1. Nutrition Zone
Franchising USA
franchiseeinaction
One Los Angeles-area
franchisee has scored
a touchdown with his
Nutrition Zone retail outlet
thanks to a serendipitous
sporting event.
Prior to buying his Harbor City, CA
Nutrition Zone franchise in July 2014,
franchisee Jabin Pound met the company’s
founder and CEO, Joe Eckstrom, while
playing in a football game. From there, the
two formed a fast friendship and the more
he learned about the company — a retail
nutritional supplement store — the more
Pound knew he wanted to be involved in it.
Coming from the services industry where
he was a pool and spa technician, Pound
was thankful for the opportunity to be his
own boss and work toward his own goals
rather than work long, gruelling hours for
the goals of somebody else’s company.
“Working in the pool and spa cleaning
business just made me feel like I could
not reach my full potential, I enjoyed the
service part of the job but I wanted to give
more to people then just a clean pool.,” he
said during a recent interview from his
store in Harbor City.
franchise success
Football game leads to
for LA-area franchisee
“Get to know the people behind the franchise
first and make sure they are as concerned
about your welfare as they are about the brand’s
welfare.”

2. Page 85
Franchising USA
The turning point for him was a
combination of meeting Eckstrom during
that football game and realizing that he
could be his own boss while at the same
time improving people’s lives by helping
them become healthier. Pound really
wanted to be a part of that.
Part of a Team
Right from the start of the franchising
process, Pound said, he felt like he was
part of the team.
The company called him in for an initial
meeting and he sat down with Eckstrom
and other Nutrition Zone franchising
team members and much to his delight,
they assessed what he wanted and why he
thought Nutrition Zone was a good fit for
him.
He told them he wanted a Harbor City
location and Nutrition Zone’s real estate
team worked with him to find the perfect
spot, calling him often and going over
potential spots with him and always
soliciting his opinion on the various
locations they found.
During this process, Pound said, he also
learned a lot, as he was constantly asking
their expertise about why they thought
certain spots would work better than
others.
“From the start, the franchise support
system was great,” Pound said. “I was
never alone during these phases.”
He always had someone there to answer
questions and point him in the right
direction, the franchisee noted and he was
also able to give his input during the entire
process.
Nutrition Zone offers its franchisees the
opportunity for ongoing training via NZ
Online, which Pound described as an
online university style training program
about nutritional benefits. NZ Live is in-
person training to help with the customer
service aspect of the business and the
recently initiated NZ Advanced Online,
which Pound just finished, continues the
ongoing training for franchisees.
In addition to this, the company also helps
with marketing support like sending its
franchisees weekly Instagram posts to
share with their customers and holding
giveaways over social media that all
franchisees can encourage their customers
to participate in. For example, if customers
tag themselves in a Nutrition Zone photo,
they can win a product from the various
stores.
Bringing Balance
Pound said he loves working for himself,
but also for a franchise brand, as he
franchiseeinaction
relishes the team aspect of it. Everything
he does makes his team and the Nutrition
Zone team better and it also goes the other
way, too.
Working for himself brings joy into his
life, which in turn brings balance to his
life, he noted. Plus, he also enjoys helping
people get healthier.
“I really enjoy going to work on a Monday
— you know, I don’t get a case of the
Mondays — because I know that there are
people who could come in who are just
fed up with their weight or they want to
change something about themselves and I
have an opportunity to do that for them,”
Pound explained.
The franchisee said he would tell other
potential franchisees who are interested
in joining either Nutrition Zone or any
other franchise to do their homework, ask
questions, and make sure the franchise
they choose is right for them. Get to know
the people behind the franchise first,
he advised, and make sure they are as
concerned about your welfare as they are
about the brand’s welfare.
Nutrition Zone spent years perfecting their
training and support before they started
pursuing franchising opportunities and
now they’re ready to share their dreams
with others, like himself, Pound said.
There’s no telling where Pound’s life
would have ended up had it not been for
that football game, but from being on
that football team together to joining the
Nutrition Zone team, the franchisee has
managed to fulfill his real potential.
Greg Ferrell
gferrell@nutritionzonefranchise.com
844-GONZUSA – 844-466-9872
www.nutritionzonefranchise.com
Franchising USA
“From the start, the franchise support system
was great, I was never alone during these
phases.”
Jabin Pound, Franchisee, Harbor City, CA