Franchise Guide: Best Practices - Franchising.com

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Best Practices

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
  • 7,630 Reads 2 Shares
There are tweets and pokes, posts and check-ins, mayors, fans, friends, and likes. It seems as though every social media network has its own language and users--yet all of them are grouped together as the "shining light" of marketing for the year to come. Well, here's the truth. While social media is now a cornerstone for branding, sales growth, and PR, for multi-unit franchisees to successfully use social media to drive business into stores, you need to get the facts.
  • Lisa Wehr
  • 8,047 Reads 33 Shares
Gina Puente learned about hard work, tenacity, and the power of cash at the knees 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
  • 5,764 Reads 1 Shares
Spread across the following pages of our annual Dominators issue are the rough-hewn tales of seven multi-unit franchisees who have worked smart and played hardball to create large, successful franchise organizations. These operators are not afraid to take risks if the payoff means a bigger slice of the market pie. We interviewed these seven savvy operators and asked them to share their strategies, philosophies, and personal approaches to running their organizations.
  • Kerry Pipes and Eddy Goldberg
  • 7,550 Reads 1 Shares
First impressions are lasting. Front-line hourly employees are not. Before they've been on the job just six months, more than 50 percent are gone. Some were probably not a good fit for the job in the first place, but some productive, dependable, hard-to-replace employees bolt, too.
  • Mel Kleiman
  • 6,471 Reads 17 Shares
Two people have figured prominently in Jerry Heath's career. The first is his father, who helped bankroll him when he started out in franchising. The second is Steve Jackson, the president of Hungry Howie's Pizza, who began mentoring Heath at an impressionable age (12).
  • John Carroll
  • 8,709 Reads 2 Shares
Opening franchise units in nontraditional locations has been the domain of specialists--but not anymore. With the economy still slumping, lending still tight, and suburban expansion at a standstill, many multi-unit franchisees are exploring the viability of sites such as airports, hotels, colleges, senior centers, highway rest stops, hospitals, and military bases.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 6,501 Reads
Whether you purchase or lease commercial space is one question. Whether you can find good commercial space to purchase is another matter unto itself. Although commercial property purchasing options exist across the country, they are less abundant than leasing opportunities. It is my opinion that, the better the location you need for your own business, the less likely you will be able to find a suitable space for purchase.
  • Dale Willerton
  • 47,006 Reads 4 Shares
When 19-year-old Atour Eyvazian fled from his native Iran in the early 1980s to escape persecution for being a Christian, he embarked on an odyssey that led through Turkey all the way to Los Angeles.
  • John Carroll
  • 4,670 Reads 23 Shares
Cary Albert is sold on the value in unit economics. The Dallas, Texas-area multi-unit franchisee operates Schlotzsky's and Cinnabon locations and says there's no question his operation benefits from keeping an eye on unit performance numbers.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 9,386 Reads 1 Shares
As a franchisee, you may have found it quite easy to secure a lease with a commercial landlord; however, you may face many roadblocks if, or when, you need to terminate your lease.
  • Dale Willerton
  • 39,483 Reads 3 Shares
MassageLuXe
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Pizza franchising is a tough market. The competition is stiff and the recent economic recession really put the squeeze on many franchise operators. But despite pizza price wars and price-sensitive consumers, operators like Glenn Ajmo have discovered a few silver linings that are helping him sustain growth.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 7,239 Reads 1,023 Shares
Dave Melton has learned more than a few lessons during his 28 years as a multi-unit franchisee. The Domino's Pizza operator has ruled the New York DMA, and in 2009, his units took over the number one slot for sales in any Domino's market. All this while his stores generated annual revenue of $6 million.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 4,115 Reads 28 Shares
Bashir Shams spent 28 years with one of franchising's giants. He built a successful company and a prosperous career with his multi-unit Burger King operation in Mississippi. So why would he walk away from that to team up with a relative newcomer to franchising? That's just what we asked him about his latest plans to ultimately open two dozen locations of ZIPS Dry Cleaners on the East Coast.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 4,589 Reads 107 Shares
Restaurant work was just supposed to help Aziz Hashim pay his way as he pursued his life's dream of becoming an electrical engineer. But by the time he landed the "big job" at Rockwell, he discovered that he had been living the dream all along.
  • John Carroll
  • 6,776 Reads 162 Shares
Multi-unit franchisees have tremendous potential to increase their current revenue and future growth simply by reducing customer service breakdowns and improving service recovery. I call this "found money" because these dollars come from existing customers.
