Franchise Today
Welcome to Franchise Today as it celebrates its 1th Season in 2025. Join host Stan Friedman, President of FRM Solutions every Wednesday at 12 PM ET / 11 AM CT as he serves up discussions with weekly guests, who will talk about best practices for scaling their franchise businesses for sustainable growth, through sensible franchising. Franchising remains an unintentional profession. Most people don't go to school to study about how to become involved in franchising. Rather, some life event causes it to find us. Each episode of the podcast begins with a look back at how franchising found that week's guest. This is followed by a walk through the milestones of their journey and career, up to and including the present day. My guests could be franchisors, franchisees or suppliers, who provide insights into high-level support services or top-quality products to better enable the franchise community. Each podcast will wrap with a look ahead to upcoming industry events, upcoming guests or important dates on the horizon.
Episodes
Leading with Trust: Michelle Monroe Rowan and the Evolution of Franchise Business Review.
Few people set out to build a career in franchising. Michelle Monroe Rowan is proof that sometimes the best careers find you. Michelle joined Franchise Business Review more than 21 years ago as the company's first full-time employee. Today, as President and COO, she has helped shape one of franchising's most respected organizations while remain...
What makes a franchise system durable enough to grow through recessions, COVID, supply-chain disruption and technological change?
Kim Gubera believes it begins with relationships, strong foundations and franchise owners who are genuinely invested in their local businesses.
This week on Franchise Today, Stan Friedman welcomes Kim Gubera, President and CEO of PIRTEK USA and Canada.
Kim brings 26 years of franchise experience. Before joi...
What separates thriving franchise systems from those constantly battling conflict? According to Steve Whiteside, it isn't better contracts. It isn't more operations manuals. And it certainly isn't more rules. It's relationships.
This week on Franchise Today, Stan Friedman welcomes Steve Whiteside—author of the bestselling book The Happy Franchisee, founder of the Franchise Leadership Center, and a former multi-unit franchisee ...
What happens when franchisees become owners of the very brand they believed in? In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman welcomes Ashley Morris, CEO of Capriotti's Sandwich Shop, whose journey began not in the corporate office, but behind the counter as a Capriotti's franchisee.
After experiencing the brand's potential firsthand, Ashley and his partners made the bold decision to acquire the entire company—closing the ...
What happens when your first business collapses and leaves you deeply in debt? For Tom Spadea, it became the foundation for everything that followed.
In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman welcomes Tom Spadea, co-founder of Spadea Lignana, one of franchising's most respected law firms.
Tom's journey began in a family machine shop business before launching a radio transmitter manufacturing company with childhood friend Josh...
What happens when a franchisor executive becomes a franchise operator? Everything changes. In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman welcomes Heather Leed Neary, President and CEO of Taco John's, for a candid conversation about franchising, restaurant leadership, labor challenges, operational simplicity, and what she learned after moving from corporate leadership into the franchisee world.
Heather's journey began with what w...
Ask Adam Sutton, “what matters more, your number ofunits or the numbers that your units produce?"
Hands down, he will tell you, "it's the latter."
In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman welcomesAdam Sutton, CEO of DX3 Brands and RNR Tire Express, for a conversation about servant leadership, franchise growth, multi-brand expansion and building, businesses that genuinely change lives.
Adam's path into franchisi...
What if the greatest threat to your franchise concept isn't competition...but irrelevance?
In Part 2 of Stan Friedman's conversation with Batteries Plus Chief Development Officer Joe Malmuth, the discussion shifts from franchise development to franchise survival.
Joe argues that many franchise systems are facing a future they aren't prepared for. As AI changes how consumers discover brands, traditional search declines, and franchise ...
What happens when franchising keeps using playbooks written for a completely different generation?
In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman welcomes Joe Malmuth, Chief Development Officer at Batteries Plus, for a fascinating conversation about AI, franchise development, generational change, and why the future of franchising belongs to brands willing to rethink it all.
Joe’s path into franchising was anything but tradi...
What if your franchise system is already sitting on millions of dollars in hidden revenue… and you just haven’t unlocked it yet?
In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman welcomes back David Owasi, CEO of Outreach Genius, for one of the most practical and eye-opening conversations yet about AI, franchise growth, and dormant lead recovery.
Forget the hype.
This conversation is about what AI can do right now for fra...
What does it really take to build a franchise brand that scales?
In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman sits down with Nick Vojnovic, CEO of Little Greek Fresh Grill, to explore the fundamentals of sustainable franchise growth.
Nick brings a rare perspective to franchising—having worked as an operator, executive, and investor across multiple brands. That experience has shaped his belief that successful franchise syst...
In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman sits down with Jeff Helfgott, CEO of Boardroom Salon for Men, to explore a leadership philosophy grounded in integrity, partnership, and disciplined growth.
Jeff’s journey into franchising wasn’t planned. From ROTC to an MBA and a career at McKinsey, he found his way into the industry through Planet Fitness—first as a franchisee, then on the franchisor side. That ra...
What does it take to build a franchise brand from scratch—and what does it feel like to be part of that journey?
In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman sits down with Matt Friedman, founder of Wing Zone, for a deeply personal and insightful conversation.
Stan shares his own connection to the brand—having spent four of the most meaningful years of his career as a partner in Wing Zone—before diving into Mat...
What does it really take to scale a franchise system without losing control? In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman speaks with Michael Haith, CEO of Teriyaki Madness, about building a franchise brand through discipline, infrastructure, and relentless execution.
From his early days as a franchisee to helping grow Maui Waui to hundreds of units, and ultimately acquiring Teriyaki Madness in 2016, Michael shares hard-earned ...
The pet services industry continues to experience strong growth, driven by consumers who increasingly view pets as members of the family. In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman speaks with Ricardo Azevedo, CEO of Woof Gang Bakery & Grooming, about building a franchise brand in one of the most resilient and relationship-driven sectors in franchising.
Ricardo shares how Woof Gang has evolved from a boutique pet retail c...
After nearly four decades in the automotive aftermarket industry, Thomas A. Wolfe understands what it takes to keep a legacy brand relevant. Now, President and CEO of Ziebart International, Wolfe’s journey began in 1986 working in the Ziebart mailroom and working in the warehouse while attending college — a humble start that ultimately evolved into leading one of the most recognized automotive service franchise brands i...
What happens when a franchise system stalls — and how do you get it moving again? In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman speaks with Mike Mushinski, President of Garage Experts. Mike joined the brand in 2024 to rebuild operations and restore momentum to a growing garage flooring and storage franchise.
Mike shares why most franchise problems originate in recruitment rather than operations, how setting clear expectati...
How do you build not one — but multiple — successful fitness franchise brands? In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman speaks with Stephen P. Smith, Founder and CEO of Planet Beach and HOTWORX.
Stephen shares how his journey began in independent gym ownership and evolved into launching Planet Beach in 1996, and scaling to 500 locations by year six. He explains how a pivotal conversation in Jamaica in 2014 led t...
What does it take to lead a category-defining franchise in a cyclical industry? In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman sits down with Charles Furlough, President & CEO of Pillar To Post Home Inspectors. Charles shares how the brand continues to grow by focusing on franchisee performance, operational excellence, and a differentiated customer experience.
The conversation explores scaling in the home services sector, nav...
What happens when a franchisor prioritizes franchisee survival over growth—and comes out stronger on the other side?
In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman sits down with Neal Courtney, CEO of Cookie Cutters Haircuts for Kids and Snip-Its, to explore a franchising journey shaped by operational discipline, franchise ownership experience, and crisis leadership.
Neal shares how a casual recommendation from a neighbor le...
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