Client Reviews

John Francis hosted a professional development session for our team, and it was truly valuable. John’s depth of expertise in the franchise industry coupled with his affable personality have earned him the reputation as a go-to expert in the field, and our team truly benefitted from it. I highly recommend choosing John for assistance with franchisor or franchisee engagements.

I highly recommend you listen and follow Johnny’s “The Franchise Lifecycle Program”. Really helps with expectations and goals!

If you have the opportunity as a franchisee or a franchisor to work with John 'Johnny Franchise' Francis, I say run, don't walk to meet up with him. Not only is he extremely experienced, he is very professional, while being kind and constructive. He has generously stepped in to anticipate and solve a few items for me as we re-launch our new acquisition of a wonderful emerging franchise brand, and he is frankly an unexpected gift with his pin-point accurate advice and wisdom in busting through obstacles for our office. Personally I find him very warm-hearted, direct and refreshingly honest, while finding a way to be efficient and pragmatic during our meetings. He embodies his brand of 'Next Level Franchising' and I am very grateful to have been introduced to him. Looking forward to many more years of working together and shortcutting past some mistakes with his terrific guidance. Thank you, John!

We were very pleased with our virtual conference and John did not disappoint! With the time allotted, he was spot-on with what he provided to our attendees. What I really liked was the attendees who engaged in the pre-conference program video series, participating in asking questions and getting more out of it. His stories tied in great with his message and impact. It was a job well done! Standing ovation!

I’ve worked with John at many levels over the years and have found him to be a thoughtful strategic thinker with a deep understanding and knowledge of franchising and the franchise relationship. Most recently, John has advised our ownership group and guided us to implement a new system to improve efficiency and accountability in our organization. I can sincerely say John has made a positive difference at PostNet and I would not hesitate for a second in recommending that others use him in a similar role as an advisor or board member.

Johnny Franchise has become one of my most valued voices in the Franchise space. If you have questions, he is always available for a conversation. He gives way more than he gets! I’ve been in this industry for a dozen years and have not met anyone as knowledgeable about franchising and generous with his time than John! Got a question? I guarantee he’s already “been there!”

I’ve known Johnny for over 30 years. His advice and council to me have been priceless. There is no one I would trust more on the topic of franchise business than Johnny.

As a successful company that is relatively new in the franchising world, we consider ourselves so fortunate to have found John Francis to tap into his wealth of information and experience. When confronted with an unfamiliar situation, I often find myself thinking, ‘What would John Francis do?’ – I trust his opinion and decision-making in every facet of franchising implicitly.

I have had the privilege of knowing John for many years. Every time a client of mine has a franchise need, John is my go to guy. He is always generous with his time and his expertise is invaluable. I highly recommend John.

Working with John was a very positive experience. We provided him with an arsenal of information in preparation for our event, which went smoothly in the way of flow and delivery. The crowd, which was a very seasoned group of owners who have “heard it all” over the last 20 years, was very engaged. His approach is very inviting, humble and open minded.

From my early days in franchising straight through today, I have found John to be nothing short of a total class act. He is a wealth of knowledge and information wrapped up in a really kind and caring package. John’s experiences in family business, in being the franchisor and in being a franchisee/area developer certainly put him in a unique position to be able to see eye-to-eye with many in franchising. John is always one of the first to volunteer his time, and his talent. I’m proud to not only know John, but to also call him a friend.

I recently had the pleasure of meeting with John. He is an outstanding, authentic business professional who cares about people and businesses. His networking skills, encouraging dialog and actionable feedback are extremely helpful. I would strongly recommend John to any organization and or business professional looking to grow to their potential.

John has been a Mentor over the last year for us through the IFA mentor program. Over the year John has been a huge help to us as an emerging Franchise to get our business going. He has given us a lot of ideas and has connected us to a number of people that we have needed. John is a great guy with a wealth of knowledge and is very well connected in the franchise world.

The “Reluctant Consultant,” John is not afraid to tell you how you can do it easier, simpler, and faster. His time and invaluable advice came at just the right time for me. As a fellow entrepreneur once said “I will pay him back, the only way I know how: By helping out another.” Thank you!

The IFA assigning John Francis to be my mentor is one of the great things that happened to me in my new journey in the franchising world. I have owned NorthStar Moving for 25 years but knew very little about franchising when I first met John. John has been an amazing resource of knowledge and connections. We discuss strategy, planning, growth, fundamentals of creating healthy foundations for our new franchise system, company culture and team building. I truly value our relationship and his mentorship. After 30 plus years in the moving and storage industry and owning a business that has 200 team members working in it at times, I was humbled by the wealth of knowledge that John brought to our relationship as a mentor in an industry that I knew so little about: the franchising industry. I am fortunate and grateful to have him in my corner. I hope I can create some value to him one day as he has been doing for me since I have met him.

