Franchise Empires

By The Wolf, A Workweek FriendBusiness Entrepreneurship Investing Management

Franchise Empires episodes

July 25, 2023 S6 Ep4: How Peter Taunton Built a 9-Figure Franchise (And Why He’s Doing It Again)
Peter Taunton is proud of the work he’s done— and he’s here to boast about his accomplishments, including how he took Snap Fitness from less than 20 locations to 2400+ and how he’s revolutionizing the acai bowl industry with his latest venture, Nautical Bowls.
Peter chats with Wolf about his plans for building the largest acai bowl franchise in the world and why his implicit understanding of consumer behavior within the health and wellness space led to the success of opening over 52 Nautical Bowls locations nationwide.
Plus, find out why Peter believes that experience matters more than anything when it comes to franchise success.

0:00 Intro/Background
6:05 The Snap Fitness Model
12:00 Growing Pains
16:34 Exploring the Food Industry
23:22 Marketing Acai Bowls
28:00 Growing Global

Find Out More About Nautical Bowls:
https://www.nauticalbowls.com

Follow Peter:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/peter_taunton

Are you a future franchise entrepreneur? Find all of the tools you need to launch, operate, and expand your franchise empire with the platform created by The Wolf himself, Krokit.com.

And if you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.

Thank you so much!

Check out The Wolf’s newsletter and YouTube channel.

Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf

Buzz Franchise Brands is a multi-brand franchising company currently operating four service brands: Pool Scouts pool cleaning franchise, Home Clean Heroes residential cleaning franchise, British Swim School swim instruction franchise, and Grand Illuminations outdoor lighting franchise.

Our mission is to enable people to realize their dreams; we encourage you to learn more about us and our brands at BuzzFranchiseBrands.com.
37 min
July 18, 2023 S6 Ep3: The Secret Reason Why College H.U.N.K.S. Became the Largest Moving Company in the US
It may have started as a joke, but after scaling to over 200+ locations with nearly 3000 employees nationwide, College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk & Moving is no laughing matter now.

From its early beginnings as a college startup to owner and co-founder Nick Friedman’s hard lessons in franchising, the Wolf’s gathering all the details on exactly how the business became one of the largest moving and hauling companies in the United States.

Then, Nick gets frank about the eye-opening reality that nothing about franchising is easy and explains exactly how College H.U.N.K.S.’s initial efforts to scale gave them the momentum it needed to hit the $300 million revenue mark.

0:00 Intro/Background
4:25 Scaling and Franchising
13:00 Thing I Wish I Knew
17:15 Long-Term Goals
22:29 Franchising Outlook
27:16 Multi-Location Management
33:00 Growth & Momentum

Learn More About College Hunks Hauling Junk:
https://www.collegehunkshaulingjunk.com

Follow Nick:
Website: https://www.nickfriedman.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/collegehunkshaulingjunk/

Buzz Franchise Brands is a multi-brand franchising company currently operating four service brands: Pool Scouts pool cleaning franchise, Home Clean Heroes residential cleaning franchise, British Swim School swim instruction franchise and Grand Illuminations outdoor lighting franchise.
Our mission is to enable people to realize their dreams; we encourage you to learn more about us and our brands at BuzzFranchiseBrands.com.

Are you a future franchise entrepreneur? Find all of the tools you need to launch, operate, and expand your franchise empire with the platform created by The Wolf himself, Krokit.com.

And if you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.

Thank you so much!

Check out The Wolf’s newsletter and YouTube channel.

Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf

38 min
July 11, 2023 S6 E2: The Founder That’s Disrupting McDonald’s, Burger King, and “Big Food”
Can you name the ingredients in a McDonalds French fry?
We’ll give you a hint— there’s over 15 of them. And if that doesn’t give you pause for thought, we don’t know what will.
Meet the franchise creator who doesn’t think fast food should be an excuse to skimp out on health or ethics— and he’s doing everything within his power to build a better fast food system from the top down.
Jesse Konig, the co-founder of DC’s best burger joint, Swizzler, and the brainchild behind the French fry brand, Spudz, talks to Wolf about the importance of knowing where your food is coming from, the shaky and fragile nature our own food systems due to centralized corporations and meat manufacturers, and all of dirty secrets behind the beef, potato, and seed oil industries that you’re dying to hear..
Learn how Swizzler and Spudz are going to back to the basics through encouraging local, regenerative farming practices and simple, better ingredients.

