Veterans in franchising October 2016

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Veterans in Franchising october 2016

www.franchisingusamagazine.com

Boulder ÂŽ Designs Inspired to Support Active

Military and Veterans

technology strategy as a competitive advantage

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SAME DRIVE. DIFFERENT BATTLEFIELD. TAKE THE NEXT STEP > VETFRAN.COM OFFERING FINANCIAL SUPPORT, TRAINING & MENTORSHIP Veterans interested in franchising can take their skills learned in the military to successfully own and develop small businesses. Learn more and support veterans in franchising at www.vetfran.com.

• 650 franchise companies participating • 151,000 veterans and their spouses found careers in the franchise industry • 5,100 veteran franchise owners

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Veterans in Franchising Supplement o c to b e r 2 0 1 6 Our Veterans in Franchising special supplement has become a regular feature of Franchising USA. To share your story in the next issue, please contact Vikki Bradbury, Publisher Phone: 778 426 2446 Email: vikki@cgbpublishing.com

Contents On the Cover

Profiles

Border Magic / Boulder Designs

56 Bottle & Bottega

Cover Story

60 AVR Van Rental

54 Boulder Designs Inspired to Support

Active Military and Veterans

News and Expert Advice 58 Technology Strategy as a Competitive Advantage

Donovan Foster, CIO & Principal Consultant, Brinex Franchising USA

V e t er ans in Fr anchising

C over S tor y - Boulder Desig ns

Boulder Designs In A Boulder Designs donation, total weight including the legs is 7,500 lbs

Mogavero standing next to on

®

to Support Active Military and While growing up in Lake County, Florida, Butch Mogavero liked it when Uncle Claude came around because he was a positive influence.

“He would tell me stories about his experiences in the Navy and Sheriff’s department, which, to me, seemed filled with adventure and good deeds. Maybe that’s why I liked being around him.”

Uncle Claude, known around Lake County as Major Claude Alenn Gnann, served as a flight navigator aboard the USS Independence in Vietnam. After a successful Navy career, he came back to Florida where he made a name for himself.

In his obituary, published July 31, 2005 in the Orlando Sentinel, his friends described him as a homespun boy done good.

During his 27 years at the Lake County Sheriff’s Department, Gnann rose from jail administrator to second-in-command.

He ran the first SWAT team in the county and would sleep in his truck to be closer to

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the action. He listened to his scanner and would show up at emergencies unexpected.

He would even change light bulbs for the elderly.

much respect for both Uncle Claude and Aunt Lyndia that when they came to visit, I did not want them to know about anything bad I’d been doing.”

Gnann’s younger sister and Mogavero’s aunt, Candy Noblin, recalls him being bigger than life. “Everyone who knew Claude loved him. He was the calm when things got nasty and mean.”

It was during his years at the Sheriff’s department that Mogavero would see Uncle Claude and his wife, Aunt Lyndia, four or five times a year. “When I picture him, he is wearing his flight jacket. I remember that jacket being very important to him,” says Mogavero. Gnann died in 2005 at the age of 55. He was buried with his beloved flight jacket.

Mogavero wishes his uncle were alive today to see how the good things he’s doing. Mogavero owns Boulder Designs® and Border Magic® franchise companies.

He purchased the companies in 2015 and relocated corporate headquarters to Waco, Texas from Rantoul, Illinois. In a year’s time, Mogavero built a team of experienced, franchise professionals who helped him transition the business from Illinois to Texas. The team also negotiated licensing and partnership deals, began overhauling marketing and grew the Waco corporate team. Most importantly, they supported existing owners including planning and executing the first annual Boulder Designs / Border Magic Franchise Reunion in Waco. Remarkably, during that same timeframe, 50 new franchises were sold.

Before his death, he once came to visit Mogavero with a football in hand, and during another visit, he taught Mogavero to shoot a double barrel gun. “I had so

As the name implies, Border Magic franchisees provide property owners concrete edging to landscapes in a variety of shapes, patterns and colors.

Noblin remembers once when her brother was called to get a possum out of a home.

