It was announced in Convenience Store News that Dinner by Design, a meal assembly chain based in Grayslake, Ill., has unveiled a new package of convenience services that the company expects will change the easy meal prep industry. Specifically, Dinner by Design’s new services include: Delivery services that allow people to preorder entrees and side dishes and have them delivered to their company, daycare, school or other organization. Based on a test marketing effort, the company already has more than 300 group delivery clients nationwide. Home delivery will be unveiled and tested in one location in mid-March. Pick Up meals for busy people who don’t have delivery service. Take & Bake entrees, desserts and side dishes are premade and can be picked up anytime during expanded business hours. Orders can be placed online, e-mailed, faxed or phoned in. Dinner Tonight selections geared for people who need something for dinner without defrosting time. This service helps meet the needs of nearly 37 percent of people who don’t think about dinner until just before preparing it, the company stated. Group delivery, Pick Up service and Take & Bake selections are already available and operating successfully at most locations nationwide. Dinner by Design has nearly 60 kitchens open, and agreements for another 40 locations in the U.S. and Canada. “This is the wave of the future,” president and CEO John Matthews said in a company statement. “This new business model has been very attractive to existing and potential franchise owners alike. We anticipate that the new meal assembly model will mean added growth for Dinner by Design owners and operators.” It may be a move in the right direction, though I am always concerned when a franchisor introduces a whole new program before the program has received proper testing. I think the …

QuikDrop is closing its eBay drop-off store franchise business at the end of the month, but franchise stores will be able to continue to use the QuikDrop name, logos, and signage. A conversation with the company’s cofounder Jack Reynolds on Wednesday netted a laundry list of complaints about the challenges of selling on eBay that contributed to his company’s demise, beginning in 2006 with the Stores search and fee changes. QuikDrop storeowners did not seem surprised at the news of the closure, which arrived via email from QuikDrop headquarters on Friday night – and some actually seemed relieved. The number of QuikDrop stores shrunk from a high of 95 in mid-2006 to under 30 stores today. Reynolds said the store closings, combined with a number of stores who were unable to pay franchise royalties, led to the decision to close the corporate franchise office. In late 2005 and early 2006, Reynolds said eBay worked on joint marketing with QuikDrop and things were going well. eBay discovered that consumers who visited drop off stores became more active as buyers on eBay, so the auction site marketed to people who weren’t sellers to promote eBay Trading Assistants. But things took a downward turn in 2006, he said. Read more in an article by Ina Steiner in Auctionbytes.com Read an earlier article on Franchise Pundit about eBay Drop Off Franchises Cross posted at Let’s Talk Franchising <!– –>

Since Tamarac-based Puroclean began franchising in 2001 it has sold more than 180 franchises, making it one of the 50 fastest-growing concepts in the nation. The company provides mitigation, restoration and reconstruction services for damage caused by fire, water or vandalism. Part of the company’s success is that it’s a business-to-business model — working largely with insurance agents and adjusters. That draws franchisees who might shy away from traditional sales, said Puroclean President and COO Keith Gerson. ‘’We are one of those under-the-radar opportunities that most people don’t think about,’’ he said. “But when you align all the stars in terms of what makes a good business — growth opportunity, great margins and low cost of entry — it’s just one of those rare models that is firing on all cylinders.’’ Gerson, of Puroclean, said there’s a simple formula to keep fueling the growth of a franchise: Keep the franchisees happy. In fact, some of the company’s best marketers are owners who are eager to sell the concept — which is different than selling the business, said Gerson. If you talk to a franchisee about buying in and they say, ‘ `Gee, you want to buy a business? I’ll sell you mine,’ ‘’ be leery, he said. Cross Posted at: Let’s Talk Franchising

