She Started as a Franchisee — Then She Became CEO by Remembering to do This One Thing Nobody cares what you want unless you speak up to tell them. That's how Tracy Panase became CEO of Just Between Friends.
By Carl Stoffers Edited by Frances Dodds
Key Takeaways
- Tracy Panase learned the hard way that success and hard work alone are often not enough to achieve leadership roles — you must actively express your goals.
- Transitioning from franchisee to CEO was not automatically met with trust. Panase bridged the gap by embarking on a nationwide roadshow.
- With more than 150 locations, Panase’s vision to grow Just Between Friends hinges on empowering franchisees to take initiative and share ideas.
This story appears in the November 2024 issue of BIZ Experiences. Subscribe »
In 2020, Just Between Friends was facing a crisis. It's an events-based business, which meant it was hit especially hard by COVID. Meanwhile, the husband of one of its founders became seriously ill, so she needed to step back from day-to-day operations.
The company began looking for a president to take over — and Tracy Panase was sure she'd be considered. She was the brand's top franchisee, after all. Three of her four locations were among the company's top 10 earners nationwide. She'd be a perfect president, she thought. But they never called her.
Panase stewed over this. Then she talked it over with her husband.
"Did you raise your hand?" he asked her.
"No, I didn't," she realized. She assumed that her hard work and success would speak for itself, but she had never vocalized her ambitions. This was a crucial lesson for her: If you want something, you have to step up and express it. You have to raise your hand.
So she did. She reached out to the company's cofounder, Shannon Wilburn. What followed was an 18-month conversation about how Panase could do even more than become president. Instead, she was able to buy the entire company and become CEO.
Related: How an Idaho State Senator Saved a Beloved Franchise By Hitting the Road In His Camper Van
Franchises are often sold to private equity firms or investors, not franchisees. But this move fit the brand well. Just Between Friends is community-oriented: Its franchisees host local consignment sales, where they invite neighbors to sell their used clothing. It works because communities band together. So shouldn't the Just Between Friends brand be sold between friends too?
In 2022, Panase officially took over. But when she began, she made the same mistake as before: She thought that because she had been a franchisee, her brand's franchisees would immediately trust her to be CEO. Instead, franchisees had questions and concerns. Panase realized she'd need to speak up once again.
"The first thing I did was I visited 10 different major metropolitan areas all around the country," she says, "where we had casual but intentional conversations about franchisees' concerns, and that was awesome."
She called it a "Better Together" roadshow, meeting face-to-face with franchisees and listening to their concerns. It was so successful that she did it again this year, but with a focus on small-market franchises. "I'll continue to do it on an annual basis, because that's the number one thing in franchising — establishing those relationships and having that trust with the franchisees."
Now she's thinking ahead. Just Between Friends has more than 150 locations, and she wants to grow it to over 200 across all 50 states. But she knows she won't achieve this goal through her efforts alone — it will require every franchisee taking initiative and contributing to the larger mission. That means she needs every franchisee to raise their hand, speak up, and share what's on their minds. Success isn't just about working hard, after all. It's about knowing when to step up and say, "I'm ready."
"I think it's an excellent reminder for all of us that you've got to verbalize what you want," Panase says.
