The Sidekick Life

What does it take to leave a successful corporate career, bet on yourself, and build one of the largest youth sports franchise platforms in the country? In this episode of The Sidekick Life, Ryan Zink and Tyler Altenhofen sit down with Adam Geisler, CEO and co-founder of Youth Athletes United, to unpack how he and his partners went from careers in branding, licensing, and corporate America to buil...

What makes brands like Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Apple, and the Savannah Bananas stand out from everyone else? In this episode of The Sidekick Life, Ryan Zink and Tyler Altenhofen sit down with customer experience expert John DiJulius , founder of The DiJulius Group, to break down how world-class companies create experiences customers remember — and why competing on experience can be far more powerf...

What makes brands like Starbucks, Chick-fil-A, Apple, and the Savannah Bananas stand out from everyone else? In this episode of The Sidekick Life, Ryan Zink and Tyler Altenhofen sit down with customer experience expert John DiJulius, founder of The DiJulius Group, to break down how world-class companies create experiences customers remember — and why competing on experience can be far more powerfu...

What happens when a professional rugby player trades the field for entrepreneurship — and builds a fitness brand around community, positivity, and mateship? In this episode of The Sidekick Life, Ryan Zink and Tyler Altenhofen sit down with Luke Milton, founder of Training Mate, to unpack his journey from professional rugby in Australia to celebrity trainer, fitness entrepreneur, and franchisor. Lu...

What happens when a mother and son bet on themselves, go into business together, and take on the world of men’s health? In this episode of The Sidekick Life, Ryan Zink and Tyler Altenhofen sit down with Connor and Vicki Castleman, a mother-son entrepreneurship duo building multiple GameDay Men’s Health locations in Northwest Phoenix. Connor’s journey started years earlier when he chose an opportun...

Why do fewer than 1% of LinkedIn users actually post? In Episode 51 of The Sidekick Life , Ryan sits down with Holly Joyner—a New York Times bestselling ghostwriter, founder of The Story Spark, and one of LinkedIn’s most-followed coaches—to break down how small business owners can turn LinkedIn into a powerful marketing engine. Holly didn’t start with a huge audience, a marketing team, or a social...

50 episodes down and The Sidekick Life is just getting started. In this milestone episode, Ryan and Tyler look back at the guests, stories and unexpected moments that have shaped the podcast so far. They revisit memorable conversations with founders, franchisees and entrepreneurs, including Donald Miller, Dr. Jason Wersland, Paul Reiser, Michelle Poler and more. They also get honest about what did...

How do you go from a 23-year-old operator to a multi-unit, multi-brand franchise owner with multiple successful exits? In this episode of The Sidekick Life, Ryan Zink and Tyler Altenhofen sit down with Tanner Holmes, an entrepreneur and franchise operator whose experience spans European Wax Center, Hush Lash Studio, Sola Salons, and Perspire Sauna Studio. Tanner shares how he earned his first owne...

Preston Unck is the founder and CEO of Tee Box, one of the fastest growing golf simulator franchise concepts in the country. What started as a single facility he built for his own family during COVID has grown into a 100+ location franchise backed by a direct data partnership with Trackman, $8 million raised to date, and a new $15 million funding round on the way. In this episode, Preston shares h...

n this episode of The Sidekick Life , Ryan Zink and Tyler Altenhofen talk with franchise owner Doug Anthony about building wealth through franchising. Doug shares how he went from starting a business on his own to owning multiple franchise businesses, including a staffing franchise and a roofing company. He breaks down why franchising helped him grow faster, how he approached financing, what it ta...

The biggest problem with buying a franchise isn’t the brands — it’s the lack of transparency. In this episode, Ryan Zink and Tyler Altenhofen talk about why franchise buyers often have such a hard time finding real, unbiased information before making a major investment. They break down the problems with paid franchise lists, lead portals, limited franchisee validation, and the lack of true franchi...

Most people think getting into a franchise is as simple as finding the right brand and writing a check. But for the best franchise opportunities, approval is a two-way street. In this episode of The Sidekick Life , Mike Silverman sits down with Franchise Sidekick advisor Regan Clemenson, who spent years on the franchisor side of the table helping decide which candidates were approved — and which w...

In this episode of The Sidekick Life , Ryan Zink talks with Erin King , energy researcher, author, keynote speaker, and serial entrepreneur, about why your energy may be your greatest advantage in business and leadership. Erin shares how burnout led her to study human energy management with 10,000 people around the world, revealing that high performers are not just working harder—they are operatin...

