November 14-15, 2026: Atlanta - Cobb Convention Center - Hall C

Joe Wenig is a Career Ownership Coach® with The Entrepreneur’s Source®, where he works with experienced professionals who are rethinking what they want from the next chapter of their careers. Many of the people Joe works with have built successful careers but find themselves at a crossroads due to a layoff, burnout, corporate restructuring, a prolonged job search, or simply the realization that their current path may no longer support the future they want.

Joe helps them step outside the traditional job-search mindset and take a broader look at their options. Through a structured, no-cost Discovery Experience, he helps clients clarify what they want across four important areas: Income, Lifestyle, Wealth, and Equity. From there, they can evaluate traditional employment alongside alternatives such as business ownership and determine which path best fits their goals.

Before becoming a coach, Joe spent nearly three decades in corporate leadership with Teradata, including executive roles leading large global organizations and businesses across the United States and Asia Pacific. That experience gives him a firsthand understanding of both the opportunities and limitations of corporate life.

Joe is not a recruiter, and his role is not to convince someone to buy a business. He works exclusively with his clients to help them ask better questions, understand their options, and make informed decisions about their future. His philosophy is simple: You may not be able to control what happens in the job market or inside your company, but you can take greater ownership of what you do next.

Kimberly Fowler-Garner is the Executive Director of Systems & Operations at Novae - The Credit & Money Company. She is a leading tax business strategist, educator, and AI business coach with over 26 years of experience in tax industry ownership. A recognized Top Leader in the Industry, she has trained more than 1,000 tax professionals and developed multiple six- and seven-figure tax business owners. Kimberly specializes in tax business development, client acquisition, systems leadership, and AI-powered growth. As a Certified Prompt Engineer and creator of the proprietary I.D.E.A.L. Framework, her mission is to equip 10,000 entrepreneurs with the tools, technology, and strategic planning needed to build highly profitable, year-round businesses. 

Dr. Cozette White is the Executive Director of Training and ERO Success at Novae. She is a leading tax educator, financial strategist, and business development leader with over 25 years of experience in tax, finance, and business growth. An international speaker, 12-time bestselling author, and recipient of the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award, Dr. White has been featured on CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, and iHeart Radio. She serves as the CEO of My Financial Home Enterprises®, the Founder of Curative Tax Relief Group®, and the Founder of The Tax Curative Institute®, which is an IRS-approved CE provider. Holding a PhD-level doctorate, an MBA, and a bachelor's degree in accounting, she is a highly credentialed IRS Tax Practitioner, ERO, and CTEC Registered Tax Preparer. Her mission is to help entrepreneurs build profitable, structured, and legacy-driven businesses.

Franchising has been Robert Mitchell's world for nearly a quarter century. Across that time, he has worked with brands and prospective franchise owners spanning business-to-business (B2B) services, consumer-facing retail, food and beverage, professional services, and concepts operating both nationally and internationally. Few categories of the franchise landscape are unfamiliar territory.

Shawn Saraga is the founder of the Franchise Academy, a mini-private equity firm that has holdings in various franchise brands. He also serves as Chief Development Officer of Tahini’s Restaurants and has held this position since October, 2023. Shawn has been in the franchise industry since 2005. He has opened over 950 franchised businesses, and finalized over 700 leases in his career. He has worked with brands like Burger King, barBURRITO Restaurants, Freshii, Foodtastic as well as many other non-food related brands. Shawn is also a registered real estate broker and conducts real estate transactions on behalf of the brands he works with and there franchisees. Some of his other business interests include a partnership in MEET College for Psychotherapists, Board seats on several AI start-ups. Shawn has also been a Board member of Leadership Sinai since 2005.

Blake Burnett is a Career Ownership Coach with The Entrepreneur’s Source and an experienced senior business leader who works with professionals exploring what they want from the next chapter of their careers. Through a structured, no-pressure coaching process, he helps clients clarify their career, financial, lifestyle, and fulfillment goals and evaluate options that may include a new corporate role, additional income streams, or business ownership.

Before transitioning into career coaching and entrepreneurship, Blake spent more than 30 years in corporate leadership, including senior executive roles with AT&T, NCR, Fiserv, and Sage Software. Throughout his corporate career, he led professional teams, drove organizational performance and transformation, and partnered with senior leaders across large, complex businesses in the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. His experience leading people and organizations through periods of growth and change now provides an important perspective in his work with professionals navigating their own career transitions.

