The Brian Beers Show
Episode: Store #35 | 277
Air Date: September 5, 2025
Host: Brian Beers
Theme: Honest, actionable insights into real-world franchising, based on hands-on experience growing an 8-figure franchise portfolio.
Episode Overview
In this episode, Brian Beers shares the behind-the-scenes story of acquiring his 35th Midas automotive shop—an impressive real estate and business maneuver sparked by a single cold LinkedIn DM. Brian walks listeners through the deal-making process, rapid takeover timeline, operational challenges, lessons learned, and his philosophy on growth, team-building, and relentless progress in franchising.
No fluff—just detailed, first-person insights into “franchise roll-up” strategy, negotiation tactics, growing pains, and the mindset required to succeed.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
The Origin Story: A Cold DM Leads to Opportunity
[00:00–01:22]
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Brian explains he and his CEO were strategizing about acquiring more automotive locations—ideally “second generation” shops that could be quickly converted to Midas stores.
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Upon hearing a competitor (a publicly traded company) might be closing locations, they went straight to LinkedIn to find the CFO and sent a cold message offering to help them exit early in PA/NJ markets.
“We find the CFO… send him a message that basically says, you know, hey, this is who we are. If there are any stores in Pennsylvania, New Jersey that you're looking to exit early, we could help you with that.”
— Brian Beers [00:23]
Negotiation and Deal Structure
[01:22–03:30]
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Initially, their message went unanswered, but months later, the CFO replied, connecting them to the head of real estate.
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They discover several locations are being shuttered, including a prime target. Simultaneously, the landlord lists the property.
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Negotiating a triple net lease (NNN), Brian attempts to purchase the property but settles for leasing due to the landlord’s preference (“mailbox money” for the landlord).
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Parallel negotiations take place to acquire the competitor’s equipment and arrange an early lease termination to capture peak business months.
“We had to get everybody together…got everybody to agree and it happened. We took over the keys on June 20 after a few days delay.”
— Brian Beers [03:18]
Racing the Clock: 10 Days to Open
[03:30–06:00]
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With only 9–10 days before July 1st—a critical business month—they launch a whirlwind effort:
- Remodels, cleaning, signage, IT & security, permits, staff onboarding, vendor setup, franchise paperwork, and digital infrastructure.
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Brian stresses the importance of robust checklists and parallel processes to prevent costly mistakes, citing hard lessons from previously missed utility transfers and fines.
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Having ex-military leadership on his team (“badasses across the board”) enables fast, accountable execution.
“If you're looking to really grow your business, lock these [operational processes] down…because what happens is if not, all these things fall through the crack.”
— Brian Beers [05:18]
The First Month: Humble Beginnings, Rapid Ramp
[06:00–09:00]
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The store opens July 1, with modest initial daily sales ($114 day one), but revenue grows exponentially to $52,000 for the month, breaking even thanks to negotiated free rent and deferred expenses.
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By August, the location is on track for $85,000 in revenue.
“On day one, we do a whopping $114 in sales. ...End of the month, $52,000 in revenue. We actually broke even on a cash flow basis because we were able to negotiate free rent...”
— Brian Beers [07:08] -
Recently secured state inspection and emissions licenses, still iterating on local marketing, and the growth curve is steepening.
Why Take the Risk? Confident Betting on People and Process
[09:00–11:00]
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Brian outlines his rationale for taking on a location his competitor gave up on:
- Store previously underperformed due to people or process issues, not location.
- A strong team and proven system are key; the physical setting has ample new development and high-traffic neighbors (Starbucks, Dunkin', large residential projects).
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$150,000 invested, 10-year personally guaranteed lease.
“Our business, we’re in the people business that happens to fix cars. And we know if we can get the right team in there following the right process, we can make all the money that we need and want to make.”
— Brian Beers [09:27]
Mindset: Progress over Perfection & The Value of Small Wins
[11:00–13:00]
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Brian emphasizes the importance of celebrating incremental progress, not just chasing long-term targets:
- Getting excited about the first $114 day and the first five-star Google review, not just the possibility of someday reaching $3 million in annual sales.
- Anticipates future setbacks and insists daily “1%” improvements make compounding growth possible.
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Leadership maxim: “Progress over perfection.”
“Winners get excited by daily growth. My goal is just to get 1% better every day. …Progress over perfection. I don’t care about being perfect, but what I do care about is are we making progress?”
— Brian Beers [11:43]
Actionable Advice: Building Through Relationships
[13:00–End]
- Encourages franchisees to cultivate relationships with competitors and neighboring franchise owners, as most of his acquisitions were done with other franchisees (faster and easier than buying from outsiders).
- Pushes listeners to take action: reach out, build connections, seize overlooked opportunities.
- Brian closes by sharing his intention to double revenue to $100 million in 18 months, not just via new acquisitions but by “nailing the process” within the current store portfolio.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
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On Negotiation Creativity:
“We've had success in the past of saying, well, how about we like negotiate a deal with you with the landlord, and we can take over whatever day that you want to get out of it and save them multiple months of rent...”
— Brian Beers [00:53] -
On Military Leadership:
“All of them are former military, special operations, elite military leaders... These guys are just badasses across the board in accountability, in leadership, in organizational and emotional intelligence...”
— Brian Beers [04:57] -
On Small Beginnings:
“You can't get excited by the five-year goal... I have to be fired up by the day that we did $114...”
— Brian Beers [11:20] -
On Learning from Failure:
“We bought this package of seven Midas shops...There was a ton of this stuff that we missed. ...We had shut off notices, we had all these fines. Like it was a bunch of stuff fell through the cracks that we learned from. Updated our checklist.”
— Brian Beers [05:50] -
On Mindset for Growth:
“There will probably be months that we are gonna lose money. Like shit will hit the fan... And I think what really separates winners from losers or quitters is winners get excited by daily growth.”
— Brian Beers [11:30]
Timestamps for Key Segments
- 00:00 How a cold LinkedIn DM started the deal
- 01:22 Initial negotiation strategy and landlord dynamic
- 03:18 Keys in hand & 10-day operational sprint
- 05:18 Operational checklist; avoiding past mistakes
- 07:08 Revenue progress and first month ramp-up
- 09:27 Analysis: betting on people, process, and location
- 11:20 The mindset: celebrating small wins, focusing on process
- 13:00 Building relationships as growth strategy
Summary
This episode offers a candid, granular look at how to execute rapid franchise expansion with minimal fluff and maximal real-world detail. Brian Beers presents the playbook: stay relentless, refine and parallelize processes, build an elite team, foster industry relationships, and—above all—find satisfaction in daily improvement, not just big wins. For aspiring franchise owners, operators, or anyone interested in scaling brick-and-mortar businesses, this is a masterclass in both strategy and mindset.