Franchise Today

Roger Martin was once the Chief Operating Officer of an industry-leading pharmaceutical development and manufacturing company. His prior experience includes serving in the role of National Sales Director and Sr. Vice President of Sales, for leading sales and marketing teams of over 500 sales representatives in the specialty and big pharma market, so Roger brings a wealth of skills to his franchise brands.  Roger has extensive expertise in sales management, leadership, and deployment, business development, strategic selling, contract negotiation, business-to-business service contracting, licensing, and contracted services and  marketing.  Roger currently serves as the CEO of RockBox Fitness and beem™ Light Sauna and has owned and operated multiple RockBox studios and currently owns the flagship beem™ Light Sauna studio in uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. Collectively these brands operate under the umbrella of ThriveMore Brands.

Scott Thompson is Chief Development Officer and Managing Director of all the brands, operating under the Level Five Capital Partners banner, most notably Big Blue Swim Schools.  Scott is a strategic Franchise Executive, and Lifelong Learner, and Planner.  He is also a Data Driven Sales and Marketing Executive that continuously innovates and leverages technology to the nth degree, to accelerate growth across all the brands he is aligned with.    His specialties: Franchise Development, Lease Negotiations, Real Estate, Financing, Sales and marketing training, Franchise law, Corporate startups, Business Coaching, Partnership Development, and Teambuilding and Technology.  And he joins us this week, to talk about all of that and more. 

This week we hear from Scott Zide, CEO of Empower Brands. He started out as an Outdoor Lighting Perspectives franchise owner in St. Louis, Missouri, in 2000, and in 2002 was hired by the brand as a consultant, to help develop and support new franchisees. He became Vice President of the brand in 2004.  Today Outdoor Lighting Perspectives is one of seven brands under the Empower Brands umbrella and Scott is the CEO of the whole shooting match.   Following my interview with Scott, an exciting announcement from yours truly!.    

Mark Jameson's career is as entertaining to hear about, as he is informative and enlightening.  Join us this week and learn about his story and the growth and development of Propelled Brands, under the leadership of former IFA Chairwoman, Catherisne Monson.

Rafik Farouk began his illustrious career in hospitality in Egypt, right out of culinary school.  Some 30 years later, he's done it all.  From tending bar to International Operations and Franchise Development.  Rafik's depth of experience has seen it all too, from both the franchisee and franchisor side of the equation.  Today, he directs International Global Business Development for P.F. Changs and he is here to tell us all about it.  

This week we close out Season 13 of Franchise Today with a quick review of 2022 and a look ahead to 2023.  Violating every rule of PC (Political Correctness) I will wish you all the very best for a safe and Happy Holiday Season, calling out some of those holidays by their correct and proper names.  :)    

I hope you all had a safe and Happy Thanksgiving.  I certainly have enjoyed my break on the beaches of Amelia Island, FL.  This week I reprise my interview with Franchise Business Review's Emily George.  Anyone who knows her, gives thanks for the opportunity to do so.  What a better way to bring the Thanksgiving break to a close.  If you already know her, you know I'm right.  If you've yet to meet her, here is your opportunity.   C-ya back here to put the lid on Season 13 of Franchise Today, next Wed. at noon Eastern!

This week I present my interview with Jeremy Morgan, CEO of WellBiz Brands, the pre-eminent beauty and wellness franchise portfolio including Drybar®, Amazing Lash Studio®, Radiant Waxing™, Elements Massage®, and Fitness Together®. Boasting some nearly 250,000 members and $500 million of systemwide sales across the 900 locations of their collective brands,  WellBiz Brands is the leading franchisor of products and services that cater to the needs of affluent women. As CEO, Jeremy has spearheaded the M&A agenda for WBB.  Under his leadership the company has created a world-class membership ecosystem for franchisees, while also building expertise in supply chain management, e-commerce and product innovation. His influence and vision have helped the company earn national recognition on lists such as the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies and Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500, among others.

