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March, 2010
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See Jane Run the Company
Growing up Jane Grote Abell was lulled to sleep by the blinking Donatos sign outside her bedroom window, a giant, lighted arrow pointing toward the little pizzeria her father owned. It was a magical time in her childhood. Abell remembers her father waking the four kids after his shift to escort them outside. They’d stand under the beckoning sign and her father would talk about his vision for the fledgling company—about “growing and making a difference on every block that we do business on.” read more
Other March features...
February, 2010
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Way to Wow
It takes a whole family to raise the guest experience to a new high. Employing family doesn’t always work out, but when it does—wow. Here’s how Ed Doherty of Doherty Enterprises in New Jersey runs his multiple brands with a lot of help from his fam. read more
Other February features...
January, 2010
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Going Home
Church’s Chicken’s largest franchisee Aslam Khan has come a long way from the poverty of Pakistan. When he left home at 14, he vowed never to return. Now, a quarter of a century later, he’s found you really can go home again—if you’ve reinvented your life.
There are just two kinds of poverty: the poverty that happens to other people and the poverty that happens to you. “If you haven’t experienced poverty firsthand, you can’t understand it,” Aslam Khan states matter-of-factly as he pilots his spotless black Lexus down a tree-lined street in Westlake, Texas. He has just left the offices where he runs Falcon Holdings, a 153-unit Church’s Chicken franchisee company with sales north of $100 million, and is headed back to his palatial stone-and-brick, 15,000-plus square-foot house, tucked serenely in an exclusive neighborhood a couple of miles from read more
Other January features...
November-December, 2009
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On the Job for Victory
IFA’s first-ever CEO, Matt Shay, champions franchising on the Hill, overseas and in a state capital near you
International Franchise Association President and CEO Matt Shay doesn’t have an ego wall—unless you count all the framed pictures of his beautiful wife and children. His official IFA photos taken with U.S. presidents and influential politicians are neatly stacked in a file folder, tucked away in a desk drawer—brought out only when a visitor asks to see them. read more
Other November-December features...
October, 2009
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Finding His Blue Ocean
When the other burger chains were seeking ways to appeal to families, Andrew Puzder positioned stodgy Hardee’s and its fraternal twin Carl’s Jr. to attract heavy fast-feeders—young men. And what sells to this group? Hot chicks. But while following the new conventional wisdom of not fishing in the same waters as everyone else—blue oceans as opposed to the red waters where all the competition was feeding—it was a bit harder to sell sex to the franchisees. read more
Other October features...
September, 2009
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Livin' the Dream
Former NFL Player Kory Minor Tackles the Pizza Business
Dreams are as individual as snowflakes. For some young boys making it to the NFL would be a dream come true. But for Kory Minor it was just the start of his dream to create a legacy. And as he says, ‘You can’t leave a legacy if you work for someone else.’ read more
Other September features...
August, 2009
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Maria Bailey Delivers Moms
Mom 3.0 guru is hailed as franchising's link to this trillion-dollar market
How do you solve a problem like Maria? Well, when Maria Bailey is given a problem—such as how to entice moms to check out a client's franchise opportunity—she doesn’t hear the sound of music , but rather the texting-away of her vast network of moms. Bailey reaches her niche through a variety of social media, including MomTV, Mom Talk Radio, www.BlueSuitMom.com, her Twitter followers and her friends on Facebook. Could moms be the new corporate refugee when it comes to populating the franchise sales pipeline? read more
Other August features...
June-July, 2009
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Ritual Leadership
Like America, Jon Luther runs on Dunkin’. Drinking Dunkin’ Donuts coffee in the morning is a ritual for millions of Easterners. Now the chairman of the board wants to bring those ‘rituals of revival’ to the rest of the country.
It’s been noted in various trade pubs that the trim, athletic Jon Luther doesn’t look like the leader of a pack of doughnut and ice cream franchisees. Sweets aren’t part of his daily ritual—“My daughter is a fitness guru,” he explains—but that doesn’t mean the rest of the country should follow suit. Pass the doughnuts, and pour the coffee. We’ve got a ritual going here. read more
Other June-July features...