  • Jack Mackey
  • 4,609 Reads 1,023 Shares
Have you recently stayed at a branded hotel, or eaten at a franchised restaurant where the property was tired-looking and in need of an update? Was the overall experience less than expected because of the worn-out facility? On your next trip did you make a point to book a room or eat a meal at a competing brand, where the facilities and amenities were up to date? Worse yet, was the property yours?
  • John Geenen
  • 5,434 Reads 23 Shares
Ken Greene has a secret. When he gets ready to open a new Honest-1 Auto Care franchise unit in New York (34 now and counting), he knows how to save up to 60 percent on the cost of his equipment.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 9,856 Reads 1 Shares
Potential franchisees should take a lesson from cautious pedestrians who look both ways before crossing the street. Before paying a substantial franchisee fee, you must be aware and understand that the franchisor may not, or simply won't, be able to handle every related detail for you.
  • Dale Willerton
  • 4,501 Reads
Economic realities have been harsh, lenders stingy with money, and many suburban territories unavailable or overbuilt. These are just some of the reasons a few multi-unit franchisees are turning to opportunities in nontraditional locations. Many franchises have potential in places that have not historically been franchise hotbeds, like airports, hotels, colleges, senior centers, highway rest stops, hospitals, and military bases.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 4,546 Reads 70 Shares
In Dave Melton's Hire the American Dream, the Domino's Pizza multi-unit franchisee outlines much of his own personal journey and roadmap to discovering how to hire the best and most productive employees, and create a culture that leads to success for everyone in the company. It's a task that all franchisees encounter and Melton's tried and true methods have applications for many situations.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 4,044 Reads 90 Shares
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Edvin Rajauskas and Val Kirielius have come a long way to open their first Buffalo Wings & Rings franchise location - all the way from Lithuania to be exact. The two Lithuania natives formed a partnership that has them destined for the American dream. Just last month, the two opened their first Buffalo Wings & Rings restaurant in Springdale, Ohio. They are excited about their new franchise and say growth is on their minds.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 4,227 Reads 75 Shares
Ken Leese, a New Jersey-born accountant who played on the tennis team at Old Dominion University, sees his career as a multi-unit franchisee and area developer in terms of sports analogies.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 6,816 Reads 1 Shares
With all the emphasis on providing customers with "value," I asked about 100 attendees at the IFA Convention in February to describe what value meant. The top five answers on the board:
  • Jack Mackey
  • 4,965 Reads 1,014 Shares
A couple of weeks before any speaking engagement, I distribute a 10-question survey to the meeting participants so I am well prepared to cover their most pressing concerns. One of the questions I ask is: "What is your best source for new employees?" Some of the possible answers are: "billboards, internal promotion, the Internet, job fairs, newspapers, referrals, schools, signage, and walk-ins."
  • Mel Kleiman
  • 6,157 Reads 261 Shares
Most families have their favorite holiday traditions, with special rituals, decorations, clothes, songs, and foods that make the holidays unique, memorable, and fun.
  • Jack Mackey
  • 4,072 Reads 29 Shares
While some franchisees receive real estate assistance from their franchisors on their new locations, very few franchisees receive help from their franchisors on their lease renewals. Since 1993, I have been coaching franchise tenants and speaking at franchise shows regarding commercial leases and lease renewals.
  • Dale Willerton
  • 7,734 Reads 1,023 Shares
Bret Hooppaw, Luihn Food Systems' director of operations, had an "Aha!" moment when his 19-year-old daughter said she'd applied online for a summer job. When he asked, "Why don't you just go over there and apply in person?" her response was, "Nobody does it that way anymore, Dad." That's when Hooppaw, who helps oversee 90 KFC and Taco Bell locations, realized instant communication technologies are second nature to the Millennial generation--those who make up most of today's frontline employees--who will be his managers 5 years from now and who will be the organization's leaders in the next 5 to 10 years. "I knew I had to find a way to meet them on their ground," he said.
  • Mel Kleiman
  • 4,130 Reads 8 Shares
Ben presented us with a situation common to many business owners who find out too late they are not in a position to exit on their terms. Ben had founded and built a very successful business supply business. He had customers across the country and was consistently earning solid profits under his management. He had decided he was ready to retire in the near term.
  • Nicholas K. Niemann and Andrew Horowitz
  • 5,675 Reads
I love Tivo. At least, I used to. But then I had to interact with live people. Now this is not the beginning of a rant about bad service. It's the beginning of a rant about bad service design. Because when employees are directed to follow processes that drive customers crazy, that failure of service design is management's responsibility.
  • Jack Mackey
  • 5,195 Reads 340 Shares
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