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Refugees from corporate America seeking capital to open a franchise business are tapping into their retirement plans to fund their fledgling businesses. So are multi-unit franchisees seeking to expand.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 8,776 Reads 1,023 Shares
Jim Carroll loves to predict where the world is going. As such, he has become one of the world's leading international futurists, trends, and innovation experts. His analysis digs deep into topics such as technology, business model change, fast paced innovation, and global challenges and growth. He's been in demand with such clients as Northrop Grumman, Visa, Rockwell Collins, Lincoln Financial, and the Walt Disney organization. He was featured as an innovation expert on the global CNBC show, the Business of Innovation, and was named one of four leading sources for insight into innovation by Business Week magazine.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 12,294 Reads 1,023 Shares
In today's tight market, negotiation strategy plays an important role in the sale of any franchise. Even if you execute every other aspect of your business sale perfectly, the lack of a good negotiation strategy can still derail the deal. A good business broker can help, but ultimately the business owner will need to be an integral part of negotiations.
  • Mike Handelsman
  • 9,100 Reads
Gary Hughes turned 50 and decided he'd had enough of the corporate executive life. Based in the Seattle area at the time, he also decided he'd seen enough big city congestion to last a lifetime. Hughes soon found a picturesque, midsized town to call home and moved to Clarkston, Wash., pop. 50,000. "I used to say that we're so far out into the boondocks it's 120 miles to the nearest freeway," says Hughes gleefully.
  • John Carroll
  • 4,249 Reads 31 Shares
Your hourly employees…they're the face of your franchise business. They greet and serve customers and are essentially the cornerstone of your customer service efforts. So it only makes sense that if you've gone to the effort to recruit right that you would want to make sure that you keep those top employees happy and motivated. You might be surprised how poorly some franchise operators actually are when it comes to motivating their hourly employees.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 23,948 Reads 3 Shares
In 1980, Bob Chase was in his early 20s, with a small family and not much money. He was barely able to start his first franchise, a Dry-Chem carpet cleaning operation, from a then-fledgling franchisor. But Chase wasn't the kind of young man to let a few little things like that stop him from building his own business from the ground up.
  • John Carroll
  • 9,361 Reads 1,061 Shares
Shiny objects marketing is a simple principle, ancient in origin and easy to apply. From open-air markets in Nepal to the local mall, everyone tries to make their product or service stand out. Yet many savvy entrepreneurs fail to grasp the full meaning of this elementary skill and run into difficulties when trying to put it into practice.
  • Dave LaBonte
  • 4,279 Reads 72 Shares
In the first part of my three-part series on leadership, I discussed leadership fundamentals and items needed in your leader's toolkit. Part two of the series outlined the three C's: Capability, Competency and Capacity. In part three, I will discuss putting good leadership to work and how to stay on track.
  • Tom Welter
  • 3,557 Reads 21 Shares
Measure twice so you only pay once. I have found that some landlords are over-charging multi-unit franchisees for more square footage than the actual available space. Are you paying too much? Unfortunately, incorrect square footage figures are a common oversight in commercial leasing. Multi-unit franchisee tenants often trust the reported square footage of their leased premises. However, the amount of reported square footage can easily be wrong--whether this figure was accidently reported by the landlord or reported by a property owner who has never even seen the site. The result is that multi-unit franchisee tenants could be needlessly paying an increased rent.
  • Dale Willerton
  • 7,393 Reads
Like many successful and charismatic people, Elena Donahue punctuates her speaking with exclamation points. "Dream big! Focus small!" she encourages the staff at OceDon Restaurant Management in Castle Rock, Colo., and to fellow volunteers at the Mile High Chapter of the American Red Cross.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 4,236 Reads 18 Shares
The 2011 Annual Franchise Development Report (AFDR) shows steady growth, based on improvements over last year in two key performance metrics - franchise leads and franchise sales. The AFDR is an annual survey of CEOs and senior development executives conducted by Franchise Update Media Group (FUMG) to provide a comprehensive research guide to sales and lead generation in franchise recruitment.
  • PRESS RELEASE
  • 3,171 Reads 3 Shares
Angry Crab Shack
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Angry Crab Shack
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On the surface, franchise corporate executive appears to enjoy a comfortable, prestigious, and satisfying life. They often work in or head up a department brimming with resources and personnel, and the corporate perks aren't bad either. It's a life that can be seen in stark contrast to the often hardscrabble existence of the multi-unit franchisee who has borrowed money to open, invests sweat equity, and works long hours just to keep the business running and the cash flowing. Yet, despite this perceived contrast, some franchise executives chuck the corporate "good life" and set out into the franchisee frontier with their own set of hopes and dreams.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 8,998 Reads 235 Shares
The incredible surge in outsourcing prospect generation to franchise brokers has reshaped the sales programs of many franchise systems. Once tarred by the horror stories of the 1980s, today's brokers are reborn and repackaged as the "franchise sales consultants" of the 21st century. This isn't surprising. Networks of professional consultants with years of franchising experience have swooped onto the franchise sales scene with extraordinary success. Today they deliver an estimated 3,000-plus new franchise owners annually to appreciative franchise companies. Franchise Update Media Group's Annual Franchise Development Report revealed that 57 percent of the 126 franchisors surveyed used brokers, with 67 percent closing deals.
