I’m sharing some thoughts about my personal outlook for non-food franchising in 2026.
These have been swirling around in my head, so I put pen to paper to share them for those thinking about starting a business or are curious about non-food franchising.
Now, listen, I don’t pretend to be a messiah or ...
Why do you focus on non-food franchises?
Certain non-food franchises can be perfect fits for corporate refugees, because they…
Don’t require industry experience
Can have better unique economics
Are more lifestyle-friendly, and
Don’t cost as much to open and operate
What type of non-food ...
If you find yourself, your franchise, your business (your whatever) in a rut, here’s a simple thing to do to get out of it…
Get in a room with people who are…
More successful than you.
Smarter than you.
And more creative than you.
Because ...
One of the biggest patterns I’ve seen after working with hundreds of franchise owners—especially the ones who’ve built real assets—is this:
They take imperfect action.
They don’t sit around waiting for the perfect plan.
They don’t need every detail figured out before they ...
“If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”
I have a friend who is an incredible golfer.
He pipes it down the center every time.
He stripes a 3 iron as pure as you can imagine.
And if he does get into trouble, he can scramble like Jordan Speith.
He’d also use this talent to ...
Before you buy any franchise, you need to understand one thing: does the math work?
That’s where “penciling the math” comes in.
This isn’t about building a perfect financial model with dozens of assumptions.
It’s about getting a clear, simple snapshot of the key numbers that drive profitability—and using ...
Have you seen the pitches “invest in a franchise and magically create passive income?”
I wish it was that easy.
But it’s not.
Here’s the thing…a franchise can be a great investment for some people.
I know people who have built $1M, $5M, $10M, and even $30M+ businesses as a franchisee with a non-food ...
A few weeks ago, I sat in a chair for 3 days and listened to 128 shark-tank-style pitches from founders, executives, and sales reps with emerging franchise companies (all non-food).
By the end, my brain was mush.
But I learned a ton.
Here are my 4 takeaways…
#1: Non-food franchising is ...
Hello and thank you for your interest in learning more about this opportunity.
My name is Dru Carpenito and I’m a Franchise Consultant who helps people around the country find and buy the right non-food franchise.
I’m hiring some part-time support to help me and my candidates.
This is a work-from-home ...
Validating with Franchise Owners
Important Questions To Ask
Overview of Validation
Validating with existing franchise owners is one of the, if not the, most important and exciting steps of your franchise research (aka “Validation”). During this phase, you’ll be speaking with and learning from franchise ...
When you’re searching for a franchise to buy and operate, it can feel daunting to weed through the thousands of different concepts there.
According to FranData, there are over 3,800 different concepts franchising their business model across America.
And you know what else FranData says?
Only about 16% ...
Ever heard of the idea of investing in a depreciable income-producing asset?
It’s a way to potentially reduce one taxable income stream by opening a new income stream.
And it’s possible to pull this off by investing in a non-food franchise
Here’s the idea…
But first, a disclaimer:
I’m not an ...
3 Things An FDD Doesn’t Tell You
Starting, building, and owning a franchise isn’t all rainbows and sunshine.
Don’t get me wrong, it can be amazing.
But you need to be prepared for a journey with highs and lows.
You can experience natural highs that are hard to describe.
You’ll also have some ...
Hey, Franchise Searcher,
Hope you had a nice 4th of July.
Sending along an update on the emerging non-food franchise world through the first half of the year.
As a quick side note, my goal for the rest of this year is to send you weekly inside information from my world that can help you figure out if ...
For 17 years, I’ve been helping people buy and build non-food franchises.
Most are first-time business owners who kiss the corporate world behind.
And, many have built incredible businesses with surprising franchises.
Once they were able to unleash their talent and potential in a ...
(That’s not a fast/casual food, hotel, or real estate franchise)
Every once in a while, a franchise comes out of nowhere and explodes across the country.
And surprises everyone.
The first reaction people typically have when they hear about these are…
“oh, that’s just a ...
Using a franchise to build a successful and profitable business has a huge advantage that many people don’t think about…you can sell it for a premium.
And sometimes the premium can be massive!
Here are six important things you can do to maximize the value of your franchise when you’re ...
You are looking at executives and founders of some of the fastest-growing franchises in the country.
I spent last week meeting with these people along with key people from other top emerging brands in the country.