Two years ago I was looking for someone who had franchise operations experience who could serve as a mentor for me. I found John on several LinkedIn groups we had in common, saw that he was in the Twin Cities, and reached out to ask if he’d be interested in helping me out. John didn’t hesitate, got us hooked up with the IFA FranShip Mentoring program, and has been a faithful mentor and friend ever since. John has incredible experience and insight, is always looking out for my best interests, and has been a tremendous help to me. I learn something new every time we talk, I’ve filled my Kindle with his book recommendations, and I value John’s perspective immensely. Although younger than me, John exemplifies that special teacher that inspires and believes in us, helping to shape our future. Anyone who knows John knows how lucky they are!

My Business Partner and I met with John to explore and learn about the different options we have in taking our company; Planet Media Communications and Apartment Living Guide to the next level. John’s 25 plus years in business as a franchisor, franchisee and the numerous boards he sits on, further his wealth of knowledge as it relates to a business consultant. We look forward to our continued partnership and guidance from John in helping us to grow all of our companies.

Johnny was a wealth of information. Johnny provided this insight purely out of a genuine interest to help us understand the world of franchising as we explore it as an option to growing our business. A very genuine professional. On top of that he is humble and a really nice guy!.

Johnny is a wealth of information and help about the franchise industry. Definitely a go-to guy for anyone who needs valuable expertise.

Working with John is such a pleasure! Aside from being knowledgeable, experienced, and beyond WISE - he is very kind, patient, and displays high integrity in all our interactions. As an emerging franchise brand, the investment we've made to help us assemble our Advisory Board has already given us a high return. I'm grateful for the time he allots for us - I never feel rushed or foolish for asking questions. I'm hopeful he will be a valuable part of our advisory team for many years (and franchise growth) to come!

John is an excellent panelist or speaker for any franchise related event. We have tapped into his knowledge for a few events and are always impressed with his contribution. He is always well prepared, and has experience from the franchisor executive team, franchisee, and various board positions. His openness and willingness to share best practices and mistakes he has made or seen along the way is extremely valuable. You can’t find better energy, or a person that cares more about the franchise industry and helping business owners get stronger, than you can in John Francis!

John spoke with my Franchise Tribe Mastermind and delivered such great value. He answered many questions from the members and helped a lot people.

John joined our annual Convention as a participant observer.  He accepted the ambiguous assignment graciously, and quickly won over the audience as a serious Listener who projected an Even Temperament that "made a great difference on participation".  John gained their trust as an Advocate who brought loads of Experience that he shared unstintingly, even if it stung a couple times, wisely.  In our post-convention evaluation John uniformly received the Highest Possible "!!!" Overall Rating.  We look forward to welcoming him back.

John Francis is a wonderful person on my team. He has such a wide and deep perspective, and he does a really good job on processes. Even though we’re not a franchise-related business, we do have repeatable systems that really enable us as business owners, leaders, and professionals to focus on what’s important in driving our organization forward. I couldn’t advocate more for Johnny Francis. He is wonderful at every level. Thank you for all your help, John! You have made our work more effective and more enjoyable!

John was an awesome resource that I was connected to through a mutual contact. He took the time to review our FDD and gave great feedback that I honestly had not received before. We have some really solid notes for our next FDD renewal and things to consider until then. He was super willing to help and happy to do it! It make this process a lot easier when you have happy people to learn from. Thank you, John!!

The Franchise Lifecycle series is an outstanding program and I cannot recommend it highly enough! The information helped me make it through the toddler phase while also providing me with some great insight and things to think about as I plan for future stages. Additionally, the time spent with John after completing each stage is invaluable. He has a strong personal desire to help franchisees maximize their personal potential as well as the potential of their businesses. The program is worth every penny!

I was introduced to John by a friend because we’re “both franchise guys”, and we eventually connected on a very enlightening conversation on Zoom. John gave me some great insight on purchasing an additional franchise brand that I really needed to hear.

When we were preparing for our national virtual conference last fall, we were given access to your previous Franchise Lifecycle Program videos. Reviewing them was helpful in advance of the conference. I thought the parallel to the human life cycle was simple and understandable, so I was glad to see that concept did not change.

