The lure of Franchises: it's not just fast food that attracts corporate types.

Neil McMillan's clients come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Some are veterans of the corporate world, others have worked in the nonprofit sector or are just looking for a career change. And it's McMillan's job to match them with the right franchise opportunity.

McMillan works in Westlake Village, covering Los Angeles and parts of Ventura and Santa Barbara counties for FranNet, a national network of franchise consultants. McMillan presents at seminars held by chambers of commerce and other business groups, working with between eight and 10 clients at a time. He usually starts by erasing a client's misconceptions about franchises.

"The first big myth, if you like, is that it's mainly fast food and restaurants," McMillan said. "What most people don't realize is that there are a ton of franchises out there that are suitable for senior executives: staffing businesses, consulting businesses. You don't necessarily need to venture out into your own consulting practice, which can be much more difficult."

Tom Leney had been working in the corporate world for 20 years when his position at Digital Insight in Calabasas was eliminated. Tired of the corporate grind, he decided that, as he was turning 40 years old, it was now or never.

"I decided I was at a point where if I wanted to make a change, now was my chance to do it, versus when I'm fifty years old and I have to be worried about retirement," Leney said.

The company worked with an outplacement service to help its former employees find new jobs, and McMillan made a presentation during that time.

"I thought, 'well, if I'm going to do something, I want it to be something I can believe in and want to do, something I enjoy doing and can get my passion behind, not just something to make a buck,'" Leney said..

He worked with McMillan and took what he describes as a "pretty extensive personality test" to determine which business he would be most suited for, and then started to research companies. After weeding his possibilities down to a few companies, Leney tentatively settled on a business called Interior Door Replacement Company.

"They have a 'discovery day' where you meet with the founders, talk to some prospective clients and some other owners," Leney said. "At that point, what really sold me on the company was the feedback from customers. (IDRC's) scores on customer surveys were like 9.9 out of 10, which is rare in the home improvement industry."

The investment needed to start a franchise can be anywhere from about $80,000 to $1 million or more for a national brand like McDonald's.

Leney said his investment was nowhere near a million dollars, but was "a pretty decent chunk of change."

Leney has a crew of five people, which is on target with his business plan, and he's looking to double the number of employees later this year. Right now, he says the business is all he hoped it would be although he's not profiting yet.

"I'm loving it, it's great right now," said Leney. "I've got a bit of a nest egg, and I'm not putting any money into it. I'm not pulling any money out of the business, but right now I'm really enjoying it, it's my own company. I put in long hours but it's worth it, because it's mine."

McMillan's clients have found roles in the franchise world aside from just being business owners. David Rawnsley left his job as director of finance for a nonprofit organization and became a development director for Robeks, a smoothie and juice store.

Rawnsley is responsible for supporting franchisers as they build and then operate a business. His payment comes from the royalty fees that operators pay parents companies, so the more stores he helps to establish, the bigger his paycheck gets.

"What appealed to me was that even though the income is lower to begin with, you're essentially building up annuity as more stores open and there are more sales," said Rawnsley. "Once the stores open up, the revenue stream is pretty steady."

Tim Lenway had worked for years in different service industry positions, as a fleet manager for Airmark Uniform Service for several years, before going back to school to get his engineering degree. But after graduating in 2003, Lenway found that he had no passion for the field. He met McMillan through a small business association and now owns a Maid Brigade Residential Cleaning franchise. He had no experience in cleaning, but said he enjoys running his own show and making his own hours.

"I had always looked at businesses I either had experience with or was interested in or was good at," Lenway said. "I thought that was the way you would have to go to be successful about it."

McMillan said stories like Lenway's are not unusual.

"About 75 to 80 percent of people go into something completely different than what they did in the past," McMillan said. "They're often more successful because of the fact that they're a little bit intimidated by the new industry, and they do tend to follow the system. In franchises, if you follow the system it's usually a good recipe for success."

Susan P. Kezios, president of the American Franchisee Association, said prospective franchisers need to be aware of some hurdles, however.

Franchisers, she said, are lured by the prospect of being their own boss but are often taken by surprise when it comes to their responsibilities.

"When you sign a contract, you are essentially signing a moving target," Kezios said.

Franchisers can be forced to make changes if a company is purchased, a well-known example being the purchase of Mail Boxes Etc, by UPS. Situations like that may require money from a franchiser to change the look of a store.

A smart investor she said, thinks of franchise agreements as temporary periods of "renting a stream of income," rather than a lifelong commitment.

JONATHAN D. COLBURN

Staff Reporter