North Carolina Feature Articles

North Carolina Feature Articles

Looking for a franchise opportunity in North Carolina? Whether you're a first-time business owner or a seasoned entrepreneur, North Carolina offers exciting potential for franchise success. From food and beverage to retail and services, the diverse economic landscape in North Carolina is ripe for franchise opportunities. Explore the best franchise options today and take the next step toward business ownership in North Carolina.

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

They may not be the most visible, or even among the highest-paid executives in the company. But in the daily trenches of running a franchise system, chief operating officers, or COOs, are the go-to people for other executives, staff, and franchisees. Most come in early and stay late, taking only brief vacations and then doing so with cell phone in hand.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 6,566 Reads 1 Shares
If someone had told Heidi Morrissey 20 years ago that she'd wind up as heir apparent to the family business, Kitchen Tune-Up, she would have probably rolled her eyes in that way that only a teenager can. And if her four siblings had dared to suggest that she, of them all, was most like their master-salesman father, she'd have repeated the eye roll and added an indignant snort.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 3,902 Reads 10 Shares
The legend is familiar: In 1950, Bill Rosenberg opens the first Dunkin' Donuts store in Quincy, Mass. In 1955, he licenses the first franchise. In 1960, his dream of franchisors and franchisees working together is realized in the founding of the International Franchise Association. In the coming years he would become involved in philanthropy and be called the "father of franchising as we know it today" by Nation's Restaurant News
  • 28,869 Reads 1 Shares
Franchising can provide an opportunity for you to clean up. Whether it's inside your home or the clothes on your body, there are many choices. Busy Americans are driving explosive growth in the cleaning industry. With little time of their own to clean, U.S. consumers are spending more than $9 billion a year on residential cleaning-a figure expected to grow at a rate of more than 20 percent a year.
  • 2,524 Reads
So many companies today train their employees to "duplicate" the customer experience, to treat every person who walks through the door exactly the same way. I have seen too many companies fail using this strategy. Forget about what is easier to train your employees to do: not every customer wants the same experience.
  • Thom Winninger
  • 4,065 Reads 12 Shares
"If you're not moving forward, you're standing still," goes the old business axiom. In franchising, expansion is one way of moving forward. Whether you're a start-up organization or a player who's been around a while, growth through new sites is an objective--and when it comes to successful site selection tactics and techniques, consider the following approaches.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 4,173 Reads 1,014 Shares
A healthy economy and a continued demand for both long- and short-term employees is driving personnel agencies and temporary employment services-and they love the work. Staffing services is one of the fastest-growing industries in the country. In 2004, the staffing industry generated more than $63 billion in revenues, with temporary staffing accounting for approximately 90 percent and permanent placement contributing the remainder.
  • 2,211 Reads 4 Shares
After more than 20 highly successful years in the painting business, Charlie Chase still finds himself--several times a day--trying to convince people that painters aren't just guys who can't hold down a job.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 7,526 Reads 352 Shares
After 25 years in franchising, Russ Cooper, age 55, retired--but it didn't stick. "I flunked retirement, basically," he says, laughing.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 9,732 Reads
Chew on the numbers presented in this article and consider the implications for you and your organization from the perspective of your customers and employees--the people you hire and the people you sell to. You will see great numbers to keep in mind when positioning your company, looking for your next location, and developing your next marketing push.
  • Mauricio Velasquez
  • 4,295 Reads 3 Shares
For many years--like the ancient bones of "Lucy" discovered by Donald Johanson in 1974 and long thought to be mankind's first ancestor--Albert Singer, who founded the Singer Sewing Machine Company in 1851, has been credited with being the first franchisor in the United States. The designation was likely given because his was the most recognized name of the early pioneers that people still remembered.
  • Michael Seid
  • 27,840 Reads 25 Shares
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Chew on these numbers and take into consideration the implications for you and your organization from the perspective of your customers and your employees - who you hire and whom you sell to. You will see great numbers to keep in mind when positioning your company, your next office and your next marketing push. Many of these numbers come from my work in the construction, landscape, and business-to-consumer industries, which understood these numbers many years ago. Construction, landscaping, manufacturing, and related industries are in the trenches and don't understand why so many other industries are not getting it.
  • Mauricio Velasquez
  • 2,754 Reads
No, neither the price of gasoline nor its impact on your multi-unit, multi-brand franchise business will be reduced under of the recently passed energy and transportation bills. However, both the Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2005, and the Safe, Accountable, Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005, could have a noticeable impact on the tax bills of every franchised business - as well as those of their owners and operators.
  • Mark E. Battersby
  • 3,055 Reads 1,021 Shares
No, neither the price of gasoline nor its impact on your multi-unit, multi-brand franchise business will be reduced under of the recently passed energy and transportation bills. However, both the Energy Tax Incentives Act of 2005, and the Safe,...
  • Franchise Update
  • 5,032 Reads
