Episode 036
Kathleen Mundy
How do you go from a devastating personal and professional split to owning a million-dollar franchise empire? Join Alice Tang as she speaks with Kathleen Mundy, who shares her powerful story of “getting the kid while he got the company”. Kathleen reveals how she bootstrapped five pizza stores in five years after banks refused to lend to her, and why she threw away her fur coats for an apron to secure her daughter’s future. Learn why Kathleen “loves nos” and how she built a legacy as a role model for women in business.
In this episode, you’ll learn:
The Bootstrap Strategy:
-How Kathleen scaled five franchises in five years without traditional bank support.
-Turning Bias into Fuel: Why being underestimated by colleagues and lenders became a primary motivator to prove them wrong.
-Transition Planning: The necessity of preparing for a business exit at least two years in advance.
-The “Water’s Edge” Process: A tactical method for quieting the mind to make high-stakes life and business decisions.
"I don't think it's as fruitful to follow someone else's advice unless it rings true to you. Getting opinions and advice from others is wonderful, but ultimately you make the decision, it's your life."
Welcome to Women’s Million Dollar Conversations with Alice Tang, where we share stories from successful business women who have saved, earned, or sold over a million dollars and discuss how they built their success and insights to help you achieve your goals. Now let’s join the conversation.
Alice Tang: Hello, my new good friend Kathleen Mundy in the East Coast. Welcome to Women’s Million Dollar Conversation.
Kathleen Mundy: Thank you so much for the invitation. I was really looking forward to this, and I’ve looked at so many different opportunities to help women in the last 20 years. I think this is brilliant, and I really admire what you’ve done.
Alice Tang: I love the fact that I’m brilliant—and so are you!
[00:00:45] Alice Tang: So let’s get going. Tell us a little bit about yourself, your background, and what are you doing now? And I know a lot of your work has to do with empowering women.
Kathleen Mundy: That’s true, Alice. Thanks so much. Much—I’ll give you a little bit of background. I was in a relationship; we were also business partners. And to cut it short, he got the company, I got the kid. And because I became a single mom, I had to discover a way to manage the facilitation of, quite frankly, her education and other elements within our lifestyle.
As a result of that, I was given an opportunity—after working six years, two jobs, really tough—I was given the opportunity to look at a business. And I thought, I’ve been working for someone else for six years, and I know I can’t get ahead. I know that. So show me the numbers.
And so I looked at the numbers, and sure enough, I thought, this cash flow can facilitate her university education. And so I bought the first franchise. It was a pizza franchise. And I realized it was really brilliant for women because it afforded them a safe environment, opportunity for success. And I leveraged that and decided that if I had one, five would be so much better. I decided within five years that I would have five franchises—and that’s exactly what I did.
[00:02:30] Alice Tang: Awesome, awesome. So I’m gonna take a pause and ask a curious question: Do you like your pizza?
Kathleen Mundy: It’s interesting because even though I had five stores and we honestly sold 4,000 pizzas a week, I didn’t eat it much. If you’re there all the time, it doesn’t have the cachet. There was no Friday night pizza for us.
Alice Tang: I see. I personally love pizza, but I can’t eat too much because of a health condition. The opportunity I have, I will ask people to share with me. Back to the question, right?
So we’re gonna discuss actually how you ended up being owners of the franchise. So everybody is curious about how to get to the million-dollar threshold.
[00:03:20] Alice Tang: So tell us: How long did it take you, and what were you thinking? Did you take time to just smell the roses, or no—keep going?
Kathleen Mundy: Actually, that’s somewhat the truth. When I bought the first pizza store and then I started to develop, and I understood that savings was critical—because as a single mom, all of a sudden you’re faced with all this uncertainty and not a lot of security, quite frankly. So I saved and saved. And while I was opening pizza stores, I was saving everything I could.
And I remember at one point, I looked at my investments, and I was a hundred away from a million dollars. And I thought, oh my gosh, I should have looked at it more closely because I would have added that $150 to get me over that million-dollar mark. But having said that, that was such a huge sense of accomplishment for me.
And so what I did at that point was I continued to work hard, open a consulting business to help women entrepreneurs get to their million-dollar mark. And that’s exactly the path I took, and I started that path in 2012 and have continued it even through COVID. I was coaching women who had businesses get through the COVID period. That’s how I did that first million.
