Area Developer Magazine - Covering Multi-Unit FranchisingFranchising Provides A Second Act For Former Family Business Owner - Most people would trade their day job anytime for Bob Stucker's problem a few years back: "I retired too young."
Success Takes Many Forms For This Year's Mega 99 - Becoming a "Mega Franchisee" is a high-risk, high-reward endeavor. For a third year, Area Developer has measured and highlighted those franchisees bold enough, smart enough - and fortunate enough - to succeed in the rapidly growing and lucrative market of multiunit and multi-concept development.
Opportunities Abound, But Be Careful - My first entry into the franchise business was in 1986 when I acquired 24 Dairy Queen restaurants in Texas. In less than a year, I was up to 55 stores and had become one of the largest franchisees in the entire Dairy Queen system. I had more credit than sense.
Multiunit Rookies Make Up In Attitude What They Lack In Experience - Conventional wisdom would say the best franchise operators are individuals with past business experience - or even better, previous franchising experience. But that may not be the case any longer. A youth movement is under way in the world of multiunit franchising.
Simplifying PC Updates; Automating Call Routing - A really hard job for any franchise company's tech department is coordinating all the different systems in franchisee locations. As everyone gets more and more dependent on standardized machines and programs, it's easy to think that the basics are taken care of.
How Is It Working For Your Business? - Unfortunately, few multiple-unit franchisees or managers fully understand working capital, how important it is for every business, how it is measured, or how to obtain needed working capital.
Choosing The Best Sites For Your Brand Is A Balancing Act - 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."
Sylvan Learning Centers Puts A New Spin On Refranchising - A number of franchises now reaching a middle stage of life are facing issues they never anticipated when they first started selling franchises.
Build Your Brand From Within By Creating An Energized Work Environment - When was the last time you made an honest assessment of who you have in the most important "chairs" of your operation? Your front-line staff single-handedly sets the tone of your customer service and "packages" your performance day to day. Is your packaging attracting or distracting? Does it gather customers, or chase them away?
Do You Know Where Your Data Is - Or Your Metadata? - Today's business environment is filled with incentives to move toward a paperless office, especially considering the ease and low cost involved in storing and sharing electronic data when compared with paper.
How To Keep Your Head Level And Your Portfolio Rising - The year's fourth quarter marks the anniversary of my start in the investment management business many, many years ago. It also happens to coincide with the time of year my three kids go back to school.
Shedding Corporate Culture Took Some Doing For Ellen Hui - When native San Franciscan Ellen Hui left a career in banking in 1989 to take on her first Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits restaurant, she experienced a big culture shock.
Thinking Big In South Texas Pays Off For This Team Player - Until he hit 40, Rick Guerra ran hotels and restaurants "making a lot of money for other people," he says.
Working With Family Is Not Always Easy, But It's Worthwhile! - Ed Doherty has been pushing the envelope on growing a business packed with different franchises - lots of them. To date, they include Applebee's (51), Panera Breads (15), Chevys Fresh Mex (3), and an original concept, the Shannon Rose Irish Pub (1), in New Jersey. And ahead on the menu are the 20 El Pollo Loco locations he's developing in New Jersey.
At Its Best, News Is A Participatory Activity - I remember the first budget I ever did for a business - for a newsroom where the previous yearâ€TMs budget had been about $3 million (and 30 years ago, that was some real money). The boss just handed the spreadsheets to me and said, “We need this in a couple of days.â€
Say Hello To Your Ultimate One-to-one Marketing Opportunity - A great customer experience matters. A lot. More than ever. Why?
Why Should Hiring Employees Be Any Different Than Buying Paperclips? - What is the most important buying decision you'll ever make? When you choose a new site? Buy category management software? Invest in a hot new concept? Does something else come to mind?
UPS's Acquisition Of MBE Is Still Playing Out - From Mail Boxes Etc. to The UPS Store, a quick history; or, 27 years in 90 seconds or less.
Annette Miller Grows In More Ways Than One - 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.
Multi-unit Operators Fuel Rapid, Efficient Expansion - Subway continues to sizzle as one of the hottest franchises going. For the 15th time in the last 20 years, Entrepreneur magazine's annual Franchise 500 rankings have listed Subway as the number-one franchise opportunity. For perspective, when the chain was first named to the list in 1988, it had about 4,000 locations. Today, the chain operates 27,732 shops in 86 countries (as of June 2007).
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