From left: Mitch Schlimer, founder of the event, Famous Dave Anderson of Famous Dave's, Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-A and son Dan Cathy
As I
described a couple of posts ago--attending and doing the PR for the
Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame--which was held December 1st at The Estate in
Atlanta--was a big thrill for me-and that takes a lot of doing after being in
Franchise PR for 30 years. What amazed me was how Mitch Schlimer, a
self-described serial entrepreneur from Long Island (but with a radio show out
of Atlanta) put this event together in about 6 weeks. Oh yes, Mitch is a great
follower and enthusiast of entrepreneurs. In fact he has built, at this own
expense, the EPIcenter in Atlanta at 245 Peachtree Center Ave. in Atlanta.
The center is devoted to helping would-be entrepreneurs--there will be a
whole blog post on that down the road.
But
the purpose of this post is to share the Huffington Post post (redundant!) that
award recipient Steve Mariotti wrote--as a PR woman I can tell you it is
perfection. Human interest from his perspective as an inductee--and by reading
the article I don't have to explain Steve or what his award was for. You will
see here. For a fascinating read about an awesome event and place read this!!!
Thanks Steve for giving Mitch Schlimer his due. reporters attended the
event-but couldn't see it from your perspective. More to come on next
year's event and the EPIcenter.
As
uncertainty remains high on the job market, many Americans are trading in their
9 to 5 careers for more flexibility and a chance to control their own destiny.
More and more individuals are turning to business ownership, specifically
franchising because of its strong support system and good framework for
success.
Take
Evanston resident Lynette Martin, for example. She recently left behind a
successful career in financial services – she worked at Northern Trust and J.P.
Morgan – to open up her own Bottle & Bottega, an art studio franchise where
guests create their own painting (with the help of a little wine!). And though
her corporate career may have been nerve-racking, Lynette doesn’t regret the
switch at all. She opened Bottle & Bottega this August and has been
operating on a mobile business ever since. In partnering with local businesses,
getting involved in the Evanston community, and encouraging people to embrace
their creative side, she’s found the career fulfillment she always longed for.
With big goals for the future – including plans for a dedicated studio to open
early next year – Lynette is proving that with hard work and passion, there has
never been a better time to open a small business.
You can
learn more about Lynette in this recent article featured in the Evanston Review.
The brainchild of serial entrepreneur and radio talk show host Mitch Schlimer (Let's Talk Business), the EHOF, as it will now be known, debuted its first live ceremony Saturday night, Dec. 1st at The Estate in Atlanta. The venue was lovely--but more unbelievable the inductees were the who's who of the business world. And only one as tenacious and dedicated as Mitch Schlimer could have pulled this off with about 30 days to prepare. And gotten these important people to show up!
The long and short of it, according to Schlimer, a Long Island resident who spends much of his time in Atlanta doing his radio show, "you can find a Hall of Fame for quilting but nowhere is there a Hall of Fame, a standing site included, for Entrepreneurs."
The standing site is currently located at what is called the EPICenter in Atlanta but Mitch thinks in a year or so he will have to find a bigger space. More about this center in another blog.
Inductees in this ceremony Saturday shared their amazing stories with a crowd of 170. The evening went long but no one seemed to mind because each speaker was so fascinating. Dina Dwyer-Owens, CEO of the Dwyer Group was first up to accept an award for her Dad, the late Don Dwyer, the founder of Vetfran, a program dedicated to help vets get into franchising. I saw her eyes glistening with tears before she even hit the podium. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-Awas accompanied by his son Dan Cathy who now runs the ocmpany. Truett referred to Dan as "his assistant". The gorgeous Sara Blakely, the 41 year old billionaire founder of Spanx was a delight, and so beautiful up close I gasped. Ray Margiano, founder of Foot Solutions and Heel-Quik got the veteran's award for all his programs--the legendary Fred DeLuca, he who created Subway, told the delightful story about his partner Dr. Peter Buck and called him the smartest businessman in the world. "He comes in 4 times a year, asks me what we are doing, then says great, and then goes home. And he owns half the company". The crowd roared because everyone in business knows that the greatest ROI story of all time was Dr. Peter Buck suggesting to a 17 year old Fred that he sell submarine sandwiches-then gave him $1000 to start the business!
