The Other Shoes
Making the leap from franchise seller to franchise buyer
During his eight years working in the corporate offices of J.D.
Byrider, a used car dealership and financing franchise, Jim
Thompson had done pretty much everything there was to do, from
opening new stores to selling franchises. "You know how to run
it-you see people who have succeeded and know all the secrets. It
was a natural progression for me to do this on my own," says
Thompson, 33.
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Before leaving headquarters, the former vice president of
franchise development persuaded one of his employees to partner
with him. "He came from the finance [industry], I had the
franchise background, and the mix just seemed perfect,"
Thompson says of Jim Kagiliery, also 33.
In 2000, the pair opened their first J.D. Byrider unit in
Jacksonville, Florida, with Thompson acting as president of the
dealership. Kagiliery acts as president of the finance company, a
franchise called Car Now Acceptance Co. that's co-branded with
J.D. Byrider. Thompson and Kagiliery currently own three franchises
in Jacksonville and plan to open two more soon.
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The transition from corporate employee to franchisee has been a
welcome one for Thompson, who majored in entrepreneurship in
college. As a student, though, he didn't foresee himself
running a chain of used car dealerships. "I wrote my final
paper on running a gym, but you have so much overhead, it's not
very profitable," Thompson says. "Once you get out in the
real world, you find where the money's made."