GoodSpark

Most new franchisors underestimate how different franchising is from running a successful business. Strong unit economics and a good story matter, but they’re only the beginning. The real work starts when a founder transitions from operating a single business to leading a system of owners who invest their savings, trust the brand’s direction and depend on the franchisor’s leadership.<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/daniel-feltman-10724a141?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=emerging-franchisor-playbook-garage-floor-company-2730683" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Dan Feltman</a>, co-founder of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.thegaragefloorcofranchise.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=emerging-franchisor-playbook-garage-floor-company-2730683" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">The Garage Floor Company</a>, learned that lesson early. His journey from state trooper to franchisor reveals the practical steps every emerging brand must take — and the mindset shift required to do it well. His experience forms a step-by-step playbook other founders can use as they grow.<h2>1. Begin With a Purpose Worth Sharing</h2>A brand’s mission is more important in franchising than in any other business model. For Feltman, the reason he pursued entrepreneurship became the reason he pursued franchising.“I have little kids, and in the beginning, being a state trooper, I missed a lot of their stuff growing up. I always wanted that freedom to be able to go to all their ballgames … and this business actually afforded me that opportunity,” he told&nbsp;<a href="https://www.goodsparkfranchise.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=emerging-franchisor-playbook-garage-floor-company-2730683" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">GoodSpark Franchise Growth Accelerator</a> CEO&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-internicola/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=emerging-franchisor-playbook-garage-floor-company-2730683" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Charles Internicola</a> on a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flzsgvGUZYI&utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=emerging-franchisor-playbook-garage-floor-company-2730683" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">recent “Building a Franchise Brand” podcast</a>.When founders understand why they built their business — and why it matters to others — franchising becomes an act of sharing opportunity, not simply selling locations. Your “why” becomes your brand’s cultural backbone. Articulate it clearly before you franchise.<h2>2. Accept That Franchising Is a Separate Business</h2>Many founders mistakenly believe franchising is just a legal step on top of an existing business. Feltman learned quickly that this mindset leads to misplaced spending and slow growth.“We just thought it was a word… We didn’t understand it to the fullest of what it entails. We figured, let’s get an FDD, throw up ads and we’ll get phone calls. We realized really fast that that’s not how it works.”Understanding the franchise model — compliance, messaging, development, support, infrastructure — requires a second education.&nbsp; Treat franchising as a new company you are building from scratch. Learn the model before you try to grow it.<h2>3. Season the Brand Before You Sell Anything</h2>“We jumped into franchising a little too soon, thinking we were ready when we weren’t,” Feltman said. “It takes a year or two to season the brand. You really need to get out there, put boots on the ground, make people know who you are and tell your story.”Seasoning isn’t marketing spend — it’s visibility. It’s consistency. It’s storytelling. It’s founders showing up until the market understands who they are.“Posting regularly, getting on podcasts, telling our story … It doesn’t cost any money. It just takes time," Feltman said.&nbsp;Seasoning builds trust, and trust builds pipelines. Don’t rush into franchise sales before the brand identity is clear.<h2>4. Bootstrap With Intention — Money Won’t Fix Everything</h2>Feltman admits he initially tried to “spend” his way to franchise growth. "We thought money would solve everything … We spent a ton of money, and wasted a lot.”He eventually learned that the franchise model rewards investment in foundation, not shortcuts: brand identity, messaging, founder visibility, strong FDD structure and a development experience that attracts the right candidates.Spend to build assets, not to buy speed. Most early-stage growth comes from founder-led activity, not paid marketing.<h2>5. Make Your Founder Story the Differentiator</h2>Many emerging franchisors worry they need a proprietary product to stand out. Feltman has the opposite view. “A lot of people in our industry … we pretty much do all the same stuff,” he said.&nbsp;Their differentiator wasn’t a coating formula. It was the founders themselves.“You get the first-line communication with owner-operators as the founders. We came from the bottom up, just like you're getting ready to join us.”Founder access, founder humility and founder presence remain key reasons candidates choose the brand. In early-stage franchising, you are the value proposition. Let candidates see who they are partnering with.<h2>6. Support Franchisees Beyond the Operational Playbook</h2>Franchisee support is not just operational or tactical — it’s emotional.“People can get down … They need somebody to say, ‘I’ve been in that situation. I’ve made those mistakes. This is how we overcame it,'" Feltman said.&nbsp;He and co-founder&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeff-gannon-0b873569?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=emerging-franchisor-playbook-garage-floor-company-2730683" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Jeff Gannon</a> personally visit every franchisee and invest deeply in relationships.“We invite their wives, their kids,” Feltman said. “We want to be part of their family as much as they want to be part of ours.”Their approach recognizes that a franchise investment impacts entire households, not just an individual owner. High-touch founder support in the early years sets the cultural tone for the system. It’s harder to rebuild later.<h2>7. Understand the Weight of the Trust Franchisees Place in You</h2>Franchising is not a transaction. It’s a long-term, high-stakes commitment.“People are investing in our brand,” Feltman said. “It could be their life savings. We’ll do whatever it takes to protect our franchisee.”That level of responsibility requires a mindset shift: from entrepreneur to steward. Treat every new franchisee as a long-term partner whose livelihood is tied to your decisions.<h2>8. Build With Honesty and Authenticity — Not Perfection</h2>“I always thought I needed to be better than other people,” Feltman said, “but I realized that’s not who I am. People told me, ‘Just go out there and be real.’”This meant being upfront about his missteps and presenting them as a part of his overall journey. “Had I not made those mistakes, I wouldn’t learn how to make things better,” he said. “It’s how you pivot that matters.”Authentic leadership creates trust, attracts stronger candidates and builds a healthier brand long term. For founders ready to franchise — or already in their early years — know that the heart of franchising isn’t just the business model. It’s the people behind it.Watch the full podcast above or on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flzsgvGUZYI&utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=emerging-franchisor-playbook-garage-floor-company-2730683" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">YouTube</a>.Learn more at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.goodsparkfranchise.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=emerging-franchisor-playbook-garage-floor-company-2730683" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">goodsparkfranchise.com</a>.

