At first I thought Burger King delivery was a dumb idea. But, after thinking about it a while, it may prove to be a smart move – in the right locations and for the right premium.
Burger King is using custom packaging for the fries that won’t trap steam to make them soggy, but it will trap the emitted heat. The delivery bags probably have a heating element too.
I could see delivery being a surprise hit with customers. There no reason pizza should be the only popular delivery food. Jimmy Johns owes a lot of its success to delivery.
Taco John’s, a “West-Mex” fusion fast food restaurant, held voluntary workshops in most of its territories for franchisees to learn ways to reduce their food and labor costs with a goal of 1% reduction. They were in the form of interactive round tables and discussion about how to streamline operations, and there was lots of networking between unit manager. Also discussed were ways to better advertise locally.
It sounds like a great way to reach out to franchisees. Hopefully it will help.
It is in-your-face, real world advice and inspiration for your career, whatever field you’re in. It’s the opposite of academic, and gives the advice a wise old CEO would give after a few gin and tonics. It’s not a long book, it only has a few sentences on each page with pictures, but it focuses on the importance of marketing yourself and your talents, dealing with people, and getting yourself into positions that will eventually lead to more opportunity and “luck”. I’ve found a lot of it to be true after being in the workforce for 20 years, and would have benefited from this type of advice early in my career.
Here’s a some of my favorite samples:
Tip #1&2 / More important than talent, have balls.
Sure, talent matters, but if you don’t have balls, your talent won’t matter – because nobody will ever find out about all your swell stuff.
Fact: If you’re seeking extreme success, you cannot be afraid to go against the crown, make mistakes, look dumb.
If you want ot reach extreme heights in your career, get over your fear of fail. You must become confident in your abilities to deal with any crisis or obstacle if you plan to pursue your passions with cockiness, vigor and sense of playful adventure need to snag ‘em.
Tip #3 / There are no wishy-washy rock stars, no wishy-washy astronauts, no wishy-washy CEOs, no wishy-washy nobel price winners.
Be like a cockroach, survive everything nature and man can throw at you for millions of years. If you get sprayed with a lethal dose of negativity, you must quickly wipe off your antennae, find your bearings and keep going for all those goodies! Indeed, you must use each spray as a spirit strengthener to build up a strong tolerance for dealing with future sprays of negativity…and thrive against all odds.
Tip #4 / Mom was wrong, it is okay to talk to strangers
Start friendly conversations often. Schmooze. Network. Join organizations. Go to parties. Go to galas. Go to soup kitchens. Never have cold feet about cold calling anyone you want to meet. Depend on the kindness of strangers.
Every person you talk to = 3 degrees of separation from someone you might want to talk to. The more people you know, the luckier you’ll be.
Tip #39 / Whenever possible, play with people who are better than you.
TIp #73 / Learn Under a Substitute Teacher
When faced with a problem, substitute someone you trust and respect as being in your place – and imagine what they would do.
Tip #90 / It’s better to communicate difficult stuff sooner than to try to fix a really difficult problem later.
Always squoosh a work problem when it’s a mini. The longer you wait, the bigger and scarier problems get.
Chipotle’s new fast mexican asian concept dubbed ShopHouse has only been open a few months in Washington DC. Their menu consists of Banh Mi sandwiches and rice or noodle bowls with meats. The reviews on Yelp vary, with an average of 3 out of 5 stars. On the negative side, comments seem to congregate on the odd combinations of tastes, blandness, and unlikable slaw on too many items. On the positive side, employee helpfulness and value seem to rank high.
Many restaurant groups are pursuing this market – Wagamama, Big Bowl, Stir Crazy, Panda Express (and all the indoor mall food court offerings), and Pick up Stix. Technomic claims that sales at limited-service Asian restaurants grew 5.9% in 2010, faster than any other menu category, and in 2011 sales at Asian dining spots are expected to rise 5% compared to 4% for all limited-service restaurants. If you’re a CEO of a restaurant group looking to ride the trends, this is your new market.
