More than 800 Franchise Professionals Gathered for Networking, Learning and Celebrating Shared Success
This past October, I attended the 2023 IFPG Retreat (International Franchise Professionals Group) in Hollywood, Fla. This was my fourth time participating in the annual franchise event. I first experienced it in 2020, but that year, it was held virtually due to the pandemic — so I just got a taste of the incredible networking, collaboration and education it offers.
Each year, the IFPG Retreat gets bigger and more interesting. IFPG’s first Retreat in 2017 had just 165 attendees; this year, there were over 800! More than 200 franchise consultants were in attendance, along with franchise professionals who work in diverse roles, representing hundreds of emerging and well-established franchise companies. There were high-level CEOs, innovative founders, committed franchise development professionals and diverse suppliers, from franchise lawyers and accountants to marketers and PR specialists.
The Franchise Family
I initially joined IFPG because of its reputation, and I have stayed with the consulting network because of its great family-like culture. IFPG is the largest and most respected franchise broker network in the business and, at the same time, it feels like a tight-knit community. For the past five years, IFPG has been recognized as the no. 1 franchise broker organization on Entrepreneur magazine’s prestigious top supplier list. It’s also the only franchise consulting group backed by private equity. IFPG’s unique membership-based structure creates a fair and equitable structure and enables consultants like me to access literally hundreds of franchise concepts.
The theme of the 2023 retreat was “We are Family.” This may seem trite to those on the outside, but franchising feels like one big, extended family. Most everyone in franchising agrees with this sentiment. The International Franchise Association reports that there are more than 800,000 franchises in the U.S. alone, but as large as franchising is, it feels quite small. Most people in franchising are super passionate and have a strong bond. Even competitors in franchising have the highest regard for one another and champion each other’s success. There was no greater example of this bond than during the pandemic when franchisors rallied to help each other and share strategies. This collaborative spirit sparked countless innovations for all of franchising.
IFPG Retreat 2023 Agenda
The IFPG Retreat was filled with franchise-sponsored events, which allowed everyone to network and hear the latest in franchising. Premium Service Brands provided a kick-off lunch with 20 team members on hand to speak about nine brands. There were fun parties in the evenings, and for the hardcore fitness enthusiasts, there was an early morning beach workout with Alloy founder Rick Mayo.
There were two speaker panels at the IFPG Retreat. The first topic was ”Strategies for Attracting the Best Candidates.” I was honored to be invited to participate in the second panel, “Family Business: When and How to Get Tough with Indecisive Candidates.” We talked about how to best guide candidates through the franchise discovery process and help them make the life-changing decision of becoming a franchise owner. We all take this seriously since many people leave their careers and invest their life savings into a franchise. It’s up to us as franchise professionals to ensure they find a franchise where they will be successful.
My fellow panelists had some great words of wisdom to share. “Establish trust,‘’ and “Understand a candidate’s why,” were just two gems from panelist Sung Ohm, president of the FranDevCo. Emily Brown, VP at Xponential Fitness, noted that over 40% of the company’s franchisees will add more Xponential Fitness brands to their portfolio.
Speed Networking
There were several speed networking sessions at IFPG Retreat to help consultants better understand the franchises in IFPG’s portfolio. This helps us find ideal franchises for our candidates. Here’s how it works: Four large rooms were set up, and consultants were assigned a room and a table to begin. Over two days, I met with more than 40 franchisors and heard the finer points and differentiators of their brands. I also learned the profiles of ideal franchisees.
A few of the highlights for me: Clay Neff with PestMaster explained what sets the brand apart from its competition. PestMaster has extensive government contracts from the federal to the local level. Steven Lane from Handyman Connection had a great answer when asked how the company handles labor issues. He said the brand helps franchisees recruit for free up to the first year and assists with every aspect of the hiring process except for the actual interview. The company boasts a strong retention rate due to coaching on best practices. Hammer & Nails Grooming for Guys caught my attention with its membership-based model. The emerging brand even has one location with 1,700 members, according to the brand’s VP of franchise development, Jereme Shelton. I also met with franchise development manager Brian Robinson, who noted that American Family Care (AFC) is the only urgent care brand in franchising.
By connecting with franchise professionals, I learned a lot about brands that I may not have realized from just reading the website. For example, I discovered that OxiFresh Carpet Cleaning only uses two gallons of water to clean a home compared to its competition, which uses upwards of 40 to 60 gallons. This is a great fact to share with eco-conscious candidates.
Representing over 500 concepts can be daunting. When speaking with franchisors, I look for certain qualities in a franchise brand. Whether it’s an emerging wellness concept or a home-based service business, a good franchise system is always supportive, has excellent processes and sets franchise owners up for success. For example, it is important for me to hear that a brand’s growth comprises operating locations, not just territories awarded or sold. In franchising, we call them SNOs (sold not opens).
I typically like to work with franchise systems that don’t allow semi-absentee ownership in the first one or two years. But if the model can be passive or have semi-absentee ownership, I always ask how the franchisee will handle a situation such as a general manager quitting suddenly. Mister Sparky has a great process, for example. According to franchise development manager Shae Ananda, the company will help franchisees with hiring. The brand also has a management program, so franchisees can plug in a temporary manager for a daily rate until the franchise owners are back on solid ground.
Franchise Consultant Collaboration
Upon return from the IFPG Retreat, I immediately scheduled time with other consultants who attended so we could brainstorm together and provide feedback to one another. Since we all met with different brands, it was great to hear their highlights and insights. Collaborating in franchising is essential, especially as a franchise consultant. I am already looking forward to IFPG Retreat 2024!
“Living life is fun and we’ve just begun
To gain our share of this world’s delights
Our high hopes we had for the future
And our goal’s in sight”
– We Are Family by Sister Sledge
