#47-Franchise Insights with Jeff Johnson: Four Decades of Experience Part 1

Demystifying Franchise Ownership

This episode features my interview with Jeff Johnson, Founder & CEO of The Franchise Research Institute. With years of hands-on experience in the franchise industry, including his time as a Schlotzkey’s franchisee, Jeff offers invaluable insights into the franchise world. We delve into his journey, uncovering the expertise he’s amassed over four decades in the franchise industry and the lessons he’s learned along the way.
We had so much content that I split my interview into two parts. In part 1, Jeff discusses why he founded The Franchise Research Institute, the importance of having a strong leadership team within the franchisor, the critical need for open communication with franchisees, and much more.
Jeff Johnson has been immersed in franchising for over 40 years. His entrepreneurship began after leaving a Fortune 500 company to invest in a franchise at the age of 29. Jeff was Schlotzsky’s New Franchisee of the Year in 1985; then as a multi-unit owner, he made the National Top 20 ranking regularly.

With 17 years of franchisee and Area Developer experience, Jeff learned that franchisees often do not share important insights with franchisor executives for fear of retribution. Without open & honest communication, franchise executives are left having to rely on gut instinct with many questions and no actual data, which can prevent a franchise network from attaining its true potential.

In 2002, Jeff founded the Franchise Research Institute (FRI) to confidentially survey franchisees for network optimization. FRI’s mission is to provide their franchise clients with high-quality, franchisee opinion research using scientific, yet easily understood data to be used in system- wide benchmarking, strategic planning, and validation.
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