December 22, 2025 • 24 mins
Merry Christmas Week to you and your loved ones. As we bring another year to a close it is time to reflect and look back on the year. As the year is winding down, I always like to take a moment to look back and reflect on the year. Think about the highs and lows and everything in between. For our podcast this year, we had 16 franchise focused podcasts and we decided to highlight the top franchise podcasts of 2025. There are 9 franchisors in this episode. You may remember some of our guests including the leaders of Coldwell Banker, Club Pilates, and Caring Transitions. By the way, these 9 guests represented more than 5,000 locations around the world! You have to stay to the end to see what they have to say.
LINKS FROM THE EPISODE:
- Schedule your free franchise consultation with Big Sky Franchise Team: https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/.
- Attend our Franchise Sales Training Workshop:
- https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/franchisesalestraining/
- 1. 251. https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/franchise-support/
2. 262. https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/5-year-anniversary-special-what-if-everything-you-know-about-franchising-is-wrong-mike-andes/
3. 288. https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/288-how-doctors-do-healthcare-differently-than-you-david-berg-ceo-redirecthealth/
4. 270. https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/selling-more-restaurants-than-anyone-else-robin-gagnon/
5. 272. https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/272-global-franchising-success-keenan-fisher-managing-partner-tommy-guns-original-barbershop/
6. 275. https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/275-how-this-franchisor-is-standing-out-in-the-competitive-childcare-industry-kristen-denzer-ceo-tierra-encantada/
7. 286. https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/286-scaling-thrift-retail-into-a-global-franchise-tyler-and-zach-gordon-co-ceos-uptown-cheapskate-and-kid-to-kid285-giving-thanks-in-dire-straits-michelle-campbell-author/
8. 282 https://bigskyfranchiseteam.com/from-200-to-1400-franchises-building-club-pilates-worldwide-tianna-strateman-president-club-pilates/
9. 278.
The information provided in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and should not be considered financial, legal, or professional advice. Always consult with a qualified professional before making any business decisions. The views and opinions expressed by guests are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of the host, Big Sky Franchise Team, or our affiliates. Additionally, this podcast may feature sponsors or advertisers, but any mention of products or services does not constitute an endorsement. Please do your own research before making any purchasing or business decisions.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Tom DuFore (00:01):
Welcome to the Multiply Your Success podcast,
where each week we helpgrowth-minded entrepreneurs and
franchise leaders take the nextstep in their expansion journey.
I'm your host, Tom Dufour, CEOof Big Sky franchise team, and a
very Merry Christmas week to youand your loved ones.
And as we bring another year toa close, it's time to reflect
(00:24):
and look back on the past year.
Now, as this year is windingdown, I always like to take a
moment to think about the highsand the lows and everything in
between.
And for our podcast this year,we had 16 franchise-focused
podcasts, and we decided tohighlight nine of them and nine
(00:44):
franchisors in this episode.
You may remember some of ourguests, which include the
leaders of Caldwell Banker, ClubPilates, and Caring Transitions.
And by the way, these nineguests represented more than
5,000 locations around theworld.
You're going to have to stay allthe way to the end and just hear
(01:05):
the little nuggets and greatlittle snippets we share
throughout this episode.
So let's go ahead and jump rightinto our top franchise podcasts
of 2025.
So our first guest is fromepisode 251, and it's Ray
Fabick, the CEO of CarryingTransitions with more than 375
(01:27):
locations.
SPEAKER_05 (01:28):
I think the foundation of it all is you have
to have successful franchiseeswho are supported and
franchisees that are profitable.
And I think, you know, for usit's about why do you want to
grow?
Do you want carrying transitionsto be big just for the sake of
being big?
Because I'm not always a fanthat bigger is better.
I don't know that a 400-unitfranchise ore is better than a
(01:50):
200-unit franchise ore unlessyou have a compelling reason to
grow.
And our reason for growth is wewant to be where the client is
moving from and where they'removing to.
And that's really our number onespot because you can't give a
caring transition in general ifthere's one company helping on
one end and then there's adifferent company on the other
end.
So we know that if we grow andexpand, we can help more
(02:14):
clients.
And that's really kind of whatstarted it.
So you get a few successfulfranchisees that feel supported
and they're profitable.
And then I think as we'veexpanded over the years, it's
really become, you know, don'tlet anybody in who just who just
has the money, who just has thefranchise free money.
And I think every franchise orgoes through that at some point
(02:34):
where you're reliant on theincome coming in through
franchise sales.
And our goal was to always getto a point where we're okay if
we don't sell any franchises.
And we're okay if we don't sellany franchises, and then that
helps you focus on support andgrow the network internally.
And we're far from the perfectorganization, but I think we've
we've shown that if we supportthe franchisee, pretend them to
(02:56):
what they are, treat them as thecustomer, you know, as much as
we possibly can, then they'regonna be happy and they're gonna
tell more people, you know, andthe brand will expand.
And I think the best example Ican give you, Atlanta, Georgia
was always a struggle market forus.
We could never get any tractionthere.
And then along came twofranchise or two franchisees,
they were just terrific.
(03:17):
They just came in, they builttheir businesses up, executed
the model, they did great.
They got off to two of ourfastest starts ever, any of our
new franchisees.
And then three years later,we've got 15 franchisees in the
greater Atlanta area, and itjust shows that success is kind
of great success.
And we didn't advertise anydifferently in Atlanta or
Georgia, but you just you meetreferral partners and through
(03:40):
our auctions and all thosethings, people just start to
hear about you.
So it is that if you do theright thing and get strong
franchisees, you'll you'll groworganically at a really good
pace.
Tom DuFore (03:50):
Our next guest is Mike Andes, who's the founder of
Augusta Landscape and was ourfive-year anniversary episode at
episode 262.
And he had some very uniquethings that he does and a
different approach tofranchising.
