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Stacie Shannon, MBA, has lived nearly every chapter of the business ownership story \u2014 and that’s exactly what makes her one of the most trusted franchise consultants in the country.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\nShe spent 21 years climbing the corporate ladder, including an extensive career in the aviation industry, where she mastered operations, leadership, and strategic growth. But like many of her clients today, she reached a point where she knew she was meant to build something of her own. She took the leap, founding a boutique fitness studio, becoming a franchise owner, and eventually serving as VP of Franchise Development for a home services brand. She’s held every seat at the table.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\nShe understands the excitement – and the fear – because she’s felt both. That lived experience shapes everything about how she works with clients.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\nHer process is thorough, honest, and unhurried. She asks the questions most people don’t think to ask, challenges assumptions, and matches each client to opportunities that align with their finances, lifestyle, and long-term goals. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\nAs host of The Franchise Life podcast, based in Palm Beach County, Florida, Stacie doesn’t just talk about the franchise journey \u2014 she’s lived it.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Around fifth grade, my dad <\/span>turned an idea into a real business<\/b>. He built a taco stand and set up shop at the Linn County Fair, right in our hometown of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and for the next few years, I was part of the operation. I took orders, handled customers, and watched my father do what entrepreneurs do: solve problems on the fly, build something from nothing, and show up every day with everything he had.<\/span><\/p>\nI didn’t have the language for it at the time, but that experience planted something in me. A seed of understanding that <\/span>you could take an idea, build it with your own hands, and create something that was genuinely yours<\/b>. It’s a lesson I carried for decades through college, graduate school, through a twenty-one-year corporate career before I finally understood what it had been trying to tell me all along.<\/span><\/p>\nA Career Worth Having<\/b><\/p>\n
My professional journey began in the aviation industry, where I spent over two decades building a career, I was genuinely proud of. Starting in an entry-level role and working my way steadily upward, I developed deep expertise in program management and business development at one of the most respected companies in the aerospace sector. I earned my MBA along the way, took on increasing responsibility, led complex initiatives, and grew into a leader others trusted to deliver.<\/span><\/p>\nFor nearly two decades, I thrived. I loved the pace, the challenge, and the sense of accomplishment that came with doing difficult work well. I built real and lasting skills over those years \u2014 how to manage competing priorities, lead teams through ambiguity, develop relationships, drive growth, and execute at a high level. Skills that would prove more valuable than I ever imagined, just not in the way I originally expected.<\/span><\/p>\nBut corporate life has a way of changing on you. Or maybe you change on it. Either way, somewhere around year eighteen, things started to shift.<\/span><\/p>\nThe Last Three Years<\/b><\/p>\n
The final three years of my corporate career looked fine from the outside. The title was solid. The compensation was good. But I had grown deeply disenchanted with the path ahead of me. Work that had once lit me up felt increasingly routine. The organizations I’d navigated with energy and enthusiasm had grown slower, more political, and less receptive to the kind of bold thinking I believed in. I found myself sitting in meetings wondering why we were moving so cautiously when the opportunity in front of us was so clear.<\/span><\/p>\nMore than anything, I kept coming back to the same uncomfortable realization: I had spent over two decades building a formidable set of skills in operations, business development, strategy, team leadership, and client relationships \u2014 and I was using maybe a fraction of what I was capable of. There had to be better use of everything I knew and everything I had earned<\/span>. I didn’t want to walk away from my career \u2014 I wanted to <\/b>leverage<\/i><\/b> it<\/b>. I just needed to do it on my own terms.<\/span><\/p>\nThat quiet voice that had been there since fifth grade \u2014 the one that watched my dad run his taco stand \u2014 wasn’t quiet anymore.<\/span><\/p>\nThe First Leap: Burst Cycle<\/b><\/p>\n
