Key Takeaways

Founded in 1975, Melting Pot has offered a unique fondue dining experience for more than 45 years. As the premier fondue restaurant franchise, Melting Pot has 94 restaurants in 31 U.S. states and Canada. Known for offering a variety of fondue cooking styles and unique entrées, Melting Pot’s menu also features cheese fondues, salads, fine wines, spirits and chocolate fondue desserts. Melting Pot is an affiliate of Front Burner Brands, a restaurant management company headquartered in Tampa, Florida. 

Today’s guest is Franchise Growth Strategist, Collin Benyo. He assists potential franchisees in their journey to ownership. Having worked for Melting Pot for almost 15 years, he knows the ins and outs of the day-to-day process and strives to convey the success and wins he obtained to a new chapter of entrepreneurs and business leaders.

[2:10] - Collin shares the story of Melting Pot’s beginning.

[3:32] - Starting out as a dishwasher for Melting Pot is the current CEO of the company.

[4:45] - At the height, Melting Pot had roughly 130 locations. But their growth retracted a bit for a time.

[6:39] - Currently, Melting Pot has 4 corporate locations.

[8:30] - Josh shares his impression of Melting Pot from many years ago.

[10:27] - Melting Pot’s previous reputation was as a fancy dining experience that customers only went to once or twice a year. Their look and feel is different now.

[13:50] - Collin completed his Master’s degree internship at Melting Pot and loved the experience.

[16:09] - What sets Melting Pot apart from other hospitality franchises?

[18:59] - The focus for growth is primarily in the Southeast United States, but franchisees can come from anywhere and usually come as a Melting Pot fan.

[21:54] - The selling point for franchisees is Discovery Day.

[23:09] - An goal for Melting Pot is to partner with hotels and be present as hotel restaurants.

Melting Pot Website

Melting Pot Franchise Site

Pivotal Growth Partners is known for their ability to identify, prepare, and develop emerging brands into best in class growth concepts. Pivotal is deeply engaged in fostering the growth of any brand they engage with, actively contributing insights, systems and processes, expertise, and resources (both human and financial). They bring 40 years of experience in franchise strategy, growth implementation, real estate site selection/acquisition, design/construction management, and best in class market launch and new store opening (NSOs) strategies and techniques to any emerging brand they work with.

Today, Casey Cooley, the President of Pivotal Growth Partners joins me to talk about their expertise in franchise growth and expansion.

[1:48] - Casey shares the start of Pivotal Growth Partners and what the mission has been since its inception.

[3:12] - Emerging brands are franchises with 0-20 locations. They have some systems that have been tested and vetted and have some experience under their belt.

[4:53] - Many business owners are looking to franchise, but growth can be a huge challenge.

[7:08] - One thing that Pivotal Growth Partners guides clients through is the journey of growing pains in building a franchise brand.

[9:42] - A common challenge is founders needing to give up a little bit of control to allow the brand to grow.

[11:59] - Pivotal helps brands with both human and financial resources.

[14:17] - Covid certainly changed the approach in brand growth, but Pivotal came out of it with new strategies to handle unusual variables.

[17:04] - Replicable concepts are the key and are attractive to franchisees and brand growth.

[18:56] - The brands that stick around are the ones with a system that allows an average person to become a franchisee and experience success.

[20:37] - Casey shares some of the upcoming goals for Pivotal Growth Partners as well as some of the emerging brands that he’s excited about.

Pivotal Growth Partners Website

April Porter is a former award-winning, multi-unit franchisee, attorney, and creator of the Infinite FranchiseeSM mentorship program, which teaches franchisees the business intelligence, strategic thinking, leadership skills, and entrepreneur mindset to apply to the franchise model in order to reach a life of SWAG™ - Sanity, Wealth, and Gratitude™. April has been named to the Ten Women of Distinction in Franchising and a Top Influencer in the Global Franchising Industry, hosts the #1 Franchisee Podcast on Apple - The Infinite Franchisee Show - and received the Chairman's Award for Distinguished Service to the Franchising Industry from the AAFD.

[2:08] - April shares her law background as a criminal prosecutor before she made a shift into franchising.

[4:30] - Her entrepreneurial spirit drove her to open a franchise location of something she loved. She wanted more time freedom and control over her income.

[6:50] - April was able to identify the “franchise gap.”

[8:36] - A lot of people franchise in an area they already know how to do, but they don’t know how to run a business.

[10:31] - Just because you like the product or service, doesn’t mean you will like the business.

[13:45] - Business owners who choose to franchise their business model must also know how to train and educate franchisees.

[16:37] - April shares more about her cloning system.

[19:08] - Franchisees need to have a business owner mindset. The franchisor can support but isn’t going to be able to do everything.

[21:41] - A major pitfall for franchisees is knowing the difference between business and personal finances.

[24:41] - Sanity, wealth, and gratitude are the elements that franchisees are in search of.

[26:30] - A common problem is a franchisee’s management of time. 

[28:15] - Josh’s number one piece of advice for prospective franchisees is for them to talk to current franchisees and franchisors already in the business.

[30:12] - What about multiple locations?

Infinite Franchisee Website

The Infinite Franchisee Show on Apple

Ask April Porter Website

The Dog Stop is a dynamic company that is committed to progress. What sets them apart is that they are constantly evolving and improving their standards of quality care. They have assembled an all-star team of experts with over 100 years of collective experience in the pet care industry. The Dog Stop is the first company in the pet care industry to partner with Fear Free, an organization whose mission is to prevent and alleviate fear, anxiety, and stress in pets by educating and inspiring those who care for them.

Jesse founded The Dog Stop in 2009 because he wanted to create a better version of dog care for his community. The business has evolved and changed tremendously, but the core principles remain unchanged: 100% transparency, the best customer service and all services under one roof providing a clean, fun, and safe environment for all dogs. 

Brett Reynolds is the Director and Dog Care and Training at The Dog Stop. He has been working full-time in the pet care industry since 2004 as a professional dog trainer and business manager. After 15 years of managing and owning dog training businesses, he moved into his current role of training and supporting franchisees and their teams on all things pertaining to dog behavior and care.

[2:05] - Jesse shares his background and what led him to found The Dog Stop.

[5:08] - The Dog Stop is the only full service franchise of its kind. It prevents consumers from going to multiple places to meet their needs.

[7:32] - Jesse describes what makes up the services that bring in different percentages of sales.

[9:26] - Brett shares his path onto finding his passion in dog training.

[11:01] - In the beginning, Brett and Jesse piloted various dog training services at The Dog Stop, including a program included with boarding.

[13:55] - The chance of franchisees coming in with training and certifications on providing the services The Dog Stop offers is low. Prospective franchisees go through a process.

[15:50] - The right candidate is open to learning new things and flexible. In this industry, it’s important to be able to shift to Plan B quickly.

[18:34] - Through franchising, they have shifted from owner operator models to more of a semi-absentee owner model.

[21:41] - The Dog Stop has partnered with Fear Free, an organization whose mission is to prevent and alleviate fear and anxiety in pets.

[25:27] - Every franchise has its struggles when launching. Jesse talks about slow and controlled growth and the benefits of having a mentor.

[28:12] - Real estate is important for this business as well and Jesse explains that they have a team of agents that help franchisees find the best place in their community.

[30:40] - From a business administration perspective, The Dog Stop is currently working on implementing more technology to improve the customer experience.

[33:40] - Not all dogs are suitable for a traditional doggy daycare. The Dog Stop has a menu of services and experiences for all personalities.

The Dog Stop Website

The Dog Stop Franchising Site