For a multi-unit franchisee, the relationship with a customer doesn't end with the sale. Each purchase of an item or use of your service is a single transaction between an individual customer and an individual employee. Whether it is a quick meal at a sub shop or a thorough home cleaning, this transaction should be the beginning of a long-term relationship with your customer. After the transaction, the relationship must be grounded in not only the quality of the product or service, but also in the strength of your response to customer needs. How do you gauge and evaluate your quality of product, service and response beyond the price tag?
  • Thomas J. Winninger
  • 3,360 Reads 16 Shares
Family business teams in the franchise industry help prove the old adage that two good ideas are always better than one. That continues to be the case for Kelly Saxton and his family.
  • Joan Szabo
  • 2,948 Reads 7 Shares
Fast food chicken franchising has come a long way from 1939, when Colonel Harlan Sanders introduced Kentucky Fried Chicken. Since then, brands like Church's, Chester's, and Popeyes have spread the gospel of fried chicken not only across the continent, but across the world. Fried chicken has become American as apple pie, and everybody wants a piece.
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 3,379 Reads 13 Shares
More than 26 years ago, North Carolinians Tommy and Donna Haddock bought their first Bojangles' franchise. Things worked out so well, with him taking care of store operations and her working on insurance, workers comp and other "bureaucratic red tape," that they've never felt the need to try another franchise organization.
  • Debbie Selinsky
  • 6,821 Reads 1 Shares
The hair care industry is a $50 billion annual business in the U.S. Seems as though there's a hair cutting niche for every type of American. There are salons for guys, gals, kids, even pets. It's a highly fragmented industry composed of mom-and-pop shops as well as franchise operations. And in 2006, it continues to be a strong area for franchising.
  • 2,136 Reads 7 Shares
I have read many "How To" articles on real estate. Often, they were written by attorneys, estate agents, or learned Ivy League professors in need of publishing. They quote facts, point to figures, refer to charts, and on occasion come up with something of value to the reader. The problem, in all fairness to these authors, is that it is difficult to write about real estate without a clear and specific idea of what their readers need or are looking for.
  • Lewis Gelmon
  • 3,464 Reads 20 Shares
Before he even served his first sandwich, Bill Duke signed a contract with an outside human resource organization to handle all his personnel issues. And after one successful year as a single-store franchise owner, Duke is pleased with his decision.
  • Linda C. Ray
  • 3,431 Reads 17 Shares
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The quest for knowledge. That, and an increasingly competitive world, coupled with parent demand, is driving the tutoring and learning center industry. It's another growing opportunity in franchising. The Education Industry Association projected growth of 15 percent in this sector last year. Higher expectations, low test scores, and mounting competition for admission to top-tier universities are boosting student enrollment at tutoring and learning centers across the country. Facilities like Sylvan, Huntington, and Kumon are witnessing this exploding growth firsthand.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 1,923 Reads 5 Shares
Much has been made of the benefits of web-based technology as it applies to the franchise corporate office and how it can easily and effectively collect financial data from its franchisees.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 3,087 Reads 3 Shares
The sandwich has come a long way since its invention in 1762 by the Fourth Earl of Sandwich - or so the story goes. That's when the Earl is credited with being the first person to slap a couple of slices of bread around his meat (or order his servants to).
  • Eddy Goldberg
  • 4,017 Reads
Many area developers are under tight time pressure to open new units. Often, area developers will agree to growth provisions in their franchise agreements that can be unrealistic to all but the most sophisticated operators. Franchisors will, of course, prefer to grant territorial rights to those who promise rapid growth. Once you have been awarded those rights, you may have the best intentions and plans to meet your growth requirements, but you may discover early on that it takes much longer than expected to open each store. The realization sets in early with most that they stand to breach their franchise agreement’s growth requirements and find themselves struggling to catch up. Like a swimmer who panics, a lot of splashing occurs but little in the way of real movement happens.
  • Jeremy Behar
  • 3,006 Reads
Nevermind rising room rates and increased hotel occupancy, customer satisfaction in the hotel industry is up, a new study says. The annual J.D. Power and Associates North America Hotel Guest Satisfaction Index Study measured overall hotel guest satisfaction based on six measures: check-in/check-out, guest room, food and beverage, hotel services, hotel facilities, and costs and fees. Hotel chains were ranked in six segments: luxury, upscale, mid-scale full service, mid-scale limited service, economy/budget and extended stay.
  • 3,598 Reads 129 Shares
Time for my annual "just got back from the IFA Convention" column. I saw lots of my lawyer friends while there-also met a lot of suppliers, franchise consultants, academicians, journalists, and franchisees. Occasionally, I even came a cross a franchisor. Didn't see too many psychologists, however. Why not?
  • Lawrence Bivins
  • 4,033 Reads 9 Shares
Quick lube shops may seem to be on every corner of most major American cities, but that's not true overseas in places like China and even north of the border in Canada.
  • Kerry Pipes
  • 6,365 Reads 422 Shares
Can an elephant change its spots? Sometimes it feels easier to start a new brand than to change an old one-even if the old one seems ready for the bone yard. But how do franchisors who want to keep a valuable (but tired) nameplate breathe new life into it, attracting new customers while retaining the faithful--and convince its franchisees not only to have faith after years of malaise, but that change is what they need? Franchise UPDATE spoke with three franchisors who knew they had a good thing going-and figured out a way to make it fly once again.
  • Eddy Goldburg
  • 3,668 Reads 19 Shares
As a college dropout with a highly successful father (a transplant surgeon), Brian Scudamore had a mission. He had started 1-800-Got-Junk? as a way to pay for college and now was determined to put his business to the test. But let's not get too far ahead of ourselves.
  • Ripley Hotch
  • 5,754 Reads 136 Shares

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