I found that viewing the new Franchise Lifecycle Program videos, but also having familiarity with the life cycle concept applied to franchising, was helpful for me as I'm in Phase One myself (7 months). I also noted that you had a different visual for the beginning of each phase such as stacking the cubes, the Rubik's cube, the chess board and globe, etc. All these reinforce your points, but they also help keep the viewer's attention. As a franchisee, I received a lot of great value from your video series and highly recommend it to anyone in the franchise industry!

John and his team were great to work with. Very adaptable to the format and structure of our event, as well as how we wanted him to interact with our franchise system. And the content was “spot on” at pointing out how to identify yourself in the lifecycle of a franchisee, as well as whether you were trending towards a healthy or unhealthy set of behaviors at that stage of your franchise career. Wouldn’t hesitate to have him back to perform a ‘deeper dive’ on some of the items that he covered in a limited amount of time!

John’s personal experience growing up in the franchise hair care business, as well as his later involvement with other franchises and businesses, gives him a unique insight into our business.  He has excellent business judgement, and his involvement in other franchise systems is valuable in that he can share some non-confidential best practices with us.

We have gained an amazing wealth of knowledge and connections from Johnny Franchise. I know of no one who has a better track record with big and small concepts, more experience on all sides of the business, or is more connected in the industry than him.  Could not think higher of the man.

I could see a shift in our franchisees after just 90 minutes with John Francis. He offered up clear, concise best practices for our franchisees during our annual conference, and he was able to relate to each and every one of them – no matter where they happen to be in their franchisee lifecycle.

Not only is John one of the most knowledgeable people I know in franchising, he’s one of the nicest. He’s helpful, approachable, fun and willing to help. You want him on your team!

I had the honor and privilege of working with John Francis and his team on Fathers Eve. Fathers Eve is a remarkable community of dads supporting dads and celebrating fatherhood together and John is the mastermind behind it all. Couldn’t ask for a nicer group built on a foundation of respect, engagement and fun! Fathers Eve is the newest and coolest holiday…I encourage anyone and everyone to join in!

All of our franchise owners found the information and your professionally relaxed presentation style beneficial.

John has twice recently been a featured speaker at our events, which targeted a franchisee audience – specifically, helping them strengthen their personal businesses and networks while building a better relationship with their franchisor. The content John discussed made a definite impact on the franchisees in attendance.  Many cited his presentation (and specific segments of it) as being revelatory, whether as new ideas for improving their own business or as reassurance that the issues they’ve encountered are not unique to them and can be overcome.

I have had the privilege of getting to know John over the course of the last 10 years. I have recently gone through the process of franchise investigation and evaluation and called upon John several times for guidance and support. John’s vast experience, knowledge and business ethic proved invaluable for me and my business partners. His insights gave us the solid and confirm-able confidence to make informed and logical business decisions. John is the type of business man all can benefit from working with.

John has been a friend for several years, so I jumped at it when he asked if I would like to join his Zor Forum!  My experience in this incredible group for two years was beneficial in many ways, and John's leadership was the reason for this.  I reluctantly removed myself from the group due to my schedule, but John continues to be a source I know I can rely on, trust, and get honest feedback.  His resources are excellent, and I am grateful to call John still a friend and mentor.

ZorForum has been instrumental to my growth in franchising, offering real-world insights and learning. I highly recommend it to anyone in franchising, at any career stage

Johnny is an awesome mentor! He has a wealth of knowledge in Franchising, Business Development, Leadership and more. I have an hour with Johnny every month and it is genuinely one of my most productive hours each and every month.

John is an incredibly generous person with his time and knowledge. He has supported my professional and entrepreneurial growth within the franchising world. He also traveled to Nebraska to speak to the UNL Family Business class and share his experiences in business and franchising. Prior to arriving, he mailed a box of books as a gift to the students, "Joe Francis: An American Entrepreneur." The students and I appreciated reading about his family's experiences in business and franchising. I can't recommend John enough!

Great presentation you gave at our conference in January! Thank you!

John Francis did an outstanding job as our keynote speaker for this year’s virtual conference! He hit a home run with us! His message was perfect timing for our group, especially during COVID. To hear where we are with our growth, it was nice to hear that with all the changes we’ve made, along with the growing pains we’ve experienced, his presentation was the right message for our size system. John was well-prepared, understood our brand, our culture and our desired outcomes.

Implementing an Advisory Board has been the best decision!  John helped us through every step of the process, hearing our needs and weaknesses and introducing us to people to fill the needs we had. The value that he brought to the table in terms of knowledge and connections was tremendous – so much so that we asked him to be one of our board members. He is a perfect fit for our organization. John facilitates our quarterly meetings, keeping us on track and helping us get through each agenda item in a timely manner. John is a solution finder and I can’t imagine my advisory board without him. If your brand is entertaining implementing an Advisory Board – please don’t wait…do it today!

