Dear Frannie: Franchise Growth, Leadership and Scaling Advice

You've been selling franchises yourself — between meetings, on instinct, whenever you have time. But is that actually a process? Katherine and James take a listener's question about building a franchise development function and pull it back to the question most franchisors skip: do you have a franchisable concept in the first place? They cover the red flags, the real cost of creating demand, what...

You hired people to do marketing. Things are getting posted, flyers are getting made, someone's running social. But sales aren't moving — and you honestly don't know if your team is the problem or if you are. In this episode, Katherine and James get into what franchisors actually get wrong when they build a junior marketing team without a senior leader in place. Katherine has been in the marketing...

Franchisees are asking about vendor rebates - and you don't have a clean answer. That's the question at the center of this episode, and Katherine and James don't let it off easy. They talk through what franchisees are really asking when they bring rebates up and how to think about rebate dollars in a way that serves the system - not just the P&L. Plus: why rebate complaints are almost never ac...

You've added executives. But are they moving the business forward - or just occupying a lane? Katherine and James get honest about what founders often get wrong when hiring their first executive team, why self-awareness is the first step in fixing it, and how to know when it's time to make a change. They also debate whether you should hire for the experience you don't have yet or promote the peopl...

The ops manual is the backbone of your franchise system. So why does almost no one treat it that way? In this episode of Dear Frannie, Katherine and James make the case that neglecting your operations manual isn't a paperwork problem — it's a leadership problem. If your franchisees can't run your brand without you in the room, the ops manual is why. They open with a This or That: Should you enforc...

Jim Nusbaum, President of Barry Bagels, joins Katherine and James for a live, on-the-spot Dear Frannie question: How do you scale from 23 to 100+ locations without losing the culture, quality, and experience that built the brand? This conversation goes beyond the theory. Jim is sitting in the original Berry Bagels restaurant — opened in 1972 in Toledo, Ohio — and sharing the real challenges of geo...

Signing the wrong franchisee rarely looks like a mistake at the time. That's what makes it so costly. In this episode, Katherine LeBlanc and James Vitrano break down how to build franchise selection standards that actually hold — even under growth pressure. They debate brokers vs. in-house franchise sales, dig into persona development, the MUMBO trap, the corporate refugee red flag, and what grit...

Most franchisors treat resales like an interruption. The ones who scale well treat them like a system. In this episode, Katherine LeBlanc and James Vitrano dig into the question franchisors keep avoiding: when does a resale stop being a one-off situation and start being part of how your operation actually runs? They open with a This or That on underperformance — coaching problem or exit signal? —...

You fixed what they asked for. They're still frustrated. What is actually going on? In this episode, Katherine LeBlanc and James Vitrano get straight about one of the most draining cycles in franchising — chronic franchisee frustration — and what's really underneath it. They open with a This or That on whether to build official franchisee communication forums or avoid them entirely. Then they dig...

Early flexibility is smart. Until it isn't. In this episode, Katherine LeBlanc and James Vitrano dig into the moment every growing franchise system eventually faces: when experimentation quietly becomes inconsistency — and what it actually takes to fix it. They open with a This or That on menu standardization versus regional flexibility, then go deep on how to know when you've let things flex too...

A franchisee is frustrated. Loudly. But is it a real problem — or just noise? In this episode, Katherine LeBlanc and James Vitrano break down one of the hardest judgment calls in franchising: how to read franchisee feedback accurately before you react to it. They start with a This or That on FAC structure — one centralized voice for the system, or purpose-built committees by function? Then they go...

Growth has slowed. The instinct is to spend more on marketing. But what if that's exactly the wrong move? In this episode, Katherine LeBlanc and James Vitrano tackle the question franchise leaders rarely slow down to ask: Is this actually a marketing problem — or is something else breaking underneath the surface? They open with a This or That on one of franchising's most loaded early decisions: fr...

In this episode of Dear Frannie, we tackle a question many growing franchise brands wrestle with: Should you start an ad fund early — or can it create more problems than it solves?  The conversation explores the pros and cons of launching a brand fund, the role of franchisees in local marketing, and what often breaks when a franchise system grows from 30 to 75 units. We also dig into why investing...

