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Sarasota Sparkle Squad Franchise Owners Find Early Success With Holiday Lighting Services and HGTV Feature

Disc Replay Goes Beyond the Screen, Bringing Back the Ultimate In-Store Treasure Hunt

How a Multi-Brand Franchisee Is Bringing World-Class Support to the Disc Replay Franchise Model

Disc Replay Is Leaning Into the Physical Entertainment Market. Franchisees Are Profiting.

Entertainment Resale Has No National Leader. Disc Replay Is Defining the Category

Where Is Disc Replay Looking to Grow and Why?

A franchise marketing calendar does more than schedule promotions and social posts. It helps franchise systems stay organized, align messaging across locations and give franchisees a roadmap for local execution throughout the year. For franchisors trying to answer the question, “What should I include in a franchise marketing calendar?” the challenge is finding the balance between national consistency and local flexibility.According to&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-titus/">Andrew Titus</a>, president of&nbsp;<a href="https://unitedfranchisegroup.com/">United Franchise Group</a>, the best marketing calendars are built around collaboration, long-term planning and clear communication between the corporate office and franchisees.<h2>A Franchise Marketing Calendar Should Align Every Marketing Channel</h2>Titus said one of the biggest mistakes franchisors make is treating the marketing calendar as a simple list of promotions rather than a systemwide strategy tool.“The marketing calendar needs to align with every aspect of how the company is running and marketing the business,” he said. “Whether it’s PR, promotions, digital initiatives or social media, everything should work together. It can’t just be an email campaign or a few social posts. It needs to be a true multichannel marketing approach.”That means a franchise marketing calendar should outline far more than social media topics. National campaigns, local promotions, PR pushes, seasonal initiatives, digital advertising and budget expectations should all connect back to the same larger strategy.Titus also recommends building themes into the calendar to create consistency throughout the year. “I think it’s good to have a theme to the calendar,” he said. “Maybe each month has a different theme or each quarter has a different theme. Then you can build out the channels and approved budgets you’re going to use to support it.”For franchisors asking, “What should I include in a franchise marketing calendar?” one of the biggest priorities should be clarity. Franchisees need to know what campaigns are mandatory, what can be customized locally and how each initiative fits into the broader brand strategy.<h2>National Campaigns Need Local Flexibility</h2>While national marketing creates baseline visibility for the brand, Titus said local marketing is what makes a franchise feel connected to the community it serves.“We encourage each of our franchisees to upload pictures of their work on their local site to show what they’ve done in that market,” Titus said. “When they’re dealing with a large company, they’re part of a franchise system with 300-plus locations in 11 countries that’s been around for 26 years. But when they’re working with a local business or someone who only wants to do business with someone in their community, they can also market themselves as independently owned and operated and local to that area.”Franchisees have to be able to lean on the brand name without sounding distant from the people they serve. The calendar should give them a national message to work from, along with space for local projects, customer stories and community outreach.As franchise systems grow, that flexibility becomes even more important. Titus said many emerging brands naturally build their early marketing around the region where the first locations opened, but that approach eventually has to evolve.“When franchise systems start, they usually grow around the first location and kind of spiderweb from there,” Titus said. “If you start in Florida, the marketing calendar is naturally going to feel Florida-focused. But as you expand across the country, it has to change.”As brands expand, regional differences become harder to overlook. An October message built around colder weather might work well in Idaho, for example, but feel out of place in Florida.<h2>Franchisee Feedback Should Shape the Calendar</h2>Another major piece of what should be included in a franchise marketing calendar is franchisee input. Titus said corporate teams often overlook how valuable local operator feedback can be.“So many times, people at the corporate office look at themselves as the experts,” Titus said. “And yes, they are very knowledgeable, but the real experts are the people doing it day in and day out in their local markets.”At United Franchise Group, franchisees help guide decisions tied to the advertising fund and collaborate closely with the marketing department. Titus believes that communication helps create stronger campaigns and better systemwide alignment.Planning ahead is equally important. Titus said many franchisors wait too long to finalize the following year’s calendar because they are focused on finishing the current year strong.“If you’re going to do sales in January, February and March, you better be marketing for that in October,” Titus said. That lead time gives franchisees enough time to prepare budgets, build local promotions and execute campaigns effectively instead of scrambling after the year has already started.<h2>Practical Takeaways for Franchisors</h2>If you’re asking, “What should I include in a franchise marketing calendar?” these practical steps can help:<ul><li>Build the calendar around multichannel campaigns instead of isolated promotions or social posts.</li><li>Clearly separate mandatory national initiatives from customizable local marketing opportunities.</li><li>Gather franchisee feedback early and finalize the calendar before the new year begins so operators have time to prepare.</li></ul>For more information on franchise marketing, check out these related articles on 1851 Franchise:<ul><li><a href="https://1851franchise.com/the-secrets-to-franchise-marketing-success-how-top-brands-drive-growth-2729269">The Secrets to Franchise Marketing Success: How Top Brands Drive Growth</a></li><li><a href="https://1851franchise.com/how-do-franchise-marketing-funds-work-a-guide-2731131">How Do Franchise Marketing Funds Work? A Guide For Prospective Franchisees</a></li><li><a href="https://1851franchise.com/franchise-marketing-leaders-2025-2729422">Top 25 Franchise Marketing Leaders of 2025: Driving Growth, Innovation and Local Success</a></li></ul>

