EP11: Playbook For Scaling From 10 to 50+ Units

When you open your second location, everything changes. You can't be in two places at once, and suddenly you realize: you need to shift from operator to CEO. Carl Bachmann learned this lesson as a 12-year Ruby Tuesday franchisee before leading turnarounds at Smashburger and BurgerFi. Now as President and COO of Riko's Pizza, he's building franchise infrastructure from scratch. In this episode, Carl shares his 5 pillars for franchise success, why you should "grow like a bush, not like a vine," and the critical skills every scaling franchisee needs. His dual perspective as both operator and executive delivers insights you can implement immediately.

Key Takeaways

• The 5 Pillars Framework: Infrastructure (people), Product Quality, Portfolio Definition, Gold Standard Processes, Marketing
• Grow Like a Bush: Expand in 5-10 mile circles for better supply chain, marketing penetration, and operational support
• The Magic Number: Keep 20-30% corporate stores to test innovations and maintain skin in the game
• The Second Location Reality: When franchisees can't be everywhere at once, financial acumen becomes non-negotiable
• Train on Your Dime: Test everything in corporate stores before rolling out to franchisees
• 6-Week Investment: Successful franchisees complete full training—those who take it seriously have the highest success rates

Perfect For: Franchise executives building infrastructure from scratch, multi-unit operators scaling from 10 to 50+ locations, franchisees expanding to their second brand, and leaders balancing corporate support with franchise independence.

About Carl Bachmann: President and COO of Riko's Pizza, bringing 30+ years of restaurant industry experience from both sides of franchising. Former franchisee (12 years with Ruby Tuesday), C-suite turnaround specialist at BurgerFi (CEO), Smashburger (COO/President/CEO), and Bertucci's (SVP Operations). Now building franchise infrastructure from the ground up for Riko's tavern-style pizza concept, expanding from 12 to 50+ locations.

Time Stamp Chapters

• 00:00 Why a 30-Year Veteran Chose to Build vs. Turnaround
• 02:32 From Ruby Tuesday Franchisee to C-Suite Executive
• 05:34 The 3 Things That Signal a Winning Franchise Model
• 07:00 The 5 Pillars Framework Explained
• 08:18 The 5 Pillars Every Franchise System Needs
• 11:02 Why Franchisees Belong at the Top of Your Org Chart
• 13:41 What Today's Successful Franchisees Look Like
• 16:33 "Grow Like a Bush" - The Geography of Success
• 19:10 The 20-30% Rule for Corporate Stores
• 21:48 The Skills That Actually Matter for New Franchisees
• 24:42 Beyond Training: Teaching the Business of Business
• 27:26 Why Unit #2 Changes Everything
• 30:03 Lightning Round: Finding Balance After 30 Years

About Us
Opus is the hospitality training platform purpose-built for the frontline. Train 100% of your team in 101 languages on the job to quickly get them up the productivity curve. With full visibility across your workforce, you get the frontline business intelligence needed to drive your business.

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