U.S. Chamber of Commerce-2009 Business Civic Leadership Center

Virtually anyone who knows me professionally knows how much I love my involvement with the IFA. Well this week, I’ve been introduced to yet another national business organization, one that has very quickly smitten me. In many ways this organization reminds me of IFA, but in other ways, it is different.

I’m talking about the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and their (BCLC) Business Civic Leadership Center. Last month I was invited to speak at their Annual Convention and now, as I post this blog from Chicago’s Miracle Mile, that conference has just concluded.

This event was attended by just 300, but a more eclectic group of assembled professionals, I have never seen. Among the roster of speakers and attendees were Mayors, C-level executives from America’s leading companies, public and private sector icons, large corporations, small businesses, legacy foundations and start-up non-profits, strategists, economists and even thinkers from academia.

Government officials in attendance represented the White House, the SBA, The Departments of State and Defense and even the USDA. Insurance, healthcare, The Federal Reserve, the media and even the National Governors Association, they were all there too. This conference was a veritable “slice of Americana.”

Similar to IFA’s role in franchising, the BCLC’s mission is to advance the positive role of business in society, but it does so in a much broader sense than IFA. As such, BCLC and the US Chamber works with these leaders from business, government, and non-governmental organizations to address and act on shared goals. Most noteworthy to me and to others that I spoke with as well, was how egos got parked at the door by everyone in attendance at this conference and how engaging and interactive everyone was.

It reminded me of how every year at the IFA Convention, first-time-attendees marvel at how caring and sharing the speakers are and how they are so openly willing to share information, even when potential competitors might be in the audience in the very same room. I got that same flavor at this conference. The difference though , was that while the spectrum here was much broader, the conference much smaller, far more intimate, making the interaction all the more powerful.

I sincerely wish to thank my friend Don Graves for connecting me with Katie Loovis, Director of Business and Society, for the Business Civic, Leadership Center. I hope that Katie, and Stephan Jordan Senior VP of the BCLC will invite me back and allow me to expand my involvement with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. This is one fine group of professionals, working tirelessly to ensure that American businesses thrive, on Main Streets everywhere.

IFA Convention Recap

Myself with: Dina Dwyer-Owens, CEO of The Dwyer Group, Chairwoman, IFA; Shawn Goldsmith, IFA Don DeBolt Scholarship winner; and Steve Greenbaum, CEO of PostNet and immediate past Chairman of the IFA. As talked about in previous posts, for the past 3 or 4 years, I have been very involved with DECA, an organization that among other things, prepares, mentors and trains high school and college students to become America’s next generation of entrepreneurs. Last spring I had the honor of presenting Shawn Goldsmith, of Oceanside, NY, the IFA’s Don DeBolt scholarship at DECA’s National Convention. IFA invited Shawn to our 49th Annual Convention in San Diego, to get a taste of franchising IFA style. Here, I am showing him around and introducing him to some of the best in the franchising business.

Brian Schnell, attorney for Faegre & Benson, and myself.

Me with: Michael Roman, CFE, Fuels Franchise Strategy Manager of Exxon Mobil Corporation; Shawn Goldsmith, IFA Don DeBolt Scholarship winner; and Fred DeLuca, Founder of Subway.

From my perspective, this year’s IFA Convention was amazing.

First, on a personal note, while I teetered on the edge of losing it toward the third day, I actually managed to keep my voice this year. My apologies to those who might have wished for the alternative… my thanks too, to those that didn’t encourage me to smoke “just one more” cigar at the bar each evening. No names need be mentioned, because you know who you are. (Ron Feldman)

This Convention was very powerful in what it delivered. Jim Bugg, Bill Clinton, and Cary Fiorina all delivered powerful keynotes that basically stated that the future of America is in the hands of small business. Certainly, there are situations and conditions that we can’t control, but if we keep our eye on the things that we can, we will emerge victorious. I believe that is true. Yes, we are living in some very scary times and no doubt, more changes lie ahead. How we manage what we can control though, can and will make a difference.

