If you want us to build your systems with you and hold you accountable, choose Mastery. If you're self-directed and want the complete playbook and tools, choose Builder. If you want peers, proven answers, and a roadmap while you grow, choose Connect. Unsure? Select more than one on your application, or schedule a call with admissions.

Yes. Select every level you're considering and tell us why. Admissions will recommend the right fit.

Mastery is a 12-month commitment, so you can complete MANAGE 1.0, MANAGE 2.0, LEAD, and your Management Manual. Builder has a 6-month minimum and Connect a 3-month minimum. After the minimum, you can cancel anytime with 30 days' notice.

Yes, to Mastery at any time. Quarterly 1:1 calls, Management Manual work, and Enterprise Systems training start right away. Live MANAGE & LEAD Programs begin with the next quarterly cohort. Time in Builder or Connect is not credited toward Mastery's 12 months.

No. Certification requires accountability: live cohort participation, a completed Management Manual, and a measured result. Only Mastery members who graduate earn it.

You graduate when you score 85% or higher on the 112-point assessment and complete your Management Manual. Graduates earn the title COMMAND Mastery Graduate. If you're not there after 12 months, you can continue in Mastery month to month until you are.

A free, live online session held every three months: a 45-minute walkthrough of the program, the three levels, who each is for, and Q&A with Aicha. Between live sessions, you can watch the recording.

Your membership and billing start the day you join, and your private onboarding and personalized monthly plan (Mastery and Builder) are scheduled right after. In Mastery, quarterly calls, Management Manual work, and Enterprise Systems training start right away; live MANAGE & LEAD classes run in cohorts, and you join the next one.

Only if you're truly committed to multi-unit growth: you've signed an area development agreement or you have a clear plan to open your next unit. If you own one unit and plan to stay there, MANAGE is the right program for you.

Then COMMAND isn't the right fit, and we won't accept your application. MANAGE 1.0 & 2.0 give single-unit owners the management skills to run a profitable unit. When you're ready to grow, COMMAND will be here.

In Mastery, full participation means attending your live MANAGE & LEAD cohort sessions, completing each Management Manual section on schedule, attending your quarterly 1:1 calls, and joining the mastermind. The results promised on this page depend on it.

Every level is by application. We evaluate your learning mindset and your commitment to multi-unit growth and implementation, and whether COMMAND can materially improve your business. Because the mastermind is the heart of COMMAND, we reserve the right to remove members who are inactive or negative for the community, and we refund any remaining months in their commitment.

It depends on your level and on how much you put into it. On average: for Mastery it's 3–4 hours a week (more while you're in a live MANAGE or LEAD class); for Builder it's 1–2 hours a week; and for Connect, 2–4 hours a month. This is time spent working ON your business, which is what strategic leaders do. During COMMAND you build your systems, processes, and procedures; after, you use them to scale. Admissions will walk you through what it looks like for you.

When you invest in a franchise, you are investing in a proven brand — the product, service, image, and customer promise.

What that investment does not typically include is formal education on how to run a franchise business.

Franchisors train brand execution. They do not train franchisees to be business operators, people leaders, or enterprise builders. Most franchisors assume — or hope — that owners come with these skills.

Many franchisees only discover this gap after opening, when day-to-day business management, leadership decisions, and financial responsibility fall entirely on the owner.

The American Franchise Academy exists to provide this missing layer of education: Franchise Business Management. COMMAND is designed to build that capability at the ownership level.

COMMAND is designed primarily for brick-and-mortar franchise owners.
Independent business owners may also benefit from the leadership, financial, and systems training.

However, you should be aware that COMMAND does not teach brand systems such as product, service delivery, or brand standards. We focus exclusively on business management, leadership, financial discipline, and scalable systems.

No. Your franchisor owns and teaches brand execution.

COMMAND teaches how to run the business — including leadership structure, financial management, cost control, systems documentation, delegation, and enterprise planning — in a brand-agnostic way that complements franchisor training.

COMMAND is both.

It combines structured training, real-world implementation, and ongoing guidance through Mastermind calls, cohort participation, and progress check-ins.

This ensures owners don’t just understand the material — they apply it.

COMMAND helps you build your internal operating system — your leadership structure, documented systems, and decision-making discipline — so your business does not rely on external advisors to function.

The goal is independence, capability, and durability.

COMMAND is ideal for existing multi-unit franchisees who want:

• Stronger operational consistency
• Better financial visibility and discipline
• A scalable leadership structure
• Systems that reduce owner dependency

Many experienced operators discover that COMMAND helps them stabilize, refine, and scale more effectively.

Refund and withdrawal terms are outlined clearly during the application and acceptance process. Please review those terms carefully before accepting an invitation to participate.