Operations support is a balancing act: competence, training and soft skills.  Finding the right mix is a lot like dating. Join us in a fun throwback to that ‘70’s game show, The Dating Game. Actual franchisees and franchisors will interview each other to determine needs, ideas, and the best way to work together. In blind interviews, they will hear real-world solutions and problems and choose the path best for them. Then stick around as our “contestants” tell us the real-life stories behind their situations and solutions so we can all learn better ways to grow a business and support the brand.

• Moderator: Mary Ann O’Connell, President, Franwise
• Maylissa Ballance, Franchise Owner, Clean Juice Cool Springs
• Jay Butgereit, FBC, Any Lab Test Now
• Ann-Marie Cilley, Franchise Owner, The Casual Pint Hamilton, OH
• Melanie Kirk, FBC, Any Lab Test Now
• Eric Miller, Franchise Owner, Care Patrol of Music City
• Tom Scalese, FBC, East Coast Wings + Grill
• Tony Schmitt, FBC, The Casual Pint

We won’t put you on the spot or even on hidden camera, but we will pose some dilemmas that operations teams might encounter in their dealings with franchisees. Then we’ll poll you, the audience, on how you would handle the situation. Based on the responses, operations and legal execs will weigh in with tips and examples of how to navigate the conversation to diffuse it and resolve the issue at hand.

• Marisa Faunce, Partner, Plave Koch
• Meg Rose, SVP of Field Operations, Firehouse Subs

We did a deep dive into 31,500 franchisee surveys encompassing 342 brands to find keys to improving franchisees and franchisor business performance. This eye-opening presentation gives you the keys to scaling and building a stronger system.

• Evan Hackel, President, Ingage Consulting

Learn how to take real action on the way your team promotes, supports and grows DEI in your franchise system. What are the tools and skills you need to provide to get people thinking and talking about diversity? How do you get people comfortable having uncomfortable conversations? What are the common mistakes to avoid? This session will provide meaningful steps to get you started.

• Jason Frazier, President, Skyhawks Sports Academy
• Brett Larimer, Executive Director, Skyhawks Sports Academy
• Michelle Sermon, VP, Global Learning & Organizational Development, CKE Restaurants

Kick up your heels at a Southern-style backyard get-together featuring signature cocktails and mocktails by FBR’s resident mixologist Emily George, PLUS, a special musical appearance by RocketBarn founder and Nashville country singer/songwriter Matt Martin.

Scott Greenberg, former Edible Arrangements franchisee and author of The Wealthy Franchisee shares his “30-Second Leadership” approach to coaching franchisees to success.

It’s incredibly difficult to coach franchisees to improve (and be accountable) if you’re not tracking, measuring and managing performance. But first, you need to know what to track in order to make the greatest impact. This session will take you through how to identify key metrics, collect actionable benchmarking data, and coach franchisees to greater success to build a scalable franchise system. 

• Gerry Henley, President, Launch to Growth
• Jason West-McReynolds, Founder, FranMetrics
• Jeff Wharton, COO, Bloomin’ Blinds

Hiring and keeping employees is a top priority for franchisees, and in today’s employment market their need for franchisor support is more than ever. We’ll share creative strategies to help franchisees shift their mindset to focus on the culture within their own organizations, and positively impact their ability to hire (and keep) the best employees, without overstepping joint employer concerns.

• Chris Igou, Vice President, CareerPlug
• Jenelle Schneider, Senior Director of Franchise Services and Training, Home Helpers Home Care

Innovation takes more than just having creative ideas and solutions, it also takes execution. In this session, we’ll dig into how to implement processes and incremental changes to drive innovation that sustains the growth of your system and enables franchisees to thrive. Using breakout groups, you’ll work through ideas for tools, processes and people to improve overall performance, including how to customize support for top performers and franchisees at different stages of the lifecycle. Finally, we’ll look at innovations to improve local marketing strategies, from outside partners to ops support, to keep your brand relevant and resilient.

• Christa Anderson, VP of Coaching Support, Wild Birds Unlimited
• Ryan Buckles, FBC, Junk King
• Amy Crist, Business Coach, Wild Birds Unlimited
• Keith Gerson, President of Franchise Operations, Franconnect
• Moderator: Courtney Stillings, Senior Client Consultant, Franchise Business Review

Based on FBR’s research, less than half of franchise brands have peer groups in place today, and a third of those who do, are not maximizing their potential. Learn the best practices for starting peer groups and how to breathe new life into existing peer groups. You’ll hear lessons learned from a leading brand and practical guidance on how and when to effectively utilize peer groups to drive both unit level profitability and network growth.

• Tricia Petteys, COO, Payroll Vault
• Kay Wasserman, Co-founder, FPPG
• Moderator: Emily George, Senior Client Consultant, Franchise Business Review

How can franchisees better manage customers and improve communications to increase revenue and return visits.

• Matthew Gourgeot, Head of Corporate and Business Development Thryv 
• Tom Pabin, CEO, Class 101

If we believe our teams and franchise organizations are a reflection of the people in it, what are you reflecting? Are you supporting franchise partners from a mindset of stress, overwhelm and survival? Or are you supporting from a place of focus, inspiration and abundance? Certified mindfulness teacher and franchising leader, Carisa Findley, will take you through 3 steps to support franchise partners with a mindful approach. You’ll learn how to incorporate tools, like meditation, into your day to gain more presence and gratitude. Plus, you’ll hear ways to help your franchise partners incorporate these life-changing practices.

• Carisa Findley, CEO, Freecoat Nails

Now it’s time to take what you’ve learned and put it into practice. You’ll hear the true story of a franchisee whose business is in crisis. Working In small groups, you’ll come up with a strategy to help the franchisee turn the business around and then share your plan with the entire room. We’ll then reveal what really happened and you’ll get to hear directly from the franchisee and the operations support team about the challenges they faced and how they were able to save the business.