Emerging Franchisor’s Playbook: Lessons From The Garage Floor Company

1851 Franchise

https://www.youtube.com/embed/flzsgvGUZYI

The lessons Dan Feltman learned while building The Garage Floor Company into a franchise system reveal the real steps emerging franchisors must take to season their brand and grow with authenticity.

The Emerging Franchisor’s Playbook: What Founders Can Learn From The Garage Floor Company’s Growth Journey

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It’s easy for franchisors to assume that once they start selling units, growth will come naturally. But in reality, the success of a franchise system depends less on how many locations are sold and more on how well those locations perform over time.One of the biggest downfalls of emerging brands is their failure to use franchisee data effectively.&nbsp;“It all comes down to franchisee profitability,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.goodsparkfranchise.com/">GoodSpark Franchise Growth Accelerator&nbsp;</a>CEO Charles Internicola on a recent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYYC023TYsI">podcast</a>. “And for franchise systems, sometimes the biggest disconnect is getting to the franchisee data and your most important obligation, which is coaching franchisees to profitability, which enhances your royalties and creates validation.”<h2>Why Data Collection Breaks Down</h2>The issue for many brands is not really a lack of data, but a lack of consistency. Franchisees might report financials at different times, use different general ledger structures or fail to provide complete information altogether. That level of inconsistency makes it hard to create an Item 19.&nbsp;“We are on the tail end of FDD renewal season, and we are always reiterating with our clients, the most important thing you can do is tell a story with the data,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/gretchenjohnson27/">Gretchen Johnson</a>, franchise relationship manager at&nbsp;<a href="https://t2bbsolutions.com/">Top 2 Bottom Business Solutions</a>. “Don't just slap copies of PNLs into Item 19. Help paint the picture for what you want prospective franchisees looking at your system to see.”&nbsp;Without standardized data, franchisors have to compare incomplete or mismatched data, which makes putting together an Item 19 difficult and limits their ability to coach franchisees and identify problems early.&nbsp;<h2>Standardization Is the First Step&nbsp;</h2>Start by ensuring that every franchisee uses the same chart of accounts and reports on the same cadence. Johnson said this is often one of the first issues her team addresses when working with franchise brands.“I think it comes down to a very foundational level of are all of your franchisees using the same chart of accounts?” she said. “Most brands have one put together. They provide it to their franchisees, but then it's a matter of whether their bookkeeper adheres to that. Are they using that consistently?”Ensuring that all locations are using the same template from day one is a huge first step. That way, you can compare apples to apples between locations. Brands are also beginning to formalize this by requiring financial reporting as part of their franchise agreements.There’s also software that automatically aggregates financial data and generates dashboards with key performance indicators. This technology is a great way to get on a schedule without having to put everything in manually.&nbsp;“We're big proponents of bringing those into systems so that it's an automated process, and on the same day, every month, panels are getting pulled and analysis is being run,” Johnson said.&nbsp;<h2>Turning Data Into Coaching and Growth</h2>Collecting data is only the starting point. What’s even more important is how franchisors use that information to coach. One of the most effective strategies is to group franchisees by common factors, giving them a chance to learn from each other and problem-solve.&nbsp;“We've seen it done based on geography. Different regions in the U.S. have very different landscapes when it comes to cost of living, labor costs, supply costs, shipping costs, and things along those lines. So sometimes it makes sense to break down by geography,” Johnson said. “Other times, it makes sense to break down based on top-line revenue. So your 5 million plus locations, your one to $2 million locations, especially, you know, a lot of brands talk about, how do I get my franchisee to that first million?”Pairing franchisees together in these groups creates opportunities for peer-to-peer learning, where owners who have solved specific challenges can help others facing the same issues.Beyond remote coaching, there are times when franchisors should take a more hands-on approach by spending time in local markets, observing operations firsthand and asking employees for feedback to better understand what may be holding a location back.<h2>The Financial Metrics That Matter Most</h2>Every brand is different, but there are a few financial categories that usually show if a franchisee succeeds or struggles. These include:&nbsp;<ul><li>Cost of goods sold</li><li>Labor</li><li>Marketing spend</li></ul>Marketing, in particular, is often misunderstood.&nbsp;“Even though it's really painful and hard if you're not seeing that top line revenue yet, the last thing you should cut is your market spend,” Johnson said. “That's what's going to help continue to generate demand for you to this.”&nbsp;Emerging brands sometimes contribute to the problem by underestimating how much franchisees need to spend in the early stages and not coaching franchisees on how much and where they’re going to spend those marketing dollars.<h2>Building a More Scalable System</h2>As franchise systems grow, the brands that really separate themselves are the ones that take the time to build a strong foundation behind the scenes. That usually comes down to having clean, consistent data, being transparent about performance and staying closely involved with franchisees to help them improve.&nbsp;When you have better data, you make better decisions. Better decisions lead to stronger performance at the unit level, and that’s what drives real growth.Watch the full podcast above or on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYYC023TYsI">YouTube</a>.For more information on GoodSpark and its services for developing franchises, visit&nbsp;<a href="https://www.goodsparkfranchise.com/.">https://www.goodsparkfranchise.com/.</a>&nbsp;

A lot of common issues in franchising stem from poor data collection, no standardization in reporting and not using data to coach franchise owners well.  

The Emerging Franchisor’s Playbook: What Founders Can Learn From The Garage Floor Company’s Growth Journey

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