2014 Mega 99

In a time when many business executives are looking at what to cut because of rising payroll and healthcare costs, Michael Kulp, president and CEO of KBP Foods, a $250 million restaurant company with units in nine states, is taking an "inverse" approach.

Who is responsible for innovation? For many franchise concepts, innovation is the sole domain of the franchisor as it safeguards the brand's equity: "Do only things that I say, and do them exactly as the operations manual specifies."

When we profiled David Griffin in 2010, he had just purchased 25 Jiffy Lube stores in Colorado. The stores were underperforming, some were dilapidated, and the U.S. economy still at one of its all-time lows.

Ted Kergan's path to success as Louisiana's largest Sonic Drive-In franchisee has been marked by hard knocks.

After 34 years of negotiating leases for 150 hair salons in California and the New York Metro area, Gary Grace appreciates the advantages of being part of a franchise system with a well-known name.

Investing wisely does not come naturally to most of us. Many of the skills that support ultimate financial management success run counter to how our natural wiring prompts us to behave.