This week I feature my former Wing Zone partner, Matt Friedman.  For years when we would bring prospects and guests into town for Discovery Day, they would inevitably make the leap that by virtue of our last names being the same and me being Matt’s senior by a good 20 years, that we were father and son.  They would look at all that Matt and Adam had accomplished in building the Wing Zone business and suggest how proud I must be of my son.  Well, while I would always agree with them about the growth of the business, I would tell them too, how proud I am of my son, but his name is Michael, not Matt and doesn’t participate in the business.  It was always lots of fun that I could count on monthly.  Anyway, I tell you all that to say this week I am particularly proud of my son Michael, as he gets ready to join his bride Megan, to share their vows of marriage.  So, who better to present today than that other Friedman, Matt, as I celebrate this sacred event with my "real son."  Next week, I am back and joined by Jer

The Band of Hands HR platform is transformational in the management of recruitment, administration and retention of front-line employee relationships. Band of Hands is not a staffing company, a PEO, a payroll company or a compliance admoinistrator.... Band of Hands is all of those things and MORE!  Their game-changing software platform puts the wind at your back, while most everyone deals with head winds.  They've got this down, even in California, so they can do it for you too, ANYWHERE!  

This week I present another in my series, "The RIsing Stars of Franchising," as I speak with Ben Utecht, who enjoyed an exemplary career on the gridiron, as a starting tight end for the Bengals, and Colts.  This culminated with a Super Bowl Championship in 2007, playing with Peyton Manning, on Tony Dungy’s award winning Colts.   Today Ben Utecht has brought his transferrable skills from the field and playbook, to the franchise game, as both a franchisor AND franchisee of Conquer Ninja Gyms.  Ben has had success in many realms, including being awarded Tony Dungy's Uncommon Leader Award following in the footsteps of athletes like Peyton Manning. Ben Utecht, this week, on Franchise Today!

This week, I’ll be talking with John Ramsay, Vice President of Franchising for the iconic Noodles and Company.  John’s background spans over 28 years of experience in restaurant franchise development, with such icons as TGI Friday, Jack in the Box, Marco’s Pizza and Bruxie International.  John joined Noodles & Company in November of 2020, as vice president of franchise development. While many restaurant concepts in this Covid/Post COVID era have been hitting the brakes, Noodles and Company has actually doubled down, as the Colorado chain with John leading the franchise development charge, hits the gas, driving Noodles' restaurant growth initiatives.  John’s history includes positions in both franchise and restaurant development and he is extremely excited to have the opportunity to grow and further develop a proven concept like Noodles and Co.  As we will discuss, Noodles has innovated and adapted quickly to the off-premise experience and offers attractive unit-level economics for franchisees." Noodles &

Goldfish Swim School offers swimming lessons to kids from the age of 4 months to 12 years. Founded by Jenny and Chris McCuiston in 2006, the swimming business started franchising in 2008, following a rise in demand for swimming lessons. Since then, the Goldfish Swim School franchise has expanded to more than 130 locations in both the United States and Canada. Andrew McCuiston, President of Goldfish Swim School is my guest, this week on Franchise Today.  

This week I present another inspiring tale of two young kids that went to high school together, remained friends through college and then began a junk business that took off, right from the start.  The story:  College Hunks Hauling Junk and Moving is all about how Nick Friedman and his partner Omar Solimon, rode the wave of knowledge and information they took from reading Michael E. Gerber’s E-Myth Revisited. During this interview, Nick will tell you that it was this book that transformed his point of view, from working in the business, to working on it and morphed it from the two of them doing everything from answering phones, driving the truck and collecting trash, to being an enterprise of 400+ franchised territories and growing.  Today, they are delivering nearly $300,000,000 in system-wide sales.   No doubt, one man's junk, is another man's treasure.  Nick Friedman is here, to tell us all about it.      

