I Fired My Boss - A Franchise Podcast

In this bonus episode of I Fired My Boss, we’re sharing “Group Therapy for Zors & Zees: An Unfiltered Conversation,” a webinar hosted by the International Franchise Association and sponsored by Delightree. Moderated by Doug Gabbard of Delightree’s founding team, the discussion brings together Dan Claps, CEO and co-founder of Franchise Playbook and Voda Cleaning and Restoration, and Erik Van Horn, co-founder of Front Street Equity Partners and host of Franchise Secrets. Dan takes the franchisor seat while Erik represents the franchisee perspective for a candid conversation about where expectations clash—and how both sides can build stronger businesses together.Drawing on his experience growing Voda, Dan opens up about early mistakes, including a marketing campaign that attracted job applicants instead of customers, and the communication it took to work through those challenges with franchise owners. He explains why accountability runs both ways, why a perceived lead generation problem may also require a closer look at the sales process, and why franchisee feedback should start with the assumption that “they could be right.” Throughout the conversation, he emphasizes treating owners as business partners and adapting support to the needs of individual markets.Together, Dan and Erik tackle royalties, technology fees, financial transparency, and what franchisors must do to keep earning their value. They also explore how AI and better use of business data could improve coaching, lower costs, and give franchise owners more useful insights. With questions submitted by the webinar audience and some friendly sparring along the way, this discussion offers practical lessons for franchisors, franchisees, and anyone evaluating what a successful franchise partnership should look like.

In this episode of I Fired My Boss, Dan Claps explains why home service business owners should focus less on simply generating more leads and more on maximizing the sales opportunities they already have. He breaks down how improving phone answer rates, creating a more personalized customer experience, following up with unbooked leads, building value before discussing price, and making the most of every in-home visit can dramatically improve the sales process.Dan also shares how upsells, referrals, reviews, repeat business, and proactive outreach to past customers can increase the lifetime value of every customer without immediately spending more on marketing. Rather than looking at each job as a one-time transaction, he encourages business owners to think long term—turning customers into repeat clients and referral sources, then reinvesting the additional revenue into marketing to continue scaling the business.

In this episode of I Fired My Boss, Dan Claps breaks down how home service business owners can make more money from every job they already have. He shares simple, repeatable tactics for generating more five-star reviews, asking for referrals, uncovering upsell and cross-sell opportunities, and even turning the surrounding neighborhood into potential new business. The key is to stop looking at each service call as a single transaction and start seeing every customer as an opportunity for additional revenue and future growth.Dan also explains why increasing average ticket and customer lifetime value can be just as important as bringing in more leads. From positioning your service as a premium experience to confidently asking for the order, he emphasizes that growth often comes from doing the basics consistently and taking the extra step most competitors skip. If you are already in the customer’s home and have earned their trust, the opportunity is there—you just have to swing the bat.

In this solo episode of I Fired My Boss, Dan Claps shifts the conversation from sales, marketing, and leadership to one of the most important parts of running a successful business: knowing your numbers. Dan shares how he went from thinking finance and accounting were boring to spending a significant portion of his week studying financials, working with his CFO, and reviewing profit-and-loss statements. He explains a simple approach to understanding profitability by looking at the actual cash coming into and leaving the business, then breaking expenses down into monthly, daily, and even hourly operating costs. From identifying your true breakeven point to understanding fixed and variable expenses, Dan shows why financial literacy doesn’t have to be complicated.Dan also explains how knowing your breakeven number can turn a seemingly overwhelming growth goal into something much more actionable. Sometimes the difference between struggling and becoming profitable can come down to one additional job per day, a higher average ticket, or simply opening unused capacity on the schedule. Drawing on examples from his own franchise system and a story about Starbucks breaking a massive revenue goal into small, store-level targets, Dan demonstrates the power of turning big financial objectives into measurable daily actions. If you want to better understand what it actually costs to run your business—and what needs to happen each day to make it more profitable—this episode offers a straightforward way to start.

In this solo episode of *I Fired My Boss*, Dan Claps returns to the podcast with a look at the mindset shifts that come with growing a business. Drawing from his experience scaling Voda to roughly 120 franchise partners across 35 states, Dan explains why business owners need to focus on the wins, learn from rejection, and remember that they’re not just in the cleaning, roofing, painting, restoration, or service business—they’re in the sales and marketing business. He breaks down why owners should constantly promote their company, build relationships in their communities, and treat every lead as the beginning of a potential long-term relationship rather than a one-time transaction.Dan also shares practical examples of how businesses can uncover “hidden abundance” inside the customers and leads they already have. Through stories involving an online personal trainer, a dentist, and his own early experience selling Kirby vacuums, he explains how to identify an ideal customer, find where that customer spends their attention, create valuable offers that build trust, and move prospects up a value ladder. He also walks through four core ways to generate leads and challenges business owners to spend more time strengthening their sales and marketing engine, providing value, asking for referrals, and doing the uncomfortable work that ultimately drives growth.

Dan Claps sits down in person at Voda Corporate Headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin with Jon Sibley, founder of TrueBuilt and technology partner with Voda. Jon shares how his background as a college and professional water polo player shaped the way he views entrepreneurship as the “ultimate team sport,” and how his path from tech sales to business school led him to discover a major software gap in commercial construction. After nearly buying a drywall company, he instead went all in on building better estimating technology for contractors.Dan and Jon also dive into TrueBuilt’s acquisition of Capabuild, now True Restore, and how AI estimation, LiDAR scanning, 360 video, video-to-sketch, moisture maps, and stronger documentation help restoration contractors create better-supported estimates. They discuss why business owners need to delegate, how technology can free technicians to focus on the job site, and where TrueBuilt and True Restore are headed next as the platforms continue to bring AI, reality capture, and smarter estimating tools to construction and restoration.

