Franchise Canada Chats

In this episode, we talk to CEO Brian Bazely and franchisee Rahul Kumar of Driverseat, a transportation franchise that offers two-fold services as a chauffeur and shuttle provider. Brian and his brother Luke Bazely co-founded Driverseat in 2012, with the goal of doing something good for the community.

Driverseat is in over 400 communities in Alberta, Manitoba, and Ontario, with one location in the US. Rahul owns a location in Calgary which he operates alongside his wife, and he says he was drawn to Driverseat because of their values as a socially responsible franchise.

During this episode, Brian shares:

- How he and his brother support their many franchisees,

- The impact COVID-19 had on business

- Key learnings from this challenging year

Rahul shares:

- His goals for his Driverseat franchise

- His favourite thing about running his own business (including a lot of emotions and learning opportunities!)

- His new Grocery Shop & Drop program that was created to support seniors during the pandemic

In this episode, we feature keynote speaker and author Todd Cohen, who shares strategies for Staying Present and Profitable Working Virtually.

Virtual work is the temporary new normal as a result of COVID-19, and it’s created new challenges for many businesses when it comes to reaching their clients.

In this episode we disscuss:

- Todd's thoughtful ideas for how to stay present and profitable in this unprecedented time.

- Todd's passion for the power of being virtually present to sell ourselves more effectively, and make no mistake: this message is more important than ever, because it’s not your client’s job to remember you.

This episode was adapted from Todd’s Staying Present and Profitable Working Virtually keynote session as part of the Canadian Franchise Association’s Navigating Through Turbulent Times webinar series in early April. You can learn more at cfa.ca.

For more information, you can reach Todd at:

Todd Cohen

215-275-3416

toddcohen.com/book-todd/

In this episode, we feature Erik Therwanger, founder of Think GREAT. Erik draws from his experiences as a U.S. Marine, executive business leader, sales professional, and entrepreneur to help organizations achieve new levels of success.

In this episode we discuss:

- the leadership strategies and techniques necessary to inspire, motivate, and influence teams and co-workers during this difficult time of economic uncertainty.

- strategies to raise expectations, understand techniques to unify culture, discover new ways to communicate dynamically, and more.

This episode was adapted from Erik’s original presentation in late April as part of the Canadian Franchise Association’s Navigating Towards Recovery Webinar series.

In this episode, we talk to multi-unit Subway Canada franchisee Kelly-Anne Pelley, who operates six Subway restaurant locations in Newfoundland & Labrador and 10 more in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia with her husband and daughter.

Kelly-Anne was recently named the Best Franchisee of Canada Gold winner, and travelled to Florence, Italy this past winter for the Best Franchisee of the World global competition. As the Canadian finalist, she participated alongside finalists from other regions, including the United States, Mexico, Brazil, and DACH (Germany, Austria, and Switzerland).

Here, Kelly-Anne gives us a behind-the-scenes look at her whirlwind trip to Italy and her experience participating in this global competition with top franchisees from other parts of the world. She also shares her path to success (spoiler alert: it involved an awful lot of hard work), the secrets to franchising with family, advice for future franchisees, and much more.

Overview of the CFA's Year

COVID-19

COVID-19

Josh Robinson is the Vice President of Licensing & Development at Pearle Vision. Pearle Vision was founded in 1961 by Dr. Stanley Pearle, who began the concept of one-stop, total eye care with the opening of the Pearle Vision Center in Savannah, GA. Pearle Vision now has more than 500 EyeCare Centers located throughout North America.

In this episode we discuss:

-Josh’s past experience as a franchisee in the food sector

-the benefits of franchising with Pearle Vision, including its strong support system

-his advice for those looking to get started in franchising

-and so much more!

Kim Chapman is an Oxford Learning franchisee. With over 35 years as a proven franchise system, Oxford Learning is best known for helping children succeed in their academics.

In this episode we discuss:

- What is a typical day looks like for Kim

- The best thing about Oxford Learning's support system

- What Kim enjoys most about running her own business

- and so much more!

David Buckler is a MaidPro franchisee. MaidPro is a business that prides itself in providing the highest quality cleaning services for homeowners across North America.

In this episode David discusses:

- How his business has evolved since opening a decade ago

- MaidPro’s recruitment process

- What he wasn't prepared for when he first opened his business

- And so much more!