Real Estate
Finding the best real estate for your franchise is challenging and competitive, whether building anew or remodelling an existing location. Site selection is complicated and “A” locations are both hard to come by and expensive. Using a real estate broker to help find the optimal sites and negotiate the best contract is common practice. Seek legal advice to ensure you’re receiving the optimum tenant improvements and landlord benefits.
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Economic realities have been harsh, lenders stingy with money, and many suburban territories unavailable or overbuilt. These are just some of the reasons a few multi-unit franchisees are turning to opportunities in nontraditional locations. Many franchises have potential in places that have not historically been franchise hotbeds, like airports, hotels, colleges, senior centers, highway rest stops, hospitals, and military bases.
- Eddy Goldberg
- 4,390 Reads 70 Shares
As "The Lease Coach," I am a magnet for leasing questions. In fact, I receive hundreds of questions from independent and franchisee tenants each year; I am approached after my seminars, e-mailed, and called. One telephone call that I received was from a woman who had recently purchased a franchise. She started by telling me that her franchisor had offered to do her site selection and real estate work for an extra $3,500. Not knowing much about commercial real estate, she had thought that was a great deal and had accepted the franchisor's proposal for help. According to the franchisee, she was to meet and spend the day with a local real estate agent looking at sites, which she did.
- Dale Willerton
- 4,088 Reads 113 Shares
Before signing on as a multi-unit franchisee, Rob Parsons already had an insider's view of franchising, having spent time at Denny's and Popeyes working with franchisees on the real estate side. At Popeyes, Parsons worked with Jim Lyons, an industry veteran who is now chief development officer for Del Taco and Captain D's. Lyons played a key role in mentoring the young Parsons. During a five-year stretch at Popeyes, Parsons played a key role in pushing the brand's New York market from 58 to 101 locations.
- John Carroll
- 3,807 Reads 3 Shares
Rob Parsons knew all about franchising. He had worked on the inside at Popeyes and Denny's assisting franchisees with real estate. He had learned the ropes.
- John Carroll
- 5,246 Reads 194 Shares
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.
- Debbie Selinsky
- 5,710 Reads 81 Shares
One of the most effective strategies to conducting site selection is not by looking for the proverbial needle in a haystack, but instead, by using the process of elimination.
- Dale Willerton
- 4,382 Reads 116 Shares
When Frank Illiano left his native Italy and came to the United States 27 years ago, he didn't plan to stay. He figured he'd get a business, work for a while, make some money, and head home.
- John Carroll
- 5,248 Reads 117 Shares
The way to a man's heart may be through his stomach, but the way to a banker's heart is through strong unit economics.
- Eddy Goldberg
- 6,648 Reads 83 Shares
Darrell Lamb remembers toiling away in the heyday of the mid-90s stock market. He was always searching for new investors, and on the lookout for hot investments. One day some of his advisers told him about an opportunity - a chance to invest in the Express Oil Change franchise. He had reason to trust the advisers since they were his uncle, who was president of the company, and his dad, an Alabama optometrist who was always interested in investing in growing ventures.
- Multi-Unit Franchisee
- 7,789 Reads 1 Shares
The most fundamental business strategy calls for black numbers on the bottom line. In simplest terms, it's proof the business is generating more cash than it is spending. All too often, though, entrepreneurs get involved in businesses without employing a proper system to help them keep a watchful eye on what they're earning and what they're spending. Managing day-to-day operations can be so time-consuming that it leaves little room for financial analysis. Or perhaps key individuals lack a basic understanding of how to read and interpret financial statements. Combine these factors with the down economy, and you'll likely wind up with a troubled business.
- Kerry Pipes
- 7,844 Reads 518 Shares
Kevin Archer has spent 18 years as a multi-unit franchisee with Bojangles' Restaurants in North Carolina. The Charlotte native knows how much Southerners love their chicken and biscuits. So does he: his favorite menu item is the Cajun fillet biscuit. Archer also believes "You are what you eat and drink." As a proponent of a healthy diet and lots of exercise, he sees no conflict between his philosophy and his business. Even in today's increasingly health-conscious culture, he still sees Bojangles' as relevant and popular.
- Debbie Selinsky
- 14,284 Reads 5 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
- 6,905 Reads
While some franchisees receive real estate assistance from their franchisors on their new locations, very few franchisees receive help from their franchisors on their lease renewals. Since 1993, I have been coaching franchise tenants and speaking at franchise shows regarding commercial leases and lease renewals.
- Dale Willerton
- 7,592 Reads 1,023 Shares
Non-traditional retail business locations such as airports, hospitals, and universities have become popular (and successful) business opportunities for some franchise brands that are actively on the grow. These types of locations usually offer plenty of customers and often only a few choices for food, beverage, and beyond. It's a perfect combination. Now add Bruegger's Bagels, Fazoli's Restaurants, Friendly's Ice Cream, Smokey Bones Bar & Fire Grill, and Timothy's Coffees of the World Inc., to that list of progressive franchise operators looking for new opportunities.</p>
- Multi-Unit Franchisee
- 3,466 Reads 7 Shares
Franchise Update Media Group (FUMG), the leading industry resource for franchise development, today announced that registration is now open for the 2010 Multi-Unit Franchising Conference, where keynote speaker and former Super Bowl winning coach Mike Ditka will share his "Playbook for Success." The conference will be held March 24-26 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
- PRESS RELEASE
- 3,688 Reads 7 Shares
Franchise Update Media Group (FUMG), the leading industry resource for franchise development, today announced that registration is now open for the 2010 Multi-Unit Franchising Conference, where keynote speaker and former Super Bowl winning coach Mike Ditka will share his "Playbook for Success." The conference will be held March 24-26 at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
- PRESS RELEASE
- 3,081 Reads 1 Shares
When people chat with Dustin Winkle about the economy's effect on their business, he doesn't say much. He doesn't want to make anybody feel bad. Because the truth is that the economic downturn has been very good for his 11 dry cleaners in the Boise, Idaho, area. "Dry cleaning is pretty recession-proof, so we're doing fine money-wise," Winkle says. "When I bought the company two years ago, the economy was already starting to slide down. Things have been a little slower, but not a lot."
