Discover how Bloomin’ Blinds builds scalable franchise training with clarity, alignment, and hands-on skill development. Listen to the Training Impact Podcast episode.
Franchise systems do not thrive on great products alone. They thrive on clarity, alignment, and repeatable operational skills. In this spotlight feature, we highlight this Training Impact Podcast conversation with Jake Wharton of Bloomin’ Blinds, a fast-growing franchise that has turned training into one of its competitive advantages.
What makes this episode stand out is not just the way Bloomin’ Blinds trains their franchisees, but why they train the way they do. Jake offers a thoughtful look at how a family-owned brand built a system where training is not a one-time onboarding event but a long-term success engine, designed deliberately and refined continuously as the brand grows.
This episode pairs perfectly with our full companion case study, FRANCHISING BY DESIGN: HOW BLOOMIN’ BLINDS BUILDS ALIGNMENT, SKILL, AND SUCCESS. The case study examines their training structure, learner roles, skills progression, and the best practices they apply from the LatitudeLearning Training Program Roadmap.
But first, here are the highlights from the podcast conversation.
Jake’s story begins long before training modules or certification paths. Bloomin’ Blinds started as a family business shaped by hands-on work, clear communication, and a deep respect for craftsmanship. Those early experiences now inform the training experience across more than 100 franchise territories.
Jake shares how the founding team developed the philosophy that great service comes from great preparation. Training became the natural extension of that belief. Whether solving a technical installation problem or navigating a customer conversation, franchisees need confidence. Confidence comes from clarity. Clarity comes from training.
That simple thread anchors the entire system.
Many emerging franchisors struggle to scale training because their early approach relies heavily on ride-alongs, classroom instruction, and in-person shadowing. Bloomin’ Blinds recognized that approach would not scale. More importantly, it would not serve the owners who operate in busy, fast-paced environments where onboarding needs to be efficient and repeatable.
Jake explains how their team broke training into three layers:
This progressive approach mirrors the early stages of the LatitudeLearning Training Program Roadmap, especially within Stage 2 Knowledge Acquisition and Stage 3 Skill Development.
One of the most compelling parts of the conversation is how Bloomin’ Blinds connects training to real operational outcomes. Their team recognized that franchisees are not just learning for certification. They are learning to solve customer problems in the field, sometimes in high-pressure situations.
So, the question becomes: how do you ensure that what is learned in a training room translates to a customer’s home?
Jake explains how Bloomin’ Blinds keeps its curriculum tightly aligned with field realities. They regularly update lessons based on the latest technical challenges franchisees encounter. They reinforce learning with job aids, checklists, peer discussions, and scenario-based examples. They also create communication pathways for franchisees to request new material, ensuring the training is always evolving.
The result is training that feels practical, not theoretical.
As franchise systems grow, inconsistency can become their biggest enemy. When each location trains differently, the customer experience becomes unpredictable. Bloomin’ Blinds worked hard to prevent that problem by intentionally designing a system that scales.
Jake shares several strategies the team uses:
Clear competency expectations. Franchisees understand what they need to know and do at each stage of their journey.
Blended learning. Self-paced modules build foundational knowledge so in-person training can focus on high-value practice.
Behavior-first training design. Training is built around the specific decisions and actions technicians and owners must take in real homes, with real customers, under real conditions.
Network-wide feedback loops. Training evolves because franchisees share what they are seeing in the field.
These principles reflect many of the Training Program Roadmap best practices, especially in the areas of knowledge acquisition, skill development, and continuous improvement.
So many franchise systems make the same mistake. They treat training as a one-time onboarding event. Bloomin’ Blinds shows what happens when training becomes an ongoing strategic capability. Instead of reacting to problems, the brand builds alignment from day one. Instead of hoping franchisees learn through experience, the system gives them the structure and support to learn correctly the first time.
For learning leaders, this episode is a reminder that great training is not about producing content. It is about producing capability.
For franchisors, it is a blueprint for building consistency and avoiding the operational drift that comes with growth.
And for training managers, it is a case study in how to apply a structured learning model in the real world without overwhelming learners.
To explore the full conversation with Jake Wharton, listen to this episode of the Training Impact Podcast. It is packed with insight for anyone designing training for franchisees, technicians, field staff, or any team that needs hands-on skills to succeed.
And to go even deeper, download the companion case study:
FRANCHISING BY DESIGN: HOW BLOOMIN’ BLINDS BUILDS ALIGNMENT, SKILL, AND SUCCESS
The case study breaks down Bloomin’ Blinds full training structure, learner types, and best practices aligned to the LatitudeLearning Training Program Roadmap. It also highlights how the brand overcomes common training challenges and scales knowledge across a growing network.
Listen to the full Training Impact Podcast episode, download the Bloomin’ Blinds case study, and explore more franchise training insights at:
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