Avoid These Mistakes as a New Franchise Owner Franchise Fridays with The Designery's Casey Ridley On this episode of Unemployable with Jeff Dudan, I sit down with Casey Ridley, President of The Designery, to talk about the journey from a mom-and-pop surplus store to building a fast-growing franchise brand with over 40 locations. We cover: Why franchising gives people time freedom and community impact The biggest mistakes new franchisees make (and how to avoid them) The key traits of successful franchise owners Misconceptions about franchising and what really matters The role of culture in making a franchisor great Trends shaping franchising: AI, automation, and the customer experience Whether you’re an aspiring business owner or just curious about franchising, this episode is packed with insight. 👉 Learn more about The Designery and Homefront Brands A FREE COPY OF JEFF'S Book Discernment Find Out More About Jeff Dudan 00:00 – Intro & welcome to Casey Ridley 01:12 – From surplus business to franchising 02:30 – Role as President of The Designery 04:05 – Why franchising gives people their time back 06:18 – Entrepreneurial background & Georgia Bulldogs banter 07:52 – Why people choose franchising today 09:03 – Competing in business: vendors & marketing advantages 11:05 – The ideal franchise candidate: team builders & fearless leaders 13:10 – Misconceptions about franchising 14:30 – Mindset shifts new owners need to make 15:45 – Culture: the difference between a good vs. great franchisor 17:10 – What people overlook when evaluating a franchise 18:25 – Biggest new owner mistake: “genius attacks” 20:12 – Success story: corporate escapee turned top franchisee 22:01 – Franchising trends: AI, automation & showroom experiences 23:45 – One big question for those on the fence 25:00 – Closing & CTA #Franchising #Entrepreneurship #BusinessGrowth #FranchiseSuccess #HomefrontBrands #UnemployablePodcast #JeffDudan #TheDesignery #WealthCreation #SmallBusiness

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Erin King joins Jeff Dudan on Unemployable to reveal why energy—not time or money—is the ultimate edge in business and life. From building a top social media agency to conducting the world’s largest research study on human energy, Erin shares how to unlock your “energy instinct,” lead with clarity, and avoid burnout while building a bold future. Erin is an award-winning entrepreneur, keynote speaker, and author of You’re Kind of a Big Deal. She created the Energy Exam to help leaders and teams discover their vibe and tap into peak performance. 👉 Take Erin’s Energy Exam 📖 Learn more about Erin’s work 📸 Follow Erin on Instagram 💼 Subscribe for More Business & Career Insights 📩 Follow me on Social Media for More: 👉 LinkedIn 👉 Instagram

FREE COPY of Jeff's Book DISCERNMENT

Find out more About Jeff Dudan www.jeffdudan.com

🔗 Homefront Brands

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⏱ Chapters 00:00 – Intro: Who is Erin King? 00:41 – What lights you up? 01:27 – Lessons from dad and family values 03:32 – Simplicity, principles, and leadership energy 05:44 – Burnout, breakdowns, and discovering energy 07:19 – The Social Dilemma wake-up call 08:41 – Panic attack and resetting priorities 09:49 – The Energy Study: 10,000 people, one big insight 18:17 – The science of vibe 23:02 – The three boulders blocking energy 26:50 – Oprah’s big shift: from reporting to relating 31:24 – Five energy types and leadership 34:03 – Becoming a “bad listener” with intention 43:29 – Jealousy vs. healthy competition 47:28 – Knowing your summit and enoughness 52:07 – Disarming jealousy with compliments 53:12 – The Energy Exam and power words 59:15 – Too much energy? Compatibility and adjustment 1:02:40 – Calm abundance vs. pick-me energy 1:02:44 – Erin’s upcoming book The Energy Instinct 1:06:25 – One sentence to change a life 1:10:57 – Gratitude, service, and final thoughts #ErinKing #UnemployablePodcast #JeffDudan #LeadershipEnergy #HighPerformance #EntrepreneurMindset #EnergyManagement #BusinessGrowth #VibeMatters #FranchiseLeadership #PeakPerformance #MindsetShift #EntrepreneurLife #LeadershipDevelopment #PersonalGrowth #AvoidBurnout #LeadWithEnergy #BusinessLeadership #SuccessMindset #EnergyIsEverything

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Franchising works when franchisees are at the center. In this Franchise Friday, I sit down with Homefront Brands’ Chief Legal Officer to talk FDDs, legal guardrails, and the real reasons some owners scale while others stall. We cover the traits of top performers (intuition, smarts, grit), the biggest misconception (“it’s easy”), why private equity is moving to the franchisee side, and how culture and values beat shortcuts. If you’re on the fence, ask yourself one question: Do you trust who you’re going into business with? Learn more at HomefrontBrands.com. Grab my book Discernment: The Business Athlete’s Regimen for a Great Life Through Better Decisions to make your next move with confidence.

FREE COPY of Jeff's Book DISCERNMENT

Find out more About Jeff Dudan www.jeffdudan.com

🔗 Homefront Brands

00:00 Cold open & intro 00:42 Why a career in franchise law – Taco Bell cube moment 02:06 What a CLO actually does – FDDs, field support, contracts 03:20 Walking with owners through challenges – building real relationships 05:40 Shared goal – franchisee success drives brand success 07:12 Community over solo – the advantage you can’t buy 07:47 Why franchising beats going alone 08:40 Who should franchise – intuition, smarts, grit 10:25 “Rooster” story – never judge the book 12:20 The hardest part to measure – heart and desire 13:58 Misconception – “franchising is easy” 15:21 Mindset shift – humility, engagement, follow the system 17:10 What great franchisors do differently – values → trust → outcomes 19:49 What candidates overlook – intangibles, integrity under pressure 21:44 #1 new-owner mistake – not trusting the system “genius attacks” 22:54 Homefront’s edge – coaching culture & the football mindset 24:40 Three-to-five year trends – consolidation, roll-ups, PE with franchisees 26:15 People plus math – scaling done right 27:19 The one question before you buy – trust #FranchiseFridays #UnemployableWithJeffDudan #Franchising #FranchiseBusiness #FranchiseOpportunities #FranchiseGrowth #FranchiseSuccess #FranchiseOwners #FranchiseLife #FranchiseTips #FranchiseInsights #Entrepreneurship #BusinessGrowth #BusinessOwners #SmallBusiness #StartYourBusiness #BusinessMindset #Leadership #Grit #Discipline #BusinessAthlete #MindsetMatters #SuccessMindset #EntrepreneurMindset #BusinessLeadership #GrowthMindset #HomefrontBrands #UnemployableWithJeffDudan #FranchiseFridays #JeffDudan #DiscernmentBook #BusinessAthleteLife #PrivateEquity #ScalingUp #BusinessExpansion #UnitEconomics #FranchiseFunding #FranchiseInvesting #BusinessStrategy #TeamCulture #BusinessCommunity #TrustedPartners #BusinessRelationships #BusinessSupport #BusinessCoaching

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