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Arizona Feature Articles

Informative articles to support business buyers, franchisees, and franchisors in Arizona.

Franchisors seeking to grow in a tight credit environment and slow economy are turning to private equity to counter a slowdown in financing and cash flow. For struggling systems, capital "infusions" or outright acquisition by private equity firms can replace diminished royalties and franchise fees; for successful brands, this source of additional capital can be used to accelerate growth and provide a competitive advantage.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 4,123 Reads 58 Shares
Gaining access to and securing capital is more important for franchisees today than ever. Every week we talk with multi-unit franchisees about how they are growing and the kind of financing it takes for them to achieve their goals and objectives. It's an important topic and sometimes we get some very candid responses.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 4,795 Reads
Anand Gala never planned on getting into the family business of operating franchised fast food restaurants. What he had planned on was medical school. But as he was working his way through his med school interviews, it dawned on him that he just wasn't all that interested in medicine. He's never looked back.
  • John Carroll
  • 9,837 Reads
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.
  • Franchise Update
  • 5,511 Reads 93 Shares
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.
  • Franchise Update
  • 5,972 Reads 93 Shares
By now you're most likely familiar with pop culture buzzwords like tweets, friending, and texting. But if you haven't had much firsthand involvement in these activities, chances are you will very soon. These ubiquitous and participatory endeavors are all part of a "social networking" trend that's spreading like wildfire online and, some say, is poised to create a new frontier in 21st century marketing.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 4,176 Reads 27 Shares
Tasti D-Lite's coming to Arizona...and Facebook is helping spread the news. Jonathan Kaufman is the area developer and multi-unit franchisee for the state, where he's scheduled to open more than 40 Tasti D-Lite units. But it's his first store opening that has kept him busy this fall and Facebook has been one of his strategic marketing tools.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 4,017 Reads 6 Shares
Gaining access to and securing capital is more important for franchisees today than ever. Every week we talk with multi-unit franchisees about how they are growing and the kind of financing it takes for them to achieve their goals and objectives. It's an important topic and sometimes we get some very candid responses.
  • Multi-Unit Franchisee
  • 5,014 Reads
Last year, our third quarter cover story on Item 19 urged franchisors to disclose more financial performance information in their FDD. After all, the FTC's amended Franchise Rule, which became mandatory July 1, 2008, contained language intended to make it easier for franchisors to make financial performance representations (FPRs; formerly known as earnings claims)
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 10,160 Reads 1,482 Shares
Starting up a new company is risky business, even in a healthy economy. Despite the troubles and fears that have plagued the economy and business world in the past year, many new franchise concepts have hung out shingles, and others that were just barely off the ground are thriving today.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 7,563 Reads 21 Shares
In the late 1990s, Jeff Reetz was a head coach at Pizza Hut, helping to inspire a group of regional coaches to winning records at dozens of restaurants in eight Southwestern markets. "I helped them make their operations as successful as possible," recalls Reetz. However, like many working in a corporate environment, he dreamed of the day when he could manage his own business.
  • John Carroll
  • 5,492 Reads 67 Shares
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Dennis Hitzeman has had some legendary mentors in his life. First there was McDonald's founder Ray Kroc, who hired the 16-year-old Hitzeman as a crew member for his third location. Later, as a West Point Cadet, he played football for assistant coach Bill Parcells and studied under Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, Jr.
  • John Carroll
  • 5,948 Reads 4 Shares
For a man in the hospitality business who's traveled widely, Ted Torres didn't fall far from the tree, nor did he want to. "My father, a first-generation hotelier, was my mentor, teacher, coach, and partner," says Torres, who at 43 has been in the business for 20 years. His most far-flung project, building hotels for Hilton across Russia, never came to fruition--through no lack of willingness on his part--but it was a fabulous month-long adventure just the same.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 4,102 Reads 49 Shares
You'd think selling franchises in one of the worst economies since the Great Depression would daunt even the hardiest franchisor. But many franchisors, both well-established and new to the scene, keep on plugging when the economy goes south. Some even consider this a great time to grow.
  • Amy Zuckerman
  • 5,855 Reads 8 Shares
If you could get better performance from your franchisees and increase the overall value of your brand at little or no cost, you'd be crazy not to. That's the business proposition of business coaching. While it may sound like vendor pitch, this assessment comes from a growing number of franchisors and franchisees.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 3,878 Reads 6 Shares