Dan Claps sits down with Steve Hart, co-founder and CEO of PMI, for a conversation about entrepreneurship, resilience, and building one of the largest property management franchise systems in the country. Steve shares how his entrepreneurial mindset started long before adulthood—mowing lawns, taking care of pets, and constantly finding ways to earn money as a kid. After realizing corporate life wasn’t for him, Steve eventually transitioned into entrepreneurship full-time, navigating multiple failures and difficult seasons along the way before co-founding PMI during the 2008 financial crisis.Throughout the episode, Steve breaks down how PMI identified a fragmented property management industry filled with mom-and-pop operators and turned it into a scalable national franchise brand built on systems, technology, and recurring revenue. Dan and Steve discuss the evolution of property management, the power of national branding, and why recurring monthly revenue creates such an attractive business model for franchise owners. Steve also explains PMI’s unique “five pillars” approach to property management—including residential, commercial, HOA, multifamily, and short-term rentals—which gives franchisees multiple ways to scale and grow their businesses over time.The conversation also dives into the realities of entrepreneurship behind the scenes, including the importance of having support from a spouse or partner during difficult moments. Dan reflects on how one of his earliest franchise placements with PMI helped shape his own journey into franchising, while Steve shares why he still believes PMI is only getting started despite operating in nearly every state. Whether you’re considering franchise ownership, exploring property management, or looking for insight from entrepreneurs who have weathered decades of ups and downs, this episode delivers practical lessons on growth, persistence, and long-term thinking.

In this special crossover episode recorded live from the International Franchise Association convention in Las Vegas, Dan Claps joins Lance Graulich on The Franchise Fit Podcast for an unfiltered conversation about entrepreneurship, franchising, and what it really takes to build a business. Sitting down in a hotel room at IFA, Dan opens up about the early days of launching Voda Cleaning & Restoration, including the moments where he genuinely believed the company might fail. He shares how listening closely to franchise candidates who didn’t buy ultimately helped shape Voda’s systems, messaging, and long-term culture into what it is today.Dan and Lance dive deep into the realities of franchise ownership versus entrepreneurship through acquisition, discussing why so many aspiring business owners spend years overthinking instead of starting. From unit economics and royalties to validation calls and growth strategy, the conversation breaks down what separates successful franchise systems from the rest. Dan also explains why he believes franchising is the “fast track” to business ownership, compares the franchise relationship to a marriage, and shares his philosophy on building companies designed to last for decades—not just for an exit.The episode also explores the future vision for Franchise Playbook, why “needs-based” businesses like restoration continue to grow, and the mindset first-time entrepreneurs need if they truly want to fire their boss. Whether you’re considering buying a franchise, searching for your first business, or trying to decide between starting from scratch or buying an existing company, this conversation delivers practical insight from two people who live and breathe franchising every day.

Dan Claps introduces a new era of the I Fired My Boss podcast, announcing version 3.0 from a professional in-person studio setting after more than 160 episodes. Moving away from Zoom, Dan emphasizes his desire for more authentic, real conversations, kicking things off with a unique format where his behind-the-camera associate Teddy steps in as the interviewer. The episode opens with a candid personal update, as Dan reflects on a whirlwind few months of company growth and his intentional efforts to create balance—focusing on fitness, structured workdays, and limiting phone use to reduce what he يرى as “artificial dopamine” from constant digital stimulation.The conversation evolves into a deeper exploration of entrepreneurship, discipline, and long-term business building through franchising. Dan breaks down the lifecycle of a franchise owner—from early excitement to skepticism and eventual alignment—highlighting how experience, often gained through mistakes, drives growth. He and Teddy also dive into comparisons between franchise models like Chick-fil-A, Crumbl Cookies, and Voda Cleaning & Restoration, unpacking ownership structures, profitability, and scalability. Throughout the episode, Dan reinforces his philosophy that true business ownership is defined by equity and long-term value, while also emphasizing patience, operational complexity, and the importance of building something that can ultimately be monetized.

In this episode of the I Fired My Boss podcast, Dan Claps sits down with Ken Sandy, managing partner at Dryy Garment Care and owner of FRSTeam Dryy, a restoration company specializing in textiles, electronics, and contents pack-out and storage for residential and commercial disasters. Ken shares his unconventional entrepreneurial journey—from working in corporate call centers to launching and failing at multiple ventures before finding success in marketing, dry cleaning innovation, and eventually restoration. He explains how his team transformed a traditional dry cleaning concept into a tech-enabled, community-focused service with hundreds of locker locations in multifamily buildings, and how the pandemic forced him to pivot into the restoration industry.Ken and Dan dive into the realities of franchising, discussing the value of proven systems, the challenges of royalties, and the importance of operator execution over the playbook itself. Ken reflects on scaling a growing restoration business and balancing expansion with fully maximizing an existing market, while Dan shares lessons from building and growing franchise brands nationwide. The conversation also explores mental models like “hidden abundance,” the power of relationships in home services, and why the best operators focus on sales, networking, and people rather than getting lost in the minutiae. It’s an honest discussion about entrepreneurship, franchising, and what it really takes to build and scale a successful service business.