SPEAKER_09 (04:05):
Our franchise, the give back program, for example,
where they get the franchisefeedback, basically after five
years, they can roll thatinitial fee into another
location, or they can wait tillthe end of their term, 10 years,
and just get the cash back, likeliterally a check back to them.
And they just have to followthree systems pay for
performance, they have to wraptheir trucks correctly, and they
have to do open book managementwith their team to be able to
share the numbers with theirteam.
(04:25):
As long as they do those threethings, they'll get the money
back.
That being said, there's peoplewho quit, there's people who
give up, there's people who selltheir business, and they're not
gonna get that money back.
And so I my incentive in thiscase is to keep them in business
because they're gonna get,they're paying a flat monthly
fee of$1,600.
So like I just need to keep themin business.
That's my objective.
Whereas when when there's aroyalty structure in place, I
(04:46):
find that the franchise or hasperverse incentive to inflate
top-line revenue.
So encourage people to spendoverspend on marketing,
overspend on salespeople,overspend on a lot of aspects
because they're just trying toinflate top line revenue.
They don't care about the bottomline profit.
And so another thing that I likeI was really adamant about too
is like allowing people to leavethe franchise at any time with
their customers for no penalty.
(05:07):
And no one does that.
And I understand why, becauseit's like it's freaky.
But bottom line is like itforces us as a franchise or to
constantly improve the systems,constantly offer more value,
constantly offer more trainingand support and serving the the
owners.
And so that is it's not easy.
It's very difficult to run asystem where people can leave at
any time and take their businesselsewhere, especially in a low
barrier to entry market likelawn care.
(05:30):
But it keeps us honest.
And ultimately building afranchise, I think the number
one thing that keeps thisindustry really held back is we
build businesses and franchiseor build business, the business
in a way to sell it to privateequity or a five, maybe a
10-year term.
But if you were building thatbusiness over the course of 100
years, if you were actuallyasking yourself, what does this
business look like in a hundredyears?
You would structure itdifferently.
(05:51):
You'd go slower, you wouldlisten a lot more, you'd think
about the owners a lot more,you'd think about their the
brand reputation in 20 or 30years from now.
And that's really why I think somany franchisors fail, why so
many don't get to 100 locations,and that the vast majority of
them will never becomeprofitable because you usually
have to get over 100 locationsto become profitable.
And I really hate the fact thatthe franchise or world gets such
(06:12):
a bad rap when I thinkfranchising is a beautiful thing
in terms of following systems,having support, having back end,
the ability to be able to usecommon practices, used across
hundreds of locations, and thenjust follow the system and avoid
all the pitfalls.
I love it.
But there are so many bad actorswhen it comes to franchisors.
There are so many people thatjust think they can franchise
their system.
They don't support theirfranchisees, they take a royalty
off the top without giving thesupport required to actually be
(06:35):
successful, and it gives a badrap to the industry,
unfortunately.
Tom DuFore (06:38):
Our next guest is David Berg, the CEO and
co-founder of Redirect Health,and he shares with us how
joining up with experiencedprofessionals to help him along
the way has made a difference.
Dr. David Berg (06:51):
Well, this is a franchise show, and uh it seems
like we talked very little aboutfranchise.
So, you know, when I thoughtabout this before, I was like,
okay, what's the main, like amain lesson or message or
something I want to leave withthe audience?
We haven't even come close totalking about it, which is which
is interesting to me because I II had this preconceived notion
that we're gonna talk aboutfranchising, of which I know
(07:12):
very little about.
So I had a little anxiety aboutthat.
I'm going, I am the last personto say there it have any kind of
expertise on franchising.
You know, you got me started inthis.
I had this idea and I came toyou to learn a little bit about
franchise.
And when we started, Tom, Ithought you were gonna teach me
everything I need to know aboutfranchise in about three hours,
maybe three days, maybe 30 days,maybe three months, and then I
(07:34):
would be able to go run with it.
And what I learned very quickly,you got me there fast, is the
people who do this, they've got20 years of experience.
Just like I've got 20, 30 yearsof experience, 40 years now.
I started working at a mentalhospital when I was uh 18, 19
years old.
So that's how far back inhealthcare I go.
But but you made me realize fastthat this is a different
(07:55):
discipline.
This whole the franchisebusiness is different.
And that is why I went out and Igot Matt Hill and I talked to
him about what I want to do.
And there's a little bit of catand mouse where he's trying to
avoid me a little bit, and I'mtrying to like get him in.
And it's it's we got about ayear, and he's like, okay, I get
it.
Let's do it let's do this.
And then he brought in JesseCurry, who had very instrumental
(08:16):
in massage envy's success.
And then uh we got Pete, who Ithink you know, a bunch of
different brands too.
So I've seen Matt, Jesse, andPete with so much franchise
knowledge.
It was even, I realize now howsilly it was when I came to you
and said, teach me aboutfranchises.
I want to be a franchiser.
Like I want to build a franchiseon our platform.
(08:36):
I realize now how silly it was.
If there is a lesson there forsomebody who might want a
franchise, is you can do ityourself, I'm sure.
That might be the slow boat.
There is a faster boat, which isgo partner with somebody who has
already done it, had thesuccesses, understands the
nuances, can make the pivots.
Tom DuFore (08:53):
Our next guest is Robin Gagnon from episode 270,
and she's the CEO of We SellRestaurants, and she shares with
us some insights about franchiseresales.
SPEAKER_08 (09:04):
Tom, so many brands don't really think about
franchise resales as a strategy,a strategic move for the future.
And so what's happening rightnow, demographically across
America, is that we'reundergoing what's known as the
silver tsunami.
I don't know if you've heardthat language, but 10,000 baby
(09:25):
boomers every single day areturning 65.
And so then they look at, well,who am who is going to take over
my business?
