The Franchise Leaders Forum Podcast

What happens when you scale a business before you've actually solved the problems hiding inside it?

Scenthound Co-founder and CEO Tim Vogel didn't rush into franchising. After starting with a single mobile grooming van, he spent years testing different models, solving staffing challenges and figuring out what could actually be repeated at scale. One of his biggest breakthroughs came when he realized the bottleneck in traditional grooming wasn't something he needed to work around, it was something he could remove entirely. That shift helped turn Scenthound from a local pet care business into a national franchise with more than 170 locations and roughly 200 more in development. 

In this episode, Tim shares why simplicity is at the heart of scalability, what years of experimentation taught him about knowing when a business is ready to grow and what years of experimentation taught him about knowing when a business is ready to grow and why scaling means scaling the problems right along with what's working. He also breaks down how Scenthound uses daily huddles to keep its mission and values alive across a rapidly growing organization, why its career path naturally fuels multi-unit growth and how his own role has evolved from wearing every hat to becoming what he calls the "tuning fork" for the organization.

Tim also gets candid about building Scenthound alongside his wife and co-founder Jessica, bringing on an investment partner when the company needed competency more than capital and why new franchise owners need to understand their business from the ground up before they ever expect it to run without them.

Connect with Tim:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/timvogel/

Website: https://www.scenthound.com/

Franchising: https://scenthoundfranchising.com/

Daily Huddle Sheet:

Why we do a daily huddle?

It’s simple: to connect and align as a badass winning team.

Structure of huddle:

The Scenthound daily huddle agenda

1. Recite the Scenthound North Star and describe its meaning to you or read a customer review.
2. What you did yesterday to move a rock forward.
   
3. What am I going to do today to move a rock forward.
   
4. Where are you stuck? Who do you need to be in communication with? Any area where you are experiencing struggle and effort (Goal- Identify where you need support)
   
5. One thing for which you are grateful.
6. Values shout out! Acknowledge someone on the team including yourself for exemplifying a Scenthound value.

Why we recite and describe the Scenthound North Star? This is our what and our why. Whoever recites and describes it, needs to really generate it and we all need to listen intently. Inspire us and give us a reason to show up today. It can be a story about how we helped a dog live a little better. It can be a great customer review. It can be about how a dog impacted someone’s life in a positive way. Pick something that means something to you personally. If you find yourself going “blah, blah, blah” either telling it or listening to it, that’s a clue that you aren’t present. No worries. It happens to the best of us. Just get present again and take it on. The way you show up on the huddle is for you and everyone on the team so show up as an A Player.

The huddle is meant to me succinct therefore it takes prep. No BABBLING. If you aren’t spending a minute or two preparing for the huddle you are showing up as a B player at best. Prepare. It literally takes :30 seconds to a couple of minutes.

1. What you did yesterday to move a rock forward. – This is not a recap of your day this is about completing the Rocks. Use this to share a win about how you are making big things happen. We want to hear these things.
   
2. What am I going to do today to move a rock forward. Again. FOCUS - not your list of to-dos for the day. What’s the thing that’s going to have the biggest impact? If you were able to only do one thing today, what would it be?
3. Where are you stuck? Who do you need to be in communication with? Any area where you are experiencing struggle and effort (Goal- Identify where you need support). Be honest here. Dig deep.
4. Share something you are grateful for - Anything/everything you want to share. We want to hear it.
   
5. Values Shout Out! Catch someone living the Scenthound values. If you don’t know the Scenthound values, learn them. BE THEM!
   
   
   

Episode Highlights:

• Tim's leap from corporate operations to mobile dog grooming
• Solving the staffing problem that was limiting growth
• Turning a business bottleneck into a competitive advantage
• Creating a new category around routine dog hygiene and wellness
• Why Scenthound spent years testing its model before franchising
• What happens when you scale problems along with success
• Why simplicity and repeatability are essential for scalability
• Using daily huddles to create alignment and reinforce culture
• How career development drives Scenthound's multi-unit growth
• How Tim's role as CEO has evolved as the company has scaled
• Building a business with your spouse and staying in your lane
• Why Scenthound brought on an investment partner
• Tim's advice for first-time franchise owners

Connect with Tracy

Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-panase/

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

JBF Franchise System - https://jbfsalefranchise.com/

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Shannon

Personal LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonwilburn/       

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

Website - https://shineexecutivecoaching.com/

Email - [email protected]

Franchise growth isn’t sustainable if your franchisees don’t trust the people leading it.

