By Brian Holmes and Erik VanHorn
4.9
4949 ratings
The podcast currently has 101 episodes available.
Stories from Franchisees & Founders
To commemorate the 100th episode of The Franchise Story Podcast, Brian and Erik share some of their biggest takeaways and favorite episodes as they take a look back on these amazing past two years.
The duo recounts the entire history of the show, from the very earliest days. They also discuss why they think their efforts to create such a podcast ended up working, and where the project goes from here.
Thank you to our listeners for your support over the last 100 episodes, and join us for this special episode to learn what’s next on this incredible journey!
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Stories from Franchisees & Founders
In this week’s episode, Erik is joined by Scott Kaspar, a high-performing SPENGA franchisee based in the Chicago area. SPENGA is an unrivaled fitness experience that incorporates elements of cardio, strength training, and flexibility into every one-hour workout through a combination of spin, HIIT training, and yoga.
Scott shares with Erik how he was able to successfully build his first SPENGA location, and his goals for expansion. In his first year of operation, Scott grew a membership base to over 500 people.
The duo also talks about Scott’s past business experience as a lawyer working at an international law firm and how his experience working with teams on high stakes litigations translated to the fitness industry.
Tune in to hear more about Scott’s franchise story and gain wisdom that will help you on your own business journey!
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Stories from Franchisees & Founders
In this episode, Brian and Erik are joined by Roger McGreal, who has served in his role as CEO for SPENGA since March 2015 as well as being a co-founder. As one of the fastest growing brands to keep your eyes on, SPENGA currently has over 307 locations sold and offers a boutique fitness experience that combines spin, strength, and yoga elements to the workout.
The trio talks about how SPENGA was conceptualized and developed in the early days, and how franchising helped the brand achieve sustainable growth. Roger also talks about how they navigated through the challenges brought about by COVID-19, and the importance of remembering long-term goals through times of difficulty.
Roger says, “The boutique fitness industry is booming… When you look at franchising or any business, you have to look at the sustainability. It’s a long-term play, it’s not short-term. Sometimes it’s hard when you put the blinders on, but I do think we are going to come out of this stronger than ever.”
Tune in and learn more about Roger’s inspiring franchise story!
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Stories from Franchisees & Founders
In this episode, Brian is joined by Harold Mills, a successful Urban Air franchisee. Urban Air is the preeminent indoor adventure park hosting open jump, fitness classes, dodgeball, and parties. Harold just safely and successfully opened one of the largest Urban Air parks in the country this summer, which has been among the franchise system’s top performers even in the midst of a global pandemic. In addition, Harold is also the CEO of VMD Ventures focused on investing in entrepreneurs in a variety of technology and service industries.
Harold walks us through his journey into entrepreneurship and the leadership experience he has taken with him to the franchising industry. In the spirit of experimentation, Harold says, “I believe in business processes, I believe in structure, I believe in protocol until it gets in the way of innovation, speed, and how you address markets from that perspective.”
The duo also dives into fighting inertia in an organization, and how best to enable your business through structure and culture in order to reinvent itself.
Tune in to this episode now and gain timely insights on business from a high-performing franchisee!
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Stories from Franchisees & Founders
In this episode, we are joined by other purpose-driven franchising experts who are Brian’s co-authors of the newly released book Franchising Freedom! In this book, 15 franchisors and franchising experts that share the best thinking and proven strategies for successfully franchising a business.
Brian is joined by seven of his coauthors— Peter Daly-Dixon, Daren Taylor, Shireen Smith, Pieter K de Villiers, Stan Friedman, Aveline Clarke, and Haroon Danis.
This panel discussion is a high-level look at their insights into the franchising world at large, and advice they would share with the community given their respective backgrounds. So, tune in now and get to know a bit of their background and what their contribution to this extraordinary project!
Author Bios:
Stan Friedman is the President of FRM Solutions which delivers CRM solutions designed specifically for franchising. Stan produces and hosts “Franchise Today," a weekly podcast featuring interviews with some of franchisings notable founders, C-Suite Executives and luminaries.
Peter Daly-Dickson is the Founder and CEO of Macanta Software, a platform that allows business owners to create a CRM with workflow and process automation. He’s also the mastermind behind the new book, Franchising Freedom.
Darren Taylor is an experienced Franchisor and Investor dealing with mergers, acquisition and turnarounds with 5 franchise networks.
Aveline Clarke is the founder of Success Wizards and is a marketing automation and customer journey mapping expert. She took that experience to the Consulting arena where she continued consulting to business to improve their customer journey processes using automation technology.
Pieter K de Villiers is the Chief Product officer at Macanta Software, a company dedicating to helping franchisors build high-performing franchise networks through business and process automation. He’s also the author of another book, Barefoot Business.
