Franchise Voice

We are wrapping up 2025 on this edition of Franchise Voice with conversations about the current state of Franchising with Tamra Kennedy, multi-unit franchise owner and IFA Board Member, and Michael Layman, IFA’s Chief Advocacy Officer. Host Jack Monson and guests dive advocacy issues including how changes in regulations have affected franchise owners, including the improvements in the Joint Employer situation, the effects of the One Big Beautiful Bill, and the tremendous momentum of the bi-partisan American Franchise Act. A special THANK YOU to The International Franchise Association’s Preferred Vendors for your support this year: AnswerConnect (https://www.answerconnect.com/franchise), Benetrends (https://www.benetrends.com), Constant Contact (https://www.constantcontact.com), Consumer Fusion (https://www.consumerfusion.com/franchise-reputation-management-4/), Morrow Hill (https://morrowhill.com), Paychex (https://www.paychex.com/franchise), and Scorpion (https://www.scorpion.co). For more information and contacts mentioned on this episode, please visit franchise.org (https://www.franchise.org) Special Guests: Michael Layman and Tamra Kennedy.

It’s the Veteran’s Day edition of Franchise Voice. Guests Wendy Kunz, Director of Veteran Programs at the International Franchise Association and Sean Falk, President and COO of Careertopia and the Chair of IFA’s VetFran, join host Jack Monson. We’ll dive into: • Why Veterans and Franchising are such a good fit • What makes the Veteran community so unique • How VetFran is helping individuals and franchise brands To get involved, visit vetfran.org (https://www.vetfran.org) Next up, Brynn Gibbs, CEO of Consumer Fusion (https://www.consumerfusion.com), discusses the impact that AI has on your brand’s reputation management. Reviews play a huge role in AI search results, especially for Franchise systems where the brand’s reputation and each location’s reviews can affect the entire system. Brynn shares tips on keeping your franchisees, teams, and customers knowledgeable in a rapidly changing marketing landscape. Special Guests: Brynn Gibbs, Sean Falk, and Wendy Kunz.

International Franchise Association President & CEO Matt Haller shares a preview of the IFA Advocacy Summit 2025. Matt discusses how the changes in DC since last year’s Summit are affecting our agenda on Capitol Hill including a proposed permanent solution to Joint Employer. We also run down the speakers at the Summit including CNN’s Scott Jennings, entrepreneurship advocate Codie Sanchez, and Senator Roger Marshall. One of the challenges in the franchise community is complacency; let’s not let up on the momentum we’ve gained and join your peers in Washington, DC September 15 – 17! Register now! (https://web.cvent.com/event/c8608e2c-1da1-4a9a-b675-fc061ac3954c/websitePage:a42a829c-7eda-4acd-967a-1521bb754e1c) Today's episdoe is sponsored by ActiveCampaign (https://www.activecampaign.com/franchise).

The Franchise Leadership and Development Conference is coming up October 7 - 9 in Atlanta and is presented by Franchise Update Media and The International Franchise Association This year’s FLDC Chair is Shawn Caric, VP of Franchise Development at Smoothie King. He joins today’s podcast with a preview of one the best annual events in the Franchise Community. Shawn also shares: • How candidates and franchise opportunities have changed over the past few years • Fran Dev trends he’s watching for the rest of ’25 and early ’26 • Advice for franchisors who may need to recharge • Tips for networking with your Franchising peers If you haven’t yet registered for FLDC 2025, reserve your spot today and hear compelling speakers like futurist Morris Morrison and many franchise leaders. Register now at https://www.franchisedevelopmentconference.com/ See you in October! Special Guest: Shawn Caric.

Today’s Franchise Voice podcast is presented by Wisetail and features more conversations from the floor of The IFA World Franchise Show in Miami. Host Jack Monson chats with several top franchise leaders to share competitive advantages, why franchising works for their brands, and forecasts for franchising for 2025 and 2026. Today’s guests: Jim Holthouser, CEO, GoTo Foods Sally Facinelli, CEO, Salty Dawg Pet Salon Jerry Ackers, Multi-Brand/Multi-Unit Owner and Founder of ZDynamix Craig Sherwood, SVP Development, The Joint Chiropractic