Before I ever got into franchise consulting, I received a graduate-level education in what it actually means to own a business by co-founding one from the ground up.<\/span><\/p>\nBurst Cycle was my boutique indoor cycling studio, and it was mine in every sense of the word. I wasn’t just a co-founder, I was <\/span>the CEO making strategic decisions in the morning and cleaning the studio in the afternoon<\/b>. I was behind the front desk welcoming members and on the bike leading spin classes. I planned and coordinated special events, managed schedules, hired and developed staff, and handled marketing. I learned very quickly that entrepreneurship doesn’t come with a job description \u2014 it comes with <\/span>all<\/span><\/i> of them.<\/span><\/p>\nThere were days that were exhilarating and days that were humbling sometimes before lunch. But through every challenge, I kept discovering something remarkable: the skills I had spent two decades developing in the corporate world translated powerfully into business ownership. Program management became operations management. Business development became sales and community building. Leadership became culture. Everything my father had quietly modeled at that fairground taco stand, the work ethic, the problem-solving, the ownership mentality finally had a place to live.<\/span><\/p>\nSigning on the Dotted Line<\/b><\/p>\n
After Burst Cycle, I took a step that would give me something many franchise consultants don’t have – I became a franchisee myself. I signed up to own a Temporary Wall Systems location in West Palm Beach, and in doing so, I went through the exact same journey my clients are about to embark on.<\/span><\/p>\nI evaluated the opportunity. I did the due diligence. I weighed the risks. And then <\/span>I signed on the dotted line.<\/b><\/p>\nThat experience changed the way I work with clients in a fundamental way<\/span>. I’m not guiding people through a process I’ve only studied – I’ve lived it.<\/b> I know what it feels like to sit across from a franchise disclosure document and have to decide whether you’re ready. I know the mix of excitement and uncertainty that comes with committing to something new. And I know the confidence that follows when you’ve made a well-researched decision and have a proven system behind you. When I tell a client what to expect, it’s because I’ve been exactly where they’re standing.<\/span><\/p>\nBuilding Something That Matters<\/b><\/p>\n
It was through my own evolution as a business owner and through conversations with other executives who were quietly exploring their next chapter that I found my true calling in franchise consulting. Here was a model that combined everything I was good at and everything I cared about: connecting with driven people, solving complex problems, strategic thinking, and helping others find the right vehicle for the life they wanted.<\/span><\/p>\nI started my consulting business in 2018 with a mission that was deeply personal from the very first conversation: to help talented professionals find franchise opportunities that actually fit \u2014 their capital, their goals, their lifestyle, their skills, and their timeline. Not a generic match. A real one.<\/span><\/p>\nWhat I bring to every client relationship isn’t just industry knowledge \u2014 it’s lived experience on both sides of the table. I know what it feels like to sit in a conference room wondering if this is really all there is. I know what it takes to build something from zero. And I know what it’s like to sign a franchise agreement and start building something you can truly call your own.<\/span><\/p>\nToday, I work with clients across the country, matching aspiring owners with hundreds of vetted franchise brands \u2014 completely free to the buyer. Whether someone is a corporate executive exploring a parallel revenue vehicle, a professional navigating a career transition, or simply someone who has been waiting for the right moment to finally make a move, I serve as a guide, a sounding board, and a true partner throughout the entire process.<\/span><\/p>\nI’ve been recognized as one of the Top 100 Franchise Brokers in the country, and I host <\/span>The Franchise Life<\/span><\/i> podcast, where I share real stories from the world of franchise ownership and help people understand what the journey actually looks like.<\/span><\/p>\nWhat I Know Now<\/b><\/p>\n
Looking back, it all connects. A fifth grader working at her dad’s taco stand at the Linn County Fair, watching an idea become a business. A two-decade corporate career that sharpened every skill imaginable. A fitness studio co-founded from scratch that proved those skills could translate into ownership. A franchise agreement signed, just like my client\u2019s sign. And finally, a business that brings all of it together in service of people who are ready for something more.<\/span><\/p>\nWhat I do now, every single day, is help other people find their version of that journey \u2014 with <\/span>the guidance, the experience, and the honest perspective of someone who has taken every step of it herself.<\/b><\/p>\nIf you’ve ever had that quiet but persistent voice asking whether there’s something more out there for you \u2014 I’d love to have a conversation.<\/span><\/p>\nBecause in my experience, that voice is usually right.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>\n
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