171 | Troy Treleaven | How I Went from Being a Butcher’s Apprentice to Owning One of the Largest Coaching Franchises in the World

In today’s show, Chris interviews Troy Treleaven, Owner and Managing Partner, Dale Carnegie. Troy owns and manages one of the largest Dale Carnegie franchises in the world.

We start this show with Troy sharing his backstory. Ambition and a big engine for work meant that Dale started working from a young age. At 16, Troy was working as a butcher’s apprentice – and he ended up getting fired from the job inspite of giving his 100%. 

This experience motivated Troy to get into entrepreneurship and take control of his future.

This is when he discovered Student Works. 

Learning how to sell and the importance of assembling a dream team were two important lessons that Troy learned at Student Works.  Good sales skills can help you in every aspect of life. And Troy shares how Student Works taught him the art of selling to complete strangers alongside other important business functions like production and finance. 

After Student Works, Troy even ventured into retail clothing by investing in a Rugby Originals clothing store in Peterboro.  

However, this was a short-lived adventure as Troy joined Dale Carnegie as a salesman at the age of 23. By 30, Troy was a coach. And eventually, he bought out the Dale Carnegie franchise to become an owner/managing partner.

In the next segment of the show, Troy shares the different opportunities and challenges of managing a legacy organization like Dale Carnegie. 

How do Troy and his team remain agile and continue to pivot with the changing times? How do they ensure that the institution remains relevant while staying true to the values espoused by its iconic founder? 

The next thing that we talk about is the importance of keeping your FOCUS. 

As entrepreneurs, we love to try new things. We love to challenge ourselves. And this means that we are enamored by all the shiny new objects that come our way. 

But, in doing so, our focus wanes and our CORE business takes a hit. 

In this segment of the show, Troy shares how he, excited the prospect of creating multiple income streams, tried his hand at different businesses – only to realize the virtue of focusing on one thing and one thing only.

We wrap up this show with Troy sharing some of his biggest failures and mistakes and then revealing what he learned from them. If you are a new or aspiring entrepreneur, you will find this segment of the show particularly interesting.

Enjoy!

Resources

How to Win Friends and Influence People

Student Works 

Chris Thomson LinkedIn

Chris’s Email