Today’s Franchise Voice podcast is presented by Wisetail and features more conversations from the floor of The IFA World Franchise Show in Miami. Host Jack Monson chats with several prominent franchise leaders to discuss their brands, why franchising is working for so many, and projections for the remainder of the year. You’ll hear from: Amy Elder, Papa Johns Nadeem Bajwa, Multi-Unit Franchise Owner Chris Patel, Multi-Unit Franchise Owner Jack Wilson, HomeWell Care Services Melinda Emerson, SmallBizLady

“Franchising unlocks the American Dream.” -John Peyton, CEO of Dine Brands Today’s Franchise Voice podcast is presented by Wisetail and features more conversations from the floor of The IFA World Franchise Show in Miami. Host Jack Monson speaks with many of today’s top franchise leaders about their brands, why franchising is making such an impact, and what’s up next for the rest of this year. You’ll hear from: John Peyton, Dine Brands Ethan Albrecht-Carrié, Lime Fresh Mexican Grill Josh Minturn, Authority Brands George Knauff, My Perfect Franchise David Berg, Reef Health Chase Dalton, Silicon Signs

A special series starts today on Franchise Voice with host Jack Monson captured at The IFA World Franchise Show in Miami, the newest event in franchising. IFA President & CEO Matt Haller shares an update on the state of franchising and the hottest topics for the rest of 2025. Then we’ll chat with relatively new franchisee Clarence Howell on small business ownership and some timely info on an upcoming deadline for Franchise Asension Initiative. Today's episode is brought to you by IFA Preffered Vendor, AnswerConnect. Special Guests: Clarence Howell and Matt Haller.

Franchise Voice is THE podcast from the International Franchise Association, hosted by Jack Monson. The IFA is partnering with exciting new franchise expo this year offering franchise opportunities globally. Today we’ll learn about The International Franchise Show London in April from show producer Simon Chicken. And we’ll chat with Danielle Bay, event manager for The World Franchise Show in Miami this May, Today’s podcast is brought you by Vendasta (http://vendasta.com/franchise) and ActiveCampaign (https://www.activecampaign.com). And learn more about these events at https://www.ifafranchiseshow.com/ and https://www.thefranchiseshow.co.uk/ Special Guests: Danielle Bay and Simon Chicken.

More thought leaders are on today’s show recorded at The IFA Annual Convention. We’ll get industry updates and strategies for navigating this year’s growth from Dave Mortensen, President and Co-Founder of Self Esteem brands and Jon Visser, VP of Sales at Fortidia. Today’s podcast is brought to you by Vendasta and ActiveCampaign Special Guests: Dave Mortensen and Jon Visser.

We’re continuing our series of conversations with leaders at this year’s IFA Annual Convention. Today you’ll hear about the IFA’s Ascension Initiative with Omar Simmons, Rayna Simmons, David Smith, and Clarence Howell. The Franchise Ascension Initiative provides knowledge, network, and navigation for business owners. The program matches talented individuals with brands and presents Franchising as a powerful – and welcoming – escalator of wealth. Today’s podcast is brought to you by Vendasta and ActiveCampaign Special Guests: Clarence Howell, David Smith, Omar Simmons, and Rayna Simmons.

We’re continuing our series of episodes highlighting leaders and award winners at this year’s IFA Annual Convention with Host Jack Monson. Today you’ll hear from Javier Solis, CEO of Toro Taxes Franchise and winner of this year’s Ronald E Harrison Award. Javier has had an impressive journey from starting his own tax business to building a franchise system with over 250 units to being a voice for millions of business owners in the US through the IFA and the Latino Leadership Council. Next, we’ll chat with Dawn Kane, Co-Founder and CEO of Hot Dish Advertising. Dawn is this year’s winner of the Bonnie Levine Award and shares her thoughts on where franchising has been and where we’re going in 2025! Thanks to ActiveCampaign and Hughes. Special Guests: Dawn Kane and Javier Solis.

We’re kicking off a series of episodes highlighting leaders and award winners at this year’s IFA Annual Convention with host Jack Monson. Today you’ll hear from Dan Monaghan, CEO of Clear Summit Group, and winner of the William Rosenberg Leadership Award. Dan shares his view on franchising’s future and the impact of AI and other innovations on the space. Next, we’ll chat with Richard Weissman, Co-Founder, CEO, and Chair of The Learning Experience. Richard is also this year’s IFA Entrepreneur of the Year and discusses the business climate he sees for fellow entrepreneurs in 2025. Thanks to ActiveCampaign and Hughes. Special Guests: Dan Monaghan and Richard Weissman.

