Brian Daniel was feeling trapped.

He was a super successful sales management executive for a well-known, national consumer product company, racking up numerous awards for his work. He was rewarded with a great salary, and bonuses, plus lots of sweet “perks”, like a company car. The future seemed bright for Brian, but after 17 years, he was ready for a change.

“What I enjoyed most about my position was the opportunity to be creative, to structure sales and marketing strategies to successfully reach corporate goals.” recalled Brian. “But near the end, I felt like I was not applying as many of my own ideas/strategies toward achieving results. That wasn’t very fulfilling for me.

“I have always had a strong entrepreneurial ‘itch’,” said Brian, “but acting on that was offset by the job security of the large company. Now, I felt like it was time to ‘scratch that itch.’”

That’s when he started exploring his options to own his own business, which eventually led to him to Susan Mell, an Alternative Career Coach with The Entrepreneur’s Source®, North America’s leading career transition coaching franchise. But he was still wrestling with the Big Question: To have the freedom to be creative, and run his own business, was he really willing to take the next step and walk away from his high profile, well-paying management job?

We had the chance to talk with Brian from his office in Southern California about how Susan and The Entrepreneur’s Source helped him in finding that answer. But it took a little time, and Education, Awareness & Discovery to get to it.

TES: Tell us about your first meeting with Susan.
Brian Daniel: She and I first started talking last year. I was up front with her about not being sure about leaving the corporate environment for many reasons. Chief among them: I was the sole breadwinner. I asked her to call me back in six months and I would make a decision. However, the decision was made for me!

TES: What Happened?
BD: After a fantastic 2016 financial performance that did not yield the praise and reward I’d expected, the company and I separated our relationship in early 2017. I was out of the corporate world for the first time in 17 years!  It was exhilarating, but a bit disconcerting at the same time. I’m glad Susan called me back, as she had promised!

TES: So how did Susan and The Entrepreneur’s Source help you?
BD: First, Susan had a full, in depth coaching session with me to find out what my Income, Lifestyle, Wealth, and Equity (I.L.W.E.) goals were, which was a great experience. These were MY goals (my WHY), not someone else’s!

Next, I was provided some self-assessment tools to help me better communicate and engage with the opportunities I would be looking at. She was very thorough, and focused. This was definitely not a “one size fits all” consulting situation, but a very empowering coaching experience.

Once we completed the education, awareness and discovery phase, she started sharing with me with different franchise business models she thought would fit MY goals, needs and expectations. Together, we validated those companies, their operational processes, business model feasibility, and other factors. She never once pushed one company over another, but offered clear coaching that empowered me to come to my own conclusions.

TES: Tell us about the company you chose, InXpress, and why?
BD: InXpress is a global freight and shipping company, which focuses primarily on small to mid-sized businesses. We provide face-to-face service and a smooth shipping process, which saves customers time, hassle, and money.

When comparing companies during my validation, their operation was head and shoulders above the rest. Plus, owning an InXpress franchise provides me with the ability to provide well for my family, have more flexibility over my time, and allow me the opportunity to move my base of operations to another state if I want to.

TES: What is that like-launching a new business?
BD: I have an MBA and certainly understand many components of business, but the learning curve is the steepest I’ve ever encountered! It’s hard work, and there’s risk involved, but if it was easy, everyone would be doing it! TES invested in my early success by helping me figure out my corporate structure, best source for business funding, and really laying out a solid framework from which to launch. No way I could have done this without Susan and The Entrepreneur’s Source coaching experience. We basically went from signing the InXpress franchise license agreement in June of 2017, to opening our doors in August as a fully functioning business.

TES: How is your business doing today?
BD: We are growing rapidly and projecting to have 75-100 clients a year from now. The goal is to have enough residual business so that we can throttle back on sales, while re-investing in the business, and having more control over my time. This is the creativity I craved in becoming my own boss: Finding a way to have more life balance, while providing for my family, and to do what we want to do, when we want to do it.

If you’re ready to take that next step, like Brian, to becoming empowered, and not just employed, while really defining your Income, Lifestyle, Wealth and Equity (I.L.W.E.) goals, The Entrepreneur’s Source® wants to help you. To get start, being with step one of the five step Franchise Match survey!