---
title: "WhatTheyThink: FastSigns CEO Catherine Monson Talks About International Expansion"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/3e4c99a8-6af5-4081-81a2-195dc3da6a7b
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/whattheythink-fastsigns-ceo-catherine-monson-talks-about-international-expansion-6355
category: "Signs"
industry: "Business Services"
segment: "Signs"
topics: ["Development & multi-unit","People"]
published: 2016-10-10T22:17:40.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T03:08:52.865Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/6f8423939c805ad53520fe782e78cbcc449.jpg
---

# WhatTheyThink: FastSigns CEO Catherine Monson Talks About International Expansion

**TL;DR:** FastSigns CEO Catherine Monson discusses the brand's international expansion, with a focus on growth in Central America and other regions. The company has signed a master license agreement for five countries in Central America and is having a record year with over 50 franchises sold.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2016-10-10. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/whattheythink-fastsigns-ceo-catherine-monson-talks-about-international-expansion-6355).*

## Story

FastSigns CEO, Catherine Monson, stopped by WhatTheyThink to discuss the brand’s global expansion with Senior Anayst Richard Romano. According to the WhatTheyThink video interview , FastSigns has signed a master license agreement for five countries in Central America. In addition, the brand also has activity currently in Brazil, Mexico, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, along with leads in Europe.

“Our international growth is firing on all cylinders,” says Monson.

The company is having a record year by selling more than 50 franchises this year. In fact, the brand has had a strong year when looking at every metric. Same-center sales are very strong and there are a record number of outside sales professionals working for FastSigns’ franchisees.

Helping with growth is their co-brand program targeting those who are already in a related graphic arts business that want to expand into the signage and visual graphics industry. This is where a lot of their current franchisees come from and start to see success with their business once they expand into signage and visual graphics.

What is the secret to being a franchisee? “Follow the FastSigns system. We have a really proven business operating system and we’ve got great intellectual property, and if you implement the FastSigns operations system, you’re going to be very successful,” says Monson.

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- franchise growth (topic)
- Business Services (sector)
- international expansion (topic)
- FASTSIGNS (company)
- Mexico (location)
- Catherine Monson (person)
- Europe (location)
- Brazil (location)
- Middle East (location)
- Central America (location)
- Southeast Asia (location)

---
Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/whattheythink-fastsigns-ceo-catherine-monson-talks-about-international-expansion-6355). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/3e4c99a8-6af5-4081-81a2-195dc3da6a7b).