Harris Rosen, founder of Rosen Resorts, told an equally hilarious story of his beginnings. And the most touching of all had to be Dave Anderson ofFamous Dave's, a Native American who helps people in that community start businesses of their own. Awesome. As a proud member of the induction committee for this event, I can't wait to see what next year holds. If you know someone you believe belongs in the Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame--email Mitch.Schlimer@gmail.com
Photo above from left: Fred DeLuca, Harris Rosen, Ray Margiano, Famous Dave Anderson
The Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame will host its inaugural
induction event for the class of 2012 on Sat., Dec. 1 from 6 to 11 p.m. at the
Estate, a historic venue located at 3109 Piedmont Dr in Buckhead, Ga. Although
the Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame (EHOF) has been recognizing business leaders online
and in its museum since 2002, this is the organization’s first official ceremony.
“Entrepreneurship
is vital to our society,” said Mitch Schlimer, social entrepreneur and founder of
the EHOF. “At least 70 percent of all startups fail within two years. I founded
the EHOF to reverse that statistic in two ways: recognizing current business
leaders who have impacted the world, and empowering our youth to become future
entrepreneurs.”
The recipients are
all founders and executives of companies that earn over $100 million in annual
sales and exemplify the EHOF’s core values of philanthropy and innovation. They
were chosen by an induction committee comprised of prominent business experts including
author, keynote speaker and syndicated columnist Jane Applegate, Inc. Magazine’s editor-at-large Bo
Burlingham and long time business journalist Rieva Lesonsky, formerly
Entrepreneur Magazine’s Editor in Chief for more than 20 years.
The 2012
inductees include Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx and the world’s youngest
female billionaire; Subway founder Fred Deluca; Harris Rosen, president and CEO
of Rosen Hotels & Resorts; Don Dwyer of The Dwyer Group; and David
Anderson, founder of restaurant chain Famous Dave’s. Steve Mariotti, founder of
the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, will receive a special social
entrepreneurship and philanthropy award; and Dave and Catherine Cook will
receive a youth award for their social network MeetMe.
Business owners
and entrepreneurs are invited to attend the ticketed event. In addition to the
awards ceremony, guests will have the chance to mingle with the inductees,
entrepreneurs, members of the press, and other VIPs over cocktails and hors
d'oeuvres. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and the ceremony will begin promptly at
7:30. After the awards presentation, guests are invited to stay for the after
party and continue to network with fellow business leaders. Tickets are $250
each and reservations are required.
Mitch Schlimer
founded the Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame and Museum in 2002 as a way of
commemorating outstanding inventors and business leaders. The EHOF is housed
within the EPICENTER, a leading center for studying and teaching entrepreneurship
with a focus on youth outreach, named for its core values of entrepreneurship,
philanthropy and innovation. The EPICENTER is located at 245 Peachtree Center
Ave. in Atlanta. For more information, visit www.theehalloffame.com.
Ok I always have a pic in my posts but today I would just like to share my interview with FoxBusiness.com that I did a month or so ago. The series is about small business owners all over the country and how they have been affected by Obama's policies, what their issues are, what changes they would like to see etc. Obama or Romney, it doesn't matter--if small business owners don't stop getting overtaxed and overcharged for healthcare and unemployment taxes, and instead start getting tax credits for hiring new people, nothing is changing here. I am one who hires, hires, hires. And thanks to the trickle down effect of this economy the franchise industries that I service are feeling the pinch. So hiring has stopped. HELLO-unemployment. What is this? Rocket Science? Give banks $700 million but never bother to put in a clause about "Oh this all has to be loaned out within 3 years"--it's like handing over my necklace to a jewel thief and asking him to take care of it for an hour!!!! Please read this interview--I believe I represent just about every small biz owner out there.