May, 2009
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Staying flexible
Anand Gala profits with multi-unit, multi-concept company
Since taking over the company his mother, Rajul Gala, founded in 1983, Anand Gala has grown it from 10 restaurants to $87 million in revenues last year. He’s building three brands—Del Taco, Applebee’s and Famous Dave’s—with the idea that making a profit is an honorable goal. read more
Other May features...
April, 2009
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King of the Hill
BK franchisee Ben Jarratt takes charge to keep franchisees politically active
Stints at the White House and the U.S. Small Business Administration convinced BK franchisee Ben Jarratt of the value of business ownership. Now he takes charge to keep franchisees politically active. The press office was in the West Wing, which as we know from at least one television show is an action-packed part of the White House. "It was an exciting time," he says. The world was changing at a rapid pace and the economy was shaky - something today's assistant press secretaries are all too familiar with. read more
Other April features...
- Business services weather the economy
- Want solutions?
- Tight credit is turning franchisors into lenders
- April 2009 Crossword Puzzle
March, 2009
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Fast 55: What recession?
Economy doesn't slow the Fast 55
We've put the 55 fastest growing, young companies on the map. The biggest economic downturn in decades started showing itself in the latter part of 2007. You might expect that many franchise companies started slowing down during that period. Yet the strength and adaptability of the franchise business model once again came shining through. read more
Other March features...
- Quiznos weighs in
- Tsunami-like changes in store for lenders
- Americans discover newfound frugality
- March 2009 Crossword Puzzle
- Do the math
February, 2009
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The Great Defender
Franchisee attorneys are sometimes viewed as tilting at windmills, but not Ron Gardner of Dady & Garner. He's living the impossible dream.
Ron Gardner is the managing partner of the firm and helps franchisees, dealers and distributors in disputes with their franchisors. "My clients are individuals, small business clients, who chased the American dream so hard they had nothing left." Ask Ron Gardner, a partner with Dady & Garner in Minneapolis, why he's a franchisee attorney, and he has a litany of reasons. But the main one: "I wanted to be in a courtroom. I didn't want to make the world safe for shareholders. I wanted to help people like me and my parents - people on the wrong side of the deal." read more
Other February features...
- Last 10 years were no piece of cake
- Web Bust 2.0
- Watch those tips
- Convenience, value keep QSR profitable
- February Crossword Puzzle
January, 2009
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Wszystko jest mozliwe
AmRest's Henry McGovern has found everything is possible if you just persevere
When Henry McGovern told the clerk at the utility company he needed 100 phone lines for his new business, the clerk was so insulted he refused to translate the request. This was Poland in the late 1990s, right after the fall of Communism, and at the time the average wait for a phone line was 15 years. McGovern had no choice but to persevere. He had used all the money he had earned from the real estate firm he had started during college to buy the first building on Main Street in Wroclaw, Poland, to be privatized. West was indeed meeting East. read more
Other January features...
- The first decade: A look back...a look ahead
- Cleaning up in the New Year
- Outsourcing sales carries benefits and risks
- Attendance slides at expo thanks to economy
- Our Times in franchising
- January 2009 Crossword Puzzle
November-December, 2008
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Strong to the finish
Popeyes franchisee John Brodersen has succeeded in places where many restaurant owners have failed: inner-city neighborhoods. He attributes his success to his experience and to the effective use of technology.
John Brodersen's first Popeyes Chicken and Biscuits, in Milwaukee's inner city, was only open for a couple of weeks, but he was certain it was a success and that he was making buckets of money. The customers were pouring in, waiting in long lines in the drive-thru and clogging the dining room. And then one of his employees hit him with a cold dose of reality. John Brodersen has used experience and technology to succeed where other franchisees have failed: inner-city neighborhoods. Now, with the restaurant market increasingly saturated, his success could be held up... read more
Other November-December features...
