On this episode, Elizabeth Denham and Rebecca Monet interview Shane Evans of Massage Heights. Shane talks about the support system she has with her husband and how she juggles work and mom guilt and judgment. She talks about life as a female founder and franchisor and how she gives back to her team and franchisees.
Meet Shane Evans
Chief Operating Officer and Co-Founder of San Antonio, Texas based Franchisor of national membership based therapeutic massage concept. Massage Heights Corporate started franchising in South Texas in 2005 and launched a national growth strategy in 2007 by utilizing a master franchise model. The company growth strategy will allow for the development of 1600 units accross the United States and Canada in the next 5 years.
Went “undercover” with Massage Heights on CBS’ hit reality show, Undercover Boss, December 2013 and June 2014.
On this episode, Rebecca Monet and Elizabeth Denham interview Dori Roberts of Engineering for Kids. Her entrepreneurial spirit was born of demand from parents who wanted more of her afterschool STEM programming. She followed the demand and the opportunity and built a successful franchise. And mostly while she was a single mother!
Meet Dori Roberts
Engineering For Kids® was started by Dori Roberts in 2009. Dori has been teaching engineering for over eleven years. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Math and Science Elementary/Middle School Education in 1997 and a Master of Science degree in Technology Education in 2000.
While teaching at a local high school in Virginia, Dori earned quite a reputation for herself and her students, as they won many awards as the school’s Technology Student Association, with Dori as their advisor.
Every year, Dori and her students would compete in events in technology and engineering at the local, state, and national level. In 2007, she brought her five-year-old son, Matthew, and her seven-year-old daughter Kaley, along to a few of the competitions. Matthew and Kaley were mesmerized by all of the engineering projects created by Dori’s high school students. They wanted to compete too! It was the experience that inspired her to start an engineering education program for kids.
When Dori asked Matthew if he knew what an engineer was, his response was one many children have. Someone who drives a train! He chimed. Once Dori explained to Matthew what engineers do, his response was a delighted, “Cool, I want to be an engineer!” Matthew and Kaley soon became the test subjects for Dori’s curriculum. Matthew and Kaley loved the projects and wanted more! This inspired her to teach an after school engineering class at their elementary school. She was surprised to find out how quickly her class filled up. The first class Dori offered was a Civil Engineering class in which the student built model bridges. The feedback from parents was overwhelmingly positive!
Dori started Engineering For Kids and began offering summer camps, birthday parties, after-school programs, and evening classes at local community centers and schools. She has now franchised her concept and has over 150 locations worldwide.
Rebecca Monet and Elizabeth Denham interview mother/daughter team Lisa and Lindsey Bianco of Fred Astaire Dance Studios. These two women are absolutely lovely and share the growth and evolution of their paths and their relationship. The discuss how dance saved each of them and how they have managed to keep things going through the pandemic. Tune in for some inspiration.
Rebecca Monet and Elizabeth Denham interview Clare Moore of Tide Cleaners franchise system. Clare has a great philosophy with regard to leadership. As a young child she was labeled “bossy boots” and she believes that trait drove her to leadership. She also believes in the ability to change and says you don’t have to be who you are right now forever. Great interview and we learned a lot!
Clare Moore, Head of Franchising, Agile Pursuits Franchising, Inc. (Tide Cleaners)
Clare Moore has been a member of the APFI team since January 2013, and currently serves as the Head of Franchising. Clare began her career with APFI as an Administrative Assistant supporting the Executive, Franchising and Real Estate divisions within the organization. Since her start at APFI Clare has grown within the Franchising department to eventually becoming the Head of Franchising. As APFI’s Head of Franchising, Clare supports the Tide Cleaners Franchise network by managing all agreements and terms of compliance, as well as the Tide Cleaners Annual Convention in addition to sitting on the Franchise Leadership Team. Prior to joining APFI, Clare was a Paralegal at Gerner and Kearns Co., L.P.A., leading the foreclosure sales department for Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. Clare earned a Bachelor of Arts and Science with a minor in Business at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.
Nancy Friedman talks to Elizabeth Denham and Rebecca Monet about an important issue – advocating for your own health, especially as a woman. She also tells us how she and her family are able to work together and how she finds joy in each and every day. Tune in and tell us what you have learned!
Nancy Friedman, Founder and Chairman of Telephone Doctor Customer Service Training, is a popular keynote customer service speaker at franchise, corporate meetings, and conferences around the country. Her Virtual Programs are receiving high marks.