Fantastic Sams, a full service hair salon brand with nearly 1,400 salons in the US and Canada, was recently ranked as one of the “50 Top Franchises for Minorities” and the “Top 25 Franchises for Hispanics” by the National Minority Franchising Initiative and Hispanic Enterprise Magazine. Fantastic Sams was the only hair salon franchise system selected by both surveys. As published in the September 28 edition of the USA Today newspaper, The “50 Top Franchises for Minorities” award recognizes Fantastic Sams as one of the exceptional systems that has demonstrated a focus on recruiting and supporting minority franchisees into its system. Selection was based on many factors, including historical performance, brand identification, market dynamics, franchisee satisfaction the level of initial training, on-going support and financial stability. The “Top 25 Franchises for Hispanics” was featured in the June/July issue of Hispanic Enterprise Magazine. Fantastic Sams was recognized as a franchise that has made a corporate commitment to recruit prospective franchisees from the Hispanic community over the past several years. According to Hispanic Enterprise Magazine, “This commitment is not based on altruism; it is based on sound economics. The companies noted here represent exceptional opportunities for prospective franchisees and have demonstrated a commitment to properly training and supporting you once you become a franchisee.” Fantastic Sams is also a charter member of Minority Fran, a program that was recently launched by the International Franchise Association’s Diversity institute. Minority Fran was created to build awareness of franchising within minority communities and to increase the number of minority franchise owners. “We are thrilled about our recent recognition by the minority business community,” said Scott Colabuono, CEO of Fantastic Sams. “We want to recruit franchisees who are interested in running a business and who also understand the culture of the clients they serve.” Fantastic …

Are the number of Franchise Consultants, and Brokers going to continue to grow? Or, as I predict, will this part of the Franchise industry start consolidating?……. In the last 3 articles I have written about the phenomenon that is taking place..Too many consultant/brokers in the franchise world, and the  plethora of  new ones just entering an already crowded field. Here are links to Parts 1, 2, and  Part 3, just in case you wish to refresh your memory. Am I writing about this just because I am a franchise consultant? Am I writing about this  because I do not want more competition? Am I writing about this because I just left a Franchise brokerage group that I really am not feeling the love for? I am writing this to open up a discussion. I want to know how consumers feel about us. I want to know how franchise company execs feel about us. I am also writing this so that some prospective franchise brokers that are being courted by the franchise brokerage groups to buy their franchises that sell franchises to others, can take a breath..and find out before they buy, just what  it is that they are buying. Janet Sparks, a veteran franchise industry writer, just wrote about one such wonderful franchise company, “The Entrepreneur’s Source” that once again is  is the position of defending itself against a class action lawsuit brought on by former franchisees. Article They have a large number of franchisees, and at one time in little old Cleveland,Ohio, had 3-4 franchisees at the same time. {As of this post, I only know of one franchisee in Cleveland who remains in business} So, if “The Entrepreneur’s Source” as an example, has no problem selling 3 or 4 franchises in a shrinking metropolis like Cleveland, Ohio, …

The tech-savvy community at Slashdot.org in 2006 had an interesting post and comments on the viability of a Gaming Cafe and what branding, culture and services have shown to work. Re:Yes we have one. (Score:5, Insightful) by Orangejesus (898961) on Friday August 11, @11:56PM (#15893072) you have to understand that most people don’t go to gaming cafes for the games perse, they go for the social interaction, they go to play with their friends and be able to yell at them, they go to hang out with people with similar intrests. I have a better PC than the local place I go to game at and so do most of my friends, but it’s easier to spend a few bucks and just go to the gaming place down the street than drag a bunch of computers around and fool with networking them and making sure everyone has the same version of what we want to play and working cd keys and ect. the gaming place I go to is open 24/7 and after 5 hours is free, (5 an hour) So it’s pretty common for us to just go and set up shop and do an overnight there playing till the wee hours of the morning. When I was on break from college one summer about 6 of us litterally lived up there for almost a week straight sleeping on the couches and ordering pizza. I mean we probably didn’t smell very good by the end of the week but it still ranks as one of the most fun times i’ve ever had. The key to a good gaming place is to make it somewhere that people just want to go to hang out and escape and not be bugged. I don’t know how long this place will last …

