INSIGHTS & ARTICLES

Every now and then I walk out of a client meeting and find myself replaying the conversation in my head. Not because the business wasn't good. Because the business was much better than the owners realised. This week was another one of those meetings. I spent a couple of hours with two founders who own a successful Australian hospitality business. Now, full disclosure; I really like this couple who have set up a business for themselves and are now, after many years of deli

Survive This Downturn. Build a Business That Can Survive the Next One. I tried to take my family out for breakfast the other day, only to discover that two longstanding inner-city cafés I used to frequent had both closed. I was stunned. But not entirely surprised. Both had been fixtures in their suburbs for years. I'd first discovered them long ago, and they were the sort of businesses you assumed would always be there. Initially, I thought perhaps they'd relocated.

Marketing Doesn’t End When the Customer Walks Through I have just come out of another marketing workshop with one of our Franchising Made Easy® VIP clients, and something that came up in the discussion has stayed with me. We were supposed to be talking about marketing analytics. The business is already a successful multi-site operation and is now well advanced in preparing for franchising. Over the course of our work together, the conversations have naturally matured.

A client asked me the question I get all the time. In fact, every year I get asked the same question. "Barry, should we exhibit at the Franchising Expo?" My answer is always the same. It depends. Not because I'm trying to avoid giving a straight answer, but because the answer depends entirely on where your franchise system sits on its growth journey and what you're hoping to achieve.

Franchising Doesn't Fix a Weak Business. It Magnifies It. One of the privileges of my role is spending time each week with founders who are considering franchising their businesses. Every conversation is different, but almost every week a common theme emerges. This week, it was optimism. The kind of optimism every entrepreneur needs. The belief that tomorrow can be better than today. The confidence to invest. The courage to grow. Without optimism, very few businesses would ev

Why Translating a Brand Isn't the Same as Localising It One of the privileges of my role is spending time each week with founders who are considering franchising their businesses. Every conversation is different, but almost every week a common theme emerges. This week, it was international expansion. More specifically, it was the assumption that a successful overseas franchise can simply be transplanted into Australia. On the surface, it sounds logical.

How Do Rising Interest Rates Hurt Small Business, and What Can Owners Do About It? On 29 September 2026 the RBA lifted the cash rate 25 basis points to 4.60%. It is the fourth hike this year and the highest rate since 2011. For small business, that means dearer debt, tighter cash flow and softer customer spending. The owners who come through fix their structure early. The fourth hike, and more may follow The RBA says it will keep going if needed to bring inflation back to ta

Want Private Equity to Buy Your Franchise One Day? Build It That Way From Day One. Most aspiring franchisors aren’t thinking about private equity. They’re thinking about finding their first franchisee. Fair enough. But I think they’re already starting the conversation one step too late. If you want to build a valuable franchise business, some of the decisions that could ultimately determine its enterprise value are made before franchisee number one even exists. They’re made

Who Is Paying for the Card Surcharge Ban, One Week On? A week after the surcharge ban, the cost has moved, not disappeared. Cafes are lifting prices by up to 10%, large suppliers are charging Amex fees of around 2%, and the ATO stops taking cards on 30 November. Consumer confidence is also at its weakest in decades. Owners are raising prices into a market running out of tolerance. The menu price reset The Small Flat White tracker, which follows more than 1,500 cafes, shows ab

This Week's Client Wanted More Franchise Leads. They Actually Needed Better Economics. One of the privileges of my role is spending time each week with founders who are considering franchising their businesses. Every conversation is different, but almost every week a common theme emerges. This week, it was franchise recruitment. Or at least, that's what the client thought they wanted to discuss. Like many founders preparing to expand, they opened the meeting with a simple

Is US Franchising Still Growing in 2026, and What Should Australian Owners Take From It? Yes, but modestly. The IFA and FRANdata project US franchising will reach about 845,000 establishments in 2026, up 1.5%, with output above $921 billion. That is steady growth, not a boom. The growth sits in needs-based service models. That is the lesson for Australian owners. The numbers, without the hype The IFA expects franchise establishments to grow from 832,521 to 845,000 and employm

What Has the Credit Card Surcharge Ban Done to Franchising and Small Business? The card surcharge ban took effect on 1 October 2026. Operators lose a revenue line, and many will fold the cost into prices. The ATO will also stop accepting credit cards after 30 November. For franchise networks, that means rewriting pricing, models and agreements. For franchisees, it means tighter cash flow with fewer tools. What changed on 1 October From 1 October, businesses can no longer surc

This Week I Learnt That the Most Valuable Part of a Business Isn't on the Balance Sheet One of the privileges of my role is spending time each week with founders who are considering franchising their businesses. Every conversation is different, but almost every week a common theme emerges. This week, it was value. Not company valuations. Not EBITDA. Not profit margins. Not cash flow. Those things are important. Every business owner should understand them. But this we

Over the years, I've watched bucket loads of business owners begin the journey towards expansion and, in many cases, franchising. They come from different industries. Different backgrounds. Different levels of success. Some are running a single location. Others already have multiple sites. Some have spent decades building remarkable businesses. Others are only a few years into their entrepreneurial journey. Yet despite all of those differences, most eventually find themselve

Dave & Buster's has entered the Australian market. Their franchise enquiry form sets a qualification bar most Australian franchisors never see: A $10 million USD net worth, $5 million USD in liquid assets, and $4 to $8 million USD per location before an applicant even reaches the contact fields. That's not overkill. It's a different recruitment model entirely. Understanding the difference between master franchise recruitment and single-unit recruitment matters if you're buil

Most franchisors treat annual disclosure as an admin job. Hand it to the accountant, ring the lawyer in the last week of October, hope for the best. That is how systems end up in front of the regulator. If your financial year ends on 30 June, the clock is already running. Here is what actually needs to happen, and where franchisors get caught. The three dates that matter The annual update to your disclosure document must be made within four months of the first day of your fi

The Most Expensive Mistake in Franchising Usually Starts With One Sentence “We need a franchise agreement.” No. You need a franchise system. That distinction matters more than most founders realise. Too many business owners decide they want to franchise and immediately run to lawyers asking for: A franchise agreement A disclosure document Operations manual templates Compliance paperwork They believe the legal documents are the beginning. They are not. They are the receipt. Le

This Week I Was Reminded That Great Customer Service Is a Franchise System, Not a Smile. One of the privileges of my role is spending time each week with founders who are considering franchising their businesses. Every conversation is different, but almost every week a common theme emerges. This week, it was customer service. Not customer service in the traditional sense. Not smiling. Not greeting customers at the door. Not asking whether everything was okay with the meal.

Franchising can be an exciting and highly profitable way to expand your business, but deciding when to take the plunge is a decision that should not be rushed. In fact, I had a similar chat with a business owner not too long ago. They were yearning to expand, but on further analysis, they just weren’t ready to expand through franchising. I’ll share some of the key tidbits we discussed below. Franchising requires a solid foundation, careful planning, and a strategic approach t

How to Franchise a Business in Australia | Step-by-Step Guide (2026) Most people believe franchising begins with legal documents. It doesn't. Legal documents capture your strategy. They don't create it. I see founders skip straight to a lawyer, get a beautifully drafted franchise agreement and disclosure document, and still have no real idea whether their business is actually ready to franchise.