P.F. Chang’s, who also owns the popular casual restaurant Pei Wei, is creating a “more casual” concept called Pei Wei Asian Market, to compete in this fast service segment. It won’t be the notorious scoop style forged by Panda Express and Chipotle, but what they call a diner style with no table service. It sounds like the same style of Panera Bread but with a few more ready-to-eat packages at checkout.
The fast asian fusion segment seems to be one that will have staying power. I like the segment, and there is a place for the Panera of Asian food, a speedy and quality layer above Panda Express. Just like Chipotle forged Mexican cuisine into the weekly rotation of American lunches, the arguably healthy fast asian fusion will also continue to grow and improve.
— Franchising Options —
Most of the good concepts aren’t franchising at this time – Chipotle, ShopHouse, Pei Wei, Wagamama, Panda Express.
IF I wanted to pursue this segment going the franchise route, I’d probably look to Noodle & Company. The branding seems strong, the familiar chinese and thai menu works well for lunch and dinner crowds, and most importantly they seem to successfully attract lines throughout the week. A highly viewable location in a new, upper scale shopping plaza, in a dense residential community would be a strong location for this concept. A warning is there have been store closures in Portland and elsewhere, and at those locations people have complained about the quality of food. In contrast to busy open locations, people seem to praise the food dishes, so there seems to be variance in the quality of the food based on skilled preparation.
There are a good number of other franchises in this asian segment, but most are the “orange and bourbon chicken” joints that belong in an indoor mall. For example, Pick Up Stix in California is akin to Panda Express, but I wouldn’t be a buyer of the Pick Up Stix franchise.
I enjoyed this short discussion with Zane Tankel, a 34-unit Applebee’s franchisee in New York. He pushed corporate for changes such as removing the baggy shirt and tie requirement (he says “who wants to look at girls behind the bar all buttoned up?”). His times square location is the chain’s highest revenue unit at $13.5 million last year. Here’s an example insightful answer:
Q. What have you learned about doing business in those neighborhoods?
A. When we open a restaurant and are interviewing, we will have guys show up with their pants hanging below their crotch, their hat on sideways, answering our questions antagonistically. Our recruiters will say to them, ‘If you’re here for a job, go home and get dressed like you’re applying for a job and then come back.’ Many will go home, change and come back.
I give Applebee’s credit for not axing him from the system, and instead learning to work with him.
Leveraging people and assets across multiple operating businesses is what enables most companies to make money, including franchisees. The leveraging action turns what would otherwise be an individual, high-overhead and high-risk investment into a portfolio of lower-overhead and risk-managed investments.
In a previous job I worked for a commercial real estate investment and management company. The company made money because they were able to use the same employees to manage dozens of leased properties, and leveraging one employee across dozens of properties increased the profit margins.
In franchising, a multi-unit operator can leverage skilled managers across multiple units. And, the $25,000 saved across 50 restaurants adds up quickly to a nice income.
26 Hardee’s in West Virginia, North Carolina and Kentucky,
10 Taco Bell restaurants in Louisiana and Mississippi, and
12 IHOP restaurants in Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky.
And, they are in the process of acquiring 33 St. Louis area Applebee’s for the rock-bottom price of $25 million ($757k each, below build out cost). The seller is DineEquity Inc., the parent company of Applebee’s Neighborhood Bar & Grill and IHOP restaurants.
Mid River Restaurants has several advantages over other small and individual franchisees:
profit per restaurant is higher than most because of their controllable costs are lower with centralized management, accounting and service teams
cash flow is large enough to finance large, well priced acquisitions
the greater cash flow also enables them to hire and retain smarter employees who are likely to further enhance the profitability
the whole enterprise learns from four very well developed franchise systems, exposing employees to “best of breed” methods
Individual franchisees as a group tend to be lower skilled, lower financed, micro-managers, unleveraged and over worked, which is why franchisors prefer experience multi-unit operators.
