---
title: "Young Ones to Watch: Austin James, Director of Franchise Development at Buzz Franchise Brands"
url: https://burnaze.com/article/56105fde-45c5-41af-a9d9-eca69e67b3be
source: "1851 Franchise"
original_url: https://1851franchise.com/young-ones-to-watch-austin-james-director-of-franchise-development-at-buzz-franchise-brands-2716917
category: "Franchisors"
industry: "Franchise Industry"
segment: "Franchisors"
topics: ["Development & multi-unit"]
published: 2021-10-19T21:16:00.000Z
modified: 2026-11-01T02:13:17.759Z
image: https://newimage.1851franchise.com/cdn-cgi/image/quality=85,format=webp,width=1280,height=720/story/featureImage/58f084b9efcc5e5ecce85a33b9e26bd34224.jpg
---

# Young Ones to Watch: Austin James, Director of Franchise Development at Buzz Franchise Brands

**TL;DR:** Austin James, director of franchise development at Buzz Franchise Brands, oversees the growth of the company's multi-brand franchising model. He started as an intern with the company and now, at 25, is looking forward to continued growth with the Virginia-based franchisor.

*originally published in 1851 Franchise on 2021-10-19. [Read the original](https://1851franchise.com/young-ones-to-watch-austin-james-director-of-franchise-development-at-buzz-franchise-brands-2716917).*

## Story

Austin James was a senior at James Madison University when he started as an intern with Buzz Franchise Brands, a multi-brand franchising company. Now, at 25, he’s the director of franchise development and looking forward to continued growth with the Virginia-based franchisor.

“I didn't know a ton about franchising at the time but thought it would be a great opportunity to go back to my local community in Virginia Beach and have an opportunity to learn more about the franchise space,” he said.

Buzz Franchise Brands includes Pool Scouts*, Home Clean Heroes* and British Swim School, a learn-to-swim program that has been in business for more than 40 years and in franchising for 10 years. During his time with Buzz Franchise Brands, James said he’s come to respect the tenured mentors who are always willing to offer support.

“When you go to franchising conferences, you typically see the same people, and everyone is so willing to help each other,” he said. “That's one of the things I think is very unique about the franchising industry.”

James offered some great advice to anyone thinking of joining the franchising industry: Ask questions!

“Talk to your leadership team when you don't understand something,” he said. “Talk to your franchisees and understand their challenges. The most successful franchisors are the ones who listen and take feedback from their franchise owners. There’s no way we can make our process and our brand better if we're not listening to our franchisees, because they're the folks who are doing it each and every day.”

## Entities

- 1851 Franchise (publication)
- Franchise Industry (sector)
- franchise development (topic)
- Pool Scouts (company)
- industry growth (topic)
- Buzz Franchise Brands (company)
- Home Clean Heroes (company)
- British Swim School (company)
- multi-brand franchising (topic)

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Originally reported by 1851 Franchise (https://1851franchise.com/young-ones-to-watch-austin-james-director-of-franchise-development-at-buzz-franchise-brands-2716917). Summarized by Burnaze (https://burnaze.com/article/56105fde-45c5-41af-a9d9-eca69e67b3be).