Franchise Interviews

We are meeting with the VP of Primrose School franchise, Chris Goethe.  Primrose Schools is an accredited private preschool that provides a premier educational child care experience. As the Leader in Educational Child Care®, we partner with parents to help children build the right foundation for future learning and life. Our goal is to help children have fun while building Active Minds, Healthy Bodies and Happy Hearts®.

We have a great show today.  We are meeting with Summer Vasilas and Alex Arlotta the founders of Waxing the City. As the upkeep of individual body parts such as eyelash extensions, facials, body waxing and pedicures spurs growth of offshoot single-service salon concepts, fitness industry giants are starting to dip into the lucrative niche beauty business. One example is 3,000-unit international co-ed fitness chain Anytime Fitness, the world’s largest and fastest growing co-ed fitness franchise, which recently acquired the emerging wax-only franchise, Waxing the City.  In part 2, we hear from franchise expert Karol Mercurio on our Great Quotes in Franchising podcast.

Today's show is all about marketing.  A woman tests out a local fitness franchise, has a horrible experience, and never returns. About three months later, she receives a marketing piece thanking her for being a loyal member. Meanwhile, another customer receives an email stating, "We've missed you! Recommit to your fitness plan and we'll give you a 10 percent discount on personal training." The problem is the customer is an active member who's been to the franchise three times a week for the last six months. What happened? Both of these "marketing-gone-bad" examples did more harm than good by wasting a franchisee's local marketing dollars, damaging a relationship with a loyal customer and further frustrating a disgruntled one. Automated marketing solutions provider m2M Strategies has zeroed in on this increasing problem, introducing franchise systems to "intelligent marketing" that uses a local franchisee's POS and CRM data to target the right customers at the right time, with the right message, with measurable results. We are meeting with Mark Montini of m2M.  m2M is a provider of automated marketing solutions that integrate data from CRM and POS systems to create impactful local franchisee marketing campaigns. The company offers a suite of marketing automation, email marketing, and PPC services, along with the ability to work with franchisors to deliver turnkey programs on a local level for relevant marketing campaigns for each individual market. m2M's proprietary marketing technology is the next generation of digital marketing solutions that integrates data from current CRM and POS systems to bring the power of behavioral data to optimized campaigns, tailored for the brand, the market and the resulting data that provides real, quantifiable, measurable benefits for individual franchise locations. In part 2 we discuss the power of branding.

Did you know over 1,000 companies were hacked in 2014 alone, and that doesn’t even touch the number of individuals that had their personal information compromised? Between May 2013 and May 2014 the Ponemon Institute estimated that over 432 million people were hacked, which roughly translates to about 47% of adults in the US.  We are meeting with Darren Guccione, CEO and co-founder of Keeper Security, Inc.  Keeper Security, Inc. is the creator of Keeper, the world’s most downloaded password manager and digital vault.  We will discuss the topics of security, franchising, and entrepreneurship with Darren.

If you are a fan of Undercover Boss, you will enjoy today’s show.  We are meeting with Executive Vice President, International for BrightStar Care Anthony Padulo.  BrightStar Care is the home care/senior care franchise opportunity that is transforming the lives of our franchise owners, clients and their loved ones.  Brief bio: Anthony Padulo has successfully expanded brands such as Dunkin’ Brands, BP Oil and Aamco into global markets. As Executive Vice President, International for BrightStar Care, Padulo is focusing efforts on securing deals with Area Developers to own and operate multiple locations at a time, or Master Franchisees, who can sub-franchise after opening two to five of their own locations.

We are meeting with Gigi Schweikert, the Chief Operating Officer for Lightbridge Academy.  Lightbridge Academy was recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the Leading Edge Franchisors that are innovating in Big Ways; Lightbridge Academy provides early education and childcare to children from six weeks of age through Kindergarten.

We have a great show today.  We are meeting with Chris Larocca, the founder of Crushed Red.  Based in St. Louis, Crushed Red is carving out a distinct niche in the fast-casual restaurant segment dubbed "Artisan Fast." Founded in 2012 by award-winning restauranteur Chris LaRocca, Crushed Red began franchising in 2014 and serves up chopped-to-order salads, artisan-crafted whole-grain pizzas, all-natural soups and savory appetizers in an elevated fast-casual atmospher.  Find out more by listening to the show.

We are meeting with and Jim Ryan, COO of CREAM.  Headquartered in Millbrae, California and recently named one of "27 Ice Cream Shops You Need To Visit Before You Die," CREAM is a rapidly growing fast casual restaurant business that specializes in high quality ice cream sandwiches and other confections. Founded in 2010 and franchising since 2012, CREAM currently has eight locations open and operating throughout California's Bay Area and plans to expand its national footprint over the next several years.

We are meeting with Dan Chaon, CEO of Native Grill & Wings.. The mission of Native Grill and Wings is to provide their guests with excellent service, exceptional food, and a memorable experience, while continuing to be the "Coolest Place for the Hottest Wings.

We are meeting with Nate Malloy, COO of Profile by Sanford.  Profile® by Sanford® is a comprehensive weight management program designed by Sanford Health physicians and scientists, as a Simple, Effective & Sustainable solution.   The program makes use of a Profile coach and offers integrated complementary technology to directly connect the coach and the member through their journey. Clinical & Scientific protocols have been designed to assist the coach to implement an individualized plan for each member. Their plan is designed with a focus on Nutrition, Activity & Lifestyle adaptations required for short and long-term success.