Social Geek

Recorded live at IFE 2025 in New York with MFV Expositions!

Special thanks to Dawn Abbamondi and the team at SMB Franchise Advisors for introducing me to so many interesting emerging Franchise brands.

Today, we’re speaking with:

Jon Sieber, Storytime Chess / Chess at Three

Mike Chidester, Chiddy’s Cheesesteak

Kate Pawlowski, DDH

Eddie Fahmy, Doner Haus

Diane, Alvin, and Eric Thomas, New Life Assisted Living

Bret Suffis, Lil’ Athletes

Thanks to Northeast Color, Franzy, Hughes, and Furry Frans.

And save the date for the next franchise show on the calendar: Franchise Expo West in LA September 5 & 6. We would love to have you join us and tell your story on a future podcast.

We’re only as bad as today. We’re always getting better tomorrow.

We kicked off IFE 2025 speaking with one of my favorite franchisors and restauranteurs, Sam Stanovich of Craveworthy Brands. Sam is always up for sharing ideas about new innovations in both the board room and the kitchen at Big Chicken, Taffer’s Tavern, and more.

Next we chat with another Craveworthy Brand leader, Justin Egan of Wing It On who is true “wingnut!”

We were also thrilled to see the return of McDonald’s to the IFE and had a chance to sit down with Edit Dolce to discuss what makes a great McDonald’s operator and the brand’s openness to innovation.

Gabriel Cruz of Honest Art chats about membership models and recurring revenues to help new franchisees become successful early.

FranchiseWire’s Editor-In-Chief Jill Abrahamson shares the hottest trends she’s seeing in franchising and what readers are searching for in 2025.

And we wrap up part up 1 with Dr John Hayes, who is in his 33rd year of presenting “The A to Zs of Buying a Franchising” at IFE, reflects on some of the changes he’s seen and reveals some BIG changes for his plans for the future at the Titus Center

Thanks to Northeast Color, Franzy, Hughes, and Furry Frans.

Special Guest: Sam Stanovich.

It’s the Marketing & Innovation Update for July.

Generative Search or AI Search is shifting the SEO game from getting from a list of results to a single answer to a question.

Steve Buors, CEO and co-founder of ReShift Media is here to answer franchisors’ questions like:

Listen now on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, and more.

Thanks to Citrin Cooperman, Franzy, Hughes, and Thunderly ⚡

Special Guest: Steve Buors.

The Social Geek Marketing & Innovation series rolls on with video help from a pro.

YouTuber Amy Landino of AmyTV is here to help you make better videos.

Amy discusses:

And she shares her proven 5-step formula that will make your videos perform better today.

Subscribe to AmyTV on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/@AmyTV

Thanks to Franzy, Hughes, and Thunderly

https://franzy.com/socialgeek

Special Guest: Amy Landino.

Today: One On One with restaurant expert and entrepreneur Lauren Fernandez of Full Course.

Lauren brings us up to speed on all things food & franchising. We'll discuss restaurant trends and hot topics including labor, digitization, robots, menu trends, Nowstalgia, and consumer behavior.

Thanks to Vendasta, Franzy, Hughes, and Citrin Cooperman

http://vendasta.com/franchise

Special Guest: Lauren Fernandez.

It’s the Marketing and Innovation Update for June, 2025.

Entrepreneur, Podcaster, and now Franchisee Richard Snow shares an update on the IFA Franchise Ascension Initiative.

Today’s show is brought to you by Vendasta, Franzy, Hughes, and Thunderly ⚡

Special Guests: Richard Snow and Sherry McNeil.

Today we’ve got a two-part conversation with Gini Dietrich of Spin Sucks.

First, Gini returns to Social Geek with an update on the PESO model – the relationship of implementing Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned media strategies. She shares stories about:

• Challenges in measuring all media but in different ways

• The effect of AI on the PESO model and what’s next

• Creating good content still matters most for humans, search engines, and AI

Then join us over on the Franchise Freaks podcast for part 2 of our conversation!

Thanks to Vendasta, Franzy, Hughes, and Thunderly ⚡

http://vendasta.com/franchise

Special Guest: Gini Dietrich.

“There are two types of Franchises…”

Jon Taffer joins the podcast to share stats visits to restaurants, the branding behind Taffer’s Tavern, and why it’s a Tavern, NOT just a bar.

Our friends Josh Halpern and Sam Stanovich from Craveworthy Brands also join us for a compelling conversation about how connectivity makes an establish great. Recorded live at the National Restaurant Association Show in Chicago!

Listen now on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, and more.

Thanks to Vendasta, Franzy, Hughes, and Thunderly ⚡

Shout outs to Gregg Majewski, Big Chicken, Shaquille O’Neal, IFA, The IFA World Franchise Show, and Franchise Freaks.

Special Guests: Jon Taffer, Josh Halpern, and Sam Stanovich.

Welcome to Just Jania, the podcast hosted by Jania Bailey and powered by FranNet.

Today Jania welcomes Jason Feifer, Editor in Chief of Entrepreneur Magazine, back to the podcast for conversation about opportunity  management, championing innovation, and the relationship between content & connection.

Bad Bosses.

We’ve all had them and we don’t wanna be them.

Today The Franchise Rock Stars are here to share some horror stories and some advice. Join Ali Kraus, Danielle Wright, Derrick Ableman, Kristen Pechacek, and Scott Greenberg!

For more details on the amazing new certification program Scott mentioned, please visit www.hemsworldwide.com

Thanks to Vendasta, Franzy, Hughes, and Citrin Cooperman

http://vendasta.com/franchise

Special Guests: Ali Kraus, Danielle Wright, Derrick Ableman, and Scott Greenberg.