As a franchise grows, maintaining that trust becomes more complicated. Leaders have to navigate difficult feedback, changing expectations and sometimes major transitions without losing the confidence of the franchise owners they’re asking to grow alongside them.

In this episode, Kim Gubera shares how listening to franchisees, following through on promises and consistently communicating have helped strengthen trust across the PIRTEK system. She also takes us behind the scenes of leading franchisees through a major ownership transition, why strong culture matters for sustainable growth and what she believes really makes a successful franchise owner.

Kim brings more than 20 years of franchising experience to her role as President and CEO of PIRTEK USA. She joined PIRTEK in 2016 and stepped into the CEO role in 2019. Under her leadership, PIRTEK has grown its unit count by more than 92% in the past five years while building a culture centered on mutual trust and respect. 

Connect with Kim: 

PIRTEK USA: https://www.pirtekusa.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-gubera-12850513/

Resources:

A CEO Only Does Three Things by Trey Taylor

Episode Highlights:

• Kim’s path from accounting and finance to franchise CEO
• The role mentorship played in her franchise career
• Leading a technical franchise without being the technical expert
• What really makes a successful franchise owner
• Using franchisee feedback to strengthen culture
• Building mutual trust and respect with franchisees
• Why following through on promises matters
• Maintaining franchisee confidence through an ownership transition
• Why culture is essential for sustainable franchise growth
• Women succeeding in a traditionally male-dominated industry 

Connect with Tracy

Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-panase/

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

JBF Franchise System - https://jbfsalefranchise.com/

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Shannon

Personal LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonwilburn/       

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

Website - https://shineexecutivecoaching.com/

Email - [email protected]

Growth doesn't automatically make a franchise stronger. What you build behind that growth does.

After more than two decades in franchising, Meg Roberts has seen what it takes to grow brands at every stage. Today, as CEO of Head to Toe Brands, she leads a multi-brand beauty platform with more than 200 locations.

In this episode, Meg shares why strong franchisee relationships, the right support systems, and a team you can trust become even more important as a brand grows. She also gets candid about the realities emerging franchisors often underestimate, from the time and capital required to scale to the increasing demands placed on leadership.

Meg also takes us behind the scenes of multi-brand growth and explains why adding brands only works when franchisees can see and feel the value. Sustainable franchise growth isn't just about adding more locations. It's about building an organization that can support them.

Connect with Meg:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/megroberts73/

Email: [email protected]

Head to Toes: https://httbrands.com/

Resources:

Know Your Value by Mika Brzezinski 

How Radical Transparency Turned a Franchise Around w/ Dustin Hansen -  https://www.buzzsprout.com/2369319/episodes/16165725-how-radical-transparency-turned-a-franchise-around-w-dustin-hansen

Episode Highlights:

• Building a franchise that gets stronger as it grows
• Why people and relationships drive franchise success
• Creating the right balance between franchisee input and leadership
• When and how to establish a franchise advisory council
• The realities emerging franchisors often underestimate
• Building a team that can support franchise growth
• Scaling from a single brand to a multi-brand platform
• Delivering real value as a franchise organization grows
• Leading with confidence through growth and change

Connect with Tracy

Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-panase/

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

JBF Franchise System - https://jbfsalefranchise.com/

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Shannon

Personal LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonwilburn/       

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

Website - https://shineexecutivecoaching.com/

Email - [email protected]

Growing a franchise quickly is one thing. Leading it through that growth is another. 

Doug Flaig knows what rapid franchise growth looks like. As CEO of Stratus Clean, he has helped lead the brand through record-breaking expansion, growing to more than 5,000 unit franchisees and earning recognition as Entrepreneur’s fastest-growing franchise for four consecutive years. But as Doug shares in this episode, scaling a franchise successfully takes much more than selling more units.

Doug joins Tracy and Shannon to talk about the franchise leadership behind that growth, from choosing the right franchisees and building scalable systems to strengthening communication and supporting franchisee success. He also shares why great franchise leaders need to lead through influence rather than authority, how Stratus knows when it’s time to tap the brakes on growth, and the lessons more than 30 years in franchising have taught him about building a strong franchise system. 

