Franchise QB

Episode 89: David Craghead, Chief Franchise Expansion Officer- Franserve

• Mike Halpern • Season 1 • Episode 89

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In this episode of the Franchise QB Podcast, host Mike Halpern speaks with David Craghead, Chief Franchise Expansion Officer at Franserve.

They discuss David's extensive background in franchising, the role of Franserve in connecting entrepreneurs with franchise opportunities, and the growth of the franchise industry beyond traditional quick-service restaurants. 

The conversation also highlights the importance of integrity and teamwork in franchising, insights from Franserve's annual convention, and the future prospects for Franserve and its franchise brands.

Takeaways

Franchising is a proven method for developing generational wealth.
Franserve connects entrepreneurs to franchise opportunities at no cost.
The franchise industry has evolved beyond just food concepts.
Service sector franchises are experiencing significant growth.
Franserve has nearly 2,000 members in the franchise consulting community.
Integrity and teamwork are among the core values at Franserve.
Franserve's annual convention is a key networking opportunity.
The franchise industry is adding hundreds of new concepts annually.
Franserve is recognized in the Inc. 5000 for its growth and influence.
The future of Franserve is bright with ongoing expansion and new brands.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction
01:48 David Craghead's Journey in Franchising
06:06 Understanding Franserve's Role in Franchising
09:53 Insights from Franserve's Annual Convention
11:47 Evaluating Franchise Brands for Franserve
15:55 Franserve's Growth and Industry Recognition
18:50 Conclusion

https://franserve.com/

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Contact me and my team with any questions along the way. www.calendly.com/franchiseguy
Mike Halpern, CAFC
mike@franchiseqb.com

