Franchise FastLane Rear View Mirror: Mid-Year Review

You may be familiar with Franchise FastLane’s monthly “rear view mirror” blog posts, but with all of the updates we’ve shared lately, we felt like the time was right to share a mid-year report. So, sit back, relax, and follow us as we present you with a comprehensive look back at everything we’ve accomplished so far in 2024. It’s time for Franchise FastLane’s Rear View Mirror – Mid-Year Report! 

Awards, Honors, and Recognition…Oh My! 

We’re kicking things off by recognizing the FastLane brands who’ve been singled out for excellence and recognition – not just by some of the industry’s top media outlets, but by consultant networks as well. Here’s a rundown of brands who’ve been honored in the past six months.  

Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500 

Franchise FastLane was represented on the industry’s most prestigious rankings, as eight of our franchise brands earned a place on the 2024 edition of Entrepreneur’s Franchise 500®. In order of appearance, Koala Insulation earned the highest ranking at No. 147, followed by The Exercise Coach (No. 159), The Brothers Who Just Do Gutters (No. 288), DonutNV (No. 298), Five Star Bath Solutions (No. 314), Strickland Brothers 10-Minute Oil Change (No. 423), and EverLine Coatings and Services (No. 460).  

Entrepreneur’s Fastest Growing Franchises 

Not only were multiple FastLane brands featured in this year’s Franchise 500 list, but several more made the cut in being honored as the U.S. and Canada’s fastest growing franchises. Award winners from our portfolio included DonutNV (No. 22), Koala Insulation (No. 39), Soccer Stars (No. 60), EverLine Coatings and Services (No. 70), Brothers Gutters (No. 71), Five Star Bath Solutions (No. 96), and The Exercise Coach (No. 97). 

Entrepreneur’s Top New and Emerging Brands 

It’s well known that Franchise FastLane seeks new and emerging brands with unlimited potential, so it isn’t surprising that another four of our brands were recognized by Entrepreneur as some of the top new and emerging brands. These winners included Koala Insulation, who took home the top honors in the No. 1 spot! Followed by Strickland Brothers 10 Minute Oil Change (No. 22), Soccer Stars (No. 39), and The Tox (No. 109). 

Franchise Direct’s Top 100 Franchises  

Known for registering and aggregating thousands of franchise opportunities in the marketplace today, Franchise Direct puts out an annual list of their top 100 franchisors. Making the cut from the FastLane portfolio were Five Star Bath Solutions (No. 6) and Koala Insulation (No. 74).    

Franchise Business Review’s Culture 100 

The King of franchise satisfaction surveys, Franchise Business Review, conducts hundreds of industry surveys each year, including their Culture 100 list. In the 2024 edition, EverLine Coatings and Services was singled out from the FastLane portfolio! 

The Franchise Consulting Company (FCC) 

Franchise FastLane brands weren’t just recognized by the annual awards hosted by various industry media outlets, but also from consultant networks like The Franchise Consulting Company (FCC). Among the brands who earned a spot on their Winter Top Ten Awards were Gameday Men’s Health – who took the top spot at No. 1, followed by Five Star Bath Solutions (No. 5). In addition, our very own Don Tarinelli was presented with the Ed Pearson FranDev Excellence Award, an incredible honor for one of our top executives! In their Summer Conference Top Ten Awards, these same FastLane brands were recognized again, this time at No. 2 and No. 5. 

FranNet Awards 

Both DonutNV and Gameday Men’s Health caught the eye of the 100+ consultants at FranNet during their company awards program. 

FranChoice Winter Conference Awards 

Another of our valued consultancy partners is FranChoice, who used their Winter Conference to announce the FastLane winners that included, Gameday Men’s Health, who swept the top spot, followed by DonutNV, who was honored with the organization's Master Closer Award. 