Woodhouse Day Spa, a Victoria, TX. based franchise, is experiencing such explosive growth, they decided the time has come for a new website.
“This new website is not only beautiful and intuitive for site visitors, it also delivers control and usability for The Woodhouse and its franchisees,” said Jeni Garrett, President & CEO, The Woodhouse Day Spa. “This platform empowers us to more easily manage our web presence across corporate and franchise sites in order to continue to grow our business.”
Unleashed Technologies, based in Columbia, MD is the company that improved site management and developed key integrations that now enable The Woodhouse and its franchisees to:
- Ease content management across all websites for corporate employees and franchisees with tiered levels of access to ensure brand consistency and timely updates
- Reduce costs by eliminating manual gift card processes
- Increase revenue with online reservation booking, and the ability to target local markets through SEO/SEM
- Improve engagement with social media sharing
The Woodhouse Day Spa can now instantly create franchise sites that are consistent in branding and content, yet managed and updated by the franchisee. Building on the high impact design provided by Bates Creative Group, all sites are fully integrated into spa management systems to provide a seamless experience to visitors.
Franchise Update does it right--lots of good info in a day and a half and a nice awards dinner. The problem? Fewer franchisors attending and lots of suppliers/sponsors--maybe double the amount of franchisors in attendance. Let's explore how this works shall we? This is a money making venture and the money deserves to be made. However, a conference that focuses more on sponsorships and less on attendance is very much like an "ad rag"--that's what we used to call magazines that were filled with ads and little content. Soon they lost all their advertisers, because, whoops, no one was reading the magazine anymore!!! Why would they? Very little content and what was there was mediocre. So cart? Horse? With lots of great content you get a bundle of attendees at a conference or seminar. Then follows sponsors.
However this blogger and several other suppliers went a step further and gave a fantastic dinner at Southern Art, Chef Art Smith's (and a friend of this blogger) fabulous and gorgeous restaurant in the InterContinental Hotel in Atlanta where this conference was held a few days ago. Fried chicken, the best in the world, is cooked to order so we were all clamouring for more, more as they brought out platters every 30 minutes. Beyond YUM. If it's good enough for Oprah, Obama, Lady Gaga and Queen Noor of Jordan, we franchisors can enjoy too! (Above left Chef Art Smith and this blogger)
It was embarrassing enough when people watched me trying to run around the conveyor belt picking up my favorites, but when I piled 8 small plates in front of me at the sushi bar...well that kind of did it. But I couldn't help myself. We have been waiting for so long for YO!Sushi to open stateside. My lucky daughter tasted hers when she was in London this summer-all she could do was send me photos. Thanks. So of course jumped on a plane the day they opened in Union Station in D.C. Wow how much fun is this atmosphere? Bright, colorful, cheerful with "help" buttons on the bar that call a server at any moment you need one if you cannot decide which of the five dishes (it repeats) is coming down the conveyor belt in time to pull it off. No, it's not too fast, but like me, do you ever find yourself staring at your own suitcase at baggage claim while it goes around? Next thing you know you've missed it! Uh-huh, that was me at the opening of YO!Sushi. Don't miss an opportunity to try it. QSR Magazine is also happy they crossed the pond.
Like things aren't bad enough with 100 degree heat all over the country, crappy stock market performance and an election coming up where neither candidate is, say, unscary. Gilbert Poon, a Middlebury, CT. of Tempe, AZ. based franchisor GameTruck had a car accident that totalled his truck and damaged his GameTruck vehicle as well. Poor Gilbert had enough on his plate with that--he spoke to the franchisor and said he would have to cancel all his scheduled upcoming parties. ""NOT SO FAST" said Scott Novis, the company CEO. Between corporate and a great Indianapolis franchisee, equipment was loaned and sent immediately to allow Gil to fulfill all his party commitments. I have been in franchising for 30 years--and the best systems do this! Help their zees and rally other zees to help each other. No wonder franchising's slogan is "you are in business for yourself but not by yourself".
