From A to Franchisee: The Podcast for Smarter Franchise Buying

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Taylor Abbott’s family bought an existing San Antonio print shop in 2009 without knowing a thing about printing, and four years later revenue had slid from $1 million to $600,000. Franchising was their last-ditch move, and it turned the business around. In this episode of From A to Franchisee, Taylor talks about converting a respected independent shop, what he inherited when he later bought an existing franchise location, and why he replaced the entire staff within a year. He also explains how documented systems, leaders promoted from within, and a parent-and-son split between sales and operations took the business from one location to three, with a fourth planned for 2027. If you’re weighing a resale, a ground-up location, or going into business with family, he’s candid about what worked and what he’d choose again.

Show notes

Guest: Taylor Abbott, multi-unit AlphaGraphics franchisee in San Antonio, Texas, who owns and operates three locations with his parents.

What you’ll learn

• Why Taylor’s family chose printing (no weekend work) and how they found the business through a broker
• What went wrong in the years after the purchase, and why they turned to a franchise
• The trade-offs of joining a system: royalties, monthly reporting, and brand standards, against new products and equipment buying power
• What you get on day one from an existing business, and what you inherit with it, including the team and culture
• How Taylor grew by acquiring a location, opening one from scratch, and planning a fourth
• His advice for first-time owners and for families going into business together

Key takeaways

• An existing business brings customers and cash flow, but also the previous owner’s habits and processes.
• Taylor replaced all eight employees at the acquired location within a year because the culture didn’t match.
• Scaling came from process: a documented plan from opening the doors to closing, with KPIs.
• The fourth location’s manager is an employee trained in the company’s system for about three years, not an outside hire.
• Taylor’s advice: if you can buy something already running, it’s far easier than opening from zero.

*While this episode features AlphaGraphics, this is not a sponsored episode. We encourage you to check out this brand and see how their Franchisee Satisfaction Data stacks up!

Resources

• Read: Should You Buy An Existing Franchise?
• Listen: Pros and Cons of Buying An Existing Franchise
• Listen: Employee to Entrepreneur: Taxes, Cash Flow, and the Mindset Shift

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Host: Allison Dudas

Guest: Anneliese Brosch, Director of Client Success, Franchise Business Review

Summary

Childcare and tutoring are among the last things families cut when budgets tighten, and that resilience keeps education franchising on prospective owners' radar. In this episode, Allison Dudas and Anneliese Brosch walk through FBR's 2026 education sector report, drawn from more than 1,700 franchisees across 14 brands. They cover what it takes to get started, why finding the right center director often separates owners who scale from owners who bought themselves a job, how many hours the work demands, and what owners actually earn. Despite the long weeks, 86% say they enjoy the business, and this conversation explains why.

Resources

• FBR's Education Sector Report
• Listen: An Inside Look at a Tutoring Franchise
• List: Top Education Franchises
• Listen: We Ask Franchisees If They're Happy. Here's How
• Read: Why Jobs in Supplemental Education Can Pay Off
• Read: How To Start a Tutoring Center: A Step-By-Step Guide

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Hosts: Allison Dudas & Mariah Morgan, Franchise Business Review

Guest: Aisha "Pinky" Cole Hayes, Founder & CEO of Slutty Vegan

Pinky Cole has lived the full arc of restaurant entrepreneurship, from lines down the block and a $33 million investment to a restructuring that left her without her company for 43 days. She joins Allison Dudas and Mariah Morgan to share how she bought Slutty Vegan back and rebuilt it as a franchise system. She also speaks candidly about the mental toll of that stretch and the people who carried her through it. Along the way, she covers how she chooses franchisees, why she's keeping the system small, and what she'd tell anyone considering the leap into business ownership.

