Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2014 | Page 26

2014 MVP AWARDS
BY DEBBIE SELINSKY

Second Time Around
Husband-and-wife team join forces as Sport Clips franchisees

B

obby and Lori Forrest came well-prepared
for their second careers as multi-unit franchisees for Sport Clips. The couple grew up
in Texas and met at Texas A&M University,
where he graduated with a degree in engineering
technology and she earned her master’s in land economics and real estate.
As they approached 50 and decided to begin
building their own business, they looked no further
than the place where he gets his haircuts. “I was a
customer and I liked the concept,” he says. “We also
liked their conservative approach of having franchisees continue to work their regular jobs until the
shop was up and running. It took the pressure off
the first couple of years while we were learning.”
After 27 years in sales and management with an
electronic components distributor, Bobby retired
and joined forces with Lori, a commercial real estate
appraiser, to buy two corporate Sport Clips salons
and open a third. “We went from zero to three in
the first year,” he recalls. “We found our skills to be
complementary. I spend my time on sales, marketing,
hiring, and firing, and she works more in operations.”
The couple spent those 3 years learning their
new business before opening another salon. “We
learned about owning a business. We were diligent
and persistent and figured we’d do whatever it took.
You have to be committed. If you get into it halfway, you’ll get halfway results,” he says, joking that
NAME: Bobby & Lori Forrest
TITLE: Team Leaders (Owners), Divine Clips,

Keller, Tex.
NO. OF UNITS: 8 Sport Clips
AGE: We’re both 52
FAMILY: Daughters Chandler, 22, & Megan,

19
YEARS IN FRANCHISING: 10
YEARS IN CURRENT POSITION: 10

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MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE IS S UE III, 2014