How did you get into the industry?
Brian developed a love for photography by learning from his dad who always had a camera in hand. He honed his talent capturing nature in New England until he moved to Atlanta to start a multimedia production company soon after obtaining a marketing degree. Brian began his professional photography career capturing sporting events. He and wife Kelly diversified the portfolio of Local Flavor Films + Photography to specialize in real estate marketing. Brian’s expertise lies in his friendly demeanor and innate ability to capture homes of all sizes and price points at their best. His attention to detail creates loyal clients, along with his desire to keep current of market trends to ensure the proper marketing of each listing.
After graduation from the University of Texas, Kelly spent 15 years in global wealth management that took her from Texas to New York City and eventually to Atlanta. Two young children and many missed activities later, Kelly decided to join Brian in their real estate marketing venture to allow for flexibility of schedule and the excitement of creating something from the ground up. In her role, Kelly is a natural fit in client relations and day to day operation of the business. Surrounded by creatives, Kelly is the more rigid personality who gets everyone on the team where they need to be, and ensures that the client experience is seamless from the get go.
What’s New in the Local Flavor Business or in the Franchise Model?
For the last three consecutive years we’ve been named the top real estate photographers in our home market. This presented the opportunity and invitation to partner with Real Producers, who represent the top 500 realtors in our market. In addition to capturing great photos, we prioritize staying at the forefront of current trends in home marketing, which currently includes Instagram and Tiktok reels, 2d floor plans, 3d tours, virtual staging, virtual timelapse etc. This makes our realtors look great to their clients, and helps them get more traction for their listings and sell them for more money. We offer all products and services needed for real estate marketing so that the realtors are not piecemealing services, which is inconvenient for homeowners and costly for realtors.
Where do you See Opportunities or Challenges for the Local Flavor Franchise/Business Moving Forward?
A challenge for our franchise is that our local, family feel translates to other markets. We would like to identify franchisees and photographers who will deliver an on-site experience who is professional, helpful and not rushed. This is an organic, referral-based business which takes some time to build but then the client base is very loyal. That challenge becomes a great opportunity as your loyal client base is your greatest source of referrals. We always stand out among our competition, as our service and product is set apart from others. While our systems are simple and powerful, we excel at delivering superior service and product consistently which is both a challenge and an opportunity.
What is your Goal for the Business Moving Forward?
Our goal is to find partners who share our vision of exceptional customer service. We also continue to evaluate our processes to ensure we are most productive and profitable. We are very proud of our turnkey solution for our franchisees in that we’ve got workflow covered including bookings, shoots, delivery, editing, uploads, design creation, payment center, bookkeeping and all integrations to make for productivity, scalability and profitability. They really benefit from our years of fine tuning to now make for a simplistic but powerful booking, editing and delivery system.
Talk to us About Training and Support, How Do You Deliver?
Franchisees go through our in-depth training modules through easy-to-use platform, Trainual. Training will cover photography, drone photo and video, walk-through video tours, 3-D interactive tours, and more. Our program includes both videos and quizzes, plus one-on-one coaching with one of our founders.
Operational Support covers unit operations and maintenance, customer-service techniques, product ordering, suggested pricing guidelines, technology training and administrative procedures support are just a phone call away.
Marketing Support includes access to customizable collateral and marketing plans for your territory. Plus, Local Flavor Films + Photography will coordinate development and design of advertising materials and strategies for the benefit of all members of our franchise network.
Your most difficult moment at the Franchise Business?
We wanted to expand our company nationwide and we decided to consult with FMS. The idea of franchising was brought to light, and although it’s been a time-consuming task, we are excited about the opportunity of bringing on partners who share the same values and vision for future growth of our company.
Define the Local Flavor Franchise Model:
- Training and Support Model? We give you first class coaching from a team dedicated to making sure your franchise succeeds. Our franchise includes comprehensive dual-phase training at both our headquarters and your location.
- What is the Fee Structure? The initial franchise fee is $30,000 and royalties are 8% with 1% national marketing fund
- Territory Definition? Each Local Flavor Films + Photography franchisee has their own exclusive territory and benefits from negotiated network-wide discounts. We also ensure our franchisees are supported with continued research and development for enhanced unit-level profitability.
- Day in the life of a Franchisee? Each day a franchisee is hands on in the business. A franchisee will be expected to wear many hats from performing services in the field and delivering exceptional client service, to marketing and networking.
What does Your Franchisee Do in the Business Every Day?
We work hard to make our clients, the realtor, look good. They’ve chosen us to market their client’s largest asset, and we take seriously that they allow us into their most personal space. They rely upon us to showcase their listing at its best, whether suggesting small staging changes or giving our opinion on placement of flowers. We are creative thinkers, positive and upbeat, and always leave the homeowner feeling as though their home is beautiful and they did a fantastic job getting it ready for us. This leaves them expecting fantastic photos, and that is what we deliver.
Who is the Ideal Franchise Candidate?
Our ideal franchise partners will be great with people and management. Here are some of the qualities we look for…
- Ability to hire and manage contractor staff
- Passion for delivering great customer experience
- Keen on delivering an outstanding final product
- Outgoing with great communication
- Honesty, integrity, and good character
What Goals Do You Have for the Franchise Model in the Future?
In the next 12 months, our goal is to bring on franchise partners in the top 10 real estate markets nationwide. By year 5, we’d like to have 60-80 franchise partners.
For more information on the Local Flavor Photography Franchise, visit the corporate website: https://localflavorfilmsfranchise.com/