Resources

• Listen: Kona Ice Founder Tony Lamb
• Listen: The Path to Multi-Unit, Multi-Brand Success in Franchising
• Listen: Industry Spotlight on Brick and Mortar Food Franchises
• Read: Chick-fil-A Costs, Pros, and Cons 

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Hosts: Allison Dudas and Mariah Morgan, Franchise Business Review

Coffee, chicken, pizza, and ice cream all made the cut. In this episode, Allison Dudas and Mariah Morgan reveal FBR's Top 25 Food & Beverage Franchises of 2026, ranked by more than 11,000 real franchisees across 52 brands. They dig into the data behind the rankings, what franchisees love, where brands are falling short, and what income actually looks like in this space, before counting down to this year's number one. Get the full list at franchisebusinessreview.com.

Resources

• Top Food and Beverage Franchises of 2026
• Read: Hungry for a Career Change? Satisfy Your Craving for Being a Food Franchise Entrepreneur
• Read: Inside Year One: A Travelin' Tom's Franchisee Tells All
• Listen: Kona Ice Founder Tony Lamb on Building a Franchise Empire
• Listen: Multi-Unit, Multi-Brand Success in Starbucks and Ben & Jerry's

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Host: Michelle Rowan, President, Franchise Business Review
Guest: Paul Kuskowski, IRS Enrolled Agent and Founder of Cobalt Tax Services

Making the leap from employee to franchise owner means more than swapping a paycheck for a P&L — it means rethinking how you find business, manage cash flow, and structure your company from day one. In this episode of From A to Franchisee, host Michelle Rowan sits down with Paul Kluskowski, an IRS enrolled agent and founder of Cobalt Tax Services, who's built his practice around serving Snap-on Tools franchisees and other franchise business owners.

Paul shares how he discovered his niche almost by accident, why entity structure decisions can make or break your first year, and why buying into an existing client base often beats starting from zero. He and Michelle dig into the mindset shift every new owner faces, the real cost of getting comfortable with discomfort, and the one question he wishes more prospective franchisees would ask before signing on the dotted line: what does failure actually cost?

Whether you're weighing your first franchise purchase or already running one, this conversation offers a clear-eyed look at what it really takes to protect — and grow — what you earn.

Resources

• S1E22: The Pros and Cons of Buying an Existing Franchise 
• Should You Buy An Existing Franchise?
• Top Considerations for Transferring a Franchise Business
• What to Expect in Your First Year As a Franchisee — also covers cash flow/budgeting, ties in well with Paul's checkbook-buffer advice
• S1E9: Understanding the Franchise Disclosure Document 
• Local Leader Transforms Wichita Falls Staffing Scene Through Spherion Franchise Ownership 
• Hiring a Franchise Accountant – Is It Worth It? 
• How to Prepare for Franchise Financing Before Making the Leap
• Trends in Franchise Financing

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Which Franchises Can Weather a Downturn? FBR's 2026 Recession-Resistant List

With economic uncertainty on everyone's mind, Michelle Rowan sits down with Allison Dudas to unpack Franchise Business Review's 2026 list of the Top 50 Recession-Resistant Franchises. Built from survey data on nearly 29,000 franchisees across 330 brands, the list highlights companies positioned to hold steady — or even grow — when consumers start tightening their budgets. Michelle and Allison break down the criteria behind the rankings, share standout examples from senior care to mobile food concepts, and count down this year's top 10.

• How FBR defines "recession-resistant" (and why it's different from "recession-proof")
• The five criteria used to build the list, from essential services to investment-to-revenue ratios
• Standout categories: senior care, child education, and B2B outsourcing
• Franchisee satisfaction data comparing this list to FBR's overall benchmark
• The countdown: this year's Top 10 recession-resistant franchises

Resources

• List: Top Recession-Resistant Franchises of 2026
• Listen: Founder of Kona Ice
• Watch: From Teacher to FASTSIGNS Franchisee
• Listen: Conversation with a Mathnasium Franchisee
• Listen: How To Spot a Recession-Resistant Franchise
• Read: What's the Best Recession-Resistant Franchise to Invest In
• Read: Starting a Business In A Recession? 5 Things You Need To Know

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Host: Michelle Rowan, President of Franchise Business Review
Guests; Toni King and Audrey Ryder, Multi-Unit Franchisees from YogaSix

Two elite athletes. One shared love of yoga. Seven studios and counting. On this episode of From A to Franchisee, host Michelle Rowan talks with Audrey Ryder and Toni King about trading a rowing career and a black belt in Taekwondo for life as YogaSix franchise owners.

