Christy Ford is the co-founder of The Scout Guide. She started her career as a photographer and later moved to Charlottesville, opening a Georgian antique and home store with her mother. As the business grew, Christy realized there was a lack of successful advertising opportunities for local small businesses. She was driven to find a solution, so The Scout Guide was born. Today she and her partner have more than 79 cities where their franchise publications are printed and shared to support the local business community. Christy leads creative direction and branding across the business. For more information, you can check out TheScoutGuide.com. 

In today’s episode, Christy Ford shares with us the journey of The Scout Guide, from its initial inception to the 79 franchises it now consists of. She shares with us the ups and downs along that journey and what it took to get to the decision, then execute that decision of creating the franchise. 

“We are storytellers and connectors at heart. We are the conduits to our community and pulling together small businesses and making sure you know that the community knows they exist.” – Christy Ford

Listen to the podcast below:

This week on SmallBizChat Podcast:

• Building a large franchise from a 2-person startup.
• How The Scout Guide transitioned to a franchise.
• Shoring up your foundation before you franchise.
• Knowing the ins and outs of how the franchise would function.
• Being clear in your model and in those who want to franchise.
• Flexibility and working as a labor of love.
• Pros and cons of franchising your small business.

Resources Mentioned:

• BossQuiz: https://bossquiz.com/

Connect with Christy Ford:

• Website: https://thescoutguide.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christy-ford-0101578b/

Get More!

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