This week on Dear Frannie, we're joined by Marina O’Rourke, Fractional CTO of T-Source, and Chris Peterson, Fractional CTO, of The Restaurant Assistants. We kicked off this episode with what we're reading. READING LINKS: Start With Why: ⁠https://www.amazon.ca/Start-Why-Leaders-Inspire-Everyone/dp/1591846447⁠ The Infinite Game: ⁠https://www.amazon.ca/Infinite-Game-Simon-Sinek/dp/073521350X/⁠ James...

This week on Dear Frannie, we're joined by Marina O’Rourke, Fractional CTO of T-Source, and Chris Peterson, Fractional CTO, of The Restaurant Assistants. We kicked off this episode with our hot takes. Then we answer a Dear Frannie question from a franchise company: "What considerations should we keep in mind to ensure our technology can scale with future growth? How can we build a tech stack that...

This week on Dear Frannie, we're joined by Katherine Meariman, VP of Training at Smoothie King, and Garrick Robert, VP of Operations at Salad Station to answer your questions. We kicked off this episode with what we're reading! READING LINKS: Change Enthusiasm: https://www.amazon.com/Change-Enthusiasm-Harness-Emotion-Leadership/dp/1401961770 Ride of a Lifetime:https://www.amazon.com/Ride-Lifetime-...

This week we're joined by Katherine Meariman, VP of Training at Smoothie King, and Garrick Robert, VP of Operations at Salad Station to answer your questions. We kicked off this episode with our hot takes. Then we answer a Dear Frannie question from a company that is revamping their franchise training materials and want to know how others standardize their processes while accommodating various lea...

This week on Dear Frannie, we're joined by Scott Abbott and Chad Jones from Five Star Franchising to answer your questions! We begin the episode with what we're reading. Then we answer a Dear Frannie question about new franchisors moving from the business owner/operator role into the 'franchisor' role and tips for making this a smooth transition. READING LINKS: ⁠The 6 Types Of Genius⁠ ⁠Essentialis...

This week on Dear Frannie, we're joined by Scott Abbott and Chad Jones from Five Star Franchising to answer your questions! We begin the episode with our franchise hot takes. Then we answer a Dear Frannie question about taking a step back as a founder while creating a smooth leadership transition. Connect with Katherine: https://⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠/ Connect with Ch...

This week on Dear Frannie, we're joined by Fractional CMO Alexandra Russo, and Will Fraker of The Good Feet Store to answer your questions! We kick off the episode with what everyone is reading, and then we answer a Dear Frannie question about how to measure the success of your marketing campaigns and programs. READING LINKS Building a Storybrand: https://www.amazon.ca/Building-StoryBrand-Donald-M...

This week on Dear Frannie, we're joined by Fractional CMO Alexandra Russo, and Will Fraker of The Good Feet Store to answer your questions! We begin the episode with our franchise hot takes, and then we answer a Dear Frannie question about how to source and vet the right vendor partners for your brand and stage of growth. Connect with Katherine: https://⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc...

This week on Dear Frannie, we're joined by Marianne Murphy of Franchise Pulse, and Marcia Mead of M Squared Franchise Consulting to answer your questions! We kick off the episode with what everyone is reading, and then we answer a Dear Frannie question about how to create more alignment and better communication between your franchise development and operations teams. READING LINKS: ⁠The Speed of T...

This week on Dear Frannie, we're joined by Marianne Murphy of Franchise Pulse, and Marcia Mead of M Squared Franchise Consulting to answer your questions! We kick off the episode with everyone's hot takes, and then we answer a Dear Frannie question about how to overcome rough franchise renewals and make the experience smoother overall. Connect with Katherine: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/in/katherinele...

This week on Dear Frannie, we're joined by Mike Millett and Rob Lancit of Stratus Building Solutions, and Liane Caruso of Hello CMO and Franchise Assembly to answer your questions! We kick off the episode with what everyone is reading, and then we answer a question about how to get your marketing team and franchise development team aligned and working together.  Connect with Katherine: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.l...

This week on Dear Frannie, we're joined by Mike Millett and Rob Lancit of Stratus Building Solutions, and Liane Caruso of Hello CMO and Franchise Assembly to answer your questions! We kick off the episode with everyone's hot takes, and then we answer a question about how to stay relevant to franchise prospects after the initial emerging brand stage.  Connect with Katherine: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.linkedin.com/...