The economy was, of course, a hot topic at the Convention, for franchisors as well as franchisees. I guess we are each playing the same game on different playing fields. Our franchisees are charged with growing their businesses locally, just as we are with growing our brands globally. At the local level they must seize each and every opportunity to make the most of whatever twists or turns they are confronted with. No different than what most franchisors are confronted with, just that we play our game on a larger playing field. Otherwise, it’s very much the same for each of us.

But despite the bumpy economy, the Convention experience was excellent. For RetroTax, the Convention presented new opportunities for national accounts that we can service; three new prospective franchisees; and a tremendous amount of collective intelligence shared by and with my peers.

With that said, whether using it as a connector to new business leads or as an educational resource, an IFA membership is a good idea anytime, but COMPELLING in times like these. There is no other single event (the annual IFA Convention – 2010 in San Antonio) that can offer so much at one time, in one place across each and every discipline of our business model, to the benefit of everyone in franchising. Operations, Marketing, Franchise Development or Administration: Whether you’re a start-up or legacy brand, there was something for everyone at this Convention.

Besides the convention, there are other IFA events franchisors, franchisees and suppliers alike should attend. For instance, I will speak on behalf of the IFA Diversity Institute and Minority Fran initiative, at the upcoming IFE in Washington, DC, March 20-22, another good opportunity to connect, learn and thrive forward.

FRANCHISE DEVELOPMENT, Not just about the Sale… It’s more about the Relationship

Many business people boast of their unique approaches to the sale of their products or services. Not to sound trite, but in the world of franchise development, it should NEVER be about the sale, but rather, about the relationship between the parties. Personally, I have no interest in selling franchises. It’s a new world, a new era and at RetroTax, a concept that I co-founded, and whose day-to-day operations I direct as President, SELLING franchises is a non-starter. No, I am not parsing words, with reference to the difference between “awarding” vs. “selling” franchises. I’m just telling it like it is. To date, each of our franchisees have been personal referrals. That notwithstanding, if a prospective franchisee presents himself to us, but does not meet or exceed our baseline for shared vision, values and ethics, they’re out of here, on the first pass, despite the fact that they may have been referred. That is not just lip service either, it is fact. It is real, it has already happened and it will happen again, I’m sure.

As the IFA Convention approaches, (barely a week away, in warm San Diego) it is important for fellow franchise executives and suppliers too, for that matter, to examine their selling practices. Take stock of this fundamental statement: neither your customers nor potential franchisees want to be “sold.” Rather, each of your prospective clients, customers or franchisees, would prefer that you appeal to a deeper level of connection, communication and relationship between all parties to the potrential transaction as well as to your product or brand.

My own personal experience repeatedly demonstrates that it’s more about relationships. Some of these relationships were built months, years, even decades ago. While some of these didn't provide any quantitative value at the time that they were created, several are now front and center and are intrinsic to the growth and development of my company.

There is actually no better evidence of this than the relationship between my partner and me. It took us more than a dozen years of talking about it, prior to putting our program together and our case study is just the tip of the iceberg. Beyond us, I cite the following:

RetroTax Franchisee No. 1, Kevin is an 18+ year friend and peer, a consummate franchising professional.

RetroTax Franchisee No. 2, Jim was a personal referral from our CPA.

RetroTax Franchisee No. 3, Iraida yet another personal referral, came recommended from one of my most highly valued IFA peers.

Prospective franchisees No. 4, 5, and 6, were also introduced to me via personal relationships, from other IFA peers, one of which is actually the President of yet another franchise concept. To my point, it’s much more about the relationships in franchising, than about the sale.

When you attend the upcoming IFA Convention, think about the relationships that you make, renew or update with new, old and established peers and friends. All of these connections represent opportunities for you to seize the moment, every moment, every opportunity, both real and perceived, with each and every contact that you make or renew. As my partner Al Newcomb so often says, no meetings are bad meetings.” As the old saying goes, “Carpe Diem.” Seize the moment and don’t let any opportunities that are worthy of your consideration, pass you by.