What is my succession plan?
And often they look to family,but young children, well,
they're not even young anymore,right?
So the children of baby boomersare often Gen X or even
millennials, and they're highlyeducated and honestly off in
(09:48):
their own space.
And so when mom or dad says,hey, take over the restaurant,
they're like, oh no, not somuch, right?
So that leaves this franchiseowner in a position where
they're trying to figure outwho's going to take over.
Can I maximize value?
And sometimes franchise ownersdon't even realize that there is
residual value, that thebusiness that they think, oh,
(10:10):
I've I paid it off.
It's making me some money, butthe lease is over and the
franchise is over.
Maybe I should just, you know,shut down.
And meanwhile, so that's thefranchisee layer.
On the other side, we have thefranchise or and the franchise
or is, you know, shoveling moneyout the door with friend dev and
bringing these new franchiseesin.
But those franchisees that thosewould-be franchisees live in a
(10:33):
different pool than the ones whowant a resale, right?
We don't cross over thoseworlds.
We don't do anything with newfranchise development.
And we feel like it's absolutelya different customer.
That customer who wants aresale, they want something open
and operating.
They maybe won't have thecourage or sometimes the capital
(10:53):
to start from the ground up.
And so they come to us and theywant something that's been open,
that has cash flow, it's on thebooks, and we can have different
sorts of conversations.
Then they might buy anotherdevelopment right, but they want
to take over something that'salready operating.
And so I really talk tofranchisors and franchise
communities about net restaurantgrowth.
(11:16):
Be sure that as you are bringingnew units in, you're not
ignoring the signs thatsuccession planning may not be
taking place.
Because, you know, that itemseven on your FDD is going to
show the ones that are coming inand the ones that are going out.
And you want to make, or excuseme, your item 20, you want to
make sure that there's a balancethere.
(11:36):
You don't want to havesubtractions outnumber your
additions.
And that's powerful and easy todo when you have a partner like
We Sell Restaurants, where wespecialize in keeping those
doors open, bringing new andexcited franchisees in to take
over existing locations.
Tom DuFore (11:52):
Our next episode was episode 272 with Keenan Fisher,
the CEO of Tommy Gunn's barbershop.
That's great advice.
And, you know, actually, asyou're you're describing that,
I'm reading the sign behind you.
So someone may not see the videoof this, but over your shoulder,
it says what you want now versuswhat you want most.
So talk about that a little bit.
SPEAKER_00 (12:15):
Well, the cool thing about that is I believe that
wholeheartedly.
And I I used to tell my kids allthe time, I say, you either pay
now or pay later, but you'regonna pay.
So what do you want to do?
Do you want to put in the worknow for what you where you want
to be or you know, not be whereyou want to be later and pay for
it?
I came into my office one dayand my daughter was on a step
stool with some markers, and sheactually wrote that on there.
(12:37):
So which was which was great.
And I'm like, ah, you nailed it.
I'm never taking that down.
So that was like two years ago,and it stuck.
But it but I'm a big believer inthat, right?
Like nothing's built in a day.
Like there's there's very fewovernight successes, and it it's
built with consistency and doingthings the right way and
surrounding yourself with greatpeople and putting in the work.
(12:58):
Uh, there's very few successfulentrepreneurs that I know that
say, oh yeah, I was easy all thetime, and I never had
sacrificed, and all thosethings.
So, you know, it's embracingthat.
You know, I was talking to um afriend of mine who's also in
business, and we were talkingabout the early days where
you're you're really grinding,right?
And it feels like a grind.
I feel like, you know, we'restill grinding some, you know,
(13:18):
most of the time now, too,because we love it so much.
But that's some of the most funyou have too.
And you talk to entrepreneurs,their best stories are when they
were just like all in 24-7, justdoing everything they can barely
to barely make it work.
So having a, you know, embracingthat and focusing on like what
your actual end goal is and viewit as a positive, I think is a
is a great approach to business.
Tom DuFore (13:40):
Our next guest is from episode 275 with Kristen
Densner with Tierra and Cantata.
SPEAKER_07 (13:48):
I would say one of the biggest lessons I've learned
or misses, uh, and there's areally great quote that I love.
Uh, it's don't cling to amistake just because you spent a
lot of time making it.
I think in particular with likehiring, you know, you have
someone that I think a lot oftimes people move very slowly on
(14:10):
hiring changes, and you don'trealize the impact that that has
on not just your brand, but alsothe team.
And I think, you know, in theearlier years, I definitely made
mistakes around that that, youknow, I would have, I would
have, I wish I had that quotethen that would remind me of
that.
Tom DuFore (14:27):
Oh, that quote's amazing.
I am going to be writing thatdown in post-production to set
right next to my desk.
I love, love that quote.
It's so succinct and specific.
Well, let's look at the otherside.
Have you had a a make or two ahighlight that you'd like to
share with us?
SPEAKER_07 (14:43):
One is personal, one is more business.
So personal, as a as a you know,young teenage girl, I would read
Entrepreneur Inc.
magazine, you know, and I wouldread about all the businesses.
And a few years ago, Inc.
named me as one of the top 100female founders.
And being like named that frommy like childhood kind of fan
(15:06):
magazine just was really cool.
It meant a lot.
And then the other moment thatstands out a ton is a family
shared in a review, a publicreview of us, that their child
translated for them when theytraveled to Central America.
And just seeing like that sortof impact that you're having,
where literally a five-year-oldwas translating for their family
(15:28):
while they traveled, it's justreally cool to like see the
difference you're making topeople's lives.
Tom DuFore (15:34):
Our next guests are Zach and Tyler Gordon, co-CEOs
of Uptown Cheapskate and Kid toKid Franchises, episode 286.
Tyler Gordon (15:44):
Yeah, I would say, in my mind, there should be a
singular point of focus for anyfranchise or and then for a
prospective franchisee comingin, which is the success of your
franchisees.
