Franchise Speak

How I Improved Employee Satisfaction

PizzaFranchiser — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 22:04:40 +0000

As franchisees, we are all tolled with dealing with predefined systems and operations. One thing that we do have a lot of control over is who we hire. Employees are the front-line face of my business. Therefore, I make sure that my team is satisfied with work and feels that they are valuable. One new tool that I found that has made employee communication much easier is called Input Ladder. It allows my team to send me feedback, concerns and ideas in a honest and direct manner, because I receive the comments anonymously. Since using it, my team has been more productive, happy and has represented my company in a better manner. I figured that I would spread the word about this cool product. The website is InputLadder.com.

Getting on our Bandwagon?

admin — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:56:10 +0000

Looks like even some bigger names are realizing that franchising is not all its been cracked up to be.

That its not the easy, never fail, cookie cutter works approach that franchisers are trying to sell you. Though franchisespeak.com has been saying it for quite a while now, its nice to see some validation.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/franchises/successstories/article203640.html

I didn’t count the gray areas

burned by YCI — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 02:02:44 +0000

Does look like several have shut down recently. Can’t find out any info on why, exactly when they closed. Can’t see this franchise lasting much longer with all thses closings.

Lost your Job? – Have you thought about a Franchise?

Ace45 — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 14:55:08 +0000

Many people use a job loss as a time to reevaluate their entire career. Some change industries, job functions or relocate. There are quite a few people who use the unplanned break to start a company, some choosing to buy a franchise. Owning a franchise can be an expensive endeavor and requires a big commitment in terms of your time (and money). That being said, owning a franchise can be rewarding and for many people, a great alternative to working for someone else. There are a number of resources to help with this decision.

Top Franchise Opportunities for 2009 – A good place to start in your search for a franchise is a list of the top opportunities. This website, by Franchise Business Review, reviews the top 50 franchises by size (large, medium and under 50 units). Click on any of the franchises to link to a page that offers background and key statistics. The main page also has a list of franchises by category and investment size.
Can’t Find A Job? Buy A Business! – This article, by azfranchises.com, provides some basic information on how to approach the process of buying a business. There are a few good links in the article and the left hand side of the page has a very long list of popular franchise categories with links. The main page for this site lists a featured franchises for sale.
TCBY Franchise – This is the franchise site for TCBY (The Country’s Best Yogurt). I’ve posted this link as an example of a franchise site. The site offers tabs at the top about the company, FAQ and Getting Started. There is a web form on the right hand side of the page if you want to get more information and a place where you can apply online. Clicking the FAQ tab provides a number of common questions with answers.
Best Franchises & Best Business Opportunities – This site, provided by USAToday, provides a number of tools and lists opportunities. The main part of the page has links to quite a few franchise sites (most are well known). The left hand side of the page has a Franchise Finder Tool which allow search based on industry and available capital. There are a number of popular searches as well as Franchises by industry. Clicking on any of the franchises provides a page with information on that particular franchise including cash requirements (which is the “cash down” portion, not the cost). At the bottom of the main page at the bottom are a number of links for information and advise.
How to Own a Franchise – Getting in on the action – This is a link to a short video provided by BusinessWeek.com. It is a generic video in that it covers a the concept regardless of your interests (in terms of Franchise type) and stresses that “there is a franchise opportunity out there for you”.

Good luck in your search.

Article By: CareerAlley

Article courtesy of the Recruiting Blogswap, a content exchange service sponsored by CollegeRecruiter.com, a leading site for college students looking for internships and recent graduates searching for entry level jobs and other career opportunities.

Coffee Republic

mrholland — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:23:54 +0000

Anyone thinking of investing or buying a franchise in Coffee Republic – BEWARE – Do vast research and then do it again. See the bulletin boards on www.advfn.com. Ask the main question and get proof – HOW MANY FRANCHISEE HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFUL OVER THE LAST THREE YEARS? How many stores have been repossessed over the last three years and how many have been repossessed at least once? They will make promises to you that they will not keep. Speak to ex-franchisees – get the list from stevepipps@hotmail.co.uk

Career Coaches, Who Needs Them? You Do!

Ace45 — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:14:44 +0000

College Career Fairs are an important part of your College Career Planning process. While they can yield some success, they are just one part of the overall process. That being said, you should be as prepared as possible. There are different types of career fairs, including virtual fairs, but the goal is the same. They provide companies the opportunity to interview a large number of applicants while allowing students to consider several companies at the same time. Today’s article provides links to college career fair resources.

