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Growing a franchise isn’t just about having a great business — it takes planning, patience and the right approach to finding franchisees who will succeed. In a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/qkwD8_wsOZo?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-to-grow-your-franchise-insights-from-francamp-live-2728450" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">recent FranCamp Live webinar</a>, 1851 Founder and Chief Growth Officer&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/powills/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-to-grow-your-franchise-insights-from-francamp-live-2728450" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Nick Powills</a> sat down with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-internicola-42506910/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-to-grow-your-franchise-insights-from-francamp-live-2728450" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Charles Internicola</a>, CEO of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.goodsparkfranchise.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-to-grow-your-franchise-insights-from-francamp-live-2728450" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">GoodSpark Franchise Growth Accelerator</a>, along with&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/thanda-win/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-to-grow-your-franchise-insights-from-francamp-live-2728450" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Thanda Win</a> and Erik Nevius from&nbsp;<a href="https://limehousefranchise.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-to-grow-your-franchise-insights-from-francamp-live-2728450" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">Lime House Sushi &amp; Ramen</a>, to talk about what it really takes to grow a franchise.“We expected the franchise to sell itself, but that’s not how it works,” said Nevius.&nbsp;Instead of chasing rapid growth, they’re refining their strategy, focusing on the right franchisees and leveraging relationships built through FranCamp. Their insights provide an honest, behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to establish a sustainable franchise.&nbsp;A transcript of the webinar has been provided below. It has been edited for brevity, clarity and style.Nick Powills: Erik and Thanda, tell us about your business. Share your story from a franchise standpoint—who are you, and what do you do?Thanda Win: My name is Thanda Win. I came from Burma 20 years ago with my family. A year later, I became a single mom and focused on becoming a business owner. In 2005, I became a sushi franchisee in a grocery store, worked hard and gained experience.Over time, I wanted to own a restaurant. In 2017, I opened a full-service restaurant with a bar, but I realized I wanted to focus on food, so I transitioned to a sushi and ramen fast-casual concept. I developed the concept before COVID, and when the pandemic hit, it was the right time to move under the Lime House name. After COVID, we opened Lime House Sushi and Ramen, and two months later, we were so busy that SMBs encouraged us to franchise. That wasn’t my original plan, but we became a franchisor quickly.Erik Nevius: Everything fell into place. Customers were already asking if we were a franchise. We connected with SMB, got the paperwork together and then had to figure out how to transition from running a restaurant to running a franchise. That’s how we found FranCamp, which helped us bridge the gap between having paperwork and building a franchise.Powills: Expectations between franchisors and franchisees can be the biggest disconnect. What were your expectations when franchising, and how have they matched up with reality?Win: My expectations came from my experience. When I transitioned from fine dining to fast-casual, everything went well. Our business model was strong, and I enjoyed training and teaching people. Since I was a franchisee before, I understood how much knowledge I needed to succeed. When I became a franchisor, I wanted to train and coach others.Nevius: We thought that once we became a franchise, things would start happening. We expected to hear from people, but it didn’t work that way. After two years, we still don’t have franchisees, but we’ve learned a lot — especially about shifting from running a restaurant to running a franchise. The franchise itself is the product, not the food. We had to rethink our expectations.We’re no longer expecting rapid growth. FranCamp connections helped us understand that finding the