The Missing Piece

The Leadership Shift That Unlocks Real Franchise Growth

Sustainable franchise growth is not created by adding locations alone. It comes from listening closely, investing in the right people, building dependable systems, and giving franchise owners the support they need to serve their communities well.

In a recent episode of The Missing Piece, Touching Hearts at Home CEO Todd Treml joined host April Reed to share the leadership shift that has shaped his 30-plus-year franchising career. From building teams and strengthening franchise systems to protecting culture during rapid expansion, Todd explains what it takes to grow a purpose-driven business without losing sight of the people behind it.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode

• Why listening should come before strategy when leading a growing franchise brand
• How strong franchise systems support local owners without becoming overly top-down
• Why culture, communication, and trust are essential to scalable growth
• What separates companies that grow steadily from those that become stuck
• How senior home care franchise owners create meaningful impact in their communities
• Why leadership success is built through people, not individual performance alone
• How disciplined execution helps companies avoid distractions and grow with intention

Episode Breakdown

Episode Transcript

0:01  SHOW INTRO

From breakthrough strategies to game-changing innovations and cultural shifts, you'll discover the lessons that drive real impact. We'll dive into the moments that changed everything. Welcome to The Missing Piece with April Reed.

0:18  APRIL REED

Today on The Missing Piece, I'm joined by Todd Treml, a seasoned franchising executive, brand builder, and leader with more than 30 years of experience across sales, operations, marketing, and team development. Todd has led national franchise systems, built high-performing teams, and helped grow brands across North America. Today, as CEO of Touching Hearts at Home, he is focused on building systems, empowering franchise owners, and leading with both strategy and heart. What stands out most about Todd is not just his business acumen, but his commitment to people, leadership, and making a meaningful impact in the communities he serves. Welcome to the show, Todd. I'm excited to have this conversation and get to know you.

1:04  TODD TREML

Thank you, April, for having me today.

1:05  APRIL REED

Of course. I know I just gave a quick introduction, but I would love for you to introduce yourself to our audience and tell us more about who you are and how you got to where you are today.

1:20  TODD TREML

Thank you very much. I appreciate it. My name is Todd Treml, and I am the CEO of Touching Hearts at Home. We are a non-medical senior home care franchise business throughout the United States. We currently have 94 locations either open or in development across the country, so we are excited about our growth.

My background is in franchising. I have spent more than 30 years with some amazing companies, including Winmark Corporation, Lift Brands, and United Franchise Group. I have also been a partner in private equity, and today I am with Touching Hearts at Home. My career spans more than 30 years of wearing many hats in franchising and working with some exceptional brands.

2:00  APRIL REED

For the younger generation listening, they may look at your career and think, 'Wow, you've done a lot and gained a lot of experience.' Even on the private equity side, take us back to the younger Todd. What doors opened for you, or what people came into your life and helped open those doors?

2:17  TODD TREML

Both played a role. Very early after college, I joined a small retail business with two locations called Play It Again Sports. Many people now know it nationally as one of the largest new and used sporting goods businesses in the world. I was part of an early management team that built and scaled the company across Minneapolis and St. Paul, opened locations, and eventually franchised the business.

We were fortunate to experience fast, successful growth, and we grew the business to more than 300 locations. Along the way, we added additional resale concepts that are household names today: Once Upon A Child, Plato's Closet, Style Encore, and Music Go Round. We had a remarkable business model through franchising.

I was with the organization for more than 20 years and was fortunate to help take the company public. Today, it is recognized as one of the leaders in franchising and is called Winmark Corporation. While I was there, I was a director of the company. I wore every hat and ultimately had the opportunity to run most of the different divisions within the organization.

There were a lot of lessons and a lot of mentors. When I decided to move on after 20 years, we had built the organization to 1,200 locations, five brands, and $1 billion in retail sales. That was a long way from two small stores.

I decided to get into entrepreneurship and own my own businesses. I started consulting companies and ended up being hired by one of my clients, Snap Fitness. Many people know it as a large national franchise chain of 24/7 fitness gyms, where I ran U.S. development.

I then moved to United Franchise Group, a large franchise organization with a platform of eight franchise brands spanning 50 countries and about 1,700 locations. I was an executive vice president overseeing operations and development. Each move was an opportunity for growth and learning, and none of it happened without great mentors, meaningful lessons, and valuable experiences.

I later decided to get back into ownership and joined a private equity company as a partner. I was there for six years as president, running our franchise division. We had a lot of M&A activity, startup businesses, franchisor businesses, area developer businesses, and franchisee businesses. It was an incredible entrepreneurial experience.

