Young Ones to Watch: Susan Beth

Franchising is in Susan’s blood. She has been a franchisor, a multi-unit franchisee and even founded three franchise-related businesses by the time she turned 35. Susan is a past member of the International Franchise Association (IFA) Board of Directors and the proud recipient of the IFA’s Bonny LeVine Award for mentoring and promoting women in franchising, and the Crystal Compass Award given by the IFA’s Women’s Franchise Committee. At NRD Capital, she helps lead the charge to invest in brands that offer superior products and compelling unit economics and help them grow to their fullest potential using the power of franchising.

Why do you love franchising?

I love franchising because it’s a business model built on relationships - relationships between franchisors and franchisees, between franchisees and brand customers, between systems and their supplier partners, etc. Those relationships fuel an engine of opportunity that makes a huge impact on millions of people’s lives and allows many to substantially improve their circumstances. What could be better than that?

What is the top challenge facing young people in franchising?

My experience has been that we are moving away from having honest, respectful, face-to-face communication with one another. I believe this to be especially true with young people. We are not as well-versed in having productive disagreements as we could be, and then we avoid the conflict (or think we avoid it) by emailing or texting when we should do what we used to have to do – walk down the hall, get in the car or hop on an airplane to have the necessary conversation in person. Franchising is about relationships and all great relationships have a healthy amount of discord. If you can’t manage the successes and the disappointments then franchising (and life) won’t be nearly as rewarding for you. But let me be clear, as my sister says, “Communication is a b**ch!”

What is your dream position/goal?

When the day comes that I have figured out how to positively impact the most people and help them achieve their fullest potential, I will know I have reached mine.