I’ve been noticing a new crop of high-end fast casual franchise concepts that are the size and atmosphere of a traditional sit down restaurant, but orders are taken at the walk-up counter. Ingredient in Kansas City comes to mind. They follow the recent trend of hearth oven baked pizza, homemade pastas, salads and sandwiches.
Vapiano is also an interesting urban-only concept started in Germany and now here in the USA.
It is a very modern, high-end Italian fast casual concept. The chefs are stationed around the dining room, and customers walk up to the chefs who prepare their order right there. A customer’s food and drink totals are tracked using a chip card similar to one you’d see on cruise boats. As the customer leaves the card is scanned and the customer pays. It sounds a bit like a modern cafeteria but the architecture is sleek and hip. The average check ranges from $14.50 to $22, depending on whether it’s lunch or dinner, claims the owner.
The franchisor’s job of communicating with franchisees is not as easy as you might think. Some franchisees simply shy away from anything technology, some barely speak english, and some franchisees expect regular courtesy phone calls.
To communicate news and information, brands like Qdoba, FOCUS and Salad Creations use newsletters, representative committees that will communicate back to the franchisees, and technology tools such as intranets, online videos, webinars (voice-over presentations viewed from the franchisees’ computer)
Most restaurants have or would live to have a thriving catering business to augment sales. A restaurant with a successful catering business typically increases sales sales by10% to 20%. Here is a great article with advice from experienced caters on equipment, deposits, and marketing.
“Our biggest catering customers are schools, offices and churches,” says Preston. “We market our service on our menus, on the Web, in the paper, and in schools and offices. We also hand out catering information at functions, feature it in our EClub newsletter, visit local businesses and leave info (then follow up with a phone call), and get involved in local charity events.” If you’re worried about spending too much money on advertising in the beginning, Skvorecz says, “Start slow and advertise to your existing customers by printing out your offerings and placing an easily visible sign on your countertop. Get through a holiday period and see how it goes; then consider expanding your ads into the Sunday paper or other media.” The possibilities for game days alone are amazing, according to Skvorecz. You can free up a lot of your time on days such as Super Bowl Sunday if customers have called ahead to cater their parties and already have their food before the game even starts.
“I can’t stress enough how important it is to have the proper equipment,” says Preston. “Keep your hot food hot and your cold food cold with a stackable Cambro (hot box); invest in midto high-quality chafing dishes; and don’t forget your canned heat! Make sure all catering platters, plates, flatware and serving utensils are kept in storage, and never (unless you want to buy more) put them into restaurant/pizzeria circulation.” Preston also advises being a stickler for details: “Be sure to qualify special requests and leave no loose ends,” he says. “The devil is in the details; I use email, which gives me a written record, which wins all discussions.” Get a deposit, too: “I shoot for 50% and will accept no less than 25%,” he says. “Of course, that can change with repeat customers.”
A 26-year-old woman became the youngest franchisee in the Schlotzky’s system. Is she too young? You may think, until you read this:
Jessica Johnson worked at the Schlotzky’s in Teays Valley for nine years – working her way from cashier to manager.Then in October, even though some people thought it was a little crazy, Johnson got a Small Business loan and bought her very own store.That made her the youngest franchisee in the Schlotzky’s chain.”I was not scared to do this because I believed 100 percent” Johnson said. “I knew it was something I wanted to do and if for whatever reason it didn’t work out I knew there was someone looking out for me and it wasn’t meant to be.”Johnson says she has been focusing on catering, delivery and customer service to keep profits up despite the economy.
She is probably more experienced and ready than 90% of Schlotzky’s independent franchisees.
Clever. Pay for a survey about Super Bowl eating habits, get free publicity, get your brand associated with “healthy” and “Super Bowl”.
SUBWAY Restaurants, which has long been committed to promoting “better-for-you” meal options among both children and adults, conducted an Omnibus survey of more than 1,000 Americans regarding their Game Day snack consumption habits and learned they overeat the most during the Big Game (27%)–trailing only Thanksgiving (85%) and Christmas (61%). More than half surveyed (59%) admitted to overeating during the Big Game and reported gorging themselves on nachos, fried chicken, chicken wings, pizza and other generic “junk food.”