0:00:00 Intro/Background
0:25:51 The Food Supplier Chain
0:34:23 Ethical Beef
0:57:57 Creating the Perfect French Fry
1:17:00 Spudz Fries
1:32:00 Contact Us

Check Out Swizzler Foods:
https://www.swizzlerfoods.com

Follow Jesse:
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jesse_konig
Email: [email protected]

Buzz Franchise Brands is a multi-brand franchising company currently operating four service brands: Pool Scouts pool cleaning franchise, Home Clean Heroes residential cleaning franchise, British Swim School swim instruction franchise and Grand Illuminations outdoor lighting franchise.
Our mission is to enable people to realize their dreams; we encourage you to learn more about us and our brands at BuzzFranchiseBrands.com.

Are you a future franchise entrepreneur? Find all of the tools you need to launch, operate, and expand your franchise empire with the platform created by The Wolf himself, Krokit.com.

And if you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.

Thank you so much!

Check out The Wolf’s newsletter and YouTube channel.

Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf
1 hr 34 min
July 03, 2023 S6 Ep1: How Buzz Franchise Brands is Building Companies that Get People Talking
With over 25 years of experience building brands, Kevin Wilson knows a thing or two about creating franchises that last.
Kevin stops by the pod to discuss how his decades’ worth of entrepreneurial experience led him to create the multi-brand franchise empire known as Buzz Franchise Brands. From his early experience scaling his startup services company, Mosquito Joe, to over 290+ locations, Kevin explains how it eventually led him to the home services industry— and why he’s found such great success within that subsect.
Kevin also talks with Wolf about why British Swim School grew to become the largest swim school franchise in the nation, along with the origins of his other franchises, including Home Clean Heroes, Grand Illuminations, and Pool Scouts.
Plus, find out how Kevin’s chosen to structure his multi-franchise empire and what he credits as the main reason for Buzz Franchise Brand’s phenomenal success.

0:00 Intro/Background
5:30 Marketing Before the Internet
7:19 Moving to South Africa
12:40 Making Money in Airlines
16:00 Mosquito Joe
23:25 British Swim School
32:06 Buzz Franchise Brands
36:17 Grand Illuminations
39:03 Supporting Growth

Follow Buzz Franchise Brands:
Website: https://buzzfranchisebrands.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buzz-franchise-brands/

Follow Kevin:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinwilsonbfb/

Buzz Franchise Brands is a multi-brand franchising company currently operating four service brands: Pool Scouts pool cleaning franchise, Home Clean Heroes residential cleaning franchise, British Swim School swim instruction franchise and Grand Illuminations outdoor lighting franchise.
Our mission is to enable people to realize their dreams; we encourage you to learn more about us and our brands at BuzzFranchiseBrands.com.
Are you a future franchise entrepreneur? Find all of the tools you need to launch, operate, and expand your franchise empire with the platform created by The Wolf himself, Krokit.com.

And if you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.

Thank you so much!

Check out The Wolf’s newsletter and YouTube channel.

Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf
44 min
June 27, 2023 S5 Ep13: The Fast Food Style Laundry Chain Disrupting the Way We Wash Clothes
Think about it— it’s the weekend, and as much as you want to sit down, relax, and pop open an ice-cold bevvie, you’ve got chores to do. And what’s the one thing you hate doing more than anything?
Yep, you guessed it— laundry and the average American spends up to 36 hours a month doing it too. Dan D’Aquisto is the one man trying to change it all through his revolutionary franchise, 2ULaundry, which delivers the world’s first premium laundry/dry-cleaning pickup and delivery service.
That’s right; we’re talking fresh-folded clothes conveniently delivered straight to your door.
This week, the Wolf sits down with Dan to learn more about how he and his business partner came up with the concept of 2ULaundry, how they managed to raise 2.5 million dollars and scale across 7 major cities, and how their business led them to create a laundromat franchise business of their own, LaundroLab.