The Ten Keys to Success at Job and Career Fairs – This article, by QuintCareers.com, provides excellent advice on preparing for career fairs. This article will help both College Students preparing for College Career Fairs as well as experienced hires preparing for professional career fairs.
CareerFairs.com – This site allows Job Seekers, Universities and Employers to coordinate the job fair process via a searchable database. You can search for upcoming job fairs and employers can pre-screen students.
Mosaic Career Fairs – This career fair, organized by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), gives College students the chance to meet with representatives from Advertising, Marketing and Communications companies. The site provides the dates of upcoming fairs as well as registration forms. There is also a link to the AAF Job Bank.
Job Fair Directory & Employment Resources – This directory, provided by www.carouselexpo.com, allows you to search for job fairs by State. Click a State, and scroll down to see when there will be a career fair near you.

Good luck in your search.

Article By: CareerAlley

How to Create Your Own Job Market

Ace45 — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 23:12:12 +0000

If you’ve been looking for the right job without success, maybe you ought to stop.Instead, try looking for the right employers.

If you do, and contact them with the right message, employers may create a job just for you.

It happens all the time — even in today’s economy.

Here are three case studies and takeaway lessons to illustrate …

1) Offer to help first and get hired later

While not every company wants to expand hiring these days, every company wants to increase revenues, save money and increase profits.

In other words, every company has problems to solve. And all jobs, in good economic times and bad, are ultimately created to solve problems.

The best employers — the ones you want to work for — are flexible and opportunistic enough to hire people who demonstrate that they can solve problems.

Michael Mingolelli, Jr., CEO of Pinnacle Financial Group, in Southborough, Mass., has twice created jobs in the past 10 months to bring promising employees on board. “These people approached us with a good value proposition to help us continue to grow our practice, and we made positions for them.”

Both prospective employees first contacted Mingolelli by phone and demonstrated their knowledge of Pinnacle. “They were very attuned to what we do and the type of clients we have,” he says.

Your takeaway lesson: Answer these three questions before approaching any employer:

1. What are their problems?Put differently, if you were the CEO, what would keep you up at night right now?
2. What are their opportunities?If you were CEO and could wave a magic wand, what would you make happen? What are the industry leaders doing?
3. How could you help solve their problems and/or capitalize on their opportunities? Match your skills and achievements with your target employer’s needs. For example, if they need to save money and you’ve saved money, there’s a match. Quantify your results in dollars, numbers and/or percentages.

2) Prove you fit the employer’s culture

When contacting employers, try to match your message to their corporate culture. Otherwise, you’ll never connect or fit in long term.

That’s the advice of Annie Huidekoper, VP of Community Partnerships and Customer Service for the St. Paul Saints Baseball Team, whose corporate slogan is, “Fun is Good.”

Fun may explain how the Saints’ current Executive VP was hired for a role created for him, after he overnighted an introductory letter to owner Mike Veeck. What set this letter apart? “It was written with a Sharpie on a piece of frozen lutefisk,” says Huidekoper.

Nothing says “Fun” like lutefisk. And it’s 100% Minnesotan, like the Saints. A perfect fit.

Your takeaway lesson: Research an employer’s culture to know if you’re a fit. It’s as simple as picking up the phone. “Talk to people who have worked there and find out what’s important to that organization,” suggests Huidekoper.

3) Meet and get hired

The more meetings you have with company presidents and other executives, the greater your chances of impressing someone enough to create a job for you.

After interviewing an applicant for a job that didn’t fit his qualifications, Jordan Solomon, President of Ecostrat, Inc., in Toronto, was impressed enough to make a counter offer. “This young man was too good to pass up — he was eager, showed all the right qualities and I thought he would be a success. So we created a position and gave him a two-week trial,” says Solomon.

How did it turn out? “He ended up working for us for about seven years.”

Your takeaway lesson: Lightning won’t strike if you’re sitting in front of a computer. Try sitting across from an employer.

What company presidents would you most like to work for? I suggest you make a list of 10-20. Then contact them with offers to meet and discuss how you could help, based on careful research.

Employers are always on the lookout for smart people who can solve problems and fit with their corporate culture. “I would give anyone like that a chance, and if they were good, I’d create a position for them,” says Solomon.

Kevin Donlin is Creator of TheSimpleJobSearch.com. Since 1996, he has provided job-search help to more than 20,000 people. Author of 3 books, Kevin has been interviewed by The New York Times, Fox News, CBS Radio and others. His latest product, The Simple Job Search System, is available at http://www.collegerecruiter.com/guaranteed-resumes.php

Article Byline: Kevin Donlin

Five Friends Who WIll Help You Lead Well

Ace45 — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:45:12 +0000

On numerous occasions I’ve been asked, “Who can I read to become an effective leader at work?” If I have some sense that the inquirer understands what leadership is, what are its parts (i.e., a leader, the followers, the messages, the context, and the goal), and how those parts fit together, I offer these authors without reservation: Rokeach, Glasser, Golemen, Weaver, and Greenleaf. For anyone unfamiliar with these names, here is a brief explanation of why each one’s work is important to leading others. These are five good friends who will help you lead well. 1. Effective leaders understand the individual and collective uniqueness of their followers. To do this, effective leaders act based on awareness of the followers’ value system. Milton Rokeach’s work is indispensable in that he explains what values are, he catalogues them, and he clarifies how they impact human behavior.

