#32: The Truth About Franchising and Why Most Owners Burn Out— with Tanner Holmes

Today on The Owner Seat, Albert Ramos sits down with Tanner Holmes to go inside what multi-unit, multi-brand franchise ownership actually looks like — not the Instagram version, the real one.

Tanner Holmes is a multi-unit, multi-brand franchisee, investor, and Area Developer across Illinois and Wisconsin, building a portfolio under Impact Brands LLC with concepts like Perspire Sauna Studio and Sola Salon Studios.

He’s the operator a lot of people think they want to become:

➡ Multiple territories

➡ Multiple brands

➡ Expansion bets on the table

But behind that is the part nobody posts about:

cash pressure, leadership strain, and the constant question — how fast is too fast?

In this episode, we unpack:

• What first-year franchise ownership really feels like
• Why “one foot in, one foot out” quietly kills operators
• How Tanner thinks about expansion pacing across multiple brands
• The operator reality behind Perspire Sauna Studio ownership
• How “longevity” fits into a real P&L — not just a trend deck
• The culture decisions that either hold the business together… or crack it

If you’re a franchisee, area developer, or franchisor trying to scale without drowning in chaos — this is required viewing.

📊 Work with Albert – Fractional CFO for Fitness & Wellness

I’m Albert Ramos, Fractional CFO and Founder of Stratego Intel Consulting.

I help fitness, wellness, and franchise brands ($1M–$30M) fix messy multi-location books, build 13-week cash visibility, and prove unit economics for every studio.

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If you want cash clarity before your next deal,

If you’re tired of guessing on breakeven and unit economics,

If you need a finance system worthy of investors…

👉 Hit play below.

Take your seat back.