Franchise 500

Buying a Franchise

How To Evaluate Franchisor Support Without Falling For The Sales Pitch

Franchise support is often sold as a promise, but experienced operators know it must be evaluated through systems, structure and consistency.

By Adam Povlitz

Buying a Franchise

What Smart Franchise Buyers Know Before They Ever Step Into Confirmation Day

By David Busker

Business News

Here’s One Operational Upgrade I’d Put In Place to Protect Franchises from Peak-Hour Chaos

By Greg Davis

Buying a Franchise

Beware the Timing Trap — Is There Ever a Right Time to Start a Franchise?

By David Busker

Thought Leaders

Why Franchise Discovery Day Isn’t a Sales Pitch — It’s a Stress Test for Your Alignment

Franchise Discovery Day reveals far more than enthusiasm. It exposes whether a candidate and a brand can succeed together for the long haul.

By Adam Povlitz

Buying a Franchise

How to Balance Passion and Practicality When Exploring a Business Opportunity

Passion can work for or against you in a business model. Your goal? Make it work for you.

By David Busker

Thought Leaders

I Stopped Reading Franchise Agreements as Contracts — Here’s What I See Instead

Seasoned franchise leaders know the agreement reveals how a system will grow, govern and respond to pressure long before the first unit opens.

By Adam Povlitz

Franchise 500

What It Takes to Win In Franchising In 2026

Here's what we learned from the brands on this year's Franchise 500 ranking.

By Jason Feifer

Franchise 500

Jersey Mike’s Sold for $8 Billion. Their New CEO Is Ready to Double Their 3,200 U.S. Locations.

Jersey Mike's is #1 on the Franchise 500 for the first time, with a new CEO. He plans to scale at an ambitious pace, while preserving the brand's 50-year legacy.

By Jason Feifer

Franchise 500

This Beloved Fast-Food Franchise Boasts a Bold Strategy to Hit $3 Million Per Location

The brand isn't just maintaining its #2 spot on the Franchise 500 — it's setting ambitious targets for 2030.

By Stephanie Schomer

Franchise 500

How This Buzzy Brand Manages to ‘Attract My 18-Year-Old Niece and Not Frustrate My 83-Year-Old Father’

The #3 brand on our franchise 500 has proven masterful at selling to multiple generations

By Stephanie Schomer

Franchise 500

‘We’re Faster Than Amazon’: How Ace Hardware Is Beating Big Tech While Selling Local

At #4 on our Franchise 500, the 102-year-old company is using a hyperlocal strategy with franchisees to drive digital growth.

By Stephanie Schomer

Franchise 500

This 72 Year-Old Education Brand Is Staying On Top By Doing One Crucial Thing In-Person

Kumon invests heavily in learnings across regions. That landed it at #5 on our Franchise 500.

By Stephanie Schomer

Franchise 500

With Zero Orders Placed, AI Says to Drop 50 Wings In the Fryer. It’s Cut Customer Wait Times In Half.

Wingstop's Smart Kitchen, which uses machine learning to predict exactly when to start preparing food, has helped the brand land at #6 on the Franchise 500.

By Stephanie Schomer

Franchise 500

The UPS Store Gets 5x the Packages It Did In 2019. Here’s How They’re Handling the Growth.

Peer to peer learning among franchisees has helped The UPS Store land at #7 on the Franchise 500.

By Stephanie Schomer

Franchise 500

How Hampton by Hilton Expanded to 46 Countries, Even As Hotel Prices Rose 20%

At #8 on our Franchise 500, their brand's strategy is simple: "It's about the feeling you get when you walk through the door."

By Stephanie Schomer

Franchise 500

This CEO Ate 10 Chicken Sandwiches In a Day and Got ‘So Sick.’ But It Led to 30% Sales Growth.

After 18 months of culinary invention, their sales jumped, landing them at #9 on the Franchise 500.

By Stephanie Schomer

Franchise 500

McDonald’s Sales Jump 2.4% After They Revived This Old School Strategy

How the Golden Arches landed back in the Franchise 500 Top 10.

By Stephanie Schomer

Franchise 500

From Celebrity Investors to AI That Cuts Labor Costs by 90% — How 5 Brands Made Massive Leaps

What drove explosive franchise growth in 2025? Here are the five different growth strategies that helped these franchises rocket up in the Franchise 500 rankings.

By Kim Kavin

Franchise 500

‘Computers Can’t Tie Balloons’: 8 Innovative New Franchises

These franchises identified market gaps, and are turning unique ideas into scalable business models for our current moment.

By Jason Feifer

Franchise 500

A Day In the Life of a Franchisee Who Took His Store from $700K to $1.8 Million

Raul Larez now owns two Batteries Plus locations, but still has plenty of time for family. We asked him to keep a diary of one average day.

By Raul Larez

Franchise 500

Raise Prices or Cut Staff… How About Neither? Try The Strategy That Worked For These 5 Brands

When costs climb and consumers tighten budgets, most franchises raise prices or cut staff. But the smartest brands are reengineering value.

By Matt Haller

Franchise 500

I Took a Tiny Hometown Restaurant and Built It Into 235 Locations For Very Little Money. You Can Too.

Eddie Flores Jr. couldn't get a loan, so he built L&L Hawaiian Barbecue without much cash for traditional marketing. Here is his "impact marketing without spending money" strategy.

By Eddie Flores Jr.

Buying a Franchise

This Family-Friendly Brand Is Snapping Up Vacant Stores — And Building a $600 Million Business in the Process

As national retailers shutter locations, Urban Air Adventure Park is transforming empty big-box stores into family destinations that drive foot traffic and revenue for retail centers.

By Carl Stoffers

Buying a Franchise

A Major Restaurant Operator Just Cashed Out of One of Its Biggest Brands — Here’s Why

The sale marks a strategic shift — and is a sign of how fast-food giants are rethinking growth.

By Carl Stoffers

Buying a Franchise

These Are the Top Retail Franchises for 2025, According to the Franchise 500

These retail brands are proving there's still a big opportunity in brick-and-mortar franchising.

By Carl Stoffers

Buying a Franchise

Franchise Success Isn’t Automatic — It’s Earned. Here’s How to Do It Right.

Many franchise candidates fall for the "it runs itself" myth. Here's why hands-on ownership is the only real path to success.

By Rob Lancit

Buying a Franchise

Most Acquisitions Fail — Here’s How to Make Yours the Exception

Buying a company is the easy part. The challenge is getting your new team to feel like part of the same firm.

By Jeff Helfgott

Buying a Franchise

This Fast-Food Powerhouse Is Getting a Makeover. Here’s What Customers Can Expect.

Wendy's is rolling out Project Fresh, a consumer-focused overhaul that promises faster drive-thrus, smarter ordering tech and a refreshed menu.

By Carl Stoffers

Buying a Franchise

This Founder Lost Control of Her Cult-Favorite Brand — Here’s How She’s Making a Bold Comeback

After a turbulent stretch, Slutty Vegan founder Pinky Cole says she's back in full control — and pushing a disciplined "2.0" reset.

By Carl Stoffers