How do you build a franchise system that stands the test of time? It starts with strong and active communication. In this premiere episode, we sit down with the legend who opened the very first Great American Cookies franchise, Doc Cohen, to uncover the secret to creating a thriving franchise system.

This podcast will help you bridge the gap between being smart and being wise.

Doc shares a truth that every private equity investor and franchise owner needs to hear: "Franchising is a leadership-by-influence business... if you think you can just give orders because you own the brand, you've already lost."

Your host, Susan Black-Beth, is the Founder and Managing Partner of Auspicious Owl Group and a lifelong Franchise Activist. She’s sat in every seat from the tailgate of a pick-up truck at her car wash franchise to the boardrooms where the most difficult questions are being asked.

What You’ll Learn: Looking to the Past to Inform Your Future

For Franchise Operators:

• The Secret to Influence: How to get your ideas to be heard and for your boots-on-the-ground experience to be valued.

• Legacy Protection: Practical ways to protect your business value

• The Profit Secret: Why supporting the system is of benefit to you.

For the Private Equity Investor:

• The ROI of Trust: Why franchisee profitability is the crucial KPI

• Partnership vs. Payroll: Why the traditional corporate "Command and Control" playbook fails in franchising and how to shift to a high-growth partnership model.

• Translating the Vision: How to turn your EBITDA and IRR goals into a vision franchisees want to be champions of.

Guest Bio:

Lawrence “Doc” Cohen, is a foundational legend of the industry. He opened the very first door for Great American Cookies in Lafayette, Louisiana, in the late 1970s. Doc has seen every cycle of the franchise system and came out on top, eventually serving as the Chairman of the International Franchise Association (IFA) and becoming the first-ever franchisee inducted into the International Franchise Association’s Hall of Fame. Doc is a trusted source for anyone trying to navigate the relationship known as franchising.

Stop assuming. Start knowing. Get the Edge.

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Show Notes:

Follow Auspicious Owl Group on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/company/auspicious-owl-group/

Connect with Susan Black-Beth on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/susan-e-blackbeth/

Connect with Doc Cohen on LinkedIn

https://www.linkedin.com/in/doccohen/

Support the Fight Against Blood Cancers

https://bloodcancerunited.org/

The Bridge Builder Poem

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52702/the-bridge-builder