Mark Sheffield was nominated by the School of Rock leadership team in the Freshmen category for a 2021 Franchise Rock Star Award. He was chosen by Franchise Business Review from among 200 nominations for his outstanding achievements as a School of Rock franchise owner in Chula Vista, CA.
Find the gap in your community and fill it. Do your homework on franchises and pick one that you feel clicks with you and fill that gap. Have a good viable vision that the franchise and other people can buy into. Try to separate your enthusiasm from the reality of the financials. Have a backup plan for when things go wrong. Add 20 percent to your estimates. Surround yourself with and reward great people. Do everything with enthusiasm, smile often and try to provide the best ever product and/or service.
I underestimated the cost and amount of time required for the buildout of our amazing music school. But my bank didn’t. So, the delta of the buildout was covered by the SBA loan.
I attended several entrepreneur classes/programs offered by both the Navy and Cal State.
I’m most proud of the impact our school is having on my community and my children. Kids have something amazing to do giving them skill sets for life. Musicians have good jobs at an amazing location. Local restaurants are now providing live music.
Retired in 2019 as a 22-year U.S. Navy Officer.
I retired from the Navy and wanted to do something for and in the community without working for another business or government organization... Because I had no business experience, franchising was the first and easiest answer.
Truthfully, I haven’t had too many challenges (other than COVID 19!) and the opportunities were for the most part “expected”. It goes back to having that viable and shared vision.
I love having employees. I adore it. Also, after I micromanaged the first year, I started distributing the work to other employees, and paid them more... And now, with 2-4 hours of work a day, I am not only the boss, but I get to be “super dad” as well.
When the pandemic struck, I prioritized my customers and my employees above the bills. Consequently, after working with the companies, I have been paying back what the company owed... Also, the efforts by our government to assist have been an AMAZING help.
The California tax structure? Just kidding (sort of). COVID is high on the list, but truthfully, School of Rock corporate has been of incredible assistance... most challenges easily addressed or foreseen.
I love the shared vision with corporate and other franchises. I like that what we do brings goodness to people’s lives and makes the world a better place.
For more information on School of Rock, call (866) 254-7567 or visit franchising.schoolofrock.com. You can also email [email protected].
