FBR SUMMIT 2023
Join Us October 25th
The Summit is back! Join us in Austin this October for the most-anticipated event of the year for franchise operations teams.
Last year’s event sold out within just a few weeks. Don’t get shut out! Register early to save your spot.
Need approval to get your Summit expenses covered? We prepared a pitch you can use to convince your boss so you can meet us in Austin! How to convince your boss.
Is the Summit for You?
The Summit is a two-day intensive event created just for franchise operations leaders and their teams that directly support franchisees.
Get yourself to Austin if you’re a:
- Franchise Operations Leader
- Franchise Operations Manager
- Franchise Business Coach
- Field Support Staff
- HR or Recruiting Pro
Heads up for our supplier friends: The Summit is only open to sponsoring suppliers. If you’re interested in sponsoring, drop us a line.
Conference Themes
This isn’t your same-old panel-style conference. The Summit is all about working through your biggest challenges and getting hands-on, practical takeaways you won’t get anywhere else. Get ready to dig in, get down to nuts and bolts, and start making an immediate impact on franchisees’ long-term success.
Operational Excellence
Franchisee Onboarding
Change Management
Marketing & Technology Execution
Flexible Workforce Management
Leading a Culture-First Organization
Successful Field Visits
Supporting Multi-Unit Owners
Susan Black-Beth, COO and Culture Champion of Avante Capital Partners | Franchise operator, founder, and entrepreneur
Keynote Presentation
Mastering the Toughest Job in Franchising: The Role FBCs Play in Driving a Dynamic Franchise Culture
Culture is indisputably one of the most important differentiators in franchising. Franchise leadership is ultimately responsible for the overall culture of the organization, but FBCs are the unsung heroes that can make it (or break it). Susan Black-Beth will share her perspectives from 22+ years as a multi-unit franchisee, franchisor, advisor and private equity investor on why FBCs are the bedrock of a dynamic franchise culture, what they need from franchise leaders to be successful, and the secrets every FBC needs to know to align franchisors and franchisees with a shared vision for success.
Accommodations
Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol
701 E 11th Street
Austin TX 78701
Discounted Room Block: $259/night (plus applicable taxes). Subject to availability.
Includes free wifi ($14.95/day) and $20 self-parking ($42/night).
Book online or call central reservations at 1-888-627-8349 and mention group code FB8.
Room block discounts for the Summit extended due to high demand. A limited number of rooms are still available at the special FBR rate. Reserve now to save your spot.
Just for Operations Executives
OCTOBER 26 | 10:15 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
The Summit features a special executive session exclusively for C-level and VP operations executives to work through strategies and tactics to support your FBCs and franchisee support teams. Learn how ops executives are leading their teams to drive maximum performance for your franchisees and your brand.
Seats are limited to 20. Email Michelle Rowan to reserve your spot.
Speakers
Louwana Ball
VP of Operations, Synergy HomeCare
Jennifer Brannon
Don Carr
President & CEO, Christian Brothers Automotive
Angela Cote
CEO, AC Inc
James Dwiggins
CEO, NextHome
Marisa Faunce
Partner, Plave Koch
Rob Flanagan
President & Cultural Co-founder, Hounds Town USA
John Francis
Franchisee and Advisor, ZorForum
Evan Hackel
President, Ingage Consulting
Todd Houghton
Chris Igou
Vice President, CareerPlug
Steven Inglefield
COO, AC Inc
Jeff Lewis
Assistant Vice President of Franchise Support, FASTSIGNS
Douglas Mark
President, Learning Zen
Matt Martin
President & CEO, RocketBarn Marketing
Kyle McEuen
President & COO, ProfitKeeper
Tony Mohorn
Franchise People Operations Manager, Threshold Brands
Indi Nandhra
Mary Ann O'Connell
President, Franwise
Patti Rother
President, Stay In Your Lane
Michelle Rowan
President & COO, Franchise Business Review
Ingrid Schneider
CEO, Stay In Your Lane
Brian Schnell
Partner, Faegre Drinker
Courtney Stillings
Director of Client Development, Franchise Business Review
Eric Stites
CEO and Managing Director, Franchise Business Review
Toni Harris Taylor
Franchisee, Network in Action Global Partners
