As in the past, attending the International Franchise Association's Fall Leadership Meetings and Franchise Appreciation Day in Washington, DC, is about spreading the good word about franchising on Capitol Hill to politicians who represent the franchisor’s and franchisee’s communities across the country. In the past, when I worked for established service and restaurant brands, part of my mission in DC was to represent my brand to these politicians. This year though, was different.
Now, as Co-founder and President of RetroTax, a start-up concept, my mission took a slightly different tack. Sure, I still attended the leadership meetings as Minorities in Franchising Committee Chair and First vice-chair of IFA's Diversity Institute, but every bit as important, especially for my business, was meeting with potential franchisees and clients in the Greater DC area.
The reason I bring this up is two-fold. First, no matter what city I travel to, there's no shortage of interested parties to speak with. I mean who would turn down the opportunity to have thousands in tax credits made available to them, especially when there are no up-front fees required for qualifying? Second, I am establishing business for my future franchisees. I am validating the viability of these markets by ensuring companies are indeed interested in working with us. The RetroTax business model allows me to set up theses accounts virtually, without having a "physical" brick and mortar location.
Times are changing. Never before could I go into a new market, where I had no previous presence and be in business just like that. But, with RetroTax, I can travel to any of some 200 "Zone" markets and set up shop immediately. This should more than validate the potential of our opportunity for our future franchisees.
As in the past, Franchise Appreciation Day was a tremendous networking and relationship building event. This time though, it took on even greater meaning, because of the new relationships that I was able to generate, with potential new clients and franchisees.
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