Social Geek

2015 called and wants its marketing strategy back. It's the Social Geek Marketing & Innovation update for May with outspoken innovative marketer, Maresa Friedman. Maresa joins host Jack Monson for a round of venting about some bad trends in marketing especially for franchise brands including: AI-generated LinkedIn posts LinkedIn “heroes” Marketing personas Sales funnels Vanity metrics Pre-scri...

Shelly Sun Berkowitz joins a One On One conversation with Social Geek host Jack Monson. She describes her recent sale of her successful franchise brand BrightStar Care to a Private Equity partner, moving from CEO to Executive Chairwoman of the Board, and remaining involved in the home care industry and franchising. Shelly shares advice for leaders regarding: Turning over “your baby” to new owners...

It’s Part 2 of our Social Geek Podcast series recorded live at Franchise Expo Charlotte. In this double-sized episode, we’re talking to franchise development pros, CEOs, and founders about what makes their brand unique and getting their take on the what’s up in franchising for the rest of 2025. You’ll hear from: Raj Bhasin, Autism Center of Excellence Shannon Wilburn and Brian Luciani, SMB Franchi...

AI Sherpa is back on Social Geek. This month, Robert Mitchell welcomes guest Eric Cook, Franchise Owner with WSI. Robert and Eric discuss the consulting side of WSI’s AI work with a focus on how AI is impacting community banks and other local businesses.   Also, our monthly update on the latest AI tools for Franchises including Robert’s take on DeepSeek, the completive landscape for apps, and...

This is the Marketing and Innovation Update for April 2025 focusing on LinkedIn. This special edition features AJ Wilcox, Course Instructor from LinkedIn and founder of B2Linked.  AJ shares the latest tips and best practices for LinkedIn content, ads, and formats for Franchise brands. Thanks to Vendasta , Hughes , and Franzy . http://vendasta.com/franchise http://hughes.com/franchise https://...

Welcome to Just Jania, the podcast hosted by Jania Bailey and powered by FranNet. Franchise icons Bill Edwards & Keith Gerson join Jania in a conversation about: Lessons from the experts with insights gleaned over a lifetime of business excellence Operational strategies that businesses can use to foster sustainable growth Their new joint-venture: The Franchise Consortium - helping franchi...

Today’s show was recorded live at Franchise Expo Charlotte. We’re talking to franchise development pros, CEOs, and founders about what makes their brand unique and getting their take on the what’s up in franchising for the rest of 2025. Host Jack Monson welcomes: Tim McCarthy, Rosati's Pizza Toni Harris Taylor, Drastic Results Scott McDaniel, Logiscool Jim DiRugeris, Lightbridge Academy Jenny Youn...

Sea Change – when has something in your life shifted overnight, and what did you do about it? Our franchise rock star panel today is: Derrick Abelman, Kristen Pechacek, Scott Greenberg, and Danielle Wright with host Jack Monson.  They’re sharing important changes in their lives and franchising careers, and how they handled it. Please join us for a very raw and personal conversation. Thanks to...

“The only sustainable competitive advantage we have is the speed at which we learn.” Dan Monaghan The AI Sherpa, Robert Mitchell, is back on Social Geek, live from The IFA Convention where the crowd is chasing him down to answer their AI questions. Special guest Dan Monaghan, CEO of Clear Summit Group, also joins the conversation to discuss unlocking the economic impact of AI. Dan shares how their...

Continuing the Social Geek series of One On One Conversations with the top thought leaders in Franchising with Susan Beth! Susan is franchising's leading expert in Private Equity and shares her outlook for PE's exponential growth in the space in 20025 and 2026. She covers: Why do PE firms love franchising now? How does a brand engage with PE and what are some options to consider? Creative strategi...

This is the Marketing and Innovation Update for March 2025 featuring these Innovators: Anna Kittleson, VP of Marketing at the IFA, gives us the inside look at the recent rebranding and reimaging of the IFA. We also discuss the changes to The IFA Marketing and Innovation Committee and how we are using storytelling to protect, promote, and enhance franchising. Alex Smereczniak, Founder of Franzy, di...

Welcome to Just Jania, the podcast hosted by Jania Bailey and powered by FranNet. Today Jania hosts a panel of Consultants discussing "WHY FranNet?" Joining the conversation are John Armstrong, Bruce Phillips, Blake Martin, and Sean Haggarty.

