Franchise Everything

Paul O’Neill, Director and multi-territory franchise owner with Plumbing Bros, shares his journey from a corporate telco career into the trades sector, building a rapidly expanding plumbing franchise operation across multiple Australian territories.

From scaling teams quickly to strengthening operational systems, Paul highlights how leadership, culture, and strong processes have supported growth while maintaining service standards.

He also discusses the realities of managing multiple regions, recruitment challenges in the trades sector, and why transparency and team alignment are critical when leading a business without coming from a technical background.

Paul wraps up with insights on future expansion, operational optimisation, and the evolving opportunities within service-based franchise industries.

0:00 Introduction

0:16 What Plumbing Bros does and Paul’s role

1:40 Moving from the UK to Australia and corporate telco background

4:08 Discovering Plumbing Bros through relationships

7:16 Brand representation, authenticity, and opportunities

09:01 First impressions of Plumbing Bros growth vision

10:28 Franchise partnership model with real estate integration

13:10 Acquiring multiple territories and rapid expansion

13:28 Operational efficiency and leadership focus today

15:46 Leading trades teams without a plumbing background

19:01 Market differences between Perth and Melbourne

20:38 Recruiting talent and trade industry challenges

22:42 Future outlook for trades and AI disruption

24:27 Growth plans, optimisation, and next phase strategy

26:05 Wrap up

Franchise Recruitment Marketing - Appear on our Podcasts HERE

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Sonny Nguyen, multi-site Sushi Sushi franchise owner in Canberra, shares his journey from studying IT to building a growing food franchise business across multiple locations. 

From his early days working in-store to eventually taking ownership, Sonny talks about the realities of stepping into franchise business ownership and the lessons learned along the way.

Sushi Sushi is a well-known quick-service sushi brand operating across Australia, with Sonny managing several stores alongside food truck operations that service major events and busy public venues.

Sonny also shares insights into catering large-scale events such as tennis tournaments and upcoming major events like Formula 1, as well as his plans to continue expanding opportunities within the franchise network while balancing business growth with family life.

0:00 Introduction

0:40 Sonny’s early journey from IT to food franchising

2:18 Initial challenges — staffing, recruitment & team transition

4:05  Typical day running multiple franchise stores

6:39  Tennis tournament catering experience & event operations 

8:28 Event menu adaptation & customer behaviour insights

10:41 Challenges of food truck logistics & weather impact

12:00  Planning stock, preparation & event forecasting

12:52 Technology, ordering systems & new Sushi Sushi app launch

14:51 Major events — F1 Melbourne opportunity

16:58 Franchise head office support (marketing, HR, systems)

18:38 How Sonny relaxes outside business

19:46 One-word takeaway from franchising: earned

21:02 Wrap up

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Joel Kleber, Chief Marketing Officer of Jim’s Group, shares his journey from law student and paralegal to one of the key voices behind one of Australia’s most recognised franchise brands. 

With more than a decade inside the organisation, Joel offers a rare behind-the-scenes look at how the business has grown and evolved through content, transparency, and strong franchise support.

Jim’s Group is widely known for its home services network, covering hundreds of service categories across multiple divisions. The discussion explores how the brand continues to expand, the systems behind franchise recruitment, and the role content marketing has played in building trust and attracting new franchise partners.

Joel also reflects on leadership, resilience, and personal experiences that shaped his mindset, including his advocacy for mental health awareness within franchising. His perspective highlights how culture, mentorship, and openness can influence both business success and individual growth.

0:00 Introduction

0:53 Joel’s early career journey from law and commerce student to joining Jim’s as a paralegal

3:16 Explanation of the “560 service codes” system and how it expands what franchisees can offer

4:41 Why the old division model changed due to cost barriers and slow growth

7:07 Jim’s “radical transparency” philosophy, putting the full reality online to filter the right candidates in

8:31 The Ask Jim live Q&A concept and its direct impact on franchise enquiries

10:27 Hiring videographers and building a consistent publishing engine

13:34 How the content strategy evolved

15:03 Why many franchisors still hesitate to invest heavily in content creation

17:17 How Joel gets shy franchise partners on camera: switching formats

19:45 Joel’s upbringing including foster care and family mental health challenge

22:55 Relocating to Victoria and the stabilising influence of extended family

30:20 Mentorship from Jim and how trust enabled career growth

34:41 Challenges accessing mental health care during crises

37:50 Mental health initiatives within Jim’s including accessible counselling support

42:27 Wrap up

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Steve Halls, COO of Poolwerx, shares practical insights on what has helped build one of Australia’s most recognisable pool service franchise brands. From strong market positioning and steady long-term growth to the importance of structured support systems, he breaks down the operational foundations that keep franchise partners sustainable and competitive.