- Springing the company into the next generation
- There's financing? Really?
- Health-care conundrum
- Dawn of a new era
- Crossword Puzzle
October, 2008
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Franchise Fever
7-Eleven takes a big gulp, then commits to giving up a 50-50 split of company to franchise stores
7-Eleven relies heavily on its franchisees for success, in part by allowing them to shape their stores' inventory to meet the needs of local customers. Given the way that the venerable convenience-store chain is growing, those franchisees are succeeding. read more
Other October features...
- Tough credit market
- Denver: Democrats' power play
- St. Paul: Republicans' power play
- Economic insight: Franchise Times Top 200
- Crossword Puzzle
September, 2008
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Tipping Point
Pro players pumped for franchising
While still an active player, Neal also actively pursued ways to invest his millions. He formed PIA, Players in Action, an investment group with other players, such as LaDainian Tomlinson, his teammate on the Chargers and the 2006 league MVP. It was during a conversation with Dennis Mulgannon, founder of Athletic Nation, a men's personal training center, on finding a fit for his nutritional line that Neal realized the gym concept also might be a fit. Neal was positioning his company, Power Nutrition, to become one of the concept's vendors. Instead, he decided to become one of the investors read more
Other September features...
- Pigging out on chocolate-covered bacon
- What's my franchise worth?
- New Web threat
- Crossword Puzzle
- Franchise Times 2009 Finance Directory
August, 2008
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Being Social
Meet the new facebook of Marriott
Kathleen Matthews is charged with making Marriott more socially responsible, greener and more visible to a younger, hipper audience, while keeping its established guests. No wonder the woman never stands still. Her charge as executive vice president, global communications & public affairs, is multifold, which is what appealed to her when offered the job 18 months ago. In addition to handling public relations, her role was expanded to encompass politics; social responsibility, such as Marriott's green initiatives; and new media. New media, by the way, is using nontraditional channels to get read more
Other August features...
June-July, 2008
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Pollo Campero Jose Cofino
One of Jose Cofino's earliest memories is plucking chickens as a 6-year-old in his father's poultry shop in Mexico City. "I remember saying, 'I don't understand why God gave chickens wings. They don't fly and they're hard to pluck,'" he says. Years later the mysterious ways of chickens surfaced again in Cofino's life with the high-flying Pollo Campero brand, a Guatemalan franchise that has plucked a faithful following from the Latin American community in the U.S. Cofino is president and COO of Adir Restaurants, the master franchisee for Pollo Campero for six Western states. read more
Other June-July features...
- Walk a mile – or a half mile, maybe a quarter mile – in my shoes
- Crossword Puzzle
- WFF tracks leadership
- The challenge of leading leaders
- Know your sandwiches
- The frog-kissing business
May, 2008
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Reflections of a Big man on campus
How Jimmy John Liautaud grew Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwiches into a force to be reckoned with
This June will be the 44-year-old Liautaud's 25th year in the sandwich business. He refers to it as his 51st semester, since he started making sandwiches right out of high school on a college campus. "I had an idea 25 years ago and worked it through," he says. "I thought once you had a good idea, Ronald McDonald, Dave Thomas, the Colonel and Ray Kroc would want to come to your house," he says, only half in jest. But the food business isn't a fraternity of guys with big ideas swapping recipes. It's a lonely place, as he found out. read more
Other May features...
- They both start with 'R'
- Raving Brands
- Air conditions
- Is Wal-Mart a sure-fire bargain for tenants?
- Crossword Puzzle
April, 2008
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The way they were
Cutting edge couple elevates hair care and franchising
Franchising has come a long way in a short time, and as more founders are turning over the reins to "the professionals," we thought it might be instructive to look back at some of the pioneers of franchising. Our first choice for this occasional series, Joe and Florence Francis, were innovators in the hair-care industry. Their journey is a love story—they were in love with each other, with their own family and their franchise family and with their industry. They poured their heart and soul into elevating the hair-care industry and in the process, into franchising. read more
Other April features...