Methodology: An Omnibus survey conducted a telephone survey on behalf of SUBWAY(R) Restaurants of a nationally representative probability sample of households; 1,090 interviews were completed among adults ages 18+ (53 percent female, 47 percent male). Interviewing took place January 7-9, 2008.
If you have been to Europe, particular the U.K., you know what Tesco is. It is an omnipresent, progressive grocery chain. They are opening up their first US stores starting in California. I always enjoyed Tesco’s twist on the supermarket, and I am sure they will be making a very successful entrance into the US marketplace.
I unfortunately need to board my 2-year-old beagle while I leave on trip. I shopped around thinking I would find franchise dog hotels everywhere considering I’m in downtown Chicago. I’ve discussed pet franchises like Camp Bow Wow here and here. To my surprise, in Chicago all I found were all privately owned business started by practical entrepreneurs , some being very innovative such as Stay started by dog-lover architect who said, “Why do pet boarding facilities need to be small locations with chain-link cages. He charges between $45 and $75 for one night of dog boarding, and he easily get’s that fee.
Mobile pet grooming seems to be a franchise getting attention lately. I found this Chicago-based entrepreneur that could have purchased a pet service franchise, but decided to build it herself. After a few years she added a mobile pet grooming service to her existing two Chicago pet service (grooming, boarding, walking, training) locations.
She could have paid a $25,000 franchise fee plus 6% royalties and other mandatory marketing fees to a franchisor, which may have been worth it if the business had a strong competitive advantage and high brand recognition with the target market. But, that just wasn’t the case here in Chicago.
The moral of the story is - demand a lot from franchisors. As a franchisee, you are literally making a multi-million dollar bet, while the franchisor is not at much financial risk. You are taking on the risk that could result in bankruptcy if the franchise business projections don’t pan out or competitors can copy your poorly branded business, so require that as a franchisee you license a business model with a proven and sustainable business model, a business with high barriers to entry and difficult to duplicate business, and can provide a much higher return than your money in the market and your time working for an employer. Just being “new” or “unique” or “better looking” in a new or mature market is NOT enough. See the meal assembly industry for a perfect example of a good idea but bad business with no real protectable competitive advantage. You should choose your business and build out your projects with the assumption that competitors with a fresher twist or lower prices will move in next door. In the franchising industry, if a concept makes money, rest assured there will be improved copycats out within a year or two. Can you still be certain that you’ll earn a sufficient return on your investment? If not, keep looking for another franchise or start your own business…even if it’s a copycat.
I’m a fan of free wifi or near free wifi (pay an extra $5 and you can have unlimited internet for the day) if you have the seaing capactiy. I am a frequent user of free wifi in stores and think it usually makes economic sense. I go to Panera Bread and other local restaurants just for the free wifi. In fact, many visitors will buy a coffee and snack, then in a few hours buy lunch. The idea that people will sit there all day and not spend any money is rare because people simply cannot sit and not eat for 10 hours, especially when they are in a restaurant. You will always have people who pay you $2 for a coffee and use your wifi for several hours, but most don’t. The $20-$30 per month spent on wifi will certain pay for itself in higher net sales.
Panera Bread limits free wifi to 30 minutes during lunch times (noon – 2pm).
Costs will vary, depending on the size and configuration of each restaurant. Franchisees must buy equipment to make specialty coffees, and, eventually, smoothies, as well as wall-mounted refrigerators for bottled sodas and energy drinks, and would have to remodel the counter and drive-thru service areas to make room for the equipment.
A franchisee who installed the new beverage equipment as part of a company test pegged the cost at $100,000 per restaurant, according to notes from a meeting of restaurant owners in August.
McDonald’s hopes to equip 1,500 restaurants to sell the new drinks by the yearend, with the rest on board by late 2008, the planning documents indicate. It’s the biggest change for McDonald’s since it overhauled its cooking procedures in the late 1990s to make sandwiches to order, says Dennis Lombardi, a restaurant consultant with WD Partners in Ohio.