Valerie Killifer reports in Fast Casual The culturization of yogurt  when a little-known frozen yogurt shop opened in West Hollywood in 2005, Californians from the Valley to the Hills (Beverly Hills) couldn’t get enough.Pinkberry unsettled an otherwise quiet neighborhood and gave health-minded patrons the ability to indulge. It also reinvigorated consumers’ taste for frozen yogurt. Since the launch of the TCBY franchise more than 25 years ago, frozen yogurt has experienced a pop-culture roller-coaster ride of popularity. But with the launch of several new frozen-yogurt concepts, and the success of existing custard franchises such as Culver’s, the segment has completed its latest uphill climb and is once again ready for accelerated growth. Pinkberry’s owner told the Los Angeles Times on Aug. 4, 2007, that she understands the consumer desire for low-calorie, healthy food. And she’s not alone. Concepts such as TCBY and Beautiful Brands International are banking on that same mentality for the success of and launch of their premium and frozen yogurt franchise concepts, Yovana and FreshBerry, respectively. Yovana brand manager Rob Hanson said the concept was created in response to consumer health trends and features proprietary premium and frozen yogurt offerings in addition to yogurt-based smoothies. “Yovana took TCBY’s expertise in yogurt beyond frozen yogurt and presented a healthier alternative to consumers,” Hanson said. “I think it fits very well with where consumers are going.” Yovana has four open locations, two in airport locales and two standalones, but Hanson said the concept is still in the test phase. “Really, we’re refining the concept,” he said. “We’re making sure the menu is right and everything operationally flows the way it should.” FreshBerry as well is in its infancy. The first location is slated to open in October after sitting in concept development for about a year. “The public …

So, is their really going to be a shakeout in the Franchise industry, as it relates to the overcrowded franchise consultant/brokerage field? There has to be……. The numbers will bear this out, I believe. The math: Number of US Citizens interested in exploring business ownership is S {Smallish} Number of Franchise/Business opportunities is I {Increasing} Number of franchise consultants/brokers is RS { Really Scary} So if S + I is divided by TMC {Too Many Choices}and divided again by FDW {Future Downsized Workers}, then the equation must be recalculated to reflect the Ginormus {Huge} amount of new Franchise consultants/brokers entering the field. However……..The FR {Failure Rate} must be put into this newer equation as an IN{Infinite Number}. So, according to my calculations: 1. More people will be downsized, and may start exploring opportunities in the world of franchise ownership. 2. More and more new franchise concepts will be introduced, with franchise companies using different ways to reach out to prospective franchise owners.{Consumers are already being bombarded by thousands of marketing messages every day, so this will only add to the confusion}. 3. With more and more choices in franchising being offered, and the possible number of new franchise consultant/brokers that could be in the market in the next year or two {who will also be adding marketing messages to the already bombarded consumer}, a consolidation in our industry will be inevitable. {I feel this is starting already} So what type of consultant/brokers will be the survivors? {End of Part 3. Part 4 Soon} Posted by Joel Libava, from his  The Franchise King Blog 

Knockouts, a full-service salon franchise that would make Floyd the barber blush, is busting into New England.Naomi Kooker reports in the Boston Business Journal that Neko Corp., headed by Bing Yeo of Lexington, bought the rights to franchise the salons that have been dubbed the “Hooters of haircutting,” where a scantily clad “specially chosen staff of female stylists” provides professional grooming services, including haircuts, coloring, waxing, manicures, pedicures and massages for men. Yeo purchased the rights in June to develop the franchises or sub-franchise the stores in Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. He plans to open his first store in Greater Boston by the end of this year or early 2008. He is looking in Allston-Brighton, among other areas, to open the first store, though no lease is signed. The franchise agreement gives him 15 years to roll out 20 stores; but Yeo, a business consultant, said his goal is to roll out that many in five years, focusing on the eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire markets. Yeo did not disclose the cost of his agreement. Knockouts’ one-time franchise fee is $20,000 per location, with a 6 percent royalty fee thereafter. A 1 percent national advertising fee is also implemented after a store opens. To date, some Knockouts franchisees have reported brisk business and profit margins exceeding 20 percent. The concept comes at a time when other salon chains geared toward men are entering Greater Boston. For example, Floyd’s 99 Barbershop opened in Boston earlier this year. However, none require the stylists’ uniforms that Knockout does. “I wouldn’t deny the sex appeal,” said Yeo, who lists his wife, Winnie Yeo, as the director of the company on his Web site. “It’s certainly part of the branding.” Yeo confirmed that the stylists, all women, are professional and certified, …

