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Joe Drury's personal history reads like a rags-to-riches movie script. Born in Canton, Ohio, he was on his own at 14 and "chose to survive," he says. "Everything I did, I attacked it like it was my last meal." He started out working in a Wendy's. He excelled and worked his way into the corporate office, where his mentor and "best friend," Wendy's founder Dave Thomas, taught him everything he knew about running a franchise and being a successful franchisee. He rose to vice president of operations at Wendy's, but left the company in the early 1990s to form the Carolina Restaurant Group, which bought 26 distressed Wendy's restaurants. By 2000, that number was up to 100 and sales had risen significantly.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 12,079 Reads 11 Shares
What do these questions have in common? Each relates to how changes in costs, volume, and pricing affect your bottom line. By the end of this article, we'll have given you a single analysis model to help you answer these questions more accurately than ever before.
  • Steve LeFever and Dave Ashcraft
  • 15,640 Reads 6 Shares
Sam had developed and owned a successful retail operation during his business career. He also tried to be diligent by having what he thought was a sound estate plan executed before he died. He and his wife Sally felt they had everything taken care of. So when Sam died unexpectedly, Sally was dismayed to see the vehement dispute that developed between her two sons as to who would operate the company going forward. Apparently Sam had spoken to both of them about running the company if something happened to him, but he had failed to make this decision. Sally ultimately found her only choice to resolve the dispute was to just sell the business.
  • Andrew D. Horowitz, CPhD, and Nicholas K. Niemann, Esq.
  • 3,520 Reads 66 Shares
John Hotchkiss was born in Pontiac, Mich., and grew up in San Antonio, Texas. But he likes to say he "was born" into franchising. "I started working in our stores when I was 9 years old and really enjoyed it. I learned in high school that it was a good business to own when I came home exhausted from a crazy, busy night at one of our stores and my dad was relaxing and reading a book on the back porch," he recalls. "He had 700-plus employees working hard that night making him money.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 11,442 Reads 1 Shares
Iced coffee seems to be gaining tremendous popularity as the summer months bring on the heat. And according to data from NPD Group's Consumer Reports on Eating Share Trends (CREST), servings of iced and frozen coffee drinks have shown a 20 percent increase during the first months of 2009 over the same time period last year. The company's research also found young adults between the ages 18 and 34 make up 39 percent of the iced beverage's consumption. Even the National Coffee Association has data procaliming coffee consumption among 18 to 34-year-olds has recently hit record highs.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 5,334 Reads 436 Shares
New franchise concepts spring up every year with dreams of becoming the next McDonald's or Subway. But it's the older brands who deserve a tip of the hat for their staying power over the decades. We asked four of them how they do it.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 6,571 Reads 30 Shares
To offset the crisis of confidence in today's economy, franchisors are offering discounts, money-back guarantees, and other financial incentives and stimuli to help interested franchise prospects take the final step to franchise ownership. As with any prospective franchise purchase, read the FDD for full details. As one franchisor noted on its website promoting its offer: "Of course, conditions apply." Recent offers include the following...
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 6,358 Reads 1 Shares
Jett Mehta knew early in his life that franchising would be a good fit for him. "I grew up in the business," says Mehta. "My dad is a Ponderosa franchisee and was the largest franchisee in the country at one point. He was investing in multi-family real estate and got into the restaurant business in the '80s. When I finished school I hooked up with him." It wasn't long before Mehta drew up some ambitious plans of his own. First came a motel deal, and then the food industry beckoned.
  • John Carroll
  • 12,034 Reads
Franchise Update Media Group (FUMG), the leading industry resource for franchise development, today announced that registration is now open for the 11th Annual Franchise Leadership & Development Conference, Sept. 23-25, 2009 at the Drake Hotel in Chicago, where the "who's who" of franchise development will be gathered to network, connect with peers and share their strategies of success.
  • Press Release
  • 3,144 Reads 4 Shares
Las Vegas was the backdrop for the 2009 Multi-Unit Franchising Conference, held in mid-April at the fabulous Bellagio hotel, where multi-unit high rollers were searching for sure bets at the "Playing 2 Win" themed-event, sponsored by Franchise Update Media Group.
  • Franchise Update Magazine
  • 3,842 Reads 11 Shares
Many franchisors are taking advantage of this economic slowdown to examine and improve their sales process. Rather than discussing tweaking and fine-tuning, I'd like to look at three fundamental selling skills essential to franchise sales success. You'll recruit new franchisees much faster if you train (and re-train) your sales staff in these three key selling skills.
  • Steve Olson
  • 2,580 Reads 6 Shares
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Gurvinder Singh is, in many ways, a "normal" 24-year-old guy. A former wrestler, he's into martial arts and spends an inordinate amount of time training in the gym. Despite his high energy level, he can go "couch potato" with the best of them, and he loves TV (his favorite show is "Lost"). He also loves cars, and jokes that the health of his business can be measured by the impressiveness of his ride.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 3,480 Reads 13 Shares
With the downturn in the economy, good old-fashioned customer service can be a major differentiator for businesses trying to keep their existing customers and attract new ones.
  • Greg Brashier, COO of Virtual PBX
  • 4,454 Reads 81 Shares
Earlier this year at the IFA Expo, we interviewed nearly 100 prospective franchisees as they came into the hall -- and again as they left. We were looking for what attracts prospective franchisees to a particular brand.
