Franchise Industry Shows Cautious Optimism at West Coast Franchise Expo

This past week, Nov. 7-9, I traveled cross -country to speak at the annual West Coast Franchise Expo in Los Angeles. Some might suggest that it was less than a perfect time for the Expo, given the state of the economy, its impact on franchising and how the recent elections will impact both.

Everyone I spoke to though, seemed to express a similar sentiment – cautious optimism. Certainly, everyone is concerned about the state of the economy, but no one was willing to concede defeat or believe that the economic meltdown would defeat our (franchising’s) ability to continue to thrive as a business model. Nobody was going negative.

On the surface, some suggested that foot traffic was lighter than years past, but most franchisors that I spoke with were extremely pleased by the steady stream of quality of prospects that they saw. If traffic was lighter, it could easily be attributed to the state of the States. My belief is that the "perfect storm" of sub prime and what it did to tighten credit, coupled with the downturn in the economy and melt-down on Wall Street is the only reason why franchising's gotten caught up in the storm. Once credit issues loosen up though, even in a recessionary market, we should see franchising pick up steam again. The few franchisees I got to speak with were on par with franchisors in that they seemed upbeat and optimistic that today's economic troubles would not prevail.

The one thing I saw universally from franchisors, franchisees and suppliers was the absolute unwillingness to fold the tent and quit. That’s a testament to the backbone of those who live and breathe the American dream. I fully expect similar views and responses at upcoming franchise industry events. Just around the corner, I will be attending the Franchise Expo South in Florida, (Jan. 11-13), which will be my last opportunity to get a collective gut check from my peers, prior to the IFA convention in February.

One last word about the West Coast Franchise Expo... From top to bottom, Tom Portesy, president of MFV, continues to foster a great culture of professionals. Rich Del Giorno, Steve Gross, Joel Goldstein, Scott Burford, Fabio “Skinny” Scocimara (holy smokes how much weight has HE lost) and the rest of the MFV team have become like family to me. I look forward to seeing them as much as anyone else, when I attend these shows.