“Claude caught it by the tail, got it out of the house, then let it go because he did not want to kill it.”

nspired

ne of four 15,900-pound gateway signs

d Veterans

Boulder Designs franchise owners build customized, concrete boulders for commercial signage, in landscapes, pet memorials, fire pits and other applications.

Veterans who are artistic, creative and enjoy working with their hands are especially attracted to the two franchise companies because of the originality of each project and because of the customer service opportunities the businesses provide. Veterans receive discounts off ongoing royalties as well as the franchise fee.

With his uncle’s influence etched in memory, Mogavero made a concerted commitment to active military and veterans since becoming a franchisor.

Franchisors Butch and Robin Mogavero, Boulder Designs and Border Magic

“With his uncle’s influence etched in memory, Mogavero made a concerted commitment to active military and veterans since becoming a franchisor.” built and donated a 6,000-pound boulder anchored by two flag poles for the grand reopening of the Heart of Texas Veterans One Stop’s new location in Waco, Texas.

A first of its kind in the United States, the nonprofit organization provides veterans and their families a facility where a variety of fundamental services — legal, employment, counseling, for example — can be accessed at one location.

In February 2016, as part of the International Franchise Association’s Franchising Gives Back, Boulder Designs designed, built and donated a 3,500-pound boulder that is used as the primary sign at the Warrior and Family Support Center at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio.

Mogavero was so impressed with Kevin Zimmerman, a veteran and inspirational speaker who delivered the keynote at the Veterans One Stop re-grand opening, Mogavero booked him for Border Magic and Boulder Designs’ Annual Franchise Reunion, which is slated for November 10-12. Since Veterans Day is smack in the middle of the Reunion, it’s appropriate that Zimmerman will speak on November 11, which happens to be the day Gnann was born.

Then in July 2016 to kick-off the 4th of July weekend, Boulder Designs designed,

“It was not until recently that I learned Uncle Claude’s birthday was on Veterans

Major Claude Allen Gnann

Day,” said Mogavero. “The man keeps surprising me even in his death.”

Mogavero says his uncle made a positive impact on many, many people. Three years after Gnann’s death, the Florida Legislature designated the section of State Highway 44 from County Road 46A east to the Volisia County line the “Major Claude A. Gnann Hwy” during the 2008 Legislative Session.

The influence Gnann had on Mogavero is stronger today than ever, says Mogavero.

“It was a crap-shoot as to what kind of person I’d be — a hell-raiser or a successful entrepreneur. Uncle Claude showed me that I could not go wrong by doing what’s right. I give him a lot of credit for who I am today.” www.boulderdesigns.net

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B ot tle & B ot tega

Military Veteran Paints a New Future with

Bottle & Bottega

During his five years of active service, Air Force veteran Jason Prete solidified the foundation for a long-term career in the aviation industry.

He learned the importance of a strong team dynamic and how success is best defined by working towards shared goals.

Nineteen years later, this same notion is setting the foundation for success in his newest mission: franchising.

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“Much like the camaraderie of a platoon, Jason and Vicki have experienced first-hand the familylike, team effort approach that Bottle & Bottega instills within its franchisee network.�

A Military Beginning When Jason was just seventeen years

old, the senior in high school pledged a

commitment to himself and his country to serve in the United States Air Force.

Jason served in the Air Force as an aircraft mechanic from 1992-1997, during which he spent time in Arkansas and three

years working with transient aircraft at the Ramstein Air Base in southwestern Germany.

Piloting a New Business After serving in the military and pursuing various roles within the aviation industry in Cleveland, including his current role with United Airlines, Jason and his wife,

“After doing their research, Vicki and Jason learned that the Bottle & Bottega franchise was a proud member of VetFran, an initiative through the International Franchise Association that connects qualified veterans with franchising opportunities that play to their strengths.”

Bottega offered a discounted franchise fee for all veteran franchisees. Upon their findings, Jason and Vicki knew it was the perfect business opportunity for them to pursue.

Navigating Success

Vicki, have now decided to add another destination to their business itinerary – by opening up an innovative art and wine concept in the western suburbs of Cleveland.