If that is your North Star, ifeverything that you do is to
drive performance at yourexisting stores, at the new
stores you're opening,everything else will solve
(16:07):
itself.
Conversely, if your franchiseesare not happy, if they're not
profitable, if they're notexcited about growing with you
into the future, nothing elsematters.
So sure, you could put a lot ofdots on the map, but we've seen
this unfortunately.
It's it's really a travesty inthese situations, just time and
time again, where you'll have afranchise or I would say mess up
(16:27):
the order of operations, whichis one where I define success as
number of dots on the map, howmany locations I have.
Whereas really what matters isagain the individual success of
each of those locations.
And if you get that right,you'll be expanding for years
and decades to come.
And so it's really thatorientation for the franchise or
franchisee success.
(16:48):
And then if you're in afranchisee seat, it's the same
exact thing.
Do you think that thefranchiseur holds that as their
core number one priority?
Do you get that from yourinteractions?
Do you hear that consistentlyreferenced when you speak to
existing franchisees?
That's where I would alwaysorient my time.
Zach Gordon (17:05):
I really do think that that is the North Star
franchisee success.
Uh, maybe the other component Iwould put out there is that
there are no shortcuts, andthat's a cliche.
Clearly, you could apply that toso many different things.
But when it comes to, especiallyif you're an emerging franchise
or setting up systems that arerepeatable, that people from all
different backgrounds anddifferent parts of the country
(17:27):
can follow and be successfulwith, you got to start from
square one and you got to builda really good process.
Then you got to run thatprocess, I don't know, a hundred
times and see where it breaks,where there's variability in the
outcomes, and re-engineer eitherthat piece or something upstream
of that piece of the process,troubleshoot your process over
and over and over and over againuntil you got a process that
(17:50):
just works perfectly.
And at that stage, somethingthat's almost ironic is if you
were to then to evaluate theprocess, it would look very
simple and elegant.
Like, wow, this must have takenfive minutes to come up with.
However, there is a humongousamount of brain damage that goes
into putting together a reallysimple and elegant process that
works.
So there's no there's noshortcuts.
(18:11):
You gotta make sure that everystep of every process that
you're putting into place is notonly something that you can
follow, but that yourfranchisees can follow as well.
Tom DuFore (18:20):
Our next guest is the brand president of Club
Pilates, Tiana Strademan, fromepisode 282.
SPEAKER_01 (18:26):
I think early on, like those come up in those
initial conversations about thebrand, and you can identify
pretty quickly if someone'sgoing to be a right fit, you
know, for this.
And the business opportunityaside, that we really encourage
that this is your responsibilityto bring this to life in your
community.
And community doesn't justhappen when you open your doors.
(18:48):
It's something that has to becreated and a lot of hard work
that goes into that.
And while you yourself might notbe in your studio every day or
that sort of franchisee, that'sfine.
But making sure then you havethe tools and the resources in
the team to really bring that tolife.
I think those real conversationsare important to have up front
(19:08):
and how important it is for usto protect the brand and make
sure that franchisees that comeinto the system are aligned and
excited about that.
And like I mentioned, more ofour newer franchisees are
already members.
So they already are hugebelievers in the brand.
And I love when they come in andthey tell me more about the
brand than sometimes I even knowbecause they're such believers
(19:31):
and really truly love the brand.
So that's really exciting forme.
Tom DuFore (19:36):
What advice might you give to someone that's new
in having franchised theirbusiness as they look to launch
and grow?
SPEAKER_01 (19:42):
Stay true to who you are and your brand, what proof
of concept that you are able tocreate to get to the point that
you are franchising and reallywhat that magic is.
But then really be adaptable andpivot because if you stay so
stuck in the mud, likely thebusiness is going.
Evolved, you know, beyond you,right?
So trying to find that balanceof staying true to what you know
(20:07):
and what your offering is andall those details, but also
being open to feedback from yourfranchisees and learning from
them and the people, boots onthe ground and those early
adopters can really teach you somuch that is critical for you to
continue to scale and reallypartner with them to understand
that and give them the tools andresources to help them be
(20:29):
successful.
Tom DuFore (20:30):
Our final highlight of the top podcasts of 2025 is
Jason Waugh, who's the presidentof Coldwell Banker with over
2,700 global offices andfranchises around the world.
SPEAKER_06 (20:43):
We have this thing internally freedom within a
framework.
And so certainly we want brandconsistency in terms of our
marks and look.
But the people that we partnerwith, they want to be a premium
provider and have a premiumbrand offering.
So we don't get a lot ofinconsistency there.
And I think that's because youknow we've got a profile of the
(21:05):
entrepreneur that we want topartner with.
But you you bring up anexcellent point.
We understand and acknowledgethis is their business.
And we want them to own theirbusiness.
We're in partnership with them.
So our objective is how can wepartner with you to help you
achieve your goals and help youachieve your agents' goals?
(21:27):
And so we focus on growththrough those, you know, years,
but we also want to bring thatrelationship and business
partnership full circle andfocus on succession planning and
focus on succession planningearly, just to prepare for the
what if event, not justretirement, but we want to
create hopefully a financialevent at the end of their
(21:51):
career, but also createcontinuity for the business
asset, continuity for theagents, continuity for the
employees, smooth transitionfrom predecessor to successor in
leadership.
So we look at theserelationships and these
partnerships holistically frombeginning to end.
It's not just sign up, hey,we'll help you grow.
(22:13):
You know, we certainly do that,want to continue to do that, but
we also have the end game inmind because we want continuity
for everybody, but alsohopefully create a good
financial event at the end forthe owner.
But it's, I think for us, it'sjust, I place a premium on
self-awareness.
If I'm ever going to write abook, it's going to be on
self-awareness.