This is the Franchise QB Podcast, where we empower entrepreneurs to win big in franchising. We huddle up weekly to educate our audience about the most successful small business model ever created, franchising. Welcome to the Franchise QB podcast. I'm your host, Mike Halpern, a 20-year industry veteran and entrepreneur. My mission is for listeners to achieve their American dreams of creating wealth and independence through franchise ownership. Every week we speak with franchisees, franchisors or vendors that support the industry. Thank you for joining us and let's get started. Joining us in the huddle today is David Craghead, Chief Franchise Expansion Officer at Franserve. Welcome to the show, David. Thank you, Mike. I appreciate the invitation. It is great to have you here. So sit back and relax for a minute. Take a breath. I'm going to talk you up a bit. So you spent 17 years with Southland Corporation working in their 7-Eleven division, household name, convenience store brand, and then 10 years with Electric Mobility Corporation, a company that was primarily known for manufacturing and distributing electric scooters and power wheelchairs. Then you joined Franserve back in 2012 as a franchise consultant and earned a series of promotions, including franchise development director back in 2014 and VP of franchise development in 2016. You then joined Franserve's executive committee as chief franchise expansion officer back in 2018 and working alongside CEO and chief superhero Alesia Visconti, you helped guide the expansion of Franserve. department oversees the initial engagement and day-to-day franchisor relations of all the franchise brands and franchise suppliers in our vast portfolio of over 800 franchise systems. Let me exhale there for a second. Full transparency for listeners, I also am a franchise consultant with Franserve. I joined the network full-time back in 2020. It's been a phenomenal run. So David, tell us a little bit about yourself and what led you to join Franserve back in 2012. Well, it actually began during my senior year at Virginia Tech. VMI's, people refer to it. Virginia Polytechnic Institute. I'm a Virginia guy, so I'm familiar. There you go. There you go. And I live right next door within three miles of VMI, so the Virginia Military Institute. So have to correct myself when I use those acronyms from time to time. Make sure I refer to the right college. But during my senior year at Tech, I was the manager of two 7-Eleven stores in Blacksburg, Virginia, which then led to a series of promotions within the Southland Corporation, which at that time was one of the largest franchise organizations in North America. They had over 7,000 7-Eleven stores. 60 % of those were corporate owned. The remaining 40 % were franchise units. And as of today, this is a message here. a good message as of today all 7-11 stores are franchised so that's big change in the Southland Corporation structure and is a change for the better. My 17-year stint with Southland was really my first introduction to franchising which as you can imagine was impressive to me because as a young executive with the company I quickly became aware that many, I mean very quite a lot of the individual single unit franchise owners that were in my region were actually making two to three times my executive level salary. And most of them scaled their business empire later by buying multiple 7-Eleven stores. So it really captured my attention when I learned that the individual franchise owners in my division and in my region were making far more money than I was as an executive with the company. That really captured my attention. Not so much in a good way either. But that early experience with franchising convinced me that the franchise model was a proven method for developing generational wealth for me and my family. And when I was introduced to Franserve 12 years ago as a broker, I grabbed that opportunity. And as a business major in college, this was then and still is now. the best business decision I've ever made. Yeah, that's really interesting that you came at it from an executive level within a huge franchise system, 7,000 locations with 60 % of them being corporate at the time and 40 % franchise and spent your entire career in franchising. And so that's really interesting. And as kind of a sidebar, I just spent some time in Blacksburg. I didn't know you were there. I'd have given you a high five, but my sons, buddies are going to... Washington and Lee, which is right next to VMI. So not far from where you currently live. So David, I appreciate that background and that context that you have with the experience on the franchisor side as well as on the other side of the business. um So Franserve plays an important role in the franchising ecosystem, but many people don't know much about the franchise consulting, brokerage, and coaching industry. So explain to the audience what Franserve does for its franchisors, consultants, and supplier partners. Thank you. I'd be glad to address that. Franserve Incorporated was founded 13 years ago with one goal. And that goal was to help others achieve their dreams of business ownership through franchising. And as Alicia Visconti, our CEO, often says, and I quote her by saying this, we love changing people's lives. With nearly 2,000 members consisting of franchise consultants, franchisers, and suppliers, we are recognized industry-wide as the largest franchise consulting broker organization in the world. We connect entrepreneurs to franchise opportunities. We introduce them to franchisers and to qualified people and consultants and brokers that train the industry's most knowledgeable people to make it all come together, make it all happen. By the way, when I say the word consultant and brokers, it's the same person. The industry quite often refers to our consultants as brokers. So I'll try to use that term interchangeably. I will mention that Franserve does help qualified applicants navigate the maze of franchise opportunities. And there's over 4,000 of them. Quite often an applicant will come to us seeking knowledge, seeking direction. They need advice regarding the various franchise opportunities. And we do that all at no cost to the applicant. Our licensed brokers guide the applicant through the selection process, which eventually leads to a formal introduction of that client to one or more franchise brands that are deemed to be a solid match for their individual search criteria. And as you can imagine, Mike, our service to the franchise brands is mutually symbiotic. And it's equally beneficial as all the different franchise brands in our portfolio are seeking new growth, either regionally, nationally, or in many cases, internationally. So Franserve provides them the talent and the human resources to facilitate that growth. Yeah. In addition to the new growth, I know I participate in a lot of franchise resales where there's franchise owners that are operating and maybe it's been five years, maybe