0:00 Intro/2ULaundry
4:39 Finding a Co-Founder
8:41 The Journey So Far
25:50 LaundroLab
32:25 2U Laundry vs. LaundroLab
36:50 Future Strategy

Learn more about 2ULaundry:
https://www.2ulaundry.com

Learn more about LaundroLab:
https://www.laundrolabfranchise.com

Follow Dan:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daquisto/

Built by hospitality for hospitality. Empower your employee experience by using Harri to build, manage, engage, and retain your team.
Don’t you think it’s time to utilize a platform designed to elevate your greatest asset— your employees?
Visit Harri.com to learn more.

Are you a future franchise entrepreneur? Find all of the tools you need to launch, operate, and expand your franchise empire with the platform created by The Wolf himself, Krokit.com.

And if you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.

Thank you so much!

Check out The Wolf’s newsletter and YouTube channel.

Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf
45 min
June 20, 2023 S5 Ep12: From Boston Consulting Group To Multi-Unit Pet Franchise Owner
What’s one of the few franchise markets that continues to grow year after year in customer spend? Hint: it’s furry, and it has four legs.
Over 90% of people view their pets as family— meet the one franchise looking to make a splash in the pet health and wellness space.
Jacob Lee, franchisee to Scenthound, chats with the Wolf about why he chose to pursue the pet grooming business and how Scenthound’s membership-based model is redefining the way we think about the traditional pet grooming payment structure.
Then, he and Wolf discuss why franchise location is one of the most critical aspects of franchising and how to narrow down the best sites for your franchise.

0:00 Intro/Background
6:11 Considering Career Paths
10:35 Narrowing Down the Search
15:16 Dogtopia vs. Scent Hound
20:33 Competition
22:48 The Scent Hound Model
29:00 Franchising Lessons

Are you a future franchise entrepreneur? Find all of the tools you need to launch, operate, and expand your franchise empire with the platform created by The Wolf himself, Krokit.com.

Follow Scenthound:
https://franchise.scenthound.com

Follow Jacob:
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Jacoblee295
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-lee-9803a480/
Email: [email protected]

Built by hospitality for hospitality. Empower your employee experience by using Harri to build, manage, engage, and retain your team.

Don’t you think it’s time to utilize a platform designed to elevate your greatest asset— your employees?

Visit Harri.com to learn more.

And if you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.

Thank you so much!

Check out The Wolf’s newsletter and YouTube channel.

Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf

33 min
June 13, 2023 S5 Ep11: The Early Crumbl Franchisee Who’s Now Building Shaq’s Brand
Meet the man who knows a thing or two about franchising: Jace Mattinson.
Having franchised various brands, including Ace Hardware, Crumbl Cookies, and Big Chicken, Jace’s previous career in private equity was a natural segue into the franchising world.
The Wolf sits down to chat with Jace about his early experience franchising with Ace Hardware, as he explains just how different the hardware world is from the fast food industry.
How did he know that Crumbl would be more than just another fad dessert chain? What makes him confident in the longevity of the Crumbl brand, and what’s his experience been like partnering with Shaq to open Big Chicken locations across Texas?
Then, stay tuned as Jace helps to settle the debate over whether Ace Hardware is a coop of a franchise once and for all.
Built by hospitality for hospitality. Empower your employee experience by using Harri to build, manage, engage, and retain your team.

Don’t you think it’s time to utilize a platform designed to elevate your greatest asset— your employees?
Visit Harri.com to learn more.
0:00 Intro/Background
3:00 Getting into Hardware
6:34 The Transition to Crumbl
11:46 The Sustainability of Cookies
17:10 Big Chicken
18:38 Getting Outside of Food
23:46 Franchise Collaboration
26:43 Long-Term Plans
34:16 The Fun in Franchise

Follow Jace:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacemattinson/

If you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.

Thank you so much!

Check out The Wolf’s newsletter and YouTube channel.

Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf

39 min
June 06, 2023 S5 Ep10: Building vs. Operating Franchise Stores, with Alex Yeater
How does being an area representative differ from being a franchise owner?
Everbowl’s area rep, Alex Yeater, chats with the Wolf about the ins and out of working for a franchisor and the life cycle of opening stores as an area rep.
He and Wolf also discuss the lessons he’s learned from opening multiple Everbowl locations and how investing in excellent systems and operations is one of the best things you can do to ensure franchise success.
Plus, don’t miss out on hearing what working with Drew Brees is actually like!