Blake holds an MBA from the University of Dayton and a BBA in Finance from the University of Massachusetts.

Ms. Shelton has been counseling Franchise / Business Opp. clients for over 25 years. She especially enjoys working with small business owners assisting them to "Expand their Brand®". Since starting the law firm, she has been focused on providing the “Missing Piece” with legal services to small and emerging businesses. Her business savviness combined with her belief in mentorship is the backbone of the law firms slogan, “Your Outsourced In-house Counsel”. Ms. Shelton focuses on ensuring clients are offered individualized service while handling Franchise Disclosures, registrations, legal creation and vendor distributions within a clients business. Ms. Shelton has published many articles and has even written a book. She has been married for over 25 yrs. and has one son and a sponsored daughter from Haiti. In her spare time she teaches leadership development in third world countries to future colleagues and volunteers at her church.

Widely accepted as one of the top franchise consultants in the United States, Britton helps you figure out how to do what most people only dream about. ​Britt has spent more than 25 years as a franchisee, entrepreneur, franchise executive, and franchise consultant working for and owning franchises such as Kiddie Academy® Childcare Learning Centers, Molly Maid®, Sylvan Learning(SM) Centers, and SYNERGY® HomeCare.

​Britt has captured her franchise expertise as author of a top-selling book on entrepreneurship titled, The Franchisee Workbook. Britton will teach you the tools and techniques to help you find your ideal match far beyond your expectations.

Julian Reid is a Career Ownership Coach™ with The Entrepreneur’s Source, dedicated to helping professionals assess their career possibilities and explore business ownership and franchise opportunities. A Georgia Tech alumnus with a Bachelor of Chemical Engineering, Julian began his career as a nuclear engineer before sharpening his leadership and business development skills at Fortune 500 companies like Ecolab, UPS, and International Paper. Today, with over 15 years of experience in franchising, he serves as an award-winning coach, offering complimentary guidance to help individuals address their lifestyle and financial goals through franchise business ownership.

Steve Beagelman is a franchise industry veteran, with over 35 years of experience holding various positions from entrepreneur to senior level executive, giving him a unique insight and perspective in growing, operating, and building brands. In 2009, Steve established SMB Franchise Advisors, a franchise consulting company specializing in advising franchise start-ups and existing franchise concepts of ways to drive business growth. Now almost 15 years later, the company has helped over 450 brands launch into franchising. Steve specializes in private equity transactions and in helping SMB clients expand their brands. He also invests in franchise brands across several different industries.

Outside of SMB, Steve regularly writes for Forbes as an expert in the franchise industry and has been quoted numerous times in the Wall Street Journal, Franchising World and Franchise Times and recently contributed to a book, “Franchising Strategies.” Steve sits on several boards in the franchise industry and is a frequent guest speaker at colleges and franchise conferences.

Steve’s career began in a family packaging business back in 1986. By the time he was 21 years old, he spearheaded his own franchise operation as the co-founder of Black Tie Express, a start-up multi-restaurant delivery service. The company grew to a successful 30-unit operation, and Steve completed the title sale to Takeout Taxi, the market leader. He has also held top-level positions at popular franchise brands Hollywood Tans, Saladworks, Rita’s Water Ice, and Restaurant Systems International.

In 2006, Steve received his Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) from the International Franchise Association (IFA). He is a graduate of Pace University, holding a Bachelor’s degree in business, with a concentration in business management.

• Cost Segregation & Fixed Asset Specialist (STG)
• Tax Senior Manager in the Cost Segregation Department
• Responsible for cost segregation analysis and comprehensive fixed asset reviews
• ASCSP Member #M033-21
• 5 years of experience in the cost segregation industry
• Georgia Institute of Technology – BS in Biomedical Engineering, Economics Minor

• Bay Area native
• Fluent in Vietnamese
• Passionate about helping entrepreneurs achieve their goals
• 20+ years experience in lending across banks, credit unions & fintech companies

Darryl Appiah is a loan officer with over 10 years of experience providing financing to small businesses across the country, with a focus on California, Arizona, Nevada, as well as the metro areas of Dallas-Fort Worth, Washington D.C., Miami, Detroit, and Atlanta.