In 2023, I was contacted by the two owners of Touching Hearts at Home. We spent about a year getting to know each other, and in August 2024, I came on board as CEO. It has been an amazing experience ever since.

5:00  APRIL REED

I love that. Isn't it neat how it is one thing after another? We talked before this call, and as you began telling me more about Touching Hearts at Home and how you got to this point, I wanted to learn more. What is Touching Hearts at Home?

5:24  TODD TREML

Touching Hearts at Home is a senior home care business that operates through a franchise model. We have offices all over the United States, and we help aging individuals age in place.

What we are seeing today is that the majority of seniors want to stay in their homes. The future of health care is becoming home care. They want to remain around their memories and maintain their independence.

We provide non-medical care and services to seniors, primarily companion care and personal care. These services are very important. We serve a broad range of clients, from people who simply want companion care to people living with dementia and Alzheimer's disease.

We do all of this by building strong, successful franchise owners who can provide home care in their communities. As a franchise company, our mission is to support our franchise owners so they can provide compassionate care in their communities. It is an important business and an important service. Senior home care has only been around for roughly 25 to 30 years, but the world is certainly taking notice, and it is incredibly important.

6:43  APRIL REED

It resonates with me because my grandmother is aging at home, and my parents have cared for her. She turned 105 last month, which is remarkable. It has been that care at home and, as you said, the non-clinical support from someone who can be a companion.

I know the owners courted you and talked with you for about a year before you decided to take the leap and become CEO. What made you say yes?

7:16  TODD TREML

There were a few things. I have been drawn to growth opportunities my entire life. I probably did not realize how important the industry was until I actually got into it. On the surface, it seemed very intriguing to me, but I did not necessarily know the full depth of it.

The fact that it was a family-owned business rather than a private-equity-owned business was important to me. I wanted to be part of a founding family that had built the business from the ground up. I also valued a business with legacy and a founder with legacy values. Renee Peterson started this company, and while she has now retired, her two sons own the business.

The opportunity to scale something the right way was also important. When I came in, we had 60 locations. Today, we have 94. It has been a year and a half. The ability to scale the business, its systems, its people, and its relationships was very meaningful to me.

I saw a great deal of potential to expand the structure and alignment of the company. Personally, I also wanted to be in a business with real meaning and purpose. It is probably the most purpose-driven business I have ever been involved in. I can get up every day knowing that I am making an impact in the world, and that means a lot to me at this point in my career.

8:28  APRIL REED

I love that. As an entrepreneur, I have so many questions I want to ask you. You have already experienced significant growth. What is it about your leadership style that helps create growth and transformation? What would you tell other leaders? What is the secret sauce, Todd?

8:54  TODD TREML

Transformation is interesting because we all want to be part of it, and it can be either really great or really stressful depending on how you approach it. Leadership style is one part of the conversation, but another is how you guide people through transformation.

For me, it started with listening first. I came into an organization that had been around for 18 years and already had more than 60 locations. I made sure I did not jump ahead, make assumptions, and start building strategies on day one. It would have been easy for me to do that, but I chose not to.

For the first 60 days, I went on a listening tour. I called every franchisee and talked to each person for an hour to an hour and a half. All I did was listen: What did they need? Where should our priorities be? Where were the gaps? Where were the opportunities? Where did they need support? How could we prioritize their success?

By listening, which is something we need to do as leaders, we begin to distill what is truly important. Then, it became about finding the best people. From the first person I hired through the person starting next Monday, it has been about building the infrastructure with people who share the vision and can drive the same growth you are working toward. I have tripled the size of the team, and those things are very important to me.

In a business like ours, we have owner-operators running their businesses. Franchisees run the offices, so you truly have to partner with them. You cannot go it alone. This is not a company with 100 corporate offices run by managers. These are owners.

That means staying close to the field, involving owners in our decisions and strategies, treating them as true partners, remaining aligned every step of the way, and having clarity of purpose about what we are trying to accomplish together. That brings everyone together around the same goal. That is what I have done, and it has worked.

My leadership style is straightforward and transparent. I value alignment. I lead from the front, which means I like seeing franchise owners, visiting their offices, and leading by example. I am active and accessible. I do not sit back. I want to stay engaged with my staff and our franchisees. They need to know where I am and what I am doing.

I also prioritize trust. I make sure the people working with me know that I trust them and that they can go out and do their jobs. I do not want them to be afraid to make mistakes. We are going to help them develop along the way. That is a little bit about my style.

