Kim Daly is a nationally recognized franchise consultant, business coach, and founder of The Zee Suite, a performance platform designed to help franchisees and brand leaders improve profitability through mindset mastery.

With over two decades of experience and nearly 1,000 franchisees created through her consulting work, Kim is a top-producing advisor with FranChoice and a trusted source on entrepreneurship, leadership culture, and franchise development strategy. A former fitness entrepreneur and dot-com founder, Kim blends her background in business, biochemistry, and performance coaching to help people create wealth, resilience, and long-term success.

You’ve worked with nearly 1,000 franchisees over the past two decades. From your perspective, what’s the biggest change in the franchise industry right now, especially in today’s economy?

After working with thousands of candidates over the past two decades and creating nearly 1,000 franchisees, I’ve seen that franchising grows in both good and bad economies. In strong markets, people chase the American dream; in uncertain ones, they seek security. The motivations shift, but the truth is – people keep investing in franchising.

The biggest change I’ve witnessed is the rise in professionalism. Years ago, franchisors were often mom-and-pop operators with a good idea. Today, success requires capital, technology, and experienced leadership. This higher bar has elevated the entire industry, creating stronger, more sustainable brands.

Franchising is no longer just about replicating a concept. It’s about building scalable businesses that can thrive for decades.

You often say “strategy matters, but belief systems drive results.” Can you share what that means in practice for franchisees and franchisors?

I often say strategy matters, but belief systems drive results because you can give two franchisees the same playbook and get two very different outcomes. The difference isn’t the system; it’s the franchisee’s beliefs.

For example, a franchisee who believes “people in my market won’t pay these prices” will discount, over-explain, and second-guess themselves, limiting sales even with a proven system. A franchisor leadership team that believes “our franchisees aren’t business-minded” will design overly simplified tools and micromanage, stifling initiative instead of building confident owners.

What we believe shapes how we show up and that directly impacts results. That’s why I created The Zee Suite. We help franchisees and franchisors uncover and replace limiting beliefs so they can fully activate their strategies. When belief and strategy align, culture strengthens, royalties grow, and results become unstoppable.

Many franchisors have strong operational playbooks. What do you see missing when it comes to preparing their networks for real, lasting success?

Most franchisors do a phenomenal job of building strong operational playbooks. They’ve got the systems, the checklists, and the training that show franchisees how to run the business. But what I’ve seen missing and what’s often the biggest reason results fall short, is that we stop at operations and don’t prepare people for the inner mindset game of business.

Here’s the truth: success is 20% strategy and 80% mindset. A playbook can tell you what to do, but it can’t make you believe in yourself, manage fear, or push through limiting beliefs when results don’t come as fast as you hoped. It can’t train you to lead with confidence, to sell from conviction, or to bounce back after rejection. That’s the work of mindset and without it, the best playbook in the world will still produce average results.

The Zee Suite gives franchisors the missing framework that complements their operational systems. We teach franchisees how to master their thinking, regulate their emotions, and reprogram the belief systems driving their daily actions. For franchisors, this means stronger franchisee performance, reduced burnout, and higher engagement across the network.

In other words, franchisors provide the “how,” but The Zee Suite provides the “who.” And until you build who your franchisees are becoming—resilient, confident, and empowered leaders—no amount of operations will ever deliver real, lasting success.

In an uncertain economic climate, how can mindset training help franchise professionals not just survive, but thrive?

In an uncertain economy, most people tighten up and think from fear but in quantum physics, what we focus on expands. A franchisee who thinks “people aren’t spending right now” will cut back on marketing and brace for decline, and that’s exactly what they’ll create. But a franchisee who asks “where is money still flowing, and how can I serve those customers?” will uncover opportunities others miss and keep growing.

That’s the work we do inside The Zee Suite – teaching franchisees and franchisors to think from possibilities, not limitations. When you master your mindset, you stop reacting to circumstances, start creating your own economy, and start thriving no matter what the headlines say.

What are a few practical mindset or productivity hacks you teach that can immediately improve a franchisee’s performance?

One of the most powerful hacks I teach is learning how to set C-type goals. These are goals so big and exciting that you don’t yet know how you’ll achieve them. Most franchisees set goals based on what feels logical or safe, but that only creates average results. When you set a C-type goal and condition your mind to believe in it daily, you begin to think and act from possibility, and performance rises to meet identity.

In my course, From Limited to Limitless, I teach franchisees to identify and release fear before taking action. A perfect example is sales calls: no matter how much you’re smiling, if you’re carrying fear of rejection, the other person can feel it and they won’t buy what you’re selling. By first addressing the fear, resetting your state, and stepping into service, you change the energy of the call and the results.

As I often remind my clients: “Strategy opens the door, but mindset determines whether you walk through it.”

The Zee Suite also works with franchisor leadership teams. How can a shift in leadership mindset impact an entire brand’s culture and bottom line?

When franchisor leadership shifts its mindset, brands transform. In our Suite Insiders community, we show leaders how to move beyond just enforcing systems to instilling belief in the mission. Think of Chick-fil-A: you know exactly what they stand for without even stepping into a store. Why?

Because for decades, they’ve installed that belief in every franchisee, and the culture delivers the promise. Imagine if more franchisors built that kind of alignment. Franchisees would be more satisfied, wealth creation would accelerate, and world-class brands could be built in less time, with less effort. That’s the power of leadership mindset: it turns strategy into a culture that multiplies results.

For franchisees and brand leaders who feel stuck or burned out, where’s the best place to start when it comes to creating change?

The best place to start is by shifting from efforting to identity. When franchisor leaders stop grinding and begin thinking from the brand’s highest vision, they model a new way of leading. That inspires franchisees to follow suit. And when an entire system is aligned around one mission—not just following the playbook, but being the brand—brand value and equity grow exponentially.

This requires setting extraordinary goals, believing in possibilities rather than limitations, and practicing that mindset daily.

That’s why I built The Zee Suite community. Because we can’t elevate by thinking like the world or falling back into old habits. We need a place where possibility thinkers hold us accountable, remind us that grinding is a signal we’re misaligned, and help us return to flow.

The truth is there are no limits. In The Zee Suite, we teach leaders to hold that vision steady long enough for dreams to manifest into reality. My own business and life are living proof, and I built this community so we could all have fun creating reality together while elevating an ent

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