Amid the arid, bronze landscape of the Arizona desert, things heated up for Area Developer's 2008 Multi-Unit Franchising Conference on April 23–25 at the Hyatt Gainey Ranch Resort & Spa in Scottsdale. The annual three-day meeting of the minds, which once again set new attendance records, was packed with seminars, sessions, and speakers who provided multiple opportunities for personal and professional growth for multiunit franchise operators of all size and scope.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 3,380 Reads 31 Shares
Florida-based businessman Peter Economys and New York entrepreneur Rob Tobias have a very special talent important to area developers: they're champion multi-taskers. But the concentration and mental agility necessary for the success of any area developer is doubly important for them--because each oversees multiple concepts.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 4,468 Reads 129 Shares
"I love the action of the restaurants and the strategy of the real estate. This is the jackpot business for me," says Mike Scanlon, president and CEO of Thomas and King in Lexington, Ky., where he opened his first Applebee's in 1988.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 4,523 Reads 1,021 Shares
If you were fortunate enough to attend the annual Area Developer Multi-Unit Franchising Conference this April in Scottsdale, you know that the weather was terrific, the facility outstanding, educational sessions abundant, and that franchise networking opportunities flourished late into the cool desert night.
  • Bill Hall
  • 2,436 Reads 5 Shares
Bill Dalton owned eight Grease Monkey franchises in the Seattle metro area. Today he owns one--a five-month-old, state-of-the-art facility in his home of Montgomery, Texas.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 4,199 Reads 1,014 Shares
In today's business environment, the mystery shopper - the person who pretends to be a customer or potential client while noting every conceivable plus and minus of their shopping or consumer experience - is a fact of life.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 2,999 Reads 19 Shares
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My first entry into the franchise business was in 1986 when I acquired 24 Dairy Queen restaurants in Texas. In less than a year, I was up to 55 stores and had become one of the largest franchisees in the entire Dairy Queen system. I had more credit than sense.
  • Bill Hall
  • 2,711 Reads 3 Shares
Finding an edge. Moving ahead of the competition. Emerging as a winner. These were all themes echoed throughout Franchise Update Media Group's 9th Annual Franchise Leadership & Development Conference.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 2,659 Reads 3 Shares
Conventional wisdom has it that young franchises are jumping on the area developer bandwagon to grow quickly and establish their presence in the most efficient way.
  • Ripley Hotch and Debbie Selinsky
  • 2,848 Reads 137 Shares
Business owners understand the importance of advertising and the need to maximize how their dollars are spent. But how do you do that? For multi-unit franchise operators, much is at stake. Here's a look at what four area developers have done to make the most of their advertising spending.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 4,319 Reads 51 Shares
Area developers usually come to the party with experience in franchising and the industry they're in--or at least one of the two. In the case of new Precision Tune Auto Care area developers Dick Lippert and Al Unser, Jr. (yes, that Al Unser, Jr.), neither has franchise experience. But Lippert brings a strong track record of business success. And Unser? Well, he knows a little something about cars.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 2,500 Reads 10 Shares
When Mike Willett was looking for creative ways to finance the growth of his franchise plans in the Houston area, he looked no further than his existing retirement plan. With a program known as a BORSA (Business Owner's Retirement Savings Account) Plan, he recently tapped his 401(k) holdings to launch the regional development of Synergy HomeCare. The BORSA program is structured so that retirement funds can be used for business development without distributions, taxes, penalties, or loans.
  • Joan Szabo
  • 4,041 Reads 82 Shares
Most small businesses, including franchises, are usually so busy concentrating on running their businesses that they don't realize the toll it is taking on their technology and environment. With limited staff and hours in the day, these businesses tend to grow organically without a specific design or technology plan. Yet these play an important role in how productive a business can be.
  • Jack Hamlett
  • 2,567 Reads 1 Shares
One-third of the nation's population is "minority" (U.S. Census), but only about 10 percent of franchises are minority-owned (National Minority Franchise Initiative). Or, to look at it another way, 90 percent of franchises are not minority-owned.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 4,789 Reads 25 Shares
In the world of ice cream retailing, many believe that mix-ins and premium ice cream originated in 1973 when Steve Herrell opened the now-legendary Steve’s in Somerville, Massachusetts. Today’s brands make those days seem almost quaint, like Henry Ford’s Model T in a world of 200-mph Ferraris.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 1,961 Reads 17 Shares

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