She built a franchise to 150 locations and $42M in sales. Then she sold it — to her best franchisee.
Guest: Shannon Wilburn, CEO of Shine Executive Coaching
Website: shineexecutivecoaching.com
Shannon Wilburn built a franchise system from scratch to 150 locations in 34 states with $42 million in system-wide sales. Then she sold it. Not to private equity. To her best franchisee. She took 18 months, did it her way, and came out the other side coaching the next generation of franchise founders.
This episode gets into the real stuff: the COVID hospitalization that nearly took her husband, the depression that followed, the moment she almost handed the company to someone else, and what turned it all around. Plus the honest truth about franchising, pricing, and why most women leave money on the table.
Key Takeaways
On pricing:
If three people have paid your price, raise it. That's the signal.
Shannon undercharged when she launched her coaching practice. A friend told her the number to charge and told her they wouldn't stay friends if she went lower. That was enough.
Positioning yourself as "premier" isn't arrogance. It's a targeting strategy. Lime Painting did it. French Florist did it. One word on your website tells clients what bracket you're in.
On franchising:
Franchising is "death by a thousand cuts" if you go in without your systems locked. You need a copy-paste playbook before you sell a single franchise.
When you franchise, you're no longer in your original business. You're in the franchising business. Marketing, HR, operations support, franchisee relations. Different job entirely.
Average brick-and-mortar franchise investment: around $500K. Most franchisees use an SBA loan with a 10-year repayment window.
Don't franchise unless a franchisee can realistically net $100–200K after your royalty fees come out. Otherwise the math doesn't work for them and the whole thing falls apart.
On women and money:
Most women entrepreneurs make less than $100K. A lot make less than $50K. That's a pricing problem and a fear problem, not a talent problem.
Changing the world is worth money. Doing good work is worth money. Those two things are not in conflict.
On mental health:
Shannon's husband spent 48 days in the hospital during COVID. He flatlined. She was in the room.
She came out of it in depression. Her team ran the company while she recovered.
She almost gave up the CEO seat. Her coach talked her out of it, introduced her to EOS, and gave it 90 days.
She now runs two mastermind groups for women franchise CEOs — a space to talk honestly without performing confidence for their teams.
About Shannon
Shannon is a 30-year serial entrepreneur who scaled her franchise system to 150 locations in 34 states and exited in December 2022. She now runs Shine Executive Coaching, working with emerging franchise brands (5 to 50 locations) ready to scale. She also runs Cole Creek Farm, an outdoor photography venue on 15 acres in Jenks, Oklahoma.
Cole Creek Farm: coalcreekfarmjenks.com/
Book a clarity call with Shannon: shineexecutivecoaching.com
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