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October 25-26, 2023 | Austin, TX

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#FBRSummit23

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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.

Location:
Sheraton Austin Hotel at the Capitol
701 E 11th St, Austin TX 78701

Date and Time:
October 25, 2023 10:00 am –
October 26, 2023 4:00 pm

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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

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Operational

Excellence

Franchisee

Onboarding

Change

Management

Marketing &

Technology Execution

Supporting Multi-Unit Owners

Flexible Workforce Management

Leading a Culture-

First Organization

Successful

Field Visits

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

Executive Summit

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

Schedule and Program

October 25th

Outside Capitol Ballroom

Capitol Ballroom

Fire It Up! Your Summit Experience Starts Now.
Capitol Ballroom

We’re kicking off day one with an interactive, action-packed Fire It Up session! Angela Coté and the AC Inc team will set the tone for your FBR Summit experience by establishing your goals, connecting to your WHY, and setting action steps to get the very most out of this event.

Angela will guide you through this energizing session and give you clarity on how to truly level up in your operations role. Oh, and there will be creativity galore with playdough, pipe cleaners, paper airplanes — you will not want to miss this session!

  • Angela Cote, CEO, AC Inc
  • Jennifer Brannon, VP of Operations/Franchise Growth Advisor, AC Inc
  • Steven Inglefield, COO, AC Inc

Getting Candid: Lessons on Leading a Franchise to #1
Capitol Ballroom

What does it take to be a #1 franchise? In this session, we host a candid conversation with the CEOs of two distinct franchise systems: NextHome, the #1 rated service brand (and #1 overall) and Christian Brothers Automotive, the #1 rated brick and mortar brand (and #3 overall) in FBR’s research. 

We’ll dive deep into their contrasting methodologies—one focused on innovative approaches to interpersonal relationships emphasizing flexibility and adaptability, and the other rooted in maintaining consistency and long-term franchise relations based on core values. We’ll share the data behind their success and how each uses it to build and continuously improve upon solid operational systems. 

Through their shared wisdom, you’ll learn how to elevate your franchise operations, strengthen relationships with franchisees, foster a successful franchise culture, and drive profitability. 

  • Don Carr, President & CEO, Christian Brothers Automotive
  • James Dwiggins, CEO, NextHome
  • Mary Ann O’Connell, President, Franwise [Moderator]

The Legal Pitfalls That Can Derail Your Ops Team
Capitol Ballroom

Buffalo Wild Wings sued for boneless wings that aren’t actually “wings”? The frivolous lawsuit over Subway’s tuna? These may be extreme examples, but there are legal issues that franchise ops teams (and not just food brands) have to deal with that suck up time and energy better spent on supporting franchisees. From joint-employer concerns to breach of contract to wrongful termination, our legal experts will share real-world scenarios around legal pitfalls for franchise operations and practical ideas for how to avoid them. 

  • Marisa Faunce, Partner, Place Koch
  • Brian Schnell, Partner, Faegre Drinker

AI-Mazing: How to Use Artificial Intelligence to Take Your Franchise Operations to the Next Level
Capitol Ballroom

Welcome to the exciting world of AI (Artificial Intelligence)! Promised to be a session NOT TO MISS, this isn’t just any old panel discussion—it’s a hands-on, interactive workshop where we’ll be diving deep into the world of AI and helping you unlock its potential for YOUR franchise operations.

Bring your laptops and get ready to roll up your sleeves as we work together as a group to tackle LIVE case studies and optimize your day-to-day tasks. Our expert facilitators from Stay in Your Lane, a boutique franchise consulting company, will guide you every step of the way with lots of energy and a fun atmosphere. Laughter is guaranteed.

By the end of this round table, you’ll have the knowledge and tools you need to harness the power of AI to boost your KPIs, streamline your manuals, and take your franchise to the next level.

  • Patti Rother, VP of Franchise Development, The Now Massage + Stay In Your Lane
  • Ingrid Schneider, CEO, Stay In Your Lane

Capitol Ballroom

Capitol Ballroom

This is where YOU get to drive the conversation! Topics will be based on the morning’s poll of the biggest roadblocks for franchise ops teams. Notes and best practices for ALL topics will be distributed post-event.

Capitol Ballroom

Backyard

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!

October 26th

Outside Capitol Ballroom

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

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

Texas Tailgate

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!

Thank You to Our Partners!
PLATINUM PARTNER
Angela Cote Inc, logo
GOLD PARTNER
FranConnect Logo
SILVER PARTNERS
LearningZen Logo
serviceminder logo
Stay in Your Lane franchise supplier sponsor summit
Zorakle Profiles
Bloom growth logo
career plug logo
Delightree Logo
BRONZE PARTNERS
Faegre Drinker logo
RocketBarn Marketing logo
Profit Keeper logo
ZorForum Logo
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.

Don’t Miss Out!

Tickets are limited! Register early to save your spot.

Register Now