May 16 - 17, 2026: Washington/Baltimore - Baltimore Convention Center

JoAnne is a Registered Nurse with Master’s level specialization in behavioral  health and administration. She has over 20 years of executive leadership experience in healthcare, including being a hospital president/CEO.  She has coached leaders across many industries and has teaching, speaking and consulting experience. JoAnne has been active in several community and service organizations. 

JoAnne has been a career ownership coach with The Entrepreneur’s Source for over 15 years and has helped hundreds of clients explore their options for self-employment. She has earned the following awards during her tenure as a Career Ownership Coach.

Steve, a Texas native and Baylor graduate with a Business degree, brings 12 years of experience in the insurance industry, encompassing investments, sales, and claims. In 2011, he co-founded a business specializing in children's shoes. In 2014, Steve joined The Dwyer Group (now Neighborly), the world's largest parent company of 27 home service brands with 5000+ franchise owners across nine countries, as a consultant. There, he coached business owners in various aspects, including contracts, budgets, and marketing trends. After three years in financing, and assisting entrepreneurs with SBA loans, Steve joined Tenet Financial Group in September as a Senior Consultant, focusing on growing the SBA and vehicle/equipment lease program and enhancing the ROBS program. Outside of work, Steve is passionate about outdoor activities, construction, farming, and gardening. He also dedicates time to church, volunteering, and mission work, including providing medical services in Peru and participating in local prison ministry and aid efforts. Steve, married with two children, finds pride in his family and their achievements.

Cliff is the CEO of Franocity and has spent the last 20 years as an Entrepreneur. He is considered a turnaround expert and established this reputation after buying several failing businesses and turning them into highly profitable companies within a very short period of time.

Early in his career, he was an investment banker with one of the largest financial institutions in the world, Smith Barney. He left his Wall Street job in 2003 to acquire a Master Franchise opportunity in the Northeast. Since then, he has been instrumental in the growth and development of Cartridge World, Four Seasons Sunrooms, Contours Express, Personal Training Institute, Games 2U, PuroClean and Maid Right.

Chris Conner has spent the last twenty years working in the franchise development field working primarily with startup and emerging franchise systems. Mr. Conner's work covers a variety of franchise categories including strategic planning, franchise operations, franchise training system development, franchise marketing and franchise sales. In 2009, Mr. Conner founded Franchise Marketing Systems based out of Atlanta, Georgia which today has grown to a team of 34 team members located in markets across the United States and Canada. Franchise Marketing Systems has developed over 700 franchise brands and supported clients in selling over 8,000 franchise units in North and South America, Asia, the Middle East, Canada and Southeast Asia. Franchise Marketing Systems has worked with a variety of well known brands and significant franchise systems including Baxter Healthcare, Anytime Fitness, Costco, Ford Motor Company, Delta Airlines, UPS Stores, European Wax Center, Junk King and others.

Mr. Conner’s vision was to develop a model that allowed for efficient, effective and performance based franchise development work to be completed for new and emerging franchisors. The combination of providing consulting and franchise development support along with the franchise sales and marketing model for new brands created more opportunities to more brands to scale and grow through franchising. Chris Conner holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from Miami of Ohio and an MBA in Finance from DePaul University in Chicago. He is married to an amazing wife, Dr. Alaina Conner and has two great kids, Ashton and Jameson.

I have repeatedly observed that people can achieve personal greatness if given the right support and encouragement. My true passion has always been to help people achieve goals they may not have thought possible. As a Career Ownership Coach, I empower people who are considering alternate lifestyles or who may be in career transition to look at the career options, including ownership, that are the right fit for their lifestyle goals. I work with them to discover how to use their current skills, education, and experience to impact their lives and gain them the financial freedom they may be seeking. This is all done in a safe, judgment-free environment where trust is achieved.

I am a 30-year internationally seasoned Business Development and Marketing Executive with a proven record of starting and managing incubator businesses through technical, strategic, and commercial avenues working locally and internationally. Throughout my career, I also learned about the challenges of a small business, starting a business, and then starting my own. In one of my current roles, I meet and engage with local entrepreneurs every day and marvel at their energy and passion. I realized my true passion is helping others define their best path forward to achieve success others thought impossible or could not imagine. This passion for helping others and supporting prior team members who decided to start up their businesses led me to join the wonderful team at The Entrepreneur’s Source.

My decision to join The Entrepreneur's Source was not a hasty one. I was searching for a way to give back and support others in their pursuit of lifestyle dreams. After careful consideration, I found that The Entrepreneur’s Source offered the ideal platform. It provides comprehensive coaching, tools, and a robust support system, catering to individuals at all stages of life. This aligns perfectly with my mission to help others achieve their goals, making it the right choice for me.

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.

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.

With over three decades of success, Todd Mayo is a seasoned franchise expert and business leader. He has held multiple roles (franchisee, master franchisee and fractional franchisee) and has operated in a variety of industries. Todd was twice elected by his peers to serve on the Franchise Advisory Board of one of the nation’s top ranked franchise brands.

Having been both a franchisee and franchisor, Todd is uniquely qualified to guide candidates through the process as smoothly as possible. He knows that with the right knowledge and guidance, anyone who is motivated and hardworking can find the same success he did owning a franchise. He is passionate about his work and about professional mentorship, which he is eager to get to do on a greater scale.

Ms. Shelton was the COO of a large franchise system and is currently the Senior Attorney for Shelton Law & Associates franchise law rm, as well as a franchisor owner in an international franchise system.

Ms. Shelton has been counseling Franchise / Business Opportunity clients for over 30 years. She especially enjoys working with small business owners assisting them to "Expand their Brand®". Since starting the law rm, 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 firm’s slogan, “Your Outsourced In-house Counsel”.

Ms. Shelton focuses on ensuring clients are offered individualized service while handling Franchise Disclosures, registrations, legal creation, leases, trusts, and vendor distributions within a client’s business. Ms. Shelton has published many articles and has written books, including the newly published “Your Journey to Franchise Ownership – The Path from Employee to Business Owner” which is available on Amazon. She has been married for over 30 yrs. and has one son and a sponsored daughter from Haiti. In her spare time, she is the CEO of a Non-Prot, Raising a Nation Foundation and teaches leadership development in third world countries to future colleagues and volunteers at her church.

Dan Chaon joined SMB Franchise Advisors in March 2025, bringing with him over 30 years of leadership experience in franchise and restaurant operations. Most recently, Dan founded sneakybird® in 2022, a fast-casual concept that began franchising in 2024.

In 2010, Dan assumed leadership of Native Grill & Wings as the Chief Executive Officer, securing a private investment group to acquire a majority interest in the brand. Under his guidance, the company was restructured and positioned for growth, ultimately leading to its acquisition by Fat Brands, a publicly traded company, in 2020.

Throughout his career, Dan has held executive roles with leading brands, including Brinker International (Chili’s) and Johnny Carino’s Italian Grill. He has developed deep expertise in franchise development, operations, and financial performance across both franchisor and franchisee roles. Dan has led the development, opening, and operation of over 200 restaurant locations across the nation.