Franchise Growth Strategy That Built 50 Locations From One Idea

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July 2, 2025

On July 3, 2025

The Strategy That Turned One Bad Experience Into a National Brand

If you’re scaling your agency and wondering how to expand without sacrificing quality or control, this episode breaks down a franchise growth strategy that delivers both. Learn how one founder turned a single moment of frustration into a 50-location business—without losing his original vision.

Watch the Full Episode on Franchise Growth Strategy

Hear the full story, systems, and transformation that helped David Sauers build Royal Restrooms into the nationally recognized brand it is today.

Listen to the Full Episode on Franchise Growth Strategy

Scaling with Purpose: A Franchise Growth Strategy That Works

In this episode of The Catalytic Leadership Podcast, titled Franchise Growth Strategy That Built 50 Locations From One Idea, I sit down with David Sauers, co-founder and CEO of Royal Restrooms.

What started as a deeply uncomfortable (and honestly, humorous) moment at a family event turned into a bold vision—and eventually, a national brand. We talk through the franchise growth strategy that allowed David to expand to over 50 locations while maintaining the standard, service, and legacy that Royal Restrooms is known for.

David didn’t scale by accident. He and his team made deliberate decisions to replicate—not just operations—but experience at scale. For agency owners eyeing licensing, partnerships, or multi-location growth, this conversation is a clear reminder that vision alone isn’t enough. You need a system that protects the brand while multiplying its impact.

If you’ve ever wondered whether a franchise or license model could work for your business—or how to maintain culture and excellence while growing—this episode is a blueprint worth studying.

Thinking About Expansion? Read This First.

If you’re a digital agency owner scaling past seven figures, you might recognize the tension David faced. You’ll connect with this episode if you’ve ever thought:

“I want to scale without losing the quality my brand is known for.”
“My team understands the what—but the how varies wildly between locations.”
“Our systems don’t scale as fast as our sales.”
“Franchising or licensing feels like the next step, but I don’t want chaos.”
“We’ve built something special—how do we replicate it without watering it down?”

This episode speaks directly to high-capacity leaders refining how they multiply what works.

Growth Isn’t Just About More—It’s About Multiplying What Matters

When a founder begins thinking about scale, the question isn’t just “how do I grow?”—it becomes “what am I actually multiplying?”
Systems will get copied. Communication rhythms will get repeated—or neglected. Culture will scale—for better or for worse.
And that’s why clarity matters.

If your values, expectations, and vision aren’t documented, demonstrated, and reinforced, you’re not scaling a business—you’re spinning a bigger version of the same bottlenecks.

David’s story reminded me that we don’t just build companies—we build experiences that echo. The experience your client has. The one your team has. The experience your future franchisee or licensee will inherit.

Franchising isn’t just a growth tactic—it’s a leadership mirror. And if you’re brave enough to look, it’ll show you what parts of your culture are transferrable—and what parts need your direct influence to survive.

The goal isn’t perfection. The goal is integrity in replication. And when that’s in place, expansion becomes an opportunity to serve more, not stress more.

From Idea to Impact: What You’ll Hear in This Episode

00:00 – Meet David Sauers: The Unexpected Origin of Royal Restrooms
02:43 – The Story That Sparked a National Brand
06:23 – Building the First Location & Testing the Concept
09:42 – Growth with Intention: Leading Through Innovation
12:52 – Making Bathrooms Part of the Experience
15:33 – Why Franchising Happened (And How It Succeeded)
17:59 – Scaling Culture: The Real Challenge of Franchising
20:18 – Giving Back Through Franchising: Legacy Beyond Revenue
23:39 – Leadership Evolution: Growing into the Role
26:37 – Storytelling and Communication Breakthroughs
30:39 – The Ongoing Challenge: Communicating Vision Across Teams

Books Mentioned

Storyworthy by Matthew Dicks

Connect with David Sauers

To learn more about David’s work or bring Royal Restrooms to your event, visit royalrestrooms.com or connect with him on LinkedIn under David Sauers. He’s also building Kruger Bush Campers, and you can follow his journey there as well.

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About Dr. William Attaway:

Dr. William Attaway is a seasoned Executive Mindset and Leadership Coach who helps 6-, 7-, and 8-figure digital agency owners scale their businesses with clarity, systems, and confidence. With nearly 30 years of experience, he equips growth-driven entrepreneurs to build high-performing teams, implement scalable systems, and transition from freelancer to CEO.

He hosts the Catalytic Leadership™ Podcast—ranked in the Top 2% of podcasts globally (source: Listen Notes)—with a weekly reach of over 50,000. Each episode features elite agency owners and top digital entrepreneurs sharing what actually works when scaling a service-based business.

From leadership development and visionary thinking to mindset transformation and team optimization, Dr. Attaway empowers agency leaders to build a business that thrives without their constant oversight—and a team that flourishes under intentional, scalable leadership.