And then, of course, when I decided to transition from a franchise community—I really believed when I was 70 years old I should retire. Well, that didn’t happen because that was through COVID. I decided to sell my company, and you have to prepare two years in advance at least to do a transition when you’re selling. And so I did procure a purchaser for all five stores and sold my business in 2022 and started a retirement journey.
[00:05:40] Alice Tang: Beautiful. How long did it take for you to get to your million?
Kathleen Mundy: Five years. Five years to get that cash in the bank. But at the same time, I was developing the equity in a company that also had another million dollars in assets.
Alice Tang: Wow. So basically you saved, right? Now you decided to sell your business and jump into another one. And I think because of that, our common friend Yasmin Nguyen connected us. So would you share just this little bit?
Kathleen Mundy: Yes. My daughter and I were planning to do a podcast around the situation between generations when retirement happened. So I got in touch with Yasmin. Long story—he and I decided to do the Joyful Retirement Project. And that’s what my focus is today: bringing all of my business acumen to that particular project, understanding the need that retirees have to change through that chapter and look at the future in a positive light.
[00:06:20] Alice Tang: As you’re building your first million dollars—whether you save in the bank or get debt equity under your name—what are some of the biases that you ran into?
Kathleen Mundy: First of all, because I was a single mom, the banks wouldn’t talk to me. So I really had to strategize how I could bootstrap each new build—because typically there, at the time, they were around $400,000 to $500,000. And how on earth was I going to come up with that kind of investment in cash to open these stores?
So that was the first bias that I encountered, and that was through the financial institutions. I went to three different lenders—two of which I’d been with for over 20 years—and they were not happy to see me. And so I really thought, okay, that’s just a challenge that I can put aside because I know I can do this.
The biases aren’t necessarily obstacles; they’re challenges to get around. And so I just decided, how do I get around this? What’s the next option? And I made it a deliberate focus to ensure that I could put these stores together—and also provide work for women. Many of my managers over the years were women with children.
Alice Tang: Beautiful. So what you just told us was: A “no” is not definitely a no. A “no” is a motivation for you to find a way to get to yes. And through getting to yes, you were able to provide and live your passion about providing job opportunities for many women.
Kathleen Mundy: Absolutely. I think “no” just means that you haven’t gotten to yes yet. But I think “no” means that you haven’t thought it through—because if you take the options, all of the options, and decide how can I strategize through several different options that I can provide for myself—fallback positions, if you will—that gives you an opportunity to eradicate “no.” You have options; you just have to work them. And if the first one doesn’t give you the answer that you’re looking for, then you shift to the next one.
Alice Tang: I love it because it makes me think a little bit better. It makes me think deeper and give me options to look for resources that might help me. I love no’s. Wow.
Alice Tang (continuing): When you were talking about how to receive a “no” and loving “no,” I quickly thought about what a growth mindset actually is. The growth mindset is: I’m curious—what else could I do to get there? And it’s really a test about how badly you want that event.
Kathleen Mundy: That is so the truth. And also, when you look at your options—when you are a single person, and even a single dad—you look at: How am I going to get to where I need to be in the future with the responsibilities that I have today?
[00:10:30] Alice Tang: In listening to you and handling no’s—so let’s continue on the no’s. In running your business, you got many years under your belt doing the franchise from 1 to 5, getting yourself past a million threshold. I’m sure there are sometimes a period of time that you feel that I’m down in a hole or a valley. I try my best to crawl back up, but it’s so tough. And gosh, should I continue this? And what kept you going?
Kathleen Mundy: You know, that’s a really good question because there’s always low spots when you’re in business—always. But I always think: What if I don’t keep moving forward? What happens then? Again, that’s that option that I always work with.
And I’ve had a mantra that carried me through the last 20 years: that I’m not just helping myself and my daughter and my other children who were already out of university, but the fact is I’m helping all these women who actually need to have role models—not just jobs, but role models.
So I had a tremendous sense of responsibility to not only the 75 employees that I had, but to those women who looked up to me—because they hadn’t seen anyone do what I did. So that’s what kept me going: It was the “what if I don’t do this?” And knowing that you’re role-modeling. Everybody is watching you—even if they’re not saying anything. Everyone is watching you.
Alice Tang: It’s not what we say; it’s what we do and how we act. And I think that one of the things that I did when I was building my company—and I think with any person who’s decided that they want to make a million dollars—you have to get your hands dirty. You have to work really hard. You have to work late nights. You have to really desire that dream—because that desire is going to help you and that’ll motivate you to keep going, one foot in front of the other, when things get really tough. And you don’t need to do it all alone.
