Business Services Franchising Supplement April 2020

FranchisingFeature business services

a pril 2020

the services and strategies entrepreneurs need to grow their business

demand for personalized business services has never been higher

the strategies franchisees need to grow their business

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what’s new!

P3 Cost Analysts Helps Businesses, Adds Franchisees, Across the U.S. During Coronavirus Outbreak The coronavirus has made it clearer than ever that every penny matters for businesses. P3 Cost Analysts is helping businesses across the United States save thousands – sometimes hundreds of thousands – of dollars with its process.

“Now more than ever, businesses need to be focused on cost reduction and making sure every penny counts,” said P3 Cost Analysts CEO Aaron Stahl. “Our expertise is helping keep many of our clients’ businesses alive now. We’re helping them keep the lights on.”

COVID 19 also has not affected P3 Cost Analysts’ huge nationwide expansion as several franchisees, including two in New York, have been added in the last few weeks. Stahl said he also expects to expand his company’s workforce by 20 percent over the next 12 months.

“We’ll be hiring in the not too distant future,” Stahl said. “And we’ve had an uptick in new clients over the last few weeks, and we expect to have several more over the next few weeks, once people get used to a new normal.”

Stahl said he’s seen a big increase of interest from companies that have had their budgets severely slashed, including restaurants, anything travel-related, and cities/counties.

The Art Department Celebrates Sixth-Year Anniversary

The Art Department, LLC, which was founded by Lamont Johnson in April 2014, is celebrating their sixth-year anniversary this month.

The company focuses on bringing the art, creativity, and strategy to public relations and brand marketing. With over 15 years of public relations experience under his belt, Johnson created the company to garner interest and placements for lifestyle, food, spirits, fashion, beauty, real estate, book, corporate and franchise clients.

“When I created this company, I did not think that it would take off like it did,” says Founder/Owner, Lamont Johnson. “These six years have flown by, and we are looking forward to growing and expanding in the years to come.”

To date, their clients have appeared in outlets including Forbes, Inc., Fortune, CNN, CNBC, Bloomberg, Good Morning America, TODAY, and more.

The company has also been accepted into Entrepreneur Magazine’s directory of top franchise suppliers. This honor is for companies that provide services and products to help franchisors and franchisees succeed.

In addition to having their own clients, the company also consults and advises other public relations and marketing firms on media pitching, strategy plans and securing placements.

“That’s where we can help the most,” Stahl said. “Our expertise is helping to save businesses. And cities are seeing a huge drop in sales tax revenue, so we’re helping them add dollars to their budgets.”

The Art Department has serviced many franchises, including: Slaters 50/50, Carolina Hemp Company, CRU Hemp Lounge, Slutty Vegan, The Original Hot Dog Factory, Lean Kitchen Company, The Stacked Pickle, Splash & Dash, Hattie Marie’s, Avendelle, JW Tumbles, Sweet Charlie’s and more.

For more information on P3 Cost Analysts, visit costanalysts.com

For more information, please visit www.artdepartmentpr.com

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Tint World® Toasts Top 2019 Franchises and Charts Future Success at International Franchise Convention The 2020 Tint World® International Franchise Convention featured a vendor trade show, seminars and training, and an awards banquet to recognize top-performing franchises.

“The annual convention is one of the highlights of the year for the Tint World® family,” said Charles J. Bonfiglio, president and CEO of Tint World®. “We take some time to celebrate our success, but our franchise owners and the corporate team both are always focused on the future. The franchisees show up focused for the training and education we provide here at the convention, and it’s a chance for us to learn from them, too. The connections that we make at this event are a big inspiration to reach even further in 2020.”

annual International Franchise Convention in Fort

Tim and Stacy Kjaer, co-owners of the Medford/Long Island store, along with store manager Kurt Kaufman, were once again honored as members of the $2 Million Club. The $1 Million Club included Jeff and Penny Rackley; Michael Richards and Dylan Thiel (Grapevine, Texas); Acey and Kerri Light (Lubbock, Texas); Santiago and Dominica Rojas (Massapequa, New York); and Randy and Austin Silver (Cary, North Carolina).

Lauderdale, Florida, last month.

www.tintworld.com

Leading automotive customization and window tinting franchise Tint World® Automotive Styling Centers™ honored its top franchise owners at the company’s 12th

Spray-Net, Inc. Wins Big at Competition at IFA’s 60th 2020 Annual Convention Spray-Net, whose mission is to use chemistry & software to deliver the best renovation solutions to homeowners, won the All-Star Round of the IFA’s NextGen’s Franchising Global Competition at the 60th 2020 Annual Convention in Orlando.

