Mega 99

The recent U.S. election cycle, more than any other in recent memory, tapped into deep angst within both major parties and the electorate at large.

If a solid franchise system is the backbone of a brand, an efficient, smoothly working infrastructure is the heart of a multi-unit franchisee operation.

The chip card (EMV) deadline passed in October 2015. Yet according to industry accounts, fewer than 50 percent of retail and restaurant outlets were set up by the end of December 2016 to accept cards this way.

Al Bhakta is proof that friends can be successful in business together. As managing director of the Dallas-based Chalak Mitra Group of Companies, Bhakta is one of seven longtime friends who have made wise business decisions together through the years.

Sam Osborne is the longest-running franchisee in the Tropical Smoothie Cafe system. That says a lot about him, as well as the brand. He's been a part of the smoothie chain for nearly two decades, as both an operator and an area developer in Florida.

K'Zell "Zelly" Wesson took his pro basketball career global more than 17 years ago. He currently plays in Turkey as a forward for Afyonkarahisar Belediyespor, a team in the Turkish Basketball League. But the 6-foot-7-inch Wesson is also making sure he's got game as he nears the end of his playing days--by investing in and growing a chain of Workout Anytime fitness gyms in the USA.