Dear Frannie: Franchise Growth, Leadership and Scaling Advice

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Dear Frannie is the franchise advice column you didn't know you needed. Hosted by Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO, and James Vitrano, Franchise Operator, each episode tackles one real question franchisors are quietly wrestling with - from franchisee adoption and growth friction to leadership blind spots and operational scale. No panels. No keynote speak. No fluff. Just two people who've been inside franchise systems answering the questions brand leaders are afraid to ask out loud. If you're a franchisor navigating the messy middle of scale - this show was made for you. New episodes drop bi-weekly. Subscribe so you don't miss the next one.

  1. Sep 23

    Dear Frannie | Am I a Joint Employer of My Franchisee's Staff?

    You want every location to feel the same. Your lawyer wants you to stay out of your franchisee's HR file. Where's the line? Franchise attorney Lee Plave of Plave Koch joins Katherine to break down the American Franchise Act (HR 5267) and the question underneath it: when does a franchisor cross from setting brand standards into being a joint employer of their franchisee's staff — and what happens when they do? Lee came out of the Federal Trade Commission and has spent decades representing franchisors at every scale, from IHG, Hilton and 7-Eleven to brands that sold their first unit last month. In this conversation he lays out the rule that keeps franchisors on the right side of the line — standardize the output, not the input — and explains why the most cautious legal advice, "don't train them, don't talk to them," is both self-defeating and, in some businesses, genuinely unsafe. In this episode: What vicarious liability and joint employer status actually mean for a growing brandWhat the American Franchise Act is trying to codify, and why it exists nowThe output-versus-input rule, and how to apply it to your own brand standardsWhy cheap franchise documents are the most expensive purchase you'll makeHow to spot an agreement that came off a document mill or out of an AIWhat to do instead of directing your franchisee's employeesWhy one rogue franchisee damages the other ninety-nine, not just the brandKatherine LeBlanc and James Vitrano have spent a combined 40+ years in the trenches of franchising — across marketing, operations, legal, and franchise development — working with brands at every stage of growth. They've sat in the rooms where the hard calls get made, and they're not shy about sharing what they've seen work and what they've watched blow up. Katherine works with franchisors through Apollo CMO, stepping in as the strategic marketing resource brands need when growth gets ahead of the marketing function. If this one hit close to home, reach out. Want to go deeper? 🌐 apollocmo.com ▶️ @KatherineLeBlanc_Franchise on YouTube 🔗 linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc 📩 katherine@apollocmo.com

  2. Sep 9

    Dear Frannie | My Franchise Pipeline Is Full: How Do I Build Out Without Blowing the Budget?

    You're staring at a full pipeline and want to be intentional about build-out — what should you actually be prepared for? Katherine LeBlanc and James Vitrano sit down with Charlie Guzzetta, founding partner of Depot and former President & Chief Development Officer of BurgerFi (9 to 135 locations and public on the NASDAQ). Charlie now builds and designs kitchens for some of the hottest restaurant brands around, and he lays out how to scale without blowing your budget or your brand: why you should design a business instead of a restaurant, the three Ps of build-out (pre-planning, prototypes, post-mortem), how a "family of prototypes" keeps you flexible, and where restaurant tech is finally getting affordable for emerging brands. A practical playbook for any franchisor heading into a growth phase. About the hosts: Katherine LeBlanc and James Vitrano have a combined 40+ years in franchising — across marketing, operations, legal, and franchise development. Katherine is the founder of Apollo CMO, helping franchise brands grow. Go deeper: 🌐 apollocmo.com | ▶️ @KatherineLeBlanc_Franchise on YouTube | 🔗 linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc | 📩 katherine@apollocmo.com

  3. Aug 26

    Dear Frannie | I'm Ready to Grow Franchise Sales — Where Do I Actually Start?

    You're ready to grow your franchise — so where do you actually start? In this episode of Dear Frannie, Katherine LeBlanc and James Vitrano tackle the question every emerging franchisor is asking: where do I start my franchise development process, especially when budgets are tight? Their answer is the one most brands skip: start inside your own four walls. Before you spend a dollar on external lead generation, your fans, employees, and customers are your warmest and most likely franchisees. Katherine and James unpack why "marketing is momentum," why cheap external leads are often the most expensive path, why passive income is a dangerous sales pitch, and why growing slow is a feature, not a failure. Whether you're an emerging brand launching franchising or a seasoned operator over-indexed on external spend, this episode will change where you put your next dollar. Katherine LeBlanc is a franchise growth and marketing advisor and founder of Apollo CMO, helping brands build franchise sales programs that convert. Reach her at katherine@apollocmo.com. About the hosts: Katherine LeBlanc and James Vitrano have spent a combined 40+ years in the trenches of franchising — across marketing, operations, legal, and franchise development. They've sat in the rooms where the hard calls get made, and they share what they've seen work and what they've watched blow up. 🌐 apollocmo.com ▶️ @KatherineLeBlanc_Franchise on YouTube 🔗 linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc 📩 katherine@apollocmo.com

  4. Aug 12

    Dear Frannie | My Franchisees Could Scale - So Why Won't They?