  • Darrell Johnson
  • 3,440 Reads 13 Shares
It all began with a single Golden Corral restaurant in 1997. In just over a dozen years, Guillermo Perales has grown to operate 142 franchise locations, spread across 5 brands throughout Texas and Florida. It's quite an accomplishment for this native of Mexico, and he's not even close to finished. "I'd like to double the size of my business over the next decade," says Perales. Based on his track record, it's a good bet he'll succeed. He just inked a deal with T-Mobile for some new units, and he's negotiating with a yogurt and seafood franchisor--and that doesn't even include his planned hotel project in Dallas.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 10,559 Reads 1,015 Shares
Restaurants and retail businesses have been devastated since the start of the current recession, negatively affecting corporate franchisors and their licensed franchisees. Revenues have declined as customers have tightened their belts and restricted discretionary spending while joblessness has risen. Not surprisingly, bankruptcies in the retail and hospitality industries have increased - and evidence indicates that they will continue to do so.
  • Christopher T. Vrountas and Richard L. Levine
  • 3,575 Reads 2 Shares
Pizza Fusion, a growing chain of organic pizza restaurants, was born from three passions shared by co-founders Vaughan Lazar and Michael Gordon: food, healthy eating, and the environment.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 5,902 Reads 7 Shares
Long before they met and married, Donna and Jim Wade grew up working in their respective family businesses--Donna in Southeast Texas, and Jim in a small town in West Tennessee. Both families owned restaurants and grocery stores. Their paths crossed when Jim, a University of Memphis graduate who went to work in accounting for Binswanger Glass, was transferred to Houston as a controller. She was selling copiers for Xerox, and he called one day for a quote. "Not long after he completed the purchase, we started dating," recalls Donna. "We realized instantly that we shared a passion for business."
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 3,886 Reads 5 Shares
It is no secret that many CEOs are challenged by how to best motivate and get results from their franchise development departments. Over the many years I've been involved in franchising, I have seen the powerful role CEOs can play to support their franchise development teams.
  • Linda Burzynski
  • 4,132 Reads 3 Shares
Dennis Hitzeman has had some legendary mentors in his life. First there was McDonald's founder Ray Kroc, who hired the 16-year-old Hitzeman as a crew member for his third location. Later, as a West Point Cadet, he played football for assistant coach Bill Parcells and studied under Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.
  • John Carroll
  • 7,323 Reads 4 Shares
The current recession and credit crunch are putting the hurt on franchise businesses, says a new report by the International Franchise Association (IFA). There's no question that the franchising's economic growth and ability to create jobs has been hamstrung by the lack of available credit.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 3,374 Reads 5 Shares
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Gross sales? Target revenue? Break even? No, this figure is more important than all those. These days, as we're all looking at ways to cut costs, figuring out where and how to cut is extremely important. Using break-even analysis allows you to go in with a scalpel instead of a hatchet.
  • Steve LeFever and Dave Ashcraft
  • 9,041 Reads 775 Shares
John had come to us with high expectations for the price he thought his company would sell for. He was certain of this because he had seen other companies sell for a similar multiple of gross revenue. However, what John had failed to understand was that buyers are only partly interested in top line revenue. More important to negotiating the selling price of most companies is the net cash flow the company produces. John's bottom line failed to live up to industry standards, which meant he wasn't likely to achieve the exit he had envisioned.
  • Andrew D. Horowitz, CPhD, and Nicholas K. Niemann, Esq.
  • 3,964 Reads 118 Shares
Franchise Update Media Group (FUMG), the leading industry resource for franchise development, reports that for the first time, multi-unit franchises are the new industry majority, providing growth opportunities in these times of economic uncertainty.
  • Press Release
  • 4,128 Reads 1 Shares
Charles Loflin started climbing the ladder of success from the bottom rung, and he hasn't stopped yet. "I've been in food and beverage all my life, starting when I was washing dishes at the age of 15," says the 40-year-old multi-brand franchisee.
  • John Carroll
  • 4,280 Reads 7 Shares
Retail franchising is the kind of business operation that most people are familiar with today. After all, everybody knows McDonald's and Taco Bell, but there's much more to know about retail franchising. Like its counterpart, service franchising, retail franchising offers its own set of pros and cons. There are advantages and disadvantages that make it unique. In the right circumstances, retail franchising can make a very good career choice and provide a healthy income for many people. But you'll want to do your homework and make careful considerations.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 33,226 Reads 5 Shares
After years of building his company by acquiring distressed franchise units and real estate, John Metz bought a distressed franchisor. That's right, a franchisor. On December 17, 2008, Metz took over Hurricane Grill & Wings. And he's from Buffalo.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 5,645 Reads 2 Shares
Anyone seriously considering the purchase of a franchise will ultimately have to decide if a "service" franchise or a "retail" franchise is a better fit. It's an important distinction in terms of both entry requirements and operational realities, and it's a decision that can determine your ultimate effectiveness as a franchise operator. First, a basic summary of some typical service franchise opportunities available today, here are just a few: trade and handyman (electricians, plumbers), lawn maintenance, landscape services, childcare, tutoring, education, business coaches accounting, bookkeeping real estate agents, travel agents, commercial, domestic cleaning, automotive-related services, computer-related services, and interior design/decorating.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 38,874 Reads 11 Shares
Just to let you know where I'm coming from when I talk about the five biggest mistakes I see franchisors making in today's tough economic times, I've been plying my trade for more than 20 years now, and well over 50 percent of my clients have been among the nation's foremost franchise organizations. I've been in the trenches with them during all kinds of economic scenarios--inflation, recession, expansion, steady-as-she-goes, and a couple of booms and busts.
  • Mel Kleiman
  • 8,366 Reads 286 Shares
We weren't surprised by our meeting with Art. We had seen it many times before. Art and his son had founded and built a very successful retail business. They had operations across the country which were consistently producing significant year-to-year net cash flow. Art had decided recently that he was ready to sell the company and that he wanted to get this done right away.
  • Andrew D. Horowitz, CPhD, and Nicholas K. Niemann, Esq.
  • 3,256 Reads 12 Shares
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