(22:33):
And we're self-aware enough toknow that we're in partnership
with business owners that wantthe freedom and flexibility to
grow their companies in the waythey want to locally for
themselves.
It's so we've got, again, thisfreedom within a framework type
of type of strategy.
Tom DuFore (22:51):
All right.
And so that's the episode.
And our guests today totaledmore than 5,000 franchises
between them, including the ClubPilates brand president with
over 1,400 locations, and JasonWaugh with Caldwell Banker with
over 2,700 locations.
Really, really impressive workand just great bits of
(23:13):
information for them to sharewith us.
And so that's the conclusion toour episode today.
And I just want to wish you andyour families a very, very Merry
Christmas.
And also thank you, dearlistener, for being with us this
year and prior and for what's tocome ahead.
So just grateful for you.
That's the episode today, folks.
(23:33):
So please make sure yousubscribe to the podcast and
give us a review.
And remember, if you or anyoneyou know might be ready to
franchise your business or takeyour franchise company to the
next level, please connect withus at BigSkyFranchise Team.com
to schedule your free, noobligation consultation.
Thanks for tuning in, and welook forward to having you back
next week.
Welcome to the Multiply Your Success podcast,
where each week we helpgrowth-minded entrepreneurs and
franchise leaders take the nextstep in their expansion journey.
I'm your host, Tom Dufour, CEOof Big Sky franchise team, and a
very Merry Christmas week to youand your loved ones.
And as we bring another year toa close, it's time to reflect
(00:24):
and look back on the past year.
Now, as this year is windingdown, I always like to take a
moment to think about the highsand the lows and everything in
between.
And for our podcast this year,we had 16 franchise-focused
podcasts, and we decided tohighlight nine of them and nine
(00:44):
franchisors in this episode.
You may remember some of ourguests, which include the
leaders of Caldwell Banker, ClubPilates, and Caring Transitions.
And by the way, these nineguests represented more than
5,000 locations around theworld.
You're going to have to stay allthe way to the end and just hear
(01:05):
the little nuggets and greatlittle snippets we share
throughout this episode.
So let's go ahead and jump rightinto our top franchise podcasts
of 2025.
So our first guest is fromepisode 251, and it's Ray
Fabick, the CEO of CarryingTransitions with more than 375
(01:27):
locations.
SPEAKER_05 (01:28):
I think the foundation of it all is you have
to have successful franchiseeswho are supported and
franchisees that are profitable.
And I think, you know, for usit's about why do you want to
grow?
Do you want carrying transitionsto be big just for the sake of
being big?
Because I'm not always a fanthat bigger is better.
I don't know that a 400-unitfranchise ore is better than a
(01:50):
200-unit franchise ore unlessyou have a compelling reason to
grow.
And our reason for growth is wewant to be where the client is
moving from and where they'removing to.
And that's really our number onespot because you can't give a
caring transition in general ifthere's one company helping on
one end and then there's adifferent company on the other
end.
So we know that if we grow andexpand, we can help more
(02:14):
clients.
And that's really kind of whatstarted it.
So you get a few successfulfranchisees that feel supported
and they're profitable.
And then I think as we'veexpanded over the years, it's
really become, you know, don'tlet anybody in who just who just
has the money, who just has thefranchise free money.
And I think every franchise orgoes through that at some point
(02:34):
where you're reliant on theincome coming in through
franchise sales.
And our goal was to always getto a point where we're okay if
we don't sell any franchises.
And we're okay if we don't sellany franchises, and then that
helps you focus on support andgrow the network internally.
And we're far from the perfectorganization, but I think we've
we've shown that if we supportthe franchisee, pretend them to
(02:56):
what they are, treat them as thecustomer, you know, as much as
we possibly can, then they'regonna be happy and they're gonna
tell more people, you know, andthe brand will expand.
And I think the best example Ican give you, Atlanta, Georgia
was always a struggle market forus.
We could never get any tractionthere.
And then along came twofranchise or two franchisees,
they were just terrific.
(03:17):
They just came in, they builttheir businesses up, executed
the model, they did great.
They got off to two of ourfastest starts ever, any of our
new franchisees.
And then three years later,we've got 15 franchisees in the
greater Atlanta area, and itjust shows that success is kind
of great success.
And we didn't advertise anydifferently in Atlanta or
Georgia, but you just you meetreferral partners and through
(03:40):
our auctions and all thosethings, people just start to
hear about you.
So it is that if you do theright thing and get strong
franchisees, you'll you'll groworganically at a really good
pace.
Tom DuFore (03:50):
Our next guest is Mike Andes, who's the founder of
Augusta Landscape and was ourfive-year anniversary episode at
episode 262.
And he had some very uniquethings that he does and a
different approach tofranchising.
SPEAKER_09 (04:05):
Our franchise, the give back program, for example,
where they get the franchisefeedback, basically after five
years, they can roll thatinitial fee into another
location, or they can wait tillthe end of their term, 10 years,
and just get the cash back, likeliterally a check back to them.
And they just have to followthree systems pay for
performance, they have to wraptheir trucks correctly, and they
have to do open book managementwith their team to be able to
share the numbers with theirteam.
(04:25):
As long as they do those threethings, they'll get the money
back.
That being said, there's peoplewho quit, there's people who
give up, there's people who selltheir business, and they're not
gonna get that money back.
And so I my incentive in thiscase is to keep them in business
because they're gonna get,they're paying a flat monthly
fee of$1,600.
So like I just need to keep themin business.
That's my objective.
Whereas when when there's aroyalty structure in place, I
(04:46):
find that the franchise or hasperverse incentive to inflate
top-line revenue.
So encourage people to spendoverspend on marketing,
overspend on salespeople,overspend on a lot of aspects
because they're just trying toinflate top line revenue.
They don't care about the bottomline profit.
