In this episode of Dear Frannie, hosts Katherine LeBlanc and James Vitrano break down one of the biggest franchising questions founders face: should you franchise with one proven location, or wait until multiple units are established?  They discuss why strong unit economics matter more than speed, the risks of franchising too early, and what franchisors often overlook when trying to scale fast.  

The conversation also tackles why growth stalls in franchise systems, how to tell whether the problem is marketing or operations, and which KPIs franchise leaders should watch to diagnose issues early. Katherine and James explain why alignment between marketing and operations is critical to sustainable franchise growth.

We're joined by Marina O’Rourke, Fractional CTO of T-Source, and Chris Peterson, Fractional CTO, of The Restaurant Assistants.  We answer a Dear Frannie question from a franchise company: "We’re thinking about engaging experienced franchisees to train new franchisees and/or developing a mentoring or coaching program. What are some pros and cons to this?"

This week on Dear Frannie, we're joined by Katherine Meariman, VP of Training at Smoothie King, and Garrick Robert, VP of Operations at Salad Station to answer your questions. we answer a Dear Frannie question from a franchise company: "We’re thinking about engaging experienced franchisees to train new franchisees and/or developing a mentoring or coaching program. What are some pros and cons to this?"

We're joined by Scott Abbott and Chad Jones from Five Star Franchising to answer your questions!  We answer a Dear Frannie question about new franchisors moving from the business owner/operator role into the 'franchisor' role and tips for making this a smooth transition.

We're joined by Fractional CMO Alexandra Russo, and Will Fraker of The Good Feet Store to answer your questions!  We kick off the episode with what everyone is reading, and then we answer a Dear Frannie question about how to measure the success of your marketing campaigns and programs.

We're joined by Marianne Murphy of Franchise Pulse, and Marcia Mead of M Squared Franchise Consulting to answer your questions!  We kick off the episode with what everyone is reading, and then we answer a Dear Frannie question about how to create more alignment and better communication between your franchise development and operations teams.

We're joined by Mike Millett and Rob Lancit of Stratus Building Solutions, and Liane Caruso of Hello CMO and Franchise Assembly to answer your questions!  We kick off the episode with what everyone is reading, and then we answer a question about how to get your marketing team and franchise development team aligned and working together.

We're joined by JT Thiessen of Home Franchise Brands, and Maureen Anders of AR Workshops to answer your questions!  We kick off the episode with what everyone is reading, and then we answer a question about how involved the home office team should be in getting your franchisees funded.

We're joined again by Nancy Bigley of The Little Gym International and Snapology, and Don Varady, Co-Founder & CEO of Clean Eatz to answer your questions!  We dive into our Dear Frannie question about how to increase current franchisee buy-in if you're struggling with culture fit with your owners.

We're joined by Jennifer Axelrod of A Place At Home franchise and Tom O’Keefe, a franchise advisor and practicing lawyer to answer your Dear Frannie questions.  We answer a question about how to navigate when franchisees are no longer following the systems, processes, and marketing programs from their initial training.

Season 2 opens with a spirited debate between Katherine LeBlanc and James Vitrano on the role of ad funds in growing franchise systems.

They then tackle a Dear Frannie question that catches many brands off guard: why does scaling from 30–75 locations feel more difficult than early growth?

What starts as disagreement turns into a deeper conversation about structure, franchisee expectations, and how ad funds can either create friction — or become a strategic advantage.

We're joined by Marina O’Rourke, Fractional CTO of T-Source, and Chris Peterson, Fractional CTO, of The Restaurant Assistants. We answer a Dear Frannie question from a franchise company: "What considerations should we keep in mind to ensure our technology can scale with future growth? How can we build a tech stack that supports both current and future business needs with limited resources?"

We're joined by Katherine Meariman, VP of Training at Smoothie King, and Garrick Robert, VP of Operations at Salad Station to answer your questions.  We answer a Dear Frannie question from a company that is revamping their franchise training materials and want to know how others standardize their processes while accommodating various learning preferences and varying levels of prior experience?

We're joined by Scott Abbott and Chad Jones from Five Star Franchising to answer your questions!  We begin the episode with our franchise hot takes, and then we answer a Dear Frannie question about how to take a step back as a franchise founder, while still maintaining the valuable relationships with your franchisees.

We're joined by Fractional CMO Alexandra Russo, and Will Fraker of The Good Feet Store to answer your questions!  We begin the episode with our franchise hot takes, and then we answer a Dear Frannie question about how to source and vet the right vendor partners for your brand and stage of growth.

We're joined by Marianne Murphy of Franchise Pulse, and Marcia Mead of M Squared Franchise Consulting to answer your questions!  We kick off the episode with everyone's hot takes, and then we answer a Dear Frannie question about how to overcome rough franchise renewals and make the experience smoother overall.

We're joined by Mike Millett and Rob Lancit of Stratus Building Solutions, and Liane Caruso of Hello CMO and Franchise Assembly to answer your questions!  We kick off the episode with everyone's hot takes, and then we answer a question about how to stay relevant to franchise prospects after the initial emerging brand stage.

We're joined by JT Thiessen of Home Franchise Brands, and Maureen Anders of AR Workshops to answer your questions!  We kick off the episode with some hot takes, and then we answer a question about what to expect from your PR team, how to measure results, and more.

We're joined by Nancy Bigley of The Little Gym International and Snapology, and Don Varady, Co-Founder & CEO of Clean Eatz to answer your questions

We're joined by Jennifer Axelrod of A Place At Home franchise and Tom O’Keefe, a franchise advisor and practicing lawyer to answer your Dear Frannie questions  We kick off the episode with some hot takes, and then we answer a question about how to increase franchisee fees and manage the tough conversations that can come from that process!