In our first meeting with Chet and Lisa Gunhus, the owners of the “Youth Enrichment League” {YEL!} concept, it was clear they had done their research on what it would take to successfully franchise their business concept. Nevertheless, after our initial conversation with Chet and Lisa they recognized their concept needed some refinement for franchising purposes and went back to the laboratory to smooth out the edges. Almost two years later, after much hard work by Chet and Lisa, and with the assistance of Kay Ainsley of MSA Worldwide and Joe Fittante of Larkin Hoffman, the {YEL!} youth enrichment franchise concept was born.
The Concept
YEL was founded in 2004 to bring the best youth enrichment programs (chess, LEGO STEM, fencing, coding, sewing, etc.) to schools throughout Minnesota. Then, it grew… and grew a lot. More than 350 schools in Minnesota offered YEL programs by 2014. After that decade of success in Minnesota, YEL started company-owned branches in Iowa, Wisconsin, and Colorado. After looking at a number of growth options, Chet and Lisa decided that franchising was the way to go and began the search for the right professionals to help them.
What We Did
Knowing that they needed to get it right from the start, Chet and Lisa looked hard at what professionals to use to help them get their franchise off the ground. Joe came highly recommended and after a brief phone call and a face-to-face meeting, Chet and Lisa indicated that Joe left no doubt why he was their guy. His direct demeanor, ability to break down complex legal issues into matters they could understand, and his best-in-class service put him at the top of any professional they had ever worked with.
As Chet and Lisa have said:
Joe gets back to us...fast...freaky fast.