Meet Paul Linenberg
Paul Linenberg is the president of Gotcha Covered, a custom window treatment franchise that has over 160 franchises in the United States and Canada combined. The company specializes in providing end-to-end consultation to its clients.
Learn more about Paul Linenberg
Learn more about Gotcha Covered
Did you raise your hand?
Tracy Panase held the distinction of being the top performing franchisee within the Just Between Friends (JBF) system successfully owning and operating four territories in southeastern Pennsylvania.
One day while on vacation a system-wide meeting was called to discuss some major changes at JBF corporate. She joined the call. In the meeting, new roles and new leaders were assigned by JBF founder Shannon Wilburn. Tracy’s name was not announced. She was stumped. How was that possible? Had she not been considered?
When Tracy discussed it with her husband John, he asked: Did you raise your hand? That was the turning point that led Tracy to reach out to Shannon to discuss the possible acquisition of Just Between Friends. Today Tracy is CEO and owner of Just Between Friends. She is dedicated to taking the JBF legacy and making Just Between Friends a household name. Listen to the full story on this episode of The Franchise Woman podcast.
Meet Tracy Panase
Tracy Panase is a highly knowledgeable and experienced team and business builder. With an impressive 25-year background as a franchisee for two national brands, she stepped into the role of CEO and owner of the Just Between Friends Franchise System in December 2022. Prior to her current position, Tracy held the distinction of being the top-performing franchisee within the Just Between Friends (JBF) franchise, successfully owning and operating four territories in southeastern Pennsylvania.
Tracy’s primary objective is to help her franchisees establish JBF as a household name—a challenging endeavor that requires a unique blend of vision and marketing acumen. She is known for her innovative ideas and branding expertise, setting her apart as an industry leader.
Keeping it all in the family, Tracy’s husband John now runs two of JBF’s top franchise locations. They have two adult children who grew up with Just Between Friends and can attest to the profound impact of the brand’s mission: empowering families to say “YES” through children’s resale events. Tracy’s rallying cry, “Let’s GO!” reflects her contagious enthusiasm as she leads the charge to make Just Between Friends a household name in communities across the nation.
Learn more about Tracy Panase
Learn more about Just Between Friends
Meet FranBubbie (Franchise Grandmother)
Lori Shaffron, Senior Director of Franchise Sales of Rita’s Italian Ice, has been in the world of franchising since 1989.. Lori loves franchising, networking, mentoring, and volunteering. And it shows. Everyone knows the FranBubbie of Franchising. A term of endearment Brad Fishman, of Fishman PR coined. It became official when Edith Wiseman, of FranData gifted Lori with her very own FranBubbie t-shirt.
Like many Bubbies, Lori is strong-willed, unabashedly opinionated, and tender-hearted. If ever there was someone who could wear all the hats within a franchise organization it is Lori. From marketing to operations, to finance, to training and beyond, Lori has done it all. But her true bailiwick is franchise development.
Listen to the adventures of Lori Shaffron on this episode of The Franchise Woman podcast.
Meet Lori Shaffron
Lori Shaffron has spent over 40 years in the franchise industry. Today Lori serves as the Senior Director of Franchise Sales for Rita’s Franchise Company; January 2004 to March 2018 she was Vice President of Sarah Adult Day Services in Canton, Ohio; April 2002 to December 2003 she was Vice President of Development for Kiddie Academy and from December 1989 to December 2003 she served as Senior Vice President of Rent-A-Wreck Car Rental. Lori was a franchisee with Ugly Duckling Rentals. Ms. Shaffron has been involved with the IFA since 1989. She has spoken on many panels and is also involved with the Women in Franchising Committee. Lori has sat on the Membership Committee for many years and currently serves as the secretary of the committee. Franchising is in Lori’s blood.
Learn more about Lori Shaffron
Learn more about Rita’s Italian Ice
Amy Patel Popat shares her family’s origin story and her journey from certified optometrist to Right at Home franchisee in Solent & Southampton, UK
Amy’s father is from Africa. His family moved to Africa from India when the British Empire colonized Africa. During this time the British Empire moved a bunch of Indians to Africa to build the railways. Afterwards many would stay. However, in early August 1972, the dictator President of Uganda Idi Amin ordered the expulsion of his country’s Indian minority, giving them 90 days to leave the country. The British would then bring the Indians, including her father’s family, to the United Kingdom where they then lived in a refugee camp for a couple of months. Their adaptability, work ethic, and family values allowed them to endure and provide the next generation with a solid foundation.
Listen to the full interview to hear about the blending of cultures, lessons learned, and the second-generation immigrant mindset that has catapulted Amy’s success.
