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 extraordinary global franchising career – one that has taken him from running music stores to scaling Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and building powerhouse brands as President of International at Xponential Fitness.

Tune in as we explore
(00:00) Why franchisee success must come first
(05:05) Universal lessons from scaling multiple franchise brands
(10:06) Why franchisees lose sight of the brand
(16:47) International expansion requires local adaptation, not replication
(25:25) Master franchising versus direct international expansion (38:12) What ethical franchising looks like in practice
(44:09) Building trust through transparency and benchmarking
(49:33) Challenging sacred cows that limit franchise growth
(53:32) How to choose the right franchise partners
(56:13) What businesses need before franchising successfully

Your next franchisee is probably a customer in your location right now. Passion is the common ground you need; if they don’t genuinely love the brand, don’t sell them the franchise. You have to want to have dinner with these people in five years.

Find Bob on LinkedIn at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/growthstrategy/.