What Should I Include in a Franchise Marketing Calendar? - Question of the Day - 1851 Franchise

A strong franchise marketing calendar aligns national campaigns, local promotions and multichannel strategy while giving franchisees flexibility to connect with their communities.

What Should I Include in a Franchise Marketing Calendar?

what-should-i-include-in-a-franchise-marketing-calendar

Beef 'O' Brady's Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data for 2026

Franchise Opportunity Deep Dive: Beef ‘O’ Brady’s is a family sports pub concept built around community, casual dining and lifelong local loyalty.

beef-o-bradys-franchise-costs-fees-profit-and-data

Franchise Legal Player:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/lanefisher/">Lane Fisher</a> Firm:&nbsp;<a href="https://fisherzucker.com/">FisherZucker</a><a href="https://fisherzucker.com/our-practice/our-attorneys/lane-fisher/">Lane Fisher</a> has built a reputation as a trusted advisor to franchise brands navigating growth, compliance and long-term risk. With experience advising early-stage and growth-oriented franchisors across multiple franchise-driven industries including health and beauty, home services, fitness, food and senior care, Fisher brings a practical, business-minded approach to franchise law. His work focuses on helping brands scale responsibly while protecting both the franchisor and franchisee experience.1851 Franchise connected with Fisher to discuss what franchisors often overlook, where legal risk hides during expansion, and the lessons that continue to shape their advisory philosophy.1851 Franchise: What originally drew you to franchise law, and what has kept you engaged over time?Lane Fisher:&nbsp;Franchise law is inherently multidimensional; it sits at the intersection of licensing, trademarks, corporate work, regulatory compliance and dispute resolution. That’s what drew me in initially, but what’s kept me here is the people and the growth curve. Franchising attracts entrepreneurial founders and strong operators, often in family-run businesses, and I enjoy helping them scale in a disciplined way. And because franchising cuts across so many industries — health and beauty, home services, fitness, food and senior care, just to name a small sample — you’re always learning. If your client’s brand grows, your work grows with it, and you can be part of that story from launch through an exit.1851: As franchising evolves, what legal issue do you see brands most often underestimating today?Fisher:&nbsp;If I had to pick only one, I’d say the impact of AI, and the jury’s still out on how the issue develops.Brands are racing to use AI in marketing, franchise development, screening, pricing, scheduling, performance benchmarking, etc. But a lot of franchise documents were written pre-AI and don’t clearly address who owns the data, who can aggregate it and how it can be used or monetized.There’s also a risk layer people miss: AI tools can create real-world expectations. If prospects rely on AI-generated performance projections or comparisons, you can end up with disclosure and misrepresentation issues, including “implied” financial performance claims.1851: Where do emerging franchisors tend to get tripped up from a compliance or documentation standpoint?Fisher:&nbsp;The biggest mistake is treating the FDD like a marketing brochure instead of a regulated disclosure document. Early-stage brands sometimes plug in estimates for initial investment without real calculations and then don’t update those numbers as actual experience comes in. They also underestimate training, especially around what salespeople can and can’t say and how to handle financial performance representations. If you’re offering Item 19, you need clean data, clear assumptions and documentation behind it.1851: How should franchisors think about risk management as they scale into new markets or add new growth strategies?Fisher:&nbsp;Prioritize quality over quantity. The fastest and easiest way to create long-term risk is awarding franchises to undercapitalized or mismatched operators. Strong franchisee selection and validation solve a lot of problems before they start.1851: What distinguishes your approach or philosophy when working with franchise clients?Fisher:&nbsp;I’m not interested in being an “FDD factory.” A franchise system should reflect a real, replicable business, so we’re candid with clients about readiness, and sometimes that means telling someone to wait. We also spend real time understanding the underlying unit economics. If a client is making an Item 19 disclosure, our job is to help them normalize the data, define the assumptions clearly and communicate it in a way that’s accurate and useful.More broadly, we coach clients to grow smart. Initially, that might mean selling smaller deals to better operators, disciplined expansion and, of course, documentation that matches how the business actually runs.1851: Looking back, what lesson has had the greatest impact on how you advise clients today?Fisher:&nbsp;Two things: (1) franchising isn’t for everyone and (2) preventable problems are expensive.The best systems respect the reality of independent business owners and are designed to motivate and support them, not just control them. And when disputes happen, the quality of the documents and the advice you got early on really matters. So we really counsel clients on disciplined growth: resist the temptation to “sell the most” and instead award franchises to better-capitalized, more capable operators. A little restraint upfront saves a lot of pain later.Every great franchisee had help buying a franchise. Want to learn more about how 1851 helps franchisees find the right franchise opportunity? Visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.1851growthclub.com/">www.1851growthclub.com</a> and start your journey.

