Franchise Today

Scott Gittrich is the founder and CEO of Toppers Pizza, a great midwestern pizza brand that is built to survive and thrive anytime, and yes, even in times like these.  Scott’s unwavering affection for pizza became a full-fledged love affair when he decided to drop out of college to focus on a career at Domino’s, after only two weeks on the job. Well, that gamble paid off as he worked his way up th...

Pete Baldine is the President of the Moran Family of Brands, an automotive aftermarket franchisor with multiple brands.  They are: Mr. Transmission, Milex Complete Auto care, Alta Mere Automotive Outfitters and SmartView Window Solutions. Pete joined the Moran Team in 1999 as their Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer, bringing with him many years of automotive aftermarket, service...

Cordell Riley is a Certified Franchise Executive and servant leader, with more than 20 years of experience on both the franchisor and supplier side of franchising.  Cordell’s core competencies lie both in training and operations, as is demonstrated by his many years, directing training for Driven Brands, before founding Tortal in Y2K.  Tortal is the premier e-learning and training platform for fra...

Shelly Sun is the CEO and founder of BrightStar Group Holdings, the umbrella company for multiple brands offering care services globally in various settings including in-home, assisted living and memory care communities as well as in commercial settings like hospitals through medical staffing services. Serving thousands of families in the USA, through its network of nearly 350 locations, BrightSta...

Matt Haller has been the man behind the man at IFA for nearly 10 years at the IFA.  First, for Steve Caldiera and more recently, for Robert Cresanti.  Matt leads the Government Relations, Public Affairs and Advocacy Team that monitors and protects the brand of franchising at the Federal and State legislative levels.  Today, Matt joins us to share updates on the impact of the Government's actions a...

To put some perspective on how much things have changed in the last couple of months, I asked my panelists from the IFA session that I moderated just a couple of months ago, to put what they shared then, (regarding big data and marketing) into perspective, since the advent of Corona.  My wonder, was whether what they’d prescribed then, would be been different, had this virus hit before convention,...

Dr. John Hayes and the Titus Center for Franchising have been hosting a series of webinars, bringing industry experts together, to talk through some of the implications of COVID 19 on our businesses, employees, clients and customers.  His panelists have included luminaries from the franchisor, franchisee and supplier sides of our ecosystem.  Dr. Hayes will bring us up to date on all of that and mo...

In 1973, Hungry Howie's started with one hamburger shop turned delivery and carryout pizzeria in the suburbs of Detroit. Their now President/CEO Steve Jackson was there as a delivery driver. Since then, Hungry Howie’s has become a top pizza franchise with over 550 locations in 21 states and is still growing. Hungry Howie's has perfected pizza and they have a proven franchise system. Single store l...

Today I am going to continue the "Covid Crisis" conversation with Mike Drumm, a franchise lawyer and friend.  Mike and I will discuss some of the immediate legal implications that this moment in time is having on our businesses and our lives and we will look ahead to the extent that we can, on what franchisors need to consider, as pertains to everything from FDD renewals, to functioning in your bu...

The pendulum never stops in the middle, does it?  We've gone from the best of times, to the worst of times, in a matter of days.  Now, as COVID-19 has us all swimming in uncharted waters, IFA President and CEO talks about his efforts to protect franchisees from the very legislation that Congress is ostensibly trying to enact, to protect themselves from the abyss that we all could face, if cool, ca...

Cassidy Ford joined FRM Solutions in 2018, after years in restaurant franchise sales, development and operations. Immediately prior to joining FRM, Cassidy was with Huddle House, an iconic breakfast brand, here in Atlanta.  She worked across departments to add new units, improve resales, increase profitability and support under-performing franchisees, relying on FRM all the way, as a client and po...

For more than 30 years, Dave McDougall has worked to optimize franchise brands for growth and efficiency. His mission at Your Pie is no different. As CEO, Dave leads Your Pie’s brand strategy and direction, identifying priorities, managing resources and aligning operational excellence with brand mission, culture and values at every level. Prior to joining the Your Pie family, Dave’s background inc...

