This Summer, something different happened in the franchise event calendar for 2025.
Dozens of growth-focused franchisors gathered for 3 days built specifically for the challenges—and opportunities—facing service-based franchise brands.
Hosted by ClientTether and FranchiseFilming, the inaugural Service Franchise Summit was designed for doers: franchisors who are scaling service brands, fighting messy ops, and tired of hearing strategies that don’t translate to the real world.
Here’s a quick look at how the event went, what we learned, and why this franchise event should be on your watch list for June of next year.
A Franchise Event for Growth-minded Operators
From the opening keynote to the last coffee-fueled connection, one thing was clear: this wasn’t your average conference crowd.
No expo floor. No endless panel marathons. Just high-impact speakers and hands-on sessions that tackled what franchisors are actually dealing with:
- Missed leads in competitive markets
- Broken systems with slowing growth
- The talent gap in service industries
- The overwhelm of managing multi-location teams
- And even the personal struggle leaders face without a peer group to support them
The SFS was a franchise event for brands in motion, for franchisors ready to fix broken funnels, sharpen their playbooks and lead with clarity.
Highlights that Hit Home
Let me tell you, did our lineup for 2025 deliver.
One of my favorite takeaways: sometimes the real win isn’t about bold moves, but taking notice when comfort turns into a cage.
Here’s another gem from one of the many leaders at the SFS:
Real Talk > Name Tags
For most franchisors, every franchise event is a time to listen. We flipped the script for the Service Franchise Summit.
Of course the speakers were off the charts, but the parts where we didn’t chat hit just as hard.
We pushed franchisors out of their comfort zone, and that included ziplines, fishing, ATVs, campfires and more. 70% inside and 30% outside.
Throughout the days, breakout groups swapped strategies, compared notes, and got vulnerable about what’s not working. All left with action items, new connections and support systems.
This is what real connection looks like:
What We Learned (and What’s Next)
If one theme emerged from this franchise event, it was this: service franchising isn’t behind, it’s just been underserved.
Brands in home services, fitness, pet care, beauty, cleaning, and beyond are scaling fast, but too often without the right tools.
That’s why events like this matter. They give operators space to rethink how they run and grow. Good growth dies in broken systems. And if your franchise CRM can’t keep up, you’re already behind.
For us at ClientTether, it reinforced what we’ve always believed: better systems lead to better franchise growth. And those systems start with conversations like these.
2026: Bigger, Better, Still Built for Service
After the overwhelmingly positive feedback, we’re already planning next year’s Service Franchise Summit.
Expect more speakers, deeper dives, and even more franchise brands shaping the future of service together.
And yes—we’re keeping it tactical, fun, challenging and totally built for operators, marketers, and senior executives.
Our industry doesn’t need another franchise event. It needs franchise events like the Service Franchise Summit, just more value focused and bolder.
