He Lost the Deal, Got a Second Chance, and Became Franchisee of the Year Twice: The Story Matt Stevens Will Never Forget

11 Months of No Before the Tide Turned: Natalia Zacharin on What It Actually Takes to Build a Business From Nothing

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Natalia Zacharin, founder of Zacharin Consulting, a multimillion dollar accounting firm she built from scratch starting at age 50 with no accounting degree, no clients, and no real plan. What she had was a need, a willingness to figure it out, and enough stubbornness to keep going when most people would have quit. Natalia's story doesn't start with a passion or a calling. It starts with a divorce in 2012, a stretch of poverty, years of grinding through jobs that were slowly disappearing, and a conversation in a cafe in Annapolis, Maryland where someone she was dating said, almost offhandedly, why don't you just start your own business? She thought he was joking. He wasn't. She took a short course on starting a business, followed the steps, got her first client, and then went to work figuring out how to actually do bookkeeping. That's the whole origin story. No dramatic leap of faith, just a fork in the road and a decision to go left. What followed was anything but easy. She worked full time while learning a brand new skill set from YouTube videos and books. Her first year in business she made $38,000 in gross sales. She spent the first three years fighting imposter syndrome almost weekly, asking herself why she was doing something she never wanted to do in the first place. The answer was always the same: it was working, clients were coming, and she had nothing to fall back on. So she kept going. Ty and Natalia get into the three beliefs she had to break to get where she is today. The first was the negative self-talk that told her she was too old to start over. Every time that voice showed up, she learned to stop it in its tracks and ask whether it was actually being helpful. The second was the envy she felt scrolling through social media watching other people live the life she wanted. She flipped that story and started telling herself she already had that life, even when she didn't. Before long, she started actually having it. The third was the deepest one: growing up as a first-generation American with the belief that a woman's security came from a husband. She had no safety net, no partner to lean on, and no fallback. In hindsight, she says that was exactly what she needed, because it left her no option but to keep moving forward. One of the most honest moments in this conversation is when Natalia talks about the 11 months she spent reaching out to people every single day and hearing no over and over again. She describes it as feeling like she was sinking further into an abyss with no sign of when things would turn around. She kept going anyway. That's the whole answer. She kept going. They also get into how she built the business beyond bookkeeping. She did all the sales calls herself for years, and she kept hearing the same thing from business owners: I don't understand what these numbers mean. That pattern became fractional CFO services, which is now the core of what Zacharin Consulting does. She helps business owners stop looking at where they are and start seeing where they're headed, projecting six to twelve months out so they can make decisions before problems become crises. The tax and payroll services came later, both born out of frustration with industry gaps she kept watching hurt her clients. Natalia's non-negotiables are worth noting: exercise with a personal trainer because she knows she won't show up for herself alone, sleep after years of running on fumes, hobbies and time with her kid on weekends, and getting her hair done, which is blocked on her calendar and visible to her entire team. She's not apologetic about any of it. You can't lead sixteen people if you're running on empty. Her definition of success has shifted completely. It started as survival. Then it became about the quality of service she was delivering. Now it's about her team having real careers and real opportunities, her clients getting everything they deserve, and giving back to causes she cares about. The business is no longer just about her, and she's clear that's exactly how it should be. Her closing message is simple: it's harder than you think it's going to be, and it's worth it. Find a room where you're the smallest business in it. And leave your ego at the door, because the goal is to keep hiring people who are better than you.   🔗 Connect with Natalia: ZacharinConsulting.com 🎙️ Follow along: @thetybradyway with @GrowYourBottomLine   As always, we'd love to hear from you! Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway

The Matchmaker of Business Ownership: How Jeff Shafritz Has Helped Hundreds of People Find the Right Franchise and Build Real Wealth

