In today’s episode, we’re pulling back the curtain on what it really takes to scale a business through franchising with Tom DuFore, Founder and CEO of Big Sky Franchise Team.
Franchising is often painted as the fast lane to growth—but without the right systems, strategy, and support, it can just as easily become a bottleneck. Tom brings a rare blend of academic rigor and real-world execution to the table, having helped hundreds of entrepreneurs evaluate, design, and launch franchise models that actually work in the real world.
In this conversation, we unpack the core principles behind successful franchise systems, the biggest mistakes founders make when trying to scale too early, and how to build a franchise that attracts the right partners—not just more locations. Whether you’re a business owner exploring franchising, an investor curious about franchise models, or a leader thinking about scalable growth, this episode is packed with practical insights you can apply immediately.
Get ready to learn the franchise success secrets that separate businesses that simply grow from those that multiply.
Episode Highlights Here:
Brett
Before we jump into this episode, I want to invite you to join our community to help youbecome a better steward scale to billions and ultimately give more or all of it away. All I want
you to do is to click the subscribe button right now. I love your support. It’s incredible to seeyour comments, and we’re just getting started. I can’t wait to go on this journey with you.
Thank you so much for subscribing. It means the world to me. Welcome to the building plans podcast, where we’ve got successful entrepreneurs and investors on the journey from millions to billions. The key to scaling and compounding your wealth and life starts every single day of the mindset and practice of stewardship over ownership and applying billionaire biblical principles. Our ultimate goal is to help you scale and compound your wealth and life so you can give more all of it away to help MVPs, the most vulnerable people. My name is Brett Swarts, and every episode, we’re joined by some of the world’s top entrepreneurs, millionaires and billionaires. They share their story, secrets, insights with us, so we can all level up and compound our impact. I’m excited about our next guest set of the great state of Georgia, and he is on a mission to help you multiply your success by franchising your business. He is a proven three step process. And I mean, gosh, he’s got all kinds of really amazing successes. And in fact, he’s really just wanting to help the entrepreneur shape their future potential franchising opportunities and how to do these things in a really big way. Please welcome this show with me, Mr. Tom DuFore. Tom, how we doing?
Tom
Great. Brett, thank you so much for having me. Appreciate it.
Brett
Excellent for listeners. Can Tell me for the first time which give us a little bit more story in your current focus?
Tom
Yeah, sure. Well, I my current focus is really working with what I describe as growth minded entrepreneurs, or small to mid-sized businesses, and really, businesses of any size, but most of our clients tend to be that growth minded successful entrepreneur that say, I’ve built something great, and now I’m ready to expand beyond that and the story that led me to this, really, I’ve been doing this my entire career. Over 21 years, I’ve been helping companies through this process. I just happened to luck out with I knew I wanted to be a managementconsultant in college. My first job as such happened to be at a franchise consulting company who knew I had no idea such a thing exists, and it married a couple of my passions, helping and serving and supporting other people get to where they want to go. And entrepreneurship, I love the American dream, and so the idea of helping a successful entrepreneur grow their business by helping other, what I called budding entrepreneurs, get confidence to go into business for themselves through a franchise that maybe they otherwise would not have started a business ifit weren’t for a franchise. So that’s what’s led me here, and I’ve had the good fortune of working with hundreds of brands that I’ve helped launch and grow and expand through this process,
Brett
Amazing, Tom. And by the way, if you want to learn more about Tom and how you can help, you go to Big Sky franchise team.com that’s big sky franchise team.com so let’s dive right into the topic at hand, which is really how to franchise your business, and maybe some of the secrets to that, some success stories and So Tom, what is the number one secret to franchising your business?
Tom
Well, I would say the first number one secret in franchising success big picture is after you’re already in the process. We talk about it. People are familiar with the three most important ingredients in real estate, which is location, location, location. And in franchising, the three most important ingredients are selection, selection, selection and selecting the right franchisees to join your franchise system. And so that’s a that’s a common challenge for especially new and emerging franchise brands, and even growth-oriented brands, once they start, when some franchise brands start taking off, they just start selling to everyone, instead of tightening the filter in terms of the after time. Like any good business, you realize which types of people or backgrounds or skill sets tend to do well in your franchise system. And so over time, the most successful franchise systems really, really focus in onselecting and even for long term success brands that grow slower in the beginning, they maybethey sell 1234, franchises a year, but they’re bringing the right kinds of candidates andfranchisees into their system. So that’s a post-show that I or post thought or process that I think is important there.
Brett
Okay, so if you like this little, short clip of the interview I just did, click over here to watch the full interview, and please don’t forget to subscribe. Thanks so much, everybody. You. Brett.
Watch the episode here:
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About Tom Dufore
Tom DuFore is an entrepreneur, author, speaker, and nationally recognized franchise expert. He is the Founder and CEO of Big Sky Franchise Team, an award-winning franchise consulting and development firm that helps entrepreneurs scale their businesses through proven, repeatable franchise systems.
With a Doctorate in Business Administration (DBA) and the prestigious Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) designation, Tom brings a rare blend of academic insight and real-world execution to the franchising industry. Over the course of his career, he has helped hundreds of business owners evaluate franchise feasibility, design scalable systems, and successfully expand their brands across the United States.
Tom is also the host of the Multiply Your Success podcast, where he interviews business leaders, founders, and growth experts on topics including franchising, leadership, entrepreneurship, and long-term value creation. His passion lies in helping entrepreneurs move beyond working in their businesses to building systems that allow their impact—and income—to multiply.
Known for his practical, no-nonsense approach, Tom focuses on aligning strategy, systems, and people so franchise brands can grow sustainably while protecting culture, quality, and profitability.
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