Washington Feature Articles
Looking for a franchise opportunity in Washington? Whether you're a first-time business owner or a seasoned entrepreneur, Washington offers exciting potential for franchise success. With thriving markets in key cities like Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, Vancouver, Bellevue, there's a perfect environment to launch and grow a franchise. From food and beverage to retail and services, the diverse economic landscape in Washington is ripe for franchise opportunities. Explore the best franchise options today and take the next step toward business ownership in Washington.
Informative articles to support business buyers, franchisees, and franchisors in Washington.
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
- 5,503 Reads 1,014 Shares
Brian Wigutow had always dreamed of operating his own restaurant. But after more than a dozen years in the industry he realized that for him -- and his family, which includes three young daughters -- it was just not going to be the right career choice. That's when he turned to a franchise broker and discovered, to his surprise, one of the franchise matches that best suited him…Handyman Matters.
- Kerry Pipes
- 2,667 Reads
In the chronicles of franchising history, some names come immediately to mind - Ray Kroc, S. Truett Cathy, Dave Thomas. The names conjure up images of independent-minded entrepreneurs with the savvy, know-how, and vision to create successful business models replicable anywhere. As part of the celebration of Franchise UPDATE's 20th anniversary, we look back at some of these colorful, inspiring, and sometimes controversial characters.
- Kerry Pipes
- 5,101 Reads
This issue marks the 20th anniversary of Franchise UPDATE, the company and the publication.
- Ripley Hotch
- 3,748 Reads 30 Shares
With the first kick-off of the pigskin this season, chicken wings were back on top of the menu once again for hungry football fans nationwide. Each autumn, migrating herds of Americans return to their favorite hot (wings) spots week after week to catch the big games on big screens, or wolf down their favorite spicy chicken wings at home on their new HDTV unit. It's a routine that's become big business, and it doesn't seem to be losing any steam.
- Kerry Pipes
- 2,304 Reads 3 Shares
Just as the Memorial Day holiday was about to begin, lawmakers preparing to flee Washington, D.C., for vacation, reached agreement on continuing to fund the war in Iraq. That funding bill also raised the minimum wage. Not a big deal, many business owners would say, because half the states already require minimum wages in excess of the federal level.
- Mark E. Battersby
- 3,560 Reads 7 Shares
Despite all of the attention recently focused on income taxes, it is the property tax that is the biggest expense in most businesses - and the most difficult to manage. According to the Council on State Taxation, a Washington, DC, think tank, American businesses shell out more on property taxes than for any other type of state or local taxes.
- Mark E. Battersby
- 3,703 Reads 4 Shares
As more franchise brands push outward from their local or regional base seeking growth on the national stage, choosing the right city or designated market area (DMA) is always a critical factor in success.
- Eddy Goldberg
- 4,109 Reads 14 Shares
Franchising is founded on the concept of replicating success at the unit level. But Mary Rogers is taking that premise one better: she's replicating success at the franchisor level.
- Eddy Goldberg
- 4,799 Reads 22 Shares
Getting laid off by United Airlines in the 1982 recession was perhaps the best business move Regina and Jerry Lillie ever made (even if they didn't actually make it themselves).
- Eddy Goldberg and Kerry Pipes
- 3,409 Reads 3 Shares
Pets and pet-related businesses are among today's hottest franchise opportunities--especially in the U.S., where pet owners are notorious for pampering their dogs, cats, birds (and even their rodents, reptiles, amphibians, and fish).
- Eddy Goldberg
- 3,182 Reads 17 Shares
He always meant to quit working at Jack-in-the-Box and pursue his goal of becoming a doctor in the United States. Instead, he found success beyond his wildest dreams...in franchising.
- Eddy Goldberg
- 51,590 Reads 16 Shares
If you're looking to add women franchisees--and according to every statistic, you should be (more are looking, and more have the means and skills), then you should know what women want (our apologies to the movie).
- Linda C. Ray
- 4,541 Reads 25 Shares
What was happening in the franchisor community? The Italian legislature had proposed that no franchisor be allowed to offer franchises in Italy unless it had a history of operating at least two units in the country before it began franchising. Ultimately, Italy adopted a more flexible experience standard. Then China adopted a two-unit, one year of experience standard as a precondition for franchising there in its 2004 Franchise Measures.
- Carl E. Zwisler
- 10,785 Reads 3 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
- 5,772 Reads 25 Shares
Unfortunately for those who take on the job of growing a franchise business, financial risk is always present. If you are like other franchisors who want to minimize risk and boost profits, you may want to take a serious look at using a more extensive corporate-ownership program than you now have in place.
- 5,288 Reads 24 Shares
John Gantes has been in the restaurant business his entire life. "From the time I was a little kid, I worked around restaurants. I'm from Greek heritage and my dad had a restaurant when I was growing up, so I knew the business. Unlike my dad, who was very content to have one restaurant, that wasn't what I really wanted to do."
- Eddy Goldberg
- 8,941 Reads 339 Shares
While politicians wrangled over the Mexican-U.S. border situation in 2006, one thing remained certain: people on both sides of the border love Mexican food. Americans have come a long way from Taco Bell, embracing Mexican food more and more each year, in all its flavors and variations.
- 10,716 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
- 4,350 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
- 28,206 Reads 26 Shares
Big money, in the form of private equity, is finding a home in franchising, and bringing big promise to area developers and multi-unit operators-and to franchisors and franchise executives as well.
- 5,139 Reads 1 Shares
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
- 2,820 Reads
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
- 3,486 Reads 13 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
- 4,054 Reads
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
- 4,084 Reads 9 Shares
In 1996, a young London inventor asked British franchise veteran Victor Clewes whether he should franchise or sell the innovative machine he'd created for filtering used cooking oil. Clewes had never set foot in a commercial kitchen, but it didn't take him long to see that Jason Sayers was sitting on a franchising goldmine.
- Deb Selinsky
- 5,234 Reads 15 Shares
Whether it's high-fat super-premium gourmet ice cream with mix-in candy, fudge, or fruit, or just plain vanilla low-fat frozen yogurt, for most Americans it's not if or when, but how often they'll indulge in a sweet, tasty, frozen dessert or treat. In the U.S. today, ice cream is a $20 billion-plus industry, with 90 percent market penetration. The industry is mature, meaning any gains from one competitor (Haagen-Dazs vs. Carvel) or segment (super premium vs. light) will be scooped from another.
- 17,959 Reads 1 Shares
Seattle's Dennis Waldron is still in the early stages, but he's by no means an amateur. For 10 years he was president of Cinnabon, where he introduced franchises and grew the chain to 400 units. After Cinnabon was sold, "I looked at a number of opportunities and finally settled on being a franchisee," he says. More than that, Waldron set out to be a multi-unit franchisee.
- 5,715 Reads 206 Shares
John D. Prince is a franchise owner on the grow. His current flags include Applebee's, Aaron's, Famous Dave's, and Hooters. His holdings are concentrated mainly in Utah, where, owing to the state's unique liquor laws, he also owns and operates three private sports bars. He got involved in Applebee's by necessity, when his Ponderosa Steakhouses were tanking in the early 1990s, and has steadily added new sites-and new concepts-ever since.
- Eddy Goldberg
- 5,725 Reads 379 Shares
Page 12 of 13 | ^ Return to Top | Previous 10 11 12 13 Next |
Get Updates in Your Inbox
