Franchise and Business Opportunities Articles

NEWPORT BEACH, CA  With the release of the Mitchell Report and the continuing concern over performance enhancing drugs in sports, youth athletes should be educated on the methods to improving their athleticism without the use of drugs.
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The first point to make about Royalties is that good Franchise systems should look at them not as a payment but rather as a remittance. It is the Franchisor’s share of the income derived from customers or clients. The Franchisee collects that fee along with all other revenues from the customer. It’s an important concept because it emphasizes that the customer ultimately pays for everything, including the Franchisor’s royalty, the Franchisee’s overhead, all costs of sales, employee’s salaries, and the Franchisee’s profit. Therefore it’s all about the customer – as it should be.
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So you think you want to franchise your pizza concept. You think that if you started to franchise you’d become rich. You think that because you don’t have to actually run all the new stores that your people problems are over because you don’t have all those employee problems. Maybe, maybe not. Want to know why?
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Yum! Brands, Inc., with more than 34,000 restaurants in over 100 countries, is the parent to A&W Restaurants, KFC, Long John Silver's, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell. As the world's largest restaurant company with more than 850,000 employees around the world, our continued success in the marketplace depends on creating an environment where all people are valued, appreciated, and have the opportunity to grow and learn. That is why we have built a global culture focused on respect and recognition. One of our founding "How We Work Together" principles states: "We believe in people, trust in positive intentions, encourage ideas from everyone, and actively develop a workforce that is diverse in style and background." Moreover, Yum! is committed to realizing the business benefits of driving diversity and inclusion by developing current and future business leaders, franchisees and suppliers who reflect the changing demographics of our customers. Everyone in the company - from senior leaders at the Restaurant Support Center to team members in restaurants - is accountable for fostering an inclusive, diverse workplace culture. "Yum! Brands' commitment to diversity helps drive all aspect of our business," said David C. Novak, Chairman and CEO of Yum! Brands, Inc. "It's important that our global culture is actively developing a workforce with a broad mix of backgrounds and viewpoints at all levels of management. Building on our diverse foundation at all of brands gives us a competitive edge." That competitive edge is as important in the world of franchise operations as it is in restaurants owned by the company. "Actively developing a workforce that is diverse in style and background applies to our franchising efforts as well as to our company restaurant operations," said Scott Haner, Vice President, Development for Yum! Brands, Inc. "Diversity is not a strategy or program at Yum! Brands. It's a shared commitment by all of us to uphold the company's founding truths and live our 'How We Work Together' principles every day. It's the way we do business." Yum! Brands is actively looking for minority franchisees to bring the company's great brands to more customers. Not all brands are available in all trade areas. This article is not an offer (which can only be made via prospectus). Yum! Brands continues to be recognized for its efforts in developing a diverse workforce. Here is additional information about the company's commitment to diversity:
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A former screenwriter and TV producer, Teddy premiered his Mr. Handyman franchise on October 18, 2004. Now he produces results for his customers. Here Teddy reveals what it takes to be a successful Mr. Handyman franchisee and why you need to complete the (confidential) questionnaire. Q & A: You explored several franchises, why Mr. Handyman? I liked how I looked in their apparel. Seriously. They proved that if you follow their system, you don’t have to be handy to be successful. Anything else? Their three-phase training program; their management software; their marketing savvy; their employee recruitment materials; and, I liked their people. How much money do you make? (Ha, ha) Most franchisors don’t make an “earnings claim” in their UFOC. Mr. Handyman does, so when you look at the numbers you can see for yourself that it’s a good business opportunity. What does a franchise cost? Great question. And it’s best answered by a Mr. Handyman franchise sales counselor. So complete the questionnaire and a sales counselor will contact you soon. What do you like best about the other Mr. Handyman franchisees? Their willingness to share ideas. I spend a lot of time on Team Web [Mr. Handyman’s franchisee intranet.] What skills make for a successful Mr. Handyman franchisee? You should be a good communicator; a people person; be well organized; and, it’s very important that you have a management or a sales background. Who are your customers? Between time-starved families and “do-it-for-me” baby boomers—a generation that’s done it all, but doesn’t want to do it anymore—we keep very busy. How do you get customers? Entrepreneur magazine ranked us as the #1 handyman franchise so our brand name is a great asset. We’re very community minded; our satisfied customers refer business to us; and, we use the Web. Did you attend a Discovery Day at the home office? Yes, and I felt at home. I knew Mr. Handyman was a good fit, plus I met some great people who’ve become colleagues and dear friends. Any highlights from your Mr. Handyman experience? I recently called on my Hollywood contacts to get Mr. Handyman gift certificates included in the Academy Awards’ presenter gift baskets. We were the ‘talk of the town.’ What advice would you give someone considering Mr. Handyman? If you want to build an equity business that offers financial rewards while enjoying a family-friendly work schedule, talk to a Mr. Handyman franchise sales counselor. [Complete the confidential questionnaire below.] Your exclusive territory includes the celebrity-filled enclave of Beverly Hills, any tell-all stories? What happens in Beverly Hills stays in Beverly Hills.  
