He Watched 450 Kids Fill a Gym. Then Emile Said: “That’s Five Years of Work in 30 Minutes.”

There is a moment Emile sees play out regularly at the Little Boomers Basketball flagship location in Riverwood, Sydney.

A prospective franchise buyer sits down, watches a session of 20 kids bouncing around the court. Then another 20 line up for the next class.

Their eyes light up.

You can practically hear what they’re thinking: that’s going to be me.

Then Emile leans in.

“What you’re seeing right now is five years of hard work in about a 30-minute class.”

He speaks to hundreds of people exploring franchise ownership every single month. And over the years, he has watched people with money, passion, and great intentions still struggle.

Not because the Little Boomers Basketball franchise didn’t work.

Because they weren’t actually ready before they signed.

So before any conversation goes further, he puts five non-negotiable questions on the table. Here are five of them. Watch the full video below.

The Real Problem Isn’t Passion — It’s Preparation

Most people who reach out about the Little Boomers Basketball franchise have done their homework.

They’ve watched the videos. Looked at the numbers. Maybe spoken to an existing franchisee.

They are motivated. Excited. And in plenty of cases, they have good money ready to go.

But passion and preparation are not the same thing.

Emile uses a simple analogy. When a baby is on the way, you don’t wait until the day they arrive to childproof the house and set up the room. You prepare for months.

A franchise is no different.

Your finances, your schedule, your relationship, your mindset — all of it needs to be ready before you sign, not after.

These questions are how you find out whether you’re there yet.

Question 1: Do You Have Working Capital Set Aside?

Not just enough to cover the franchise fee.

Enough to keep breathing while the business finds its feet.

Emile recommends a minimum of $5,000 in working capital, separate from your investment, sitting in reserve.

Why? Because:

• Building a customer base takes time
• Consistent revenue doesn’t happen in the first few weeks
• Unexpected expenses will pop up — venue costs, marketing materials, equipment

If you arrive at the starting line already running on empty, the pressure on your business to perform immediately becomes enormous.

He has seen first-hand what happens when that pressure builds.

Early in the network’s history, a franchisee joined after putting her entire life savings into the business and taking out a loan on top.

There was no buffer.

The business needed to perform quickly — not because she was building it strategically, but because she needed it to be her way out of debt.

The stress was immense. She’s no longer in the network.

Working capital is not a luxury. It is the breathing room that gives your business space to grow properly.

Question 2: Are You Prepared to Take No Wage for the First 12 Months?

This one surprises people.
It shouldn’t.

Social media has done franchise buyers a real disservice. The highlight reels — overnight success, immediate profit, freedom from day one — have created an expectation that once you open, the money flows in and you can pay yourself straight away. That is not how it works.

Emile didn’t pay himself a wage for the first two years. Every dollar that came in went back into building the business. He calls the alternative “slaughtering the goose” — pulling profits out before the business is strong enough to sustain it.

When buyers sit in that chair at Riverwood watching 450 members come through each week, they’re seeing the tip of the iceberg. They weren’t there five or six years ago when Emile had six kids in his first class and was doing everything himself.

If you cannot give yourself 12 months of runway without drawing a wage, this might not be the right moment to sign.

Understanding why new franchises struggle is worth reading — Why Most New Franchises Fail (And How to Avoid It)

Question 3: Does Your Partner Actually Support This?

This is not just a practical question.

The research backs it up in a way that might stop you in your tracks.

A meta-analysis of 60 studies across 3,700 entrepreneurs found that partner support — both emotional and financial — directly impacts entrepreneur success and profitability.

Entrepreneurs without a supportive partner consistently reported lower revenue and lower profitability.

It is not a soft factor. It is a business one.

Emile has seen this play out in his own discovery calls.

A buyer came to him once, genuinely excited. Running a basketball franchise was his dream. But his wife was cautious. There was friction at home before the conversation even got serious.

Emile didn’t proceed with the franchise.

Not because the man wasn’t capable — but because bringing someone into the network when their household is divided isn’t good for anyone involved.

This is why Emile insists that both partners attend every discovery call and business presentation.

The investment is real. The lifestyle change is real. Both people need to walk in clear-eyed and aligned.

Question 4: How Many Hours Per Week Can You Devote to the Business — and Where Would They Come From?

Most people answer this too quickly.

“I’ll find the time.” “I’ll make it work.”

That’s not an answer. That’s a hope.

Before you sign anything, do a proper time audit.

Ask yourself:

• How many hours per week can I realistically put into this?
• Which specific hours, on which days?
• What am I giving up to free those hours?

Emile’s rule of thumb: you need around 25 hours per week going into the business — especially in the early stages

Not 25 hours you’ll find somewhere. 25 hours you can point to right now.

If you can’t account for them specifically, you’re not ready to answer this question yet.

Most people overestimate how much time they have. And they underestimate how much the business actually needs.

Getting this wrong doesn’t just affect your results. It affects your family, your relationships, and your stress levels.

Be honest with yourself before you’re honest with anyone else.

Question 5: Can You Follow a System — Even When You Think You Know Better?

This sounds simple. It rarely is.

A franchise is a proven system.

Someone has done the hard work, figured out what works, documented it, and handed it to you.

Your job — especially in the early stages — is to trust that process and run it faithfully.

The problem? Many buyers come in wanting to customise.

• Different suppliers
• Different marketing approaches
• Different takes on the curriculum

And it unravels in the same predictable way every time.

Emile puts it this way:

Imagine you pay $5,000 for a cake recipe from a professional who has baked 5,000 perfect cakes.

You get home. Instead of 200 grams of flour, you decide 100 is fine. Instead of the right butter, you grab whatever’s in the fridge. Instead of preheating at 300 degrees, you do 200 for a couple of minutes because you’re in a rush.

The cake falls apart.

And you blame the recipe.

The franchise system isn’t the problem. Going off-system is.

That doesn’t mean the system is beyond improvement — Little Boomers franchisees give feedback regularly and the system gets better because of it.

But there is a big difference between collaborative refinement and going it alone.

Not sure if a franchise is right for you? Read Franchise vs Starting From Scratch (Most People Get This Wrong).

The Common Thread

Preparation. Every single question comes back to it.

The people who struggle in franchise ownership are rarely the ones without passion.

They are usually the ones who came in underprepared — financially stretched, personally unsupported, or convinced their way was smarter than the system they just bought.

The Little Boomers Basketball franchise has grown to 23 locations across Australia because the network is selective.

Not just about the brand — but about the people who carry it.

Twelve potential buyers were turned away last year.

That’s not a boast. It’s a commitment to making sure the people who do sign have the best possible chance of building something real.

If you’ve sat honestly with these questions and you’re still here, the next step is a free Discovery Call with Emile.

It’s not a sales pitch. It’s a conversation — he’ll ask you the hard questions, and you get to ask yours.

If it’s a fit, you’ll both know. If it isn’t, he’ll be straight with you about that too.

The call is free, there’s no pressure, and it’s just a conversation to find out if this fits your life.