- Want a loyal worker? Hire a taco
- Mowing down lawn-care traditions
- What makes a Legal Eagle?
- Crossword Puzzle
March, 2008
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Follow The Leader
PostNet's Steve Greenbaum packs a lot of charisma into his dual roles as company CEO and IFA chair.
PostNet's Steven Greenbaum is the consummate risk-taker, and therefore, his business partner Brian Spindel concedes, the true entrepreneur between the two of them. It was Greenbaum, after all, who wanted to take their original business of helping independent mail centers get started and turn it into a franchise. Spindel—who says he deals with the "nuts and bolts" of the business as president/COO—acknowledges that he was against the decision initially, but once they looked at the competitive landscape, he grudgingly admitted franchising was the way to go. read more
Other March features...
- Counting on chaos
- Where’d all the Quiznos letters go?
- Lifestyles of the rich in franchise
- Crossword Puzzle
February, 2008
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McGolden Opportunity
Don Thompson engineers winning role as McDonald's president
Don Thompson, president of McDonald's USA, may be the restaurant company's first accidental executive. Thompson guided McDonald's recent turnaround and helped create what franchisees say is the best relationship they've had with their franchisor in decades. Once McDonald's ship was righted, same-store sales began their record-breaking rise (November marked the 56th consecutive month of increases) and the stock price tripled. Thompson returned to Illinois as the vice president of Global Innovation Orchestration. In August 2006, Thompson took Alvarez's place as president. read more
Other February features...
January, 2008
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Has Quiznos changed?
Quiznos opened 2007 with a new CEO and an almost entirely new executive staff. That group is now working off a single-page plan, known as the "Go Forward Plan" -- named by Greg Brenneman when he was the turnaround guy at Continental Airlines because airplanes don't go backward. Many franchisees, including some of the chain's harshest critics, say that the efforts are showing results. Food costs are down. The chain's new and profitable $2 Sammies, flatbread sandwiches, are drawing positive early reviews. New ads are bringing in traffic to the restaurants, and the company is more... read more
Other January features...
- A look back at 2007's 20 to watch
- The ABCs of educational franchises
- What exactly is fast casual?
- Crossword Puzzle
- 2008 Retail Construction Outlook
November-December, 2007
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Bordering on Greatness
Led by founding brothers Lee and Jeff Engler, Border Foods has become a major, multi-concept franchise. Here’s how they did it.
Today, Border Foods, is one of the largest multi-unit franchisees in the country—and one that could be larger if the pair had much desire to expand beyond Minnesota’s borders. The route between bankruptcy and the helm of a growing, $170 million business was filled with challenges and setbacks, and navigating it took smarts, perseverance and, yes, a little luck. Along the way the brothers learned many valuable lessons about the business world and about running a multi-unit, multi-concept franchise. read more
Other November-December features...
October, 2007
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Flying High
Carlson Wagonlit franchisee Sandy Lovick is proof travel agencies are alive and booking
Travel management is what business school types would call a “mature industry.” But they might as well just call it old age. Internet companies like Priceline and Expedia continue to provide travelers with reasons to skip the travel agent. The number of travel agencies has plummeted and so has the number of agents, trends that should continue for the foreseeable future. Heck, it’s a wonder whether anybody even uses agencies anymore. read more
Other October features...
- Franchise Times Top 200
- Working with tattoos
- Franchising on the Hill
- Eye of the beeholder
- Shop 'til you drop
- It's gotta be the food
September, 2007
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Creative dealings
NexCen's Bob D'Loren brings financial wizardry to franchising
Unless a person wearing a Bill Blass suit, on a break from shopping for Waverly curtains, walks in her athletic shoes (bought from The Athlete’s Foot) into a Maggie Moo’s (or a Marble Slab Creamery) for some ice cream to go with her Pretzel Time pretzel (or it could be from Pretzelmaker), it’s difficult to imagine all of these brands in the same sentence—let alone under the same brand management company. read more
Other September features...