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By Jerrod Sessler, CEO, HomeTask Handyman No one ever remembers the team that finishes second in the Daytona 500. The winner has the best memories, the most fun, and takes home the biggest prize. When people discuss brands, the market leaders are always the focus of the conversation. We all desire to see our companies name on top and I believe the effective use of technology can serve as a hidden force to help achieve that goal. Franchising can revolutionize "business as usual" with the effective implementation of systems that allow people to do more of what they love and less of what they don't. The effective use of technology is key to developing great companies that will provide an exceptional level of support for franchisees. I predict that, over the next ten years, the primary benefit franchisors will license will be their support systems; the brand will be viewed as a bonus. So, what do I mean by that? We have the ability to enable our staff and franchisees to increase their income while spending more hours investing in their dreams. We have the potential to eliminate the repetitive tasks and foster an environment of progress. We can disrupt the competitive balance in our market by using systems and technology to drive efficiencies within our business. It is a great time to be in franchising! I have extracted a top ten list of "Do's" to help you begin using technology to dominate your market and accelerate your business. 10. Anticipate change. The fax machine is archaic and e-mail is being supplemented with a myriad of other communication choices. We rarely send faxes because we have the tools to change paper into PDF files. A handyman service is admittedly not the first place you would look for radical technology advances, but the key to our success is making one of the oldest professions more efficient with the effective use of technology. 9. Get your chalk out. Benchmark, benchmark, benchmark. Especially outside your industry. Technology is not exclusive-similar systems can serve radically different businesses. One of the role models we used in building the HomeTask system was a clothing wholesale company. They play in a totally different segment, but they do very similar things technically. Because their clients own their individual businesses, this supplier has an opportunity to assist them by providing back-office systems, marketing tools, support, and networking. There is an inspiring book on the subject by Kevin & Jackie Freidberg called "Guts! Companies That Blow the Doors Off Business-As-Usual." The Freidberg's discuss creating a culture that considers the whole person (staff or customer/franchisee) rather than just the activities that person performs during working hours. This concept has had a profound effect on the HomeTask model. 8. Make it visual. Kids' books are more fun, hold your attention, and are easier to remember than adult books because they are visual. Can you imagine NASCAR without the sea of logos and colors? I can hear the fans now, "Oh, wow, did you see the move that grey car made?" My point here is that we often remember to make something visually interesting for our external customers but forget that when it comes to internal ones. When was the last time you created a really cool intra-office memo or a visually interactive internal survey? Maybe start by painting some accent walls in your office a bright, cheery color and watch the smiles light up! 7. "Cool" counts. Make it so life-changing for your customers that they rave about it. I am confident that if we didn't offer the tools we do to manage the back-office activities for our franchise partners, they would not be as happy as they are. These folks wanted to simplify their lives. They have a passion for helping others by providing hands-on service in what is often a breeding ground for stress and tension-our homes and offices. Our passion is to enable people to do what they love and have the rest done for them. At HomeTask, our heroic cause is to "Enable Peace...At Home." We are changing lives with our integrated systems. The effective use of technology won't simply make your business thrive; it will make it seem magical. 