It may have started as a joke, but after scaling to over 200+ locations with nearly 3000 employees nationwide, College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk & Moving is no laughing matter now.  From its early beginnings as a college startup to owner and co-founder Nick Friedman’s hard lessons in franchising, the Wolf’s gathering all the details on exactly how the business became one of the largest moving and hauling companies in the United States.  Then, Nick gets frank about the eye-opening reality that nothing about franchising is easy and explains exactly how College H.U.N.K.S.’s initial efforts to scale gave them the momentum it needed to hit the $300 million revenue mark.  0:00 Intro/Background4:25 Scaling and Franchising13:00 Thing I Wish I Knew17:15 Long-Term Goals22:29 Franchising Outlook27:16 Multi-Location Management33:00 Growth & Momentum Learn More About College Hunks Hauling Junk: https://www.collegehunkshaulingjunk.com Follow Nick: Website: https://www.nickfriedman.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/collegehunkshaulingjunk/Buzz Franchise Brands is a multi-brand franchising company currently operating four service brands: Pool Scouts pool cleaning franchise, Home Clean Heroes residential cleaning franchise, British Swim School swim instruction franchise and Grand Illuminations outdoor lighting franchise.Our mission is to enable people to realize their dreams; we encourage you to learn more about us and our brands at BuzzFranchiseBrands.com.Are you a future franchise entrepreneur? Find all of the tools you need to launch, operate, and expand your franchise empire with the platform created by The Wolf himself, Krokit.com. And if you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.  Thank you so much! Check out The Wolf’s newsletter and YouTube channel. Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf 

Can you name the ingredients in a McDonalds French fry?We’ll give you a hint— there’s over 15 of them. And if that doesn’t give you pause for thought, we don’t know what will. Meet the franchise creator who doesn’t think fast food should be an excuse to skimp out on health or ethics— and he’s doing everything within his power to build a better fast food system from the top down. Jesse Konig, the co-founder of DC’s best burger joint, Swizzler, and the brainchild behind the French fry brand, Spudz, talks to Wolf about the importance of knowing where your food is coming from, the shaky and fragile nature our own food systems due to centralized corporations and meat manufacturers, and all of dirty secrets behind the beef, potato, and seed oil industries that you’re dying to hear.. Learn how Swizzler and Spudz are going to back to the basics through encouraging local, regenerative farming practices and simple, better ingredients.  0:00:00 Intro/Background0:25:51 The Food Supplier Chain0:34:23 Ethical Beef0:57:57 Creating the Perfect French Fry1:17:00 Spudz Fries1:32:00 Contact Us Check Out Swizzler Foods: https://www.swizzlerfoods.com Follow Jesse: Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jesse_konigEmail: jesse@spudzfries.com Buzz Franchise Brands is a multi-brand franchising company currently operating four service brands: Pool Scouts pool cleaning franchise, Home Clean Heroes residential cleaning franchise, British Swim School swim instruction franchise and Grand Illuminations outdoor lighting franchise.Our mission is to enable people to realize their dreams; we encourage you to learn more about us and our brands at BuzzFranchiseBrands.com.Are you a future franchise entrepreneur? Find all of the tools you need to launch, operate, and expand your franchise empire with the platform created by The Wolf himself, Krokit.com. And if you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.  Thank you so much! Check out The Wolf’s newsletter and YouTube channel. Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf

With over 25 years of experience building brands, Kevin Wilson knows a thing or two about creating franchises that last. Kevin stops by the pod to discuss how his decades’ worth of entrepreneurial experience led him to create the multi-brand franchise empire known as Buzz Franchise Brands. From his early experience scaling his startup services company, Mosquito Joe, to over 290+ locations, Kevin explains how it eventually led him to the home services industry— and why he’s found such great success within that subsect.Kevin also talks with Wolf about why British Swim School grew to become the largest swim school franchise in the nation, along with the origins of his other franchises, including Home Clean Heroes, Grand Illuminations, and Pool Scouts. Plus, find out how Kevin’s chosen to structure his multi-franchise empire and what he credits as the main reason for Buzz Franchise Brand’s phenomenal success. 0:00 Intro/Background5:30 Marketing Before the Internet7:19 Moving to South Africa12:40 Making Money in Airlines16:00 Mosquito Joe23:25 British Swim School32:06 Buzz Franchise Brands36:17 Grand Illuminations39:03 Supporting Growth Follow Buzz Franchise Brands: Website: https://buzzfranchisebrands.comLinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buzz-franchise-brands/ Follow Kevin: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kevinwilsonbfb/ Buzz Franchise Brands is a multi-brand franchising company currently operating four service brands: Pool Scouts pool cleaning franchise, Home Clean Heroes residential cleaning franchise, British Swim School swim instruction franchise and Grand Illuminations outdoor lighting franchise.Our mission is to enable people to realize their dreams; we encourage you to learn more about us and our brands at BuzzFranchiseBrands.com.Are you a future franchise entrepreneur? Find all of the tools you need to launch, operate, and expand your franchise empire with the platform created by The Wolf himself, Krokit.com. And if you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.  Thank you so much! Check out The Wolf’s newsletter and YouTube channel. Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf

