Riley McMurdo wanted to be a schoolteacher and a baseball coach, but after graduating from college, he decided to explore other careers, which put him on an entirely different path that led to the world of franchising.
McMurdo took a position as a fleet manager for Budget Truck Rentals and later worked for Wachovia Bank in Denver. In 2005, while living in downtown Denver, an old high school classmate, Jessica Fryman, was visiting a friend who lived in the same building. It was a lucky reunion for the two, as he and Jessica began dating and married three years later.
He later pursued his original goal - even coaching a middle school baseball team for a season, but McMurdo soon realized that a teaching career was not for him and in 2009, after admiring Magic Johnson’s business success off the basketball court, McMurdo and his father, both customers of the hair care franchise, SportsClips, decided to explore investing in their own SportsClips franchise.
From Customers to Business Partners
Father and son became business partners and in 2010, opened their first SportsClips location in Glendale, CO. In the beginning, Riley ran the operations side while relying on his mother, Tina McMurdo, for most of the back office responsibilities. Riley’s inspiration was Magic Johnson. He admired Johnson not only for his skill as a basketball player but also for the success he achieved as a businessman who owned several franchises. Riley’s father has also been a strong influence in his life. While he didn’t earn a college degree, he rose to become a high-level executive for T-Mobile.
A Family Affair
Riley’s sister Ashlie joined the business in 2017 and handles most of the administrative duties. His dad joined the business that same year, working in operations until 2022, when Riley’s brother-in-law Jason Arnold came on board. Riley’s wife handles HR and payroll, while he is president of operations for TMAC Investments Inc., under which all 19 SportClips operate. Riley was elected to the SportsClips Team Leader Advisory Council (TLAC) for the Midwest region, a proud achievement and testimony to the growth of his SportsClips franchise.
Riley and Jessica agree that SportsClips makes a great family business – and his family is what gives Riley the most pride. He is especially proud of his 17-year marriage to Jessica and of their three children. For Riley McMurdo, his values are aligned with his faith. He says God and then family are at the top of the list. “Put your trust in God. Trust the process when it comes to growing a business,” he advises.
Family, Business, and Community Service
What defines success for Riley McMurdo? He says it’s being able to spend time with the people you love and care about it. “Yes, providing for my family is part of it, but also earning the love and respect of those you care about.”
In business, Riley believes in putting the well-being of his employees at the top of the list. “We want to be far and away the employer of choice in our industry and region. We believe that happy employees are the key to a successful business,” he explains.
He admits that managing stress can be tough for him, as he suffers from anxiety. Although he takes daily medication to manage it, when anxiety does strike, Riley knows to breathe slowly and to go to quiet environments, or even go for a walk.
Success also means being involved in the community. Each year, the McMurdo’s raise thousands of dollars for the “SportsClips Help a Hero Scholarship” fund. The program assists service members and veterans with scholarships of up to $5,000. These funds help cover tuition and fees. This scholarship, says McMurdo, is another way for SportsClips to express gratitude to those who have fought for our freedoms. In addition, for the past seven years, the family has run its own charity golf tournament, the Castle Rock Classic, which has raised over $400,000 for the “Help a Hero Scholarship” fund.
An Early Challenge
If Riley McMurdo can point to the biggest challenge in his life, it is not related to running a 19-store franchise business. When his wife was pregnant with their second child, her water broke at 20 weeks. She was required to be on bed rest in the hospital for the rest of her pregnancy. The couple already had a two-year-old daughter, and Riley was in the middle of opening the fourth SportsClips. While his wife remained in the hospital for two months, Riley and his daughter forged a special bond, as it was just the two of them for those two months. Every day he would drop her off and pick her up from daycare, and then they would visit his wife in the hospital. Their son was born at 32 weeks, and although he spent two months in NICU, he is now a healthy 9-year-old.
Taking Time Off Together
With overseeing 19 SportsClips locations and organizing a charity golf tournament, it might seem that Riley McMurdo and his family have little time to rest, but building time off into their business model is essential to work/life balance and to the company’s success. When Riley talks about the well-being of his employees, it means everyone, family included.
The family that works together plays together. They enjoy traveling to the mountains and to Arizona. Watching all Colorado sports teams, as well as watching their own children play sports, are some of their favorite activities. Riley also says they love going out to eat and going to movies. “We are very busy people and we love every minute of it,” Riley says.
Success is About Teaching and Coaching After All
While Riley McMurdo may have decided that teaching school and coaching baseball were not for him, he has built a successful business with 19 franchise locations that, no doubt, has involved much thoughtful coaching and teaching of employees to be the best in the business.