Connect with Doug:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dougflaig/

Website: https://www.stratusclean.com/

Resource:

Leadership and Self-Deception - The Arbinger Institute

Episode Highlights:

• Leading through rapid franchise growth
• Why influence matters in franchise leadership
• The Stratus Clean three-tier franchise model
• Choosing the right franchisees for your system
• Sales training and technology at scale
• Building systems that support franchise growth
• Communication and transparency with franchisees
• Knowing when to slow down growth
• Peer-to-peer learning and franchisee mentorship
• The importance of mentorship in franchising

Connect with Tracy

Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-panase/

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

JBF Franchise System - https://jbfsalefranchise.com/

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Shannon

Personal LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonwilburn/       

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

Website - https://shineexecutivecoaching.com/

Email - [email protected]

You can have money in the bank and still have no idea whether your franchise is actually profitable.

For many franchise owners, financial literacy isn't something they learned before going into business or during onboarding. They may know their revenue, watch their bank balance, and have a bookkeeper handling the numbers, but that doesn't necessarily mean they understand what their P&L is telling them or how to use that information to spot problems early instead of reacting after it's too late. 

In this episode, leading financial educator and Certified Franchise Executive, and creator of the Profitability Playbook, Rod Bristol shares what he's learned from decades of helping franchise owners understand the numbers behind their businesses. Rod explains why making money doesn't always mean your business is profitable, the four ways every business can improve profitability, and why understanding concepts like break-even and contribution margin, alongside healthy cash flow management, can completely change the way an owner operates their business.

Rod also shares why financial education should begin during franchisee onboarding, what franchisors can learn by looking closely at unit-level profitability, and the simple monthly habit he sees among the most profitable business owners. You'll also hear the story of franchisees who went from struggling with profitability to operating five million-dollar locations, and why Rod believes understanding your numbers gives you the ability to make better decisions, grow intentionally, and build a more valuable business.

Connect with Rod:

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rod-bristol-cfe-a72167163/

Text/Call: 206-742-3443

Rod’s Book Recommendations:

The Martian by Andy Weir

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Episode Highlights:

• Why revenue doesn't always equal profitability
• Understanding your P&L and financial statements
• Why financial literacy should start during onboarding
• The importance of franchisee unit economics
• When poor profitability signals a broken franchise model
• The four ways to improve profitability
• Using break-even and contribution margin to make decisions
• Why franchisors need to focus beyond the top line
• The monthly financial habit of profitable owners
• Making proactive decisions before financial problems grow 

Resources:

Leadership Lessons from Jo Kirchner on Perfection, Progress & Community - https://www.buzzsprout.com/2369319/episodes/15909664-leadership-lessons-from-jo-kirchner-on-perfection-progress-and-community

Leading with Passion, Purpose & Loyalty w/ Paul Pickett - https://www.buzzsprout.com/2369319/episodes/17267486-leading-with-passion-purpose-loyalty-w-paul-pickett         

Connect with Tracy

Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-panase/

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

JBF Franchise System - https://jbfsalefranchise.com/

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Shannon

Personal LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonwilburn/       

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

Website - https://shineexecutivecoaching.com/

Email - [email protected]

What separates the highest-performing franchisees from everyone else? Barb Moran believes it starts with something many leaders don't measure closely enough: franchisee engagement. 

Many franchisors focus on growing their systems, but long-term success depends on something far less obvious: building franchisees who are fully engaged in the business and invested in the success of the entire brand. In this episode, Barb Moran, CEO of Moran Family of Brands, shares why engagement has become one of the strongest predictors of profitability inside her organization and how intentionally building the right culture helps franchisees embrace change, collaborate with one another, and build stronger businesses.

Barb also reflects on her journey from being told she would never lead her family's company because she was a woman to ultimately becoming CEO and expanding the business into Canada. Along the way, she shares practical lessons on succession planning, building core values that shape everyday decisions, creating meaningful collaboration between franchisees, and helping owners become active contributors to the success of the entire system.

Whether you're launching a franchise brand or leading an established system, this conversation offers practical strategies for building stronger franchise relationships, increasing engagement, and creating sustainable, long-term growth.

