Franchise Voice

Welcome to Franchise Voice, the podcast from The International Franchise Association.

Sherry McNeil, President and CEO of The Canadian Franchise Association and Alan Catlett, Sr Vice President, Programs and Operations of The IFA, join host Jack Monson to discuss some news and events.

First, Sherry and Alan share the big news of a trilateral agreement signed but The IFA, The CFA, and The Mexican Franchise Association. This agreement will support brand education and research between the three nations.

Next, we’ll share updates on several upcoming events in the US and Canada in Q4 and early 2027 including some big changes to the IFA Annual Convention schedule.

For more details and to see the full events calendars, visit franchise.org and cfa.ca.

This episode is brought you by Method CRM

Special Guests: Alan Catlett and Sherry McNeil.

Michael Layman, Chief Advocacy Officer of The International Franchise Association, is back on The Franchise Voice podcast with host Jack Monson.

Mike shares an update including:

Also, Ryan Zink of Franchise Sidekick joins us to share the latest trends in franchise development!

Register now for the IFA Advocacy Summit:

https://www.franchise.org/2026-ifa-advocacy-summit/

Special Guests: Michael Layman and Ryan Zink.

Franchise Voice host Jack Monson brings interviews with the top leaders in Franchising recorded at the IFA 2026 convention.

The 2026 Ronald E. Harrison Award winners are Omar Simmons and Raynya Simmons. They join the podcast to discuss their vision for making the franchise space bigger and more inclusive with the IFA Ascension Initiative.

Omar and Raynya share how the Ascension Initiative has grown from 17 graduates in 2024 to 45 graduates in 2025! And we’ll discuss how the program will grow over the next few years.

Next, we’ll learn from some of the most influential suppliers in Franchising: Abby Schmidt and Ben Rush of Paychex and Jonathan Hill of Morrow Hill. These subject matter experts share the latest trends in the economics of franchising and small business ownership.

Today’s podcast is sponsored by City Lifestyle.

Special Guests: Abby Schmidt, Ben Rush, Matthew Montoya, Omar Simmons, and Raynya Simmons.

Franchise Voice host Jack Monson brings interviews with the top leaders in Franchising recorded at the IFA 2026 convention.

Emma Dickison is the President & CEO of Home Helpers with a 30 year history in Franchising. She’s this year’s winner of the IFA Women’s Leadership Award and is the new Chair of the IFA Franchisor Forum.

Emma shares her journey to leading Home Helpers, her turning point with the Women’s Franchise Committee, and her mentors along the way. She discusses her intentionality, how the direction of her career has evolved, and her personal leadership style.

Next up, Contact Contact’s Matthew Montoya chats about the recent changes in digital marketing for both Franchisees and Franchise brands. How does a successful system currently balance brand control and local needs? And how are franchisors using AI to help the franchisees improve their local marketing results?

Today’s podcast is sponsored by City Lifestyle.

Special Guests: Emma Dickison and Matthew Montoya.

This episode was recorded live at The International Franchise Association's 2026 Convention in Las Vegas with host Jack Monson.

Catherine Monson, CEO of Propelled Brands and former Chair of the IFA, discusses the increased energy and the evolution at IFA2026. She also shares the latest on the status of The American Franchise Act and the Coalition to Save Local Businesses.

We’ll also chat with Franchise subject matter experts Karen Booze of AnswerConnect and Dan Bedell of Scorpion about how their teams are helping Franchisors and Franchisees with the rapidly changing realities in customer experience and franchise marketing.

Special Guests: Catherine Monson, Dan Bedell, and Karen Booze.

This episode was recorded live at The International Franchise Association's 2026 Convention in Las Vegas with host Jack Monson.

IFA President & CEO Matt Haller discusses the Evolution of The IFA Convention including more networking and more value for new members. he also share upcoming priorities for the Franchise community.

Next, we’ll chat with Franchise subject matter experts Ali Kraus, CMO of Benetrends, and Mark Spencer, CGO of Consumer Fusion, about how they’re helping brands with current industry issues.

Special Guests: Ali Kraus, Mark Spencer, and Matt Haller.

We are wrapping up 2025 on this edition of Franchise Voice with conversations about the current state of Franchising with Tamra Kennedy, multi-unit franchise owner and IFA Board Member, and Michael Layman, IFA’s Chief Advocacy Officer.

Host Jack Monson and guests dive advocacy issues including how changes in regulations have affected franchise owners, including the improvements in the Joint Employer situation, the effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill, and the tremendous momentum of the bi-partisan American Franchise Act.

A special THANK YOU to The International Franchise Association’s Preferred Vendors for your support this year: AnswerConnect, Benetrends, Constant Contact, Consumer Fusion, Morrow Hill, Paychex, and Scorpion.

For more information and contacts mentioned on this episode, please visit franchise.org

Special Guests: Michael Layman and Tamra Kennedy.

It’s the Veteran’s Day edition of Franchise Voice. Guests Wendy Kunz, Director of Veteran Programs at the International Franchise Association and Sean Falk, President and COO of Careertopia and the Chair of IFA’s VetFran, join host Jack Monson.

We’ll dive into:

To get involved, visit vetfran.org

Next up, Brynn Gibbs, CEO of Consumer Fusion, discusses the impact that AI has on your brand’s reputation management.

Reviews play a huge role in AI search results, especially for Franchise systems where the brand’s reputation and each location’s reviews can affect the entire system. Brynn shares tips on keeping your franchisees, teams, and customers knowledgeable in a rapidly changing marketing landscape.

Special Guests: Brynn Gibbs, Sean Falk, and Wendy Kunz.

International Franchise Association President & CEO Matt Haller shares a preview of the IFA Advocacy Summit 2025.

Matt discusses how the changes in DC since last year’s Summit are affecting our agenda on Capitol Hill including a proposed permanent solution to Joint Employer.

We also run down the speakers at the Summit including CNN’s Scott Jennings, entrepreneurship advocate Codie Sanchez, and Senator Roger Marshall.

One of the challenges in the franchise community is complacency; let’s not let up on the momentum we’ve gained and join your peers in Washington, DC September 15 – 17!

Register now!

Today's episdoe is sponsored by ActiveCampaign.

The Franchise Leadership and Development Conference is coming up October 7 - 9 in Atlanta and is presented by Franchise Update Media and The International Franchise Association

This year’s FLDC Chair is Shawn Caric, VP of Franchise Development at Smoothie King. He joins today’s podcast with a preview of one the best annual events in the Franchise Community.

Shawn also shares:

If you haven’t yet registered for FLDC 2025, reserve your spot today and hear compelling speakers like futurist Morris Morrison and many franchise leaders.

Register now at https://www.franchisedevelopmentconference.com/

See you in October!

Today' episdoe is brought to you be Wisetail - please visit https://wisetail.com/franchise-ifa/

Special Guest: Shawn Caric.