Franchisee Profile: Gary Prenevost

Gary Prenevost is one of Canada’s leading franchise experts. In 2013, a record year for FranNet, Prenevost received the No. 1 spot in a record the system, setting a new all-time record for single office production. This was no small feat, and even with only 5.5 million people living in the market area, he still outperformed U.S. FranNet consultants who had multiple markets and anywhere from twice to three times the population base that his area has.

Prenevost is an experienced franchise professional and entrepreneur who is driven by helping other people achieve success. Gary has been an entrepreneur for more than 25 years (a vast majority of those in the franchise industry), where he’s successfully been on all sides of the table (franchisee, franchisor, master franchisee, franchise consultant and franchise matchmaker).

For people who want to buy a franchise, Gary utilizes this broad-based experience through working with FranNet to help his clients find the right business for them. Gary owns FranNet’s top-performing office in North America.

First, Gary helps others objectively gain absolute clarity on the attributes of what their ideal business would consist of, and more importantly, that leverages their skills, experience and passions. He then provides well-matched franchise opportunities (franchising is way more than just food & retail) and coaches them through an objective decision-making process that helps them to identify and act on the best option – safely and affordably. This process enables his clients to realize the benefits and opportunities in not only owning their own business, but more specifically, where they can achieve their wealth-building goals and gain great control over their work-life balance.

In 2002, Gary started his own FranNet office and by the end of the second year with the company, he was one of the top 10 performers; his office is consistently either the top or No. 2 office in the entire FranNet system in North America. Over the last 11 years, his Toronto-based office has placed nearly 400 franchisees. On average, 40–45 percent of his clients end up purchasing businesses, compared with 25 percent across all FranNet consultants, and 10–15 percent across competitors.

Both 2012 and 2013 were record years for Gary’s office and he doesn’t seem to be losing steam any time soon. Gary continues leading the charge to helping FranNet do their best in their 27-year history.

In July of 2012, iFranchise Group selected Gary from the who’s who of the Canadian franchise industry to open their Canadian office. iFranchise Group is North America’s leading franchise consulting company. Gary's role is a Senior Advisor at the company, where he helps companies become franchisors as well as helps existing franchise systems to realize faster growth through optimizing their systems.

I ran into a friend at the CFA Conference who pitched the FranNet concept to me in twenty five minutes. The following three weeks I completed all my due diligence. I studied the market and spoke to several already existing franchisees.

Within three months I bought the franchise. I love my job! In my previous career, I trained over 1000 sales people.

I have been a business coach, a corporate executive, and have played many other roles. There isn’t much I haven’t seen. Additionally, I am on the board of the Canadian Franchise Association.

I get to help people change their lives. Buying a business is one of the most financial important decisions of people’s lives. If they do it right, they get to reap the benefits for many years. If they do it wrong, they are in a tough spot. When I help people do it right, it is tremendously rewarding. Part of the reason I chose to be a part of IFranchise Group is to ensure our franchisors are strong.

The proven systems and processes of franchising which enable one to compress the time it takes to get started and run a successful business. Franchising, when done right, is an effective way of accelerating revenues while significantly reducing risk. It’s often seen as “the entrepreneurial halfway house” for corporate executives who have lost confidence in the ability to get long-term corporate jobs.

Our process is about helping clients make a defensible decision. My job is to help people get absolute clarity on the “here’s why” so they have complete confidence in their decision, whether it’s to buy a business or not to buy a business. I believe this is one of the key reasons why I have a very high success rate.

The vast majority of my personal business comes from referrals. I have one office, one associate, and two territories.