Think about it— it’s the weekend, and as much as you want to sit down, relax, and pop open an ice-cold bevvie, you’ve got chores to do. And what’s the one thing you hate doing more than anything? Yep, you guessed it— laundry and the average American spends up to 36 hours a month doing it too. Dan D’Aquisto is the one man trying to change it all through his revolutionary franchise, 2ULaundry, which delivers the world’s first premium laundry/dry-cleaning pickup and delivery service. That’s right; we’re talking fresh-folded clothes conveniently delivered straight to your door.This week, the Wolf sits down with Dan to learn more about how he and his business partner came up with the concept of 2ULaundry, how they managed to raise 2.5 million dollars and scale across 7 major cities, and how their business led them to create a laundromat franchise business of their own, LaundroLab. 0:00 Intro/2ULaundry4:39 Finding a Co-Founder8:41 The Journey So Far25:50 LaundroLab32:25 2U Laundry vs. LaundroLab36:50 Future Strategy Learn more about 2ULaundry: https://www.2ulaundry.com Learn more about LaundroLab:https://www.laundrolabfranchise.com Follow Dan: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daquisto/ Built by hospitality for hospitality. Empower your employee experience by using Harri to build, manage, engage, and retain your team. Don’t you think it’s time to utilize a platform designed to elevate your greatest asset— your employees?Visit Harri.com to learn more. Are you a future franchise entrepreneur? Find all of the tools you need to launch, operate, and expand your franchise empire with the platform created by The Wolf himself, Krokit.com. And if you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.  Thank you so much! Check out The Wolf’s newsletter and YouTube channel. Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf

What’s one of the few franchise markets that continues to grow year after year in customer spend? Hint: it’s furry, and it has four legs.Over 90% of people view their pets as family— meet the one franchise looking to make a splash in the pet health and wellness space. Jacob Lee, franchisee to Scenthound, chats with the Wolf about why he chose to pursue the pet grooming business and how Scenthound’s membership-based model is redefining the way we think about the traditional pet grooming payment structure. Then, he and Wolf discuss why franchise location is one of the most critical aspects of franchising and how to narrow down the best sites for your franchise. 0:00 Intro/Background6:11 Considering Career Paths10:35 Narrowing Down the Search15:16 Dogtopia vs. Scent Hound20:33 Competition 22:48 The Scent Hound Model29:00 Franchising Lessons Are you a future franchise entrepreneur? Find all of the tools you need to launch, operate, and expand your franchise empire with the platform created by The Wolf himself, Krokit.com. Follow Scenthound:https://franchise.scenthound.com Follow Jacob: Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/Jacoblee295LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-lee-9803a480/Email: jlee@scenthound.com Built by hospitality for hospitality. Empower your employee experience by using Harri to build, manage, engage, and retain your team.  Don’t you think it’s time to utilize a platform designed to elevate your greatest asset— your employees? Visit Harri.com to learn more. And if you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.  Thank you so much! Check out The Wolf’s newsletter and YouTube channel. Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf 

Meet the man who knows a thing or two about franchising: Jace Mattinson.Having franchised various brands, including Ace Hardware, Crumbl Cookies, and Big Chicken, Jace’s previous career in private equity was a natural segue into the franchising world. The Wolf sits down to chat with Jace about his early experience franchising with Ace Hardware, as he explains just how different the hardware world is from the fast food industry. How did he know that Crumbl would be more than just another fad dessert chain? What makes him confident in the longevity of the Crumbl brand, and what’s his experience been like partnering with Shaq to open Big Chicken locations across Texas? Then, stay tuned as Jace helps to settle the debate over whether Ace Hardware is a coop of a franchise once and for all.Built by hospitality for hospitality. Empower your employee experience by using Harri to build, manage, engage, and retain your team.  Don’t you think it’s time to utilize a platform designed to elevate your greatest asset— your employees? Visit Harri.com to learn more.0:00 Intro/Background3:00 Getting into Hardware6:34 The Transition to Crumbl11:46 The Sustainability of Cookies17:10 Big Chicken18:38 Getting Outside of Food23:46 Franchise Collaboration26:43 Long-Term Plans34:16 The Fun in Franchise Follow Jace: LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacemattinson/ If you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.  Thank you so much! Check out The Wolf’s newsletter and YouTube channel. Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf 