And so another thing that I likeI was really adamant about too
is like allowing people to leavethe franchise at any time with
their customers for no penalty.
(05:07):
And no one does that.
And I understand why, becauseit's like it's freaky.
But bottom line is like itforces us as a franchise or to
constantly improve the systems,constantly offer more value,
constantly offer more trainingand support and serving the the
owners.
And so that is it's not easy.
It's very difficult to run asystem where people can leave at
any time and take their businesselsewhere, especially in a low
barrier to entry market likelawn care.
(05:30):
But it keeps us honest.
And ultimately building afranchise, I think the number
one thing that keeps thisindustry really held back is we
build businesses and franchiseor build business, the business
in a way to sell it to privateequity or a five, maybe a
10-year term.
But if you were building thatbusiness over the course of 100
years, if you were actuallyasking yourself, what does this
business look like in a hundredyears?
You would structure itdifferently.
(05:51):
You'd go slower, you wouldlisten a lot more, you'd think
about the owners a lot more,you'd think about their the
brand reputation in 20 or 30years from now.
And that's really why I think somany franchisors fail, why so
many don't get to 100 locations,and that the vast majority of
them will never becomeprofitable because you usually
have to get over 100 locationsto become profitable.
And I really hate the fact thatthe franchise or world gets such
(06:12):
a bad rap when I thinkfranchising is a beautiful thing
in terms of following systems,having support, having back end,
the ability to be able to usecommon practices, used across
hundreds of locations, and thenjust follow the system and avoid
all the pitfalls.
I love it.
But there are so many bad actorswhen it comes to franchisors.
There are so many people thatjust think they can franchise
their system.
They don't support theirfranchisees, they take a royalty
off the top without giving thesupport required to actually be
(06:35):
successful, and it gives a badrap to the industry,
unfortunately.
Tom DuFore (06:38):
Our next guest is David Berg, the CEO and
co-founder of Redirect Health,and he shares with us how
joining up with experiencedprofessionals to help him along
the way has made a difference.
Dr. David Berg (06:51):
Well, this is a franchise show, and uh it seems
like we talked very little aboutfranchise.
So, you know, when I thoughtabout this before, I was like,
okay, what's the main, like amain lesson or message or
something I want to leave withthe audience?
We haven't even come close totalking about it, which is which
is interesting to me because I II had this preconceived notion
that we're gonna talk aboutfranchising, of which I know
(07:12):
very little about.
So I had a little anxiety aboutthat.
I'm going, I am the last personto say there it have any kind of
expertise on franchising.
You know, you got me started inthis.
I had this idea and I came toyou to learn a little bit about
franchise.
And when we started, Tom, Ithought you were gonna teach me
everything I need to know aboutfranchise in about three hours,
maybe three days, maybe 30 days,maybe three months, and then I
(07:34):
would be able to go run with it.
And what I learned very quickly,you got me there fast, is the
people who do this, they've got20 years of experience.
Just like I've got 20, 30 yearsof experience, 40 years now.
I started working at a mentalhospital when I was uh 18, 19
years old.
So that's how far back inhealthcare I go.
But but you made me realize fastthat this is a different
(07:55):
discipline.
This whole the franchisebusiness is different.
And that is why I went out and Igot Matt Hill and I talked to
him about what I want to do.
And there's a little bit of catand mouse where he's trying to
avoid me a little bit, and I'mtrying to like get him in.
And it's it's we got about ayear, and he's like, okay, I get
it.
Let's do it let's do this.
And then he brought in JesseCurry, who had very instrumental
(08:16):
in massage envy's success.
And then uh we got Pete, who Ithink you know, a bunch of
different brands too.
So I've seen Matt, Jesse, andPete with so much franchise
knowledge.
It was even, I realize now howsilly it was when I came to you
and said, teach me aboutfranchises.
I want to be a franchiser.
Like I want to build a franchiseon our platform.
(08:36):
I realize now how silly it was.
If there is a lesson there forsomebody who might want a
franchise, is you can do ityourself, I'm sure.
That might be the slow boat.
There is a faster boat, which isgo partner with somebody who has
already done it, had thesuccesses, understands the
nuances, can make the pivots.
Tom DuFore (08:53):
Our next guest is Robin Gagnon from episode 270,
and she's the CEO of We SellRestaurants, and she shares with
us some insights about franchiseresales.
SPEAKER_08 (09:04):
Tom, so many brands don't really think about
franchise resales as a strategy,a strategic move for the future.
And so what's happening rightnow, demographically across
America, is that we'reundergoing what's known as the
silver tsunami.
I don't know if you've heardthat language, but 10,000 baby
(09:25):
boomers every single day areturning 65.
And so then they look at, well,who am who is going to take over
my business?
What is my succession plan?
And often they look to family,but young children, well,
they're not even young anymore,right?
So the children of baby boomersare often Gen X or even
millennials, and they're highlyeducated and honestly off in
(09:48):
their own space.
And so when mom or dad says,hey, take over the restaurant,
they're like, oh no, not somuch, right?
So that leaves this franchiseowner in a position where
they're trying to figure outwho's going to take over.
Can I maximize value?
And sometimes franchise ownersdon't even realize that there is
residual value, that thebusiness that they think, oh,
(10:10):
I've I paid it off.
It's making me some money, butthe lease is over and the
franchise is over.
Maybe I should just, you know,shut down.
And meanwhile, so that's thefranchisee layer.
On the other side, we have thefranchise or and the franchise
or is, you know, shoveling moneyout the door with friend dev and
bringing these new franchiseesin.
But those franchisees that thosewould-be franchisees live in a
(10:33):
different pool than the ones whowant a resale, right?
We don't cross over thoseworlds.
We don't do anything with newfranchise development.
And we feel like it's absolutelya different customer.
That customer who wants aresale, they want something open
and operating.