The theme for this year challenged past winners to pitch how their businesses are getting ready for the next five years.

Spray-Net’s pitch focused on how they are hopping aboard the data train and using internal data through their proprietary software, “The Spray-Network,” to provide a more customized and personalized experience for their customers, and to help their franchisees optimize their businesses.

“Spray-Net is getting ready for the next five years, and our proprietary and custom-built

software is going to allow us to do that.

The Spray-Network compiles customer and job data from across our entire franchise network, ensures consistency and accuracy in pricing, provides our franchisees with the business intelligence to easily measure the performance of their businesses, and collects enough data to know how and when to personalize things along the way,” says CEO/Founder, Carmelo Marsala.

“By collecting data from The SprayNetwork and other data sources, we can aggregate it into different types of machine learning algorithms and with the right business architecture, we can personalize customer experience, employee experience, marketing communications, create proactive and custom training for franchisees, and, ultimately, increase our franchisees’ effectiveness,” he adds.

The NextGen in Franchising Global Competition engages young entrepreneurs who are seeking careers and business opportunities in the franchising industry.

For more information, please visit: www.spray-net.com

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what’s new!

Hattie Marie’s BBQ Restaurant Creates Catering Initiative to Service Businesses Through Coronavirus Outbreak Hattie Marie’s Texas Style BBQ & Cajun Kitchen of College Park, Georgia, which was founded by Port Arthur native, Willie Griggie, is now offering catering services to small business that are still working through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Chopped Winner, Chef Ed Harris, Launches Chef Life Consulting to Help Restaurants Train Staff and Update Menu Items

Chef Ed Harris is most famous for being a winner on Food Network’s hit cooking show, “Chopped Season 4” and competing on “Iron Chef International.”

Chef Ed Harris has now launched his own consulting firm “Chef Life Consulting.” Through his company, he will be restaurant consulting to train staff and update menus.

The restaurant and social media staple has officially announced their off-site catering initiative dedicated to service workers and small businesses throughout the city.

He has spent five years as a chef for Buddakan restaurant in NYC, where he developed a passion for Asian cuisine. During this tenure, he trained with a master dim sum chef and perfected the art of cooking dumplings as well as making Asian sauces and fried rice.

Hattie Marie’s will be offering a wide variety of mouthwatering BBQ dishes including: BBQ Ribs, Smoked Brisket, Pulled Pork, Smokey Sausage Links, Fried Catfish & Shrimp, Macaroni & Cheese, Potato Salad, Collard Greens and Texas-Style Gumbo.

Chef Ed Harris is originally from the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. He was exposed to various culinary experiences prior to his family moving to Brooklyn NY. After graduating high school, he studied culinary arts at the Art Institute of New York City.

“We are looking to do offsite catering for groups that are servicing our city. We would work with the business to choose a menu and customize a per person price based on what they want to eat, what type of service that they would like and the duration of the service,” says Co-Founder, Ramona Griggie.

“Ever since COVID-19 has been the talk of the entire word, I’ve been getting tons of calls from restaurants looking to add items that can boost your immune system,” says Harris. “Our focus is now shifting to creating dishes that are healthy, taste great and will provide health benefits in the prevention of diseases.”

They offer a la carte pick-ups of many of their menu favorites including whole briskets, racks of ribs and trays of sides. Barbecue is best when freshly cut so for pick-ups, they keep all meat whole and will give you cutting instructions in order to preserve the integrity and tenderness of the meat.

Chef Ed Harris has released his own line of seasonings: FAYE’S FLAVOR ENHANCERS, named after his mom, Faye. He also released his own brand of aprons called “Knife and Spoon.” The line is hand-selected, raw denim cotton, and super useful for in and out of the kitchen, studio, salon, school or home.

For more information, please visit www.hattiemariesbarbecue.com/catering

For more information, please contact www.cheflifeconsulting.com

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Big Sky Franchise Team Launches Online Training Solution for Franchisors to Train Franchisees With the worldwide domination of the COVID-19 virus over the last several weeks, the need for having online learning systems in place is no longer an option. Rather, it is a MUST. For franchisors, it is imperative to be able to provide online training to support franchisees with new marketing, new methods, and new services/products. The franchisor has an obligation to their franchisees to provide this continued training and, unfortunately, it is often not provided, or it is provided in a very limited scope.