right franchisees is critical. Rushing to sign someone just to make money can backfire. Initially, we thought things would take off quickly, but we’ve realized that franchising doesn’t happen overnight.Are we disappointed? Honestly, I’m relieved. Right now, it’s just Thanda and me running the franchise. If we had 50 franchisees, how could we manage that? We expected the franchise to sell itself, but that’s not how it works. We had to stop casting too wide of a net and focus on finding the right franchisees.Powills: Do you have any candidates in the pipeline?Nevius: We now have a structured pipeline. Through FranCamp, we made strong connections and found people to help us build it. We have target markets, landing pages and the necessary components to attract franchisees. This officially kicked off on January 1st.Powills: But no candidates yet?Nevius: Not yet, but we feel more confident. Instead of throwing flyers out there, we now have a structured approach. Our initial focus is on Rochester, New York. Even though we’ve been working on this for over two years, this feels like day one of real franchising.Powills: Your investment tops at $700,000. Are you disclosing anything in Item 19?Nevius: Yes, but we don’t have updated numbers for this year.Win: Last year, revenue was just under a million, with around a 30% profit.Powills: You’re positioning this as a low-investment opportunity. I’d rethink that. A $700,000 investment isn’t low-cost, and positioning it that way could attract the wrong candidates. You need franchisees who are well-capitalized and ready to invest in marketing. I’d also consider a conversion model — approaching mom-and-pop sushi or ramen spots near you. Many independent operators struggle to break even. You could offer resources and support to help them become part of Lime House.Operational complexity is another factor. Sushi is more complex than ramen. While I’m not suggesting dropping sushi, focusing on streamlining operations could create more opportunities. Aligning these factors and setting milestones will build a sustainable franchise system.Nevius: The conversion model is a great idea. If someone already has sushi or ramen skills, half the battle is won. The key is making sure they’re willing to follow the model.Powills: That comes down to culture fit. Some brands require potential franchisees to work a shift before signing on. It’s an extra step, but it ensures they’re the right fit.Charles Internicola: At FranCamp Dallas, we’ll focus on identifying your biggest growth challenge for 2025 — your X factor. Emerging brands need to zoom in on finding that one perfect franchisee. Casting too broad of a net can make you miss out on the right candidates.Nevius: That’s been one of our biggest struggles — reaching a market we can support. We want franchisees close enough to connect with them in person.Internicola: The real value isn’t going wider, but deeper. You’re not just selling a business — you’re selling your journey. That’s critical.Powills: Have you analyzed how your operating hours impact sales?Win: You mean identifying peak hours?Powills: Yes, but more than that. You’re open 63 hours a week. If you generate a million dollars, that’s about $300 per hour. What if you adjusted hours to improve efficiency and align with your values? For example, closing during an off-peak period could reinforce your brand’s family focus while optimizing operations.Your backstory, culture and business model should all work together to differentiate Lime House. Fine-tuning these details makes your franchise opportunity stronger.Internicola: The road to franchisee number one is tough. FranCamp is about refining fundamentals and continuously improving. Thanda and Erik, you’re committed to this journey, and I believe you’ll succeed.Nevius: We’ve talked a lot about networking, but the FranCamp workbooks are valuable. They force us to reflect on what we’re doing. After each event, we go through our notes and implement changes. When we arrive in Dallas, we’ll be ready to build on what we’ve learned.Powills: For those watching, go register at&nbsp;<a href="http://1851francamp.com/?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-to-grow-your-franchise-insights-from-francamp-live-2728450" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">1851francamp.com</a>.Watch the full webinar above or on&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/live/qkwD8_wsOZo?utm_source=1851franchise.com&utm_medium=article&utm_campaign=how-to-grow-your-franchise-insights-from-francamp-live-2728450" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">YouTube</a>.

