A Man’s Best Friend

I am a media hound – known to never pass up an opportunity to promote my business, brand or self... there I said it. Well this week, this hound passed the spotlight to a different hound of sorts, my dog, Honey.

Now, some of you are already wondering, what’s this got to do with franchising? Come on, you know better than to ask. In some shape or form, everything that I do, somehow ties back to franchising and this is no exception. Firstly, this story about Honey that I’m speaking about can be found at http://www.woofpatrol.com/, a website created and managed by Yvonne Conza, also known as Mrs. Tony Conza, my former employer, good friend and Founder of Blimpie Subs and Salads.

It seems like everywhere I turn, there are links to franchising relationships from the past and this time is no different. Over a recent meal with Tony, we were talking about our mutual love for dogs. I showed Tony a picture of Honey and he told me to e-mail it to Yvonne. Until then, I had no idea that Yvonne had created this wonderful canine-centric website. It just never ceases to amaze me, how many times franchising relationships wind up leading to places or opportunities that I never dreamed I’d go to or know about. It really is important to understand this, especially for those of us that are trying to further establish ourselves, our businesses and brands in the industry. Over the years, many of us have changed jobs, brands or concepts, but those relationships that we had with co-workers and friends at those places, shouldn’t end too, when a job does. Keeping in touch with our peers can lead to bigger and better things throughout one’s career and life.

So, I may be a publicity hound – but now, so IS my hound. Kidding aside, it's just another powerful form of networking... something to talk about... to be proud of... it's all about friends and family, the company I am building and about franchising, the business model that I love so much.

A Prayer Request for a Friend!

I had a bombshell dropped on me on Wednesday night when I learned that a member of my franchise family has been torpedoed by multiple attacks of Cancer. Anybody who has ever been a part of the good old days at Blimpie International, knows who Randy Pirotin is. For those of you that don’t, Randy has been the Area Developer for Blimpie’s Georgia territory for a great many years. Again for those of you that know him, you know what a heads down, head strong, get it done no matter what, fighting kind of guy he is. Now, Randy is fighting the fight of his life. If there’s anyone that I would bet on to win this battle, I’d put my money on Randy. That notwithstanding, I wouldn't mind tipping the odds a bit, in his favor. The next time you bow your heads in prayer, won’t you please put in a good word for my friend Randy? In advance... my sincere thanks.

Launching a Franchise... Not As Easy as One Might Think

It was just one year ago that my partner, mentor and friend Al Newcomb and I began the process of launching the RetroTax franchise, built on the foundation of years of success with his affiliated company, Associated Consultants, Inc. (ACI) Now, one year later, we are finally in the position to begin inviting prospective franchisees to join our system – which is a complete relief.

Heading into the process, I knew we’d hit some bumps and snags, as RetroTax is a first of its kind, unlike any other, fresh, new brand. Getting our disclosure documents approved nationwide has taken longer than I hoped, but, now, FINALLY, we are able to begin strategically offering our opportunity to franchisees. I must say, the ride has been well worth it, but I think I can liken it to building a new house, rather than buying one that was previously owned. All right, I’ll quit whining, because the truth is, while I don’t think I’d EVER want to do it again, I am richer for and have relished the experience.

This truly is a franchise opportunity like no other that I have ever seen. Each and every one of my peers that I have discussed this with over the course of the past year has been smitten by it as well. For aspiring franchisors, I offer this piece of advice: Patience is a virtue and like most impresarios, I fall really short on that P word.

One place where I may see some things differently than some of my peers, is in the discussion of unit growth and numbers. A lot of companies boast about how many units they will be adding in the coming years, proud of their growth and development. At RetroTax, our growth will be proactive and strategic, just like the development of our systems. We will only add six operating franchisees in year one – even though we have many more knocking on our doors. When I was a food franchisor, I always knew how to measure the need for additional head count internally, to support a given number of units added in the field. Given the newness of this business though and the fact that we will not only support our franchisees, but also provide services to and for our franchisees’ clients, we’re going to take a slower, more strategic and systematic approach to our development.

Not for nothing, but when it comes to bragging about numbers, my belief is that the only numbers that really count, are the numbers being generated by those that are already in your business, not the number of new units you are planning to add. Are your existing people making money with your business model? If not, adding more is not where your attention should be focused. We are going to do this right at RetroTax.

It's with a breath of fresh air that I happily say, "we’ve finally arrived– HERE WE ARE!"

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.

Hello Ohio

Pictured is (from left) me, with Mayor Mallory and Miriam Brewer, Director of Diversity for IFA.
Open for business in Cincy

Meeting Mayor Mark Mallory in Cincinnati

I’m really proud to have had the opportunity to participate in an IFA Minority Fran initiative in Cincinnati on Thursday, May 1, 2008. More than 200 qualified participants attended this day-long educational program about franchise ownership that was sponsored and hosted by the IFA, Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory, US Bank, Coca-Cola, and a host of public and private sector sponsors. I wore two hats at this event, participating as moderator and speaking on behalf of IFA, in my capacity of Chairman of the Minorities in Franchising Committee and First Vice Chair of the IFA Diversity Institute, but also as a participating franchisor, seeking franchisees for RetroTax,™ my new concept and company.

