How to Start a Franchise Without Deep Industry Experience

Join Jordan Choo with his guest Maria Joukov as they talk about starting a franchise without deep industry experience. Maria Joukov is the founder and CEO of inq Tattoos, which hopes to deliver a premium tattoo experience for the modern customer. With their customer-first philosophy and technologically forward approach, the inq brand is more than just a great tattoo experience. They espouse clean design and transparency in products, services, and processes, while standing for positivity, inclusivity, and giving back to communities such as first-responders and low-income youth. Along with her husband Peter, Maria created inq to ensure that every customer could have a great tattoo experience and that every artist could work in a nurturing professional environment.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What made Maria choose the franchising model for inq Tattoos
• How networking helped them learn more about franchising amid the pandemic
• The importance of starting small and being cautious about your first open locations
• How franchising being a long-term commitment influences their selection process of franchisees
• Why the community aspect is essential in a franchise’s growth and expansion
• And much more!

About Maria Joukov:

Maria Joukov, along with her husband Peter, founded inq Tattoos because they saw an unmet need today in the market and saw a better way to work for today’s tattoo artists.  It started with Maria and Pete wanting to get a tattoo of their baby’s name but they could not find the perfect environment. And so, after leaning on their military, corporate, and business backgrounds, they created a modern and accessible tattoo experience for customers and supportive space for professional artists. 

Before co-founding inq Tattoos, Maria led teams of imagery and geospatial analyst professionals at the United States Department of Defense. She also served as a forward-deployed site lead and an agency representative to the US military, NATO, and other customers in a collaborative environment supporting Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) in Afghanistan. In turn, as a culmination of her military experience, Maria also founded Fides Services LLC, providing experienced personnel and practical solutions in imagery and geospatial analysis for customers at the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community. 

You can find Maria Joukov on…

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mariajoukov 

Company Website: http://www.inqtattoos.com/ 

Connect with Jordan Choo!

Podcast Website: https://kogneta.com/franchise-marketing-podcast 

Website: http://jordanchoo.com 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JordanChoo