Stories from Franchisees & Founders

To commemorate the 100th episode of The Franchise Story Podcast, Brian and Erik share some of their biggest takeaways and favorite episodes as they take a look back on these amazing past two years.

The duo recounts the entire history of the show, from the very earliest days. They also discuss why they think their efforts to create such a podcast ended up working, and where the project goes from here.

Thank you to our listeners for your support over the last 100 episodes, and join us for this special episode to learn what's next on this incredible journey!

What we talk about:

• Our first podcast interview and how we started
• Looking back at how much has happened and were accomplished within this past 2 years
• Biggest takeaways and favorite episodes
• The power of your story
• There are people out there that are willing to give
• Deciding how to spend your time and energy
• The mission to serve other franchisees
• Being not afraid to work
• The importance of right and growing relationships
• Solving problems and building things
• Things that came out of doing these episodes
• Different stories resonate differently with different people
• What's next?

What we mention:

• The Franchise Story Podcast Episode #28
• The Franchise Story Podcast Episode #62
• The Franchise Story Podcast Episode #51
• The Franchise Story Podcast Episode #42
• The Franchise Story Podcast Episode #34
• Franchise Secrets Podcast

Stories from Franchisees & Founders

In this week's episode, Erik is joined by Scott Kaspar, a high-performing SPENGA franchisee based in the Chicago area. SPENGA is an unrivaled fitness experience that incorporates elements of cardio, strength training, and flexibility into every one-hour workout through a combination of spin, HIIT training, and yoga.

Scott shares with Erik how he was able to successfully build his first SPENGA location, and his goals for expansion. In his first year of operation, Scott grew a membership base to over 500 people.

The duo also talks about Scott's past business experience as a lawyer working at an international law firm and how his experience working with teams on high stakes litigations translated to the fitness industry.

Tune in to hear more about Scott's franchise story and gain wisdom that will help you on your own business journey!

What we talk about:

• Scott's background before getting into the fitness industry
• Doing what you love
• The size of the business and its people
• Hiring the general manager and what he's good at
• Great real estate deal during an economic crisis
• How quickly they can go for expansion
• How to make the most of this time
• The rewarding journey of building and running the business
• Keeping the membership alive
• Listening and collaborating with the franchisees

What we mention:

• Spenga

Stories from Franchisees & Founders

In this episode, Brian and Erik are joined by Roger McGreal, who has served in his role as CEO for SPENGA since March 2015 as well as being a co-founder. As one of the fastest growing brands to keep your eyes on, SPENGA currently has over 307 locations sold and offers a boutique fitness experience that combines spin, strength, and yoga elements to the workout.

The trio talks about how SPENGA was conceptualized and developed in the early days, and how franchising helped the brand achieve sustainable growth. Roger also talks about how they navigated through the challenges brought about by COVID-19, and the importance of remembering long-term goals through times of difficulty.

Roger says, "The boutique fitness industry is booming… When you look at franchising or any business, you have to look at the sustainability. It's a long-term play, it's not short-term. Sometimes it's hard when you put the blinders on, but I do think we are going to come out of this stronger than ever."

Tune in and learn more about Roger's inspiring franchise story!

What we talk about:

• How the name "Spenga" came to be
• What led them to create the concept
• Opening up the first corporate location
• The partnership dynamics within 6 co-founders
• Expediting growth through franchising
• How the growth looked like as the business was turned into a franchise
• Establishing the sales process and building the franchise development organization
• Lessons from building out a franchise model
• Navigating through COVID - focusing on the member experience
• What the future may look like for boutique fitness and the fitness industry
• Some things SPENGA did to work through the COVID situation
• A great time for the business to grow

What we mention:

• SPENGA
• Franchise FastLane