- Attacks from the blogosphere
- International House of Applebee’s
- Extreme makeover
- Tech know-how, cool gadgets fuel aftermarket franchises
- Chalk it up to success
- 2007 Finance Directory
August, 2007
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He's OK She's OK
A look at how gender differences strengthen the Women’s Foodservice Forum
This article contains generalizations about men and women. Not all business women want to discuss their earrings or shoes before getting down to business and not all men want to make a decision before all the facts are in. Contrary to what early feminists wanted us to think—that men and women are the same— research shows there are diff erences between the way men and women work. There’s no right way or wrong way. read more
Other August features...
June-July, 2007
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Making the '12 points'
Mike and R.C Patel go from 'zee to 'zor to prove fairness is a two-way street
He’s president of the Diplomat Hotel Company, which operates 18 properties in four states; chairman of the board of Haven Trust Bank, a community bank with about $280 million in assets that he helped found; and he just brought the Budgetel brand out of retirement, thus becoming the first Asian-American franchisor. Side dishes include related businesses in travel, commercial insurance, real estate and hotel software. read more
Other June-July features...
May, 2007
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The not-so-famous Dave
David Goronkin has the barbecue joint smokin'
David Goronkin is given much of the credit for improving the company’s focus and overseeing considerable growth that has placed Famous Dave’s well within reach of its goal to become the nation’s top barbecue chain. read more
Other May features...
- May 2007 crossword puzzle answers
- Hotel, Sweet Hotel
- IFE aims to transform lives
- Is the industry half full or half empty?
April, 2007
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Franchising's always in fashion
Model franchisors and the consultants who keep them looking good
While in Las Vegas, Franchise Times gathered together some of franchising's stylemakers to model success for us. Enjoy our first fashion issue. Good fashion's always in Vogue. read more
Other April features...
March, 2007
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Life in the diamond lane:
How 55 companies defy the speed limit
Franchise Times' ranking of the top 55 fastest growing, young franchises as compiled by FRANdata. read more
Other March features...
February, 2007
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Where are they now?
Franchising has an abundance of movers and shakers, so it’s no wonder we’re curious about where these personalities have moved to and who or what they’re shaking up. Some of the ones we’ve chosen are blooming where planted; others are still cultivating the soil. read more
Other February features...
January, 2007
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Cookie master
Franchisee Doc Cohen's home, sweet home
Home is where the art is…at least if you’re Great American Cookie franchisee Lawrence “Doc” Cohen. The 2006 International Franchise Association chairman has great taste in art, wine and architecture. We couldn’t have chosen a more worthy candidate for our first foray into the lifestyles of the rich from franchising. read more
Other January features...
- The New Year is hot, hot, hot
- Children’s educational programs on the rise
- The highlights of dealmaking at its finest
- Talking with Bobby Flay
- Look into my eyes
November-December, 2006
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It’s a beauty-filled world
Why Regis continues to make the cut...
Regis Corp. has built an impressive empire in the 84 years since Paul and Florence Kunin opened a chain of value-priced salons under the name Kunin Beauty Salon. But even more impressive... read more
Other November-December features...
October, 2006
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McMakeover
McDonald’s reclaiming its super-size status
Newly appointed President and Chief Operating Officer Ralph Alvarez refers to franchisees as his “customers,” and he’s determined to collaborate with them to fuel sustainable growth. Alvarez has seen what happens to the chain when it doesn’t. read more
Other October features...
- Don’t warm the bench
- Combo meal deals
- Measuring franchisee satisfaction
- My e-mail runneth over
- Sitting across the table
- How not to shoot yourself
September, 2006
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Making Maaco Magic
Entrepreneur Anthony Martino takes a shine to franchising
Anthony Martino, CEO of Maaco, is that enviable franchisor who seems to have the magic touch when it comes to building franchises from the ground up. read more
Other September features...
