Florida Feature Articles
Looking for a franchise opportunity in Florida? Whether you're a first-time business owner or a seasoned entrepreneur, Florida offers exciting potential for franchise success. With thriving markets in key cities like Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale, Tallahassee, there's a perfect environment to launch and grow a franchise. From food and beverage to retail and services, the diverse economic landscape in Florida is ripe for franchise opportunities. Explore the best franchise options today and take the next step toward business ownership in Florida.
Informative articles to support business buyers, franchisees, and franchisors in Florida.
Build-A-Bear Workshop, in partnership with WiredSafety.org, is promoting October as "Stop Cyberbullying Month" at its stores and in its online virtual world, buildabearville.com. Cyberbullying, a growing problem among children, tweens, and teens, made national headlines in 2006 when a 13-year-old girl committed suicide after being bullied online by a group that included the mother of one of her former friends. The franchisor is focusing on online safety education and how to help prevent cyberbullying through several programs, by providing activities and materials to promote safe online 
play for kids, and by participating in a Stop Cyberbullying Coalition event on Capitol Hill on October 13.
- Franchise Update
- 4,159 Reads 3 Shares
It seems there really is a silver lining in every cloud. And the recent economic downturn has deposited a little of that silver at the feet of some multi-unit franchisees who can tolerate risk and don't mind a little "remodeling" work. Today, opportunities abound to buy distressed franchise units from other troubled or bankrupt franchisees--often for pennies on the dollar. If they have the stomach, these "rescuers" can snatch up these units, turn them around, and watch the dollars flow in.
- Kerry Pipes
- 8,093 Reads 2 Shares
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.
- Franchise Update
- 4,219 Reads 1,023 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
- 8,310 Reads 1 Shares
Thomas "Tab" Broome got an early start in the franchise business, going to work for a restaurant group in Raleigh, N.C., about 30 years ago. At the time, the company ran a string of Darryl's restaurants (which looked a lot like Applebee's, only with a little more variety and flair), a group of 11 Pizza Inns, and The Angus Barn steakhouses. General Mills swooped in and bought the pizza places and family restaurant business, and Broome got a chance to work for a large restaurant corporation.
- John Carroll
- 4,677 Reads 1 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
- 6,523 Reads 1 Shares
It all began with a single Golden Corral restaurant in 1997. In just over a dozen years, Guillermo Perales has grown to operate 142 franchise locations, spread across 5 brands throughout Texas and Florida. It's quite an accomplishment for this native of Mexico, and he's not even close to finished. "I'd like to double the size of my business over the next decade," says Perales. Based on his track record, it's a good bet he'll succeed. He just inked a deal with T-Mobile for some new units, and he's negotiating with a yogurt and seafood franchisor--and that doesn't even include his planned hotel project in Dallas.
- Kerry Pipes
- 10,648 Reads 1,015 Shares
Long before they met and married, Donna and Jim Wade grew up working in their respective family businesses--Donna in Southeast Texas, and Jim in a small town in West Tennessee. Both families owned restaurants and grocery stores. Their paths crossed when Jim, a University of Memphis graduate who went to work in accounting for Binswanger Glass, was transferred to Houston as a controller. She was selling copiers for Xerox, and he called one day for a quote. "Not long after he completed the purchase, we started dating," recalls Donna. "We realized instantly that we shared a passion for business."
- Debbie Selinsky
- 3,995 Reads 5 Shares
After years of building his company by acquiring distressed franchise units and real estate, John Metz bought a distressed franchisor. That's right, a franchisor. On December 17, 2008, Metz took over Hurricane Grill & Wings. And he's from Buffalo.
- Eddy Goldberg
- 5,750 Reads 2 Shares
As a student at Florida State University, the entrepreneurial spirit in Sam Osborne led him to own and operate a small personal training business. One of his clients was David Walker, who was soon to be a co-founder of Tropical Smoothie Café. Things have "worked out" well for both.
- Kerry Pipes
- 6,649 Reads 212 Shares
Looking for deals in today's economy? Look no farther than the franchise agreement--but look carefully (and bring a lawyer). Written by franchisors to protect their brand and their interests, franchise agreements have historically favored franchisors, with little room for negotiation, especially among more established brands. That not only is changing, it already has--the result of fundamental shifts within franchising itself, accelerated by today's economic upheavals.
- Eddy Goldberg
- 4,546 Reads 35 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
- 6,652 Reads 8 Shares
Seventy-year-old Kelly White waited a long time before exploring the world of franchising. In fact, he came out of retirement at age 66 to open his HoneyBaked Ham store in Silverdale, Wash.
"Retirement was just too boring for us," says White, referring to himself and his wife Sue. Together they manage the store and a staff of eight part-time and full-time employees. White's hands-on style and love of running the business have served him well. That's probably because he founded and operated his own construction company for 25 years, much of that while concurrently running an apple orchard.
