A mother and son open up about their experience as multi-unit franchise owners with Sport Clips
The McMurdo family first started thinking about investing in a Sport Clips franchise in the mid-2000s to set up a family business to provide financial stability and security for years to come.
More than a decade later, with the McMurdo’s 17 store locations throughout Colorado, it’s safe to say the family made a good call.
“We were just really impressed by the model and the simplicity of it,” said Riley McMurdo. “It’s been a great journey.”
Tina McMurdo started the Sport Clip franchise with her husband, Ted. She said investing in a Sport Clips has been rewarding to provide a profitable and growing business opportunity to her children.
“It’s wonderful. It’s what we wanted and dreamt about,” Tina said. “We’ve seen a lot of growth and we’ve enjoyed working with each other. It’s fun.”
In this interview, Tina and her son, Riley, talk about why Sport Clips is a great family business, how the business model provides a healthy work/life balance, and even offer tips on how to run a successful company with your family.
Q: Just to start off, what’s the secret to working with your family?
Riley: The secret is: don’t let business get involved outside of business. Try to temper business talks at Thanksgiving. Don’t make everything about the business, and remember you’re family and love each other.
Q: Would you say Sport Clips provides a healthy work/life balance?
Riley: Absolutely. Sport Clips provides a lot of flexibility with your schedule. We basically make our own schedule. But it’s important to remember: it is your business. It’s how much you put into it that determines how successful you’ll be.
Q: But it sounds like Sport Clips has provided a rewarding lifestyle for your family?
Riley: Oh yeah! But it takes a lot of hard work to get to where we’re at now. We’ve been doing this 11 years, so just know it doesn’t happen overnight. But we’re at a place now where we can have perks. It’s just really satisfying, and we feel blessed. We know we’ve put in the hard work, but we’re blessed to be where we are.
Q: What values do you think have made your businesses successful?
Tina: I think it comes down to the fact that we care for each other. Sometimes, we have hard discussions, but we don’t carry that outside the meeting. We try to be respectful of everyone. We spend a lot of time with each other, and you have to like that – and we do.
Q: How important are your stylists to the business?
Riley: We consider them an extended part of our family. Everyone wants to be an employer of choice, and we do that by making sure they feel appreciated and know how much they mean to us. We really just try and show our appreciation anyway we can. We want them to know they are the lifeblood of this business, and they’re important to us and our success.
Q: Why is Sport Clip a great family business?
Riley: Because it’s a model of simplicity. It has operations managers, behind-the-scenes admin workers, and we’ve fit into those roles perfectly. It’s a family business, because that’s how it’s been set up from the beginning. Sport Clips is on your side and wants to see your family succeed.
Ready to build an extraordinary family business with Sport Clips?
If you’re interested in investing in a Sport Clips franchise, simply fill out an inquiry form and a member of our team will be in touch with you shortly. We can’t wait to learn more about you!