Good things have already come from this event and I anticipate that many more will. My personal thanks to IFA Director of Diversity and good friend Miriam Brewer, for pulling this program together. With more than ten years of participation in these events, I believe that this was one of the very best ever. More on this, as it develops…

New York and California, Here We Come.

While not newsworthy to many, RetroTax has been approved to award franchises in the states of New York and California. What that means is we are one step closer to being able to offer our great franchise opportunity in all 50 states. We’re still awaiting clearances from some of the registration states in between, but we are happy to have passed muster in both of these critical states.

It has been an exhausting and frustrating ride “giving birth” to a new brand, but I wouldn’t have traded the experience for anything. There are already some prospective franchisees in the pipeline, while others still await disclosure, but all good things will come with time. My partner Al and I are doing our best to learn how to be PATIENT!

New Wave of Entrepreneurs/Inspired Work Force on Its Way

If one ever wants to experience something that is truly “right” with America, they need only attend an International Career Development Conference and competitive event, organized by an amazing organization known as DECA. (http://www.deca.org/) DECA is an international association of high school and college students studying marketing, management and entrepreneurship in business, finance, hospitality. Recently, for the third time in as many years, I had the privilege of participating as a judge and mentor at this annual event.

As was the case in previous years, the conference was packed -- nearly 17,000 high school students from all over North America and around the world, focused on educating themselves in the world of business. They were hungry for information on everything from how to network and create the ideal business plan; to accessing capital and learning about different models for growing an organization or concept. In all cases, these are students that are determined to never be dependent on a paycheck, but rather, on how to focus their energy on the creation of wealth and legacy. It is truly awe inspiring, to see this up and coming generation of future business leaders who are all so far ahead of their years. It’s also comforting to know that the next generation of franchising professionals, will take this beloved business model to even greater heights.

Each year when I participate in this event, it’s really an honor to contribute to the future success of these students’ careers. If my input hits home with just one of them, I know I will have made a huge difference. That’s why I begin each of my mentoring sessions with something of a confession. I tell these kids how lucky I am to be where I am today, in my career and in life. I go on to tell them that I never completed my formal education, but got really lucky along the way. I admonish them to not do as I did and leave their futures to chance. “If a single one of you doesn’t finish college, I promise that these words will come back and haunt you. Don’t leave your future to lady luck.” I hope and believe that my experiences will inspire these kids to not waste 15 or more years of their lives as I did, before figuring out what it is that they’re destined for. In my heart of hearts, I don’t believe that any of them will.

They are already light years ahead of most. I mean, in the Senior Management Institute Mentoring Program alone, there were 500 or more of these incredible kids. They were all wearing their DECA branded blue blazers, khaki skirts or trousers, kerchiefs or ties at 10:00am. on a Sunday morning. They were focused, attentive and asking all kinds of thoughtful questions of the 40-50 mentors, all members of DECA’s National Advisory Board. Their questions were about networking, business and success in general. There’s simply no way that I believe that any of these kids would ever quit on themselves.

During one of my roundtable sessions, I had one student raise his hand and say that he was confused. “My first session mentor said that you have to have passion for whatever you do, but the next session leader said that you shouldn’t just go for passion. Which one was right?”

My reply was both. Passion is important, but it’s not the only ingredient. With a puzzled look on his face, he said, “I still don’t get it.” I asked him to tell me three things that he is passionate about.

He said, Lacrosse, going to ball games and spending Friday nights with his “lady.” The table giggled.

“Look, you have passion for all three, but could you do any one of these things full time? “Of course not,” he replied. I told him that passion is but an ingredient in whatever it is that he might decide to do, but it is just one ingredient. No recipe is built around a single ingredient. Certain of these ingredients are fundamental or essential to the recipe, but they are not exclusive. Once you have passion for something, it can help drive your success, but you must also rely on your other skills to turn that passion into a recipe for success.”

He got it.

Participating in DECA’s ICDC is exhausting, but well worth the commitment. I ended the conference by judging the final round of business plans for the Entrepreneurship Franchising competition. There were 17 finalists, all of whom had 20-30 minutes each, to present and defend their business plans for a franchised business that they wanted to bring to their area. They utilized PowerPoint or stand-up flipcharts, along with projections and business plans, as I played the role of the banker, determining the validity of the financing that they sought, for these proposed plans. I saw plans for automotive, food and service franchises. Some were good, others were great.

Later that evening, I had the privilege of awarding the scholarships and honors for the Entrepreneurship Franchising category, standing on stage at the Georgia Dome with the Top 10 Finalists and presenting honors to the Top 3. What a rush, facing an audience of more than 17,000, awarding the honors to these kids. I invited each of these finalists to let me hear from them as they move on to college and the business world beyond. I told them that if they’d e-mail me within 24 hours, they’d have the opportunity to have a mentor for life. If not, I’d just leave them at the conclusion of this night, with best wishes on a going forward basis. I wanted to put some pressure on them to maintain contact and have the opportunity to continue a dialogue with me beyond this moment in time.

I am once again honored, to have had the opportunity to participate in such a rewarding event as this and truly hope that I have made a difference in some of these young kids’ lives. I have seen a glimpse of the future, and let me tell you something that you’ll never see on your prime time news, “it's all good.”