Spotlighting the Advocates for Responsible Franchising
Spotlighting the Advocates for Responsible Franchising
A core component of IFA’s mission to protect, enhance, and promote franchising includes being a staunch advocate for Responsible Franchising.
Responsible Franchising means that brands shouldn’t just be looking for the next sale; instead, they’re seeking the right entrepreneur for their brand — and franchisees should leave no room for doubt that they are making the right investment for their future.
As an organization, we’re helping to promote a people-centric business model where the focus is on sustainability and harmony, rather than immediate profitability. Responsible Franchising aligns business professionals and brands in terms of values, culture, and aspirations. And when this happens, we see a symbiotic relationship that benefits the franchisee, franchisor, the entire industry, and our communities.
Responsible Franchising is our sector’s solution to long-term learning and business strength. For our franchise owners, it helps lay the foundation for personal satisfaction, career longevity, and positive brand affinity, all of which work together to attract new owners to the franchise system so the cycle can continue.
At IFA, Responsible Franchising is our North Star. We’ve made it our mission to help provide the resources, governance, and support to ensure that franchisors and franchisees – and the suppliers that support along the way — can come together to create long-lasting, sustainable progress that better serves their customers and everyone in their system.
The five principles of Responsible Franchising are:
- Crystal Clear Expectations: Setting clear expectations before the sale is made to ensure that franchisors and franchisees have a solid understanding of their relationship terms.
- Owners Meet Opportunities: Aligning prospective franchisees with the right opportunity through due diligence and validation throughout the franchise sales process.
- Everyone Has Skin in the Game: Ensuring that franchisors and franchisees commit to their respective obligations to protect everyone’s equity.
- Focus on Best Practices: Promoting profitability for all by driving unit economics and best practices.
- Advocating for Agile Operations: Embracing collaboration among franchisors and franchisees through communication with franchise advisory councils and franchisee associations to position the brand to best respond to changing markets and customer preferences.
We’re fortunate to have incredible champions among our members to point to, learn from, and emulate these five principles of Responsible Franchising every day — not because they must but because it’s the right thing to do and ultimately leads to better outcomes for everyone involved.
Walking the Walk
At the 2024 IFA Convention, we honored several of those individuals among our Major Award Winners. These are the men and women who ‘walk the walk’ of Responsible Franchising. They are champions diversity, education, advocacy, and growth — and demonstrate what’s possible not only with their words, but more importantly with their actions. They are inspirational, iconic, and incredible. These pros have shown their unwavering dedication to help promote the dream of franchise ownership in responsible and sustainable ways — and they provide their time and resources to give back, pay it forward, and train the next generation. Here’s a quick take on why they are the gold standard.
Hall of Fame Award: Recognizing the Legend
What It Celebrates: As the most prestigious recognition from the IFA, the Hall of Fame Award is a crowning achievement honoring how a franchisor or franchise owner has worked to advance the business model and the IFA mission.
Winner: Catherine Monson, CEO, Propelled Brands
Catherine Monson is the only two-term chair of the IFA and helped guide the IFA through the challenging pandemic years. Under her leadership, our organization survived—and came out even stronger.
“In 1980, accidentally, I fell into franchising—and I fell in love. Here’s why,” Catherine said in her acceptance speech. “I get to make a difference in people’s lives. I get to help them get a business for themselves not by themselves, create jobs, create economic output, and create, most importantly, generational wealth. The franchise model needs to be protected. The best way for us to protect the franchise business model, as Matt Haller (IFA President & CEO) said, is to franchise responsibly.”
Catherine has cultivated rock-solid relationships with policymakers and government leaders to advocate for policies and legislation that support the franchise business model. Her work focuses on educating lawmakers on the ways that franchise ownership promotes personal and economic growth, job satisfaction, and community advancement.
Entrepreneur of the Year: Recognizing Grit and Growth
What It Celebrates: This award honors the grit and determination it takes to launch and grow a franchise business. The honoree is a franchisor, franchisee, or supplier who is currently managing and building a successful business and demonstrates a willingness to undertake the risk associated with developing and growing a new franchise business. Their contributions have not only grown a successful business but also helped shape the future of franchising, inspiring other entrepreneurs in their endeavors.
Winners: Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman, Co-Founders of College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk & Trash Butler
Turns out, you can go quite far with a beat-up cargo van, a strong business idea, and a plan for building a great company culture. Nick Friedman and Omar Soliman have spent nearly 20 years building College H.U.N.K.S. Hauling Junk & Trash Butler. Upon winning a $10,000 entrepreneurship prize through the University of Miami, the duo created a centralized call center as the entry point for all client communication. This move proved to be a critical component to empower franchisees to handle more jobs more quickly and efficiently.