The FranLeadership training system was developed to solve this problem. This system provides an online “franchise specific” training tool that is easy to use and tracks and monitors a franchisee’s performance. Franchisees are always asking “What

have you done for me lately?” This system allows for the franchisor to provide a real solution to that question by providing online training of new programs, products, and marketing.

If you are a franchisee or franchisor reading this, you should be asking, “What kind of online training programs do we have in place?” For less than a few hundred dollars this system can be up and running to be training your current generation of franchise leaders.

For more information, please visit www.FranLeadership.com

Royal Restrooms Mobilizes Sanitization Zones for High Risk Locations in Response to Coronavirus Royal Restrooms is working with health care officials to create and manage a system of containment, offering locations with high risk individuals the opportunity to set up sanitation zones. These sanitation zones can be mobilized outside sensitive areas where individuals with compromised immune systems may be located.

By offering staff, visitors, vendors, and delivery personnel a “triage” location to wash hands and sanitize themselves before entering the sanitized zone, the hope is to create a safe buffer layer.

In keeping with the CDC’s recommendation of handwashing with soap and running water for 20 seconds to combat the Coronavirus, this buffer layer is essential but obtainable.

As part of President Trump’s mandate for hospitals and locations frequented by high risk individuals to construct an emergency management plan, Royal Restrooms is reserving restrooms for the highest priority clients.

Locations such as nursing homes, medical facilities, and childcare providers are currently taking precedence. Royal Restrooms is offering restrooms with hot and cold running water sinks as well as flushing toilets.

In addition, if a business or organization currently has an event or remodel scheduled, Royal Restrooms is able to outfit it with restrooms, hand washing stations, or “sanitation stations” (mobile hand sanitizing stations) that may ensure that guests or clients will feel secure as well as be safe.

“We stand together with you during this crisis and you can continue to rely on us during this virus outbreak,” says Co-Founder, David Sauers.

For more information, visit royalrestrooms.com

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business

Franchising Fe “It takes a village to raise a child,” as they say, and in some ways it could be said of a business.

In order to be successful a company must rely on a lot of variables to gain profit and recognition. Though sales are dependent on consumers, the actual business itself has a lot of underlying factors that help support its function and operation.

While it’s evident that businesses rely on cleaning and maintenance services, there are different types of operations needed in order for a company to function day to day.

A business can’t be expected to be a jack

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of all trades; it’s impossible to consider all the necessities of upkeep on your own, therefore businesses rely on other businesses to keep them working. There are plenty of different franchising options that offer business services to help others run properly and be successfully.

A franchisee offering businesses services has a leg up on any competition because they have a great support system from the franchise, as well as a good reputation and reliable tools and resources to help a business thrive.

The benefit of a business service franchise is that it tends to come with a portfolio of clients, contracts or potential clients. Take a moment to review the clients accessible within your territory and see how much leverage your franchise would have within your area. You might have the opportunity

to gain a franchise with a lot of clients built in from the get-go.

Social Media and Websites It’s important for businesses to have an online presence, but it’s not always easy to run such platforms in a successful way.

Therefore a lot of businesses, especially smaller ones, rely on other companies to build their brand on social media, follow trends, garner online customers and help

“Franchises offering online and social media services are a great way to support local businesses and help them market themselves.”

“Though day to day cleaning is a franchise within itself, there are also window washing franchises, or floor cleaning and buffering franchises as well as gardening.”

eature maintain their website. It’s essential for all businesses to provide a website and an online persona to adhere to their many consumers and the immediacy of today’s market. Everyone expects a business to be available online and to remain up to date and following trends.

Franchises offering online and social media services are a great way to support local businesses and help them market themselves. There is no need for a background in technology or PR, but a passion for communications and digital resources would be helpful. A lot of services can be provided from one’s home and a franchisee is likely to have a good work life balance. However, online services could need assistance to anyone at anytime, and a marketing campaign might have time constraints and need constant reviews. If you’re looking for a less hands on approach, ensure a franchise comes with great support and a lot of flexibility in hiring talent who can get the job done.

Cleaning Services The most notable business service franchise is the cleaning service. A lot of businesses rely on outside sources to help them upkeep their inside operations like cleaning. A business needs other companies to come to their office after hours and make sure everything is vacuumed, clean, washed and ready to run the business the next day.

