West Virginia Feature Articles

Some people are born with a deep desire to win. They are passionate, determined, aggressive, and persistent. We've come to label these multi-unit franchisees "Dominators."

Talk about starting a business during the worst of times. Jason Duffy knows just what that's like.

Multi-unit franchisee Jason Duffy may only be 38 years old, but he could write a book about being successful in business during tough economic times.

Multi-unit franchise operators are about to exceed the 55 mph speed limit (or in this case, the 55% limit).

For most of her 40-year career, Linda Read says she has had to work harder, be smarter, and produce better results than the men in her field

As a hospital administrator, Allen Hager had personally seen the anguish that families faced when searching for safe, appropriate, quality home care services for their family members returning home.

Franchising is bursting (not busting!) out all over these days, with a flurry of activity in financing, mergers and acquisitions, and incentives.

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.

Businesses spend an average of $28.87 per hour for each employee, according to recent figures from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics. This figure includes salary plus benefits such as health insurance, vacation time, and workers' compensation. Overall, 69.7 percent ($20.13) goes toward salary and 30.3 percent ($8.74) to benefits, with 1.6 percent ($0.47) of that benefit percentage going to workers' comp.

Mike Pietrzyk's 37 years in the food business began auspiciously in 1972, when, as a newly promoted manager of a Burger Chef in Virginia, he was put in a store scheduled to close in 7 months. "The restaurant wasn't doing well, and they'd decided to close it," he recalls. "They just asked me to keep it together for a few more months." Pietrzyk worked seven days a week and did his own marketing, passing out local coupons and getting acquainted with the community.

Multi-unit and multi-brand operations are where the action is today in franchising. Whether the economy stalls, falls, or climbs, an increasing number of multi-unit franchisees are not content with just one unit--and many are not content with just one brand. Multi-concept franchising offers power in numbers--units, brands, territory, and income--as well as the security gained by spreading the risk across different brands in a franchisee company's portfolio.

After graduating from the University of Maine, Michael Kern landed jobs at top advertising agencies including Young & Rubicam and McCann Erickson. He later held top marketing jobs for KFC and Long John Silver's, at one point serving as worldwide chief marketing officer for Long John Silver's.

What if there were a way to hire great, energetic franchisees who not only were excited about the brand, but also already knew it inside and out? Your next great franchise operators might be sitting right beside you at your next internal meeting.

The current economic climate remains high in the minds of both state Senate candidates for District 14. Democrat Bob Williams and Republican Gary Howell are both vying for the seat that would represent Barbour, Mineral, Preston, Taylor and Tucker counties as well as part of Grant and Monongalia counties.

National marketing efforts on behalf of franchisees have always been one of the benefits of operating within a franchise system. Generally, you sign on, open a store, and you get brand support and marketing from the franchise system. That’s a great advantage, but some multi-unit operators like to take matters a step further... or even several steps further by taking local marketing into their own hands. There are many unique and creative ways for multi-unit operators to approach local marketing. Done right, it’s much more creative and involved than direct mail or coupons, and the results can be taken to the bank. Here are a few twists and tips we uncovered.

After 10 years in Atlanta, Phil Greifeld hasn't lost much of his New York accent. But after a stint as chief executive officer of the Huddle House chain, he has developed an appreciation for shirt-sleeve weather in winter, and for some of life's simpler pleasures -and smaller places.