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IFA:
The May 17 to 19 IFA Legal Symposium will provide franchise business executives and legal professionals answers to their legal and franchise relations questions.
The IBA/IFA Joint Conference May 19 to 20 will focus on the latest developments in international law.
Both conferences will be conducted at the J.W. Marriott in Washington, D.C. Find program and registration information under “Events.”
As with any other business, one of the most important elements of a franchise start-up is writing a business plan. A business plan forces you to anticipate and answer a number of questions about the challenges you’ll face and the expectations you have for your new business.
The creation of your business plan is also essential if you’re going to need financing from third-party sources, since this is probably the first document they’re going to ask you for.
Preparing a business plan is substantially easier with a franchise than it is for an independent business start-up since there is so much information already available. During the sales process, the franchisor typically supplies you with a great deal of verbiage you can use to create the narrative portions of the business plan. You can also often find much of the financial information you’ll need in the earnings representations of their disclosure documents.
Angry Wizard franchisees are gearing up for legal action against their new owner, Aussie Home Loans, and GE Money, the finance giant that sold them to Aussie last year.
At least 35 Wizard branches are consulting top law firm Maurice Blackburn for advice on suing GE and/or Aussie for compensation and to overturn what they regard as unfair terms forced on them during the sale.
Wizard franchisees signed new three-year and five-year agreements as recently as December last year, but last month they were told that they had until April 28 to sign up with Aussie, otherwise their agreements would be terminated.
They were also told that unless they signed with Aussie, they would be subject to a “non-compete” clause that would stop them from doing any business for 12 months.
“We have not had enough time to make other arrangements,” said one franchisee.
“I could have tried to get another franchise up and running with, say, Mortgage Choice or another large broker. But now I’m being told I can’t do any business for 12 months, anyway.”
The Dairy Queen in Sauble Beach, a southern Ontario holiday town on the shores of Lake Huron, has been a summer mecca for 50 years. So when the long-standing owner decided to retire at the end of 2007 and put the franchise up for sale, Shelley Buckton and her husband, Bev, saw an opportunity.
They scooped it up, mortgaging their home in Newmarket, north of Toronto, to purchase the business and its real estate.
“Both of us spent our childhoods at Sauble Beach, and the DQ was always part of its simple charm,” says Shelley, a former senior executive with Technicolor Canada. “Put on the flip flops, hop on the bike, buy a cone for a couple of bucks and kill a half an hour hanging out.” It’s one thing, however, to decide to buy a business. It’s quite another to become expert in its operations – especially when dealing with a franchise, where success means not only pleasing customers, but also meeting head-office expectations.For the Bucktons, a key first issue was negotiating the royalty they would pay to Dairy Queen. Read on…
Photo: Rick Chard.
The corporate owner of a half-dozen Sonny’s Real Pit Bar-B-Q franchises in metro Atlanta is close to emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, some six months after filing for protection.
A federal judge in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Atlanta this week approved Greater Atlanta Bar-B-Q LLC’s disclosure statement, paving the way for the Newnan-based company to seek creditors’ approval of its reorganization plan.
The court deadline for approval of the plan is April 20. Sonny’s has restaurants in Marietta, Lawrenceville, Athens, Conyers, Buford and Jonesboro.
Together, the franchises employ some 260 people.
The plan proposes restructured payments to secured creditors such as Sysco Food Services, which is owed $392,000. Unsecured creditors could receive 50 percent payment over a three-year period, according to the plan.
Coffee Beanery franchisees Richard Welshans and Deborah Williams have filed a lawsuit against the attorney and law firm responsible for preparing the franchise disclosure document which they relied on in purchasing their franchise in 2003.
They allege the franchisor’s legal counsel knew that the Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (under a new FTC upgrade, it is now called the Franchise Disclosure Document) was in violation of Maryland’s franchise law because it failed to disclose required information and misstated certain facts. Filed in Maryland federal court by Harry M. Rifkin and the Franchise Business Law Group, the suit claims that in preparing the UFOC the firm omitted a felony conviction on one of Coffee Beanery’s officers, the differences between the mall traditional retail coffee store and other concepts, the gift card program, a contract it had with Pepsi and the mandatory DMX Remote Eyes and Music Program.
