, bachelorette parties (yes, with nude models if
requested), date nights for couples, and
private parties for 10 to 40 people. With
just 19 studios now (2 corporate), Bigley
is looking for 50 percent annual growth in
the next 5 years, which will take the brand
to about 100 units.
GETTING STARTED
What inspired you to start your business? I’ve been blessed to have built a
successful career in franchising and accomplished many of my business goals.
The next step for me was to bring it all
together and launch a franchise concept
of my own. Having started in franchising
working for a founder/franchisor, it was
always my dream to do the same. I just
had to find the right concept.
What’s the best and worst advice
you got when starting out? Best: Be
confident, passionate, and focused about
your business and remember that nobody
knows your business better than you do.
Also, do not be too proud to ask for help.
Worst: I had someone advise me to drastically change our business model, which I
didn’t, and was so happy I didn’t.
Why did you choose franchising? I
think it’s the best model out there to grow
a brand and ultimately be successful in
business. I wanted a business that would
provide opportunities for others to live
their dream of owning their own business
and build a community of like-minded
successful entrepreneurs. That’s the core
of what franchising is all about.
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How did you get started in franchising? Totally by accident. I was working
in the clothing industry after college and
decided it was ultimately not the industry
I wanted to build my career in. A friend
told me about a company called American
Leak Detection. They needed someone
to run their company operations. They
were a franchise (which I knew nothing
about) and a concealed plumbing business
(which I also knew nothing about), but
after starting I quickly found my passion.
Twelve years, 125 additional franchisees,
and vice president of the company later, I
learned how to build a franchise company
one department at a time. It was an amazing opportunity—and little did I know at
the time, the building blocks for me to
build Bottle & Bottega.
Did you have a partner/co-founder
when you started? How important
was that in building your company?
Yes, my business partner Stephanie KingMyers started our business as a mobile popup model in 2009 and I came on board in
2011 to build the franchise. Although we
didn’t have a studio model proven out yet,
the initial lessons and success from her first
1.5 years gave me a higher level of confidence that we could make the full-scale
model work. I feel it allowed us to ramp
up much faster.
How did you fund your company at
the beginning? As you grew? We did
a combination of personal funding and
using revenue from our company-owned
studios. We then extended to bank lines of
credit when needed for key development
periods. I found that establishing a strong
relationship with our banker from day one
and keeping them regularly updated on our
growth and plans was key. When I needed
help they already knew the business, and
me, so the process was much easier than
going in cold.
BUILDING THE BUSINESS
What has been the best and the
hardest thing about being an entrepreneur? Best: That I can execute
my vision and my ideas how and when
I see fit and get such gratification when
we succeed. Hardest: Being the leader
of a company can be a lonely position.
You have to be the visionary, cheerleader,
brand and goal ambassador/enforcer, and
everyone’s rock and rudder every day to
keep the business positive and moving
forward. There are days when being that
person is extremely tough. That’s where
girls night out helps.
How has your experience in running
a franchise business been different
from what you expected? It’s been extremely gratifying, which I did expect. I’d
say it’s been a lot more work and taken a
lot more money than I expected. There is
always something new to build or something
existing that you want to be better. The
evolution of the business just never stops.
How did you grow the brand at first?
What changed as you expanded? It
was very organic at the beginning because
we didn’t have a lot of money. As we continue to grow, we are able to add more
resources and people who help us move
the needle faster with additional layers of
expertise. It’s not just Stephanie and me
doing all the work anymore.
How did you transition from founding a brand to leading a brand? We’ve
tried really hard to keep our team focused
on where we are trying to go and letting
them know that the decisions we make today have to be scalable for future growth.
Additionally, I knew I had to focus on getting my head out of the weeds and better
delegating certain aspects of the business
to my team. I’ve continued to work on
myself and develop my own skills to be
a better leader and CEO. As leaders, we
have to keep up with all that is changing
in the business world.
How would you describe your leadership style? I’m a very hands-on, direct,
results-driven leader. I work hard to be a
calm and positive leader, especially in a
crisis. I try to be the constant coach and
role model helping develop my team in
their roles and giving them opportunities
to make mistakes and learn. Early in my
career it was hard for me to let go and trust
others to make decisions for me. I knew
that to grow a business from the ground
up I had to learn to let go and trust more.
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