This week I chat with Jane Grote Abell, a second generation franchise leader.  Herstory is not about how franchising found her, it’s how she was born into it the restaurant and franchise business along the way, had the golden opportunity to sell her company to the golden arches, that’s right McDonald’s and then double down about four years later and actually buy it back.  We’re talking Donato’s today, with Jane Grote Abell, an amazing advocate for women in business, and philanthropy.  Today, she is a founding family member and Chairwoman of the Board at Donato’s Pizza.  Jim Grote founded Donatos as a sophomore in college. His philosophy was simple: 'To make the best pizza and to treat others the way he would like to be treated.' Jim built trust with his customers and a sense of goodwill in the neighborhood. And, with Jim’s very first restaurant connected to the Grote house, young daughter Jane, very much grew up in the family business. 

Some dozen years ago, I remember having a conversation with Amit Pamecha, the founder of FranConnect, who back then, just happened to be my boss.  It was a conversation over dinner, about how back then, we didn’t seem to run into too many MBA’s in the franchising world.  Well, fast forward to today and I think its safe to say that trend has changed.  We hear from guests all the time here on Franchise Today, who have MBAs to their credit.  But, it’s not everyday that those MBAs  were earned at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, with an emphasis in Marketing, Operations & Entrepreneurship.  Well that all changes this week, as my guest, Wetzels Pretzels CEO Jennifer Schuler, checks that box for us and is here to tell us all about that, and more.    

Restaurant Operations, Marketing and Franchising veteran Paul Macaluso joined Another Broken Egg Cafes as President and CEO in 2019.  Paul is an enthusiastic, hands-on leader with experience in a variety of executive and senior positions. Spanning a career of 25+ years, he is widely known for driving results at respected brands throughout the restaurant industry.  He began his career as a Restaurant GM with Taco Bell and advanced to hold many operations and marketing roles for them for the next 10 years.  He then went on to take a turn at brand strategy, menu development and product marketing positions for both the Burger King Corporation and Sonic Drive-ins, before joining joined FOCUS Brands filling a variety of senior marketing and brand strategy positions there, before being promoted to President of McAlister’s, where he led the brand to record setting EBITDA and new restaurant openings. Prior to joining Another Broken Egg, Paul served as President and Chief Executive Officer of The Krystal Company, lea

I'm off to Buffalo this week for my annual pilgrimmage to the National Buffalo Wing Festival, but in my place, I present a very special reprise of my two-part interview with Michael E. Gerber.  PLUS, the Man, the Myth,The Legend has a very special offer that he is extending to select listeners of Franchise Today.  Tune in Wed. @ noon ET, to learn more.  Next week, I return and will be joined by Paul Macaluso, President and CEO at Another Broken Egg Cafes.

Brandon Ezra started Grand Welcome with a handful of condominiums in Mammoth Lakes and grew his property management company to be one of the largest in that destination. That was the start of a larger vision and the umbrella growth of Grand Welcome.  Today, Grand Welcome is a fast-growing franchise system leveraging the highly fractured, $81 billion-dollar short-term vacation rental market. With 738 properties under management nationwide, and sales projected at $48 million, Grand Welcome expects to nearly double their 2021 sales of $25 million, in 2022.  Entrepreneur magazine has named Grand Welcome a 2022 Top New and Emerging Franchise.  Grand Welcome Founder and CEO, Brandon Ezra, my guest this week, on FRANCHISE TODAY.

This week’s interview is with an amazing, rising star of franchising, Tony Zaccario, who at the age of 28, is President and CEO of Stretch Zone.  For the past five years, Zaccario has led the charge at Stretch Zone, bringing the brand to 200 units from the 5 that were licensed when he first got there.  Zaccario was hired as General Manager in 2016, promoted to VP of Operations 15 months later and ultimately to President and CEO just 15 months after that.  WIth not a single failure, this chain is tracking toward 300 open and operating by the summer of 2023. And, with the likes of Drew Brees, NFL and franchising veteran on his board and, also investing in the brand as a multi-unit owner, this brand is on it's way.. In fact, their growth is not occuring from the sale to new franchisees, so much as from awarding additional territories to highly successful, existing franchisees, coming back for more.