Founder, CEO -Saunda McDaniel, CFE
Saunda McDaniel is a Certified Franchise Executive. She began her career in franchising at the age of 16. In three short years, she earned her way to Restaurant Manager at Burger King in Fortuna, CA, managing her first store at the age of 19. When she turned 21, she became the General Manager for the first organic microbrewery in California; Eel River Brewing Company.
At 23 she partnered in the franchise trade service industry, owning and operating Mr. Electric of Humboldt County. Over the course of the next 20 years, she built and sold 3 other franchised businesses, Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Humboldt County, Rainbow International of Sonoma County, and Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Shasta County. Saunda is currently the Franchisee and President of Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Sonoma County.
Over the course of her tenure with Neighborly, Saunda’s franchises have earned Top Gun Status, Franchisee of the Year, Don Dwyer Award of Excellence, Excellence in Mentorship, Excellence in Leadership, and Sales Leader of the Year for 10 years in a row. In 2008 she was honored to receive Woman of the Year for Mr. Rooter Corporation as well as North Bay Business Journal, 40 under 40 award winner. In 2010 Saunda was awarded the Crystal Compass for extraordinary leadership in franchising.
She went on to serve on the International Franchise Association Board of Directors for 8 years and is still an active member of the IFA’s Franchisee Forum. Serving the Franchising community with boots-on-the-ground advocacy for the franchising industry, Saunda has attended numerous fly-ins both in Washington DC and Sacramento, meeting with elected officials and speaking on behalf of franchised small business owners.
Saunda opened and closed a tasting lounge in the height of the pandemic called Barrels, Brews, and Bites. In 2021, Saunda took her years of trials and triumphs and formed a strategic advising company, where she Key Notes and Facilitates businesses with lessons in leadership, motivation, and peer group performance.
While keynoting and hosting sessions for emerging franchise brands, Saunda observed a significant underlying theme: Leading teams is a universal challenge but holding successful management meetings was down right intimidating. Inspired after a family game night, she devised a way to develop leadership skills in new managers using a deck of cards: 52 cards for 52 weeks of meeting topics. With the design help from her daughter, Grace Kitchen, Coach on Deck© was born in 2023.
Testimonials
“Saunda spoke and conducted a workshop at one of my franchise conferences and scored top marks. Saunda spoke from the heart and shared her story of going from a rebel franchisee to a Top Gun performing franchisee. Her lessons learned over the course of growing her business, and her leadership really hit home to my franchisees and gave them industry perspectives they didn’t have prior. The results were a stronger focus on following the brand systems and standards as well as stronger collaboration. I can’t recommend Saunda highly enough.”
“Saunda’s ability to read the room and connect with the audience is only rivaled by her depth of knowledge and experience in the franchise space. If you are looking for a speaker who can educate AND motivate, Saunda would be a brilliant choice!”
“Over the many years that I have known Saunda Kitchen-McDaniel, I have had the pleasure of serving on panels with her, hearing her speak at conferences, and watching her directly consult with both franchisees and franchisors. Saunda not only brings her own energy to the table, she also has the unique ability to tap into the energy of her audience and magnify that energy for everyone. Her smart, kindly direct, and inspirational approach is amazing to observe and so contagious.”