Welcome to Franchise Today as it celebrates its 1th Season in 2025. Join host Stan Friedman, President of FRM Solutions every Wednesday at 12 PM ET / 11 AM CT as he serves up discussions with weekly guests, who will talk about best practices for scaling their franchise businesses for sustainable growth, through sensible franchising.
Franchising remains an unintentional profession. Most people don't go to school to study about how to become involved in franchising. Rather, some life event causes it to find us. Each episode of the podcast begins with a look back at how franchising found that week's guest.
This is followed by a walk through the milestones of their journey and career, up to and including the present day. My guests could be franchisors, franchisees or suppliers, who provide insights into high-level support services or top-quality products to better enable the franchise community. Each podcast will wrap with a look ahead to upcoming industry events, upcoming guests or important dates on the horizon.
Your Brain May Be Lying to You... Are You Listening?
Ricky Kalmon on Rescripting the Beliefs That Limit Success
What if some of the things holding you back aren't actually true? They're simply beliefs you've repeated so often that you've accepted them as facts.
That's the fascinating territory Ricky Kalmon explores as he returns to Franchise Today. Ricky's journey began at age ten, performing magic for paying audiences. Over the decades, his career evolved through entertainment, hypnosis and mindset coaching, eventually bringing him into the worlds of professional sports, corporate leadership and franchising.
His clients have included major hospitality brands such as Marriott, IHG and Choice Hotels. But Ricky isn't interested in delivering another motivational speech that leaves everyone feeling terrific until Monday morning.
He believes real transformation begins when people recognize the mental barriers they've created for themselves—and learn how to challenge them.
In this conversation with Stan Friedman, Ricky explains how visualization, guided imagery, breathing techniques and other practical tools can help individuals rethink limiting beliefs and develop more productive habits.
The discussion also explores why successful franchisees need more than standardized leadership programs, how mindset development has gained importance since COVID, and why even highly analytical executives and Type A's, can benefit from questioning their assumptions.
Ricky also shares how he's making his methods more accessible through books, a mobile app and AI-powered coaching.
And, perhaps his most practical observation? Meaningful personal development doesn't necessarily require hours of your day. As little as ten to fifteen minutes of consistent practice will make a difference.
Because sometimes the biggest obstacle between where you are and where you want to be is the story you've been telling yourself.
Ricky Kalmon returns to Franchise Today.
14 Oct 2026
What If Dog Grooming Has Been Solving the Wrong Problem?
How Tim Vogel Created an Entirely New Franchise Category
What if an entire industry has been solving the wrong problem? That's the question Tim Vogel eventually asked after spending nearly a decade in the pet grooming business.
Traditional grooming helps dogs look better. Tim believed though, that there was an even greater opportunity to help them feel better and live longer, healthier lives.
That insight became Scenthound—a franchise built around routine canine hygiene and wellness, rather than cosmetic grooming alone.
Today, Scenthound has grown from five company-owned locations to more than 170 operating franchise locations, with approximately 200 more in development, and 70 additional locations scheduled to open in 2027.
This week on Franchise Today, Tim joins Stan Friedman to discuss the entrepreneurial journey that transformed one insight into an entirely new franchise category.
The conversation explores why undercapitalization remains one of franchising's greatest risks, why Tim intentionally invested in infrastructure years before he needed it, and why coachability consistently outweighs industry experience when selecting franchisees.
Tim also shares his vision for AI, not as a replacement for people, but as a tool that may help identify health issues earlier, improve outcomes for pets and create an even stronger customer experience.
This isn't simply a conversation about pet care. It's more about challenging assumptions, building systems that scale and discovering opportunities hiding in plain sight.
Tim Vogel, Co-Founder and CEO of Scenthound, this week on Franchise Today.
7 Oct 2026
From the Gym Floor to The Little Gym Brand President: Samantha Musonda’s Remarkable Journey
Franchising has a funny way of finding people who never went looking for it. Samantha Musonda was finishing her psychology degree at Temple University when her dance-team coach suggested a part-time job teaching gymnastics at a nearby, "The Little Gym." Samantha started by teaching classes and running birthday parties.
It was supposed to be a stopgap before beginning a career, but that's not how it turned out.
Eight years later, Samantha left the franchise location she'd grown up in professionally and moved across the country to join The Little Gym International as a Franchise Business Coach, initially supporting roughly 60 franchisees.
She went on to lead franchise support, became Director of Consulting and, following The Little Gym's acquisition by Unleashed Brands, moved into the VP of Operations role.
Today, she's Brand President.
Samantha joins Stan Friedman to talk candidly about that climb—including the mentors who opened doors, the importance of actually telling people you want to grow, and the inevitable moments of self-doubt that accompany leadership.
They also look at The Little Gym today as it celebrates its 50th anniversary, with approximately 275 locations operating in the U.S. and Canada and more than 100 more, internationally.
Samantha shares how the brand supports franchisees, where AI can genuinely make their lives easier, what she looks for at Discovery Day and why the best franchisees build community rather than simply market, locally.
And then comes the challenge ahead:
How do you evolve a 50-year-old brand without losing the very things that made it successful?
Samantha Musonda kicks off Season 18, this week on Franchise Today.
Inside a recent episode
Kim Daly: One of America's Top and Most Inspiring Franchise Consultants!
Published 30 Sept 2020 · Transcript excerpt
[…] These things really do matter. And I think in fact, they matter more than the tactile training of how to actually run your business. What part of what you've just described as the science of your formula that works for candidates? What part of that wouldn't work equally as well for emerging franchiseors to hold themselves accountable and to do the same type of stretching, if you will? It works for everybody's stand. It doesn't matter what goal we're trying to achieve in life. If we're not clear and specific and we don't dream big, like, I mean, I've achieved some massive goals in my business over the last 18 years at Franchois and I'm crazy to dream as big as I do, but it's not really crazy because even if I only get 50 % of a super large goal, I'm still probably getting more than if I thought small. […]
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