BrandONE's Peter Barkman on Competence, Commitment & Integrity

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Partner at BrandONE, Peter Barkman, has a long and proven track record in hiring, developing and leading teams both inside and outside the franchise industry. He has been an entrepreneur or held executive/owner positions for over thirty years, focusing mostly on growing small businesses into large organizations. He has been responsible for implementing and adopting system-wide initiatives that drive the growth of brands.

Since college, Peter Barkman, a natural-born leader, has worked in the franchising market. Peter became a franchisee when his peers pledged fraternities and completed unpaid internships. He supervised a College Pro Painter franchise location with 18 employees at the age of 20. When he graduated, his mentor urged him to join the College Pro corporate team to assist in the brand’s growth in the United States. Peter never turned around.

Peter has grown various brands from regional to national industry leaders. For example, he was instrumental in CertaPro’s expansion from $50 million to more than $400 million. He’s also received various industry honors, including the Star Award (2012 and 2014) and the Franchisees’ Choice Award in 2014. Peter knows about the best approach to franchise creation over the years, so when Kurt approached him about the BrandONE possibility, he hopped on board.

According to the Partner at BrandONE, Peter Barkman, one very common mistake in the franchise space is growing too fast and not having your systems—support, training and marketing—dialed in before growing your brand and your team. Franchisors and systems that grow smart will often not put the cart before the horse. They’ll get their operation house in order and go high and wide recruiting franchisees. Then they keep the bar very high for people they award franchises to.

Peter advises that when awarding franchises, look for folks who have competence, commitment and integrity. Award them to people who you like, trust and respect and who like, trust and respect you. Sometimes, people are smart, competent, and intelligent, but they don’t work hard and aren’t passionate or dedicated to what they’re doing. It is advised to check all those boxes, do the hard thing and take a pass.

Peter has been a drummer in a band for the past three decades. He is also an avid sailor. He has raced sailboats and has even completed multiple offshore voyages over 4,000 miles total. He has made physical fitness a part of his daily routine. He is a competitive runner, dedicated yogi and P90X fanatic. Pete lives in Bucks County, PA, with his wife. His older daughter (Katherine- age 25) is a professional ballerina with The Washington Ballet in DC. His younger daughter (Lauren-age 21) is a Boston Conservatory-Berkeley College of Music student.