By Daryl Turko

I’m able to run my business and spend as much time as possible with our kids, which was my goal. Once they started school, I still worked every day, but stopped at 3:30 p.m. It can be challenging to get everything done in six hours, which means some evening work and off-hours meetings for me. For the most part, though, I’m able to work my job around my family.

Over the years, I have volunteered at my kids’ schools, accompanied them on field trips (I was one of the few Dads who were able to do so) and helped them with homework. Things are different now—Danielle, 17, is in high school and Paul, 14, will be starting soon—but my life as a franchisee still fits our lifestyle. Pat and I do not push it. Sure, I could take on more clients, but it would mean I’d have to spend more time on business and less with the kids. We live on less purposely and hope the kids will understand. That said, over the years I’d have great stretches where I’ve earned as much as I would have at any full-time, 9-to-5 job, except I was able to work just 20 to 30 hours a week.

I like being there for the kids, but I also take advantage of warm sunny days. I do a bit of work around the house when things need to be done, like cutting the grass or shovelling snow. I’m working on a basement renovation right now. There’s no commute time, so I save an hour or more a day. That said, I am able to work from home because I am very disciplined and organized; I can juggle a lot of different tasks and wear many hats. I treat my clients very well and am very receptive to their needs; they don’t need cash a week from now; they need it today or tomorrow.

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By Daryl Turko

I signed on with Interface on May 2, 1996; my severance package helped with the startup costs, which were relatively low for a franchise. I also took out a mortgage on the house for $100,000, which I used to pay the franchise fee and buy my first invoices. It was slow in the beginning, but since Pat was working, we had enough cash flow to make it work. Even with all of my contacts, it took me eight months to get my first client.

To get through those lean months, I did deals with other franchisees in Western Canada. For example, if a franchisee had a $100,000 invoice they wanted to purchase from a client, but only wanted to put out $50,000, they sent word to me so I could buy into the deal or syndicate with them. In the meantime, I started building relationships with bankers, business consultants and other accountants who know businesses who are in a cash tight period, to get referrals.

My very first client was a roofing company, a one-man operation doing some work for general contractors. He used the money he got from me to buy supplies for the next house he was doing. When things would get busy in the spring and summer he’d come back; he had more than enough work, but had trouble getting his materials in advance. He was my client for about five years. A typical client stays with me for anywhere from six months to two years, usually until they can secure bank financing. On the other hand, I’ve had some clients for 10 years. They don’t necessarily use my services that often, but they know I’m here if they need me.
In my early years as a franchisee, I spent about 30 hours a week on my business. Most of my time was spent networking, building relationships, marketing and going to trade shows, chamber of commerce events and meetings, in order to secure deals with clients. Three to four years in, I was working with bigger companies, buying invoices as big as $500,000 and working with businesses across North America. Over the years, I’ve found I can provide the best service when I have about six to eight clients. Any more than that and it’s difficult for me to give them the best possible service.

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By Daryl Turko

How it works
In the Interface franchise system, franchisees buy invoices at a discount from their clients, so they can get their money right away. Before we purchase any invoice from a client, we do due diligence. We’re not dealing with companies who can’t collect money from their customers, just those who can’t wait until the invoice is paid. We look very carefully at everyone involved.

For instance, in Alberta, there are a lot of small oil and gas service companies with fewer than 10 employees that might have a cash flow problem. We buy invoices from them, which might be with a big company like Encana or ConocoPhillips. Many people think I’m a big guy who strong-arms people to collect money because they won’t pay. We don’t get ourselves in that situation. When I buy an invoice, my client notifies the vendor the invoice has been sold. They sign off to me. Then the vendor eventually pays me. Most companies pay in 30 to 60 days; the average in Canada is 52 days.

The reason companies sell invoices is to free up capital for a new job. It’s worth it to them to pay me a five per cent discount for that invoice—as an example—to get the money they need up front. Even if it means making a margin of 20 per cent, the company still makes money.

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By Daryl Turko

Continued from the blog entry Financing for a Family-Friendly Lifestyle

My son Paul was born in 1996, at exactly the same time I was let go; my daughter Danielle was two-and-a-half at the time. Pat was on maternity leave, so we both had some time off from the workplace. I still kept professionally active through the outplacement company, which had an office I could go to every day and talk with people, but I didn’t have to work crazy hours. I did a lot of networking and rethinking, and spent time with my growing family.

Eventually, I started thinking, ‘How can I keep this up?’ Pat and I were both 35 at the time, both products of the oil and gas industry where you get paid well but work long, hard hours. We decided we wanted to do something that enabled us to work part-time and spend as much time with our kids as possible.

After maternity leave, Pat returned to her job as an accountant with Gulf on a part-time basis—she went back 80 per cent, four days a week, which is one of the benefits of the oil and gas industry. Through my outplacement service, I connected with Franchise Network. They took people like me and helped match them to the right franchisor for their particular circumstances (consultants were paid by the franchisor if a franchisee signed a deal).

Read the full article in our digital edition Financing for a Family-friendly Lifestyle

By Daryl Turko

I’m the longest active franchisee with The Interface Financial Group, going into my 15th year with the company. When I discovered this unique business many years ago, it was a perfect fit for me—and it still is. You can do all your work with a computer and phone line from your home. There’s no overhead, no inventory and no employees, and I like that. I chose this business to be able to spend more time with my family, and that’s exactly what I’ve been able to do for all these years.

Photo courtesy Daryl Turko

Where I began
Like many Calgarians, I started out as part of the oil and gas industry. After obtaining a marketing and accounting diploma from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT) in 1981, I landed a job with Gulf Canada, and had various roles in its administration group in frontier development and purchasing in Calgary, and its production office in Edmonton.

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