The Franchise Leaders Forum Podcast

What happens when your franchise grows faster than the systems designed to support it? Many brands dream about expansion, but growth creates a new challenge: maintaining the consistency, culture, and customer experience that made people fall in love with the brand in the first place. As locations multiply, leaders must find ways to support franchisees, protect the brand, and adapt to changing cust...

Jennifer Lemcke will tell you that the best thing she ever did before leading a franchise brand was spending a full year working inside one first. Learning every role from the ground up before she ever stepped into leadership is what eventually took her from General Manager of a single Ottawa territory doing $200,000 in system sales to CEO of a $537.3 million brand. In today's episode, we sit...

Most franchise leaders think franchisees resist the system itself, but the real issue is often a lack of buy-in from the beginning.  In today’s episode, we sit down with Joel Worthington, former president of Mr. Electric, to unpack why franchisee buy-in is one of the hardest things for leaders to create and why communication is often the missing piece. After spending 16 years as a pastor before st...

Most franchise brands don’t have a growth problem. They have a disconnect problem. You can have strong marketing, a solid development team, and still struggle to scale if those pieces aren’t working together. And for many franchisors, that misalignment between marketing and franchise development is the exact thing slowing growth without them realizing it.  In this episode, we sit down with Lorne F...

You can have the right systems, the right strategy, and still struggle to grow if your franchisees don’t trust you.  Today on the podcast we have Michelle Rowan, President of Franchise Business Review, to share what’s really driving growth behind the scenes of high-performing franchise systems. From building the company as employee number one to analyzing data from thousands of franchisees, Michel...

Stepping into a company your parents built sounds like a natural transition. It’s not. In this episode, Tracy and Shannon sit down with Anne Huntington Sharma, CEO and President of Huntington Learning Center, to talk about what it actually looks like to lead a nearly 50-year-old franchise brand into its next chapter. From growing up in the business to building experience outside of it, Anne shares...

You think franchising is a proven path to success so why do so many people still get it wrong? In this episode, we sit down with Therese Thilgen, co-founder of Franchise Update Media and franchise veteran with 38 years of experience to unpack what actually happens behind the scenes of franchising and why so many people make the same costly mistakes, even when they think they’re doing everything ri...

What if the biggest thing holding your franchise back isn’t your model but your mindset? In this episode, we sit down with Rob Flanagan, a franchise CEO who’s built brands at the intersection of culture, scale and systems and what he shares might challenge everything you think you know about growth. From selling popcorn in a mall to leading Hounds Town USA, a fast-growing pet care franchise approa...

Franchise growth is not about moving fast. It is about staying disciplined long enough to build something that lasts. In this episode, Tracy and Shannon sit down with Paul Altero, co-founder and longtime CEO of Bubbakoo’s Burritos, to talk about what it really takes to scale a franchise brand over time. Paul shares how his decade at Johnny Rockets shaped his operator mindset, why franchising is tr...

Your title changes overnight. Your relationships change with it. Trust isn’t automatic. In this episode of the Franchise Leaders Forum, Shannon turns the mic on Tracy to reflect on her first three years as a franchisor. What seemed like a natural next step from successful multi-unit franchisee to CEO quickly revealed a leadership shift she didn’t fully anticipate. From facing litigation in her ver...

The IFA Annual Conference isn’t just another event on your calendar. It’s one of the most important rooms franchise leaders will step into all year. In this special episode, Tracy and Shannon turn the microphones on each other ahead of the International Franchise Association’s Annual Conference in Las Vegas. Between Shannon’s nearly two decades of attendance and Tracy’s experience as a franchisor...

Franchise leadership lives or dies by the strength of the franchisor and franchisee relationship. In this episode, we’re joined by Tom Wood, President and CEO of Floor Coverings International, for a conversation about what effective franchise leadership actually looks like in practice. Having served as a franchisee, founding executive, growth leader, and CEO, Tom brings more than four decades of e...

PR isn’t a “nice to have” in franchising, it’s a credibility engine. Today we are chatting with Sherri Fishman, founder of Fishman Public Relations, for a conversation about how public relations has shaped franchise growth for more than three decades and why its impact is even more critical today. Sherri takes us back to 1991, when she launched her firm after years working in franchise public rela...

