From Olympians to Entrepreneurs — Here’s Their Gold Medal Strategy

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Jennifer Jones and Brent Lane competed in curling. Canadian Team Between them, they’ve won three Olympic gold medals together – Jennifer won gold in 2014 – so they both know the power of determination. Now that they’re retired from competitive sports, they’ve channeled that same competitive spirit and dedication into their family-owned lawn care franchise, Weed Man, in Ontario, Canada.

“The transition from ice to grass was a lot of fun,” Jones said after retiring from competitive skating. [in April 2024] And when I was looking for what to do next, this seemed like the perfect fit. It’s an established business and I really enjoyed working with customers and trying to learn about the business.”

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Weedman

Weedman, the Ontario-based lawn care company ranked No. 281 in the 2024 Franchise 500, was already familiar to Laing. His parents were originally Franchise He immigrated to Canada in 1982 and purchased the neighboring territory in 1992. Laing, a three-time Canadian and world champion, I narrowly missed out on a medal Jones, who won the Olympic gold medal in 2018, worked for the franchise throughout his teens and early 20s. He said the brand had become part of his family, so when his parents started talking about selling, it got him and Jones thinking.

“My mom and dad put 40 years of blood, sweat and tears into this,” he said. “It would have been weird for the family not to own it, regardless of who bought it.”

So when their parents finally decided to retire earlier this year, it seemed like the perfect opportunity for Jones and Laing to start their own business.

“We were looking to create an environment that would foster business openings and entrepreneurship for our families,” Jones said, “so this seemed like the perfect choice.”

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Lessons from the Olympics

So does being an Olympic world champion athlete translate into franchising? Jones, who is a lawyer by trade and no stranger to the business environment, thinks so.

“It’s the competitive spirit and always striving to improve,” she said. “As an athlete, you’re never satisfied with where you are. You always try to find ways to improve.”

She added that hard work, belief in oneself and openness to constructive criticism were also skills and attributes she carried over from her playing career to franchising life.

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Community First

Laing and Jones are committed to fostering a sense of community through franchising, emphasizing the importance of local involvement and customer relationships, an approach that Laing’s father pioneered when he opened his first franchise stores in the 1980s.

“It started out as just my dad and a truck knocking on the door,” Laing said. “We’ve never forgotten that. This is a family business. We’re a big company, but we’ve always kept in mind that it’s the Laing family business.”

Jones noted that they are literally a local business with their offices in the town center, adding that that name recognition is essential for their type of business.

“This is how we get to know our customers,” she says. “We love having them come into our office and hearing their stories.”

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Balancing family and business

As parents and business owners, Jones and Laing are understandably busy — they have two daughters under 13 and Laing has an older son from a previous marriage — and Jones says that for the whole family, running a thriving franchise isn’t that different from competitive curling.

“Flexibility has been a part of our lives since our kids were little,” she says of her busy schedule. “Our two daughters have been on the journey with us since they were born and they understand that flexibility is a part of our lives, so it has become a part of our family, just like curling has been.”

The family atmosphere is one thing they want to maintain, with their children helping out in the office. Jones and Lane said they feel an important responsibility to the legacy of Lane’s parents, both in keeping the business running strong and continuing the small-business atmosphere that made it so successful.

“It’s a balancing act,” Lane says, “we have to stay local and family-focused, always be on call and not become too corporate. We want to make money and we want to grow, but it all hinges on the reputation that my parents worked so hard to build.”

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