There’s also a closer look at how marketing, peer-to-peer collaboration, and community-driven customer acquisition contribute to ongoing expansion.

The conversation highlights how balancing national brand strength with local engagement continues to shape growth across the network while supporting franchise owners at different stages of their business journey.

0:00 Introduction

0:42 Key Thing #1: Market leader & brand recognition

3:39 Key Thing #2: Consistent growth & resilience through economic cycles

7:35 Key Thing #3: Structured franchise support & ongoing business development

9:15 Key Thing #4: Supporting multi-territory franchise owners as their business scales

13:01 Key Thing #4: A scalable “marketing machine on tap”

15:42 Wrap up

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Mitch Gross didn’t come from a plumbing background. He came from Silicon Valley, startups, and senior roles at eBay and still ended up building a multi-territory plumbing business in Sydney with Plumbing Bros.

e walks through the real transition from corporate life into business ownership, why he chose a franchise model, and what it actually took to survive starting a business during COVID. 

He also shares how winning a major government contract helped accelerate growth, what happens when you rely too heavily on one big client, and why diversification across customer segments became critical to the next phase of the business.

You’ll also hear about leadership, delegation, building the right team, and what changes when you move from “doing everything yourself” to running a growing operation across multiple territories.

0:00  Introduction

0:49 What Plumbing Bros does

1:29 Mitch’s background before Plumbing

6:10 The decision to leave corporate and buy a business

8:22 Discovering Plumbing Bros as a Franchise Opportunity

10:40 Running a plumbing business without having a plumbing background

12:32 Starting the business during COVID and survival mode 

13:31 Post-COVID growth and expanding into new territories

16:08 The risk of relying on one big client

17:30 Diversifying into new segments (strata, real estate, commercial)

19:06 What Mitch actually does day-to-day as an owner 

22:01 Maximising contract value vs chasing new customers

23:03 The next 2–3 year plan and growth strategy

25:23 Wrap up

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John Dwyer is the founder of the Institute of Wow and one of Australia’s most well-known marketing strategists, helping businesses build customer databases and generate consistent sales through smart, practical marketing systems.

In this episode of the Franchise Everything Podcast, JD breaks down three sure ways to build a customer database including irresistible offers, Facebook contest strategies that generate red-hot leads, and how to build a community or “club” that turns audiences into long-term customers.

They also discuss why most businesses fail to collect customer data, why databases are more valuable than ads, and how simple systems like contests, clubs, and follow-ups can turn a business from constantly chasing customers into one that builds long-term demand.

0:00 Introduction

1:06 Method #1: Irresistible offers in exchange for data

01:20 Method #2: Facebook contest strategy for red-hot leads

02:18 991 leads in one week from $210 ad spend

3:31 Why most businesses are afraid to try bold marketing ideas

05:02 How landing pages and pre-qualification improve lead quality

5:23 Method #3: Building a community or “club” model

7:45 How the club monetisation and email strategy works

9:32 Why owning your database matters more than social media 

10:45 Why most business owners don’t implement these strategies

14:28 Real-world example: The restaurant with 92,000 customers on file

15:51 Why your database is your most valuable business asset

16:23 Wrap up

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Dor Li is a multi-site, multi-state Sushi Sushi franchise owner who has spent years building his career inside the brand starting as a team member, rising through management, and eventually becoming a franchise owner across multiple states.

In this episode of the Franchise Everything Podcast, Dor shares his full journey from arriving in Australia as an international student, studying commercial cookery, managing company-owned stores, becoming an area manager across WA and Queensland, and finally stepping into franchise ownership in regional Victoria and Western Australia.

We talk about how he transitioned from head office to owning stores, how he builds strong store teams, why staff training is the real key to scaling multiple locations, and what it takes to grow from one store to six — with a seventh on the way.

