Wild Birds Unlimited Franchisees Host Regular Facebook Live Events to Build a Sense of Community Before Opening Their Store

New Wild Birds Unlimited franchisees Kindell and Josh Tolmie first invested in the nature brand in 2020 with plans to open their store in May of 2020. When COVID-19 hit in early March, however, the couple had to start thinking creatively about how they would build a following for their store. Thanks to Wild Birds Unlimited’s leadership team and some innovative social media work, the Tolmies were able to launch their Ontario store successfully.

Before becoming franchisees, the Tolmies were active Wild Birds Unlimited customers. So much of their personal experiences with the brand was built visiting the nearest location in-person and developing a relationship with the franchise owner. Now, in keeping with social distancing requirements, the couple looked to build their own community experience. When in-person shopping became temporarily impossible, the entrepreneurial duo took to Facebook and launched their own live webshow.

“We knew the shopping experience wouldn’t be the same under COVID-19 conditions, so we started thinking creatively about how we could use Facebook and social media,” said Kindell. “We began by offering educational tools and quickly moved to having a weekly live show on our front porch. Our feed caught a following right away — every Friday we recorded something new and interesting for our audience. That's how we initially started building our customer base. The community aspect is so important.”

Perhaps it’s not surprising that the Tolmies found their footing so quickly. Both highly motivated individuals, Josh co-owns his own talent agency called PinPoint Talent and Kindell is a practiced nurse. When Kindell made the decision to move away from nursing to have a more predictable work schedule, the couple decided to open a Wild Birds Unlimited franchise.

“It was around the time I started to think about moving to a new field that we’d put a lot of effort into our bird feeder set up at our country home,” said Kindell. “We spent a lot of time at Wild Birds Unlimited in Ottawa and started to think, ‘Hey, maybe there's a business opportunity here?’ The store is what makes the customer experience so special and we wanted to provide that kind of experience for people.”

With the success of their regular Friday Facebook Live streams, the location has already taken off. Josh credits Kindell’s enthusiasm for connecting customers with educational tools and useful products to their initial success.

“Kindell’s modest and won’t say it, but people are showing up because of how passionate she is,” said Josh. “We’re working to do a lot to engage with the community. Her work is a big part of that.”

The power couple also credits the Wild Birds Unlimited franchise support center for their support. The brand’s leadership **team has done all it can in these difficult times to do what they do best: connect people with nature. From business coaching to weekly video calls with their franchisees, the brand has gone above and beyond to support their owners.

The leadership team has also been in** constant contact with suppliers **to ensure that stores can be properly stocked. As one of the first new locations to open during the pandemic, the Tolmies were thrilled with the amount of support they received.

“We couldn’t be happier with the franchise support center,” said Josh. “Training was fantastic and they even worked through the weekends so that we’d meet our official store opening on July 6. We told the brand we were comfortable pushing back the date but they assured us that we were the priority.”

The Tolmies were also welcomed by a community of fellow Wild Birds Unlimited franchisees. Kindell said everyone in their network has been so helpful in answering their questions and guiding them through the process: “When we joined the business, we became a part of a family We are so thankful for everyone’s help.”

With the initial success of their store and Facebook Live series stream, the couple is confident and ready for whatever the future brings.

“We have a plan B, C and D for whatever might happen in the future,” said Kindell. “We’ve had great mentors throughout this process. From the top to franchisee level, we really can’t say enough about the support we’ve received. We’re excited for what's to come.”