Though day to day cleaning is a franchise within itself, there are also window washing franchises, or floor cleaning and buffering franchises as well as gardening.

Depending on the breadth of services you would like to offer, some franchises have a variety of cleaning services or specialize in a particular one.

Coffee delivery and food catering services With businesses catering to other businesses, they need a little support for their networking and meetings. A lot of businesses rely on outside sources for catering needs, especially during events and conferences.

Offices are always hosting lunches and larger scale meetings that need to provide lunch or buffets to keep the teams engaged and to have more people sign up. Offering food as part of a meeting or venue has become the norm in the office industry and it’s a great place for franchises to step in. A food franchise may specialize specifically

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“Offering food as part of a meeting or venue has become the norm in the office industry and it’s a great place for franchises to step in. A food franchise may specialize specifically in business and event catering, but may also have other food options to consider.”

out and remain efficient and operating throughout the day.

“The benefit of a business service franchise is that it tends to come with a portfolio of clients, contracts or potential clients. . . . You might have the opportunity to gain a franchise with a lot of clients built in from the get-go.”

If the franchise only works with businesses and events, it would be wise to review other franchises to get a sense of expectations and workload to give a better understanding of expectations, and be sure to ask if the franchise comes with potential clientele. A catering service that is specific to events may be more successful in a busier territory or a large city.

employees. This type of franchise is likely a mobile franchise with a smaller start up fee. Employees would deliver a supply of coffee to offices to have on hand for a period of time and ensure all their coffee needs are met, sometimes including coffee makers and other speciality products and services. A franchise may be called in for events or during low supply, and may be asked to serve coffee for higher up occasions. It’s important to take a look at the portfolios franchises have and what the expectations are for a franchisee before investing, but this is generally an easy business format to take on.

On another side of the food industry comes coffee delivery. Not only do offices want coffee delivered to them for specific events but they also want coffee on hand for everyday use and to provide a boost to their

When it comes to helping other businesses to grow, function and succeed, franchises can help support others reach the best of their potential. Businesses are dependent on others to help them get the message

in business and event catering, but may also have other food options to consider.

Nowadays, food businesses tend to reach beyond the scope of one service but there are catering specific franchises if that’s the focus you would like to remain within.

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There are numerous opportunities for franchisees interested in a business services franchise, so the options are endless. It’s a great time to figure out one’s area of passion and look into how it provides to businesses, as well as the greater public with services.

Some franchises work with individuals, customers and businesses to take advantage of all possibilities for clientele. Depending on the workload and customer base one was interested in, a franchisee could consider different quantities of clients.

The most beneficial part of business service franchise is the reputation they have already set in place and the roster of potential clients already set in place.

Whether it’s a small scale mobile coffee delivery or a large tech company specializing in marketing and promotion, business services offer many opportunities for franchises to help other businesses reach their greatest potential and become a success.

Look out for our next special feature: HEALTH AND FITNESS ABOUT THE AUTHOR: After receiving an English Degree, followed by a Journalism Diploma, Gina Gill became a freelance journalist in 2008. She has worked as a reporter and in communications, focusing on social media. She currently works as a community information officer with Epilepsy Society, while pursuing her writing career at the same time.

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Expert Advice: Shannon Swenson | Vice President of Franchise Development | Dave’s Hot Chicken

The Services and Strategies

Entrepreneurs Need to Grow Their Business – it can help the entire franchise system grow, so it benefits both the owner and the franchisor by offering robust processes and systems, as well as for the franchisor and franchisee to work closely together as partners in growing a brand. In fact, offering franchisees assistance can help build their trust in you, since it becomes apparent that you have their best interests, in addition to your own, in mind.

I’ve listed out five practices that, as a franchisor, you should seriously consider offering to your brand’s franchise owners if you want your system to grow.

Constant Communication Shannon Swenson

It can be difficult to effectively scale your business as an individual owner without the support of a broader network.

Despite an individual’s strengths or skills, entrepreneurs often need solutions that are tailored to their situation and represent best practices, so they are not reinventing the wheel.

When individual franchisees grow their own business – whether that be through higher profits, owning more locations, etc.

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Recent events have made it abundantly clear that executive teams must be communicating with their entire franchise system as often as they can. No one ever knows when a crisis may emerge, which makes it a priority to have great communication practices in place. Your communications team should be prepared with statements for nearly any kind of emergency that can take place and ready to answer the questions or quell the fears of concerned franchise owners.

