Panchero's Mexican Grill, an Iowa-based  franchise company, was recently honored with two awards - including first place in the new Social Media category - and was recognized for its excellence in lead generation, recruitment, and industry-wide best practices in franchising. I remember running into Panchero's on Twitter last year. I think I may have been prodded along by fellow franchise professional, Rush Nigut, an interesting and engaging franchise attorney out of the Hawkeye state. (Ru... Read Full Story

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalebdf/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 As you sit at your table, laptop at ready-mode, enjoying your favorite hot beverage, beware; The bitly url shortening police are within WiFi range... TechCrunch is reporting that Panera Bread has blocked all bit.ly url shortening links from users who happen to be using Panera’s free WiFi. I guess that Panera corporate is getting worried about something. These are the worrisome things that come to my mind; A laptop-wielding customer co... Read Full Story

Just in time for Veterans Day.... We have a winner! A few months ago, a great contest was announced here, as well on some other sites and blogs;  "The Maid Brigade Veterans Franchise Giveaway, is a program that willaward more than $1.5 million in business ownership opportunities to 100+ veterans, creating more than 1,000 jobs nationwide."Well, a winner was just chosen! It's Major Philip Piaget, of Crestview, Florida. Congrats, major! Bronze Star Medal with Valor Winner. Recipient of a Pu... Read Full Story

                                    I met Paul Segreto either on Twitter or Facebook, I'm not quite sure. I saw that he was doing some fairly intelligent musings concerning social media in the franchise industry, and I reached out to him.We got to Tweeting back and forth a tad, and found that we shared some strong similarities; We were both non-International Franchise Association members We agreed on which franchisors were good, and which ones were weak, at best Both of our names ended in... Read Full Story

This weeks advice is for prospective franchise business owners;You're probably hearing that it's a little tough to get a commercial start-up loan these days. It may not be easy, but big banks are not the only sources of capital for your new business. Try a community bank, or even consider borrowing money from yourself. Read Full Story

Once in awhile, we get kudos from people that we didn't know how much we helped, either professionally, or personally. As someone who helps people change things around, career-wise, it's visually easy to see the impact I can make. I can attend the Grand-Opening's of their new businesses, and see the joy in their eyes. I can also see the community support, as local politicians, and even other small business owners attend these ceremonies. (This picture is from the Just-A Buck Grand Opening ... Read Full Story

I keep hearing that the US economy is showing signs of improvement. But, where am I hearing that? Cable news networks Some newspapers Some small business owners  I'm also hearing the opposite. I'm hearing some negative economic news from; Local franchisees Sales managers Auto dealers Family friends Who should I believe? Should I believe; Millionaire news anchors Millionaire business owners Politicians (Some millionaire's there too, by the way) Or should I believe folks that; May be on th... Read Full Story

              If you are an executive, or even the owner of a franchise concept, don't worry about all the buzz around social media. Don't pressure yourself into doing social media, just because a growing number of other franchisors have started getting their feet wet. Just keep doing what you're doing. I'm sure that you are totally euphoric about your current franchise marketing successes... Being the Community Promotions Director for a powerful and influential website like Small Busines... Read Full Story

Canada has a thriving franchise industry, and a Canadian franchise attorney Tony Wilson points out 3 advantages of franchise ownership; Training in the business model. "They're training you to use their system; training is a huge component in franchising," Wilson says.  Access to a trademark and brand advertising. "That's what franchisees should expect -- to get the benefit of the brand."  Joint purchasing power. "If you're in a buying group with 16 other restaurants, you're going to g... Read Full Story

A Reva Reva has more all-electric vehicles on the road than any other company, but it still has a long haul before it can make the vehicles marketable for the masses. However, last month, the company won a huge and important stamp of approval when GM said it would use Reva’s technology in the electric version of its Chevrolet Spark, a small car whose conventional petrol version GM sells here already. The electric version of the Spark is expected to go on sale in India by the end of next yea... Read Full Story