Ali Kraus, Kristen Pechacek, and Danielle Wright talk about the lessons learned from franchising for their kids! What could your kids learn from the franchise community? Manners Communication Exposure to craziness Not being the reason there’s a rule And, helping a friend when you can Streaming now on Apple, Spotify, Amazon, and more. Thanks to Hughes, Northeast Color, Franzy, and Thunderly. Shout...

MassageLuXe CEO Kristen Pechacek is one of the recent Top 5 Franchise Thought Leadership Award winners. In this One On One conversation Kristen shares her thoughts on: *The current focus on PE, Mergers & Acquisitions, and Platforms in franchising *The big items and events that will impact franchise partners this year *Advice for franchise development, franchise marketing, and consumer marketin...

Meg Roberts is the CEO of Head to Toe Brands and one of the recent top 5 Social Geek Franchise Thought Leadership Award winners. Meg goes One On One with host Jack Monson live on the floor of the IFA 2025 Convention to share her thoughts on: *The growth of Multi-Unit and Multi-Brand Owners in the wellness industry *The explosion and future of the wellness and beauty brands *Her favorite places for...

Jania Bailey welcomes Shannon Wilburn, Co-Founder of Just Between Friends and Franchise Coach with SMB to chat about growing a startup business, surrounding yourself with the best people, and mentorship.

Joe Sieve, Chief Restaurant and Global Development Officer at Papa Johns, joins Social Geek host Jack Monson as part of our series of new one-on-one conversations with the top Thought Leaders in Franchising. Joe was one of the recent winners in the Social Geek Thought Leadership Awards and shares his ideas today on many hot topics in Franchising including:  The explosion of international deve...

Next up in our series of One On One conversations with Franchise Thought Leaders is Scott Zide! Scott is the CEO of Empower Brands and joins host Jack Monson to discuss: Long term strategies for multi-brand platforms and multi-unit owners Licensing territories versus bringing on the right franchisees Changing customer demographics and how business owners must evolve What will have the biggest impa...

This is the first in our series of new one-on-one conversations with the top Thought Leaders in Franchising. Mary Kennedy Thompson, CEO of BNI and the new Chair of The International Franchise Association, is here! Mary shares her thoughts on: The importance of meeting face to face Good storytelling and good Franchising Why she’s so bullish on Franchising’s growth in 2025 & 2026 And, to what sh...

IFA 2025 is almost here! Today, a preview of sessions that franchise marketers must attend. We'll speak with Nadia Carta of Google who will leading a session at IFA on AI for Franchises. Next up, it’s author and keynote speaker Nick Westergaard previewing his session about Scrappy Marketing for Franchises. And Global Franchise’s Rachael Wenham shares what it takes to win the Global Franchise Award...

We're ready for IFA 2025! Ali Kraus, Danielle Wright, Derrick Ableman, Kristen Pechacek and Scott Greenberg share tips and advice for the biggest franchising event of the year with host Jack Monson If you haven’t registered yet for IFA 2025, please do so at franchise.org Today’s show is brought to by Hughes, Citrin Cooperman, and Northeast Color.  Special Guests: Ali Kraus, Danielle Wright, D...

Jania chats with Trish Kalbas-Schmidt, Senior Director at MOBI (My Own Business Institute). Headquartered at Santa Clara University, MOBI offers free online business education and training courses to aspiring entrepreneurs.

Happy New Year, Geeks! Welcome to Season 16 of the Social Geek podcast. It’s our New Year’s Special with an all-star guest list of prominent Franchising professionals sharing trends they are seeing for 2025 along with their plans, goals, and resolutions for the new year. Pour yourself a hot coffee, Mimosa, or Bloody Mary and join in the conversations with Matt Haller, Brandi Kloostra, Kirk Allen,...

Hello Geeks! Extra test episode here today – running some tests as we switch over to a new, more robust platform behind the scenes for the upcoming year. I hope you’re having a great holiday season and thanks for staying connected. We will be back Jan 1, 2025 for Season 16 of Social Geek with a BIG show to kick off a BIG year!

“The are two types of businesses in the future: those who are closed and those who are using AI.”    The AI Sherpa, Robert Mitchell, takes a brief look back at 2024 and a big look ahead to 2025 for Franchise systems adopting AI.  The quick wins for franchisors implementing AI in their day to day operations are occurring more and more. As brands see more efficiencies and more team me...