The first and only franchisor of LED lighting in North America is hosting a webinar Monday, July 30th at 11:00 am EDT. LED lighting is the hottest thing going! No pun intended. So for this webinar, President and CEO Marcel Fairbairn will discuss this exciting opportunity and explain the history of the company, the LED market and why now is the right time to own an LED Source franchise. "The LED lighting business is rapidly evolving," says Fairbairn, "and now is the time to get involved. This free webinar is the perfect platform to introduce individuals to the 'next big thing' in franchising "
For more info about LEDSource go to www.LEDsource.com and/or check out their blog at www.GetLEDucated.com
Not surprising Pillar To Post was chosen the #1 franchise for veterans by Entrepreneur Magazine. Not only is home inspection a great gig but of the few such franchises out there Pillar To Post has the culture that any vet would want to be a part of. As part of The Franchise Company, Pillar To Post networks and has access to all the great techniques and strategies that sister companies such as CertaPro Painters and Floor Coverings International have. Plus Charlie Chase, who heads up The Franchise Company encourages great leadership, or let's say demands it. You will never see any of the leaders of these companies sitting behind a desk "taking appointments" or an occasional call. They are totally in it. Enthusiasm and down to earth demeanors are part and parcel to The Franchise Company and its roster of home service franchises. And, Dan Steward, President of Pillar To Post, is a poster child for this profile. Dan is totally hands on, would never ask a franchisee to do anything he wouldn't do himself, gets his franchisees engaged and his laugh alone can work a group into a frenzy of positivity. It's the 4th of July. What better day to congratulate the franchise chosen as number one for veterans. Our guys and gals deserve the best when they come home, right?
ShelfGenie's 4th annual conference in Pine Mountain Georgia at the beginning of June was a smashing success according to most who attended. Sure it was June, and sure it was Georgia, so what are we saying? Yes even in the photo at left with everyone smiling you just know it was 102 degrees! But the important thing is this hard working group got to hear keynote speakers, win awards, and pow-wow together which is what franchising is all about. Their founder Allan Young spoke to Fortune.com and CNN.com about why it pays to grow slow if you are a franchisor and tend to each franchisee one at a time rather than "speed sell" franchises and then not be able to keep up on support. Read it here!
What can one say? I was one of those caught in the "bubble" of 2000. My Dad, may he rest in peace, told me in no uncertain terms to dump everything I had because it was hugely overvalued. What did he know? All he had been through was the Depression, when his parents lost 6 apartment buildings, and WWII where he won 3 medals. Why listen to him? Oh yeah that. Happy Father's Day and appreciate your Dads because they are likely a lot smarter than you. I lost a bundle by not listening to mine.
And now my friend Les Walgreen (yes that Walgreen) remarks that Facebook has already lost the equivalent of two whole Walgreen companies!! What is going on people? As a franchise expert I look and listen to franchisors every day struggling to keep their brands going and thriving. More importantly I look at their franchisees who struggle at the street level. What company that "might have future big revenues" can be worth $19 billion? Go buy a sandwich or a cookie from a nice franchisee and come back down to earth!
Just when you thought that you couldn't find one more burger chain out there, here comes another-and a really good one too! The secret? If the meat is awesome, and the buns and bread fresh, one can make a very creative and outstanding burger. Especially if one understands what the consumer and the franchisee want. The franchisee wants to partner up with a franchisor who "gets it"--and the best way to do that is find someone like Michael Ansley who is not only the CEO, founder and franchisor of Bagger Dave's Legendary Burger Tavern but is also a multi-unit franchisee of Buffalo Wild Wings. Who would know more the challenges facing franchisees? And the customer? They just want that delicious food-hot and fresh in a nice environment at a decent price point. Do that and you got yourself a winner! Nice work Michael and team.