Today, College H.U.N.K.S. is the fastest-growing franchise in the junk removal and moving category in North America, with over 200 locations that also do much more than follow a proven system. They prioritize giving back to the communities they serve by donating meals, providing free moving services to survivors of domestic violence, and promoting entrepreneurship for the next generation of leaders.
“This [award] is a testament to our franchise owners, our team members, and our clients out in the communities that we serve and we’re going to continue to carry the torch forward for the franchise industry,” Nick said of winning the award. “The franchise model works. You commit to the process of helping your franchise owners be successful. It’s a recipe for success as a brand. That’s something we learned from the IFA very early on and we’ve been committed to that ever since and it's proven out to be the key to our success.”
Bonny LeVine Award: Mentoring Women in Franchising
What It Celebrates: This award recognizes women leaders who have placed an intentional focus on growing and mentoring future leaders.
Winner: Tamra Kennedy, Twin City TJS Inc. (Taco John’s), Franchisee
Tamra Kennedy is a testament to tenacity. Her career began as a secretary for the owner of a Taco John’s franchise. She worked her way up until she knew the business inside and out, which eventually enabled her to purchase the franchise for herself.
Today, Tamra owns nine Taco John’s franchises in the Twin Cities area, and she lives with the belief that success is better when shared. She has mentored many of her employees, and some of them have become franchise owners themselves. Her belief in inspiring other women has helped the brand launch in new areas and inspired the next generation of owners realize their potential.
Tamra supports franchisees at every stage of their professional journey and lives the ethos of Responsible Franchising each day. Her mission to recruit more female business owners is evident in her one-on-one encouragement and all the way on the national stage, testifying before Congress, where she shared her unique grassroots story.
“Get involved beyond your role today,” Tamra advised during her acceptance speech. “Engage in advocacy to educate those who represent us. Spend time learning about how you can make an impact with your elected officials. Franchising is worth fighting for. There’s nothing more powerful than your story.”
Ronald E. Harrison Diversity Award: Promoting All Voices
What It Celebrates: The Ronald E. Harrison Award celebrates efforts to increase diversity in the franchise sector. The winner is someone who works to recruit and champion entrepreneurs in underserved communities and from all walks of life to make the dream of business ownership possible for more people regardless of background.
Winner: Paul Pickett, Wild Birds Unlimited, Chief Development Officer, EVP of Franchising
Paul Pickett has been involved in franchising for more than three decades. In his quest for representation and equality, he has shown the many ways in which all voices contribute to Responsible Franchising. His long list of achievements includes establishing and chairing IFA's Pride Franchise Leadership Council and helping to educate the business community about how inclusion promotes financial and social growth across industries.
“When I sat in the audience in 2010 and saw my friend Stan Friedman get this award and talk about the fact that franchising welcomes everyone… those words made a huge impact and changed my life. Franchising is the most amazing space in the world,” Paul said. “And everyone is welcome.”
Paul is the 2020 Crystal Compass recipient for his support of women in franchising and is only the third male to receive this recognition. He also served as the Chair of the Franchise Update 2018 Leadership Conference, where he ensured diverse representation across every panel. His efforts have become a best practice for other conferences and leadership positions.
William Rosenberg Foundation Leadership Award
What It Celebrates: This award is given to someone who has helped to share the story of franchising through education and outreach.
Winner: Tony Valle, Managing Partner of Clear Summit Group
Tony Valle began his franchising career at age 19 when he ran a College Pro business. For the next three decades, he held various executive positions for multi-brand franchising platforms. His experience includes co-founding the NextGen Program and assisting in launching the Emerging Franchisor Bootcamp.
Valle’s efforts help further the cause of Responsible Franchising as he is dedicated to developing high-performing leaders, strong brands, and organizations that promote and create learning opportunities, such as his service as Chair of the Young Professionals Organization and Entrepreneur in Residence for local programs.
“I love how franchising incorporates trust in every aspect. It’s an elegant way for me to do what’s really important to me, which is work with others and help them grow and be better,” Tony said. “The meaning of life is to find your gift. The purpose of life is to give it away. So, share what you’re great at beyond just your company and find a way to lean in. And then when you learn from others, take that back to your company and to your community.”
Congratulations to all the 2024 winners, who have demonstrated their commitment to uphold the pillars of Responsible Franchising. Your dedication to open communication, business success, and community enhancement is an inspiration to us all. We look forward to opening the 2025 nominee applications and recognizing our new winners next year.
Ready to nominate a deserving franchise champion for 2025? Nominations for the 2024 IFA Major Awards will open in June. Visit IFA’s website here for more information.