Billie Zimmerman is seeing her life come full circle as she becomes a Sticky Fingers Cooking franchisee in the greater Philadelphia Northwest area. 

“I’m a teacher by degree, but I never taught because I was having my kids,” she explains. “When they were little, I was home with them and I stumbled upon real estate investing. I realized that day care for four little ones was going to cost more than my teaching salary so I chose real estate and stayed home with them.”

As the kids grew, the family moved around from Colorado, Maryland, New Hampshire then to Pennsylvania, where Billie is starting her new business.

“Billie is at a stage in her life where she is ready for something new that will challenge her in the best ways,” says Erin Fletter, founder and CEO of Sticky Fingers Cooking. “We are so delighted that she found us! We know that with her passion for eating healthy and education, she will absolutely be a success!”

‍

The Education Franchise Business Found Her

“I had been looking for a business for a while,” Billie says. “When I moved to Philadelphia from New Hampshire, I was looking to revamp my real estate investing in this area, but it just wasn't panning out the way I expected.”

Then modern serendipity (aka algorithms and email lists) stepped in. “This message about Sticky Fingers Cooking just landed in my lap like the algorithm knew I had been looking!,” she exclaims, adding that it was likely through BizBuySell which she had looked into months earlier. “I wanted something I felt passionate about and I have been obsessed with cooking and nutrition my whole life.”

As a mom of four–two are currently in college, two finishing up high school–she shared this love of food and eating well with her kids. 

“All of my kids are foodies,” she says with a laugh. “Time around the table was super important to us and we always have family dinner nights.”

‍

Saying Yes to Franchise Business Ownership

When Billie read the email, her response was, “This is amazing!” Then she decided to reach out and learn more to see if this was possible for her to do. 

“When I followed through, that first meeting with Julie I was pretty much sold,” she says. “I have good intuition and I loved her energy.”

Next, she spoke with some Sticky Fingers Cooking franchise owners about their experience. “They had a clear, consistent message about the support they got to start and run their businesses,” she says. “It just kind of lined up and felt really good.”

Although Billie has experience in business and was interested in starting a business, franchising was new to her. 

“I think that I had not really thought about franchising until this came into play,” she remarks. “I tossed around a lot of other stuff and then seeing the structure of this with the systems in place was really appealing. I like not being alone and just relying on myself.”

‍

Becoming a Foodie

Billie says that her own childhood was not rich in food options and it was when she was an independent that she discovered food. “When I had my own kids, and being in education, I made the connection between nutrition and learning,” she says. “You need to feed your brain and body!”

In fact, she thinks her own kids might describe her as “obsessed” with nutrition and fresh ingredients. “It took a few years to lighten up a little bit,” she adds with a laugh. “Food is kind of a love language for me.”

Now her mission is to spread that love of food through the greater Philadelphia Northwest community with Sticky Fingers Cooking after-school enrichment classes and summer camps for local kids. 

What sounds familiar to you in Billie’s story of franchise business ownership? If you’re curious about the franchise opportunity too, click here to take the first steps.