However, regular communication shouldn’t just be for big challenges. It’s important that you’re communicating with franchisees during big wins, too, such as if last quarter boasted strong sales or if you’ve signed a large number of new franchisees recently. Good news can be a big morale booster and show to franchisees

that their investment is paying off.

While a mass email to all the franchisees can work, email can sometimes feel too distant. Checking in with franchisees individually via phone calls can be a pleasant surprise for them and lead to communication where all concerns can be addressed right away. Video conferences can be used in a similar fashion.

Communication doesn’t have to just be between franchisees and the corporate team either. It can be very beneficial to encourage communication amongst franchise owners. This creates a collaborative environment amongst their peers, which can lead to new ideas and initiatives being created. Plus, a franchisee might receive better and more helpful feedback from someone else who has been in a similar situation.

A Collaborative Approach It’s essential that franchisors work with franchisees in a collaborative spirit.

Franchisees are in the daily trenches of operations and have a variety of experiences that can provide great insights for a growing a brand.

Letting franchisees know that they can voice comments or concerns whenever they want is also important. You want to encourage a collaborative relationship with franchisees, rather than coming off as a dictator making all the decisions without their feedback.

“Recent events have made it abundantly clear that executive teams must be communicating with their entire franchise system as often as they can. No one ever knows when a crisis may emerge, which makes it a priority to have great communication practices in place.”

Most franchisees come from decades of operational experience, and are often part of other franchise concepts where they’ve honed their craft over the years. These franchisees can provide great ideas for new procedures, cutting costs, marketing and other aspects of the business. It’s important that franchisors listen to franchisees’ ideas for the further benefit of the system as a whole. This can often be done through creating counsels specific to different topics (such as marketing, operations, etc.) and inviting franchisees with knowledge in those areas to join them.

National conferences can also be a great avenue to connect franchisees together as well as develop the franchisor-franchisee relationship in sharing ideas. These can be fun events held in different cities, but ultimately the goal is idea sharing and rallying excitement around the concept.

Throughout the year, having system-wide contests for best idea submissions to even get managers involved can be a great way to encourage sharing of ideas amongst the whole system.

“Your communications team should be prepared with statements for nearly any kind of emergency that can take place and ready to answer the questions or quell the fears of concerned franchise owners.”

Franchisors should foster this culture of sharing ideas and feedback, as well as showing franchisees they are listening by implementing shared concepts for the greater good of the system.

Proactive Franchisor Many franchisors operate in a reactive approach rather than a proactive one, which can leave a system in a state of chaos, especially when trying times hit. Our current situation in 2020 so far is a prime example of the hospitality industry being hit with a scenario that no one could have predicted or known how to be prepared for.

Franchisees look to the franchisor to guide them effectively through difficult times. There were franchisors who reacted quickly to match nationwide policies of

closing in-restaurant dining and focusing on takeout and delivery for the safety of their guests and employees. They were able to stay ahead of the curve and still drive some level of business to meet their guests’ needs.

While the case in 2020 was a severe scenario for the hospitality industry, there will always be changing times and instances that could affect franchises, meaning it’s important that franchisors know how to work through moments of crisis and guide their franchisees on what to do.

Focus on Employees Your employees are the face and culture of your brand. They are who interact face-toface with your guests and create the guest

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Expert Advice: Shannon Swenson | Vice President of Franchise Development | Dave’s Hot Chicken

experience. The happiness and satisfaction of your employees is a direct reflection on how your concept will be delivered.

Many concepts miss this connection, and forget that they need to be focused on their employees’ satisfaction just as much as they need to be on their guests’ satisfaction. Sure, you can pay employees minimum wage with no incentives, but at what expense? Low morale, low satisfaction, poor guest interactions and higher turnover.

Ultimately, the costs of higher training due to turnover way offset the expense of incentivizing and keeping happy employees. Think of your employees as the driving force of your brand and your revenue, and realize the importance of incentivizing the front line for your guests’ experience. Higher wages than the competition will cause employees to choose to stay with you, meaning lower turnover.

Figuring out incentives that employees

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desire, such as a four-day work week, flexible schedules around schooling, health insurance, paid maternity and sales contests, can really set you apart from the competition and create loyal employees.

This, in turn, creates loyal customers.