  • Steve Olson
  • 7,067 Reads
For many franchisors with a December 31st fiscal year, now is the time to start preparing to renew their franchise documentation. The FTC rules require that the franchise disclosure document (FDD) must be updated within 120 days of the expiration of a franchisor's fiscal year. Registration states, such as New York, have an identical requirement. As a franchisor prepares to do so, that process presents an opportunity to review and improve franchise documentation, particularly the franchise agreement.
  • Terrence M. Dunn
  • 4,854 Reads 1,021 Shares
As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in a challenging economy, FUSR continues to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities. With the recent flurry of M&A activity in franchising, we've expanded this month's column.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 9,636 Reads 93 Shares
Each year, for more than a decade, Franchise Update Media Group has surveyed hundreds of franchisors about their sales and development practices and compiled the results in its Annual Franchise Development Report (AFDR).
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 5,639 Reads
Being a part of YouTube is no longer something franchise businesses can control. Chances are, you're there, whether you created the content or not.
  • Lisa Wehr
  • 5,225 Reads 99 Shares
Jason Mann learned early that a career in advertising sales could get you just so far in life. And he wanted to go much, much further. So in 1999, at the age of 30, Mann stepped out of his sales role and joined forces with his father to enter the franchising business.
  • John Carroll
  • 15,053 Reads 1 Shares
There are some big franchisees out there, mega franchisees, in fact! We know because each year we rank them by number of units and brands in our "Mega 99" list. Beyond these black-and-white numbers--which are especially impressive since many began working part-time in low-level positions, or started with a single unit--are their stories of passion, creativity, long hours, and sheer will and determination to succeed. Multi-unit franchisees have many stories to tell, and their journeys to where they are today are filled with ups and downs.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 10,276 Reads 1,023 Shares
Gary Hughes turned 50 and decided he'd had enough of the corporate executive life. Based in the Seattle area at the time, he also decided he'd seen enough big city congestion to last a lifetime. Hughes soon found a picturesque, midsized town to call home and moved to Clarkston, Wash., pop. 50,000. "I used to say that we're so far out into the boondocks it's 120 miles to the nearest freeway," says Hughes gleefully.
  • John Carroll
  • 7,059 Reads 148 Shares
Why is it that so many franchisors have not mystery shopped their sales teams in the past 12 months? That's one of the findings highlighted in Franchise Update's 13th annual Lead Generation Survey of 126 franchise organizations representing 38,800 units. Maybe if some of these companies monitored their sales execs, they wouldn't be among the 40 percent of franchisors that never called our mystery shoppers who submitted qualified inquiry forms from their websites. Ouch!
  • Steve Olson
  • 3,047 Reads 7 Shares
Marco's Pizza®
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Marco's Pizza®
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Marco's Pizza®
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In many ways, the face of the franchise is its employees. They are the ones who meet and greet customers, provide the products and services, and represent the brand daily. Some franchise concepts require more employees than others, and there's a wide range of the types and skills sets of employees needed. But chances are you will need to do some hiring and, to some degree, it will remain an ongoing process for your business.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 17,602 Reads 1 Shares
The economy continues to show signs of improvement and the executives at Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine's Multi-Unit Franchising Conference have factored this new business reality into the planning of their annual event. This year the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference will take place April 27-29 at The Venetian in Las Vegas. The theme is "What's Next. Plan Tomorrow Today.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 10,545 Reads 1 Shares
Jim Sullivan keeps an eye on business trends and market shifts. His livelihood depends on it. In fact, the very mission of his organization, Sullivision.com, is to design and deliver operations and leadership training programs for companies - including many franchises. He's worked with brands like McDonald's, Panera Bread, Regis Corp., Jiffy Lube, Applebee's, Domino's, and Dunkin' Brands.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 4,655 Reads 1,023 Shares
Gina Puente learned about hard work, tenacity, and the power of cash at the feet of her father, "working" in his office equipment business from the age of eight... when she wasn't busy with commercials and pageants.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 5,486 Reads 181 Shares
Overcoming obstacles and facing adversity will be part of the game plan when Sean Tuohy keynotes at the upcoming Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Multi-Unit Franchising Conference in Las Vegas in April.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 4,713 Reads 72 Shares
The remarkable change in his life is not lost on John Betz. It seems one day he was wearing a three-piece suit and hopping a private jet to meet with telecommunications industry clients, and the next thing he knew he was wearing shorts and rolling pretzel dough behind the counter of his first Auntie Anne's Pretzels.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 8,669 Reads 1 Shares
Are you conveying the correct message about your brand? Are you taking advantage of your opening programs to get new franchise owners to monthly breakeven more quickly? How long does it take your prospect to understand the long- and short-term financial opportunities of your franchise concept?
  • Marc Kiekenapp
  • 3,336 Reads 31 Shares
As a street-savvy franchise owner, you've done your homework. Your "shiny object" of brand, service, or product has been selected carefully, with an eye to profits and market-share. Now, you want to assess the current economic climate, to discover whether it best supports a full speed ahead approach or a careful step-by-step advance. The truth is that franchises have been known to both bottom-out and burst sales records in a variety of economic situations. Your best bet is to focus on using time-proven methods to grow a "demand for ownership" of your "shiny object" among customers and prospects.
  • David LaBonte
  • 4,052 Reads 19 Shares
When Emir Lopez was ready to open his first Domino's Pizza store, he could have done it anywhere. But after working his way out of the James Weldon Johnson Project in East Harlem, New York, Emir decided the best place to open that store was right in the neighborhood he had come from.
  • Multi-Unit Franchise
  • 4,006 Reads 32 Shares
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