Connect with Barb:

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://moranfamilyofbrands.com/

Episode Highlights:

• Why franchisee engagement drives profitability
• Measuring franchisee engagement and accountability
• Building a franchise culture around the DRIVE core values
• Creating collaboration through peer groups and town halls
• Growing up in the family business and becoming CEO
• Buying the family business and navigating succession
• Embracing AI and technology as opportunities for growth
• Expanding Moran Family of Brands into Canada
• Preserving culture during acquisitions and growth
• Leadership advice for both franchisors and franchisees

Connect with Tracy

Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-panase/

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

JBF Franchise System - https://jbfsalefranchise.com/

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Shannon

Personal LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonwilburn/       

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

Website - https://shineexecutivecoaching.com/

Email - [email protected]

Every franchisor dreams of selling more territories. Few stop to ask whether they're building a franchise system their franchisees can actually succeed in.

Every emerging franchisor wants to grow their brand, expand into new markets, and welcome new franchisees. But growth without the right systems, support, and profitability can create problems that are much harder to fix later.

In this episode, Amrit Dhaliwal shares why he's intentionally choosing slower, more sustainable growth while building a rapidly growing home care franchise brand in the UK. After starting as a franchisee with no industry experience, he learned firsthand how mentorship, strong systems, and putting franchisees first can make all the difference.

You'll also hear why franchisee profitability should come before franchise growth, how a learner's mindset has shaped his leadership, and why the strongest franchise brands measure success by the impact they create, not simply the number of locations they open.

Amrit Dhaliwal is CEO and founder of Walfinch, one of the UK’s fastest-growing home care franchise networks with 30+ territories nationwide. A former franchisee turned franchisor, he’s the author of Time to Thrive: The Home Care Revolution and host of the Walking With Walfinch podcast. Amrit has been named in the Social Care Top 30 and recognised as Emerging Franchisor of the Year.

So, if you're ready to build a stronger franchise by putting franchisee success before franchise growth, this episode is for you.

Connect with Amrit: 

Franchise opportunities: https://walfinchfranchising.com
Home care services: https://walfinch.com
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/amrit-dhaliwal-a436445b

Episode Highlights:

• Why franchisee success should come before franchise growth
• Building a sustainable franchise through intentional growth
• Lessons learned from becoming a franchisee with no industry experience
• How mentorship shaped Amrit's leadership journey
• Measuring franchise success by impact, not unit count 
• Why curiosity and continuous learning make better franchise leaders
• Balancing entrepreneurship, family, and long-term success
• The power of putting people before profits

Connect with Tracy

Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-panase/

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

JBF Franchise System - https://jbfsalefranchise.com/

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Shannon

Personal LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonwilburn/       

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

Website - https://shineexecutivecoaching.com/

Email - [email protected]

What happens when your franchise grows faster than the systems designed to support it?

Many brands dream about expansion, but growth creates a new challenge: maintaining the consistency, culture, and customer experience that made people fall in love with the brand in the first place. As locations multiply, leaders must find ways to support franchisees, protect the brand, and adapt to changing customer expectations without losing what made the business successful.

In this episode, Goldfish Swim School Chief Marketing Officer Shana Krisan shares what she's learned helping grow the brand from just 12 locations to more than 200 across the United States and Canada. She explains how strong systems, clear brand standards, local marketing support, and franchisee collaboration have helped Goldfish scale while staying true to its mission and customer experience.

Shana also opens up about leadership, hiring, authenticity, franchisee relationships, and the mission-driven culture that has helped Goldfish continue to grow while staying true to its purpose. She shares why building the right team is often more important than finding the latest marketing tactic and how strong partnerships, collaboration, and a clear mission have helped the brand scale without losing what makes it special. 

Whether you're leading a franchise system, growing a multi-location business, or building a team that can scale with you, this conversation offers practical insights on growing without losing the identity that made your brand successful in the first place. 

Connect with Shana:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shana-krisan-cfe-1a20581b/

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://goldfishswimschool.com/

Episode Highlights:How Shana found her way into franchising

• Growing Goldfish Swim School from 12 to 208 locations
• Maintaining brand consistency during rapid growth
• Supporting franchisees through systems and playbooks
• The balance between national and local marketing
• Hiring the right people as your organization scales
• Learning from franchisee innovation
• Building strong industry relationships and collaboration 
• Leading with authenticity and self-awareness
• Scaling a brand without losing its identity

Connect with Tracy

Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-panase/

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

JBF Franchise System - https://jbfsalefranchise.com/

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Shannon

Personal LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonwilburn/       

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

Website - https://shineexecutivecoaching.com/

Email - [email protected]

Jennifer Lemcke will tell you that the best thing she ever did before leading a franchise brand was spending a full year working inside one first. Learning every role from the ground up before she ever stepped into leadership is what eventually took her from General Manager of a single Ottawa territory doing $200,000 in system sales to CEO of a $537.3 million brand.