Louwana Ball
VP of Operations, Synergy HomeCare
Jennifer Brannon
Don Carr
President & CEO, Christian Brothers Automotive
Angela Cote
CEO, AC Inc
James Dwiggins
CEO, NextHome
Marisa Faunce
Partner, Plave Koch
Rob Flanagan
President & Cultural Co-founder, Hounds Town USA
John Francis
Franchisee and Advisor, ZorForum
Evan Hackel
President, Ingage Consulting
Todd Houghton
Chris Igou
Vice President, CareerPlug
Steven Inglefield
COO, AC Inc
Jeff Lewis
Assistant Vice President of Franchise Support, FASTSIGNS
Douglas Mark
President, Learning Zen
Matt Martin
President & CEO, RocketBarn Marketing
Kyle McEuen
President & COO, ProfitKeeper
Indi Nandhra
Multi-Unit Franchisee Mathnasium, Fractional Consultant
Mary Ann O'Connell
President, Franwise
Patti Rother
President, Stay In Your Lane
Michelle Rowan
President & COO, Franchise Business Review
Ingrid Schneider
CEO, Stay In Your Lane
Brian Schnell
Partner, Faegre Drinker
Eric Stites
CEO and Managing Director, Franchise Business Review
Courtney Stillings
Director of Client Development, Franchise Business Review
Toni Harris Taylor
Franchisee, Network in Action Global Partners
Schedule and Program
October 25th
October 26th
Outside Capitol Ballroom
Foyer
Mastering the Toughest Job in Franchising: The Role FBCs Play in Driving a Dynamic Franchise Culture
Capitol Ballroom
Susan Black-Beth, COO of Avante Capital Partners, will share her perspectives from 22+ years as a multi-unit franchisee, franchisor, advisor and private equity investor on why FBCs are the unsung heroes that can make or break your franchise culture.
Capitol Ballroom
Tannehill
Creating Engaging Training Videos: From Meh to Amazing in Minutes
Rooms A-C
Gone are the days of training videos that are simply slide decks or talking heads. TikTok, YouTube, Instagram…they’ve all changed how people consume and engage with video. In this workshop-style session, you’ll become the video editor. You’ll start with a three-minute snooze-worthy training video and, working in groups, transform it into an engaging, entertaining, and effective masterpiece using callouts, zooms, voiceover, sound effects and more. You’ll leave with the skills to take your own training video library from “meh” to amazing in no time.
- Douglas Mark, President, Learning Zen
Culture Revamp: How FBCs Can Lead Franchisees to a People-First Mindset
Rooms F-H
You know culture is more critical than ever to employee engagement (and we’ll share the data to prove it), but like most franchisors, you probably have a hard time influencing organizational culture at the franchisee level. In this results-focused session, you’ll walk through a live exercise alongside a franchisee and FBC as they define the culture in the franchisee’s organization—and where it’s failing. You’ll leave knowing exactly how FBCs can coach franchisees through a transformational culture shift and lead them to a shared vision that boosts employee recruitment, engagement and retention.
- Rob Flanagan, President & Cultural Co-founder, Hounds Town USA
- Evan Hackel, President, Ingage Consulting
Capitol Ballroom
Busy Is Bad: Easy Ways to Help Franchisees Connect the Dots Between Financial Analysis and the Bottom Line
Rooms A-C
Franchisees admit they don’t always consistently look at their financials. Franchisors are frustrated when franchisees don’t turn them in. And that’s no good for anyone’s business. Fortunately, there is a better way. In this session, a former franchisee and accountant offers tactical advice on how to coach franchisees to go beyond simply monitoring their bank account and connect the dots between financial analysis and profitability. You’ll leave with best practices to make it easy to help franchises understand where they need to focus to become more profitable, and in turn grow your brand.
- Louwana Ball, VP of Operations, Synergy HomeCare
- Kyle McEuen, President & COO, ProfitKeeper
Ignite Success: 5 Proven Methods for Franchisees to Build and Keep Dream Teams
Rooms F-H
It’s no secret that recruiting and retaining employees is a top priority for franchisees. When franchisees build and keep a great team, they can focus on growing their business. But that’s easier said than done!
In this interactive session, we’ll discuss five key topics to help franchisees build and keep their dream teams. We’ll also discuss how franchisors can support franchisees without overstepping joint employer boundaries.