2. Effective leaders understand how humans think. William Glasser’s insights on the connection between thought and behavior warrant (our) attention. Glasser reiterates that all actions grow from the choices we make. In short, effective leaders do not wait for the right emotion to come along; they recognize what must be done and they act.

3. Effective leaders understand the role of emotion in human behavior. To date, Daniel Goleman’s emotional intelligence research stands alone in that Goleman systematically explains what emotions are and how they are best used to achieve an individual or group goal.

4. Effective leaders understand the role of ethics in human relationships. While social scientists are often reticent to identify behaviors as right or wrong, Richard Weaver, a rhetorician, asserts that standards of behavior are not only important to successful performance, they are essential.

5. Effective leaders understand that leading others is, ultimately, a selfless act. As Robert Greenleaf makes plain, the leader’s role is not about self-accolades or glory; instead the leader’s purpose is to develop others. Effective leaders act in a way that transforms the follower into a future leader.

While the works of Rokeach, Glasser, Golemen, Weaver, and Greenleaf have generally remained outside of the public eye, they should not remain outside your purview. Take the time, in the near future, to explore the writings of these scholars. When you do, you will improve your ability to lead well.

About the Author:

Dr. Philip Aust is a professor at Kennesaw State University (KSU). He teaches Organizational Communication Audits, Leadership, Training and Development, and Research Methods in the Department of Communication at KSU.

Dr. Aust’s research focuses on leadership in organizational, group, and interpersonal contexts. He examines emerging leadership perspectives, messages associated with productivity and task quality, and leader performance. He has authored and co-authored book chapters and articles published in such journals as Communication Studies, Basic Communication Course Annual, and Communication Teacher.

Dr. Aust regularly conducts communication consultations for profit and non-profit Atlanta-based companies. He has worked with over 25 companies in the last three years.

Article By: Philip Aust

Email Philip: philipaustpr@searchlogixgroup.com

Are you LinkedIn?

Ace45 — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 15:37:15 +0000

Many of us belong to social networks but most of us do not think of them in terms of business or work. There are a few social networks that focus on those who work. LinkedIn is one of those sites (and the most popular). These sites are geared towards anyone who works, regardless of career or industry. Why, you may ask, would you want to use a site like this? Well first, it allows you to either reconnect or stay connected to current and past friends and coworkers. Second, the site is a great place to leverage connections to find a new job. Unless you’ve experienced one of these sites it is hard to explain the benefits of registering, but this is clearly another way to extend your job search.Today’s post will focus on several business social networks.

Business Social Networks:

LinkedIn – According to Wikipedia, LinkedIn is “a business- social networking site founded in December 2002 and launched in May 2003 mainly used for professional networking”. This site has become very popular over the last year. At the end of 2007, the sited had 3.2 million visitors per month and by May of this year there were more than 24 million registered users across well over 100 industries. The site allows users to link to colleagues from current and past employers, schools and any other group that may be defined. One of the features I like best is the “degrees of separation”. The site will show you how you may know a third party through an existing connection. Linked has job search functions as well formats which allow you to showcase your background. Clearly the “best in class” from what I’ve seen.
Meettheboss – This is a brand new site from what I can tell and seems to be focused on Financial Services (a way to differentiate from other sites). One item I do not like is that it forces you to add your company website url as part of the registration. Two issues with this. First, you may not want to advertise the company you work for and second, what happens if your company is small and does not have a website (yes, there are still companies without websites!)? Unlike LinkedIn, there does not seem to be a way to search for people you may know. The interface is nice, but the site looks thin on functionality. I will keep an eye on this site to see how it fairs, but I’m not sure I get it yet.

Clearly, the value of any of these sites is determined by the number of people who are registered. As this type of social networking has become popular, quite a few new sites have popped up in the last few months. Since most people will focus on one or two of these sites, I think that the field will narrow in the medium term and I’m betting that LinkedIn is one of the winners.

I will review more sites such as these in the next few weeks. As usual, I will add these links to the “Other Resources” page.