2026 Top Franchise Lawyers You Should Know: Lane Fisher — FisherZucker

1851 Franchise’s annual roundup of the Top Franchise Lawyers You Should Know is back for 2026, spotlighting the legal minds helping shape the future of franchising.

2026-top-franchise-lawyer-lane-fisher-fisherzucker

Franchise Opportunity Deep Dive: Newk’s Eatery is a fast-casual restaurant brand serving made-from-scratch sandwiches, salads, soups and pizzas rooted in Southern hospitality.

Newk’s Eatery Franchise Costs, Fees, Profit and Data for 2026

newks-eatery-franchise-costs-fees-profit

<a href="https://1851franchise.com/goodspark/why-franchise-systems-break-and-how-to-fix-whats-holding-you-back-2731998">Franchise profitability</a> is one of the most important factors in long-term system health, yet many brands spend more time talking about growth than they do about unit economics. So, how do I build franchise model profitability? The answer starts well before a franchisee opens the doors and extends into nearly every operational decision a franchisor makes.Strong unit economics create healthier operators, stronger validation and more sustainable expansion. When franchisees are profitable, they are more likely to reinvest, open additional locations and become advocates for the brand. When profitability slips, growth often becomes harder to sustain.<h2>Profitability Starts Before the Grand Opening</h2>When franchisors discuss profitability, the conversation often turns to marketing, promotions or increasing sales. Those factors matter, but&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/minahaque/">Mina Haque</a>, CEO of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.tonyromasfranchise.com/">Tony Roma's</a>, believes the foundation is established much earlier.“The honest answer is that unit-level profitability is built before a franchisee ever signs a deal,” Haque said. “It is built into site selection, build-out cost discipline and the labor model baked into the prototype. Franchisors tend to focus on marketing and LTOs because those levers are visible, but the profit ceiling of a unit is largely set on day one.”That view puts more weight on the decisions made before opening, rather than the short-term tactics that come later. A smaller footprint, a more efficient kitchen design or a labor model with fewer hours per shift can affect profitability well beyond the first marketing campaign.Haque pointed to several areas where franchisors can make meaningful improvements, including reducing build-out costs, designing more efficient operating models and ensuring supply-chain savings reach operators.“If a franchisor wants healthier units, the fastest path is usually to right-size the footprint, simplify the menu or service model and renegotiate the supply chain,” Haque said. “Pushing more top-line promotions is rarely the answer.”<h2>Aligning Franchisee Success With the Franchisor's Revenue Model</h2>Another common challenge for growing systems is balancing&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/how-much-can-franchisees-make-a-guide-expert-tips-2731076">franchisee profitability</a> with the franchisor's own revenue streams. The healthiest franchise systems create alignment between both parties so that everyone benefits when units perform well.“The model breaks when the franchisor's P&amp;L depends on fees that don't correlate with franchisee success,” Haque said. “Royalties tied to gross sales are sound because both sides win when the unit grows. The friction shows up in technology fees, mandatory vendor markups and marketing fund contributions, where the franchisee cannot see a clean line from spend to return.”Transparency plays a significant role here. Franchisees are generally willing to invest in tools, technology and support when they understand how those investments help their businesses perform better. Problems tend to emerge when operators struggle to see a connection between the costs they incur and the value they receive.“The principle I operate by is simple: Every dollar a franchisee sends up the chain should connect to something that grows their top line or protects their margin,” Haque said. “If you cannot make that connection clear, the fee structure will eventually create resentment, and resentful operators do not reinvest.”