Marcus Slater is the (CMTO) Chief Marketing Technology Officer at Deka Lash, a company that is experiencing explosive growth within a $62 Billion dollar industry.  Marcus is going to help us navigate the path between those fuzzy lines that are Marketing and Technology and the interrelationship bwtween the two.  This is a fact that should come as no surprise to anyone who walked the Exhibit Hall at...

With more than 20 years of experience managing, owning and franchising health clubs, Chuck Runyon has distinguished himself as a leading authority in the field of fitness. Chuck revolutionized the fitness industry when he and Dave Mortensen co-founded Anytime Fitness – an alternative to big-box gyms which typically feature expensive “frills” that few members actually use or need. Under his leaders...

Today, as most everyone settles back in following IFA Convention 2020, Franchise Today reprises my recent interview with IFA President and CEO, Robert Cresanti.  What a spectacular conference it was.    Back next week with IFA Award Winners, Chuck Runyon and Dave Mortensen, co-founders of Self Esteem Brands, parent company of Anytime Fitness, Waxing the City and more!

Horace Williams has a long history of "doing well, by doing good"  Today, he shares how being a servant leader has impacted his career, but moreover, how it continues to influence the lives of those around him.  For the past four years, Horace has been heading up Franchising at Honey Baked Ham.  When you couple Horace's principle-centered leadership, with the magic of an iconic brand, then top it...

My guests this week are Jeremy Sorzano and Jason Webb, co-founders of Soccer Shots.  Jeremy and Jason talk about the process of adding executives to their corporate team, along with a third partner, one with strong franchise and soccer experience.  The result?  Accelerated and sustainable growth and unit level economic that work for their franchisees.       Jeremy Sorzano and Jason Webb, coming up...

Jason Anderson is the President of United Franchise Group's Venture X.  This rapidly rising concept is experiencing meteoric growth... growth though that is measured, calculated and intentional.  Like everything at UFG, there is a rhyme to the reason.  Jason explains some of the magic behind this, at Venture X.   Much can be attributed to the concept, but more, much more is tfound in the calculus....

IFA President and CEO Robert Cresanti lifts the curtain and offers us a sneak preview of IFA Convention 2020, just weeks away.  He will also provide us with some BREAKING NEWS and a snapshot of the the State of the Franchise Union.  How did 2020 wrap up on key and critical issues from the perspective of Government Affairs and what can we look forward to, both in the year and decade ahead.

My guest today, is serial entrepreneur extraordinaire Steve Cody.  Steve is the founder of several companies, both in franchising and technology, but our conversation today will focus primarily on the Better Software Company.     Designed to ensure that franchisees can utilize technology to carry out the vision of their franchisor’s concept, Better provides both zors and zees a deeper understandin...

I hope you've all had a safe and Happy New Year! Today, Cruise Planners Michelle Fee delivers an ENCORE Performance.  We'll be back next week though, to begin another new season of inciteful guest interviews for 2020! Until then, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Stan

As we wrap up 2019, I thought I'd do my best, by taking a shot at political correctness, something I'm not terribly good at...  So, here I go!  I'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Good Kwanza, Happy Ramadan or whatever it is that is YOUR reason, for celebrating the season.  Also, I'd like to share a little gift... the gift of music..This is an original piece of Christm...

The HomeVestors idea began in Dallas, Texas in 1989, when real estate broker Ken D’Angelo bought so many homes, he decided to transform his real estate brokerage into a home-buying business. By 1996, he took his business even further, when he created HomeVestors and sold his first franchise in the Dallas area. He figured out how franchises could advertise together, share vendors, and route calls t...

John Covilli is a veteran franchise and business development leader who has spent more than a decade supporting Dale Carnegie Training franchise owners and expanding the franchise brand. In his current role as Senior Vice President of Franchising, John oversees the franchise program for North and Latin America for Dale Carnegie Training. His insights and experience allows him to provide the Dale C...

The Little Gym has been around since 1976 and has come a long way, since those early days.  Today, with more than 400 locations in the US and around the world, they offer programs for various age levels, beginning as young as four months and going all the way up to 12 year old’s.  These include Parent & Child, Developmental Gymnastics, Karate and Sports Skills Development.   The Little Gym locatio...