Read Time: 4.5 Minutes
A founder once told me:
“We’ve got the demand, the systems, the brand… but I can’t be in ten places at once.”
He was staring down the barrel of what I call “Operational Paralysis by Proximity”—the myth that scale can only happen if you're personally running the show. He wasn’t wrong for wanting control - I mean, I like control too! But he was wrong to think the only path forward was internal expansion.
Enter franchising and licensing. These aren't just for fast food chains and fitness studios. They’re strategic growth accelerators used by everyone from retail upstarts to B2B platforms to leapfrog geographic and operational constraints—without burning out their leadership team or diluting the brand.
If done wrong, you scale chaos.
But when done right? You scale capacity, capital efficiency, and brand footprint. Let's get into it...
The Executive Playbook: Deloitte’s Franchise Lifecycle Model
Whether you're just considering the leap or already fielding franchise requests, here's the 5-phase model I used at Deloitte (and now you can too) to evaluate and execute the move into franchising or licensing:
1. Plan & Attract
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Identify ideal franchisee profiles
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Build a strategy roadmap backed by real market analysis
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Vet candidates like they’re joining your founding team
2. Onboard & Train
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Nail your Franchise Disclosure Documents (FDDs)
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Standardize the site launch playbook
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Deliver training that scales brand standards without compromise
3. Operate
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Ongoing ops support, compliance check-ins, and quality audits
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Think “support center,” not “corporate overlord”
4. Grow & Retain
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Build loyalty through advisory councils and innovation co-creation
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Develop multi-unit growth tracks for top operators
5. Renew, Expire, or Divest
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Have a process for re-upping great partners—and professionally exiting those who don’t perform
This isn’t just structure—it’s protection. It guards your brand, accelerates your scale, and ensures you’re growing through systems, not heroics.
Real World Example
One of my clients—a wellness brand with strong unit economics and national demand—was stuck. Every new location meant more stress on the founding team, and capital deployment was becoming a bottleneck.
We deployed Deloitte's Franchise Lifecycle Model.
They were shocked at how quickly “Plan & Attract” exposed bad-fit operator conversations they were having—and how “Operate” gave them peace of mind they could scale without daily involvement. Within six months, they had:
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Closed five franchise deals
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Built a turnkey onboarding process
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Created KPIs to evaluate operator success and customer experience
Most importantly?
They were no longer the growth bottleneck.
Real Strategies. Real Results.
Franchising and licensing aren't silver bullets—but they are underutilized weapons in most leaders’ scale arsenal. With the right model, you’ll avoid the all-too-common trap of chasing scale while burning out your team and capital reserves.
Build the right partners. Protect the brand. Scale smart.
Sam Palazzolo
Real Strategies. Real Solutions.
PS – Here’s how I can help right here/right now:
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Catalyst Audit – Identify if your growth plan is globally ready (and where it’s likely to break).
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Catalyst Board – Join an elite peer group navigating similar international scaling challenges.
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Catalyst Strategy Session – A focused 1:1 engagement to get your global expansion plan aligned and actionable.
Email me at [email protected] to find out more.
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