Episodes

In this final episode of the Freedom Formula Podcast, host Neel Parekh delivers a deeply personal and thought-provoking solo reflection on one of life's most challenging yet liberating decisions: knowing when to quit. As he brings this chapter of his podcasting journey to a close, Neel explores the counterintuitive wisdom that sometimes our greatest victories come not from perseverance, but from the courage to walk away. Podcast episode with Khe Hy: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2iQuhBsdTUbb...

After interviewing thousands of franchise prospects, I started noticing the same patterns—the same mindset traps that stop people before they even start.In this episode, I dive into two big ideas:• A principle that explains why most new entrepreneurs don’t replace their salary for years (and why that’s normal)• A 4-part framework to defeat the invisible enemies that kill momentum before it beginsIf you’ve been sitting on the fence—waiting, planning, overthinking—this episode might hit a nerve.It...

In this episode Neel chats with Seonaid Beckwith of Perfect English Grammar, a very popular website that helps non-native English speakers improve to whatever level they want, for personal or professional reasons. Neel and Seonaid discuss: - how what started as a resource for her in-person students became a side hustle and then eventually allowed her to quit her job. - how she just kept learning what she didn't know to give options to the people who were coming to the site (which now nu...

In this episode Neel and sits down with ⁠Costa Kapothanasis of Costa 10 Minute Oil Change. Costa has scaled an oil change franchise to 100+ locations. Neel and Costa talk about: - how working in family-owned restaurants gave him a sense of the importance of not having single points of failure in a business and how that helped him have the right mindset to build a remote local company. - his journey from buying a single oil change shop on a 100% seller-financed note (and getting...

In this episode Neel and sits down with Katrin Krakovich of Lahav Media. Neel and Katrin discuss: - the power of blogging for local services business (here's a blog she wrote about it if you want to learn more) - what she would do if she was starting a local services business today as far as keyword research - what are the most important aspects of GMB (Google My Business) that every business owner needs to handle If you enjoyed this episode, feel free to reach out to Katrin on Li...

In this episode Neel and sits down with Robby McClung of McClumsy.com to talk about how you sometimes have to pivot several times to find yourself going the right way in business. Neel and Robby discuss: - how Robby first got started in entrepreneurship, which was through training as a sommelier and learning that some of his colleagues did cellar management for restaurants - creating an event in an isolated area, then growing in a large way because of the success of it -...

In this short episode, Neel takes a look at four businesses you should be nowhere near this year. The list includes: - Amazon FBA (though he does offer you an alternative platform should you really want to sell products) - Faddy franchises like Crumbl (which are for sale everywhere these days after franchisees realized this was a fad) - Pool routes (though Neel does offer a tweak that could make this work) Neel's all for starting businesses...he just prefers the tried and true, th...

In this episode Neel and David sit down with Derek Dodds and have a leisurely conversation about how Derek found his calling. Derek currently runs ⁠WaveTribe⁠, an ecological surf company, has an interest in ⁠Naked Armor⁠, a wet shaving company, and serves an advisor to a publishing company he co-founded, ⁠2 Seas Agency⁠. The path he took to get to those projects is anything but conventional. Derek also shares: Going from having a gun in his hand at the age of 5 and being a hunter to be...

In this episode Neel and chats with Jenny Ness-Hunkin, a former franchisee of Tutor Doctor and now the Franchise Success Manager at MaidThis. A ten-year franchisee herself before a successful exit, Jenny believes in franchising in part because she's had such positive experiences with it. Now she helps MaidThis franchisees scale and exit their businesses, just like she did with hers. Neel and Jenny discuss: - why she decided to start a business in the first place even though she...

It's a simple but perhaps not-often-repeated truth: not all business models are created equal. In this episode, Neel talks about local services businesses he would avoid buying/starting as well as what was the one factor he looked at recently when considering a cleaning service acquisition. You'll get the scoop on: - Why high ticket, low recurring businesses are just as desirable as low ticket, high recurring businesses - How you could make low ticket, low recurring businesses work (if ...

In this episode Neel talks with one of his very own MaidThis franchisees, Chris Rodriguez. Chris has been running MaidThis Miami for just about four months now and gives us the lowdown on how he got here. Neel and Chris discuss: - why a franchise fee was at first a stumbling block, then a recognition of value for Chris - what his main motivation was in starting a business when he already had a solid-paying 9-5 (and how his spouse reacted) - how often Chris posts in the MaidThis sl...

In this episode Neel speaks with Ujwal Velagapudi, who has had a fascinating and unusual journey building businesses in many different industries. One of the more interesting ideas Ujwal shares in the pod is his lack of concern with "maximizing profit." He's okay leaving some money on the table once he has spent time optimizing the business when he first acquires it. Neel and Ujwal also discuss: - Ujwal's attempted retirement in South East Asia - What drives him (hint: i...