Rebecca Monet and Elizabeth Denham talk to John Hayes about his path from writing to franchising and everything in between. He has helped so many write books to help make them experts in their fields and bring greater credibility to their professional lives. As the chair of the Titus Center for Franchising, John is bringing entrepreneurship to college students.
Rebecca Monet and Elizabeth Denham talk to Ruth Agbaji about how she immigrated from Nigeria and found her calling with Code Wiz. Her desire to introduce coding to kids is inspiring as is her story of overcoming her circumstances regardless of the obstacles in her path. She plans for the next “Steve Jobs” to come from her Code Wiz franchise, and we know she will do it!
Ruth Agbaji is the CEO and Nerd-In-Chief of Code Wiz and has a passion for helping kids connect with their inner genius. Through an interactive and project driven approach, Code Wiz offers kids a wide variety of technology to express their creativity through coding and robotics. Agbaji’s love for coding started when she taught herself to code back in Nigeria. Loving this newly found “powers”, she proceeded to get a Masters in Computer Science from Tufts University and work as a Software Engineer for tech giants like Microsoft and Kronos. Desiring to make a direct impact on the next generation and having a need for flexibility, in 2017, Agbaji quit her day job to open Code Wiz. Her vision was to have a center where kids of all abilities could come and learn about problem-solving through coding and pour their imagination into personalized projects. With her first center a success and a growing number of franchisees, Agbaji is looking to grow Code Wiz into a household brand name in the enrichment education space.
Rebecca Monet and Elizabeth Denham invite Rhonda Sanderson to discuss her history in the PR biz. You will not want to miss her take on growing in the industry as a woman and how she dealt with men who may or may not have been receptive to women in business. She shares stories of iconic PR campaigns she initiated and how her visual stories made all the difference.
Rhonda Sanderson is a franchise expert who has owned and operated Sanderson & Associates and Sanderson PR, both specializing in, traditional, social media and crisis PR in the franchise space since 1986. She has authored many articles, helped grow numerous franchise chains is considered one of the Top 30 Small Business Influencers (Fit Business) in the U.S. Find her at Rhonda@sandersonpr.com or on LinkedIn where she is the author of Franchise Stars at https://www.linkedin.com/in/rhonda-sanderson-a6b658/
Rebecca Monet and Elizabeth Denham welcome Michelle Rowan of Franchise Business Review. She discusses her life theme of living with integrity and authenticity. In this personal interview, she reveals how she became who she is, how she was parented, how she parents, and what she hopes for herself and her family. She also tells us how her friendship with Paul Pickett drew her out in the business world and showed her how to find her tribe.
Michelle Rowan is the president and COO of Franchise Business Review, a market research and consulting company specializing in franchisee and employee satisfaction, as well as franchise relations issues. She is the Chair of IFA’s Women’s Franchise Committee and a Certified Franchise Executive. She has facilitated CEO Performance Groups and Executive Networking Groups within the franchise industry and regularly speaks at industry events. She lives in Maine with her husband and daugther, where she and her husband also own a tasting room and brewery.
On this episode, Charity Rausch talks about her experience finding her calling. With multiple career changes, she has found ways to prioritize her family while having the career she loves with Wild Birds Unlimited. Tune in to learn the lesson that sometimes life is not a straight line, but the journey can be worth the wait!
My name is Charity Rausch. I was born in Indiana and have lived in Zionsville for the last 17years. I am married to Adam Rausch and we have three children and a dog. Mason is 18(my step son), Parker(boy) is 15 and Avery(girl) is 3 and Lola(the dog) is 7. For the last 6 years I have been the owner of a Wild Birds Unlimited Franchise in Noblesville, Indiana. In July of 2019, the second franchise unit was purchased in Carmel, Indiana.
My professional background until Wild Birds Unlimited had always revolved around corporate retail with a lot of travel. My husband also traveled for his job. This scenario was not working for us. I made the change and started working at Indiana University, Bloomington as a visiting lecturer in the Retail Studies Department. I found a passion which was teaching, coaching, and helping others. I loved this job however it was in Bloomington and the job started to change. I could no longer commute 5 days a week and raise my family. I found a job at Wild Birds Unlimited as a business Coach in their franchise support center, in Carmel, Indiana. This company and job changed my live. The culture is amazing, something I had never experienced. I worked in the franchise office for 4 years before we bought a franchise store. I wanted to emulate their culture that I loved so much in my own business; professionalism, kindness, respect, understanding and connection. My focus for my own business is always on People, my employees and my customers. Our business is about relationships and connection with nature.