- Kerry Pipes
- 3,557 Reads 11 Shares
In 1993, Grant Simon had his heart and mind set on identifying a franchise he could commit to. He found it while getting a haircut.
- John Carroll
- 5,624 Reads 12 Shares
When Pat Williamson was a sophomore at the University of Georgia in 1969, he was home from school one weekend and heard about a summer job opportunity. A Frito-Lay route man stocking the shelves in Williamson's father's retail store had asked if there were any kids looking for a summer job. Williamson's grandfather overheard the request and passed along the info to young Pat.
- Kerry Pipes
- 14,054 Reads 4 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
- 5,356 Reads 129 Shares
There's a loud ruckus, a crowd gathers 'round, and a customer is sprawled on the floor next to the soft drink dispenser. The area is covered in soda and ice and the customer laments she slipped, fell, and is injured because of your negligence.
- Kerry Pipes
- 9,183 Reads 1 Shares
In June 2008, heavy rains caused flooding that filled the basement and rose two feet high on the first floor of Columbus Regional Hospital in Columbus, Indiana. The flooding closed the hospital, forcing the evacuation of 157 patients and causing an estimated $125 million in damages. Paul Davis National (PDN) was soon on the scene, part of the team brought in to mitigate the damage and allow the regional health care facility to reopen as quickly as possible.
- Eddy Goldberg
- 3,547 Reads 1,021 Shares
Franchisees aren't the only ones with more than one brand these days. Increasingly, franchisors are getting into the act as they see the value in selling multiple brands from under one corporate roof.
- Eddy Goldberg
- 4,388 Reads 1 Shares
In franchising, no one has to be reminded of the importance of making deals and signing fabulous new franchisees. But unless you actually open new units, inking the deal is only part of the story. This important distinction--between units sold and units opened--led us to examine six franchises that grew by more than 100 units between 2005 and 2006 and ask them how they did it.
- Debbie Selinsky
- 4,394 Reads 25 Shares
At PuroSystems, the vice president of franchise development has an advantage his peers would envy--if they knew it existed: he can listen in live on a franchise sales call, privately offering advice and feedback to his salesperson as the discussion unfolds.
- John Carroll
- 3,545 Reads 37 Shares
When Lino DeFeo bought a Sign-A-Rama franchise in West Palm Beach, Fla., he didn't know much about signs. That was about 15 years ago. DeFeo had sold his trucking business in Manhattan and moved to Florida with his wife Maria and their two young children to join a family business. But that didn't work out exactly as planned. "I got out before we totally killed each other," he says with a laugh.
- Eddy Goldberg
- 9,509 Reads 1,014 Shares
Mike Ghaida lives in a million-dollar house in a quiet suburb in New Jersey with his wife and three sons, and $300,000 worth of cars in his driveway. It wasn't always this way for the 41-year-old Ghaida, who came to the U.S. from Lebanon at 17 to study English and architecture at LSU.
- Eddy Goldberg
- 22,983 Reads 355 Shares
It's fitting that Guillermo Perales does business in the state of Texas--a place where things are known for being large. Fitting because Perales heads the largest Hispanic-operated multiunit franchise company in the U.S., with more than 140 units across five brands. And he's looking to expand.
- Area Developer Magazine
- 9,648 Reads 3 Shares
Most people would trade their day job anytime for Bob Stucker's problem a few years back: "I retired too young."
- Kerry Pipes & Eddy Goldberg
- 5,038 Reads 11 Shares
What was once a humble grassroots movement to "Save the Planet" has now become big business, with consumers a major part of the push. Seems everywhere you look these days, more and more companies are touting their "green" initiatives as they scramble to implement various ways to recycle, reuse, and renew. Green is in.
- Kerry Pipes
- 5,298 Reads 7 Shares
Even experienced area developers can get emotional about locations, says Jeremy Behar, president and CEO of Cirrus Tenant Services, a Toronto-based company specializing in real estate negotiations for various businesses, including franchises. As a consequence, he says, "They will do what it takes to sign the deal and get it done."
- Ripley Hotch
- 3,507 Reads 3 Shares
Greg Helwig, vice president of system development for Sylvan Learning Centers, says the company didn't set out to grow with multiple units. It just happened naturally, with an existing franchisee adding a unit, then another.
- Ripley Hotch
- 3,828 Reads 3 Shares
Multi-unit operators have been a part of the growth and expansion strategy at Fantastic Sams since the brand first began franchising in 1976, according to Jeff Sturgis, vice president of franchise sales development.
- Kerry Pipes
- 3,414 Reads 1,014 Shares
Vaughn Hayes, the Virginia area developer for Salad Creations, had an early exposure to franchising - and it was a missed opportunity.
- Ripley Hotch and Debbie Selinsky
- 3,623 Reads 4 Shares
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