Franchise This

Franchising is a lot like Fight Club. Once you are in, you are in for life. Danielle Wright, CFE , joins Sean McKay to explain how a career that started in commercial real estate and land acquisition turned into 15 years of franchise development. Danielle shares the reality of the industry: it is a vast world, but everyone is only two or three degrees of separation away from one another. ㅤ Daniel...

Many people enter franchising with the wrong expectation: they think they are buying a job rather than building a business. They wait for the phone to ring or for the franchisor to solve every problem. Sean McKay speaks with Danny P. Creed about the reality of what it takes to succeed as a franchisee. Danny draws on his experience involving 15 startups and over 15,000 coaching hours to explain why...

Funding is the fuel that powers the franchise engine. Yet, for many new business owners, securing capital feels like a black box. In this episode, host Sean McKay sits down with Shay Kleinschmidt , the Vice President of Lending at FranFund . Shay shares her journey from a legal background to becoming a leading voice in franchise finance. They discuss the realities of SBA lending, why your local ba...

Host Sean McKay brings on long-awaited guest Evan M. Goldman for a candid look at how franchise law really works behind the scenes. Evan talks about walking away from “great money” in a tedious finance job, stumbling onto a franchise law posting on a job website, and spending the last 13 years focused every day on franchise law. ㅤ As a founding partner at The Franchise Firm LLP , Evan explains wh...

Lighting money on fire with franchise leads that never get a call is a huge miss. On Franchise This, the show where we talk all about franchising, Sean McKay and producer Joseph Lewin are super excited about the qualification piece and what winning actually looks like when you bring in paid media to generate franchise leads. ㅤ They walk through hundreds of leads that never get called, negative br...

Common questions from franchisees and franchise owners keep coming up around franchising as complicated, getting this stuff off the ground, and how to find franchisees. Host Sean McKay welcomes producer Joseph Lewin for something a little different on Franchise This, a show about franchising, and turns the focus to the questions they hear all the time. ㅤ Joseph shares how franchise owners are try...

Engaging with an agency can be a scary proposition because you are immediately incurring monthly cost, so you want to be ready. On Franchise This, Sean McKay and producer Joseph Lewin do a little something different today and go over common questions from franchisees and franchise owners and some of the learnings that they picked up along the way from the show. They talk about how to validate that...

Scrappy from day one, Sean McKay sits down with Richard Gould , the franchisor behind Richard’s Painting, to talk about real choices and real consequences. Richard did not graduate high school, learned painting under Don, bought the business in his twenties, then sold it, moved from the Princeton area to Salisbury, North Carolina, and started over without knowing anyone. He grew a small-town opera...

Sean McKay steps behind the mic for a solo reflection on what he’s learned from the first stretch of Franchise This . He answers real questions about what franchisors need, where marketing dollars go wrong, and how data, automation, and brand storytelling connect to long-term success. ㅤ Sean explains what “hanging the digital open sign” really looks like, how brands lose momentum by giving up too...

In this episode of Franchise This , host Sean McKay talks with Kelly Amshoff , a multi-hyphenate entrepreneur and franchise consultant who helps aspiring owners find their perfect business match. From musical theater to fitness to franchise development, Kelly’s journey reflects the power of pivoting with purpose. She shares what really goes into identifying the right franchise — beyond flashy bran...

A state trooper for 13 years who guarded governors, Sean McKay sits down with Dan Feltman to trace a jump from law enforcement to co-founding a franchise built on garage transformations. Dan shares a hurry up and wait moment that led to searching franchises, flying to Nebraska, and learning the craft while still on duty. He talks about test marketing in Indy, helping people find freedom for family...

Franchising veteran Sean McKay sits down with Ron Silberstein , CFO of Bud’s Place, to explore how decades of experience in finance and franchise operations are shaping an entirely new industry. Silberstein shares his journey from running a CPA firm to joining the management team of a large golf franchise, and how that sparked a lifelong commitment to franchising. ㅤ Listeners hear how a call from...

Cradle to grave in the best sense of the word. In this conversation, Sean McKay digs in with Gary Occhiogrosso on development, sales, infrastructure, and money. Private equity once “didn’t understand the beast,” but today it’s about royalty revenue, happy franchisees, and an EBITDA line that keeps growing. Gary explains why founders tied to grandma’s recipe still face the same reality, why it’s al...

Franchising is not an easy path, and few people know that better than Sean McKay ’s guest, Greg George . With more than 25 years in the franchise world and involvement in 42 different brands, Greg has learned his biggest lessons by discovering what not to do. He shares how he went from selling franchises to owning equity in multiple companies, ultimately co-leading the rapid growth of the Peach Co...

Franchising often gets painted as a simple path to expansion, but as Sean McKay uncovers in this conversation with AnnMarie Baranik and William Anthony , the journey can be anything but easy. From losing $40,000 to a smooth-talking salesman, to drowning in legal fees with over-lawyering, to navigating the headaches of social media permissions and failed technology platforms, the duo behind Angels...

The path to growth is rarely a straight line. In this conversation, host Sean McKay reconnects with Tim Dougherty , founder of Project Lean Nation, to trace the journey from a single location with an “electric vibe” to a franchise system with dozens of units and many more on deck. Tim shares how faith, culture, and belief in others shaped his leadership style, even through missteps, federal prison...

When Sean McKay sat down with Jay Shah , the story of Marigold Academy unfolded as one of necessity, resilience, and vision. What began in 2019 as a search for childcare that felt like a true home away from home quickly turned into a franchise brand redefining early education. ㅤ Jay shared how his personal journey as a parent revealed the shortcomings of commercialized childcare and how that spar...

Franchise growth rarely happens overnight, but Sean McKay sits down with Dan Claps to share a journey that proves persistence pays off. Born with an entrepreneurial streak, Dan went from running college businesses to discovering franchising in his early twenties. He learned the hard truth about scalability, built a lead generation company serving the franchise industry, and eventually made the lea...

Franchise marketing can be a tough puzzle, especially when you’re early in the process of landing your first franchisee. Joseph Lewin , producer and guest host, sits down with Sean McKay to unpack some of the biggest misconceptions and confusing lingo around franchisee marketing. They discuss why most franchise marketing tactics are universal but require thoughtful customization based on factors l...

Ghosted by franchise leads? Paying $200 to $300 a pop and still not seeing results? You're not alone. In this episode, guest host and producer Joseph Lewin joins Sean McKay to expose why franchise lead generation is falling flat—and how to fix it fast. ㅤ Sean outlines the three biggest culprits: poor lead quality, ineffective budget strategy, and low close rates. Together, they explore the compou...

Landing your first franchisee deal can feel like a high-stakes gamble: it’s expensive, unpredictable, and exhausting when you’re just getting started. Host Sean McKay teams up with producer Joseph Lewin to unpack why most brands burn through as much as their first franchise fee before they secure a single franchisee. Drawing on real-world figures—from $30 to $300 cost per lead and 300 leads needed...

Most people think the hardest part of franchising is scaling. But for early-stage founders, landing that very first franchisee is the real test. Hosted by Sean McKay , Franchise This is a weekly show built for emerging brands and new franchisors who are building from the ground up. ㅤ Each episode features honest conversations with franchise owners on what it really took to grow — from what worked...