I recently went one-on-one with Andrew Titus, President of United Franchise Group.
Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Andrew: I grew up in a family business, but one of the biggest misconceptions people make is that being exposed to a business automatically prepares you to lead one. It definitely does not. You may have access to people, conversations, and opportunities, but access is not the same as credibility. You still have to learn the business, understand the people, and prove that you are willing to do the work.
United Franchise Group (UFG) was started by my dad, Ray Titus, who had established a signage franchise called Signarama with his father, Roy Titus. I started working at UFG as a teenager and did many different jobs. I spent summers outside in the Florida heat, shredded papers, completed data entry, and learned very quickly that no task was beneath me. Those experiences gave me an appreciation for the people who keep organizations running. They also taught me that leadership starts with humility. Before you can ask people to follow you, you need to understand and respect the work they do every day.
The biggest challenge I faced early in my career was earning credibility. When you are young, people naturally question whether you have enough experience. In a family business, there can be an additional assumption that an opportunity was simply handed to you. You cannot argue your way out of that perception. The only way to overcome it is through consistency, preparation, and results over time. You have to show up ready, keep your commitments, listen to people with more experience, and become someone others can depend on.
I have made plenty of mistakes. I have spoken before I had enough information. I have underestimated how much time it takes to build trust. I have made decisions that looked good on paper but were not the right fit for the people involved. Those experiences taught me to slow down, ask better questions, and consider how a decision will actually be carried out, not just how it appears in a plan.
Every setback reinforced a lesson that became central to my book, Earned, Not Given: nobody owes you influence, respect, or leadership opportunities. You earn them one interaction at a time. That perspective has been empowering for me because it places the focus on what you can control: your effort, preparation, attitude, and willingness to take responsibility.
Adam: In your experience, what are the key steps to growing and scaling your business?
Andrew: First, spend time with the people connected to the business. Some of the most valuable lessons in my career have come from listening, not talking. Whether they are customers, franchisees, employees, or partners, the people closest to the work usually know where the opportunities and obstacles exist. Leaders who stay too far removed from day-to-day realities can miss issues until they become expensive or difficult to correct.
Second, establish a clear scoreboard. If you do not know what winning looks like, it becomes difficult to make decisions or hold people accountable. Organizations that scale successfully are clear about the metrics that matter, communicate those measures consistently, and use them to guide priorities. A scoreboard should create focus, not confusion. People should be able to understand where the organization stands and how their work contributes to progress.
Lastly, build a strong team. Every successful business eventually becomes a people challenge. Sustainable growth happens when the right people are in the right seats, and everyone is aligned around the same goals. Leaders need to hire carefully, communicate expectations clearly, and create opportunities for capable people to take ownership. Growth cannot depend on one person making every decision. The organization has to develop leaders who can solve problems, support others, and carry the culture forward.
Adam: What are your best tips on the topics of sales, marketing, and branding?
Andrew: People buy from people they know, like, and trust. Products, services, and pricing matter, but relationships are still one of the biggest differentiators in business. The most effective salespeople focus less on delivering a perfect pitch and more on understanding the person in front of them. They ask good questions, listen closely, and look for ways to solve a real problem. When people feel heard and understand the value you can provide, trust begins to grow.
The same idea applies to marketing and branding. A brand is not only a logo, a website, or an advertising campaign. It is the experience people have every time they interact with the organization. Every conversation, follow-up, service experience, and commitment either strengthens or weakens the brand. If the message says one thing but the customer experiences something different, people will remember the inconsistency.
Consistency is critical. Be clear about who you are, what you stand for, and what people can expect from you. Then deliver on that promise repeatedly. Strong brands are built when the experience matches the message.
I also believe in taking a long-term view of relationships. Not every conversation has to produce an immediate sale. Some of the most valuable opportunities develop after years of staying connected, being helpful, and doing what you said you would do. Build relationships before you need them, protect your reputation, and focus on creating genuine value. Those efforts can generate results that no single sales pitch or marketing campaign can produce on its own.
Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?
Andrew: Effective leaders motivate people, provide clarity, hold people accountable, and give them trust. Those responsibilities have to work together. Motivation without clarity can create energy without direction. Accountability without trust can create an environment where people hesitate to take initiative. Good leaders establish clear expectations, give people the support and authority they need, and then hold everyone, including themselves, accountable for results.
The best leaders I have worked with are also willing to make decisions. They gather the necessary information, listen to the people around them, and then move forward. Not every decision will be perfect, but indecision can create just as many problems as making the wrong call. Effective leaders are also willing to adjust when circumstances change, or new information becomes available.
Communication is equally important. People perform better when they understand what is expected, why it matters, and how their work contributes to the larger goal. Leaders should never assume that people know what they are thinking. Priorities need to be communicated clearly and reinforced consistently.
Finally, effective leaders need to be approachable. No one wants to work for a leader who feels completely out of touch with the team. Leave your door open. Make time for small conversations. Ask questions and check in, not only when something has gone wrong. Being approachable does not mean lowering standards. It means creating an environment where people are comfortable sharing ideas, raising concerns, and asking for help before a small issue becomes a larger problem.
Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?
Andrew: Take ownership today. Do not wait for a title, promotion, or formal invitation to begin leading. Solve problems that are not assigned to you. Help other people become successful. Follow through on your commitments and be consistent in the way you show up. Leadership is demonstrated through behavior long before it is recognized through a position.
One of the best ways to improve is to become more self-aware. Pay attention to how you communicate, how you respond under pressure, and how your actions affect the people around you. Ask for feedback from people who will be honest with you and be willing to hear it without immediately becoming defensive. You do not have to agree with every piece of advice, but you should be thoughtful enough to consider it.
Aspiring leaders should also look for opportunities to stretch themselves. Volunteer for a difficult project. Speak up when you have something valuable to contribute. Spend time with people who approach problems differently. Leadership skills are built through repetition and experience, not only through reading or observing.
Most importantly, be patient while remaining ambitious. Credibility, judgment, and trust are not built overnight. They are earned through many small interactions. Every time you prepare thoroughly, keep a commitment, admit a mistake, or help someone else succeed, you are strengthening your ability to lead.
Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?
Andrew: First, spend the time. There is no substitute for investing the time required to understand people, learn the business, and solve problems. It can be tempting to look for shortcuts, particularly when you are eager to make an impact, but many important lessons only come through experience and consistent effort. Spend time with employees, customers, partners, and the people affected by your decisions. The better you understand their perspectives, the better decisions you will make.
Second, use your advantages. Everyone has advantages, whether they come from experience, relationships, knowledge, access, energy, or a unique way of looking at a problem. Be honest about the advantages available to you and use them responsibly. At the same time, recognize that an advantage may help open a door, but it does not guarantee success once you walk through it. You still have to prepare, perform, and create value.
Third, speak up. Leaders create value when they contribute, not when they remain silent. Speaking up does not mean dominating every conversation or pretending to have every answer. It means being willing to share an idea, ask a difficult question, raise a concern, or offer a solution when doing so can help the organization move forward. Preparation matters. The more you understand the issue, the more confidently and constructively you can contribute.
These three ideas reinforce one another. When you spend the time, you develop better judgment. When you understand your advantages, you recognize where you can have the greatest impact. When you speak up thoughtfully, you put that preparation and perspective to work.
Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?
Andrew: Build relationships before you need them. Invest time in getting to know the people you work with as individuals. Understand what motivates them, what frustrates them, where they want to grow, and what success looks like from their perspective. Those relationships become especially important when the team faces pressure, change, or a difficult decision.
When building a team, focus on more than talent alone. Skills matter, but so do attitude, reliability, self-awareness, and the ability to work with others. The right person is someone who can perform the role and contribute positively to the team around them. Leaders also need to be honest about whether people are in roles that allow them to succeed. Sometimes a capable person struggles because the role is not the right fit.
Once the team is in place, establish clarity. People need to understand the goal, their responsibilities, and how success will be measured. I believe strongly in having a scoreboard. A team should know what winning looks like and where it currently stands. That visibility creates accountability and helps everyone make better decisions.
Trust people enough to let them do their jobs. Leaders should provide direction and support, but they should not become the obstacle every decision has to pass through. Give people ownership, allow them to solve problems, and be available when they need guidance. When mistakes happen, address them directly and use them as opportunities to improve.
Finally, leadership is not only about getting results through people. It is also about helping people become more capable and confident over time. A successful leader should be developing other leaders. When team members grow, take on greater responsibility, and help others succeed, the entire organization becomes stronger.
Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?
Andrew: Nobody owes you anything. I know that sounds harsh, but I find it empowering. It means your success is largely determined by the choices you make: your effort, attitude, preparation, and willingness to take responsibility. You cannot control every circumstance or decision around you, but you can control the value you create and the way you respond.
That advice changed the way I think about opportunity. Instead of asking why something has not been given to you, ask what you can do to become more prepared, more useful, and more trustworthy. If you want greater responsibility, begin demonstrating that you can handle it. If you want influence, build credibility through your actions. If you make a mistake, own it and learn from it rather than looking for someone else to blame.
This idea is why I wrote Earned, Not Given. Leadership, respect, and trust are built over time. They are not guaranteed by a last name, a title, or a position. They come from consistent performance and the way you treat people. That can be challenging, but it also means every day gives you another opportunity to earn them.
Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?
Andrew: Leadership is earned in ordinary moments. It is earned when you do the work no one else wants to do, prepare when no one is watching, admit when you are wrong, and help someone else succeed without worrying about who receives the credit. People often focus on major career milestones, but credibility is usually built through smaller decisions repeated consistently over time.
Whatever stage of your career you are in, you can begin creating value today. You do not need to wait for permission to become more dependable, more prepared, or more helpful. Nobody owes you an opportunity, but that also means you may have more influence over your path than you realize. Take ownership, use the advantages available to you, and earn the trust of the people around you one interaction at a time.
