Mitch Gross didn’t come from a plumbing background. He came from Silicon Valley, startups, and senior roles at eBay and still ended up building a multi-territory plumbing business in Sydney with Plumbing Bros.

e walks through the real transition from corporate life into business ownership, why he chose a franchise model, and what it actually took to survive starting a business during COVID.

He also shares how winning a major government contract helped accelerate growth, what happens when you rely too heavily on one big client, and why diversification across customer segments became critical to the next phase of the business.

You’ll also hear about leadership, delegation, building the right team, and what changes when you move from “doing everything yourself” to running a growing operation across multiple territories.

0:00 Introduction

0:49 What Plumbing Bros does

1:29 Mitch’s background before Plumbing

6:10 The decision to leave corporate and buy a business

8:22 Discovering Plumbing Bros as a Franchise Opportunity

10:40 Running a plumbing business without having a plumbing background

12:32 Starting the business during COVID and survival mode

13:31 Post-COVID growth and expanding into new territories

16:08 The risk of relying on one big client

17:30 Diversifying into new segments (strata, real estate, commercial)

19:06 What Mitch actually does day-to-day as an owner

22:01 Maximising contract value vs chasing new customers

23:03 The next 2–3 year plan and growth strategy

25:23 Wrap up

Franchise Recruitment Marketing - Appear on our Podcasts HERE

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John Dwyer is the founder of the Institute of Wow and one of Australia’s most well-known marketing strategists, helping businesses build customer databases and generate consistent sales through smart, practical marketing systems.

In this episode of the Franchise Everything Podcast, JD breaks down three sure ways to build a customer database including irresistible offers, Facebook contest strategies that generate red-hot leads, and how to build a community or “club” that turns audiences into long-term customers.

They also discuss why most businesses fail to collect customer data, why databases are more valuable than ads, and how simple systems like contests, clubs, and follow-ups can turn a business from constantly chasing customers into one that builds long-term demand.

0:00 Introduction

1:06 Method #1: Irresistible offers in exchange for data

01:20 Method #2: Facebook contest strategy for red-hot leads

02:18 991 leads in one week from $210 ad spend

3:31 Why most businesses are afraid to try bold marketing ideas

05:02 How landing pages and pre-qualification improve lead quality

5:23 Method #3: Building a community or “club” model

7:45 How the club monetisation and email strategy works

9:32 Why owning your database matters more than social media

10:45 Why most business owners don’t implement these strategies

14:28 Real-world example: The restaurant with 92,000 customers on file

15:51 Why your database is your most valuable business asset

16:23 Wrap up

Franchise Recruitment Marketing - Appear on our Podcasts HERE

Listen or Watch on;

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/45emumtd

Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2e37a966

Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/4vve3229

YouTube: https://youtu.be/Pai-EgXd8w8

Dor Li is a multi-site, multi-state Sushi Sushi franchise owner who has spent years building his career inside the brand starting as a team member, rising through management, and eventually becoming a franchise owner across multiple states.

In this episode of the Franchise Everything Podcast, Dor shares his full journey from arriving in Australia as an international student, studying commercial cookery, managing company-owned stores, becoming an area manager across WA and Queensland, and finally stepping into franchise ownership in regional Victoria and Western Australia.

We talk about how he transitioned from head office to owning stores, how he builds strong store teams, why staff training is the real key to scaling multiple locations, and what it takes to grow from one store to six — with a seventh on the way.

0:00 Introduction

0:41 Moving from China to Australia as a student

02:20 Learning to cook out of necessity and living independently

03:47 First job at Sushi Sushi and early impressions

5:54 Becoming a store manager in a company-owned store

07:04 Moving to Western Australia as Area Manager

08:25 Rapid expansion and opening multiple stores per month

10:18 Overseeing WA and Queensland operations

11:51 Moving back to Melbourne to lead training and projects

12:44 The decision to become a franchise owner

15:06 COVID, leaving head office, and buying regional stores

16:58 How Dor adds new stores and builds management teams

18:39 What Dor looks for in future store opportunities

19:35 Wrap up

Franchise Recruitment Marketing - Appear on our Podcasts HERE

Listen or Watch on;

Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/y4j4va6a

Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/3zm3aj6h

Amazon Music: https://tinyurl.com/3spsbv4x

YouTube: https://youtu.be/YfxcbKOO4RE