Give Back Initiatives Partnering with charities or nonprofits to donate services or funds is a great way to grow through community good will as well. A giveback initiative can build respect and a good reputation in the local communities that franchised locations serve, and a good reputation often leads to more business. The relationships your brand can form with prominent members of the community is an invaluable resource as well.

Employees will want to work for someone who does good as well. Employees and staff live in the local community that the businesses they work for serve, and being a part of a brand that makes a positive

impact can be a huge morale booster.

These are just five of the strategies and services that, as a franchisor, can lead to serious returns and help your brand grow, especially those that empower others.

It’s important to keep in mind that your company doesn’t have a direct impact on just its employees, but also the customers and others found in the local community.

Understanding this impact can help you make the right decisions that grow your business.

Shannon Swenson is the vice president of franchise development at Dave’s Hot Chicken, a Nashville Hot Chicken concept based in Los Angeles, a role she has held since 2019. She has more than 15 years of experience in franchise development, and has worked for brands such as Images 4 Kids, Twin Peaks Restaurants and Salsarita’s Fresh Mexican Grill, where she has supported both corporate and franchise growth. www.daveshotchicken.com

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Expert Advice: Bill McPherson | Vice President of Franchise Development | AlphaGraphics

Demand for Personalized Business Services Has Never Been Higher

If you’re thinking of investing in a franchise business, it can be tempting to look for the next big thing. A trendy product or service might be a big draw for aspiring business owners, but trends also come with risks.

Ask yourself what happens when that trend’s popularity wanes. You might find

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yourself owning a business with little to no demand, as well as lack of support from the franchisor.

Is it possible to be on the cutting edge of an industry even if the brand or service is tried and true? For example, now is a great time to invest in a business services franchise. Companies of all types and sizes need help with marketing, financial management, manufacturing, distribution, technology and more.

Due to developing technology and demands of business owners and key management personnel, the business services market space is full of innovations and advances. This gives potential

franchise owners a forward-looking business model in high demand.

A Changing Landscape With convenience culture on the rise, the lines between B2B and B2C service expectations are changing. Business decision-makers are busier than ever before. They want the online convenience they require in their daily lives, but with the personal feel of dealing with a local business owner. They want a great product, great customer service, and they want to leverage technology. We also see a high propensity of customers who want a onestop expert provider in the community.

“Don’t forget you’re a critical part of your team, and its vital to understand how every single person on your team works in order to succeed.”

support of the franchise network, they are positioned to achieve just the right mix of personal and convenient.

Finding the Balance With proven training and support of a franchise system, offering business services is attractive to people from nearly any professional background. However, those who choose to open business services franchises tend to come from previous careers in the corporate world, bringing with them a high-level of management, technology and networking skills.

Community involvement and networking are key in business services. Through networking, the franchise owner is established as a trusted, local service provider and creates relationships with B2B decision-makers.

With the support of the franchise’s technology and online systems, business services franchisees offer convenient ordering and fast turnaround times while still developing real-world relationships with clients.

Room for Growth As Altimeter Group principal analyst Brian Solis recently said: Business buyers don’t go to work and forget what they do as humans. There’s a new normal that blurs the line between B2B and B2C. They just want things personalized.

More successful companies are looking and prioritizing things like understanding customers’ evolving behaviors and preferences to design more meaningful engagement opportunities.

Due to this shift, B2B service providers are finding a balance between on-demand, digital convenience and personalized customer service. Because franchise location owners are backed by the

The upside is that the relationship-driven nature of a business services franchise also makes it easily scalable. The B2B networking sales model tends to attract referrals and repeat clients. You can take a single unit and grow the business through deeper marketing alone.

The technology available through a franchise enhances scalability even further.

Embracing technology is key in business services today, giving quicker turnaround times and better levels of conveniencebased customer service. Technology is constantly changing and evolving, giving franchise owners, with the help and support of the franchisor, the ability to stay on the cutting edge of innovations in their field.

Bill McPherson

They Want it Yesterday Across all industries, customers seem to want and expect goods and services “yesterday.” B2B buyers are no different.

With innovations, efficiencies, new products and enhanced services rolling out consistently, and a changing customer base to keep up with, a business services model opportunity is an exciting one.

It’s an industry where people of diverse backgrounds and skillsets can find fulfilment and financial success. And even better, the demand for these services is here to stay.