What if the biggest mistake franchise founders make isn’t moving too fast but hiring for the company they have today instead of the one they’re building? Shelly Sun Berkowitz knows what it takes to scale with intention. What started as a deeply personal response to her grandmother’s need for better home care grew into BrightStar Care, a national brand with more than 400 locations and $750 million...

What if the real differentiator between thriving franchise brands and struggling ones comes down to two simple traits: humility and hunger? In this episode, Adam Contos, a high-performance leadership expert, former CEO of RE/MAX, and a leading voice in the franchise industry joins us for a conversation that cuts through the noise and gets to the heart of what truly drives franchise success. From h...

What happens when the franchise you built, the one that looked wildly successful from the outside, starts quietly falling apart behind the scenes? In this powerful conversation, entrepreneur and author Ciara Stockeland shares the unfiltered truth about the rise and unraveling of her retail franchise brand, including the moment she sensed something was wrong long before anyone else did. From early...

What if the biggest threat to your franchise system isn’t sales, development, or operations but the financial foundation you’re quietly ignoring? In this episode, we sit down with the franchise finance authority, Ron Feldman, a 30-year veteran who has advised, funded, and evaluated many franchise brands through ApplePie Capital, FRANdata, and Franchise America Finance. Ron pulls back the curtain o...

What if the secret to sustainable franchise growth isn’t speed but steadfast values? In this episode, Emma Dickison, CEO and President of Home Helpers Home Care, shares her journey from teaching to leading one of the nation’s most trusted senior care brands. With roots at Blockbuster during its explosive rise and nearly two decades at the helm of Home Helpers, Emma offers a masterclass in purpose-...

What if the secret to scaling a successful franchise wasn’t just about systems and sales but about mindset, discipline, and speaking a bold vision into existence? In this episode, Jeff Dudan, Founder and CEO of Homefront Brands and former founder of AdvantaClean, shares how scrappy beginnings and servant leadership shaped his journey from painting apartments in college to leading a multi-brand fra...

What if the secret to franchise growth wasn’t found in dashboards or marketing campaigns, but in relationships, accountability, and culture? Marianne Murphy has spent more than 25 years driving growth in franchising, from early days at Housemaster Home Inspection to leadership roles with Floor Coverings International, Any Lab Test Now, and more. A Certified Franchise Executive and EOS Integrator,...

What do Mongolian barbecue, Ford Motor Company, and Ironman triathlons all have in common? For Billy Downs, they’ve each played a role in shaping his unique journey as a leader in franchising. Billy “BD” Downs co-founded BD’s Mongolian Grill at just 26 years old, growing it into an international brand before selling and moving into consulting, nonprofit work, and ultimately becoming the first fran...

What happens when you grow up in a franchising family and spend your career helping others avoid the mistakes you saw firsthand? John Francis, better known as Johnny Franchise and the swiss army knife of franchising, has lived every role in the franchise world: franchisee, franchisor, executive, advisor, and board member. Today, he mentors 15–20 brands at a time, helping leaders reduce risk, impro...

What separates good franchisors from great ones? This episode unpacks the lessons behind building, scaling, and selling franchise brands that thrive long term.  Kevin Wilson has spent his career at the intersection of strategy and franchising, turning ideas into nationally recognized brands and scaling businesses others thought couldn’t be scaled. From growing Mosquito Joe into a 350-unit system b...

What does it really take to lead a struggling franchise brand back to growth and keep it thriving for more than a decade? Steve White, President and COO of PuroClean, shares the hard-earned lessons from his career turning underperforming organizations into award-winning, rapidly growing franchise systems. With a military background that shaped his servant leadership approach, Steve opens up about...

What’s really happening behind the scenes at the IFA and why does it matter more than ever right now? In today’s episode, Matt Haller, President and CEO of the IFA, shares the growing role the IFA plays in protecting, enhancing, and promoting franchising. From Capitol Hill to convention halls, Matt explains how his team is helping franchise brands navigate policy, access education and build commun...