Article By: CareerAlley

Food Franchising; “A Recipe for Disaster?”

judesteed — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 02:28:23 +0000

In researching both successful and unsuccessful franchises, I came across the most recent list of the 25 worst franchises in the US according to SBA loan failure rates. (blue mau mau Jan 24, 2009). Ranking from the worst to merely “bad,” 40% of the top failing franchises were in the food industry and included pizza parlors, sub shops and creameries. I then came across an article in the Westchester County Business Journal announcing the launch of a Wing Zone franchise by a successful Westchester county businessman, Duwayne Shaw. As lack of business experience serves as an all too common denominator of failing franchises, this peaked my curiousity. I decided to check up on the franchise a year after its grand opening and discovered that this Wing Zone Franchise is closing and will shortly reopen as a similar but independent business. Wanting others to know the story behind what occurred, the owner, Duwayne Shaw took the time to do an interview:

Q. What business experience did you have prior to opening up the Wing Zone?
I had a cleaning business which I ran while I was going to school full time. Five years ago I opened up my own real estate company where I have sold over $49 million in real estate. As a realtor I went into this with a lot of experience in sales, marketing, budgeting, accounting, etc.

Q. What happened with your Wing Zone franchise?
It’s been a total failure. I purchased it with the intention of having a lot of guidance but there was no support. It became a nightmare but I learned a lot in the process.

Q. When you say there was no support, can you give me some specifics?
Their platform or motto is “we can teach you how to run our franchise.” But they didn’t know how to run their franchise and when I was training in one of their so called model, corporate stores, it was nothing but chaos and that’s when I realized I had made a mistake.

Q. How much did it cost to purchase the franchise?
The overall investment was over $350,000 with about 70 to $100,000 of it coming out of my own pocket, not to mention the stress and strain of the activity. It just wasn’t worth it at all. It’s more set up for the franchisor than it is for the franchisee.

Q. How so?
At McDonald’s and Dunkin Donuts they actually manufacture their own products but this company doesn’t. I had to purchase the food through a distributor where I ended up paying double or triple what I could have negotiated on my own. I also discovered that the franchise actually works a deal through the distributor which gives them kickbacks behind the scene. There’s also an arrangement whereby if you purchase so much chicken say from a manufacturer, they give a rebate to the consumer who turns out to be the franchisor, instead of passing it on to the franchisee.

Q. What exchange have you gotten as a result of opening this franchise?
I didn’t make a dime in this franchise, whereas I turn a profit every day in my real estate business. The only exchange I got was knowledge, meaning I’m back doing what I’m good at– real estate. Even in a down economy, at the end of the day I can still come out on top of it. You hear people talking about franchises, you know “franchsises are great, you get a profit,” but there are these negative sides. People don’t see the failure rate of franchises. Bennigans just shut down, they’re right up the street from here. I think the restaurant failure rate in general for this county is somewhere between 30 and 40 percent. What I also came to realize is you have to know how a restaurant, any restaurant forget franchises, runs and how it makes profits and how you have to cut corners to cut costs, all the things it takes to make a profit. Most restaurants only have a small profit margin, somewhere between 10 to 15 percent.

Q. While the restaurant business proves tough, if a person really wanted to open up a restaurant, what would be the difference between opening up a franchise or doing it on their own and what do you think it would take for them to succeed?
Well, if a person came into it and they knew a lot about marketing the hell out of something it would help. Because so many restaurants are currently going out of business, it also means that you can find restaurant equiptment right now for peanuts, and if you could find a great location, make it real presentable and grow, you can build it up. Then you can renovate the business to make it look better once you have a good customer base, unlike a franchise where you’re putting out hundreds of thousands of dollars at the beginning. So I think it’s better if you can start off small, because I think that’s where the economy is going right now. Some of these businesses are growing too fast. The businesses I’ve seen succeeding are the smaller ones who, keeping their eye on the goal, are growing little by little until they have something. So that would be my spin on it. To start a franchise you’re spending $50 to $100,000. It might take you ten years to get back the initial investment, which I’d call a recipe for disaster.

Q. So, why would a person purchase a franchise rather than doing it on their own?
Most franchises already have their own website and marketing set up and this makes it seem more attractive. Also as an entrepreneur, it’s a lot easier to get financing if you apply as part of a franchise which has a certain overall success rate, whereas the average Joe might get discouraged trying to get financing on his own without a proven track record.
Thank you, Duwayne.

Duwayne is in the process of officially ending his contract with Wing Zone while he continues to operate his thriving real estate business, Shaw Properties in Westchester County. This will enable him to eventually recover from the financial losses in contrast to many franchise owners who have tragically lost entire savings and/or retirement funds, some even having to file bankruptcy in the effort to run a successful franchise.

Despite the hardships of restaurant franchising, it’s obviously being done successfully. Fifty percent of the Top 10 Franchise 500 for America in 2009 (Entrepreneur.com) are restaurants, namely Subway, McDonald’s, Sonic Drive- in Restaurants, Pizza Hut and Papa John’s Int’l Inc. What then is the recipe?

Jude Pedersen