I am a big @JohnnyFranchise fan! Johnny has forgotten more than most of us know about franchising. He learned the business from the ground up having been a part of his family’s successful 1,000 unit Cost Cutters franchise system! When you have a conversation with John the knowledge and expertise just flow out of him. Plus – John is just so darned nice! He treats all of us like we are a big deal! Having him lead our Advisory Board is one of the best decisions we ever made! When in doubt, call Johnny Franchise!!

John joined our Board just over ten years ago. His advice has always been just what he thinks and he has never been afraid to share things you may not have wanted to hear but that were true. He has challenged me on many occasions to see an issue from different perspectives. As a business owner with a Board, it only works if you follow their advice especially if it is going against what you had thought before the Board meeting. John is a creative problem solver who inspires you to work through issues based on the facts in front of you. He has always been on my side and his advice is always targeted at helping me achieve my goals both personal and business. Another great thing about John is that he has a vast network of resources that he shares and that has been a tremendous help. He is my close friend and advocate.

John and I both sit on the Board of Directors for Spa Central. John brings a tremendous amount of insight and business acumen to the group. He is not afraid to ask tough questions and challenges the shareholders to look at their business from different perspectives to see where the greatest growth potential for them is. I highly recommend anyone looking to add a member to their Board of Directors to consider John.

As I continue to grow in my knowledge of the franchise industry, John has been an amazing resource. He attends our retreats and conventions, and really understands our culture. He is able to apply his knowledge and wisdom to better help me and my peers succeed in mentoring franchise owners.

If you are curious about owning a franchise or becoming a franchisor – John is an invaluable resource. He has lived every experience you could imagine. You will enjoy the conversation.

John Francis is about as savvy, experienced and honorable as a business person can be. He loves doing deals and does his darndest to make sure everyone wins when he’s involved. Although John can surprise me in so many ways, the biggest surprises come when this polished, dare I say sophisticated guy starts talking about chain saws or his super heavy-duty brush cutter. The man does love to get outdoors and sweat!

John is a well networked and knowledgeable person in the franchising world. He is open to making introductions and educating me on best practices even though we have only met a few times. I appreciate his guidance as we try to establish ourselves in this space.

John is a true class-act professional. His wealth of knowledge and passion is tremendously appreciated at Bluewater and I would personally recommend and trust John to successfully navigate any business. A man of high integrity, his deep knowledge in the formation of our advisory board has been instrumental to the strategic navigation of Bluewater.

I was listening to a FBR (Franchise Business Review) webinar and was very impressed with John’s discussion of how to handle a struggling Franchisee (I actually used his strategy recently with success). I looked him up to learn more about his background, realized we both live in the Twin Cities, and contacted him about a personal meeting – which he graciously accepted. We met yesterday and I once again was impressed with his knowledge of the Franchise Industry, and am so grateful for his time and the “nuggets” he shared. I will continue to use these through the rest of my career. I highly recommend you too learn more about “Johnny Franchise” and follow his blogs – great stuff.

John is an excellent business professional that genuinely cares about helping and mentoring others whenever possible. John’s business experience, network and skill set formed our Advisory Board that quickly and successfully moved our business strategy light years ahead. I would highly recommend John to any business professional or company that wants to quickly advance their career and/or organization ahead in the market.

John and I are fellow UST grads and I recently reached out to him to tap into his franchise expertise. He couldn’t have been a better connection, his insights on the franchise industry are second to none, and not to mention he’s just genuinely a great guy. If you’re looking for professional consulting advice on the franchise industry, John is your guy — you won’t find anyone with more domain expertise.

John is a wealth of information and extremely experienced in the franchise industry. I picked up so much valuable information from him in just one meeting.

As I started planning our annual conference I had a clear vision of what I wanted. I needed someone relatable! The minute I saw John Francis speaking, I knew it was a perfect fit! John took the time to get to know our company, culture, brand and it really showed! His presentation was RELATABLE…ENGAGING & INSPIRING! We had lots of great feedback and we loved that he took the time to join our pre-conference event the night before so he could meet and chat with our franchisees. That’s someone who really cares!

I am exploring franchising and during my research of a particular franchise, I came across John when did a podcast with a franchisor. I was impressed with John on the podcast so decided to reach out to him to gain his perspective.
John without hesitation got on a call with me to listen to my questions and provided some very valuable insight. I would highly recommend speaking with John if you are a franchisee or franchisor.