Haroon Danis is the founder of Skin HQ. Haroon is a finalist in numerous awards in 2020 which includes the Lloyds bank National business awards in the New Entrepreneur category, The Starling Bank Great British Entrepreneur Awards in the Fashion and Beauty category and he has taken SkinHQ to the finals of the Growing business awards in the Young Company of the Year category.
Shireen Smith is the CEO of Azrights International. As an Intellectual Property lawyer, she combines strategic IP thinking with her expertise with branding and marketing to support founders to achieve a distinctive brand that stands out and attracts sales.
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Stories from Franchisees & Founders
In this episode, Brian is joined by Andres Barcenas, a multi-location franchisee of Smoothie King in Austin, Texas.
Andres talks about his journey starting out as a manager for a Smoothie King location to becoming a multi-unit franchisee for the brand in a short period of time. He shares with us the first steps you can take in a turnaround situation, and some of the most essential lessons he has learned throughout his business journey.
Tune in and learn more wisdom that will equip you for success!
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Stories from Franchisees & Founders
In this week’s episode, Brian is joined by Kevin Dubois, the President & CEO of Lapels Dry Cleaning. Lapels Dry Cleaning was founded on the premise of convenience and a true 100% environmentally non-toxic way to clean clothes. With nearly 100 locations nationwide, the brand was recently named to Entrepreneur magazine’s Franchise 500 for 2020.
Kevin shares his journey leading into franchising and the lessons he’s learned along the way that ultimately allowed him and his team to scale Lapels the right way. He also brings high-level insights into the dry cleaning industry, specifically how Lapels has managed to be on the cutting-edge of innovation in a largely unchanging industry.
The duo talks about how the franchise community has come together and are continuously finding new ways to survive and even thrive in uncertain times. Kevin says, “Every challenge in any economic cycle also presents some opportunities.”
Tune in and learn more about Kevin’s franchise story!
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Stories from Franchisees & Founders
In this episode, we are joined by Reed Daniels, the CEO and President of Red’s Savoy Pizza. Since 1965, the original Red’s Savoy Pizza has earned a reputation as a landmark restaurant in St. Paul, Minnesota. Red’s began licensing in 2006, replicating its mom and pop pizzeria in dozens of Midwest communities. Now, the franchise currently has 19 locations and is growing fast.
Brian and Reed discuss the importance of honing in on the company branding and business model. They also talked about some impacts of COVID-19 on companies and how it’s going to look like in the near future as the changes become a part of the “new normal.” Reed says, “Without the data, without the loyalty program, without online ordering, we’d be in some serious pain right now.”
Tune in and gain useful insights and ideas that will help you in your business journey.
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Stories from Franchisees & Founders
In this episode, Brain is joined by special guest Dr. George Tinsley Sr. who is a Hall of Famer, an entrepreneur, an author, podcast host, speaker, and a franchisee. Tinsley is CEO of PenGeo, Inc., Tinsley Group, Inc. and Tinsley Family Concessions — collectively Tampa Bay's 3rd largest Black-owned enterprise, and one of the fastest growing independent restaurant conglomerates in the nation. As someone who has managed to turn every obstacle into opportunity in life and in business, you’re bound to learn valuable takeaways to apply in your own franchise journey.
On today’s podcast, Tinsley talks about the ups and downs of building his franchise empire and how his ability to always stay open to opportunities, coupled with undaunting resilience, allowed him to persevere in even the hardest times.
Whether you’re an aspiring entrepreneur or an experienced business owner looking for the next opportunity, this episode is for you. Tune in and learn more about Dr. George Tinsley’s inspiring franchise story!
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Stories from Franchisees & Founders
This week, we take a step back in time to discuss the lifework of Martha Matilda Harper— one of the greatest businesswomen you may not have heard about. In this special episode, Erik is joined by Jane Plitt, the author of the book Martha Matilda Harper and the American Dream: How One Woman Changed the Face of Modern Business.
Martha Matilda Harper is an American businesswoman, entrepreneur, and inventor who launched modern retail franchising and then built an international network of 500 franchised hair salons that emphasized healthy hair care in the late 1800s.
After conducting in depth research, Jane Plitt shares with us how she was able to unearth Martha’s incredibly rags to riches story, and how a former servant girl from Canada created the American hair salon industry, empowering thousands of young women along the way. By dictating that poor women would open the first 100 salons, in one fell swoop Harper became a pioneer of social entrepreneurship and modern franchising.
Jane endeavors to bring Martha’s story alive and showcase just how her life experiences remain relevant to us today. She has a fascinating story for those who believe in entrepreneurship and the role women have played to shape innovative successful business and humane models.
Tune in to hear more about Martha’s franchise story and how her spirit and wisdom live on in modern times.What we talk about:
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The podcast currently has 101 episodes available.