Travel, Networking, and New Connections… 

Franchise FastLane is committed to building, nurturing, and maintaining the strong relationships we’ve developed with the franchising industry’s consultant networks. One of the ways we support these organizations is by regularly attending their annual conferences, meet-ups, workshops, and conventions. So far in 2024, Franchise FastLane has sent representatives to attend the FranChoice and FCC Winter Conferences, FranNet’s Spring Conference, Sidekick’s SKIP Adventure Series, the Young Conference, and FCC’s Summer 2024 Conference in Riviera Maya, Mexico. We also had some FastLaner’s attend the ICAN Women’s Leadership Conference right here in Omaha. Our CEO Carey Gille had the opportunity to share her story as a guest lecturer at her alma mater, the Business College at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Showing up at these events, networking, and promoting our brands requires a huge amount of work from our team! 

We Welcomed Several New Brands to Life in the FastLane 

Since the beginning of 2024, Franchise FastLane has announced the addition of six new brands to our portfolio of best-in-class business opportunities. In case you missed it, here’s a quick recap of each new franchisor who joined the FastLane family in the past six months, along with brief executive summaries of their respective business models: 

• Anchored Tiny Homes - there’s a lot to love about Anchored Tiny Homes, a franchisor with a turnkey business model that features a tiny investment. To date, the brand has quickly become the nation’s leading custom accessory dwelling units (ADUs) franchise.  

• Cabinet IQ - founded in 2017, this family-owned franchisor was created to revolutionize the kitchen and bath remodeling experience. Specializing in the design and installation of cabinets and countertops, Cabinet IQ features 3D blueprint modeling and professional turnkey customer service. 

• Waxxpot - an emerging franchisor, Waxxpot offers full body waxing services for both men and women in an elegant, boutique-style retail salon setting. 

• Heavyweight Waste/Smash My Trash – these sister brands and high performing business opportunities that are ready, willing, and able to clean up the fragmented competition in the waste and carting industry. Heavyweight Waste enters the marketplace featuring two proprietary, high-volume containers designed to hold significantly more refuse than traditional dumpsters. Smash My Trash is a first-to-market, mobile-based trash compaction service. 

• Southern Steer Butcher – the latest edition to our portfolio of high performance brands is Southern Steer Butcher, a neighborhood marketplace offering a wide variety of high-quality prime cuts, marinated meats, and gourmet groceries in a convenient 2,000-square foot retail space.  

Personnel News & Updates from the FastLane! 

Franchise FastLane has been growing in leaps and bounds this year, as evidenced by the number of new employees we’ve onboarded. Check out our list below!  

• Megan Tewes - Director of Franchise Development  

• Matt Herrington - Financial Planning and Analysis Manager  

• Robbin Mallory - Director of Franchise Development  

• Jessica Staats - Compliance Specialist   

• Jason Howell - Director of Franchise Development  

• Tanya Morrison - General Counsel   

• Chris Miles - Director of Franchise Development  

• Cassie Gordon - Compliance Specialist   

• Savannah Showalter - Compliance Specialist   

• Jenny Lauer - Director of Franchise Development  

Adding to this section, Franchise FastLane shares a list of employees who’ve either been promoted or achieved a significant milestone in the last six months. Keep up the great work! 

• Justin Kahne – Promoted to Director of Franchise Development  

• Hannah Lu – Promoted to Accountant   

• Mike Samson – Awarded his 300th territory   

• Carin Skowronsky – Awarded her 1,000th territory    

• Don Tarinelli - Promoted to Executive VP of Franchise Development  

• Hannah Miller – Promoted to Compliance Team Leader   

• Cyndi Kammerer – Promoted to Senior Director, Operational Support & Site Leader   

FastLane’s “Fun Team” Promotes our Corporate Culture  

Here at Franchise FastLane, we don’t just work hard, we play hard too! Our internal culture committee, aka the “Fun Team,” goes above and beyond in planning exciting and meaningful events for our team. Here are some of the highlights: 

• In January, FastLane employees were treated to a visit from The Pancake Man, an onsite catered event from a local legend in the breakfast world.

• On Feb. 20, we hosted a very special in-person event - our first-ever all-team company meeting and celebration at our Omaha-based headquarters. FastLaners from all over the country (and Canada!) came together to reflect on the incredible year we had in 2023, strategize for the year to come, and celebrate big! During this event, our workforce reached a consensus on this year’s internal corporate theme: “2024 – Bringin’ Ya More!” 

• Since April includes the traditional holiday of Easter, FastLaners had the pleasure of participating in an old-fashioned egg hunt.  

