Thriving in a Franchise for Nature Lovers

Spouses Ken Keffer and Heather Ray grew up on opposite ends of the country: Ken is from Wyoming, and Heather from Florida. They later met in Milwaukee and now call the Midwest their home. Their professional experiences differ, too. Ken holds a degree in wildlife biology, while Heather’s world is marketing and communications. Pulling their expertise together, the two now own a Wild Birds Unlimited in Bloomington, Indiana, that opened in 2022. They found WBU to be a great franchise for nature lovers like themselves.

What made you decide to look into purchasing a franchise?

After years in the environmental nonprofit sector, Ken realized there was little room for upward growth and even less salary money. He worked at two Wild Birds Unlimited locations previously, so although the start-up funding was always daunting, owning a WBU had been in the back of his mind for a while. In 2020, when so many people were working from home, Heather first identified a Northern Flicker by vocalization, so Ken knew she was warming up to the idea of birds and of WBU. Heather was thriving in her career but was willing to take on the risk of opening a business. We identified Bloomington, Indiana, as a prime location for a WBU. Equally as important, it is a community we love living in.

When researching franchises, what criteria mattered to you most? How did your Wild Birds Unlimited meet that criteria?

Wild Birds Unlimited was the only franchise we considered because it was the best franchise for nature lovers. From Ken’s experience working in WBU stores, we were confident in the initial training and ongoing support we’d receive from WBU. As a hobby retail shop, we knew a key to success in WBU would be becoming a part of the community, so WBU was the right fit for our personal interests and values. We were especially impressed with the conservation themes and efforts from the franchise and many of the individual franchisees. The Save the Songbirds campaign by WBU helps reinforce that we are in it for the birds and conservation.

Financing can be an obstacle and/or an intimidating factor for aspiring entrepreneurs. How did you find financing options to purchase Wild Birds Unlimited?

We wouldn’t have been able to pull off financing any earlier than we did. Personal loans, coupled with savings, helped get us up and running. We sacrificed paychecks, health care, and retirement to get going, but we are confident it will pay off in the long run.

Which of your prior skills and experiences do you use in operating your business today?

We had skills in nature education, retail sales, marketing, and community events, but we had zero experience actually running a business. We wanted to run a franchise for nature lovers but didn’t know if we would be successful. Wild Birds Unlimited Inc. has been critical in helping us navigate the day-to-day operations as well as the big picture conceptual planning for our business.

During your research, did you use FBR’s website to compare franchise opportunities? What other resources did you use?

We knew WBU is a long running FBR Award Winner. That gave us confidence in our decision. We also took the time to dig into the FBR Survey Results. Additionally, we found the franchisee testimonials especially encouraging with WBU.

When doing your research, which questions did you ask the franchisees?

Looking back, we missed an opportunity to ask broad questions of the franchisees we spoke to. Instead, we tried to home in on one thing that each owner was doing especially well and learn from them. We spoke to stores in similar markets about staffing. We spoke to stores that were crushing social media marketing. New store owners were targeted with questions about customer acquisitions. Established stores helped us understand how WBU owners could maintain their core focus while adapting to changing retail landscapes. These initial sessions proved valuable years down the line, too. The WBU owners we talked to before we opened are the ones we still turn to when questions come up. System wide it’s a great community of franchisees.

Which questions did you ask the franchisor?

We had plenty of questions about the ever-shifting nature of retail but found encouragement in the overall messaging that the WBU franchisees who are most successful are those that can ingrain themselves into their communities. That is especially true for a market like Bloomington, Indiana, and honestly, it’s one of the best parts of owning the store.

What were your biggest challenges when you first started out and how did you overcome them?

For the first couple of years, it felt like we could never quite get caught up. Between covering shifts on the sales floor and maintaining all the back-office functions, it was exhausting. We had a talented but small staff to help with customers. Once we were able to bring on a few more team members, it’s been a better work life balance for us.

How does the franchisor support and encourage your success?

As a franchise, Wild Birds Unlimited seems to be in the sweet spot of size. It’s a big enough operation to provide the full suite of training, coaching, support, and marketing needs. Yet it’s small enough that everyone at the home office is approachable and open to hearing from franchisees. It’s a welcoming and supportive culture. Bird people are good people, and that goes for everyone from WBU Founder Jim Carpenter to every single one of our customers.