6. Great marriages communicate. Your technical systems should hold hands, not boxing gloves. One of the immovable criteria VaultFarm had to work within when creating our systems was that they had to be compatible and communicate freely with each other. I get knots in my stomach when I look at organizations that employ several different systems to accomplish various tasks. Inevitably in these situations, humans are required to be the connector between systems. Your IT systems should serve you, not the other way around. If you have systems that are linked using human touch, I would suggest developing plans to eliminate these circumstances. They are a breeding ground for unhappy staff and mistakes. Unleash many of the staff you have tied down around these systems and watch them grow! 5. Teach your IT team to speak in tongues (P & L, balance sheet, EBIDA). I am convinced that many of the executives running our companies do not fully understand the value of technology projects partly because their IT team does not present projects in bottom-line terms. Some simple education or adopting the "Open-Book Management" philosophy espoused by Jack Stack, would improve results. Your technical team should understand how their activities impact the financials. This will help them present their ideas and projections with clear financial implications. 4. Start a stretching routine. Warning! You may not be as tech savvy as you think you are. Just as much as IT needs to learn a financial language, management must fully support technological innovation and be willing to stretch their thinking. Great leaders are grown within great companies. There is no space for complacent leaders if you want to have a great company. In today's market, this means educating yourself on the opportunities associated with technology implementation. 3. Stop for directions. Thank God for whiteboards! Before you write any code, give your developers some driving directions. Have you ever tried to use a really cool feature on-line but it was hosted on such a slow system that you left before you got started? If it made you say, "Who on earth designed this," then they didn't have a vision! When you set out to solve a problem, deliver a service, or initiate needed change, it is critical to clearly communicate the goals and objectives-the road map- for the changes to all involved in the project. If you fail to do this, the technology will not work correctly and the team will be discouraged because its creation sits unused on the corporate shelf. We use Gantt charts, precedence diagrams, and flow charts before we start the building process. These tools and others are highly beneficial in determining the architecture of a new idea. 2. Redundancy is for computers, not people. No one enjoys inputting financial data just to "keep things up to date" and many people lack the discipline to do it in the first place. Build this sort of thing into your process so that these tasks don't require a human touch. Think about all the back-office tasks that are very similar for most of our businesses: financial management, order processing, customer communications, internal communications, scheduling, supply ordering, and the list goes on. Franchisors are in a unique position to integrate these services into their systems because the size and scale of the projects needed to do so are often more than a single-operator business could undertake. But, isn't that part of the advantage of franchising? Capitalizing on the efficiencies and opportunities of economies of scale? However, don't sacrifice human interaction in the name of technology. Technology is an improvement if it enables your staff to add more human touch, not less. 1. Simplicity wins! By its very nature technology is complicated, but our lives should not be. When you think of all the sources of stress in your life, all of them are surrounded by complexity. I have been purposeful about maintaining simplicity in my life these last few years, and it has made a huge impact on my overall happiness. Ultimately, if we can enable peace in people's lives by providing simple solutions, then we will win in the marketplace every time. If our advances in technology do not simplify our lives then they are a waste of time. Technology should be used to encourage the desired path and that path should be of the least resistance. Perhaps a handyman service business seems like a low-tech business to be touting the benefits of technology, but HomeTask employ's a decidedly high-tech approach to achieve a competitive advantage. This advantage starts on the street where our franchise partners operate their businesses. They are empowered to accomplish and achieve well beyond what would be possible without the technological tools we provide. In fact, our business is possible and profitable because of our heavy use of these concepts. HomeTask is a unique owner-operated focused handyman franchise system.  
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by Stephen Parezo  
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DATELINE:  WESTBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS...