BrandNews Updates  

Each Rear View Mirror blog post reserves a section to highlight the significant milestones, achievements, and other news and noteworthy items from the over two dozen brands in the FastLane portfolio. In case you missed it the first time around, here’s a recap of updates that make us proud to represent these best-in-class franchisors: 

• In February, the 250-strong team at Everline Coatings & Services held their annual franchisee conference in Cancun, Mexico, where 75 franchisees experienced two consecutive days of learning and growth in one of the most beautiful tropical settings imaginable. 

• Also in February, Franchise FastLane celebrated National Caregivers Day, honoring Hallmark Homecare, one of the industry’s leading referral agencies for caregiver recruitment and client matchmaking. 

• In March, Shrunk 3D announced a partnership with Collegiate Licensing Group, which gives the brand direct access to the retail marketplace for the NCAA’s NIL program, valued at $4.6 billion. In addition, they inked a deal with Varsity Spirit, a new partnership that provides their franchisees with access to over 400 national events. 

• This April, Gameday Men’s Health added their 209th medical director to the brand and has now signed over 161 leases for their low-T clinics across the country. 

• DonutNV recently announced the opening and expansion of their new corporate training center. 

• Tippi Toes – secured two new national partnerships with Ivybrook Academy and New Horizon Academy, providing their franchisees with even more sales opportunities!  

• Bar-B-Clean – thanks to the advent of a warm spring and early summer, Bar-B-Clean has now awarded over 60 new franchises, with more than 50 now up and running. 

• Zoom Drain – held their annual franchisee conference in May, VORTEX 2024, in Fort Worth, Texas, where they had the pleasure of hosting franchisees from across the U.S. 

• Bloomin’ Blinds – in June, the brand announced new exclusive franchise sponsorship with Somfy and the Window Coverings Association of America (WCAA) - the leading trade association for the window coverings industry, connecting their franchisees with a vast network of professionals for participating in pertinent advocacy issues facing the industry. Bloomin’ Blinds also hosted their Family Reunion in Florida. 

• Koala Insulation – in June, the brand achieved a significant milestone in their storied history, as they’re eyeing expansion on an international level for the first time with a move into Canada. 

• Brothers Who Just Do Gutters – a brand founded by siblings Ken and Ryan Parsons continues to thrive in the world of franchising. Ryan was recently named the CEO of Evive Brands, a portfolio of home care brands that also includes Executive Home Care, Assisted Living Locators, and Grason’s Estate Sales. 

• Lastly, three of Franchise FastLane’s signature brands surpassed 100 awarded territories in the past six months. Congrats are in order for Best Choice Roofing, Bloomin’ Blinds, and Soccer Stars! 

More FastLane News You Can Use 

As we wrap up the mid-year report, Franchise FastLane is proud to share these news and noteworthy items: 

• We turned seven years old in 2024! 

• Franchise FastLane’s MasterMind Program, known as “The Strategic Pit Stop,” is designed to help our brand partners scale their operations and assist their franchisee networks in addressing today’s business challenges. In February, MasterMind launched its 2.0 upgrade, which includes new guest speakers and experts, enhanced leadership development content, and an EOS Toolkit 

• During Women’s History Month, Franchise FastLane CEO Carey Gille was featured alongside other influential female leaders in a feature story, “Women in Franchising,” published by FranchiseWire. The same publication also published a byline authored by Gille entitled, “How Franchise FastLane Brands Make the Cut.” It’s definitely worth a read! 

As you can see, 2024 has been a record-breaking year, and we still have months before we close it out! But not to worry, there are LOTS of announcements and new brands to welcome in the future. Be sure to stay connected with Franchise FastLane and our series of Rear View Mirror blog posts each month and to stay up to date on what life is like in the FastLane! 

Are You Ready to Take Your Brand to the Next Level? 

Franchise FastLane is the No. 1 Franchise Sales Organization (FSO) in the country and our mission is to responsibly drive extraordinary growth for the chosen few. If you are interested in learning more about the possibility of joining the FastLane or CarPool, please click here to submit an application. To keep up with all the latest happenings, make sure you follow us on LinkedIn, like us on Facebook, and check out our collection of photos on Instagram.