By Peter Saunders

Russell grew up on a family dairy farm near Ottawa. He studied animal science at McGill University in Montreal and later took his MBA in marketing and consumer behaviour at the University of Wisconsin.

Staying in the U.S. to sell nutritional products for farm animals, Russell met his wife Janet while they were both working for Pfizer, a multinational pharmaceutical company. They went on to have four children.

After working for several biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, Russell started his own business, Nutrilinx LLC, which imported animal food additives for the North American market, mostly from Europe. His expertise allowed him to explain to customers how to use these ingredients.

The nature of the business meant Russell was constantly travelling all over the U.S. while his children were growing up. “That wasn’t a lifestyle that appealed to me,” he says. “I wanted to work hard, but I also wanted to be home each night with my kids and to coach hockey and soccer in my local community.” He sold Nutrilinx to one of his distributors.

Russell moved back to Ottawa, where his wife could work for Pfizer. “I had capital and I looked at different opportunities,” he says. He quickly purchased his first Trade Secrets franchise, which would become number one in sales across the entire retail chain.

Read the full article: You’ve Got What it Takes: Russell Arthurs, Trade Secrets

By Peter Saunders

You don’t need a background in the franchise business to become a franchisee yourself. Franchising has become the world’s most successful business model because it meets the needs of people from all walks of life, giving them the tools they need to be their own boss, often in an entirely new field. Considering your natural talent, skills and life experience, you’ve probably already got a lot to be confident about as you prepare for your franchising journey.

Still have any doubts? Maybe the nature of your career so far has been very different from the franchise you hope to buy? Don’t worry. In “You’ve Got What It Takes,” we show you how work experience—and any other type of experience—can be applied in a franchised setting.

What he does:
Russell Arthurs admits he is an unlikely candidate to operate retail stores that specialize in beauty products and salon services. Raised on a farm near Ottawa and schooled in agriculture, his original career focused on health and nutrition products for animals.

After eight years working in the U.S., a move back to Canada in early 2005 provided the opportunity for a career transition. He looked into various franchise businesses that would let him run a local store, rather than keep him on the road, away from his family.

“I had run a business before,” he says. “It was a matter of applying my selling skills to a retail concept. And having been gone from Canada for a long time, I wanted to get re-established quickly by plugging into an established template. I looked at a multitude of businesses.”

His search soon brought him to Trade Secrets, a growing Canadian chain of beauty boutiques that was not yet well-established in the Ottawa area.

“I found them in March 2005, when they were offering the Bayshore Shopping Centre location for a June opening,” he says. “I didn’t want to sit around for six months anyway. I hit the ground running.”

Following the success of the Bayshore store, the franchisor offered Russell a second location in Barrhaven the following spring. That was followed by a third in 2008 in Orleans and a fourth in July 2011 at the Rideau Centre.

“I didn’t initially think I’d go multi-unit, but I liked that the option was there,” he says. “Here in Ottawa, Trade Secrets was in 2005 an underdeveloped, up-and-coming franchise system with a lack of competition. It was really a matter of timing. And today, the market could still handle a few more locations.”

While Trade Secrets meant a major career shift for him, Russell says his sales experience carried him through to new success.

“I had to learn the industry’s nuances, especially when buying from suppliers, but I’m using the same skills,” he says. “You make your margins by buying the right items at the right time.”

And as he explains, operating four stores while achieving a better work-life balance has only been made possible by sharing those skills with his staff.

“Compared to my previous business, the sheer number of transactions is huge, but for much smaller amounts,” he says. “You have to talk to so many customers to achieve the same level of sales. I can’t do that without good employees who have learned how to sell. We emphasize intense training and pay them significantly higher than the retail average.”

Russell originally planned to be only a short-term franchisee, but with the growth of his business and his enjoyment of the stores’ atmosphere and clientele, he says he’s hooked.

“I can’t walk away from it!” he says. “It’s a fun environment. I wake up each day excited to be in this business.”

And while his franchises have represented new horizons to explore, the move back to Ottawa has meant a comforting return to his roots.

“We still own a farm, with animals,” he says. “It’s a good lifestyle.”

Read the full article: You’ve Got What it Takes: Russell Arthurs, Trade Secrets