They maybe won't have thecourage or sometimes the capital
(10:53):
to start from the ground up.
And so they come to us and theywant something that's been open,
that has cash flow, it's on thebooks, and we can have different
sorts of conversations.
Then they might buy anotherdevelopment right, but they want
to take over something that'salready operating.
And so I really talk tofranchisors and franchise
communities about net restaurantgrowth.
(11:16):
Be sure that as you are bringingnew units in, you're not
ignoring the signs thatsuccession planning may not be
taking place.
Because, you know, that itemseven on your FDD is going to
show the ones that are coming inand the ones that are going out.
And you want to make, or excuseme, your item 20, you want to
make sure that there's a balancethere.
(11:36):
You don't want to havesubtractions outnumber your
additions.
And that's powerful and easy todo when you have a partner like
We Sell Restaurants, where wespecialize in keeping those
doors open, bringing new andexcited franchisees in to take
over existing locations.
Tom DuFore (11:52):
Our next episode was episode 272 with Keenan Fisher,
the CEO of Tommy Gunn's barbershop.
That's great advice.
And, you know, actually, asyou're you're describing that,
I'm reading the sign behind you.
So someone may not see the videoof this, but over your shoulder,
it says what you want now versuswhat you want most.
So talk about that a little bit.
SPEAKER_00 (12:15):
Well, the cool thing about that is I believe that
wholeheartedly.
And I I used to tell my kids allthe time, I say, you either pay
now or pay later, but you'regonna pay.
So what do you want to do?
Do you want to put in the worknow for what you where you want
to be or you know, not be whereyou want to be later and pay for
it?
I came into my office one dayand my daughter was on a step
stool with some markers, and sheactually wrote that on there.
(12:37):
So which was which was great.
And I'm like, ah, you nailed it.
I'm never taking that down.
So that was like two years ago,and it stuck.
But it but I'm a big believer inthat, right?
Like nothing's built in a day.
Like there's there's very fewovernight successes, and it it's
built with consistency and doingthings the right way and
surrounding yourself with greatpeople and putting in the work.
(12:58):
Uh, there's very few successfulentrepreneurs that I know that
say, oh yeah, I was easy all thetime, and I never had
sacrificed, and all thosethings.
So, you know, it's embracingthat.
You know, I was talking to um afriend of mine who's also in
business, and we were talkingabout the early days where
you're you're really grinding,right?
And it feels like a grind.
I feel like, you know, we'restill grinding some, you know,
(13:18):
most of the time now, too,because we love it so much.
But that's some of the most funyou have too.
And you talk to entrepreneurs,their best stories are when they
were just like all in 24-7, justdoing everything they can barely
to barely make it work.
So having a, you know, embracingthat and focusing on like what
your actual end goal is and viewit as a positive, I think is a
is a great approach to business.
Tom DuFore (13:40):
Our next guest is from episode 275 with Kristen
Densner with Tierra and Cantata.
SPEAKER_07 (13:48):
I would say one of the biggest lessons I've learned
or misses, uh, and there's areally great quote that I love.
Uh, it's don't cling to amistake just because you spent a
lot of time making it.
I think in particular with likehiring, you know, you have
someone that I think a lot oftimes people move very slowly on
(14:10):
hiring changes, and you don'trealize the impact that that has
on not just your brand, but alsothe team.
And I think, you know, in theearlier years, I definitely made
mistakes around that that, youknow, I would have, I would
have, I wish I had that quotethen that would remind me of
that.
Tom DuFore (14:27):
Oh, that quote's amazing.
I am going to be writing thatdown in post-production to set
right next to my desk.
I love, love that quote.
It's so succinct and specific.
Well, let's look at the otherside.
Have you had a a make or two ahighlight that you'd like to
share with us?
SPEAKER_07 (14:43):
One is personal, one is more business.
So personal, as a as a you know,young teenage girl, I would read
Entrepreneur Inc.
magazine, you know, and I wouldread about all the businesses.
And a few years ago, Inc.
named me as one of the top 100female founders.
And being like named that frommy like childhood kind of fan
(15:06):
magazine just was really cool.
It meant a lot.
And then the other moment thatstands out a ton is a family
shared in a review, a publicreview of us, that their child
translated for them when theytraveled to Central America.
And just seeing like that sortof impact that you're having,
where literally a five-year-oldwas translating for their family
(15:28):
while they traveled, it's justreally cool to like see the
difference you're making topeople's lives.
Tom DuFore (15:34):
Our next guests are Zach and Tyler Gordon, co-CEOs
of Uptown Cheapskate and Kid toKid Franchises, episode 286.
Tyler Gordon (15:44):
Yeah, I would say, in my mind, there should be a
singular point of focus for anyfranchise or and then for a
prospective franchisee comingin, which is the success of your
franchisees.
If that is your North Star, ifeverything that you do is to
drive performance at yourexisting stores, at the new
stores you're opening,everything else will solve
(16:07):
itself.
Conversely, if your franchiseesare not happy, if they're not
profitable, if they're notexcited about growing with you
into the future, nothing elsematters.
So sure, you could put a lot ofdots on the map, but we've seen
this unfortunately.
It's it's really a travesty inthese situations, just time and
time again, where you'll have afranchise or I would say mess up
(16:27):
the order of operations, whichis one where I define success as
number of dots on the map, howmany locations I have.
Whereas really what matters isagain the individual success of
each of those locations.
And if you get that right,you'll be expanding for years
and decades to come.
And so it's really thatorientation for the franchise or
franchisee success.
(16:48):
And then if you're in afranchisee seat, it's the same
exact thing.
Do you think that thefranchiseur holds that as their
core number one priority?
Do you get that from yourinteractions?
Do you hear that consistentlyreferenced when you speak to
existing franchisees?
That's where I would alwaysorient my time.