    Even the most experienced franchise leaders get stuck on this one: you have owners who could scale — they have the territory, the model, the support — and they still won't move. In this episode, Katherine and James sit down with Sean Fitzgerald, President of TruBlue Home Service Ally, to dig into exactly that problem. Sean joined TruBlue when they had 20 locations. They're now at 120+ territories. He's not guessing about the messy middle — he's in it. They cover franchisee selection (hint: passion and team-building matter more than financials), the owner-operator ceiling that quietly kills growth, and what TruBlue built to address it: a dedicated scaling coach, a prescriptive revenue roadmap, and a required BDR role baked into the system. The networking vs. LSM debate is also one for the books — and worth your full attention whether you're a franchisor or a franchisee. Got a question you're wrestling with? We want to hear it. 📩 katherine@apollocmo.com 🌐 apollocmo.com 🔗 linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc ▶️ Watch on YouTube: @KatherineLeBlanc_Franchise

  5. Jul 29

    Dear Frannie | How Do I Drive a Successful Grand Opening

    In this episode, Katherine LeBlanc sits down with Madelaine Reis, Head of Marketing at Biscuit Belly, to unpack what a repeatable grand opening playbook looks like in practice. Biscuit Belly's last two openings both crossed $50,000 in revenue in week one — and Madelaine built their entire program from a blank PowerPoint starting at store number four. They talk through the full funnel: PR, paid media, influencers, food drops, friends-and-family events, and loyalty program onboarding. They cover how to sequence it all when your opening date keeps moving, why you should never open cold, and what it costs franchisors when ops waits too long to loop in marketing. Whether you're opening your next location or building a grand opening program for the first time, this episode gives you a real-world look at what actually moves the needle. Have a question you're wrestling with? Submit it at apollocmo.com or reach us at katherine@apollocmo.com. Find Dear Frannie on YouTube @KatherineLeBlanc_Franchise and connect with Katherine at linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc.

  6. Jul 15

    What does a franchisee actually own — and what are you responsible for?

    What should you actually expect your franchisees to own — and what's yours to carry? In this episode, Katherine and James dig into the expectation gap that creates more friction in franchise systems than almost anything else. They start with a live observation from IFE — the International Franchise Expo — and a question Katherine's been sitting with: when does a hyper-niche concept become too simple to sustain? And how do you build a moat around an offering before the fad fades? Then the Dear Frannie question: What should I expect my franchisees to own? They break down: Why franchisors hesitate to tell franchisees "this is your business — run it"The "you own the business, we own the brand" framework and what it actually means in practiceThe difference between passion-play buyers and hard-industry operators — and why expectations have to be set differentlyWhat franchisee complaints about marketing are usually really aboutHow to define your role in their profitability so both sides know where the line isKatherine LeBlanc and James Vitrano have a combined 40+ years across franchise marketing, operations, legal, and development. They've been in the room where hard decisions get made — and they're not shy about sharing what they've seen. 📩 Got a question you're wrestling with? Submit it at apollocmo.com or reach Katherine directly at katherine@apollocmo.com 🌐 apollocmo.com | 🔗 linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc | ▶️ @MyPodcastHost on YouTube

  7. Jul 1

    Dear Frannie | When Is a Franchise Actually Ready to Sell Franchises?

    You've been selling franchises yourself — between meetings, on instinct, whenever you have time. But is that actually a process? Katherine and James take a listener's question about building a franchise development function and pull it back to the question most franchisors skip: do you have a franchisable concept in the first place? They cover the red flags, the real cost of creating demand, what to build first, and why the long-term view is non-negotiable. About the Hosts Katherine LeBlanc and James Vitrano have spent a combined 40+ years in the trenches of franchising — across marketing, operations, legal, and franchise development — working with brands at every stage of growth. They've sat in the rooms where the hard calls get made, and they're not shy about sharing what they've seen work and what they've watched blow up.  Want to go deeper? 🌐 apollocmo.com ▶️ @MyPodcastHost on YouTube 🔗 linkedin.com/in/katherineleblanc 📩 katherine@apollocmo.com

  8. Jun 17

    Dear Frannie | How Do I Know If My Marketing Team Is Actually Working?

    You hired people to do marketing. Things are getting posted, flyers are getting made, someone's running social. But sales aren't moving — and you honestly don't know if your team is the problem or if you are. In this episode, Katherine and James get into what franchisors actually get wrong when they build a junior marketing team without a senior leader in place. Katherine has been in the marketing seat long enough to know how this plays out — and James has been the frustrated operator on the other side of it. They cover what coordinator-level marketers should actually own, how to measure their work without expecting the wrong things, and what it looks like when you've genuinely outgrown the setup you have. Also in this episode: approved vendor programs — required list or franchisee's call? Produced by My Podcast Host — the podcast platform built for franchising. Because the best franchise knowledge shouldn't stay behind closed doors. New episodes twice a month.

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Dear Frannie is the franchise advice column you didn't know you needed. Hosted by Katherine LeBlanc, Fractional CMO, and James Vitrano, Franchise Operator, each episode tackles one real question franchisors are quietly wrestling with - from franchisee adoption and growth friction to leadership blind spots and operational scale. No panels. No keynote speak. No fluff. Just two people who've been inside franchise systems answering the questions brand leaders are afraid to ask out loud. If you're a franchisor navigating the messy middle of scale - this show was made for you. New episodes drop bi-weekly. Subscribe so you don't miss the next one.

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