What an inspiration. First of all it's beyond irritating how attractive Jeni Garrett, founder of Woodhouse Day Spas is....but she also has two darling sons so that a photo of her holding them looks like an ad for some amazing hair color product like L'Oreal Preference. Yes, sorry beauty counts--it's not everything but it certainly is a nice addition to the gifts God has already given you. In this case brains plus beauty--a deadly but awesome combination. According to CNNMoney a great article on Moms Making Millions got the attention of lots of entrepreneurial Moms and more. In the case of Jeni Garrett, her Woodhouse Day Spas get rave reviews from customers and she is franchising the amazing concept by demand! The healty and beauty segment is where it's at. Not only is there a huge deal pending for India but there are territories available in the U.S. You can learn more about this by emailing marc@brandchise.com.
ONN--yes that's a TV station in Ohio--does it remind you of CNN? Well, that's right. And this past week the producers were smart enough to see the merits of 3 franchise stars--WelcomeMat, Penn Station Subs and FirstLight Homecare.
Enjoyed helping to host a luncheon Wednesday for a group of very sharp franchise suppliers so they could show off their wares to franchisors. The seminar is called Over the Top, and the lunch, held at Benny's Chophouse of Chicago, was delish--but the info was even more so. 19 franchisors got quite an education on where things are today in terms of lead generation and knowledge of who your franchisee candidates are and how to speak to them. These lessons came from FranConnect, Greenbaum Marketing and Management 2000--all speaking about different disciplines in the sales process. One thing is for sure....if you can't get potential candidates to your website you are doomed. AND, they need to click all the way through--or there is no point. That's where SEO and all that good stuff comes in. We see here that SEO can be utilized in our press releases, hopefully sending eager beavers right to the website of our client--however, after that, then what? If you can't close the deal, and if the zee can't get the financing, all is for naught. Yes getting those SEO terms down etc. is all good and well, but in the end, can your model hold up? Can you sell it? And can your franchisee make money? Those are the real first steps! This seminar is happening in Phoenix and Atlanta as well.
And why not? Hard working, family oriented, the Latin community, huge in the U.S. is poised to be the next big small business owner segment. Franchising is a great avenue for them even though currently Latinos own only 5.2 percent of franchise businesses. Franchising gives one a jumpstart to owning a small business with lots of "back of office" help involved.
Canadian based franchisor, WSI, a digital provider of marketing services to small and medium sized businesses, started its push into Latin America in 1997. The company has 25 Latino franchisees in the U.S.,154 in Mexico and 85 in the rest of Latin America. Franchise fees start at $29,700 in Latin America, with a total initial investment between $5,000 and $10,000.
There are also many opportunities for those wanting to spend more family time--or for those who want to work with their family in a business together. Stay at home Mom? There are options in franchising there too. Whatever the scenario, as my friend Jim Amos recently said on the radio, "if every franchisee had the money to hire just one employee there would be NO unemployment in the U.S." Chew over that!!
When I started in this business and out on my own in 1986 I sat on the floor of my favorite printing company, Mite-Fast Printers with a HUGE book of ClipArt. It never would have occurred to me to hire an artist and back then there were very few options for a logo. I was smaller than small--a one woman business with 4 accounts. I was on the floor for so long the owner of Mite brought me a coffee. Finally I found an image I thought portrayed what I did every day. Half of a woman's head from the nose down, on the phone with a pencil in the other hand. boy that was me all day. Back then PR was ALL phone work--no computers and you used an IBM Selectric if you were lucky to own one to send out pitches to the media. But mostly you called reporters and pitched them your clients' stories. This logo looked like me doing this all day. As a personalization I added red lips to this b/w graphic and that has been my logo for lo these many years. As a birthday present last week my grown kids presented me with a new logo--telling me "yours is so '80s Mom". Thank God they are both gifted artists (not from me!) Note the iPhone and the jewlery in the new logo. Guess that shows my growth from a 4 account one woman show to a 50 + accounts-16 employee office..Happy Easter all.