They walk through how they picked YogaSix over other franchise options, the due diligence process that nearly sent them down a different path (including a tip involving Undercover Boss), and how they've split roles, scaled to multiple states, and leaned on a tight-knit owner network to grow. Plus: what's actually trending in boutique fitness right now, and their honest advice for couples thinking about going into business together.

Topics covered:

• From Olympic-level athletics to franchise ownership
• Vetting a franchise: the due diligence questions that matter most
• Splitting the workload as co-owners
• Scaling from one studio to seven across three states
• What franchisor support should look like for multi-unit owners
• Boutique fitness trends: community, flexibility, and consistency
• Real talk on running a business with your spouse

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Michelle is joined by multi-unit Taco John's franchisee Tamra Kennedy to discuss whether the American Franchise Act is good for franchisees.

Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify | Watch on YouTube

Summary

This episode explores the American Franchise Act and why it matters for franchisees, franchisors, and anyone considering franchise ownership. Tam Kennedy shares her decades of experience in franchising, offering clear insight into the joint employer debate, the importance of franchisee support, and why transparency, trust, and strong brand standards are essential for long-term success.

Resources

• Read: The International Franchise Association offers its support to the American Franchise Act
• Congress: HR 5267 Info And Status

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From a scrappy startup to the top of Franchise Business Review's satisfaction rankings for over a decade, Kona Ice founder Tony Lamb has cracked the code on franchising. He joins Franchise Business Review's founder Eric Stites to break down the real numbers behind mobile franchising and why he still obsesses over franchisee happiness. You won't want to miss this founder-to-founder conversation.

Resources

• The Top 200 Franchises of 2026
• Kona Ice's Franchisee Satisfaction Report
• Travelin' Tom's Franchisee  Satisfaction Report
• Own A Kona Ice
• Own A Travelin' Tom's Coffee Truck
• Who Is Franchise Business Review

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Host: Michelle Rowan, President of Franchise Business Review
Guest: Allison Dudas, Senior Marketing Manager of Franchise Business Review

What makes a franchise truly innovative, and how can you tell before you invest? Michelle and Allison Dudas break down FBR's 50 Most Innovative Franchises of 2026 and reveal the signals that separate forward-thinking brands from the rest. They unpack the data behind the list, including why 96% of franchisees would recommend their brand, why innovation and creativity scores run 41% higher than benchmark, and why trust in franchisor leadership is 27% higher among these standout systems. If you are researching franchise opportunities, especially one with strong technology, support, and room to grow, this episode gives you a sharper way to evaluate what is actually happening behind the brand.You'll discover what innovation really looks like in franchising - from product and service development to operational efficiency, marketing, employee training, flexibility, customer experience, and feedback loops that drive improvement. Michelle and Allison use real examples from several brands to show how innovation shows up in the real world. They also share the questions every prospective franchisee should ask the corporate team and current owners before signing anything: How do they roll out new tech? How do they respond when something fails? How do they use franchisee feedback to improve? Those answers can tell you whether a brand is built to adapt or just built to repeat. Essential listening if you want to buy a franchise that fits your personality, your goals, and your appetite for change - or if you want the confidence to spot a system that will keep evolving with the market.

Resources

• Listen: How To Spot A Recession-Resistant Franchise
• Listen: The American Franchise Act: Is It Good For Franchisees?
• The Most Innovative Franchises of 2026
• Read: Can A Proven System Still Be Innovative?

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