As it rolled out that plan — the Made for You campaign — McDonald’s agreed to pay half of the estimated $25,000 per restaurant in equipment expenses for franchisees. But when the costs for the program exceeded the estimates in some restaurants, it caused hard feelings among some franchisees.
The test market numbers looked good:
In test markets including California, Georgia, Michigan and Texas, specialty coffee has increased customer traffic by 44% a week, an August memo from a franchisee group shows. The initial tests show the new plan doesn’t require more employees or slow down service.
Specialty beverages such as lattes have much higher profit margins than sandwiches. Sales in this new beverage category could rise by 90% in the next five years, generating $125,000 in annual revenue per store, according to company documents. McDonald’s estimates that those sales could mean additional annual profit of between $15,000 and $60,000 per restaurant, the documents show.
Looks like the R&D team (or their consultants) at Dunkin’ Brands (Dunkin’ Donuts, Baskin Robins, Togo’s) have been hard at work reworking their ingredients. Hopefully this won’t be too much of a burden on the franchisees and no new equipment or costlier ingredients will be required.
About 400 locations nationwide that took part in a four-month test already have made the switch to a new blend of palm, soybean and cottonseed oils. That includes all restaurants in New York City and Philadelphia, which are forcing restaurants to phase out their use of artery-clogging trans fat.
The ice cream chain Baskin-Robbins, another unit of Dunkin’ Brands Inc., plans to be zero grams trans fat by Jan. 1.
…
Dunkin’ isn’t positioning its namesake product as health food – a shift that would involve more disbelief suspension than might be possible for a treat synonymous with portly, doughnut-gobbling Homer from television’s “The Simpsons.”
“The goal was not to make a healthy doughnut, it was really to create a doughnut that was better,” said Joe Scafido, Dunkin’s chief creative and innovation officer. “Certainly, we did not create a healthy doughnut.”
…
This past spring, hundreds of restaurants began taking part in a test to gauge customer reaction to the blend that Dunkin’ ultimately selected. Managers at participating stores were split into two groups, with one receiving conventional cooking oil, the other receiving the experimental oil, and neither group knowing which type they received. Dunkin’ closely watched sales and customer response at restaurants with the experimental oil.
“We got no negative consumer feedback, and we sold 50 million doughnuts in that time,” Scafido said.
What are Dunkin’ Donuts’ competitors up to with the fat?
Dunkin’ is ahead of Krispy Kreme Doughnuts Inc., which has yet to roll out a zero gram trans fat doughnut but hopes to do so. Brian Little, a spokesman for the North Carolina-based chain, said, “We continue to work aggressively with outside supply partners, and our goal is to get to zero trans fatty acids while maintaining great Krispy Kreme taste.”
A call seeking comment from another chain, California-based Winchell’s Donut House, wasn’t immediately returned.
Starbucks Corp., Dunkin’s Seattle-based rival in the coffee shop niche, said in May that it would cut artificial trans fats out of its food and drink by year’s end in stores in the continental U.S., Alaska and Canada.
Dunkin’s announcement follows about four years of research of more than 28 alternative cooking oils and proprietary blends.
If nothing else, this will result in much FREE puclicity for Dunkin’ Donuts…being one of the first movers in a healthy trend does have its advantages.
What is one way to gather sample financial results for franchises when the franchisor refuses to make optional financial disclosures in their UFOC? Check out the classified ads of businesses for sale. While the classified ads will generally disclose very basic and very vague financial information, such as annual sales and net income or cash flow, you will start to get a picture of the going valuations and metrics used (such as a multiple of earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortization; or a multiple of free cash flow), all of which will help you understand the financial models and drivers for the business.
