FRANCHISING IS GETTING YOUNGER

Young entrepreneurs are embracing franchising at a significant clip. They're changing everything from training to marketing—and they're teaching older generations a thing or two along the way.

- KIM KAVIN

Picture it: An aspiring franchisee sits in an audience, listening to a franchise CEO speak. Now, a question: How old are those people?

A generation ago, the answer would have been easy: The aspiring franchisee is a late-career corporate professional looking for a change, as is the audience, and the CEO is a near-retirement leader who’s spent a lifetime in franchising. That was the stereotype, anyway, and it often proved to be true.

But by the time Katie Webb wanted to be a franchisee, things looked different. Four years ago, when she was in her early 30s, she attended a Stretch Zone discovery day. That’s when she heard from Stretch Zone CEO Tony Zaccario, who was in his late 20s. “Every time I'd write down a question to ask, it would get answered,” Webb remembers. “Tony was a big part of it. Him being young and energetic and so forward-thinking—he assumed the questions you would have, and he had the answers for you.”

Fast-forward to today, and Webb is a multi-unit owner with five Stretch Zone locations in Florida. “I would say a good 50% of our franchisees are below 40,” says Zaccario, “and you probably have around 10% in the age-30 range.” Some are even in their 20s. And franchising at large is starting to look different.