it's been 20 years, whatever that timeline looks like. And they're ready to exit. They're looking to relocate, start a new chapter of their lives, retire. And Franserve has a really robust portfolio of resales that help the franchisor maintain continuity with their ownership, or at least with the unit being operating in those respective markets and allowing new entrepreneurs to come in and sometimes hit the ground running with employees, cashflow, relationships with vendors, all those kinds of things. that's... Another thing that I know Franserve is really good at doing besides just that new growth that you referenced. Yeah. So we just returned from Walt Disney World in Orlando for Franserve's 2025 annual convention. This was my sixth convention since I joined the network. I thought it was the best one yet. You might have a different perspective, not on how great it was, but you'd see it from a different angle because I'm a consultant and you're on the executive team. You plan the event, you execute the event. How would you rate this year's convention and what were some of your key takeaways? Selfishly speaking, yes, I would agree. ah Our 2025 annual convention that we just came home from in Disney World was a huge success. It was regarded by many, not just me and you, but it was regarded by many as the best convention we've ever had. You mentioned this was, I think, your fifth or sixth. This was my 11th condition. ah We have entered into a multi-year contract with Disney World. We did that four years ago and it is continuing for another four or five years. And it has grown and it has matured significantly every year since then. And our convention, it's a four day event, like I say, held at the Disney Yacht and Beach Club in which hundreds of our brands are provided the opportunity to meet with and network with hundreds of our brokers, our consultants. And this is done through a series of panels. We have a giant expo arena, various classroom sessions each day. It's a powerful learning opportunity for our consultants and brokers to engage firsthand with the various brands in our portfolio. We provide a lot of wonderful food and we have what we call very happy happy hours. And we get away and play an Epcot even one evening. it's a very exciting, long four day event. We all fly home. from the conventions, most of us sleep on the airplane because we're pretty much exhausted. But I'll say, Mike, at the risk of sounding cliche, our conventions have become a labor of love, which we began planning for eight to 10 months in advance every year. The invitations, for example, for our 2026 convention, a year from now, will be published this October. And as in previous years, we will be completely sold out. within 90 to 120 days of the published invitation. So it does sell out quickly. So, but it's a big event. Very- Yeah, no, it's great. even besides a lot of the structured, the panels and the breakout rooms and the expo hall, there's all these opportunities when you're there for four days with people in the industry to just have conversations over a cup of coffee or breakfast and build relationships. And it's really been exponentially beneficial to my business. So I certainly appreciate all the stuff that you guys do behind the scenes to make the conventions better and better for us every year. Alicia likes to say her favorite week of the year is the week after convention. You're right. It is a lot and you're exhausted when it's done, but you're also kind of shot out of a cannon at the same time because there's so many great brands and opportunities and new technology. And I know AI was a big focus of this year's kind of consultant panel. all kinds of new things to do to make your business better. So David, let's drill down a little bit. Your department at Franserve, tell us a little bit about it and what are you looking for when you evaluate franchise or join our family? I know you don't just take any brand that comes knocking. Mike, I love that question because the growth of my department is built and structured around Franserve's four core values. The first of which is integrity is everything. We firmly believe that. We say that first and foremost every time we mention our core values. Integrity is everything. And that's followed by the premise of grow or die. And that's enveloped by the concept of teamwork gets results. And then followed by the most recent core value that we added mid-year last year. And that is not work-life balance, but life-work balance. And our CEO, Visconti, stresses quality of life in everything we do. which is emblematic of the life we live here at Franserve. We work hard, but we play hard too. So David, many people still believe that franchising is all about QSRs, Quick-Serve restaurants, McDonald's, Taco Bell. Tell us about the composition of Franserve's portfolio. How many industry categories are there and where do see the growth coming from? Well, Mike, it's true that QSRs and food concepts are often thought of as the primary franchise industry. And they weren't one time. They weren't one time. They were being considered the predominant leaders of the franchise industry, probably because these brands have become so visible with their giant golden arches and their major celebrity endorsements. But the franchise industry has evolved far beyond the Burger Kings of the world. We are seeing solid and in some cases, extreme impressive growth. within 75 of the industries that we serve. We are witnessing phenomenal growth in the service sector, which are brands that provide residential and commercial services. Many of these brands are in very high demand. They're quick to launch, and they are in most cases not dependent on Wall Street. They're not dependent on the fluctuating economy. They're not dependent on any particular administration, most of which... do not even require fancy brick and mortar structures down on Main Street. So these brands tend to launch in numbers greater than some of the others that require the bigger fancy brick structures down on Main Street. And we currently have brands in 43 different industry categories, many of which are enjoying very significant growth, which is indicative of the actual health of the franchise industry. Yeah, you mentioned how It's easier to scale from a capital standpoint, something that's territory based, because you can lock in two, three, four territories, but you don't have to build two, three, four structures. You add your team members, you add equipment, you add vehicles. So that makes a lot of sense. um So David, what would you, what advice would you give to franchisees that are maybe new emerging brands that are considering Franserve as a component of their growth strategy? Another question I love to address. And I say this to franchisees all the time. In many ways, just kicking the tires, trying to determine if working with a broker organization is a good fit for them. In some cases, it's not. So I'm not going to say they wear