What happens to a segment of an industry that has too many players? The segment that I am talking about is one that is very close to my heart….. Our type of business {Franchise Consulting-Brokering}has been around since the late 1980’s. Until 2001 or so, our local firm has had very few competitors. However, our part of the vast franchise industry, like a lot of other industries, is gettingrather crowded. There seems to be a plethora of folks who think what we do is easy. Simple, and easy stuff, what we do. We try to help those wishing to explore business ownership, get into business! There are just gobs of folks that can write a check for $50k-75k, go to a bank for more, and prepare themselves mentally to possibly not make any money for the first year! So what we have now is a bunch of “franchise brokering groups” that are themselves selling franchises to folks to sell franchises. HUH? Folks that are paying $75k-$100k for these “home based” franchises are in for some surprises.First of all, the folks that are buying these unproven franchise brokering franchises are usually folks who have never been in the franchise industry! Their familiarity of the franchise industry consists of eating at burger and donut restaurants… This is not anything personal against some of the folks that are writing the checks to buy into these franchise concepts, but, this is not “easy money“! What is really going on is that franchising is “HOT”, and more and more folks want to learn more. Learning and doing {writing a big fat check!} are two vastly different things. Sure a nice comfy “home based” business sounds good. But in reality, one is not “home.” One is out networking, and figuring out where these “people” are, …

The New York Times reported in an article by David Gonzalez that:There really is a John inside Johnny’s Pizza in Sunset Park, Brooklyn — John Miniaci Jr., whose father, John Sr., founded the neighborhood pizzeria in 1968. There will soon be another John right next door on Fifth Avenue — Papa John’s Pizza, a franchise outlet. John Jr. considers this as an insult to his own papa John, who died just one month ago. Of all the spots the franchise could have chosen, why, he asks, did it have to be on the other side of the wall where two centurion busts stand guard above customers waiting for zeppoles or Sicilian slices? “This is a neighborhood that has had businesses in the same family for two and three generations,” Mr. Miniaci said. “These big corporations come in and don’t see the value of that.” That’s why Johnny’s latest delivery is a petition — to Papa John’s corporate headquarters in Kentucky. Some 2,200 people — shopkeepers and customers, including other pizzeria owners — have come to Mr. Miniaci’s defense. They have signed a declaration “to stop the establishment of Papa John’s in our neighborhood.” This Brooklyn community has been grappling to maintain its character in the face of impersonal economic and residential development. The storefronts along Fifth Avenue near 58th Street have long been home to mom-and-pop stores and restaurants, patronized by the working families who live in the brownstones on narrow side streets. The stores have awnings that announce “Decent Dental Services” or “Spanish and American Food.” Many were here when the area was down on its luck and real estate values were low, and are determined to keep the neighborhood’s traditional feel, even as they see chain stores and fast-food franchises creeping in. Read the whole story: Let’s …

Sign-A-Rama, the world’s largest retail sign franchise, has been awarded the United States Department of Commerce’s Presidential “E” Award. Sign-A-Rama is the first franchise company to ever win the award.Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez joined President Bush at the White House to present Sign-A-Rama , along with ten other organizations, with the “E” Award for excellence in exporting. The company’s export sales increased 700% in three years, growing from $1.5 million in 2002 to $12 million in 2005. In attendance were president and founder Ray Titus and his wife Andrea. Also in attendance was Tony Foley. Foley is president of World Franchisors which has assisted Sign-A-Rama and countless other franchisors for many years with their global expansion goals. World Franchisors is comprised of an advanced team who helps other franchisors quickly and cost effectively sell master licenses and establish a strong presence outside the United States. Also assisting the franchise with their success in export sales is the U.S. Commercial Service. This government agency is the trade promotion unit of the International Trade Administration and works with companies to help get them started in exporting and increasing their sales to new global markets. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida office was instrumental in Sign-A-Rama ’s export success and subsequently their being honored with the “E” Award. The President’s “E” Award is the highest honor the federal government can give to an American exporting company. The award serves to recognize U.S. firms for their competitive achievements in world markets and their part in increasing U.S. exports abroad. This marks the 45th anniversary of the Presidential “E” Award created by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. “Winning this award was a great honor for our company coupled with the privilege of meeting President Bush in the Oval Office,” says Ray Titus, president of …

