There was doggie day care and fast-food fondue. There was something called Monkey Joe’s play centers and Maggie Moo’s treateries, whose ice cream claims to be so fresh, it moos.
If you want to own a piece of it, chances are someone had it here at the West Coast Franchise Expo, a buyer’s bazaar of everything franchiseable. Last weekend’s trade show drew about 9,000 would-be franchise owners to the Los Angeles Convention Center in search of their ticket to small-business ownership.
“You have the opportunity to take a close look at something that could change your life,” said Richard Rennick, the expo’s opening-day speaker, who recently sold his nationwide franchise chain, American Leak Detection.
Rennick’s story is a familiar one in franchising. In 1974, he left a career in Southern California law enforcement to found American Leak and never looked back.
“It changed my life because I was in charge of my destiny. That was the whole thing behind it,” Rennick said, a self-described “old plumber” who’s now a consultant to new franchise buyers.
The convention floor resembled a giant grocery store where the aisles were stocked with businesses lined up for perusal by eager buyers.
Take The Dinner A’fare, the Atlanta-based “make-and-take gourmet” dinner outlets, which are the brainchild of Pollock Pines native Ken Wright and his wife, Stephanie. Unlike most franchisers, the couple are young _ he’s 28 and she’s 31 _ but already are on a fast track with one of the franchise industry’s hottest concepts _ gourmet meals-to-go prepared by the customer. Since 2004, they have opened 23 stores across the country, and have plans for five more in Southern California.
For franchisers, eyeballs are the name of the game here. Get seen. Get investors. Grow your business.
This year’s expo was targeted at military veterans looking to start a second career, ethnic minorities seeking entree into entrepreneurship and women taking the reins of their own livelihood. Among the incentives are discounted franchise fees and other training programs offered through the show’s sponsor, the International Franchise Association, a Washington, D.C.-based industry trade group.
Most franchise buyers are in their 40s or early 50s, said Greg Roquet, a Sacramento-based regional president at the Franchise Network, a brokerage that works with both franchise companies and individual franchisees.
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