Pictured above: Cynthia Mora, Cristina Kooker (from Great Day Houston), and Almagul Bigaly at her business, Stretch Lab, where KHOU 11 filmed Almagul’s story.
Four years ago, Almagul Bigaly moved to the United States with the dream of owning her own business. She had previously held management positions in the oil and gas industry both in the US and overseas, but longed for the personal autonomy that can be gained from owning one’s own business. With the help of Cynthia Mora, a FranNet of Houston consultant, Almagul’s dream not only became a reality, but her inspiring story of how she came to be a business owner has been featured on KHOU 11 show Great Day Houston!
The process for acquiring a “best fit” franchise business is extensive and can be daunting to someone trying to break into the world of business ownership for the first time. Cynthia Mora coached Almagul throughout her journey of research and investigation of the numerous businesses that are available for franchise ownership.
Cynthia used the proven FranNet research process which includes several levels of assessment including the client’s own entrepreneurial assessment, financial cost, financial performance, territory availability, quality of company systems, pre-existing support for hiring and management, quality of communication between franchisees and franchisors, transparency of operations, business style and preferences of both the future business owner and the franchisors, and many other considerations. It is critical to have a sound understanding of all of these factors before a potential business owner makes the jump of acquiring and owning a franchise business.
For this reason, having someone with insider knowledge of how the whole process works and which businesses will be a good fit can be invaluable to a future business owner. This can be what makes the difference between success or failure as a business owner. Cynthia understood how important it was for Almagul to find a business that would be both fulfilling and fitting and they worked together tenaciously to find the right business.
18 months later, Almagul’s dream came true. Today she is the owner of Stretch Lab, a successful fitness business that offers one-on-one assisted stretch therapy. Almagul has the personal freedom that she was looking for and ownership of a business that she loves.
This is the power of having a passionate and dedicated consultant on one’s side. Cynthia’s involvement didn’t end after the deal was sealed and signed on the dotted line. She developed a meaningful business relationship with Almagul, learned of her story, and worked with a PR agency to secure this segment on KHOU’s Great Day Houston. She wanted others to hear about Almagul’s incredible story–especially if a story like Almagul’s could inspire others to do what Almagul had done. Sometimes, dreams do come true.