Franchise Times Outlook Series

Join Franchise Times for a special webinar series designed to help you maximize growth opportunities in 2026 and tackle challenges in the year ahead. Our group of franchise leaders will share actionable insights and expert advice as they cover what you need to know in franchise finance, development, the new legal landscape and more. A successful year starts with market intelligence—that’s where we come in.

Slice of Success: Marketing a National Brand with Local Heart

Join us for an inside look at how Boston Pizza executed its highly successful Valentine’s Day campaign across 370+ locations. Jenna Bull, marketing director of Boston Pizza, and Christopher Brown, director of North America for Marvia, will walk through the full strategy—from campaign planning and creative development to empowering franchisees and ensuring consistent execution across the network to achieve a $7M hit in one day while supporting local charities.

Top 400 Exclusive Webinar Series

The Top 400 Exclusive Webinar Series provides an inside look at the sales growth, marketing and development tactics of the largest franchise brands in the U.S. Executives from top-performing brands on our annual ranking will share how they’ve set their systems—and franchisees—up for long-term success.

Giving Fitness Operators the Keys to Financial Strength

The Fitness Finance & Growth webinars dive into the financial strategies and tools essential for success in the fitness industry. From capital planning and M&A to leading development and operating tactics, Franchise Times has designed sharply targeted sessions to help inform operators as they tackle their capitalization and growth blueprints for 2026.

Restaurant 200 Exclusive Webinar Series

Franchise Times Celebrates the Top 200 Restaurant Franchisees with an Informative Webinar Series for All Multi-Unit Franchisees

Franchise Times Dealmakers Week

Join Franchise Times and Restaurant Finance Monitor editors as they discuss some of the year’s biggest deals with the people who made them happen. During each one-hour session, we’ll explore amazing careers and strategies for driving growth, while learning what it takes to get these major franchise deals across the finish line.

Legal Eagles Virtual Summit

Get a little pro bono legal insight from our panel of top franchise attorneys as we examine the legal landscape in 2025 and beyond. From state and federal regulatory actions to trademark protection, franchise sales compliance and the influence of AI, we’ll cover key intel franchisees and franchisors need to know to position their businesses for success.

How Multi-Unit Operators Drive Profitability Through Labor Optimization

Join us for an exclusive webinar designed for ambitious multi-unit operators looking to profitably expand their portfolios. Our panelists will share how they’re using technology to simplify labor deployment across dozens of units and brands, including Dunkin, Taco Bell, Wendy’s and Wingstop. They’ll detail how they eliminate the complexity that holds most franchise groups back and leverage portfolio-wide visibility to precisely deploy labor, engage frontline employees and mitigate compliance risk. This is a can’t-miss session for fast-growing franchise operators looking to learn from their peers and find smarter ways to drive profitability in 2025. Save your seat today!

Creative Franchise Finance: How to Fund Expansion Without Collateral

Join our panel of experts as they reveal how pulling together two common lending facilities—the SBA 7(a) loan and an equipment lease is an uncommon—but viable—way to finance your franchise business with NO collateral needed. A franchisor joining the panel will also tell how this strategy is helping grow their brand, and saving his franchisees on lease costs, too. Don’t miss this webinar if you are planning expansion in your franchise business!

Franchise Times Outlook Series

Join us for a special Franchise Times webinar series designed to help you field the challenges the New Year will bring and set yourself up for a successful 2025. Franchise Times has invited a special group of franchise experts who will the discuss issues of the day, offer attendees actionable insights and get you set up for a successful New Year.

Breaking The AI Barrier: Voice AI Solutions for Franchises

For many retailers, AI automation feels out of reach – too expensive and complicated to implement. Most assume AI is only accessible to larger enterprises with deep pockets. Yet voice AI has the potential to transform retail franchises of all sizes while boosting employee productivity and morale, improving customer service, streamlining operations, and capturing revenue that might otherwise slip through the cracks. In this webinar, we’ll discuss common misconceptions around AI adoption in retail, explore the challenges franchises face, and showcase practical AI solutions that can drive immediate business impact. From improving phone efficiency to enhancing staff productivity, we’ll highlight how technologies like SoundHound AI’s Smart Answering solution are breaking down AI barriers, and why businesses need to adapt to new technology to stay head of the curve. Participants:

• Ishai Reinfeld, Director of Ecommerce, Smart Answering, SoundHound AI
• Art Sebastian, CEO, NexChapter, Inc
• Fiona McEvoy, Director of Corporate Communications, SoundHound AI

USDA and SBA Financing: Experts Give Tips on Growth Financing

USDA and SBA-guaranteed financing programs are designed to help both small and mid-sized businesses grow—in other words, you don’t have to be just starting out to take advantage of them. Our experts will provide invaluable tips and strategies to empower businesses at any stage of development. Whether you’re a new franchisee or a seasoned business owner looking to expand, join us for an enlightening discussion on how to leverage USDA and SBA financing to propel your business forward.

What Multi Unit Franchise Operators Should Know About Navigating Retail Real Estate and Marketplace Leasing

Join us for an exclusive webinar collaboration between ICSC and Franchise Times as we update multi-unit franchise operators on the retail real estate marketplace trends. This informative session aims to provide multi-unit franchise organizations with valuable insight into the evolving landscape of shopping center leasing, while showcasing the numerous membership benefits offered by ICSC. Moderated by John Hamburger, President of Franchise Times and Restaurant Finance Monitor, our expert panelists will share their knowledge and expertise to empower attendees in making informed decisions regarding their retail locations. Don't miss this opportunity to stay ahead of the curve and unlock the potential of your franchise business.

Moderator: John Hamburger

Panelists:

• Brian Sommers, Chief Development Officer, Jersey Mike's
• Valerie Richardson, Chief Operating Officer, ICSC
• David Gerstenhaber, Senior Vice President, Head National Accounts of Brixmor Property Group

Feeding the Workplace: How Restaurants Win in the New Catering Landscape

Industry experts David Meiselman, ezCater Chief Marketing Officer, and Mike O'Hanlon, ezCater Chief Partnership Officer, will join Laura Michaels, Franchise Times Editor in Chief, to provide industry and customer insights drawn from millions of B2B catering transactions as well as external research commissioned by ezCater. You’ll learn about the broader impact of food in a world of work that has changed so dramatically. You’ll dig into the details of customer ordering behaviors, ordering challenges, selection factors, menus and food types, and learn how high-value corporate customers choose catering partners. All attendees of the session will gain access to the full report containing these insights––a valuable resource as you look to grow your catering business.

Moderator: Laura Michaels

Panelists:

• Mike O'Hanlon, Chief Partnership Officer, ezCater
• David Meiselman, Chief Marketing Officer, ezCater