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National outdoor lighting franchise, NiteLites, embraces the International Dark Sky Association’s (IDA) call for dark sky friendly products and introduces its selection of dark sky compliant fixtures. 
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Veteran NFL Pro Bowler Lee Woodall Becomes First Roni Deutch Tax Center Franchise Consultant;  Plans to Educate Former Pro Athletes about Transitioning to Life after Sports
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Conshohocken, PA—Saladworks, the nation’s first and largest fresh-tossed salad chain announced today it has entered into an agreement with RAMM Alliance LLC of Pennsylvania to open ten Saladworks locations throughout the Atlanta area. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
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Citrus Heights, CA--Forty-two-year-old Michael Newman saw a hole in the complex web of senior care services. He filled that void and in doing so created a business model that has no match in the industry for both the services it provides seniors and their families and the opportunity it offers prospective investors.
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Community-Minded Athlete to Become Co-Owner in Charlotte Training Center to Help Youth, Student-Athlete’s and Adults Improve Athletic Performance
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Some reports say that today’s health and fitness industry is bigger than it’s ever been, raking in some $16 billion and serving roughly 42 million every year, and it continues to grow.  As the nation becomes increasingly health-conscious—or at least conscious of how health-unconscious we’ve been in the past—people can’t seem to keep themselves from the gym.  As we discover the disastrous effects of excessive stress in our lives, people go running to the spa for a regular relaxation and pampering.  And as we grow older and older, it’s unavoidable that medical and hospice care markets experience higher demand as well.
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Houston TX – COMPUTER EXPLORERS, a company dedicated to technology learning, introduced Scratch, a new programming language which makes it easier for students to create their own animated stories, video games and interactive art during its Annual International Conference April 25 – 27, 2008 in Houston, TX.
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Atlanta, GA– Georgia based Flip Flop Shops announced Friday that they will be opening this year in Boise, ID with a new franchisee thanks to their partnership with the franchise lead generating website, Franchise Gator. FFS has only been franchising its Flip Flop Shops retail stores since January of this year and currently has 6 units operating and two in development.  The Boise franchise comes on the heels of Flip Flop Shops first franchise sale in Nashville, Tennessee scheduled to open this summer.
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The World's Best Barbecue Since 1950® scorches records with new store openings in Allen, TX, Marietta, OH and Warner Robins, GA
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Steven Greenbaum and Brian Spindel Named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year® 2008 Award Finalists in the Rocky Mountain Region
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CHARLOTTE, NC- Gus Gruber launched DUCTZ of The Triangle in Raleigh in February 2006.  Within a year he began receiving service calls outside the territory.  To meet the demand for business, Gus set his sights 170 miles west on Charlotte—North Carolina’s largest city.
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MonitorClosely.com the Nations Leading Digital Surveillance Systems Franchise Announces 11 New Locations
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ATLANTA, GA (June 3, 2008) – Last April, Peter Patanzo decided it was time for a change. He wanted to do something new, different, and totally unrelated to the career he’d had for the past 35 years. Having had his own business in the past, he knew that they required large capital investments. Peter wanted something with a low capital investment and a high return.
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An entrepreneur is always on the lookout for the next big thing.  Computer and internet businesses have taken off in the last decade and stabilized, showing that they are a giant industry that’s here to stay, but the big question on the minds of someone considering getting into a computer or internet business is, “Where do I start?”  Starting your new computer or internet company from scratch may seem like a daunting task, but what is working well for many new business owners is to capitalize on one of the many computer and internet franchise opportunities that are now available.  Computer and internet franchises benefit from having a well known brand name, which is crucial on the web when people are searching for someone who’s trustworthy.  You don’t have to be a techno-wizard either because everything from web site hosting franchises to cellular-wireless franchise opportunities comes with extensive training in the specific products and ongoing support from companies that have plenty of experience when it comes to the business of technology.  Now the big decision; which franchise is right for you?  Here’s the top five computer and internet franchises that stand out among the rest and make great candidates for the newcomer and the seasoned business pro.
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