Bill McPherson is vice president of franchise development at AlphaGraphics, one of the largest U.S.based networks of locally-owned and operated Business Centers, offering a complete range of print, visual communications and marketing products and solutions.

For more information about AlphaGraphics services, visit www.alphagraphics.com To learn about franchise opportunities, visit www.alphagraphicsfranchise.com

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Expert Advice: Jeff Brazier | VP of Franchise Development | Kiddie Academy Educational Childcare

The Strategies Franchisees Need to Grow Their Business “Take advantage of your franchisor’s reliable corporate support system with experts in real estate, construction, training, operations, finance, business analysis, education, marketing and technology.” create a system for its franchise owners to follow and have made the costly mistakes that come with creating a business so you don’t have to. As the franchise owner, it’s your responsibility to apply the tools and techniques given to you to build your business.

Jeff Brazier

Being a successful entrepreneur is rarely a matter of luck. It’s most often the result of hard work and being smart about the strategies and services you use to help your business grow.

But if you’ve opted into franchise ownership, you shouldn’t have to look far to find help.

Your corporate support team can provide you with resources and guidance in many of the areas that are critical to your success. It’s the job of the franchisor to

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Here are some of the crucial areas I encourage my franchisees to focus on while building a successful business: • Plan Strategically – Success isn’t the result of a random spin of the wheel of fortune. Successful entrepreneurs make a detailed plan and stick to it. Identify your business’s current position, where you want your business to be a year from now, how you’re going to get there and how to deal with anticipated challenges.

• Make Good Hires – Hiring the right people is important to building a successful franchise. Your current staff and even your customers can be good referral sources for finding the right employees. You want to bring in qualified people who also add complementary strengths to others who are already working there. A good hire becomes productive faster and is likely to stay with you longer.

• Create a Positive Culture –

Good leaders create cultures that people want to be a part of. Selecting people with the skills you need is important, but you also want people who will be a good fit within the culture you’re trying to build. You want your franchise to reflect your values, so the people you add to your team should share those same values. It should be a place of transparency, trust and commitment, a place where employees feel empowered, valued and are excited to come to work each day. When your employees are happy, your customers are happy.

• Create Outstanding Customer Experiences – Everything you do should be done with the customer in mind. You want to make people feel like they made the right decision to select your business.

Be sure to offer numerous opportunities to engage and build great relationships with your customers and within your community. If your customers are pleased with the relationships and service they get from you and your staff, they’re more likely to recommend your business to others.

• Trust Your Advisors – Part of your overall strategy should be building a network of experts you can rely on for support and advice. Take advantage

of your franchisor’s reliable corporate support system with experts in real estate, construction, training, operations, finance, business analysis, education, marketing and technology. Having inhouse experts a call away is essential to provide business owners the help they need or direct them to a trusted source where you can find it.

• Communication is Key – Good communication skills are the key to success in all aspects of life, including work. This includes being able to effectively communicate with not only your staff, but with your franchisor. When you take the time to acquire and hone good communication skills you open yourself up to better business relationships. You’ll also be able to reach higher levels of mutual understanding and cooperation amongst your colleagues which will allow you to successfully attain your goals.

• Avoid the Status Quo – The common saying “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” will get an entrepreneur in trouble.

When enjoying success, small subtle

“Your franchisor has a tried and true support system to help its franchisees through tough decisions to bolster business and keep franchisees from losing sight of essential business strategies it needs to thrive.”

changes could have large impacts while also preparing your business for the future. This could be anything from training your staff and streamlining your processes to investing in marketing and other smaller projects. Even though it may seem counterintuitive to make these types of investments when your business is booming as a result you’ll be better equipped to handle challenges that may arise in the future.

It takes hard work and determination to keep a business in peak shape it’s important to keep the basics in mind to set your business apart from others. Your franchisor has a tried and true support system to help its franchisees through tough decisions to bolster business and keep franchisees from losing sight of essential business strategies it needs

to thrive. When searching for the ideal franchise company to support your entrepreneurial goals, be sure to align with a company that will nurture all aspects of your business, no matter how small.

Jeff Brazier joined the Kiddie Academy franchise development team in 2016. In his role as VP of Franchise Development, he works closely with franchise candidates to guide them through our franchise discovery process. Jeff has over 16 years of business development experience. Brazier began his career in the sports industry, with an emphasis on baseball, where he transitioned into business development. Jeff holds a BS from Towson University and MS from California University of PA. kiddieacademyfranchising.com

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