Smart Franchising with Fransmart
Jul 23, 2026 · 1 hr 1 min · 12 segments
When Bob Kaufman landed his dream job at Tower Records in Japan, he was just hoping to score free CDs and concert tickets. But that first international posting became the launchpad for an…
Bob KaufmanGuest
Dan RoweHost
And so then they get put into this position where they're franchising, where they need to represent that they know everything.
And so they start putting walls around what people can do or can't do and completely ignore the reality and the needs of the local markets that they go into.
When you hear the term ethical franchising or when you use that term, what do you mean?
I mean, the franchisee is putting their own hard-earned capital into this business, and you can't take that lightly that they're putting that money in to further the brand that you've created.
There's a huge amount of responsibility that a franchisor needs to have, and it should never be taken lightly.
And it's okay to say no, right? If you've got the wrong franchisee, maybe they don't have the capital, they don't have the experience.
I mean, that's, you know, I meet so many franchisors that are just so anxious to sell a franchise and you don't realize like you're actually entering into a 20 year contract with this person.
But if you've got the wrong franchisee, it's like being in quicksand, like the wrong people just are going to keep doing the wrong things.
Big and they may just be a trophy collector and you're just a brand that's going to sit on their shelf as a trophy and you're going to get completely ignored because they have a divided loyalty from all the other portfolio brands that they have.
So you really have to know what it is you want to do when you go into these markets, who's right for you and who's wrong for you.
And absolutely, it's okay to say no, because one wrong decision could gobble up all of your attention and may irreparably harm your brand.
Hey, Bob, you've built and scaled franchise systems and everything from coffee to supplemental learning, fitness.
What are some lessons that you've learned that apply to all of the different kind of franchises you've been with?
I think we're beginning to touch on it and we'll go more into it as we go through this whole conversation.
But first of all, look, if you're not willing to change anything about your concept, then don't franchise.
Just stay in your local market, but you should always be curious about what resonates locally and what doesn't.
And so then they get put into this position where they're franchising, where they need to represent that they know everything.
And so they start putting walls around what people can do or can't do and completely ignore the reality and the needs of the local markets that they go into.
When you hear the term ethical franchising or when you use that term, what do you mean?
I mean, the franchisee is putting their own hard-earned capital into this business, and you can't take that lightly that they're putting that money in to further the brand that you've created.
There's a huge amount of responsibility that a franchisor needs to have, and it should never be taken lightly.
And it's okay to say no, right? If you've got the wrong franchisee, maybe they don't have the capital, they don't have the experience.
I mean, that's, you know, I meet so many franchisors that are just so anxious to sell a franchise and you don't realize like you're actually entering into a 20 year contract with this person.
But if you've got the wrong franchisee, it's like being in quicksand, like the wrong people just are going to keep doing the wrong things.
Big and they may just be a trophy collector and you're just a brand that's going to sit on their shelf as a trophy and you're going to get completely ignored because they have a divided loyalty from all the other portfolio brands that they have.
So you really have to know what it is you want to do when you go into these markets, who's right for you and who's wrong for you.
And absolutely, it's okay to say no, because one wrong decision could gobble up all of your attention and may irreparably harm your brand.
Hey, Bob, you've built and scaled franchise systems and everything from coffee to supplemental learning, fitness.
What are some lessons that you've learned that apply to all of the different kind of franchises you've been with?
I think we're beginning to touch on it and we'll go more into it as we go through this whole conversation.
But first of all, look, if you're not willing to change anything about your concept, then don't franchise.
Just stay in your local market, but you should always be curious about what resonates locally and what doesn't.
The rest of this transcript — segmented and speaker-labeled, so you land on the exact moment something was said
Search every transcript — by keyword, by phrase, or by meaning, across every show Radar indexes
Trends — what is surging across podcasts, measured against its own baseline
Alerts — when a name you follow appears in a newly indexed episode
No account is needed to search Radar.