Zach Gordon (17:05):
I really do think that that is the North Star
franchisee success.
Uh, maybe the other component Iwould put out there is that
there are no shortcuts, andthat's a cliche.
Clearly, you could apply that toso many different things.
But when it comes to, especiallyif you're an emerging franchise
or setting up systems that arerepeatable, that people from all
different backgrounds anddifferent parts of the country
(17:27):
can follow and be successfulwith, you got to start from
square one and you got to builda really good process.
Then you got to run thatprocess, I don't know, a hundred
times and see where it breaks,where there's variability in the
outcomes, and re-engineer eitherthat piece or something upstream
of that piece of the process,troubleshoot your process over
and over and over and over againuntil you got a process that
(17:50):
just works perfectly.
And at that stage, somethingthat's almost ironic is if you
were to then to evaluate theprocess, it would look very
simple and elegant.
Like, wow, this must have takenfive minutes to come up with.
However, there is a humongousamount of brain damage that goes
into putting together a reallysimple and elegant process that
works.
So there's no there's noshortcuts.
(18:11):
You gotta make sure that everystep of every process that
you're putting into place is notonly something that you can
follow, but that yourfranchisees can follow as well.
Tom DuFore (18:20):
Our next guest is the brand president of Club
Pilates, Tiana Strademan, fromepisode 282.
SPEAKER_01 (18:26):
I think early on, like those come up in those
initial conversations about thebrand, and you can identify
pretty quickly if someone'sgoing to be a right fit, you
know, for this.
And the business opportunityaside, that we really encourage
that this is your responsibilityto bring this to life in your
community.
And community doesn't justhappen when you open your doors.
(18:48):
It's something that has to becreated and a lot of hard work
that goes into that.
And while you yourself might notbe in your studio every day or
that sort of franchisee, that'sfine.
But making sure then you havethe tools and the resources in
the team to really bring that tolife.
I think those real conversationsare important to have up front
(19:08):
and how important it is for usto protect the brand and make
sure that franchisees that comeinto the system are aligned and
excited about that.
And like I mentioned, more ofour newer franchisees are
already members.
So they already are hugebelievers in the brand.
And I love when they come in andthey tell me more about the
brand than sometimes I even knowbecause they're such believers
(19:31):
and really truly love the brand.
So that's really exciting forme.
Tom DuFore (19:36):
What advice might you give to someone that's new
in having franchised theirbusiness as they look to launch
and grow?
SPEAKER_01 (19:42):
Stay true to who you are and your brand, what proof
of concept that you are able tocreate to get to the point that
you are franchising and reallywhat that magic is.
But then really be adaptable andpivot because if you stay so
stuck in the mud, likely thebusiness is going.
Evolved, you know, beyond you,right?
So trying to find that balanceof staying true to what you know
(20:07):
and what your offering is andall those details, but also
being open to feedback from yourfranchisees and learning from
them and the people, boots onthe ground and those early
adopters can really teach you somuch that is critical for you to
continue to scale and reallypartner with them to understand
that and give them the tools andresources to help them be
(20:29):
successful.
Tom DuFore (20:30):
Our final highlight of the top podcasts of 2025 is
Jason Waugh, who's the presidentof Coldwell Banker with over
2,700 global offices andfranchises around the world.
SPEAKER_06 (20:43):
We have this thing internally freedom within a
framework.
And so certainly we want brandconsistency in terms of our
marks and look.
But the people that we partnerwith, they want to be a premium
provider and have a premiumbrand offering.
So we don't get a lot ofinconsistency there.
And I think that's because youknow we've got a profile of the
(21:05):
entrepreneur that we want topartner with.
But you you bring up anexcellent point.
We understand and acknowledgethis is their business.
And we want them to own theirbusiness.
We're in partnership with them.
So our objective is how can wepartner with you to help you
achieve your goals and help youachieve your agents' goals?
(21:27):
And so we focus on growththrough those, you know, years,
but we also want to bring thatrelationship and business
partnership full circle andfocus on succession planning and
focus on succession planningearly, just to prepare for the
what if event, not justretirement, but we want to
create hopefully a financialevent at the end of their
(21:51):
career, but also createcontinuity for the business
asset, continuity for theagents, continuity for the
employees, smooth transitionfrom predecessor to successor in
leadership.
So we look at theserelationships and these
partnerships holistically frombeginning to end.
It's not just sign up, hey,we'll help you grow.
(22:13):
You know, we certainly do that,want to continue to do that, but
we also have the end game inmind because we want continuity
for everybody, but alsohopefully create a good
financial event at the end forthe owner.
But it's, I think for us, it'sjust, I place a premium on
self-awareness.
If I'm ever going to write abook, it's going to be on
self-awareness.
(22:33):
And we're self-aware enough toknow that we're in partnership
with business owners that wantthe freedom and flexibility to
grow their companies in the waythey want to locally for
themselves.
It's so we've got, again, thisfreedom within a framework type
of type of strategy.
Tom DuFore (22:51):
All right.
And so that's the episode.
And our guests today totaledmore than 5,000 franchises
between them, including the ClubPilates brand president with
over 1,400 locations, and JasonWaugh with Caldwell Banker with
over 2,700 locations.
Really, really impressive workand just great bits of
(23:13):
information for them to sharewith us.
And so that's the conclusion toour episode today.
And I just want to wish you andyour families a very, very Merry
Christmas.
And also thank you, dearlistener, for being with us this
year and prior and for what's tocome ahead.
So just grateful for you.
That's the episode today, folks.
(23:33):
So please make sure yousubscribe to the podcast and
give us a review.
And remember, if you or anyoneyou know might be ready to
franchise your business or takeyour franchise company to the
next level, please connect withus at BigSkyFranchise Team.com
to schedule your free, noobligation consultation.
Thanks for tuning in, and welook forward to having you back
next week.
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