You’ll walk away with actionable insights on:
- Building and maintaining a strong company culture
- Empowering franchisees with hiring best practices
- Educating franchisees to “recruit like you sell”
- Leveraging AI to hire great people, faster
- Retaining employees from Day 1
Plus, everyone who attends will get a free copy of CareerPlug’s CEO Clint Smith’s book, How to Hire.
- Chris Igou, Vice President, CareerPlug
- Jeff Lewis, Assistant Vice President of Franchise Support, FASTSIGNS
Foyer
Sun’s Out, Spoons Out!
VIP Parking Area
Austin’s local Ben and Jerry’s franchisee will be rolling up to the Summit to dish out your favorite flavors during the lunch break. How sweet it is!
When Your Marketing Isn’t Working for Franchisees…Ops Teams to the Rescue!
Capitol Ballroom
Too often in franchising, local consumer marketing can become a disconnected scene of rogue vendors, DIY’ers, and rebel-rousing zees wreaking havoc within your brand. We’ll explain why ops teams are the key to helping franchisees shift their mindset when it comes to marketing; holding franchisees accountable and ensuring their marketing strategies build compounding results for both themselves and the brand as a whole.
We’ll share some tips on how to encourage zees to put their time and money in the right areas, and we will also dig into how you can foster intentional community involvement and networking as a valuable and measurable activity—all part of a holistic local marketing mindset. Our goal is to inspire ops to more effectively coach franchisees in a way that will help them attract more customers, grow their business and accelerate success.
This session is not about understanding marketing in the typical sense, it’s about empowering operations teams with practical tools to actively participate in and influence the marketing strategies of their franchisees to yield higher performance across the entire system.
- Matt Martin, President & CEO, RocketBarn Marketing
- Toni Harris Taylor, Franchisee, Network in Action Global Partners
Unlocking the Power of People Systems: Behind the Scenes with One of the Most Innovative Models of Franchisee Support
Capitol Ballroom
We’re pulling back the curtains for a behind the scenes look at how a leading platform brand created one of franchising’s most innovative models of franchisee support in this Q&A session with Tony Mohorn.
A former franchisee and Threshold Brands’ Franchise People Operations Manager, he’ll share the evolution of their franchisee support team structure and how they’re creating a highly productive and mutually beneficial relationship with franchisees based on shared service roles and maximizing the soft skills and hard skills of both franchisees and their managers. Plus, he’ll share his experience around getting the most out of vendor partners’ expertise and how to hold them accountable for providing service and support.
Whether you’re operating multiple franchise brands under one umbrella or growing a single or small brand, you’ll leave with practical, scalable, people-first strategies you can implement immediately to better support your franchisees.
- Tony Mohorn, Franchise People Operations Manager, Threshold Brands
Capitol Ballroom
Capitol Ballroom
Roadblocks to Multi-Unit Growth: A Case Study
Today, 54% of the franchise industry is controlled by multi-unit owners, but figuring out how to move franchisees to that next level of ownership can sometimes feel like figuring out how to eat an elephant. In this session, you’ll take what you’ve learned at the Summit and tackle that elephant! You’ll hear true stories from actual multi-unit owners with different goals—generational wealth, portfolio diversification, single-unit to multi-unit expansion—and the roadblocks they faced. Working In small groups, you’ll come up with strategies to support them and share your plan with the entire room. We’ll then reveal what really happened and you’ll get to hear what worked and what didn’t directly from the franchisees and the operations support team.
- Todd Houghton, Brand President, Homewatch Caregivers
- Indi Nandhra, Mathnasium Franchisee + Independent Franchise and Small Business Consultant
Capitol Ballroom
October 25th
Don’t worry, we saved some time for fun, too! Join us on Wednesday evening for a good ole Texas Tailgate party, featuring signature cocktails and mocktails. Put on your dancing boots and get ready for some Texas Two Steppin’ led by DivaDance!
The Fine Print
Refunds and Cancellations
Registration fees are not refundable but are transferable to a person in the same company, pending approval from FBR, up until 2 business days prior to the event. Substitutions will NOT be allowed on-site. Please email [email protected] for assistance.
No refunds if you cancel or do not show up. Your completed registration constitutes a binding agreement.