<h2>Why Some Franchise Models Struggle to Maintain Profitability</h2>For brands asking, “How do I build franchise model profitability?” it can be equally valuable to understand where systems commonly go wrong.According to Haque, one issue stems from aggressive development strategies that prioritize signed agreements over long-term operator success. Another involves brands that have failed to update their economic assumptions despite significant changes in labor costs, occupancy expenses and consumer behavior over the last several years.“Labor costs, occupancy and consumer behavior have all shifted significantly post-2020, and many systems are still operating off pro formas that assume pre-pandemic margins,” Haque said.As a result, some brands are operating with prototypes and financial models that no longer reflect market realities. Revisiting those assumptions may require difficult decisions, but ignoring them can create larger problems over time.<h2>What Operational Practices Support Long-Term Profitability?</h2><a href="https://1851franchise.com/leveraging-technology-in-modern-franchising-2726374">Technology continues to attract significant attention throughout franchising</a>, and many brands are investing heavily in dashboards, reporting tools and operational software. Haque supports those investments but cautions against viewing technology as a substitute for operational support.“There are many advanced tools available, and I am genuinely a fan of much of the technology coming into the franchise space,” Haque said. “But technology is only as useful as its utility on the ground. If franchisees do not adopt it, do not participate in the training and do not build it into their daily operations, they will never see the benefit.”According to Haque, operators need more than a clean sales report to protect profitability. They also need a close read on food, labor and other costs before those issues hit the bottom line.“The practice that matters most is also the least glamorous: a real-time P&amp;L visible to the operator, ideally daily, with food cost and labor cost benchmarked against system peers,” she said. “Most franchise dashboards report sales beautifully and costs poorly, which is backward. Operators already feel their sales. What they need is early warning on the cost side.”That visibility becomes even more valuable when paired with experienced field support teams capable of identifying operational drift before it becomes a financial problem.“Beyond that, the highest-ROI investment is usually in field operations: experienced people visiting units, coaching teams and catching drift before it shows up in the numbers,” Haque said. “Technology is a multiplier, but it does not replace a strong field ops culture.”<h2>Practical Takeaways for Franchisors</h2>For franchisors wondering, “How do I build franchise model profitability?” a few priorities stand out:<ul><li>Revisit the prototype often enough to make sure the labor model, occupancy costs and overall unit economics still hold up in the current market.</li><li>Look closely at each fee, vendor relationship and required expense to make sure franchisees can understand what they are paying for and how it helps the unit.</li><li>Put enough support around operators to help them spot rising food, labor or other cost issues before those problems start hurting profitability.</li></ul>The strongest franchise systems rarely achieve profitability through a single initiative. More often, it comes from consistently improving the fundamentals that shape unit economics from the day a franchise agreement is signed through the daily operation of the business.For more info on franchise profitability, check out these related articles on 1851 Franchise:<ul><li><a href="https://1851franchise.com/why-average-franchisee-performance-may-be-the-best-growth-story-2732268">Why Average Franchisee Performance May Be the Best Growth Story</a></li><li><a href="https://1851franchise.com/what-are-the-most-profitable-franchise-industries-a-guide-2730936">What Are The Most Profitable Franchise Industries? A Guide</a></li><li><a href="https://1851franchise.com/why-franchise-growth-breaks-when-unit-economics-dont-work-2731341">Why Franchise Growth Breaks When Unit Economics Don’t Work</a></li></ul>

How Do I Build Franchise Model Profitability? - 1851 Franchise Question of the Day

Tony Roma's CEO Mina Haque discusses how franchise brands can strengthen margins by improving unit economics and operator performance.