How to Grow Your Franchise: Advice from FranCamp Live 

1851 Franchise

https://www.youtube.com/embed/qkwD8_wsOZo

Growing a franchise takes patience, strategy and the right franchisees. Lime House Sushi & Ramen is focusing on sustainable growth by refining its approach and finding the right candidates.

Building a Franchise, Not Just a Restaurant: Lessons in Sustainable Growth

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Some brands franchise and take off. Others launch, sell a few units and then hit a wall. It can happen three months in or sometimes three years in. Either way, the pattern is the same: deals slow down, franchisees struggle and growth stalls.If a brand is stalling instead of growing after launch, it’s usually due to missed fundamentals, or fundamentals that were never fully built in the first place.&nbsp;Here’s a practical, step-by-step playbook based on what actually drives franchise growth and what stalls it.<h2>1. Fix the Unit Economics First</h2>Most franchise problems trace back to one place: the numbers.“When you look in the mirror and say, ‘Why am I not scaling?’’ You don't scale because two things. The brands that fail are the brands who sell multi-packs to franchisees who never become multi-unit owners. The brands that win, their franchisees are winning 50% of the same-store unit store growth…all that I’m talking about is unit level economics,”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/powills/">Nick Powills,&nbsp;</a>chief strategy officer at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.goodsparkfranchise.com/">GoodSpark Franchise Growth Accelerator</a>, said in a recent&nbsp;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/@GoodSparkFranchiseDevelopment/streams">podcast</a>.&nbsp;&nbsp;At the end of the day, a franchise has to work financially for the operator. That means:<ul><li>The investment can realistically be paid back</li><li>The business generates meaningful profit</li><li>The path to break-even is clear and achievable</li></ul>A simple way to think about it is that if a unit can’t pay back the initial investment in a reasonable timeframe, the model isn’t really built to scale.Additionally, brands shouldn’t be guessing when it comes to key numbers. Every dollar in&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/the-complete-guide-to-buying-a-franchise-in-2026-reading-item-7-the-initial-investment-line-by-line-2731744">Item 7&nbsp;</a>should connect back to customer acquisition cost and value, and how long it will take to stop losing money. This includes marketing.&nbsp;“In your FDD Item 7, it says the grand opening has $10,000. I go, ‘Where did you get that?’…That needs to be calculated back to a rush to break even. If you're break even, where the franchisee stops bleeding cash, to say it's $10,000 a month, well, then the way that you design the grand opening is to drive them to have enough customers to get to $10,000 a month,” Powills said.&nbsp;<h2>2. Choose Franchisees Who Will Actually Drive Growth</h2>Even with strong economics, the wrong operators will stall a system. That means existing owners should purchase additional units instead of relying only on new buyers. But that can only happen when a brand is bringing the right people in in the first place.&nbsp;“Those are the biggest frustrations for franchisors…I sold a franchise, but now the franchisee thinks I'm doing everything for them,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-internicola/">Charles Internicola</a>, CEO of GoodSpark. “I'm gonna make the phone ring. So we have the unit economics, and that's engineered and understood, and it's genuine to alignment with the right franchisees. Understand that if you pick the wrong ones, they're not gonna validate, they're gonna hurt themselves, they're gonna cost you money, and you're not going to grow.”A franchisor relies on a franchisee to be the face in their community. This includes:&nbsp;<ul><li>Local networking</li><li>Community involvement</li><li>Building relationships that drive customers</li></ul>And most of that costs no money at all. If a franchisee isn’t willing to do that, or has a team member who will, they’re not set up to push growth.<h2>3. Build a System That Supports, Not Just Sells</h2>It’s common for brands to invest heavily in franchise sales and celebrate deals. But some may underinvest in what comes next: supporting the franchisee. When support doesn’t match the promise:<ul><li>Franchisees struggle to hit projections</li><li>Unit economics fall apart</li><li>Multi-unit deals never materialize</li></ul>“The franchisor says, ‘We support you like this.’ The reality is, you support them like that, which causes their unit level of economics not to perform, which causes them to fail. And so franchisors under-invest in the support, over-invest in franchise sales, and therefore can get the new blood in, but can't support them, which turns into multi-unit deals that are for single-unit operators,” said Powills.A better approach is to focus on the success of the franchisees you already have. When they open up unit two, that’s when to celebrate.&nbsp;<h2>4. Capitalize the Business the Right Way</h2>Even if the first three pieces are in place, growth still requires capital. Capital is needed not just to market franchises but to:&nbsp;<ul><li>Support franchisees</li><li>Build infrastructure</li><li>Improve performance across the system</li></ul>“When you're talking about spending, we're gonna spend $4,000 a month. You are in a crapshoot zone. You have not spent enough funds to get the engine moving in,” Powills said. “So when you look around the room and blame everything for why you're not growing, it is a capitalization issue. I'm not saying come out of the gates with millions of dollars, but if you want to add four units in the next year, you'd better be prepared to budget $100,000 to build enough momentum.”&nbsp;<h2>Growth Doesn’t Happen by Accident</h2>When brands stall, it’s rarely one issue. It’s usually a combination of economics that don’t work, franchisees who aren’t the right fit, and not enough support or capital.&nbsp;Luckily, those are all fixable issues. But to fix it requires a shift in mindset. Franchisees should focus less on selling franchises and more on building up franchisees.&nbsp;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;&nbsp;

Scaling a franchise starts with unit economics, the right franchise owners, actually investing in support and being capitalized enough to grow. 

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