11:48  APRIL REED

What I heard is that you are only one person. You want to be accessible, in front of the team, and leading from the front, but you are still one person. You build a strong leadership team and coach them, and then they can support their teams. It becomes a ripple effect.

How do you keep culture on point? You are spread out across 94 locations. Brand integrity, culture, and leadership are incredibly important to ensuring that the legacy and growth continue. How do you ensure that culture remains intact?

12:48  TODD TREML

That is a good question. We have two groups that we have to consider. We have franchise owners, with whom we need to communicate clearly about our mission, vision, and culture. Then we have our home office team, which also has to carry that culture out.

I will start with the home office team. We share in developing the vision and our core values. In every staff meeting, we talk about our core values and updates in our business. We share wins with one another every week.

We want to make sure we hire people who share in our culture and have the characteristics of someone with a franchisee-first mindset. That is what works in our business. As far as I am concerned, you really cannot have it any other way. We keep culture on point because we talk about it and review it constantly, and we hire people who already embody it.

On the franchisee side, it is more difficult because we are spread across 24 or 25 states. It requires regular communication. Every month, we have Zoom calls with our franchise owners. Each year, we meet in person two or three times. Those are opportunities to continue communicating our vision, make sure our culture remains strong, and preserve the foundation and legacy of the business.

We also have representative groups within our franchise system: a franchise advisory board, a technology task force, and marketing committees. These groups represent the broader network, and we communicate with them every month.

Communication is a big deal, as you can probably tell. Transparency is important, too. We never want our franchisees to wonder what is happening at the corporate office. It sounds simple, but it is hard to do. It takes a great deal of discipline.

14:48  APRIL REED

As a business owner, I am listening and thinking, 'Okay, I could do that. I could do that. I could do that.' It is not easy, but it is critical for growth. It is absolutely critical to what you do.

I want to talk about the impact you are making. My sister cares for someone at home. I mentioned my grandmother, but my sister cares for an elderly woman in the evening. She comes, sits with her, spends the night, has coffee with her, and then my sister heads home. She works the night shift as a companion. My sister is not clinical, so it is very similar to what you are doing.

I imagine choosing the right owners is equally important in ensuring that seniors receive that white-glove treatment. Do you have a process to make sure every senior receives that level of care through a franchise owner?

16:01  TODD TREML

That is a great question. An organization has to be built intentionally. First, there is a process for people who are interested in owning a franchise. It is a fairly traditional lead-generation process. We market to individuals who may be interested in owning a franchise like ours, and those leads come to us through a classic sales funnel.

We have sales development people who work with those leads. Out of the hundreds and hundreds of leads that come in, we select a few, and some select themselves out. We are looking for specific characteristics and qualifications.

Once someone becomes a franchise owner, we need to know they are operationally and financially qualified, but they also need to have heart. We are looking for someone who truly wants to become involved in their community, make a difference, and show compassion. When we find that person, we know we have a winner.

Our job is to continue supporting and developing them. Once they open their office, they build a team. The critical part of that is hiring caregivers. Caregivers are part of our mission statement. We value the people who serve our clients.

A particular office may have anywhere from 20 to 150 caregivers, depending on the size of the business. Recruiting and retaining the right caregivers is essential because there is a shortage. The demand for senior care has exploded, and there simply is not enough supply to meet the demand today.

Our role in these communities is to find the best people, match them with clients, and provide great, compassionate care. Those matches matter. We have operational processes to support that, whether a client needs companion care or personal care. The entire organization is built very purposefully to serve communities through the amazing caregivers we have.

18:07  APRIL REED

I love it. What stood out to me is that it is an equal selection. It has to be a mutual fit and the right fit.

With your experience owning and operating businesses, growing them, and working in private equity, why do some companies grow while others get stuck or do not grow? What is your opinion?

18:36  TODD TREML

That is a great question. First, companies that grow need to have a growth mindset. Whether you are a leader or an owner, you have to want to grow and have that mindset. We talk about this with franchise owners all the time: the difference between those who want to grow and those who do not.

The way I see growth in companies starts with a focus on the fundamentals and operational excellence. That is first and foremost. Successful growth companies invest in people and systems, and often they make those investments before they see revenue from them. That is why they call it an investment.

You have to have the discipline to do the hard things and not take shortcuts. Often, companies have great ideas but do not execute on them. We do not try to act on every single idea, but if we choose to act on one, we are going to execute on it.