In this episode Neel and sits down with freelance sales coach Jeff Lundeen of Strong Jaw Sales. ⁠Jeff had a good career in a well-paying (though stressful) field: air traffic control. Reading books like Tim Ferriss' Four Hour Work Week awakened a desire to escape the 9-5. Neel and Jeff discuss: - the effect of a one-way ticket to Colombia on kickstarting the entrepreneurial journey - why coming back to the job after that travel only made Jeff more resolved to break out of the 9-5 - w...

In this episode Neel and sits down with Omar Santana, President of Launch27, a SaaS for cleaning companies. Neel and Omar talk about: - the concerns that any customer has for a SaaS when a private equity group comes in (as happened to Launch27 in 2019) - how many of the solutions in the cleaning company space are similar and why that makes switching even more difficult than normal (no feature to encourage you to jump) - what new features Omar and the team are working on rolling out ...

As Neel looks back on previous years, he knows he's spent too much time focusing on the "scaling" aspect of marketing. In this episode, he goes the other way, talking about marketing that doesn't scale, but delivers big results, including: - Apartment Complex Infiltration: just as stealth as it sounds, but is all about quietly building relationships - Neighborhood Blitz - Networking groups, i.e. becoming the "go-to" among a group of fellow business owners Neel notes that this kind...

In this episode Neel and sits down with Chris Bergethon, known as the "Car Wash Guy" on Twitter. Interestingly, while Chris is known for car washes, it's actually a side hustle for him. He's full time in the supplements and natural medicine space. Neel and Chris discuss: - how trying to get in on the self-storage craze led to buying his first car wash - the major tax benefits that a car wash can offer, including Chris' first refund in more than a decade - why banks love car washes...

In this episode Neel and sits down with Stephen Heiner, who moved to France ten years ago after selling a business. Stephen worked hard to build a dream life, and recently gave all of it up to move to become a volunteer at a religious house. Neel and Stephen discuss: - his path to France and what he did when he arrived - the importance of asking yourself what it is you want at the end of the rainbow - always being ready to re-evaluate where you are, never accepting that you have "arr...

In this episode Neel and sits down with Andy Agrawal of Weekend Maids, who is also part of the CCDRA (California Coalition of Domestic Referral Agencies). Andy has been running the company for the last 15 years, but it's a family business that has been around for 36 years. Neel and Patrick discuss the importance of compliance, particularly in regards to cleaning companies and properly classifying themselves as referral agencies rather than employers. Among other things, they talk about: - ...

In this episode Neel sits down with Sean O'Dowd of The O'Dowd Group. Sean was just looking to pay off the loan he took out to buy an engagement ring for his then-fiancee when he decided to consult on the side. His very first gig was through Upwork and involved proofreading an email for $30. Neel and Sean discuss: - how having a Wharton degree may have helped him land some clients, but how easily his mom, who was a simple librarian without that elite college pedigree, was able to land a ...

Neel recently had to interview a number of SEO vendors in preparation for making a change, and felt like he became a bit of an expert in thinking through what agencies can and should provide for you. Neel talks about what you can expect to pay for decent SEO service ($750-$1500 depending on quality) as well as: - Map Pack ranking and the importance of reviews that mention your key words - The importance (and limits) of blogs - The difference between on-page and technical SEO and why ...

As part of his ongoing coaching call series, Neel chats with Dan Kats of Shorely Clean who is building his cleaning business as a side hustle and is looking to grow it quickly but sustainably. Neel offers helpful answers to Dan's questions, including: - The importance of hiring that first employee to help you as soon as possible - The inbound sales conversion rates he expects from his team - The importance of "extending your season" to combat seasonality - Different ways of dealin...

In this episode Neel and sits down with Dan Blaker, a MaidThis franchisee in the Myrtle Beach market. ⁠ It's been just under two years that Dan has been a franchisee in the MaidThis system and he looks back on his journey to share: - how MaidThis provided a path for him to quit a 6-day-a-week, 12-hour-a-day job - just how much "remote" he's put into his remote local business. - what a pleasant surprise it has been to get to know fellow business owners You'll also hear Dan talk about ...

You've heard Neel talk about pros and cons of different marketing tactics over the last six months. This episode brings all of those reflections together in one valuable episode so be ready to take notes on: - What's working and what isn't in the Google LSA space - What to look for when researching PPC advertising to see if it will be worthwhile for your company - The power of community marketing, including the hyper-local neighborhood blitz strategy Neel also talks about Thumbtack, a p...

In this episode Neel chats with Shaina Denny, Co-Founder and CEO of Dogdrop. It's a rare discussion with a fellow franchisor, and Neel and Shaina discuss: - how Dogdrop works and its capitalization on America's obsession with pets and their well-being - why Shaina decided to use an FSO (franchise sales organization) instead of using an internal resource - why Neel stopped using Google ads to advertise for franchise leads (he found that social media leads were more qualified) If yo...