For the Pretes, one intersect they’ve noticed between the military and establishing a franchise has been the team support. Much like the camaraderie of a

platoon, Jason and Vicki have experienced first-hand the family-like, team effort approach that Bottle & Bottega instills within its franchisee network. Each extension of the franchise network wants the others to succeed.

Together, Vicki and Jason are experiencing the amount of time, work and passion that small business owners must put into establishing and running their own businesses.

With an enlightened sense of appreciation for the entrepreneurial spirit and the dedication and devotion of local commerce, Jason and Vicki have big plans ahead for their Bottle & Bottega studio, including the launch of mobile events this month and hosting military appreciation events in the future. www.bottleandbottega.com

Jason and Vicki had been looking for a business opportunity that would allow them to have a little bit more control over their future and how they spend their time.

Vicki, an application developer and an owner of a number of network marketing companies, already knew the formula for managing an independent business. It was just a matter of time until the right opportunity presented itself.

After Vicki and Jason attended a paintand-sip class, the positive and relaxing experience piqued her curiosity about the business aspect of the concept – and whether it was worth an investment.

After doing their research, Vicki and Jason learned that the Bottle & Bottega franchise was a proud member of VetFran, an initiative through the International Franchise Association that connects qualified veterans with franchising opportunities that play to their strengths.

They also soon discovered that to show gratitude for their service, Bottle &

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Donovan Foster, CIO, Principal Consultant, Brinex

Technology Strategy

as a Competitive Advantage

Many entrepreneurs rarely think of the possibilities of aligning the IT strategy with the organizations main objectives.

Information technology is changing the way companies operate. Many CEO’s think the “IT guy/vendors” role is to keep the lights on and simply make it work. However, one of the best ways to strengthen organizational strategy and thereby create a measurable competitive edge is to consider how technology permeates each aspect of the business and how best to utilize it.

Start from the Top… Bring IT to the Table All strategy must start from the Board and CEO and cascade on down. This means bringing IT to the table (the board or the

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executive table) as part of those strategic sessions and tactical decisions. As changes occur in a company’s strategic direction, so should the technology impact be considered by bringing senior IT personnel or vendors into the discussion.

Understandably, in today’s market with outsourced Managed Service Providers (MSP), most small businesses don’t have an “IT Department”, but they have vendors that provide or manage the technology book of business. For the small and medium sized businesses with a constrained budget, hiring a Virtual CIO (Chief Information Officer) can offer that senior level strategic mindset.

Yearly, or as the strategic landscape changes, start by requesting a meeting with your senior most IT vendor or personnel.

Discuss your company’s strategy and work to help them understand how the plans for the next 6 to 18 months will affect the organization. Their goal will be to

help you understand how technologies, processes, or personnel/products/vendors can help achieve those goals in a cost effective and efficient manner.

Keep IT Simple – Protect, Enhance, and Innovate!

No matter the industry or business size, technology can benefit and strengthen an organization in three areas; protecting the organization, enhancing the organizations capabilities, and facilitating innovation.

Each areas projects come with priorities that need to be addressed, funded, and enabled to propel the organization.

Splitting them out into these categories will help CEO’s measure where time is spent and efforts for return on investment can be realized.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery In recent years, there is one fact that has

“Alone Information Technology does not provide the competitive advantage; it’s the way the organization utilizes technologies throughout the organization that makes the difference.” customers. CEO’s should seek out effective Cyber Security firms or a Virtual CISCO (Chief Information Security Officer) to deploy Security Awareness Training at least bi-annually and during the onboarding process. Setting the priority of security in the organization from the CEO on down will keep it at the forefront of vendor conversations and employees day to day operations thereby protecting the organization.

Training, Cost, and Efficiency Gains – Enhance The Organization

been realized fortunately for many and unfortunately for others: The strength of an organization can be crippled by a single event, whether a cyber-attack or natural disaster.

Focusing the IT department solely on protecting the organization will not suffice in elevating your competitive advantage. However, this is the primary focus of over 70% of the IT personnel and vendors. Developing a Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) plan is paramount to sustaining business in a crisis. The outcome from the exercise should be revised and tested at least once a year. In the middle of a crisis, having this plan can mean the continuation of your business and beating out the competition when they are struggling to come out of the crisis.