- Debbie Selinsky
- 6,467 Reads 132 Shares
Whenever I speak at a franchise convention, I inevitably meet many struggling franchisees leasing commercial or retail space. These tenants desperately need a rent reduction ... right now. The recession is taking its toll on all industries including franchising; sales are down, business expenses are rising, and the high cost of leasing space is closing in on tenants. Your monthly rental payment to the landlord can be one of your biggest monthly expenses. Therefore, reducing this monthly lease payment is imperative for businesses like yours to stay viable.
- Dale Willerton
- 9,259 Reads 747 Shares
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
- 10,931 Reads
Glen Helton's lifelong career in franchising began as a teen with his first job at a Burger King in Fayetteville, N.C. Today the Texas native is president and COO of Strategic Restaurants Acquisition Corp. (SRAC), which operates 271 Burger Kings and 17 T.G.I. Friday's across 9 states. Helton, along with SRAC's CEO, Jerry Comstock (former Bennigan's CEO), have become known for turning underperforming restaurants into profit generators. They did it for the 226 Burger Kings they acquired out of bankruptcy 5 years ago, and they also have added 45 new ones. Today they're applying their turnaround skills to the 16 T.G.I. Friday's in New York and Florida that they bought out of bankruptcy in August 2008.
- Debbie Selinsky
- 10,518 Reads 1,189 Shares
Jason Shifflett learned early in life that Domino's Pizza could offer him the keys to a successful life--and that he plans you make in your youth don't always come to pass. "I started with Domino's at age 14 and worked my way up in high school," says Shifflett. In college, he was a biology student and planned to attend medical school. He continued to work at Domino's as a general manager--and learned a few things there too.
- John Carroll
- 3,959 Reads 71 Shares
Ricky Warman already knew a lot about finance when he left his job as an investment manager for Prudential Securities in Miami to start a life in franchising in the early 1990s. Warman was a friend of Jenny Craig and started in franchising with nine Jenny Craig weight loss centers. He would go on to try other franchise brands, including Schlotzsky's. Today he's wholly committed to the Papa John's brand, operating 42 pizza locations. (He had 53, but recently sold 11.)
- John Carroll
- 9,193 Reads
Did you do your homework? In my last article, I discussed taking a broader look at the concept of "performance measurement." Rather than allowing a simple percentage change (or even a percentage change relative to a broader index) drive how satisfied you feel with your portfolio's performance, I suggested thinking longer and harder about defining success on your own terms. After all, what good is a "good" performance number if it doesn't leave you with a portfolio that can help you achieve your goals?
- Carol Clark
- 3,555 Reads 7 Shares
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.
- Debbie Selinsky
- 3,983 Reads 10 Shares
Stephen Reitz was in his late 30s when he entered the world of franchising. He'd already learned quite a bit about the world of business in the years preceding his career switch. "I had a number of positions before I got into franchising," says Reitz, who spent 20 years at Ford Motor Company in sales and marketing. One highlight at Ford was a week he spent with W. Edwards Deming, the legendary management and quality guru who helped the Japanese create some of the world's leading manufacturers--and who spurred Reitz to become passionate about process improvement.
- John Carroll
- 4,891 Reads 35 Shares
Sean Falk's "secret weapon" for achieving success in business may lie in his Ironman triathlon creds. This three-time triathlon winner (a race that combines a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile run) harnesses his drive and energy to ride herd on 10 retail units (four brands) and one restaurant in three states. Or maybe it's experience in the U.S. Marine Corps., where he attained the rank of captain.
- Debbie Selinsky
- 7,245 Reads 249 Shares
Keeping up on the rapidly evolving social media scene, and how platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and others can be used to help achieve your business goals is like trying to catch Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt in the 100-yard dash.
- Eddy Goldberg
- 71,920 Reads 5 Shares
Tony Lutfi came to California when he was 16, a Palestinian-Jordanian immigrant looking for a better life. He dreamed of growing up, getting an education, and becoming a doctor. To earn some money, he took a job working the graveyard shift at a Jack in the Box. Then fate stepped in. "The manager had a heart attack, and they promoted me. I helped the management team in the summer after I graduated from high school," says Lutfi. "It became my passion. I never went back to school, and I was promoted at Jack in the Box."
- John Carroll
- 7,721 Reads 675 Shares
Craig Horn is such a perfectionist that he'll probably never give himself a grade of "A" for performance as president and CFO of Fresno, Calif.-based JEM Management Corp. After almost a year-and-a-half at the helm of JEM, which owns 22 Wendy's and 15 KFCs, he gives himself a "B."
- Debbie Selinsky
- 5,647 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
- 4,124 Reads 43 Shares
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