Catherine Monson is a franchising phenom with more than 45 years of leadership experience. A strong advocate for franchising and small business enterprise, she is the powerhouse CEO of Propelled Brands, a multi-brand franchisor that includes FASTSIGNS, My Salon Suite, and Camp Bow Wow. She is in charge of more than 1,400 franchise locations across nine countries, a task she handles seamlessly, and she credits all of her success to five simple principles. By Jessica Petrucelli
Shaping the Future of Franchising
Catherine Monson is a franchising phenom with more than 45 years of leadership experience. A strong advocate for franchising and small business enterprise, she is the powerhouse CEO of Propelled Brands, a multi-brand franchisor that includes FASTSIGNS, My Salon Suite, and Camp Bow Wow. She is in charge of more than 1,400 franchise locations across nine countries, a task she handles seamlessly, and she credits all of her success to five simple principles.
“I truly believe that highly successful people share at least five common characteristics,” said Monson. “They cultivate positive mental attitude; they practice goal-directed behavior; they are self motivated; they maintain a sense of urgency; and they never stop learning.”
Monson explained that these are a collection of learned skills that anyone can develop; they’re rules of engagement that she shares regularly with her team, franchisees, and candidates interested in entering the franchise industry.
“Develop that positive mindset,” she said. “Write down your goals and invest time each day in implementing them. Once you are ready to end your day, do two more things before you stop working for the day, and above all, never stop learning.”
Monson says she gives these pep talks to herself daily, and looking at her productivity, it’s clear they’re working.
“We’ve had a fantastic few years of growth,” she said, referring to the numbers at FASTSIGNS and My Salon Suite, which she reports exceeded budget on both franchise sales and openings in 2025 and 2026.
“And, we have had such amazing progress with Camp Bow Wow in the mere 2.5 years we have owned the brand,” she added. “Our Camp Bow Wow franchisees are doing well as we focus on improving their profitability, our key strategic objective for all of our brands; Camp Bow Wow franchisees’ net profitability increased two full percentage points in 2022025 and continues to improve year-to-date in 2026! In addition to our focus on profitability, the pet industry is enjoying meaningful growth right now, and we are so glad to be at the forefront.”
For Monson, who “accidentally” entered the world of franchising in 1980 when she was hired as a sales coordinator for Sir Speedy Printing Centers, a small franchisor with under 200 locations, her current role is a dream come true.
“After I joined Sir Speedy, I realized I loved franchising,” she said. “I just love that we got/get to help people achieve their goal of business ownership, leading to generational wealth creation.”
More than four decades later, Monson is still helping people achieve their goals, just on a larger scale.
Considered one of the most powerful women in franchising, she has been continually recognized as one of Franchise Dictionary Magazine’s 50 Women of Wonder. She runs Propelled Brands with ease, consistently focusing on creating profitability for her franchisees, while also investing her time in protecting the franchise business model as a member of the IFA’s Executive Committee.
“To say that we obsess about franchisee profitability is an understatement,” Monson said. “We are also strongly committed to franchisee satisfaction, caring about them as people, focusing on their happiness and making sure that our support teams are doing outstanding work.”
Additionally, the forward-thinking CEO proudly boasts about her company’s efforts to use AI in the workplace.
“We’re embracing AI initiatives and have already implemented them across our brands,” she said. “Franchisees are loving it, and it’s helping with everything from estimating, proposals, to finding out where similar businesses are for prospecting.”
Looking ahead, Monson is excited to see how the tool will shape the future of franchising.
“I’ve seen a lot of change over the past 40-plus years,” she concluded. “I know that the future of Propelled Brands is bright.”
Jessica Petrucelli