In this episode of FranchiseU!, Kathy sits down with Doug Smith, Senior Vice-President of Franchise Development at BELFOR Franchise Group.

In this episode of FranchiseU!, Kathy sits down with Doug Smith, Senior Vice-President of Franchise Development at BELFOR Franchise Group.

During the interview Smith stresses the importance of setting realistic expectations and the dedication needed for success. Smith also shares the evolution of BELFOR to their current 14 home service brands.

Doug Smith became the SVP of Franchise Development for the BELFOR Franchise Group in July of 2019 after BELFOR Franchise Group acquired Harris Research, Inc. (A family of home-service franchise brands that included Chem-Dry Carpet & Upholstery Cleaning, N-Hance Wood Refinishing and Delta Restoration Services).

Smith joined the Harris Research family back in June of 2015, as the Senior Vice President of Franchise Development. In his role, he managed a team that was directly responsible for all Franchise Development, including the territory expansion of existing franchisees. In his role, he was also responsible for all lead generation, associated marketing and brand awareness. Smith came to HRI most recently from the Affinion Group, where he was Senior Vice President of Business Development in their Financial Services division. Smith is a graduate of Rochester Institute of Technology, (R.I.T.), in their Hospitality Management program. He started his career with Perk Development Corporation, who at the time was the largest franchisee of Perkins Family Restaurants, as well as both Chilis and Bobby Rubinos locations throughout New York and Pennsylvania. He and his wife got tired of the long winters and relocated to Atlanta, GA where he went to work for The Cheesecake Factory Corporation. After successfully managing their highest performing location, he then left to become a District Sales Manager for Edward Don and Company, working closely with several corporate, independent and franchise restaurant operations throughout the Southeast. Smith resides in Brentwood, TN, with his wife Michele, their two children, and their two mischievous dogs. Doug can usually be found coaching on the baseball fields or camping with the Scouts as an assistant Scout Leader.

In this episode of FranchiseU!, Kathy sits down with Randy Shacka, President of Two Men and a Truck. Shacka shares the companies history from a one-location small business, to being a franchisor, to being acquired by an internationally-known company. Shacka specifically discusses Two Men and a Truck’s corporate values which has remained the same through all stages of their development.

In this episode of FranchiseU!, Kathy sits down with Pete First, Chief Development Officer with BrightStar Care. First discusses the business of In-home and Facility Personal Care. Then, First shares how well franchising serves this industry and how offering complimentary brands provide amazing opportunities to franchisees.

First joined BrightStar Care in 2018 as the Vice President of Franchise Development and has served as the Chief Development Officer since 2022. In his current role, he is responsible for recruiting new franchise owners for all three brands under the BrightStar Group Holdings umbrella: BrightStar Care, BrightStar Senior Living®, and BrightStar® Care Homes™ and lead operations for start-up brands, BrightStar Senior Living, and BrightStar Care Homes. Prior to his time at BrightStar Care, he spent 14 years at Winmark Corporation, the franchisor for brands such as Play It Again Sports, Once Upon A Child, Plato’s Closet, Style Encore, and Music Go Round. During his tenure at Winmark, he secured dozens of new franchise agreements annually and helped build the system to over 1,200 locations across North America.