Security Awareness Training Even small to midsized organizations need to address security. Every employee and vendor needs to understand the impact, importance of security to the enterprise, and their own role in helping to protect the employees, owners and board, and

One constant remains in all companies.

Employees will find a way to complete their duties with whatever tools they have at their disposal… even if the tools are inadequate or outdated.

Letting IT personnel/vendors bridge the gap with modern solutions and training can provide multiple efficiency gains and a return on investment for each employee and cost center. First, the IT personnel/ vendor will gain in-depth understanding of your businesses processes at a whole new level. Second, there will be an increase in communication between those who need the efficiency and training gains with those that can provide multiple alternatives in areas that may not have been considered previously using technology. And finally, conversely business people will understand the use of information technology to gain a competitive advantage as they become aware of tools, processes, and products to address business problems.

Innovation Time Some of the best organizations have leapt forward by providing “innovation time”. Small and medium sized business find it hard to carve out this time yet, the importance can be seen in some of the most innovative companies in a wide array of industries. With technology advances

Donovan Foster

coming into the market, the overwhelming challenge of keeping up to date can cripple an organization into doing nothing to upgrade or enhance their products, processes, or training thereby losing any competitive advantage that started the company.

Defining specific innovation time periods (Weekly, Monthly, or Quarterly), coupled with partnering the business with your technology personnel or vendors during these times, will yield a competitive edge that may be realized from within the organization or an outside resource. Without this focused time, the organization can start lagging behind the competition in lieu of doing what small businesses do…. Lead the competition.

Understand the Integration The rapid change in technology innovation provides multiple avenues for protecting the organization, achieving efficiency gains, and providing the organization with a competitive edge. However, alone Information Technology does not provide the competitive advantage; it’s the way the organization utilizes technologies throughout the organization that makes the difference.

Donovan Foster is CIO, Principal Consultant, at Brinex an Information Technology and CIO Services company in St. Louis, Missouri. He serves as the Member At Large on the Board of Director for the Veterans Business Resource Center. He can be reached at Donovan.foster@brinex.com

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AV R Va n Rental

avr van rental announces

New Franchise Offering AVR Van Rental is thrilled to announce that starting today, there will be franchises available for purchase.

AVR is expanding throughout the United States and we are actively looking for entrepreneurs who share our passion, vision and leadership. Our expansion plans include new corporate locations as well as new franchise stores.

AVR is proud to be a progressive company, we are dedicated to providing the best customer experience possible. To put it simply, we listen to what our customers’ say. We use this feedback to guide our approach and strategic decisions. This fundamental principle has contributed to our rapid growth and culture. We have now expanded to 14 Corporate locations in 7 states. We were the first van rental company who expanded from Los Angeles to San Francisco, San Jose, Ontario, Orange County, Las Vegas, Sacramento and San Diego. Gradually we opened other locations at Denver, Portland, Houston, Indianapolis and Chicago.

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Our focus on renting vans to seat 7 to 15 passengers as well as Cargo and Wheelchair Accessible vans makes us unique. We look forward to the new franchise expansion efforts, while maintaining our core values of Providing Affordable Rates, Quality Vans, and Great Service!

Company founder and CEO, Yaz Irani, commented, “We look forward to adding our new franchisees into our growing business. We are proud to bring years of experience that will help our franchisees launch and successfully operate their AVR Van Rental Franchise. We believe this is a

rare opportunity and it will pass you by if you are not paying attention.”

We provide each franchisee the valuable support and training needed to succeed.

Our training will instill our core values and emphasize our mission. Our mission each and every day is to provide excellent customer service. We are the nationally recognized Van Rental Industry leader.

We’re fulfilling a major need by providing affordable rates, quality vans, and great service. And our customers nationwide agree! www.airportvanrental.com/franchise

FRANGUIDE.COM 703-424-2980 FIND YOUR FRANCHISE WITH FREE GUIDANCE FROM INDUSTRY EXPERTS