Companies that get stuck often overcomplicate things and do not understand how to simplify. Sometimes it is avoiding hard conversations that need to happen within the company. Sometimes it is a lack of capital. Sometimes it is simply a lack of focus - chasing shiny objects and not really understanding where the core business or core issues are.

These are not easy things, but growth companies figure them out because they have the discipline to do so. That is what we are doing right now.

20:10  APRIL REED

That really resonates with me. Having been a business owner for 17 years, it is easy to get distracted, lose discipline, and chase shiny objects. I appreciate that you are saying it is not easy, because it is not. I agree 100 percent.

I call the show The Missing Piece. When you think about your own journey, what was a missing piece that changed everything for you personally? Was there a moment?

20:45  TODD TREML

I do not know if it was one specific moment as much as it was a collection of lessons. There have been many lessons throughout the years I have been in this business.

From a leadership standpoint, the missing piece for me was realizing that success is built through others, not individual performance. Until you become a leader, you are often driven by tasks and accomplishments - completing tasks, executing, and working your way up through the merits of your work.

As a leader, that begins to change. My big transition was understanding that hiring the right people and allowing them to flourish was the secret to the whole thing. When I moved from being a task-oriented executive to being a leader of people, that was the missing piece that unlocked growth. It unlocked growth for everybody and everything we do, including me.

That was the real missing piece in my journey.

21:47  APRIL REED

That is very profound. I had a lot of aha moments while you were sharing that. Have you read Simon Sinek's Leaders Eat Last or Start With Why? Both are profound. If you know your why, which is similar to the organization you are working with and growing, there is a why behind it. Leaders Eat Last is not necessarily about the leader leading; it is about the leader serving and leading together. You say you lead from the front, but in another sense, it is also about empowering and promoting others.

As we begin to wrap up, do you have personal favorite books on leadership or books that have changed your life?

22:42  TODD TREML

I wish I had prepared for that one because I have so many. Simon's books are fantastic, and I have read many of them. I am a bit of a book junkie. I read constantly, and my wife can attest to that. I will send you a list of some of them.

The One Thing is a book I really enjoyed. I also listen to a lot of audiobooks, and there is great material there. What I recommend to people is to read many different types of books. There is a book I just recommended to my team called Mindset by Carol Dweck. We started talking about mindset. I also like to go back to older books, including books by Andrew Grove.

All of these books are valuable to me. I read entrepreneurship books - you name it. What I have learned from talking to many successful leaders is that they are always learning. They are always reading, and they cannot get enough. That is one common theme I have consistently seen across leadership, growth, and success.

23:48  APRIL REED

I agree. For anyone interested in finding out more about Touching Hearts at Home, how can they get in touch with you? How can they find more information or begin to explore whether this is a journey they would like to pursue?

24:07  TODD TREML

The best way to find us is on our website, touchinghearts.com. That will lead you in one of two directions. If you are seeking service as a client, or you have a loved one who needs service, you can find our offices through the ZIP code search.

If you are interested in franchise ownership opportunities, the website will lead you there as well and explain many of the facets of what it looks like to own one of our franchises.

If you want to reach me personally, you can find me on LinkedIn. I do a lot of mentoring, and I would be happy to respond to anyone who reaches out.

24:41  APRIL REED

We will include all of that in our blog, social media, and post. Todd, I have learned a great deal in our short time together from your sense of leadership, experience, and why you have had the success you have had.

I genuinely wish I had known about this organization earlier for my grandmother. She is the perfect candidate - someone who has been aging at home. We found other people to help, but your organization provides that kind of support. What an incredible thing you are doing. Congratulations on your success, and thank you for being on the show. I really appreciate it.

25:24  TODD TREML

April, thank you. It has been a lot of fun. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

25:28  APRIL REED

Of course.

25:30  SHOW OUTRO

Every leader has a story, and every story reveals another piece of the bigger picture. What if the missing piece was not something you had to find, but something you were meant to become? Subscribe, share, and keep leading with intention. I am April Reed, and I will see you in the next conversation on The Missing Piece.

Build a Purpose-Driven Franchise With Touching Hearts at Home

A successful franchise owner needs more than ambition.

They need the willingness to follow a proven system, lead people well, stay connected to their community, and build a business around service, trust, and long-term relationships.

Touching Hearts at Home is seeking mission-aligned entrepreneurs who want to combine business ownership with meaningful local impact.

Explore the Touching Hearts at Home franchise opportunity and learn how you can bring compassionate senior home care to your community: Learn More