Kathleen Mundy: A lot of times women believe they’re out there forging their way, and they listen to people who say, “Oh, that’s a silly idea; that will never work.” I would say: Put all of those obstacles aside—because they don’t know what you know. They don’t know what it’s like to walk in your shoes. And if you really feel that you have a great idea or that you have a great focus in life, play it out. Trust your judgment. Believe in yourself. And honestly, if it doesn’t work—guess what?—you can always turn right and make a change.
[00:11:50] Alice Tang: You’re very good at that. Guys, this question is probably an easy one for you. When the stakes are high, when you need to make a decision—what would you do? Do you have a process? Do you talk with the people around you, or you just go with your gut—or combination of everything?
Kathleen Mundy: I think it’s a combination. I always tried to surround myself with people who knew way more than I did—and because of that, I valued their opinion. So I would understand that it’s important to get feedback. But ultimately, it’s your decision. And I don’t think it’s as fruitful to follow someone else’s advice unless it rings true to you. Getting opinions and advice from others is wonderful, but ultimately you make the decision—it’s your life.
Alice Tang: I believe that some people would pray in the morning; some people would just quiet themselves and just have a moment of stillness. The answers are always in us, isn’t that true, Kathleen?
Kathleen Mundy: It is. Now for me, I used to go to the water’s edge, and I would just ponder all of the advice that people had given me. And that’s how I made my decisions in life—I always end up at the water’s edge, whether it’s a river or a lake. So it really helped me. But that calming ebb and flow of the surf really is what business is all about—and it gave me a reminder that as it sometimes is in turmoil, it always calms at some point.
[00:13:40] Alice Tang: Last question for you: I think of a very good piece of advice—or a very bad piece of advice—that has given you the biggest impact.
Kathleen Mundy: Wow. I think when people said I couldn’t do it. When people said… I had a very big life when we owned the company, and it was a big house, big cars, big vacations. And then when I bought the first pizza store, I had one of my colleagues come in and say, “Oh, so this is what you’re doing now?” And I thought, yes it is. As he left, I thought: You just wait. You just give me a few years.
And at that point, it gave me so much motivation to prove everybody wrong. And I think that you can read any business book you want, but it’s all about your attitude. So I have read everything and anything by Robin Sharma, and I love The Alchemist. Business books are one thing, but if you don’t have the right mindset—I don’t care what kind of business book you’re trying to follow—you’re not going to get there.
Alice Tang: Very good advice. We so appreciate the time with you, Kathleen. And as we are parting—
[00:15:00] Alice Tang: last question—what are you grateful for?
Kathleen Mundy: Actually, this is going to sound really odd: I’m really grateful that I was a single mom.
Alice Tang: We’re grateful that you are a single mom who has chosen a path that you’re determined and you choose to march forward despite the obstacles—and has been role-modeling while you own the franchise, left the franchise in good hands, and now you’re doing a project. Beautiful story. Thank you so much. How do people find you?
Kathleen Mundy: I’m on LinkedIn. They can email me directly: kathleen@cathleen.c. And I think every entrepreneur should own their own name. But I’d love to hear from people. I would love to give any advice I can—but most of all, I think it’s important to forge your way and stay true to your beliefs.
Alice Tang: Very well said. Thank you so much, Kathleen.
Kathleen Mundy: Thank you.
Kathleen Mundy is a seasoned entrepreneur turned retiree advocate and co-founder of the Retirement Innovation Lab. After transforming a modest investment into a multi-million-dollar business, she encountered an unexpected reality when she retired at the age of 70. Despite decades of meticulous planning, her retirement transition revealed challenges she hadn’t anticipated, sparking a new mission.
Teaming up with Yasmin Nguyen, a dynamic visionary and 22 years her junior, she found a partnership that bridged the wisdom of her business experience with Yasmin’s transformative insights on joy and fulfillment. Together, they have developed a distinctive platform that supports retirees and the professionals who guide them, providing tools that address the emotional and personal aspects of retirement.
At the Retirement Innovation Lab, they leverage their combined expertise to help retirees navigate the complexities of this life phase. Through years of business success and franchising expertise, she has honed strategies that empower individuals to achieve financial freedom. Now, she’s passionate about a deeper focus on a holistic approach to joy, purpose, and fulfillment.
If you’re ready to help your clients or yourself approach retirement with resilience, an entrepreneurial spirit, and purpose, let’s connect. Together, we can shape a retirement experience as dynamic and rewarding as the lives you’ve built.