Last week, I attended my first Multi-Unit Franchising Conference (MUFC) with Ben Eberdt.
We heard from incredible speakers like the legendary Jim Colins and iconic Chef Jeff, and met with industry experts, franchise owners, suppliers, and franchisors (brands). There were learnings on everything from the distinguishing factors of humility and indelible will (read Good to Great), how to best support franchisees to enable their growth, the impact of proposed changes in tax policy on small business owners like franchisees and even how to attract the most people to your booth (chicken fingers anyone!).
Here were some of my key takeaways:
1. Franchising is a complex business model with a huge impact on our economy. With +800,000 franchise locations delivering $860B and employing 8.7M people in the US, franchising is a critical engine of our country's growth and economic output. Franchising allows many people to opportunity to live the American dream - creating wealth for their families and contributing within their communities.
2. Stories provide meaningful insight into success and failures. At MUFC, I heard inspiring stories and lessons learned from brands scaling their business model, hiring, and retaining the right talent and making investments in their infrastructure to support Franchisees. These were insightful conversations that inspired a sense of community rather than competition. I spoke to successful Franchisees who started with 1 unit and then grew to 10 and then 100+ units over time – speaking to their dedication to their teams in good times and bad (aka COVID). These stories were great reminders of our responsibility as Franchisors to support Franchisees and unlock the flywheels of growth.
3. This conference, like most, was certainly about connections. Whether meeting suppliers, brands, franchisees, or the occasional pit boss (hey it was Vegas after all!) there were many connections made. Some of these connections will bear fruit in future advice or eventual partnerships, but all were the opportunity to expand our network and collective knowledge. I look forward to nurturing these relationships.
4. I’m leaving the conference with even more conviction for what we are doing at GoDog. Having gotten our first conference under our belt, it also means having pitched GoDog at least 100 times over 48 hours! That experience was invaluable. GoDog is operating in a fast-growing industry with enormous potential - the pet industry is $130B growing at a CAGR of +5% over the next 5 years. There are many concepts moving into this space yet there is only one GoDog. I am even more lit up by what we are doing in the pet space and in franchising and cannot wait to share our stories with others as we continue to grow and raise the bar in Franchising!
#godog
