Most franchise owners don't fail because of the business model—they fail because they optimize for the wrong thing.
In today's episode, Hunter Mitchem breaks down the profit-first mindset that traps thousands of single-unit franchisees…and how multi-unit owners think completely differently.
You'll learn:
– Why your first location's "perfect margins" might be costing you long-term freedom
– The mindset shift Hunter made to scale aggressively
– How he opened 16 locations in 24 months
– Why building a team early beats running lean
– How real estate, franchising, and home services all compound
– The real difference between owners who stay stuck…and owners who scale
Whether you're a new franchisee or already dreaming about multi-unit ownership, this episode gives you the clarity, frameworks, and mental models to finally break through.
Timestamps:
0:29:54 — The Profit-First Trap That Almost Held Us Back
0:30:45 — The Fundamental Reset Every Multi-Unit Owner Must Make
0:31:15 — Why We Stopped Optimizing for Day-One Profit
0:32:15 — When Opening More Units Makes You Worse…Before It Makes You Better
0:31:44 — How We Built a Team That Could Open Studios Without Us
0:14:18 — The ADHD + Anxiety Advantage in Entrepreneurship
0:09:12 — The Banking Strategy Behind Opening 16 Locations in 24 Months
0:07:14 — How Real Estate Became the Fuel for Every New Franchise We Opened
0:22:58 — Why We Built a Multi-Brand Wellness Platform Instead of Staying Small
0:18:21 — The Moment I Realized I Couldn't Scale Until I Learned to Delegate
Connect with Erik Van Horn:
🌐 Website - https://franchisesecrets.com/
📷 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/erikvanhorn/
👍 Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/erik.v.horn/
💼 LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/evanhorn/
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https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEEithd54kMle5_OUXiuLbc_UPBtz1vTE&si=uCOgDya1VnnCarDf
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#Entrepreneurship
#Scaling
#Mindset
