Franchise Development Leaders: Camp Bow Wow’s Todd Haavind

Todd Haavind is the Vice President of Franchise Sales at Camp Bow Wow®, the largest and leading doggy daycare and boarding franchise. Bringing over 15 years of diversified franchise sales experience to Camp Bow Wow, Haavind formerly served as Director of Franchise Development at Title Boxing Club where he oversaw the company's domestic and international franchise sales and development processes.

Leading the sales department for Camp Bow Wow, Haavind focuses on increasing units in new markets, enhancing franchise processes to attract qualified partners and leveraging new technologies to connect with prospective owners. With extensive experience in developing an international franchise presence, Haavind also plays a key role in leading Camp Bow Wow's ongoing expansion throughout Canada.

Haavind: I was a business banker for Wells Fargo and had been lending to start-up franchises when I was approached by a quickly growing franchise concept that wanted to build their network of financing partners to fuel expansion efforts. I set up a preferred lender program and managed an internal underwriting and loan packaging group that worked very closely with the lenders to provide capital to our franchise owners.

Haavind: My favorite part of the franchising industry is the unique and diverse array of concepts that are available for the entrepreneur. Depending on a person’s passion, experience and market needs, there is an ideal concept or model for everyone.

Haavind: Unfortunately, because of some unfair and unproven business models that have been launched throughout the years, franchising can sometimes receive a bad reputation. A franchise can be an amazing partnership when a franchisor is truly committed to its franchise owners’ success and not just their own.

1851: What is the biggest challenge franchisors are currently facing in franchise development and what are you doing to overcome it?

Haavind: In every segment of the franchising industry, there are far too many new, unproven concepts that are risky and unappealing for investors. At Camp Bow Wow, we prefer to educate our potential franchise owners on the successful 20-year history of our brand and established business model.

Haavind: In the coming years, interactive discovery days will become much more popular. These in-depth onboarding training sessions will allow the potential franchise owner to experience operations and run the business first hand while visiting the franchisor. Interactive training programs will immerse the candidate in the brand culture and actual day-to-day operations to determine if the concept is something they love.

Haavind: A great franchisee is an entrepreneur who understands that they are buying into a proven model and are not looking to reinvent the process or steer operations in a different direction. Although individualized passion and experience are necessary, the most successful franchisees are those who trust the established model and execute operations at a high level.

Haavind: If I had to choose the No. 1 factor that is important to potential franchisees, it would be strong unit-level economics. Investors understand that if a franchise is not a profitable business then it is not worth the time and investment to open, even if they are passionate about the concept.