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As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in a changing economy, FUSR continues to bring you good news each month.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in a volatile economy, FUSR continues to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, innovating, and continuing to grow, whether domestically or overseas.

Jack Riggs didn't follow a simple straight line to franchising. In fact, it was rather crooked. But as it turned out, every twist and turn in his life helped him become the successful entrepreneur he is today.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in a changing economy, FUSR continues to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, innovating, and continuing to grow, whether domestically or overseas.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in a changing economy, FUSR continues to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, innovating, and continuing to grow, whether domestically or overseas.

When Shelly Sun and her husband JD founded BrightStar, their full-service healthcare staffing agency in 2002, the concept was rooted in their experiences searching for quality care for JD's sick grandmother. "We were managing multiple relationships and thought how great it would be to have one company handle the entire continuum of care," says Sun, CEO of BrightStar.

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, innovating, and continuing to grow, whether domestically or overseas.

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, innovating, and continuing to grow, whether domestically or overseas.

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.

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.

Truly great franchise sales and development teams are hard to find... and can be even harder to create. For franchise sales executives, attracting the right mix of people, passion, and experience, along with creating a positive culture and providing the right mix of recognition and reward, it's a delicate balance. Achieving that balance means the difference between a marginal brand and a great one

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.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will continue 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 despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will continue 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 despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will continue 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 despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will continue 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 despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.

In 1998, a young Canadian attorney named Fiorenzo Bresolin traveled to Florida to work on a large real estate transaction. It wasn't long before he fell in love with the state--and its booming real estate business. The outgoing corporate lawyer went on to develop, along with partners, a 500-acre corporate park in South Florida owned by the late Mel Simon of the Simon Property Group; today he's knocking on doors to place his restaurants in some of those malls.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will continue 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 despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities. To be considered for next month's Winner's Column, please send your Good News to [email protected]

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will continue 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 despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will bring you Good News each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And as the U.S. economy struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities - and this month, we report on an overseas franchisor set to open its first U.S. location, as well as several new entrants to franchising.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will bring you Good News each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And as the U.S. economy struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will bring you Good News each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow - despite the economy… maybe even because of it. And as the U.S. economy struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities through master franchise deals.

Wingstop announced positive comps for the 25th consecutive quarter, dating back to July 2003. Wingstop ended its most recent quarter with a 1.6 percent increase and is up 3.8 percent for the year. The company predicts the positive trend to continue into the fourth quarter during the football and holiday seasons, when its sales are typically strongest. "This news is strong evidence that limited-service chains continue to deliver value during a difficult economic climate," said Darren Tristano, executive vice president of Technomic, Inc., an industry research firm. Wingstop, founded in 1994 and franchising since 1997, has 425 restaurants open in 34 states.

Taking a franchise brand international is, in a sense, the final frontier for growth. It's where many franchise brands that have begun - and been successful - in the U.S turn when they seek expansion. It's a strategy that often occurs in part because of growth that has saturated domestic markets and territories. Typically, larger more established franchise brands begin looking across borders for untapped markets and potential growth. It's an expansion strategy that's not new. But during the past couple of decades as franchising has continued to grow as a popular business model, the international growth strategy has been on the rise. International franchising can also provide opportunities for new and existing franchisees looking for expansion options. There are opportunities as near as Mexico and Canada and as far as the Middle East. In one sense, international franchising can be a relatively smooth and easy process. After all, the franchise concept is built around infrastructure, simplicity, replication, and streamlined operations. What works in one place generally works in another. And many international markets are wide open and untapped and offer enormous potential for franchisors - with the right products, services, and business culture.

Cleveland-based USA Insulation has added new franchise locations in Indianapolis, Chicago, Omaha, Portland, Me., and central New Jersey. Company President Patrick J. Pitrone attributes the company's growth to forecasts of a cold winter, unpredictable energy prices, and the Federal Energy Tax Credit of 30 percent (up to $1,500) for homeowners who add insulation by year-end.

Savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy. Each month FUSR will bring you good news, highlighting brands that are bucking the trend by adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And as you'll see below, U.S. franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion while the domestic economy remains slow.

USA Insulation, based in Eastlake, Ohio, has added four new franchise locations to serve Chicago, Omaha, Central New Jersey, and Portland, Maine. Interest in insulation has grown in recent years as homeowners hit by the economic downturn and rising energy costs seek to reduce their monthly gas and electric bills - good news for this franchisor. "Aside from the typical reasons for insulating a home, many of our new customers have wanted to take advantage of the energy tax credit," says company President Patrick Pitrone. "Adding home insulation now can get you a 30 percent federal energy tax credit of up to $1,500."

When Bill McPherson was growing up in the San Fernando Valley, he dreamed of being a professional basketball player. He was good enough to get a scholarship to the University of California at Irvine.