Unlocking 10x Efficiency With Franchise AI

This week I had the pleasure of chatting with Michael Chachula, CIO of Propelled Brands -with heavyweights like FastSigns, My Salon Suite, and Camp Bow Wow in their portfolio.

Michael’s career spans hospitality, retail, and consumer tech, giving him a unique high-level view into the nuts and bolts that make local service and franchise businesses thrive.

In our conversation, Michael delivered a real-world masterclass on tech adoption, AI’s true role, protecting your business from digital threats, and why customer-centric systems matter more than ever.

The 7 Key Takeaways

Below are the most essential insights from my conversation that you can apply to your home services business today.

1. Standardize Core Systems Without Losing Your Brand Personality

Standardizing technology can unlock massive efficiency for growing franchises, but Michael warns not to strip away what makes each brand special. The key: implement horizontal systems (like CRM and marketing platforms) that are shared to keep IT lean, while leaving room for brand-specific tools where it counts.

“There’s something to be said about standardization when you have a franchise organization. You get economy of scale, better support with a lean team, and price advantages you couldn’t get individually. But you also can’t dictate everything, you have to make it the obvious choice by showing value, not just mandating it. It’s all about finding the right balance, so you scale without losing your brand’s personality.”

— Michael Chachula

2. AI Isn’t a Replacement, It’s a Force Multiplier

There’s endless hype about AI automating everything overnight, but Michael says real gains come from augmenting not eliminating your people.

“AI does not replace people; it repurposes people. It removes the mundane and transactional, letting employees focus on strategy, the customer, and development. The efficiencies add up, maybe you free up 10% per person, and with a big enough team that’s a headcount, but most often you’re just shifting talent to where you need it most. AI isn’t a magic bullet for cutting costs overnight.”

— Michael Chachula

3. Where AI Actually Moves the Needle in Local Services

Michael shared tangible ways their portfolio leverages AI for high-ROI moments especially in busy, stressful customer touchpoints.

“A lot of our pain was in call centers and front desk bottlenecks. Think of daycare drop-off at Camp Bow Wow, 40 dogs coming in, and phones ringing. The phone’s not most important then, and customers expect instant digital service now like Uber or Amazon. AI helps manage overflow, answer FAQs, and smooth that experience, especially during peak times. It’s about matching today’s expectation economy.”

— Michael Chachula

4. The Hidden Dangers of Free AI Tools (And How to Stay Secure)

Security is a top concern for every operator experimenting with new tools. Michael’s first warning: never put sensitive data into unpaid AI tools.

“Always use a paid AI service. With the free versions, whatever you submit can go into the public domain - names, account numbers, anything. Paid versions keep it private and won’t sell your info. Second, always keep your systems patched. Hackers use AI to scan for vulnerabilities constantly, and those updates you skip are exactly how you get breached.”

— Michael Chachula

5. Customer-Centric Systems Win Every Time

Tech is only as valuable as its impact on the customer’s experience. Michael pounds the table on this.

“Franchisor gets one vote. Franchisee gets one vote. But the customer gets three votes. Build software that actually helps your customer, not just because it’s cool. Talk to your customers. Make the path to purchase frictionless. Over-complicating things because it looks fancy hurts you make it easy for people to buy from you.”

— Michael Chachula

6. Start Small, Scale Tech With Your Business

It’s easy to overbuy or feel behind in the software arms race, but Michael recommends measured growth.

“Only buy what fits your current need and budget. You can buy bigger software later as you grow. Scale your technology with your revenue and P&L—not ahead of it. Tech should either make you more efficient or add to your top line. Otherwise, it’s just dead weight in your income statement.”

— Michael Chachula

7. CRM Is the Unsung ROI Hero

The most consistent tech winner across every business Michael’s touched? A robust CRM.

“Whether it’s Salesforce, Blaze, or even Google’s new tools, a CRM gives you the end-to-end customer picture- from the first website click to transactions. Layer in AI for predictive analytics, and you can cultivate your core base, personalize offers based on real habits, and maximize revenue by getting one more transaction per customer without paying for more acquisition. That’s massive for any service business.”

— Michael Chachula

Looking Ahead

Michael closed with a rallying call that sums up his winning philosophy.

“Protect and collect. Protect your core customers and collect new ones. Other companies are trying to win your customers every day, so use technology and AI smartly to keep them happy and make purchase friction-free. Don’t be afraid of the learning curve if the value is there—customers will adopt faster than you think.”

— Michael Chachula