Today on Franchise Voice: preview of The 2025 IFA Convention. First, host Jack Monson speaks with Nadia Carta of Google who will lead a session at the convention on AI for Franchises. Next, author and keynote speaker Nick Westergaard will preview his session about Scrappy Marketing for Franchises. Today’s podcast is brought to you by Hughes, and Xpressdocs. Special Guests: Nadia Carta and Nick Westergaard.

Matt Haller, President and CEO of The International Franchise Association, shares an update of a busy end of 2024 including positive changes in the NLRB and his review of the upcoming Federal Trade Commission and Small Business Administration leadership nominees who will have an impact on Franchising. Matt also gives a preview of the 2025 IFA Convention with speakers James Clear, Danny Hughes, and incoming IFA Chair Mary Thompson. Today’s podcast is brought to you by Hughes. Register now for IFA 2025: https://www.franchise.org Read the brochure for this exciting event: https://issuu.com/franchise411/docs/conventionbrochure2025

IFA’s SVP of Government Relations and Public Affairs Michael Layman joins the podcast from the DNC Convention in Chicago. Michael shares ideas on what to expect at the upcoming IFA Advocacy Summit in DC September 9 – 11 including relationship-building for the future with our representatives. We’re positioning Franchising for a big 2025 including tax reforms for small businesses after the current provisions expire in the coming year. Also on this episode, we welcome Alex Porter. Alex is the CEO of Location3, a digital partner of many multi-location brands and a member of the IFA Supplier Forum Advisory Board. He joins us live today from Google HQ with the latest on what’s next for Franchise marketers! Thanks to Hughes for your support. Special Guests: Alex Porter and Michael Layman.

Welcome to THE podcast from the International Franchise Association: Franchise Voice. Today we’re speaking with IFA President and CEO Matt Haller and IFA Board member / multi-unit franchise owner Rob Branca. This conversation was recorded live at the IFA’s Summer Board Meeting in Nashville with host Jack Monson. Matt and Rob share updates on several tax and financial issues that will soon affect small business owners. Thanks to today’s sponsor, Xpressdocs. Special Guest: Rob Branca.

The Franchise Ascension Initiative, a six-month accelerator program aimed at preparing qualified individuals from underrepresented communities with education, mentorship, resources, and guidance in accessing capital to maximize the opportunity for success through a career in franchise ownership. On today's podcast, we will speak with the visionary of The Franchise Ascension Initiative, Omar Simmons, IFA Board Member and Managing Director of Exaltare Capital Partners. Simmons says, “Franchising has been at the center of my journey and can provide a unique path to financial freedom for others. Now it is time to pay it forward so that even more people can have access to the same opportunities I had." Interested candidates can apply now at https://pages.franchise.org/ifa-franchise-ascension-initiative/ Special Guest: Omar Simmons.

Today we're wrapping up our series recorded live at IFA 2024 with the winners of the Entrepreneur of the Year Award: Nick Friedman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/collegehunkshaulingjunk/) and Omar Soliman (https://www.linkedin.com/in/omar-soliman-8119791/) of College HUNKS Hauling Junk and Moving. Nick and Omar discuss their thoughts on the award, the evolution they've seen in 20 years in franchising, and what they want to share with the next generation of business leaders. We'll also check in with Jamie Izaks (https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamieizaks/) of All Points PR on AI and other takeaways from this convention! Special Guests: Jamie Izaks, Nick Friedman, and Omar Soliman.

Today on Franchise Voice, Jack Monson hosts another in our special series of shows recorded live at the IFA 2024 Convention. We’ll speak with some of the top leaders in franchising including Tamra Kennedy of Taco John’s, Dr Kathleen Gosser and her students from the University of Louisville, and Tony Valle of Clear Summit Group! We’re discussing the theme of Franchise Smarter and what each of these individuals would like to tell the world about franchising! Our specia guests: Tamra Kennedy is a Multi-Unit Franchisee with Taco John’s, member of the IFA Board of Directors, and this year’s winner of The Bonnie Levine Award. Dr Kathleen Gosser leads the Yum! Center for Global Franchise Excellence at the University of Louisville. Today she is joined by her Program Coordinator Annie Nell Wadley and four top students who share their impressive stories of launching into the franchise space! Tony Valle is the Managing Partner of Clear Summit Group and is the winner of this year’s William Rosenberg Leadership Award. Special Guests: Kathleen Gosser, Tamra Kennedy, and Tony Valle.