Charging Forward

Several years ago, after establishing a successful career as a risk-management executive, Corey Robinson explored the idea of becoming a business owner. However, he did not want to start his own business as a first-time entrepreneur. He planned to continue working full-time in risk management and felt the support offered by a franchise would give him the best opportunity to handle both ventures.

Robinson purchased four Batteries Plus locations in November 2022. In less than three years, he’s grown his portfolio to 12 stores across Iowa, Illinois, and Texas, with two additional stores under consideration. Batteries Plus is a retailer of batteries, lighting and signage products, and phone repair services for the direct-to-consumer and commercial channels.

Robinson was honored at the 65th IFA Annual Convention in Las Vegas in February for being an outstanding franchise establishment owner-operator. The IFA Franchisee of the Year awards are given to the top franchisees from IFA member brands across industries from around the country and the world. The Franchisee of the Year awards recognize leading franchise owners from IFA member brands whose outstanding performance and contributions help protect, enhance, and promote the franchise business model.

As he reflects on his journey with Batteries Plus, Robinson is quick to credit the support he has received from the franchise model and network as being keys to his success.

“Being a franchisee and knowing I have partners in this, and they have a vested interest in my success has been vital,” he said. “It is different than owning an independent business because you have a large group of peers to learn from. As a multi-unit franchisee, the biggest draws are financial impact and the time. I have time to do a lot of things others don’t. I can put leaders in place to run the business at each store.”

Being part of a franchise network has also helped Robinson quickly scale the number of locations he owns in a short amount of time. He bought most of his locations from other franchisees who were retiring. Having connections to others in the Batteries Plus system who were looking to sell made it much easier for him to acquire those businesses.

Robinson knows continued growth is possible with a company that provides products and services that are in demand for businesses and individual consumers. Even though he has been with Batteries Plus for only a few years, his goal is to be one of the top franchisees in the system.

After immersing himself in the franchise space over the past several years, Robinson has advice for others who may be considering getting into franchising.

“Conducting your due diligence is important,” said Robinson. “Do your research and talk to lots of people, including franchisees themselves. People tend to overthink things. You don’t know until you go through and do it.”