The financial disclosures in classified ads should be taken with a grain of salt. Why? You need to understand accounting and finance, or hire someone to help you with the valuation and explain the tax and valuation factors used in determining what type of free cash flow and return on your invested capital and time you can expect to reap. You also need to understand finance to know if you are comparing apples to apples. For example, all of these will make a huge difference in what the valuation means to you:
Seller’s Loan payments and interest rates
Lease payments
Upcoming or postponed capital improvements
Wages per employee, total wages per day
Wages and distributions paid to the owner, if any
Competition near location (knowing that there are several competitors in the mall is better, because if there are no competitors you know that sales will mostly drop when a competitors moves in)
Your(buyer’s) financing options and interest rates
Expenditures for accounting/legal (did they owner do their own accounting, or pay an accountant, what will you do?)
Cash/theft rates
Franchise renewals – how soon before the franchise agreement expires, and will there be required remodeling or purchases as a condition of the franchisor to renew the franchise?
Below are two Auntie Anne’s for sale:
#1 – Worcester County, MA, USA Asking Price: $175,000 USD USA Dollars Business for Sale Industry: Food & Beverage: Non-classifiable Reason for Selling: other business interests Year Established: 1995 # of Employees: 1FT/8PT Yearly Revenues: $269,687 Yearly Cash Flow: $70,690 Overview:
Auntie Anne’s Pretzel franchise located in a recently renovated mall. Be part of one of the fastest growing international franchises. Any new owner would benefit from the training offered at both the corp. HQ and on site. With a very reasonable rent in place for the next 7 years this store is ready for a new owner/operator to take it to the next level. A great opportunity for a first time business owner looking for the security of a franchise with minimal expense and maximum potential. Get in now before the busy fourth quarter when things really boom!
Business Summary: Auntie Anne’s Pretzel franchise located in a thriving destination shopping mall. This shop is in it’s fourth year of operation, the rent will remain steady for the next 2 years and there are options available. The rent includes the utilities, trash removal, and all common area expenses. The mall has been updated with stable anchors such as Macy’s and Target and the cinema is being renovated. This is a great opportunity for an owner/operator to both improve revenues and profitability as it is currently run absentee. Any buyer would need to be approved by the company and spend two weeks training in PA, The key to this operation is the very low cost of goods for this product, it is simple, straight forward, and a high margin operation to run. This store is being offered at a reduced rate as the absentee owner is motivated to move on and it is a fantastic opportunity considering a buyer avoids the normal $30k franchise fee. The initial start-up and build out cost for a new franchise is estimated at $275k.
Year Business was Established: 2003
Number of Employees: 1FT/9PT
Both have around $75,000 in cash flow, but one is selling for $65,000 and the other is selling for $175,000. The $65,000 must be a great deal, right!?!?! Not so fast. The owner is selling for $65,000 already sunk in $300,000 in build out and initial costs, and is implying that at the end of last year he had $80,000 in the business’s bank account. I’ll buy $80,000 worth of cash for $65,000 any day, but the owner obviously isn’t that stupid. Something is going on here for the price to be so low in contrast to his capital outlays and claimed positive cash flow. More likely he is just making ends meet, and the headache of managing teenagers who will rob you blind and not show up for work is driving him nuts.What is better = Buy an existing franchise or open up a new franchise? Buying an existing franchise is often preferable if one is available in your area. The risks are much lower because you have a sense of the business economics and customer visits before investing. Also, you avoid the higher franchise fee and sellers tend to discount their upfront build out costs. Of course, most of the time the franchise you desire does not have one for sale in your preferred geographic area, so buying and building a new franchise is your only option.
The product, introduced Tuesday, is the third chicken snack wrap offered in the past year. The wraps have helped McDonald’s bring more customers in during the usually slow afternoon hours and may give it a leg up over rivals like Burger King and Wendy’s, analysts say.
“It’s probably one of the better products we have seen in the last several years,” says Larry Miller, an analyst in Atlanta with RBC Capital Markets. “They have really attacked the mid-afternoon as an area of opportunity.” Along with expanded
Opinion:
Being part of a larger, publicly traded franchisor has its benefits, particular in innovation. The CEO must respond to negative publicity such as law suits or poor quality control, and it must be able to “tell a story” why the stock price is undervalued. The CEO’s story is usually that investors are not fully valuing the upcoming improvements in the product or service offerings, such as a new menu item, a new promotional campaign, a faster system of delivering to the customer, etc. This dance with stock analysts help franchisees by ensuring that there is some R&D and brainpower behind executing better strategies and more profits.