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Jeff Shafritz, a franchise consultant who has spent his entire career in franchising and has been helping people find the right business opportunity for over 20 years. Jeff started out selling season tickets for the Georgetown Hoyas, stumbled into franchise development at Athlete's Foot in Atlanta, worked his way up to Director of Franchise Development of the Americas, and then had the rug pulled out from under him on September 11th, 2001, thirteen days after his first son was born. He was in a new city with nothing lined up. That's when franchise consulting started, and he hasn't looked back since. What makes Jeff different from most people in his space is that he doesn't think of himself as a salesperson. He thinks of himself as a matchmaker, closer to a buyer's real estate agent than a traditional sales rep. His job is to figure out whether franchising is even the right path for someone, and if it is, to find the specific opportunity that fits their goals, their skillset, their investment range, and the kind of life they actually want to live. He gets paid by the franchisor, not the candidate, and because franchising is regulated by the FTC, the fee is the same no matter how someone finds their franchise. Working with Jeff costs nothing extra and gets you someone in your corner who has no incentive to push you toward the wrong fit. Ty and Jeff get into what actually separates elite performers from average ones in this business. Jeff's answer is simple: consistency and not chasing the deal. The people who burn out or wash out are the ones focused on closing something, anything, just to get paid. Jeff's whole model is built on doing right by the person in front of him, even when that means telling someone they shouldn't buy a business at all. He had that exact conversation recently with someone who had the money but not the motivation. He told them to walk away. That kind of honesty is what's built his referral base over two decades. One of the most honest moments in this conversation is when Jeff admits that even he was terrified when he finally bought his own fitness franchise. He had spent his entire career helping other people through that anxiety, and then when it was his turn to sign, he froze. His wife had to sit him down and remind him that this was literally his area of expertise. It's a good reminder that fear doesn't care how much you know. It shows up anyway, and the goal isn't to eliminate it. It's to do the work, make the informed decision, and move forward anyway. They also get into a conversation that a lot of parents need to hear: the real cost comparison between sending a kid to college who doesn't know what they want versus putting that same money into a low-overhead franchise. Jeff has worked with families spending $120,000 to $250,000 on a four-year degree for a kid who isn't sure what they want to study. For that same investment, someone could open a business, build real equity, and walk away four years later with something worth selling. He's not anti-college. He's pro-options, and he makes the case clearly. The story that sticks from this conversation is a client Jeff worked with during the 2008 recession. The guy had lost a significant amount of money in real estate, had very little left, and refused to go work for someone else. Jeff helped him find an in-home senior care franchise. Within a few years, that business was generating serious cash flow and eventually sold for multiple millions of dollars. Jeff calls it a resurrection story, and it's the kind of outcome that keeps him doing what he does. His message to anyone sitting on the fence about business ownership is straightforward: you don't have to figure this out alone, and you don't have to pay for the help. The conversation is free. The only question is whether you're ready to have it.   🔗 Connect with Jeff: FranchiseGuideGroup.com 🔗 Listener-specific page: podcast.franchiseguidance.com/ty 🎙️ Follow along: @thetybradyway with @JeffShafritz_FranGuidance   As always, we'd love to hear from you! Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway

The Man Who's Been a Franchisee, a Franchisor, and a Supplier: Scott Jones on What He's Learned From Every Side of the Table

