Young Ones to Watch: Jackie Bondanza, President of Hounds Town USA

Jackie Bondanza was a book editor and journalist with no experience in franchising until she discovered Hounds Town USA, a fast-growing doggie daycare brand that prioritizes dog psychology to make sure that customer's furry friends always had an enriching experience. 

As fate would have it, Bondanza met Mike Gould, Hounds Town's founder, at her local location and approached him about franchising the business. The rest is history as Bondanza quickly became an indispensable part of the team. Now she lives and breathes franchising working as the brand's president as it grows to about two dozen locations across ten states. 

1851 caught up with Bondanza to talk about her career in franchising.

1851 Franchise Magazine: How did you get into franchising?  

Jackie Bondanza: I was not familiar with franchising until about 8 years ago, when I stepped into the lobby of Hounds Town USA for the first time. I was there as a customer with my two dogs, and I needed daycare while I worked long hours in the city. 

After a few weeks, I asked the founder, Mike: "why aren't you franchising this?" I thought he had such a great opportunity to be a real competitor in the pet care space. So I left my career in book editing and journalism and helped him build a franchise program for the brand. It was a steep learning curve, but my background in journalism really helped me do a deep dive into what franchising was all about. I started connecting with other leaders of other brands, and attending IFA conferences, asking lots of questions. Both were huge sources of information for me.  

1851: What do you love about the industry? 

Bondanza: I love how supportive it is. I have met some pretty important people in franchising and they are so open to providing advice, support and guidance. Most people in franchising absolutely love what they do, and they truly believe in the business of making other people successful. I love the passion behind the people charged with running some of these super successful brands. 

I also appreciate the regulations, believe it or not. They help provide prospects with the best and most reliable and transparent information legally available to make a business decision that may change the trajectory of their whole life.  

1851: What makes someone a good fit for the franchise industry? Are there traits that 
are shared by the most successful franchise professionals you know?  

Bondanza: A commitment and desire to follow process. I am a process girl, so franchising is right up my alley. There isn't a KPI, operations checklist, or standard operating procedure I didn't like! But, there is so much room for creativity and thought and personalization in between all that as well. Franchising is a unique combination of a business on training wheels and an injection of personal touch and accountability. It's a winning combination with the right franchisee who can take a system and work it correctly, collaborating on new ideas to make it even better. 

1851: How do you feel about the industry's response to the coronavirus crisis so far? 
Are there challenges or opportunities that the industry still needs to address?  

Bondanza: From the very beginning, I felt the IFA did a tremendous amount to lobby for franchise businesses and they acted quickly. They were pivotal in getting some of the PPP loan details passed to protect businesses in a franchise system, and I know they continue to lobby to do so today. 

When it comes to opportunities, I always advocate for the smaller franchise systems like Hounds Town. We are considered an "emerging brand," and when most people think about franchising, they think big-box restaurants, McDonald’s, etc., that have  hundreds, if not thousands, of locations. I would like to see the franchising industry spend more time focusing on the McDonald's when they were in those first years in business because that would help us smaller fish grow to hundreds of units. Many of the practices and procedures and structures of these large corporations just are not applicable to us smaller systems, so I do think there's an opportunity to create a mentorship program or a more in-depth emerging brand focus industry-wide.  

1851: What advice do you have for other young up-and-comers in franchising the space? 

Bondanza: Go for it. If you have a good idea, a passion, a business plan, and some capital, make it happen. It's amazing what perseverance can produce! Be prepared for failures. It took me many years to learn not to take every failure to heart, and it's still difficult today. Lean into your intuition and take everyone's feedback and advice with a grain of salt. 

Only you know where you want to go and how to get there. Use everyone else along the way to help you get there. It's incredibly empowering when you can convince your brain to really believe that you are in fact in charge of your own destiny!