0:00 Introduction

0:41 Moving from China to Australia as a student

02:20 Learning to cook out of necessity and living independently

03:47 First job at Sushi Sushi and early impressions

5:54 Becoming a store manager in a company-owned store

07:04 Moving to Western Australia as Area Manager

08:25 Rapid expansion and opening multiple stores per month

10:18 Overseeing WA and Queensland operations

11:51 Moving back to Melbourne to lead training and projects

12:44 The decision to become a franchise owner

15:06 COVID, leaving head office, and buying regional stores

16:58 How Dor adds new stores and builds management teams

18:39 What Dor looks for in future store opportunities

19:35 Wrap up

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From 1 July 2026, every Australian business will be required to pay superannuation on the same day as wages  a change known as Payday Super. While it sounds simple on paper, the real impact on cashflow, payroll systems, and compliance could be significant, especially for small businesses and franchisees.

In this episode, Glenn sits down with Jay Westbury, CEO of the Franchise Council of Australia, to unpack what Payday Super actually means, why it’s being introduced, and what business owners should be thinking about right now to avoid being caught out.

They also cover enforcement, the closure of the ATO clearing house, and why both franchisors and franchisees need to start preparing now rather than waiting until mid-2026.

0:00 Introduction

0:49 What is Payday Super and what exactly changes from 1 July 2026

01:55 How Payday Super changes cashflow and payroll mechanics

02:56 Will businesses change pay cycles to cope with the new rules

4:16 Why the government introduced Payday Super and why now

5:54 Will the ATO enforce this aggressively and what penalties could look like

7:23 Why franchisors must start warning and preparing their franchisees now

8:41 Why Payday Super is being overlooked compared to the Franchise Code changes

9:42 What practical steps businesses should start taking right now

10:38 The ATO shutting down its clearing house and what businesses must replace it with

11:34 Why franchisees and franchisors both carry legal risk after the Bakers Delight case

12:32 Wrap up

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Shannon and Jed Stewart are the Regional Master Franchise Owners for Urban Clean on the Gold Coast, but like every franchise partner, their journey started with a single decision to step into business ownership.

Coming from very different backgrounds — Jed from mechanical and operations management, and Shannon from hospitality and venue management — they share how their previous careers shaped the way they now think about systems, people, service quality, and customer experience.

The conversation covers what it’s really like to run a business as a couple, how they moved from considering property investment into buying a business instead, and why they ultimately chose a commercial cleaning franchise over cafes, gyms, and other options they explored.

They also explain how Urban Clean works as a business model, why systems and processes matter more than most new business owners realise, and how franchising can shortcut years of trial-and-error when building a company properly.

0:00 Introduction

0:33 What is Urban Clean

1:53 Buying the business and the first two years in operation

3:52 Jed’s career before commercial cleaning

6:47 Returning to Australia and Jed’s career transition

7:46 Shannon’s background in hospitality and management

10:43 What hospitality taught them about cleaning standards

13:44 How Jed and Shannon met

15:34 Balancing family life and business ownership

18:03 The moment they chose business over property

19:32 How they evaluated business opportunities

23:39 Discovering the commercial cleaning opportunity

26:55 The final decision to commit to Urban Clean

29:14 The 10-Year head start you get from franchising

31:07 The growth plan for the Gold Coast Region

31:58 Wrap up

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Erin Walford is a commercial lawyer who walked away from the corporate path and built something completely different.

After nearly 20 years in franchising, commercial law, IP and retail including senior roles inside large organisations, Erin hit a career pivot that forced her to ask a bigger question: Am I the CEO of my own life? That moment led to the creation of The Station HQ a commercial law firm, business consultancy, and community space designed around people, not just profit.

The Station HQ now operates out of a converted fire station in Brisbane and has become a hub for founders, operators, advisors and fractional professionals who want flexibility, impact, and meaningful work.

0:00 Introduction

0:49 Erin’s background in franchising, legal, and ASX-level businesses

1:49 What is The Station HQ

03:43 Why marketing fundamentals still matter more than shiny AI tools

4:59 The rise of flexible legal work and “portfolio careers”

6:56 Fractional legal roles vs traditional law firm models

8:51 The Station HQ: creating a community-driven workspace inside a fire station

10:55 “Uncommon care”: building community, training & collaboration

12:10 Little Stationers: supporting parents in the legal profession

13:42 Isolation, mental health & pressure in high-performance professions

15:03 Why community, belonging and support matter more than ever

16:26 The 1% rule, personal responsibility & how Erin measures impact

17:01 Wrap up

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