Lessons Learned Through Purchasing a Parent's Franchise

Most second-generation franchisees grow up believing they understand the business. They've sat through the brand meetings, watched a parent work weekends, and spent time in the stores. Until they're in the driver’s seat, they often don't realize the major differences between understanding a franchise’s operations and actually running one.

That gap is something more second-generation operators need to discuss. Taking over a franchise from a parent is an incredible opportunity. It is also one of the most disorienting professional transitions a person can make. Here are some of the things I have learned since purchasing my father’s Pearle Vision franchise in 2025.

Bring something new to the table

The worst thing a second-generation owner can do is assume the business will run itself because it was successful under a parent. Markets shift, customers change, and the competitive landscape looks different than it did a decade or two ago.

I came into ownership as an optometrist, a different credential than my father, who is a licensed optician. That difference in training gave me the ability to expand our clinical services in ways the practice hadn't offered before, with advanced disease management, laser procedures, and specialty contact lenses. Growing the business didn't mean doing what my father did better. It meant doing things he couldn't do at all.

Whatever their background, second-generation owners should identify what they uniquely bring that the first generation didn't have, such as new skills, an understanding of new technology, a different network, and a unique perspective on the customer. The job is to protect what was built and expand what's possible.

Understand what comes with the purchase

When taking over a family franchise, the incoming owner is not just acquiring locations. They are acquiring a reputation, a customer base, a team, and a set of relationships that took decades to build. In our case, my father spent 30 years becoming one of the most recognized faces in Sioux Falls eye care. Patients who've been coming in over the years weren't just loyal to Pearle Vision; they were loyal to him.

That kind of goodwill doesn't appear on any balance sheet, and it's fragile. The fastest way to lose it is to walk in as the new owner and start making sweeping changes before understanding what drives the business. New franchisees need to spend time on the floor, get to know the customers, and understand why longtime staff stayed. It is important to listen before you lead.

The operational side of ownership, such as P&L, vendor relationships, and staffing decisions, is learnable. The trust that the parent built in the community is not something that can be rebuilt once it's gone.

Define who handles each role in writing

Working alongside a parent is a gift, but it's also complicated. My father still comes in most days, and he knows this business better than anyone. Having his experience available as I navigate the transition has been invaluable. But the business only works because we've been clear about who makes which decisions.

What many second-generation owners don't anticipate is how much roles continue to evolve after the sale closes. Some decisions transfer cleanly and quickly, while others are harder to define until a specific moment makes the question unavoidable. Even after formal agreements are in place, it's natural for a parent and child to occasionally slip back into their prior dynamic. It takes mutual awareness and respect to recognize it and course correct.

The more clearly roles are defined before the transition and documented, the less friction when those difficult moments arise. Who sets direction? Who approves hires? Who has final say on major expenditures? The conversations feel unnecessary when things are going well. They're essential when they aren't. The goal isn't to push a parent out. It's to create enough clarity that the relationship stays intact.

Think about what is being built, not what is being taken on

Second-generation ownership carries a weight that first-generation owners don't always feel: the sense that the job is maintenance, not creation. Resist that framing. The parent built something worth continuing, but carrying it on isn't the same as standing still.

The second-generation owners who grow their businesses share a few things in common. They enter with a growth mindset, not just a stewardship mindset. They identify what they uniquely bring to the business and act on it. They invest in understanding what made the first generation successful before changing anything. And they define clear roles early, not because they distrust their parent, but because clarity protects the relationship.

Pearle Vision gave me a foundation I couldn't have built in the same time on my own. The same is true for any second-generation franchisee who steps into a business their parent built. The foundation is the advantage. What gets built on top of it is the opportunity.

Travis Lehr, O.D., purchased two Pearle Vision franchise locations in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 2025 from his father, Kevin Lehr, who joined the Pearle Vision brand in 1978.