Franchise Today
Welcome to Franchise Today as it celebrates its 16th 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
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, an...
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 traditional...
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 franchisors, 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 systems ar...
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 rare dual perspectiv...
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 Matt’s 27-year journe...
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 in the world.
...
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 expectations so...
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 to the creati...
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 led he a...
From a college painting business to a multi-brand franchise empire with more than 1,100 locations—this episode of Franchise Today dives deep into the entrepreneurial journey of Paul Flick, founder and CEO of Premium Service Brands and Extraordinary Brands.
Paul’s story began nearly 40 years ago with Student Painters in Canada, followed by a brief corporate stint at Coca-Cola. In 2005, he launched 360 Painting in Northern Virgini...
What happens when you ignore everything that industry tells you to do—and it works?
On this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman sits down with Alex Filipuk, Founder and CEO of Ideal Siding, to unpack one of the most unconventional and successful franchise models in home services today.
Alex’s journey into franchising began unexpectedly—with a college assignment at age 23 and early work experience as a Subway Sandwich Artist. Af...
Success in franchising takes more than financial expertise — it takes relationships. In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedman sits down with Jessica Wescott, CEO of Stellar Service Brands, to explore her unexpected journey from private wealth management to leading some 200+ franchise locations across Stellar's home service brands.
Jessica entered franchising twelve years ago believing she could focus solely on analytics...
What if the best franchise systems aren’t planned—butdiscovered? In this episode of Franchise Today, Stan Friedmansits down with Shane Evans, CEO of Heights Wellness Retreats, to explore how an unplanned franchise journey turned into a 120+ unit wellness brand built on organic demand, adaptability, and resilience.
Shane opened the first Massage Heights location in 2004 withno intention of franchising. But customers quickly began ask...
Franchise Today did not begin as a polished podcast… farfrom it. — it began as a live radio show in the middleof the Great Recession of 2009.
In this special episode, Paul Segreto and Stan Friedmanlook back on the early days of Franchise Today, one of, if not the very first podcasts dedicated to franchising.
From guests broadcasting live from their cars during federalbuilding lockdowns, to last-minute cancellations that mysterious...
What happens when two veteran franchisors look at the industry and realize that one of the biggest challenges of all at the unit level - is driving local traffic!
You get Sweet Influencers, a first-of-its-kind platform built by Angela Olea and Liberty Bernal, designed specifically to connect franchise systems with vetted nano and micro influencers, who move the needle at the local level.
Angela spent decades in senior care, scaling h...
After years in recruiting, franchise development, and lead generation, Dan Claps sold his company to build something else, on his own. That decision became the foundation for VODA Cleaning & Restoration — but the company nearly collapsed after launch.
In this episode, Dan shares the gritty truth behind VODA'S early struggles: high monthly losses, a failing model, and the moment he realized that defending his ideas was sinkin...
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