In this episode, Oleksij Rak talks with Mason Boswell — at 23, the youngest guest of the podcast so far, and a rare voice on the show: not a consultant, not a franchisor, but a franchisee living the playbook day by day.

About Mason

Mason Boswell is the founder and owner of Maverick Digital, an NTV360 franchise in the Dallas–Fort Worth area. He grew up inside franchising — attending trade shows from the age of two, with a father who works with IFPG — and worked as a franchise consultant through college before buying a franchise of his own a few months ago. His business puts 50-inch digital billboards inside local restaurants, gyms, and barbershops, giving small businesses the visibility of a highway billboard at a fraction of the cost.

What we talked about

A billboard inside your barbershop. Why a highway billboard costs $8–10K a month — and how the same idea works on a screen where customers already spend their time.

The lesson nobody warned him about. What Mason expected franchise ownership to look like, and what his actual working day turned into.

Growth by knocking and bartering. How the first screens went up through cold door knocking — and the barter engine that keeps the business growing without spending on services.

Choosing a brand at 23. The three criteria veteran consultants gave him, and why he deliberately asked to talk to the unhappiest franchisees before signing.

Expectations vs reality. The phase of not making money nobody puts in the brochure.

Betting on an emerging brand. What it took to buy into a franchise with almost no franchising track record.

Sharpest moments

The confession that frames the whole episode:

"I got into this role thinking, okay, I am not going to have to do anything. Like I'm just gonna have to sit at my desk and tell people what to do... Sales is going to be your job. That is just how it is."

Day one of growth:

"We went knocking on businesses and said, Hey, we want to offer you free advertising. And they say, get out of my store, what's the catch?"

His filter for choosing a franchise:

"The most important is the people behind the brand. Are the people just after your money or are they after your growth?"

On the millionaire fantasy:

"You gotta hustle, you gotta grind, probably more than most nine to five workers do."

Key takeaways

• Franchise ownership is a daily sales job — prepare for it before buying, not while running operations.
• Barter is a powerful cold-start engine: free screens and installs for wall space, ad slots for videography and even AI-workflow development.
• Pick franchises on recurring revenue, multiple revenue streams, and people who are after your growth — not your money.
• The best validation calls are with struggling franchisees: their failure pattern tells you what the job really demands.
• Expect a phase of not making money before the phase of making it — the timeline is longer than the pitch.
• Use AI for internal workflows, never for client-facing content.