In this episode, I talk with Jon Ostenson, who is the CEO of FranBridge Consulting, on his remarkable career as one of the top 1% of franchise consultants in the United States. He is a frequent contributor on the topic of "non-food franchising" for outlets such as Inc., Forbes, The Franchise Journal and Franchise Connect. Jon is a multi-brand franchisee and is grateful to have strong operators leading his ventures. As a result, he is able to commit over 90% of his time to serving as CEO of FranBridge Consulting where he helps others achieve their own dreams of freedom and wealth generation through business ownership.

Prior to FranBridge, Jon served as the President of ShelfGenie, a national franchise system with 200 locations. Before moving to ShelfGenie, Jon invested fifteen years in the corporate world, including a long tenure as Vice President of Sales for Carter's Inc., responsible for over $350 million in annual sales. Jon began his career as a consultant with Accenture, often working internationally on behalf of his clients. Jon is on the Board of Directors for the Entrepreneurs Organization (EO) and has BBA and MBA degrees from the University of Georgia. Jon lives in Atlanta where he and his wife have three children and are very active in the community.

Jon talks about the process he takes people through to find out which franchise is the right one for them to start, how his book Non-Food Franchising educates people on his process and actually helps his clients find the right business sooner. He also shares the hot new opportunities that he sees that franchise candidates should consider, the big five of the best franchise brands, red flags that candidates should be aware of, and stories and lessons from his extensive career as one of the best of the best in franchising.