Meet Amy Patel Popat
Amy is a qualified Optometrist but moved into Franchising after not being fulfilled at work. She started the American-born Franchise, Right at Home Solent & Southampton, alongside her husband Kev Popat, who was formerly an accountant. Over the past 8.5 years, they have grown their franchise to over 120 Team members and have supported Hundreds to remain safe at home. They have received TWO Outstanding Ratings from the UK Regulatory Body, Care Quality Commission. In 2023 she won the Franchisee Women of the Year at the EWIF awards in London, and together they won the Franchisee of the Year 2019 from the British Franchise Association. She has a passion for leadership, empowering women, and promoting a Diverse and Inclusive workforce.
Learn more about Amy Patel Popat
Learn more about Right at Home
Was it luck?
Some call it luck, coincidence, fate, or God’s hand. In hindsight, Dana Besbris believes meeting and working with Allen Fishman was meant to be. Allen Fishman, a Wall Street Journal and Amazon.com bestselling author, is Founder and Executive Chairman of The Alternative Board (TAB®).
TAB addresses the need for peer advice from fellow business owners and coaching from experienced professionals. Under Allen’s mentorship, Dana went from executive assistant to executive. He saw in her something she had not yet recognized. He gave her a seat at the table and challenged her so she might grow personally and professionally.
In this episode of The Franchise Woman podcast Dana Besbris, Training and Coaching Specialist, tells her story and introduces us to ZorCoach™, powered by The Entrepreneur’s Source®.
Listen in to the full episode.
Meet Dana Bestbris
Dana Besbris, Training and Coaching Specialist, is excited to be introducing ZorCoach™, powered by The Entrepreneur’s Source®. ZorCoach’s vision is to help emerging franchise brands to unlock their growth potential, forge meaningful connections, and revolutionize how the world perceives franchising.
Dana brings over 16 years of franchise industry experience in training and international operations. Dana’s unique career path took her from Executive Assistant to Executive. This perspective informed her leadership philosophy, understanding that everyone has the ability to lead when allowed to do so in their own style.
When out of the office, Dana enjoys being active outdoors, whether that be on her bike, walking through the neighborhood, or playing pickleball.
Learn more about Dana Besbris
Learn more about The Entrepreneur’s Source
Debbie Roxarzade, Founder and CEO of Rachel’s Kitchen franchise, joins Rebecca Monet and Tracy Kawa on this episode of The Franchise Woman podcast.
Debbie has been a leader in the restaurant industry for more than 20 years. She attributes her growth to focusing on community and giving back. With several locations throughout the Las Vegas area, Rachel’s Kitchen is truly a local cafe where residents come again and again. Friends of Rachel provide community support to various charities and schools.
Listen to the full interview here.
Meet Debbie Roxarzade
Debbie Roxarzade has been a leader in the restaurant industry for more than 20 years, during which time she has proven herself to be a driven and innovative business woman with a superior talent for strategy and an innate business sense, honed at San Diego State University. Over the years, Debbie has developed a strong knowledge of the hospitality and restaurant industries and established a proven track record of successful business development. Her organic and guest-driven approach combined with her commitment to providing career growth opportunities for her team members is a large part of her success.
In 2014, Debbie was a recipient of the Women Who Mean Business Award, presented by the Las Vegas Business Press and in 2016 she was named one of the Women to Watch by Nevada Business Magazine. She has also been honored by My Vegas Magazine as one of the Top 100 Women of the Year, four years running. While accolades and notoriety are by no means the driving force behind Debbie’s efforts in business, they are good indicators of the level of passion and dedication she brings to everything she does.
After the great success and notoriety of what were ultimately seven restaurants in Los Angeles, Debbie decided to relocate to the newest culinary capital of the world, Las Vegas. Home to more celebrity chefs than possibly anywhere else in the world, Debbie couldn’t have picked a better location for her latest venture. Named after her daughter, the first Rachel’s Kitchen was opened in 2006 – a quaint café featuring delicious and reasonably priced bistro fare.
Learn more about Debbie Roxarzade
Learn more about Rachel’s Kitchen
In 1998, Colette and her husband, Andy Bell, started Handyman Matters and developed it into a franchise model in 2001, launching a successful franchise system that was acquired by Ace Hardware in September 2019.
Colette is the kite string to Andy’s kite. Andy is a passionate visionary whereas Colette possesses the curse of capability. In other words, Colette can figure out a way to get where Andy wants to go. Suffice it to say they make a great team.
Listen to this interview as Colette takes us on a ride of passion, luck, adventure, gratitude, success, and of course love.
Meet Colette Bell
In 1998, Colette and her husband, Andy Bell, started Handyman Matters and developed it into a franchise model in 2001, launching a successful franchise system that was acquired by Ace Hardware in September 2019. Colette is currently serving as VP in Franchise Development for the re-branded Ace Handyman Services where they have seen growth since the acquisition from 119 territories to 389 territories covering 47 states. Colette has a bachelor’s degree in communication from Colorado State University.