everything to every brand, because we're not. Some brands are not ready for that type of development that we provide. But if you're seeking solid, consistent, predictable growth for your franchise brand in North America and beyond, I would encourage you to reach out to me or any member of my team. I've got a fantastic team of people that work with me and we will gladly take the time to speak with you. We welcome all of your questions. If you'll find, well, I think you will find that we generally want to facilitate your unit growth. We take a lot of pride in that. We pride ourselves in being a friendly organization. We're easy to work with. We're easy to talk to. We are very accessible. We may not answer the phone every time you call, but leave a message and we'll get back to you. So that's the advice I would leave to franchisors. Yeah, very cool. Yeah, I know that franchisors have a lot of different options and joining a network like Franserve is a commitment, not just financially, but a lot of time, a lot of effort, and they'll get rewarded, but they have to decide if it's the right timing for them. So that does make sense that it's not a one size fits all. So David, Franserve just celebrated its second year of membership in the Inc 5000 listing. What does that mean and why is that important? It's important, I'm looking at my plaque that I just received from them, a nice acrylic plaque. It's an accurate reflection of our influence in the franchise industry. Hasn't always been that way, we started very, very small with just a couple hundred brands. And it's a reflection of our consistent, steady growth. But more than anything else, it's the industry's recognition of the service that Franserve provides. to the franchise brands that are members of our portfolio. We provide a very valuable service and we've got some super strong testimonials that I can provide to anybody on this call that would like to read them or listen to them somewhere on video. And we can provide you our franchise brands renew with us year after year after year because they simply love the growth opportunities that we provide to them. They love the human resources that we send their way. So you've talked about how Franserve's come a long way. I you've been with the company about 13 years. So what does the future look like for France Serve in your view? When I started this department, we had 235 brands and I was challenged to bring that 300. And that was by the previous owner. Thank goodness Alicia Visconti is our current owner now. She didn't want me to stop at 300. We now have close to 800 brands, which you mentioned. Our future as a company is extremely bright. We've enjoyed, I wanna say double digit growth just about every year for the last 10, 11 years, which is a direct reflection of the health of the industry. The industry is on average adding three to 400 new franchise concepts annually. And the corporate America organizations, all the corporate America structures out there are providing us with sea level talent to fill the openings that the industry is creating. And in many ways, France Serve is leading the charge. And as we continue to enjoy very good growth in the 45 franchise industries that we serve, we're adding 8 10 new franchise brands to our portfolio every month. That's significant growth. And especially when you talk about all those industry categories and the fact that almost a quarter of all franchises that have a registered FPD in the United States are in France Serve's portfolio. I know we're approaching that kind of milestone. That's a pretty nice feather in the cap of your team. So David, this has been great. Been a lot of good information. I think a lot of folks listening that weren't familiar with what Franserve does and a little bit about the franchise consulting and brokerage community are a lot more enlightened. um Anything else you want to add to the mix today before we wrap up? Well, I would like to mention this. ah Even though we're growing tremendously, we do have a vetting process that we take each brand through. We want to make sure that they're FTC approved franchise business models that have been sanctioned by the Federal Trade Commission. And beyond that, there's some basic vetting processes that we follow beyond that. Final comments. Yes. If you are a franchise or listening to this podcast, if you are seeking new unit growth, rest assured our expert team of franchise consultants and our brokers help find the perfect candidates that make the most of your unique franchise opportunity. It's our job to match up your search criteria for the perfect franchisee with the search criteria that our applicants provide to us. So it's a matching process. And our consultants create integral relationships as they grow your brand and as they help you expand your reach. So, but I would say this, don't take our word for it. Say what our trusted partners are saying about Franserve. Read our reviews, read our testimonials. If you need a copy of them, I'll send you a link. Our current and real franchise brand owners and representatives, they simply love the service that we provide to them and have done so year after year. So, that Yeah, I appreciate that, And I couldn't agree with you more. We have an amazing executive team from my perspective has always provided great support with any challenges and obstacles and they seem to grow with our consultants as we get better and better at what we do. There's always continuing education, there's always new brands, there's always new opportunities to meet with franchisors, not just the convention, but all these great events that Franserve is putting together outside of our annual convention. So David, thank you so much for your time. And if anyone listening would like to connect with David and his team to learn more about joining the Franserve portfolio of brands and expanding their franchise footprint by accessing the world's largest franchise consulting and expansion organization. contact me at FranchiseQB.com or on X @QBFranchiseQB and I'll get you connected. David, thank you so much for taking the time to get in the huddle with us today. Thank you. I'll leave my dog in the other room next time. It added some flavor to the conversation. Thanks so much, David. We'll see buddy. Take care. Bye bye now. Thank you for listening to the Franchise QB podcast where you're at the helm of your future as a franchise owner. If you enjoyed the content, please rate the show and recommend it to anyone that might be interested in franchising. Make sure to visit FranchiseQB.com to subscribe to my newsletter and for an actionable playbook to go from walk-on to legend in your new business. Follow us on Twitter @QBFranchiseQB and join us every week for a new episode. See you next time. franchiseQB.com to take the next step of your journey towards wealth, independence and franchise ownership. And remember, When working for the man gets old, you must do something bold. Thank you for listening.