For Further Education, Franchisors Should Follow the Media

Throughout my career in franchising, I have become a dedicated news junkie, especially when it comes to news that pertains to franchising. In many ways, this has contributed to my continuing education. By reading and absorbing news, I have been able to generate new ideas for conducting better business as well as assisting with the development of better methods and best practices for growing the concepts I have represented.

Both newbies and established franchisors should never turn their heads away from the opportunity to absorb more education. For franchising information, I read several online resources through LinkedIn, as well as other Web-based industry standards like Franchise Times, IFA Smart Brief, Franchising.com and Bison. Additionally, for news AND commentary, I check in pretty frequently with sites like Franchise Chat and Blue Mau Mau.

Personal media outlets also get my mind rolling. My all-time, overall favorite media portal has for years been The Drudge Report. Even though Matt Drudge has become more mainstream in more recent years, he is still cutting edge in terms of breaking news “long” before most mainstream outlets even get a sniff of the stories he sheds light on.

My wake-up call in the morning is syndicated radio bad boy, Don Imus. (IMUS in the Morning…check for local station listings at WABC Radio. I am mostly a talk-radio and TV junkie with an ear toward Boortz, Hannity, Limbaugh, O’Reilly, and Dr. Bill Bennett and of course, Imus. From the other side of the aisle, I tune in regularly to Chris Matthews, Keith Olbermann and even Rachel Maddow, for the other side of the coin. For some lighter entertainment, I’ll catch occasional podcasts of George Noory’s Coast-to-Coast AM to hear what the “conspiracy theorists” are espousing as the “plot of the day.” Don’t just listen to what you agree with. You will learn a good bit more by listening to ALL points of view, not just the one that you may embrace.

My point in presenting you with my daily media routine is to encourage you to follow the media. Become ingrained in it, as the media can get your creative mind flowing with ideas for growing your franchise. For new franchisors, the IFA Smart Brief and Insider, Franchising.com, and Franchise Chat are great tools for daily chatter. For more in-depth resource news and tools, look at Franchise Times, Franchising World and Franchise Update. All three are must reads for me.

Come on CNN, Where’s the Rest of the Story?

Was Paul Harvey the only member of the media that could tell the whole story? While it seems that the media has no problem with covering tax issues, they rarely demonstrate a true understanding of exactly what a tax credit is – and how tax credits can sometimes bring more to the bottom lines of business owners, than the products or services that they are in business to provide.

One example is a recent story by CNN – Hire an Ex-Con in Philly, Get A Tax Break.

While this story did a nice job of presenting the local spin on a Philadelphia program being offered for employers that create jobs for ex-offenders in Philly, it didn’t mention a single word about the treasure trove of Federal credits available to qualified business owners in the Philadelphia Federal Empowerment Zone and/or Renewal Community. What's up with that?

Stay tuned, for future posts, that will talk about a very special set of services that RetroTax provides to forward thinking visionaries in both the public and private sectors. I will explain how these programs are helping ex-offenders get a fresh start in life, while at the same time drastically reducing the rate of recidivism in these local communities.