Further, the complaint states that at their arbitration hearing in February 2007, JoAnne Shaw, president of The Coffee Beanery, testified that Paul R. Fransway of Pear, Sperling, Eggan & Daniels prepared the disclosure documents provided to the franchisees and that they advised Coffee Beanery on what information to include and exclude. Shaw testified that her company relied on the advice the attorneys gave in preparing and registering the UFOC.
As part of its strategy to capitalize on the growth of the wholesale specialty coffee market and its strength as a premier roaster and distributor of the world’s finest coffees, Diedrich Coffee, Inc. today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement with Praise International North America, Inc., an affiliate of Gloria Jean’s Coffees International, for the sale of its Gloria Jean’s Coffees domestic franchise operations. Gloria Jean’s Coffees International holds the rights to the Gloria Jean’s Coffees brand for all international countries excluding the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
The sale of the Gloria Jean’s Coffees domestic franchise operations to Praise International North America includes a total of 102 franchise and company-operated locations in 24 states. The purchase price is approximately $3.1 million and the transaction is anticipated to close within 60 days. Terms of the sale include a five-year roasting agreement and rights to use the Gloria Jean’s Coffee brand names in perpetuity in the Company’s various wholesale business channels and Keurig K-cup product lines.
A successful Madison debut could be the launching pad for up to 659 MyMenu stores eventually within a 400-mile radius of Chicago.
The Canadian company opened five Madison area stores last summer in its first foray into the U.S. market. Despite the recession, Gary Decatur, president and chief operating officer of MyMenu and M&M Meats of Canada, said he’s pleased with the results.
“All of our stores right now are meeting or exceeding the goals we established for them,” he said. “We’re exceeding what we did in Canada.”
Decatur, who was in Madison this week for focus group meetings with customers, said he could not provide sales figures because the stores have been open less than a year. The company also opened three MyMenu stores last September in Fort Wayne, Ind.
MyMenu, which grew out of M&M Meat Shops in Canada, will launch a franchising system this year, Decatur said, adding that the stores will be in suburban areas and smaller strip malls.
He said MyMenu will hire two area franchise representatives who each will open two stores this year. Each franchise representative ultimately will open 50 stores. The Madison and Fort Wayne stores are company-owned.
MyMenu stores sell desserts and frozen prepared meals such as meat loaf, bacon-wrapped steaks or shepherd’s pie that can be heated in the oven or microwave. The stores are small with two rows of freezers and a counter between them.
Re/Max, a network of real estate agencies, has once again been named the leading real estate franchise business according to Entrepreneur Magazine’s 30th Annual “Franchise 500 Survey”. The company has announced that it has also been named the top real estate franchise in two other survey categories, namely Best Low-Cost Franchise and Top Global Franchise.
According to the information given, all companies in the rankings are evaluated by financial strength and stability, size, growth rate, start-up costs and financing options. These and other factors are entered into the Franchise 500 formula, with each eligible company receiving a cumulative score. Entrepreneur Magazine’s “Franchise 500 Survey” is the most comprehensive franchise ranking in the world and has, over the years, become the most accurate formula for identifying today’s top franchises.
In yet another example of how the computer and video gaming industry seems to be recession proof, retail video game chain Gamer Doc reported Wednesday that two of its franchisees will soon be opening additional stores.
The Newport Beach-based company said one of its franchisees plans to open another store in Los Angeles while its newest franchisee will open three more locations in Delaware. Jim Belanger, Gamer Doc’s president, noted in a statement that that, despite consumers spending less in today’s economy, his company’s sales have remained strong. The franchise’s results reflect results of fellow video game retailer GameStop, which Thursday reported its profits rose 22 percent on strong fourth quarter earnings, boosted by used game sales.
Since 2001, we've posted about 11079 different business opportunities and ideas, so you're sure to find something here to inspire you!
By Mark Welford, Dane Carlson and Cris Zimermann.
I strive to only list quality businesses opportunities. I will not knowingly promote junk bizops, and will actively take a stand against them.
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