How does being an area representative differ from being a franchise owner?  Everbowl’s area rep, Alex Yeater, chats with the Wolf about the ins and out of working for a franchisor and the life cycle of opening stores as an area rep. He and Wolf also discuss the lessons he’s learned from opening multiple Everbowl locations and how investing in excellent systems and operations is one of the best things you can do to ensure franchise success.  Plus, don’t miss out on hearing what working with Drew Brees is actually like! 0:00 Early Beginnings3:40 Working at VerizonONE7:37 Defining an Area Representative12:20 Building vs. Operating14:56 Lessons Learned17:49 Exploring Other Opportunities25:44 Learn More About Everbowl Learn More About Everbowl: https://www.everbowl.com/acai-bowl-franchisehttps://www.everbowl.com Follow Alex:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexyeater/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yeater.alex/Built by hospitality for hospitality. Empower your employee experience by using Harri to build, manage, engage, and retain your team.  Don’t you think it’s time to utilize a platform designed to elevate your greatest asset— your employees? Visit Harri.com to learn more. If you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.  Thank you so much! Check out The Wolf’s newsletter. Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf

How do you elevate breakfast food in a novel way that no other franchise is doing?By taking biscuits to a whole ‘nother level. Biscuit Belly is a fast-casual franchise taking the boring out of breakfast and making Instagram-worthy foods all across the Southeast.  Owners Chuck Schnatter and Chad Coulter sit down with the Wolf to discuss how they distinguished themselves from franchises like IHOP, Denny’s, and Snooze and what qualities they believe are key to any dining franchise. Plus, find out how they managed to thrive and survive while opening multiple locations during the pandemic!  0:00 Background 3:22 What Makes a Successful Franchise?7:15 Why Biscuits?13:00 Making Food Instagrammable15:00 Franchising Process24:32 Takeaways30:00 Future Plans Find out more about Biscuit Belly:https://biscuitbellyfranchise.comhttps://biscuitbelly.com Follow Chad:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chad-coulter-4663465bBuilt by hospitality for hospitality. Empower your employee experience by using Harri to build, manage, engage, and retain your team.  Don’t you think it’s time to utilize a platform designed to elevate your greatest asset— your employees?Visit Harri.com to learn more. If you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.  Thank you so much! Check out The Wolf’s newsletter and YouTube channel.  Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf

How did former math teacher turned franchise developer Antonio McBroom open 14 Ben and Jerry’s locations across South Carolina by himself?  The answer is equal parts hard work and ingenuity.On this week’s pod, the Wolf finds out how Antonio hustled his way into franchise success by purchasing his own ice cream trailer, opening his stores at 2 am to hungry college kids, and trying just about every other business tactic in between.  Antonio also talks about his latest partnership with Starbucks, in which he’s helping to bring the franchise chain to underserved and diverse communities, empowering minority-owned businesses to contribute to the next phase of his business evolution. 0:00 Background4:06 Franchise Expansion8:00 The Catering Hustle10:30 Partnering with Others14:55 Starbucks Partnership22:44 Follow Us Follow Antonio: https://www.primopartners.com LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/antonio-mcbroom-43858017/Built by hospitality for hospitality. Empower your employee experience by using Harri to build, manage, engage, and retain your team. Don’t you think it’s time to utilize a platform designed to elevate your greatest asset— your employees? Visit Harri.com to learn more. If you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast. Thank you so much! Check out The Wolf’s newsletter and YouTube channel. Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf 

How did Philz Coffee grow to become synonymous with fueling the likes of tech giants out of Silicon Valley? Co-founder, Jacob Jaber, explains how the vision of Philz Coffee came to fruition from his father, who simply wanted to create a place where people could hang out and share great drinks together. Now, with over 75+ locations, this growing franchise still relies on one key ingredient: creating a memorable, personalized experience for each of its customers. Jacob and the Wolf chat about its unique barista model and how the most important aspect of any business is to create a product that you really, really love. Then, find out which businesses Jacob prefers to invest in.  0:00 Background3:40 The Turning Point6:18 Creating a Community8:40 Building a Consumer-Facing Brand15:00 Expansion Plans17:20 The Phil’s Business Model28:21 Brand Association31:40 Building a Brand37:42 Investing in Consumer Companies46:08 Follow UsBuilt by hospitality for hospitality. Empower your employee experience by using Harri to build, manage, engage, and retain your team.  Don’t you think it’s time to utilize a platform designed to elevate your greatest asset— your employees? Visit Harri.com to learn more. Follow Jacob:LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacobjaber/Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jacobjaber If you’ve enjoyed listening to Franchise Empires, I’d be so grateful if you could drop me a 5-star review on Rate My Podcast.  Thank you so much!Check out The Wolf’s newsletter. Stay up-to-date on all things Franchise Empires by following The Wolf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/franchisewolf