The funny thing is…
These top-performing brands aren’t surprises to many people ...
https://youtu.be/G5OeBpZ2LMk
│𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 #𝟏│ 𝐎𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬
Here’s the deal...there are a number of high-quality non-food franchises out there that are...
More profitable
More lifestyle-friendly to operate, and
Cheaper to get intoThe only problem is they’re ...
When I heard this quote - and internalized it - it rocked my world.
Every person on this earth starts each day with a level playing field of time.
Now, what differs is how we use our time.
And, once we use that time, it's gone - we can’t get it back.
We can make more money.
We ...
When I hear this one thing, my ears perk up immediately.
Now, it has nothing to do with the business model…
Don’t care about the growth rate…
It’s not about the numbers…
Or even the leadership team…
It has everything to do with 𝙬𝙝𝙤 is investing in the franchise.
The “who” ...
…isn’t how to do the widget.
…isn’t about the brand.
…isn’t how to find a great location.
…isn’t a lot of things…
What it is revolves around YOU…
It’s about how you lead, empower and get out of the way of your employees.
It’s about the people you hire and the fact that ...
That’s the title of an article The New York Times recently published.
Now, personally, I think the title should read “How to Get Rich by B̵u̵y̵i̵n̵g̵ 𝐈𝐧𝐯𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 a 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐐𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 Franchise”
The reason why is pretty simple - if you’re successful investing in and growing the right ...
Don’t start with Google.
And don’t search something like “most profitable franchises to own.”
Up will pop a ton of different results
“24 top-ranked, affordable franchises you can own for under $25,000”
“The Top 10 Franchises to Open in 2020”
Blah, blah, blah
Maybe you ...
I called a locally owned franchise for an appointment to have the window replaced after a really bad golf shot went through it (and, no, it wasn't my golf shot).
I got to talking to the estimator who showed up.
Come to find out he's a member of the family who owns this franchise.
So ...
The fastest way to build wealth (That your financial advisor might not tell you about)
...isn’t buying a house
...it’s not maxing out your 401(k) plan each year
...and it’s not something we’re ever taught about.
In my opinion, the fastest way to accelerate your wealth is to build ...
#1 - You don’t actually own it
ChicK-Fil-A owns it all. Which limits your opportunity (see #2 and #5 below).
#2 - You don’t have any equity
Once you’ve built it into a cash cow, you could miss out on one of the biggest financial opportunities of your life...selling the business for a big ol’ ...
“Dru, what are the hottest franchises these days?”
This is the first question people ask me when they find out what I do.
And my answer typically surprises them.
You see, after spending 14 years in franchising, my definition of “hot” is different than most people’s.
For example, ...
“Do what you love” Ever heard that piece of advice before? Or how about this one? “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” Surrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre... I have a friend who is an incredible fly-fisherman. He casts a line like nobody I have ever seen. He ties his own flies. He is obsessed with ...
Ever heard this advice?
“Go to school. Get good grades. Go to college. Get a job. Work
hard for 40 years, sock away money diligently and you’ll be set for retirement?”
It’s the common career advice we’re given time and time
again from a young age.
How come we’re not taught to how to adapt ...
Do you want to buy an existing business?
Do you want to build a business from scratch?
Or, do you want to invest in and build a franchise?
I recently explored these different options on a podcast with a career change guru, Scott Anthony Barlow. Scott helps people figure out their ideal career ...
Part of the art of finding the right franchise to invest in is looking in places that most people aren’t looking and getting information that most people don’t have.
I mean…
Why would a successful real estate investor invest in a certain hair care franchise and open fifteen of them?
Why ...
Why
would a banking executive invest in a boutique fitness franchise (and keep his
job)?
As you may know, I spend a lot of my time (and
my money) researching and finding high-quality franchises.
I actually added up the time and money I spend
in my research and I figured out that I spend few ...
Yes, before you start a business, you
should think about exiting
And
by exiting, I mean thinking about the question “What is my long-term objective
with my own profitable and successful business?”
Are
you going to cash out on your hard work by selling the business or pass the
business on to a ...
The
short answer is: “It depends.”
And what it depends on is largely based around which franchise offers a proven
and validated business model that aligns with your skills, goals, ideal role as
the owner, and offers you the highest probability to achieve your lifestyle and
financial long-term ...