0:00 Early Beginnings
3:40 Working at VerizonONE
7:37 Defining an Area Representative
12:20 Building vs. Operating
14:56 Lessons Learned
17:49 Exploring Other Opportunities
25:44 Learn More About Everbowl

Learn More About Everbowl:
https://www.everbowl.com/acai-bowl-franchise
https://www.everbowl.com

Follow Alex:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexyeater/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yeater.alex/
Built by hospitality for hospitality. Empower your employee experience by using Harri to build, manage, engage, and retain your team.

Don’t you think it’s time to utilize a platform designed to elevate your greatest asset— your employees?

Visit Harri.com to learn more.

If you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.

Thank you so much!

Check out The Wolf’s newsletter.

Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf
27 min
May 30, 2023 S5 Ep9: How Biscuit Belly Took the Boring Out of Breakfast
How do you elevate breakfast food in a novel way that no other franchise is doing?
By taking biscuits to a whole ‘nother level.
Biscuit Belly is a fast-casual franchise taking the boring out of breakfast and making Instagram-worthy foods all across the Southeast.
Owners Chuck Schnatter and Chad Coulter sit down with the Wolf to discuss how they distinguished themselves from franchises like IHOP, Denny’s, and Snooze and what qualities they believe are key to any dining franchise.
Plus, find out how they managed to thrive and survive while opening multiple locations during the pandemic!

0:00 Background
3:22 What Makes a Successful Franchise?
7:15 Why Biscuits?
13:00 Making Food Instagrammable
15:00 Franchising Process
24:32 Takeaways
30:00 Future Plans

Find out more about Biscuit Belly:
https://biscuitbellyfranchise.com
https://biscuitbelly.com

Follow Chad:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-coulter-4663465b
Built by hospitality for hospitality. Empower your employee experience by using Harri to build, manage, engage, and retain your team.
Don’t you think it’s time to utilize a platform designed to elevate your greatest asset— your employees?
Visit Harri.com to learn more.

If you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.
Thank you so much!

Check out The Wolf’s newsletter and YouTube channel.

Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf
38 min
May 23, 2023 S5 Ep8: The Ben & Jerry's Franchisee Who Also Owns...A Starbucks?
How did former math teacher turned franchise developer Antonio McBroom open 14 Ben and Jerry’s locations across South Carolina by himself?
The answer is equal parts hard work and ingenuity.
On this week’s pod, the Wolf finds out how Antonio hustled his way into franchise success by purchasing his own ice cream trailer, opening his stores at 2 am to hungry college kids, and trying just about every other business tactic in between.
Antonio also talks about his latest partnership with Starbucks, in which he’s helping to bring the franchise chain to underserved and diverse communities, empowering minority-owned businesses to contribute to the next phase of his business evolution.
0:00 Background
4:06 Franchise Expansion
8:00 The Catering Hustle
10:30 Partnering with Others
14:55 Starbucks Partnership
22:44 Follow Us

Follow Antonio:
https://www.primopartners.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonio-mcbroom-43858017/
Built by hospitality for hospitality. Empower your employee experience by using Harri to build, manage, engage, and retain your team.
Don’t you think it’s time to utilize a platform designed to elevate your greatest asset— your employees?
Visit Harri.com to learn more.
If you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.
Thank you so much!
Check out The Wolf’s newsletter and YouTube channel.
Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf

28 min

About Franchise Empires

From the publisher's feed

Most startups are doomed to fail. But there’s an alternative route to financial freedom for hungry entrepreneurs. One that involves far less risk, far more work-life balance, and just as much profit. Franchises. Franchise Empires gives aspiring franchise owners the playbook to build a multi-unit franchise empire of their own. Every episode we hear from guests who are building their franchise empire: Franchisees who started with one unit and aren’t stopping until they get to dozens, hundreds, or even thousands more locations. Hosted by The Wolf, you’ll hear exactly how to turn your ambition into tangible actions and take your first steps up the franchise ladder. We’ll break down the steps you need to take open your first franchise, your second location and beyond, along with the many pitfalls to avoid. Wolf answers all your questions about owning and running your franchise, and interviews guests with first hand experience like Greg Flynn, the multi-billion dollar restaurant franchisee, Jamie Weeks, the largest OrangeTheory franchisee in the world who’s launching his own fitness franchise SweatHouz, and Jason McGowan, Co-founder and CEO of Crumbl cookies. Want to get started on your franchise owning journey? Tune in every Tuesday for a new episode. Make sure to subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.