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Scott Jones, a 30-plus year veteran of the franchise world who has sat on every side of the table. He's been a multi-unit franchisee across multiple brands, a franchisor, and a co-founder of a support services company that now serves about 80,000 franchised locations worldwide. If there's a three-sided fence in franchising, Scott's been on all three sides of it, and that perspective is exactly what makes this conversation worth your time. Scott's entrepreneurial roots go back to his childhood dinner table. His dad was a corporate executive with an oil company who hit an inflection point when the company got acquired and relocation to Chicago was the only way to keep his job. He said no, walked away, and started building businesses. Scott watched all of it up close. He never had a job until he graduated college, was always creating something on his own, and didn't stay in the corporate world long before following the same path his dad had blazed. That early front-row seat to what entrepreneurship actually looks like, the good days and the hard ones, shaped everything that came after. One of the most honest moments in this conversation is when Scott shares his real take on the franchise industry. Out of more than 4,000 unique franchise brands, he believes about half are absolute train wrecks based on unit economics alone. They don't have the support systems, the processes, or a game plan that gives someone a real shot at success. Another 40% are okay to good. That leaves roughly 10% that are truly exceptional. He knows that's not a popular thing to say in his industry. He says it anyway because it's the truth, and because his whole job is built on helping people find that 10%. Ty and Scott get into the biggest mistake people make when looking at franchises: falling in love with the widget. I like this sandwich, so this must be a great business. Scott reframes the whole conversation by asking a different question: how are you going to measure any opportunity? The moment he asks that, nobody talks about sandwiches anymore. They start talking about quality of life, financial goals, what they want their life to look like in one year, three years, ten years. A business is a vehicle. The question is whether it's the right vehicle for where you're actually trying to go, and whether you're the right person to drive it. The early mistake Scott owns is one a lot of founders share: he had to control everything and couldn't let go. It took a good mentor and some hard experience to recognize that his job wasn't to do all the tasks himself. It was to build people, develop systems, and create a culture where exceptional is expected and rewarded. He makes a point worth sitting with: average employees can hide in a large corporate environment. In a small business, they hurt you. The goal is to build a culture where people who think and work at a high level actually thrive, and where people who haven't operated that way before get the chance to discover they can. The story that closes this episode is one Scott spoke about the day before recording. Two engineers, both in corporate jobs, came to him five years ago with a dream of eventually working their way out. The plan was to start a franchise, keep both jobs, and maybe in two years he'd be able to leave. They found a boutique fitness franchise in Alabama. He left his job in five or six months. Eight or nine months later they added a second business. A year ago they added a third. Their net worth has increased about tenfold over five years. She still works her corporate job by choice. They're now looking at buying the buildings their businesses operate in rather than leasing them. That's the outcome Scott is working toward every time he picks up the phone. His closing message is simple and direct: don't settle. Too many people are stuck in a life they don't love because it's the thing they know. There are better ways. The only thing standing between where you are and where you want to be is the willingness to step outside what's familiar and find out what's actually possible.   🔗 Connect with Scott: FranchiseGuideGroup.com 🎙️ Follow along: @thetybradyway   As always, we'd love to hear from you! Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway

He Lost the Deal, Got a Second Chance, and Became Franchisee of the Year Twice: The Story Matt Stevens Will Never Forget