Learn more about Colette Bell
Learn more about Ace Handyman Services
A cord of 3 strands is not quickly broken.
Amy Leclerc co-founder of Sit Still Kids Salon franchise has three interweaving themes in her life.
Theme 1: Keep meeting new people. Amy makes a deliberate habit of meeting new people. New brings growth, connection, diversity and opportunity.
Theme 2: Trust your intuition and inner compass. Amy has an uncanny ability to fully trust her instincts. When it comes to gut vs. data – gut wins the race for Amy.
Theme 3: Take big swings. Be comfortable with risk. Amy is no stranger to risk. By trusting her inner compass she is unafraid to step into the unknown and take big swings.
Listen in to this week’s episode of The Franchise Woman podcast here.
Meet Amy Leclerc
Amy Leclerc is a co-founder of Sit Still Kids Salon franchise, based in Portland, Oregon.
Amy’s career began in New York City, where she spent ten years in the media industry, cutting her teeth at Grey Advertising, which led to selling ads for the fashion magazine, NYLON. As a bright-eyed twenty-two-year-old, Amy found herself in power meetings with teams from brands such as Ralph Lauren, Cartier, LVMH, and BMW. A quintessential New York experience where Amy cultivated longstanding relationships that she relishes in to this day.
After a move to Oregon, Amy made a complete career pivot, following her love of exercise into a 10-year stint running sales and business development for the boutique fitness brand barre3. At barre3, Amy was instrumental in building the business, scaling it from a scrappy startup into a cult brand with over 160 franchise locations domestically and internationally. In 2015, Amy opened her own barre3 studio in the West Village of New York, where she is proud to say the likes of Greta Gerwig and Parker Posey are regulars.
In 2018, following an itch to do something on her own, Amy co-founded Sit Still Kids Franchising. As a mom of young kids, Amy saw a huge gap in the children’s haircare industry and along with her business partners, created the blueprint for a modern-day kids salon that wow’s parents and kiddos alike.
Today, under her leadership, Sit Still has franchised over 45 locations across the country to female entrepreneurs who are experiencing the perks of being their own boss with the support of a seasoned team behind them.
As an impassioned entrepreneur, in addition to her work with Sit Still, Amy enjoys investing in and consulting female founders of emerging franchise concepts.
Learn more about Amy Leclerc
Learn more about Sit Still Kids Salon
Meet Nichole Daher
In the bustling streets of entrepreneurship, where passion, purpose, and profit intersect, one name stands out: Nichole Daher. As the visionary founder of “Success on the Spectrum,” Nichole embarked on a transformative journey fueled by her unwavering dedication to make a difference in the lives of individuals on the autism spectrum.
Nichole’s story begins with a deeply personal connection to autism. Raising a stepdaughter on the spectrum, she witnessed firsthand the challenges and triumphs unique to individuals with autism. This ignited a passion within her to create more access to care for children who need it most.
Armed with a mother’s determination and fueled by her passion, Nichole set out to create something extraordinary—a business that not only generated profit but also made a profound impact on society. Thus, “Success on the Spectrum” was born— a complete Autism Treatment center that provides ABA therapy, Speech therapy, and Occupational therapy to children with Autism.
Through innovative programs, tailored mentorship, and collaborative partnerships, Nichole’s vision began to take shape. “Success on the Spectrum” became a beacon of hope for individuals and families navigating the challenges of autism. She opened 2 different locations in Houston, Texas hoping to offer children like her daughter a pathway to fulfillment and achievement.
However, Nichole’s journey was not without its hurdles. She faced guilt about her ever-growing waitlist after her 2 clinics were full. She quickly realized that the unmet demand for Autism Treatment services was not going to be fixed by one person’s effort. Fueled by her unwavering commitment to her cause, Nichole founded SOS Franchising- the first Autism Treatment franchise in the US. This groundbreaking venture is dedicated to providing support, resources, and opportunities for entrepreneurs to open their own Success On The Spectrum treatment center.
Driven by her mission, Nichole tirelessly worked to build a franchise model that balanced profitability with purpose. She understood that sustainable success required not only financial gains but also high-quality services for kids. With this mindset, Nichole infused every aspect of her company with intentionality, ensuring that every decision aligned with her values of inclusivity and empowerment.
Today, Nichole Daher continues to inspire entrepreneurs and activists alike. Her story serves as a testament to the transformative power of passion, purpose, and profit—proving that with dedication and determination, anything is possible. As she continues to drive change and create opportunities for individuals on the autism spectrum, Nichole remains a beacon of hope, lighting the way for a brighter, more inclusive tomorrow.
Learn more about Nichole Daher
Learn more about Success On The Spectrum