How Do I Build Franchise Model Profitability?

how-do-i-build-franchise-model-profitability

As founders transition into franchisors, few areas carry more risk than earnings claims and advertising. It’s also one of the fastest ways to derail a franchise system before it even gets off the ground.The challenge is clear: prospective franchisees want to&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/how-to-start-the-process-of-buying-a-franchise-a-comprehensive-guide-2723007">understand the financial potential of the business</a>, but franchisors must operate within strict legal boundaries about what they can and cannot say.<h2>Understand What You Can Legally Say</h2>In franchising, financial representations are regulated under the&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/what-financial-performance-data-can-legally-disclose-a-guide-2731310">FTC Franchise Rule</a>. For example, the only place a franchisor can formally present financial performance data is within Item 19 of the&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/how-to-buy-a-franchise-what-is-an-fdd-2724901">Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD).</a>That rule shapes everything.“One of the most important sections of the FDD is Item 19. This is where a franchisor may choose to disclose financial information about existing franchisees,” said&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/katy-branstetter-richardson-762684b7/">Katy Richardson</a>, founder of&nbsp;<a href="https://neighborhoodbarre.com/franchise/">NEIGHBORHOOD barre</a>. “Anyone involved in the franchise sales process can only discuss financial performance to the extent it is disclosed within that section of the FDD. For that reason, franchisors must be extremely careful not to make financial representations outside of what is formally disclosed in Item 19.”<h2>The Role of Validation</h2>While franchisors are limited in what they can say, prospective franchisees are not limited in what they can learn.&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/how-to-buy-a-franchise-what-is-an-fdd-2724901">Every FDD includes a list of current and former franchisees</a>, and candidates are encouraged to reach out directly to get real-world insight.“Franchisee validation is often one of the most valuable parts of the due diligence process,” Richardson said. “It gives candidates the opportunity to hear firsthand experiences from operators within the system.”Rather than trying to “sell” performance through marketing, strong systems allow their existing franchisees and documented data to tell the story.<h2>The Biggest Legal Mistake: Not Hiring the Right Counsel</h2>If there is one mistake that consistently creates risk for emerging franchisors, it’s failing to work with&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/top-franchise-legal-players-2025-franchise-lawyers-2730250">experienced franchise counsel</a>. “Strong franchise counsel is not just drafting documents,” Richardson said. “They are helping franchisors build a compliant, transparent and scalable foundation for long-term growth.”Franchise law is highly specialized, and while the rules may appear straightforward, the application is certainly not.“Inexperienced counsel often misses the nuances and operational realities unique to franchising,” Richardson said. “One common area of confusion is the Advertising Fund, specifically, which expenses can appropriately be allocated to that fund versus corporate overhead or brand operations.”<h2>Common Pitfalls in Earnings Claims</h2>Beyond general compliance, several specific mistakes recur across franchise systems.The first is incomplete or misleading cost disclosures. “Failing to fully disclose the actual costs franchisees incur to open a business” is one of the most common issues Richardson sees.Underestimating startup costs may make an opportunity appear more attractive upfront, but it creates long-term problems when franchisees encounter unexpected expenses.The second is improperly structuring Item 19 data. “There are many ways to structure an Item 19,” Richardson said. “The strategy behind our disclosures varies by brand.”At NEIGHBORHOOD barre, for example, the focus is not just on revenue, but on profitability.&nbsp;“We believe it’s important to highlight the metric that matters most to prospective franchisees: profitability,” Richardson said. “Higher AUVs do not necessarily translate to stronger margins or healthier businesses. With NEIGHBORHOOD barre, we intentionally disclose key studio operating expenses to provide a clearer picture of unit economics and overall profitability.”The third mistake is failing to account for ongoing fees and flexibility. “Failing to account for all ongoing fees, or the franchisor’s right to modify those fees within Item 6” can create confusion and potential disputes down the line, Richardson says.<h2>Advertising Pitfalls: Where Brands Get Tripped Up</h2>Earnings claims are not limited to formal documents. They can also appear, intentionally or unintentionally,&nbsp;<a href="https://1851franchise.com/franchisor-marketing-materials-guide-2730579">in marketing materials</a>, such as website copy, sales brochures, discovery day presentations, social media posts and conversations with candidates.It’s easy to forget that almost any remark about a franchisee’s potential income counts as a legal earnings claim, including casual comments like “our top locations bring in X.”That is why navigating the space where marketing meets legal rules is always a bit of a tightrope walk. The most successful franchisors don’t leave things to chance. They stick to the data, keep every message in sync with their FDD, and lean heavily on expert counsel. Ultimately, they let their numbers and their actual franchisees do the talking.In short, they focus less on selling and more on proving.Want to learn more about how 1851 helps franchisors grow their franchises with confidence? Visit&nbsp;<a href="http://www.1851growthclub.com">www.1851growthclub.com</a> and see what we can do for you. &nbsp;

From Founder to Franchisor Legal Pitfalls

New franchisors face major legal risks when giving prospective franchisees an idea of how much they can make, which is why strict compliance with Item 19 of the FDD is essential.

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