Capitalizing on a burgeoning market demand, veteran entrepreneur Norm Stoehr took the concept of peer advisory groups for business owners and transformed it into one of the hottest tickets in franchising today. Following a lifelong roller coaster ride of his own business coups and crashes, Stoehr, 59, recognized an increasing number of business owners seeking to face challenging issues via "tough love" meetings with non-competing peers. He responded in 1985 with Inner Circle International Ltd., which organizes peer groups of 10-12 diverse business owners who meet monthly for three hours to exchange ideas, solve problems, set goals and prolong visions with each other utilizing Stoehr's proprietary "Vision Quest" technique. As the model caught on like wildfire, Stoehr realized his own dream in 1997 when he began franchising Inner Circle. Franchise owners, who currently operate in Baltimore, Chicago, Minneapolis, and San Diego, are trained to organize and facilitate group meetings in their own communities, guiding and challenging members to clarify their business goals with the Vision Quest process. Franchisees earn handsome incomes via membership fees that range from $4,200 to $6,400 annually per member. Franchisees average four to five groups of 10-12 members each. Membership renewal rates hover at about 90 percent. "Our franchisees enjoy incredible freedom of lifestyle, low overhead and a nice income," said Stoehr, who himself operates six Inner Circle groups in the Twin Cities of Minnesota. "I schedule my monthly group meetings for six mornings in the first half of the month, leaving me free for the month's remainder. My meetings are over by noon, allowing me to indulge in golf for the rest of the day. I'm enjoying my life and feeling fulfilled, and so do our franchisees. At the end of the day, you've helped people solve problems and reach goals, and you've made a good buck. What could be better than that?" Seeking: 'bored business survivors' The ideal Inner Circle franchise owner is either a mature entrepreneur who has harvested a business and is free from daily management responsibilities, or could have come from corporate life. They're well-connected in their communities, financially free and looking for renewed purpose in life. They don't want to work 9-5 every day, yet they also want more out of life than just golf and leisure. To get started, Inner Circle franchisees require an initial franchise fee of $48,000 and contribute 10 percent of their gross annual revenue in royalties. In return, franchisees receive two weeks of intensive training at Inner Circle's corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, three days with a trained Inner Circle facilitator in their hometown getting their business kick started, monthly conference calls and three-day intense annual symposiums. "Our franchisees are well-connected and highly respected in their communities, and really enjoy the process of being 'other-centered,'" Stoehr said. "That's the opposite of self centered. To be a successful group facilitator, you have to let go of your own agenda long enough to hook into somebody else's dream, which takes practice. And although our franchisees tend to have a fair amount of disposable income, they can't be so wealthy that they aren't motivated to do the work necessary to market and sell the concept to their community." A concept was born After 12 previous businesses in the real estate development, construction and restaurant industries, Inner Circle has turned out to be the "lemonade" of Stoehr's career, meeting what he calls the "acid test" - the one thing he would do for free, even if he had all the money he needed. "It's what I was put on this earth to do," Stoehr said. In 1980, Stoehr lost everything on a seafood restaurant that he attributes to his own faulty judgment in poor location and a concept that was premature for its time. Soon after, he went to work for a consulting firm that offered business advisory services. On one occasion, he brought together several pairs of mentors and novice entrepreneurs for a brainstorming session. "At that session, I saw for the first time how bringing like minds together, allowing the free collision of ideas, produces new ideas and breakthrough insight. It was thrilling, even goosebumpy," Stoehr said. "I realized that there are four things that every business owner has in common - ideas, information, experience and contacts. Some of us old guys have more of these things, but we don't necessarily have better ones. We have a lot to learn from each other. So at that moment, I knew there was a business idea to be had. That's how Inner Circle was born." Filling a niche Inner Circle is different from other networking, business development and business advice groups in that it caters only to business owners, its facilitators are experienced, empathetic entrepreneurs and it utilizes a unique, proprietary "Vision Quest" format. Through Vision Quest, one group member shares professional and personal goals, revealing fears and perceived flaws, almost like a business plan that requires preparation and soul searching. "Our meetings are emotional, sometimes painful," Stoehr said. "But it's what sets us apart. It's not like a therapy session, but we also don't separate the person from the business. We know they are critically intertwined. Our members leave each session feeling energized with new and helpful business information from like-minded, experienced, similarly motivated people," said Stoehr, who noted that his very first group presenter, a 24-year-old in a business that his mother had started, remains a member today at age 40. In addition, Inner Circles are small, with only one member from each type of business. Members, selectively chosen, range from single practitioners to owners with hundreds of employees. With only 12 members, each person has a chance to speak in an atmosphere where trust and honesty are naturally built. "Our members come to us on referral, and they stick with us because of the value and brain power that we provide them to help their businesses thrive in the toughest of times," Stoehr said. "Our franchisees build their own business on a groundwork of our solid reputation. Most of our franchisees already have a love for helping peers. What we do is formalize what they already do for free, in a business that gives them tremendous leverage and power and a lifestyle that can't be beat. It offers the greatest psychic reward you could ask for with a handsome income."
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