Josh Herscheid walked away from Microsoft chasing something more than just a paycheck—but nearly went down the wrong path in the process. In this episode of The Sidekick Life, Ryan and Tyler sit down with Josh to unpack his journey from corporate comfort to business ownership—and how what looked like a dream opportunity almost pulled him further away from the life he actually wanted. After falling...

Is franchise ownership right for you? https://hubs.ly/Q03-pnR00 Ryan and Tyler sit down with Dr. Jason Wersland , founder of Therabody, to share the real story behind the Theragun — an 8.5-year journey of persistence, setbacks, and belief. What started as a personal mission to solve chronic pain after a motorcycle accident turned into one of the most recognizable brands in wellness. But it didn’t...

Is franchise ownership right for you? https://hubs.ly/Q03-pnR00What does it really look like to leave a stable corporate job, take on the risk of business ownership and build something bigger than yourself? In this episode of “The Sidekick Life,” Ryan Hahn shares exactly that journey. What started as a desire for more control and more purpose turned into an eight-location business with The Exercis...

Is franchise ownership right for you? https://hubs.ly/Q03-pnR00 What if tax season didn’t feel like a surprise bill you just accept … but a strategy you run on purpose? On this episode of “The Sidekick Life,” Ryan and Tyler sit down with Matt Bontrager, founder and CEO of TrueBooks , to talk about what most high earners get wrong about taxes – and how to legally keep more of what you make. This is...

We sat down with Matt Haller, president and CEO of the ⁠International Franchise Association⁠ , to unpack a powerful new report on the value of franchising and why the future of this business model depends on smart advocacy, real data and bold storytelling. And yes … we also talk about the biggest event in franchising happening next week in Vegas. 👀 The IFA partnered with ⁠Oxford Economics⁠ to cre...

What if franchising wasn’t driven by hype, opinions and paid rankings … but by real buyer behavior? In this episode of “The Sidekick Life,” Ryan sits down with Sidekick COO Michael Judkins to unpack something the franchise industry hasn’t seen before: The Best Damn Franchise Report. It’s a first-of-its-kind look at franchising built on real buyer data. Instead of “top franchise lists” that often f...

The first episode of “The Sidekick Life” in 2026 kicks off with a look back and a look ahead. Ryan is joined by executive franchise advisor Anthony Hudson to break down the Top 10 franchise brands of 2025, based not on hype, but on real client demand. “These aren’t our favorites,” Ryan explains. “These are the brands clients actually chose after going through our process.” With over 300 vetted fra...

Sales doesn’t have to feel like pressure, persuasion, or “closing.” In this episode, we sit down with Becc Holland , CEO of Flip the Script , to unpack a buyer-first approach to selling that builds trust fast—and actually protects the customer from making a bad decision. Becc shares why most sales training creates a power struggle, how to shift from pitching to diagnosing, and the simple talk rati...

Join our webinar: https://webinars.franchisesidekick.com/ref/LDRCtfTNBbAhWhRw In this “Advisors Takeover” episode of The Sidekick Life , Senior Franchise Advisors Anthony Hudson and Jason Rutledge step into the studio and sit down with Ben Burnap—Franchise Sidekick advisor and the owner of Pink’s Window Cleaning Services in Los Angeles. Ben shares his jump from high-pressure medical sales to busin...

Join our free business blueprint webinar: https://webinars.franchisesidekick.com/ref/LDRCtfTNBbAhWhRw How do you actually run a successful franchise? Franchise expert Angela Coté , founder & CEO of AC Inc., joins The Sidekick Life to break down the truth about franchise success—from following the system, to scaling beyond owner-operator mode, to building exit value through coaching, KPIs, and...

Two people who never wanted a franchise … end up thriving as franchise owners. What happened? 👀 In this episode of The Sidekick Life , Ryan sits down at Sidekick Summit in Scottsdale with Amanda and Frank Lorenz , Bar-B-Clean franchisees in the East Valley of Arizona. They walk through their full journey—from searching for an existing business, swearing off franchising , and worrying about “losin...

Join our free business blueprint webinar: https://webinars.franchisesidekick.com/ref/LDRCtfTNBbAhWhRw If you’re exploring franchise ownership and wondering where to begin, this episode is your shortcut. At Franchise Sidekick, our advisors track real client interest, performance, and momentum across hundreds of franchise brands. Each season, we rank the top 10 most sought-after opportunities — the...