Furthermore, being a franchisee where the frachisor is a publicly traded company has other often-overlooked benefits. Disclosure rules and various SEC compliance regulations place a heavy burden on the franchisor to honestly disclose information. For example, most publicly traded franchisors (see McDonald’s, Buffalo Wild Wings, Jack in the Box, Gymboree, Choice Hotel, H&R Block, Regis Corp, to name a few) disclose monthly or quarterly same-store sales results, and disclose some transaction involve the sale or purchase of stores. A potential franchisee can likely reap sales data from these SEC filings and press releases.
The franchisor’s executive team must sign-off on these disclosures, and releasing false information can result in jail and huge fines imposed by the government. Instead of pursuing a franchise with a private franchisor who refuses to disclose any earnings claims, perhaps limiting your evaluations to publicly traded franchisors is a prudent decision. For the same disclosure reasons, many investors limit their investments to publicly traded securities rather than delve into the restricted world of private placement investments.
Just wondering if you guys think its a smart idea for a franchisee to de-identify his store? Also.. Franchises normally have a list of items that need to be changed to the color of the walls to the lights that hang.. How would you go about doing this.... […]
Remember if you approach a franchisor and that franchisor uses brokers you should be able to reduce your franchise fee by the price of the commision they would pay to a broker. You have bargaining power before you sign the FA not after!!!!Moreover... […]
Quote from: TheTruth on December 30, 2011, 04:51:49 PMJust so you know "thetruth" I am part time employed by one of the Kona Ice owners but in a different company. I rarely if ever get to speak to the owner operator of Kona but I saw ... […]
Quote from: TheTruth on December 30, 2011, 04:51:49 PMJust so you know "thetruth" I am part time employed by one of the Kona Ice owners but in a different company. I rarely if ever get to speak to the owner operator of Kona but I saw ... […]
It's a good idea to speak with a franchise broker as well. Their services are free and they can help you narrow down your search for a new franchise. Here is an example of a potential franchise broker who could help you in buying process- == Franch... […]
Taco John’s, a “West-Mex” fusion fast food restaurant, 
If you are in a bind and need a quick gift for someone in the late teens to 30s, I recommend the book 
Chipotle’s new fast 
I enjoyed 
Leveraging people and assets across multiple operating businesses is what enables most companies to make money, including franchisees. The leveraging action turns what would otherwise be an individual, high-overhead and high-risk investment into a portfolio of lower-overhead and risk-managed investments.
The franchisor’s job of communicating with franchisees is not as easy as you might think. Some franchisees simply shy away from anything technology, some barely speak english, and some franchisees expect regular courtesy phone calls.
Most restaurants have or would live to have a thriving catering business to augment sales. A restaurant with a successful catering business typically increases sales sales by10% to 20%. 
A 26-year-old woman became the youngest franchisee in the Schlotzky’s system. Is she too young? You may think, until you read this:
Clever. Pay for a survey about Super Bowl eating habits, get free publicity, get your brand associated with “healthy” and “Super Bowl”.
Mobile pet grooming seems to be a franchise getting attention lately. I found 
Looks like the R&D team (or their consultants) at Dunkin’ Brands (Dunkin’ Donuts, Baskin Robins, Togo’s) 
What is one way to gather sample financial results for franchises when the franchisor refuses to make optional financial disclosures in their UFOC? Check out the classified ads of businesses for sale. While the classified ads will generally disclose very basic and very vague financial information, such as annual sales and net income or cash flow, you will start to get a picture of the going valuations and metrics used (such as a multiple of earnings before income, taxes, depreciation and amortization; or a multiple of free cash flow), all of which will help you understand the financial models and drivers for the business.
Blog MOST Comments