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Matt Stevens, known simply as The Franchise Guy. Matt has spent 25 years as a franchise consultant flying the flag with FranChoice, an international group of franchise professionals who help people find the right business opportunity without the guesswork. Before that, he spent years inside the franchise world itself, starting as a young guy running a painting business in New Hampshire in 1988, working his way up to franchise development roles, and flying around the country for years before realizing he was missing his daughter's childhood in the process. That wake-up call led him to where he is now, and he hasn't looked back. The story that sets the tone for this whole conversation starts in the cold. Matt was running his painting franchise in southwestern New Hampshire, and leads were thin. No direct mail, no digital marketing, just door knocking and yard signs. So he made a decision: every weekend, he would cold call houses until he had 10 estimates scheduled. He did that for months straight, in February, March, and April, walking streets in a short sleeve shirt in mid-fifty-degree weather because he was moving fast enough to stay warm. He never left a Sunday night without those 10 appointments. That year he won rookie of the year for the Northern New England division. He credits two things: fear and pride. He had given up a baseball summer to run a business, and he was not going home empty-handed. Ty and Matt get into what actually separates the top performers in franchising from everyone else. Matt calls it exercising your ABs: Attitude, Ambition, Behavior, and Skill. But the fifth element, the one most people miss, is Engagement. He learned that the hard way in 1988 when he spent hundreds of hours solving problems on his own that a single phone call to a neighboring franchisee could have answered in ten minutes. The whole point of a franchise system is that you are not doing it alone. You paid for the knowledge of everyone who came before you. Not using it is like buying a map and refusing to open it. One of the most practical parts of this conversation is Matt's take on the single biggest mistake people make when looking at franchises: turning assumptions into conclusions. Someone sees a franchise advertised for $70,000 and assumes that's the total investment. Someone else assumes they need millions to get started. Matt placed a candidate who got into a franchise for $15,000 cash, borrowed another $50,000, built it for seven years, and retired. The numbers are almost never what people assume, and a few honest conversations can change everything. Matt also walks through how he structures his days when things are clicking: one consultation, one introduction, and consistent marketing activity every single day. He sets aside time rather than chasing a number, because he knows that some days one hour of marketing produces five appointments and some days it produces zero. The activity is what matters. He calls it butt in seat, and it's the same principle whether you're trying to lose weight, renovate a room, or build a business. The story that closes this episode is one Matt has carried with him for fifteen years. A friend got downsized from a $200,000 executive role and came to Matt looking for a business. He found the right opportunity, but hesitated too long and someone else grabbed it. He started over with a second option. Then the person who bought the first opportunity had a serious health issue and had to sell, and Matt called his friend and said, this is yours if you want it, pennies on the dollar. His friend bought both businesses. He has been franchisee of the year in both national systems and is still going strong fifteen years later. That's the kind of outcome that keeps Matt doing what he does. His legacy is simple: do the right thing, and trust that one person can do what another person has already done. You just have to know what that person actually did to get there.   🔗 Connect with Matt: HeIsTheFranchiseGuy.com 🔗 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/IAmTheFranchiseGuy 🎙️ Follow along: @thetybradyway   As always, we'd love to hear from you! Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway

He Left Everything to Move to Brazil and Rediscovered the One Gift He Almost Gave Up Forever With Ndzaba Mngomezulu

On this episode of The Ty Brady Way, Ty sits down with Ndzaba Mngomezulu, an art instructor and author from Eswatini (formerly Swaziland) who now lives in Brazil and is on a mission to help busy, discouraged adults fall back in love with drawing. Ndzaba shares how growing up in an education system that pushed math and science over creativity slowly trained him away from art. The message wasn't always said out loud, but it was clear: certain subjects carried more weight, and art was treated as optional. For someone who genuinely loved creating, that kind of environment quietly chips away at what you believe is possible for yourself. So he spent years chasing music instead, buying gear, making beats, and thinking that was his path. It wasn't until a church service at the end of 2024 that he felt a clear pull back to drawing. He listened, went back to basics in January 2025, and watched his skills take off faster than he ever expected. Ty and Ndzaba get into the real stuff: what it means to carry a gift you've been ignoring, why humility is the most underrated skill in business and in art, and how getting fired from a job he didn't even love turned into the exact push he needed to break into the gaming industry. You'll hear how seven months of uncertainty, a pregnant wife, and a Discord server led to an opportunity he never would have found if things had gone according to plan. They also talk about the role AI plays in his business and why he sees it as a tool for filtering and efficiency rather than a replacement for real human connection. Ndzaba is clear that people are craving authenticity right now, and that the artists and creators who lean into that will have more opportunity than ever before. Ndzaba also talks about what he's building with Art Creators Academy, a platform designed to take struggling artists from work they're ashamed to show anyone to drawing with real confidence. He's not just teaching technique. He's helping people give themselves permission to start again, and to stop waiting until they feel ready. His message is straightforward and worth hearing: you are the most important investment you will ever make in your life. Not the investment someone told you to make. The one you already know you want to make. If you've been sitting on a creative passion and telling yourself it's too late or too impractical, this conversation is going to hit close to home.   🔗 Connect with Ndzaba: https://www.artcreatorsacademy.com 🎙️ Follow along: @thetybradyway with Ndzaba.Mngomezulu   As always, we'd love to hear from you! Email us at thetybradyway@gmail.com Or DM us on Instagram @thetybradyway