Why Parmasters Golf Training Centers?

We’ve just returned from a nice family meal. We dined out. Something we rarely do these days, for many reasons.

In the past, at the restaurant where we ate tonight, I’ve seen a young gentleman serving tables. He’s not really a waiter, in that he doesn’t take food orders. But he does deliver plates to tables. Perhaps the term “busboy” applies. I’m not sure. The point is, he’s amazing with the restaurant guests. He puts people at ease within seconds of meeting them. He never simply delivers the meals and walks away. He engages people. And almost everyone reacts very positively and enthusiastically to his approach and demeanor. I’d like to talk to him, and consider hiring him. Unfortunately, he wasn’t there this evening …

I blogged the other night about Dr. Hewick’s Entrepreneurship course at WLU re-igniting my drive to build companies, and promised to address the follow-on question shortly. The follow-on question is, of course, why Parmasters Golf Training Centers?

There are many reasons.

1) I love golf and want to work with/around activities that I love.

2) I believe we have a worthy mission. While I realize we’re not exactly saving lives at Parmasters, I also realize that a typical game of golf involves an awful lot of frustration. Many people love the game, but feel that “the game doesn’t love them back.” Many people leave the game. Many people go home from a round of golf very grumpy, and it affects the rest of their day. I feel we can help people play better, have more fun, less frustration, and thus, in a small way, improve their lives. Better golf. More fun. Guaranteed.

3) I believe a round of golf offers many lessons that apply to life in general. I believe golf is good for many people, and helps them grow.

4) Parmasters is a very ethical franchisor. They truly are doing things differently. I’d like to offer a link here to a web page that highlights the ethics of the Parmasters system. Unfortunately, it’s an internal page, meant for franchisee candidates only. I’ll include short excerpt instead. This is a list of the topics addressed on the ethics page:
- Transfer fees
- Renewal fees
- Subsequent training fees
- Annual conference fees
- Start-up budgets
- Restrictions on sources of products and services
- Enforcement of product pricing abuse
- Operations manual standards
- Remodeling at renewal
- Assignment by franchisee
- Renewal
- Dispute resolution
- Golf Training Center ad fund
- Local franchisee ad council
- Local advertising
- Internet sales

5) The individuals on the team at Parmasters HQ are driven, passionate, tenacious, experienced, incredibly skilled and knowledgeable, brilliant, genuine and absolutely committed. They’re also all guided by a strong moral and ethical compass. I believe very strongly that people do business with people, not with companies. I have always shied away from business opportunities where I didn’t fully trust the other parties. I could never bring third-party investors into such a situation.

6) I know, beyond a shadow of doubt, the Parmasters model, the business, will flourish. An entrepreneur must believe, or pack it in.

7) The Parmasters business opportunity, the “deal” if you will, is sound and appealing. There are two aspects to any franchise. You must consider the business. Will it succeed, as noted in the previous point above. But you must also consider the deal. Are the franchise fees, system rental fees, and any other fees all reasonable. Does the business deal make sense. It does.

8) And lastly, I truly believe that the value system that exists within Parmasters, and within its founding principals, aligns well with my value system. We value ethics. We value doing the right thing. We value “more life”, which is an important phrase within the Parmasters world. We value people, friendship, family and community. This is critically important for me.

So, in a (rather large) nutshell, that’s the answer to “why Parmasters?”

But don’t simply take my word for it. This page on the Parmasters Franchise site includes testimonials from many of the people from HQ, and other franchisees. I haven’t yet had time to make my contribution.

It’s Friday evening. Time to do a little reading, and just relax with my family. It’s also about remaining centred, grounded and connected to the ones that you love.