Perry business offers free flags to replace worn ones If the flag you unfurled today looked a little more pink, beige and lavender than red, white and blue, Goin’ Postal wants to help. Throughout July the Perry packing and shipping business is offering a free American flag to anyone who brings in a faded or tattered flag. It’s a companywide effort by the chain, which has 250 locations. Hopefully your franchisor can come up with clever ways to get free PR and get people in the doors.  Free in-store give aways, promos with local radio stations, big donations of products/services – are a few commonly used techniques that will get you noticed.  However, many franchise agreements forbid franchisees from endeavoring on their own public relations efforts, so I would be sure to choose a franchise that gives the franchisee the flexibility to promote oneself in clever ways.

Many people dream of being their own boss someday, but are afraid of the risks involved. We know that it is impossible to take all the risk out of going into business. In many cases franchising provides a way to minimize the risk, but it can never remove all of it. Franchising methods can be quite complicated, and certainly anyone looking into a franchise quickly learns that there are a large number of factors to be considered. Again and again, I’ve seen people ignore the important warning signs and make Costly Mistakes when buying a franchise. They fall into the same traps that have victimized others before them. As they say, what we don’t learn from history, we are doomed to repeat! I have compiled a list of “10 Costly Mistakes to Avoid When Buying a Franchise”, you can get a FREE Copy emailed to you at: Franchise Perfection Costly Mistake #9 Not writing a business plan. An essential part of any franchise business is its plan for success. The word “plan” comes from the Latin planum, meaning to lay a foundation or groundwork. Your business plan lays the foundation for your new franchise. Formulating a strategic business plan for your franchise is the first step to success. Remember the famous saying: “Always plan ahead. It wasn’t raining when Noah built the ark.” The discipline of developing a franchise business plan lets you look at the challenges ahead and your expectations for your new business. This involves looking at your business ideas and financial needs as well as your marketing and management plans. One of the advantages in developing a franchise business plan is that a good deal of the information is provided by the franchisor. Much of the financial information is available in the UFOC. Make sure you …

Positive 1-800-GOT-JUNK Article Uniformed drivers remove junk from where it’s located, break it down to conserve volume, load it in the truck and haul it away. … The cost for the volume-priced service starts at $120 and goes up to $598 per truck load. The average job in Hawaii ranges from about $375 to $400. … When McDowell took over the Hawaii franchise last year, she started with two junk trucks. She’s since added a third truck and is considering purchasing a fourth vehicle. McDowell has grown her staff to five full- and part-time employees and is looking to expand. “Business has more than doubled in the last year,” McDowell said, adding that she’s found quite a need for the business in Hawaii, where many people struggle to live in small spaces or in multifamily situations. Believe it or not, the “800” franchises tend to do well and receive reasonable flow given the name of their business is their telephone number (clever).  Partnering/revenue sharing with local funeral homes, moving companies, or hardware/equipment rental stores is smart way to keep business volume high and expand with more trucks.  The laborers you can obtain inexpensively from emove.com may dampen cap the business potential, but this would be a reasonable franchise for those with a strong back and keen marketing/parntering skills.

Choose franchises with care …But for others a franchise proves far too restrictive. They have thought long and hard about their own ideas to improve the business and don’t want someone saying “no” when they want to implement them. One example that comes to mind is someone who bought a franchise in a sandwich shop chain and wanted to install a coffee machine. No one else in the chain had a machine, and the franchisor had a definite view that the status quo should prevail. So you had this fight between the franchisee and franchisor over a cappuccino machine with the latter having to spend time and effort convincing the franchisee that it wasn’t commercially smart. What this means is that people have to be “culturally comfortable” with the franchise. You will live and breathe this business so you had better like it. Don’t buy a McDonald’s franchise if you hate hamburgers!