IFA Convention Less Than One Month Away

As you probably read on my previous blog post regarding Franchise Expo South, I am convinced that franchising will rebound from our tough economic situation more quickly than many other market segments. Still lots of rocky road ahead, but hopefully, this prediction will be shared by others in San Diego, at the upcoming annual IFA Convention.

This is going to be a compelling year for new ideas to come to the fore, regarding the growth and development of franchised businesses. These challenging economic times make attendance at this year’s convention all the more compelling.

Start-up franchisors – IT IS ESSENTIAL FOR YOU TO ATTEND THE CONVENTION. Once you are registered, start your planning. Use the Convention as your opportunity to get focused. This conference has gotten too big to just attend without an action plan. Tailor your plan around learning during the concurrent educational sessions and networking on the floor of the tradeshow. Don’t leave anything to chance with reference to connecting with and speaking to those who can most positively impact your business. The days of just running into the right people at the IFA are gone. Anymore, the convention is just too big to go and just "hope for the best."

Established franchisors – this applies to you, too. It’s a whole new world out there and you want to maximize every opportunity to positively return your investment of time and money.

Last word in these challenging times, for ALL franchisors, regardless of size or maturity of your brands, I invite you to make yourselves rockstars to your franchisees by offering them the opportunity to glean the benefit derived from the tax credits that RetroTax administers. By telling your franchisees that “but for the fact that you’re one of our franchisees, RetroTax would quite likely never have known about you or your business... and that because of that, RetroTax will perform these services at the single unit level, something that is usually available only to much larger businesses.” Feel free to email me (stan.friedman@retrotax.com) to schedule some time to talk, either at or before the Convention. I am looking forward to making many new friends at this year’s IFA, as well as seeing all of my long-time associates from all over the world of franchising.

Get the Most Out of Industry Meetings -- NETWORK

FRANCHISE UPDATE FALL LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE:
Pictured from left to right: Casey McEwen, Partner, FranSystems, Josh Greenbaum, student, Stan Friedman, Steve Greenbaum, CEO PostNet and Chairman, IFA

While attending franchise industry meetings, conventions, conferences, etc., my takeaways come from collecting information and experiences from the speakers. But there's more than that, much more. Beyond the speakers, the greatest value at these events comes from networking. Be it with a prospect for a franchise, a company executive that can benefit from our (RetroTax’s) services, someone that needs to meet me or someone that I need to meet... I cannot ever remember leaving an industry event without some golden nuggets... I'm talking about gems that make me richer for the experience, born out of networking.

In our down economy, franchise executives and partners are searching for better, more creative methods to grow their business – especially when attending industry events – and they're focusing more than ever, on building connectors, networks of shared information. Such was the case at the recent Franchise Update Fall Leadership Conference in Chicago. I know of no other industry or business conference where the franchising professionals in attendance are as caring and sharing as they are at this one, bar none.

The IFA Convention, in San Diego, will be the next big networking opportunity for the industry. By then America will have elected a new President and the economy will most certainly be in a different state than today (not necessarily better or worse, just different). It will be interesting to see what types of information franchisors, franchisees, and suppliers try to pull there. While the IFA Convention is the granddad, the largest of all franchise industry conferences, as with anything else, you'll get what you give at this event. Earlier this year I got to thinking about the upcoming IFA and said to myself, "Maybe this year I will go as a spectator, lighten my load and just enjoy the convention with fewer commitments than usual. Then I thought about it again – and said, nah.

IFA’s convention is loaded with incredible amounts of intellectual capital, crossing every conceivable discipline of franchising. Franchise development, operations, marketing, relationship building, legal updates, etc. There’s just so much opportunity to give, to get, and network. Whether you're attending for the first time, or for the 20^th, get focused on one or two issues that you deem to be amongst your highest priorities. Lock and load on those topics and drill down deeply with speakers, exhibitors and peers who are all there with you, at the same time, in the same place, for the same reason.

Don’t miss this opportunity to network and find business solutions. Then, fasten your seat belts and get set for the ride of your life in 2009.