In today's episode, we sit down with Jennifer Lemcke, CEO of Weed Man and Turf Holdings, to talk about what it actually looks like to grow a franchise brand from the inside out. Jennifer started as a manager trainee in 1992, worked every position in the business, and eventually grew the Ottawa territory from $200,000 to $2 million in system sales in five years. From there, she helped launch Weed Man in the United States, and in 2018, acquired the worldwide rights to the brand. Today she's overseeing a $537.3 million system across North America and the UK. If you've been in franchising for any amount of time, you're going to recognize yourself somewhere in this conversation.

Jennifer talks about what she learned from working every single job in the business before she ever ran it, how she brought Canadian franchisees on board after an unexpected acquisition announcement, and why relationships are still the most important thing in a franchise system even as technology moves faster than most leaders can plan for. She's also honest about the juggling act of building something this big while raising three kids, and what she'd tell her younger self about grace, guilt, and the things that turned out okay in the end.

If you're building something big and trying to figure out how to grow without losing the people and the culture that got you there, this episode is going to hit close to home. 

Connect with Jennifer:

Email: [email protected]

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniferlemcke/?originalSubdomain=ca

Episode Highlights:

• Jennifer's origin story and what made her say yes to the family business
• What she learned from working every role in the business before leading it
• How she grew the Ottawa territory from $200K to $2M in system sales in five years
• Why trusting the process is the first thing she tells every new franchisee
• The moment she knew Weed Man was bigger than one territory
• How she helped launch Weed Man in the US and eventually acquired the worldwide rights
• The technology evolution from 1999 to today and what digital transformation really costs
• Why communication is the first thing to slip when leaders are heads down building
• How she got franchisees to buy in after an unplanned acquisition announcement
• What her team of 20-year loyalists says about the culture she's built
• The juggling act of being a CEO and a mom and why balance isn't the right word for it
• What she'd tell her younger self about grace, guilt, and grown kids who turn out just fine

Connect with Tracy

Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-panase/

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

JBF Franchise System - https://jbfsalefranchise.com/

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Shannon

Personal LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonwilburn/       

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

Website - https://shineexecutivecoaching.com/

Email - [email protected]

Most franchise leaders think franchisees resist the system itself, but the real issue is often a lack of buy-in from the beginning. 

In today’s episode, we sit down with Joel Worthington, former president of Mr. Electric, to unpack why franchisee buy-in is one of the hardest things for leaders to create and why communication is often the missing piece. After spending 16 years as a pastor before stepping into franchising, Joel shares how leadership, trust, communication, and curiosity shape the way franchisees respond to change 

This conversation goes far beyond communication tactics. Joel breaks down why leaders often move too quickly into problem-solving, how curiosity creates better conversations, and why compliance alone is never enough and why franchisees are far more likely to buy into systems they feel connected to rather than systems they feel forced into. He also shares the GUIDE leadership framework he used while leading more than 200 franchise locations and explains how better communication helped transform culture, trust, and performance across the brand.

We also dive into the leadership mistakes that quietly create resistance, why compliance alone is never enough, and how strong franchise systems still fail when leaders don’t know how to create emotional buy-in from their people.

So, if you’ve ever wondered why franchisees push back, resist change, or fail to fully engage with the system, this episode will completely change the way you think about leadership in franchising.

Connect with Joel:

Website: https://www.joelworthington.com/

Episode Highlights:

• Joel’s transition from pastor to franchise leader
• Why franchising and pastoring are more similar than people think
• The communication mistakes most leaders make
• Why franchisees resist systems and processes
• How to create buy-in instead of compliance
• Joel’s GUIDE leadership framework
• Why leaders solve problems too quickly
• The role trust plays in franchise growth
• How curiosity changes difficult conversations
• Why leadership development drives long-term growth

Connect with Tracy

Personal LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tracy-panase/

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

JBF Franchise System - https://jbfsalefranchise.com/

Email: [email protected]

Connect with Shannon

Personal LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannonwilburn/       

JBF LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/company/jbfsale

Website - https://shineexecutivecoaching.com/

Email - [email protected]