Launching a successful franchise or any type of business requires making the right decision about several things. Site selection is among the most important of all the decisions you’ll need to make. Even if a franchise is in a growing market with a great marketing strategy, selecting the wrong site can prevent it from succeeding. In fact, choosing the wrong location is one of the top reasons franchises fail.

If you're a franchisor or a franchisee, consider partnering with someone who knows exactly what ideal location and business concept would work well. Today's guest is an equity investor in the franchisee. He buys the real estate, invests in the franchisee, and makes a lot of money in real estate and at the franchisee level.

David Lawver is a mortgage lending expert, real estate investor, and entrepreneur. He has acquired over $75,000,000 in real estate projects since 2014. The projects have ranged from single-family dwellings, retail, residential apartments, and a $4 million portfolio consisting of 19 single-family residences in Oakland. The private equity raised is over $20,000,000. Some of the development company holdings are businesses in finance, construction, property development, health and fitness (big box gyms), and Airbnb management. David has a well-established network of investors that allows him to raise enough capital to purchase deals up to $10,000,000 and beyond.

If you're into real estate investing and franchising and want to know more about choosing suitable operators, brands, and sound financial practices, this episode with Erik and David will give you much value.

“If somebody could take that data and interface it with a strong AI, I bet you there'd be some really incredible revelations. And I bet we're not too far away from much more sophisticated site selection that would be helpful for these ventures and really any journey.” - David Lawver

In This Episode:

- Who is David Lawver, and what does he do?

- What does David look for in franchisees before doing business with them?

- How does David get the deals he's currently interested in?

- What tools and data does David look at when considering leasing a site and a concept to ensure it's the right fit? What makes one location better than another?

- How can you stand out from the competition and avoid cannibalizing your own market?

- Which is preferable: cash flow, building equity, enterprise value for an exit, etc., and why?

- How does David manage his operators, team members, and everyone else involved in the business?

- What does a typical week look like for David?

- Why is it important to have regular weekly meetings about the numbers (P&L, expenses, enterprise value, asset valuation, projections, and other financial matters)?