Author: Paul Segreto

Passionate About Fueling Entrepreneurial Spirit; Entrepreneurship Coaching; Management & Development Advisory & Consulting; Franchises, Restaurants, Service Businesses; Thought Leader, Influencer, Content Creator & Author.

Acceler8Success Cafe Daily Tuesday 10.27.20

· 1 Comment ·

5 Best Business Ideas for 2021

There is no doubt that many entrepreneurs threw in the towel this year. The COVID-19 pandemic presented a flurry of challenges, from finding small business funding, short-term business closures, quarantines, and mask-wearing to sharp declines in storefront traffic and more. Despite all of this, the data shows that 2021 will be a great time to go into business for yourself. Let’s take a look at some trends shaping new businesses next year and five of the best entrepreneurial ideas for capitalizing on them. 

Read more…

Entrepreneurship Finds Roots in Families, Reveals GEM Report

Worldwide, 75% of entrepreneurs and 81% of established business owners are entrepreneurs, co-owning or managing their businesses with family members, according to the latest Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) Family Entrepreneurship Report, co-sponsored by Babson College. The report also reveals traditional views of the founder as a lone genius may not be the case. Family members, whether parents and their children, siblings, cousins, or spouses, are finding strength and success building companies together.

Read more…

Interested in selling your business? Or possibly, buying a business. Well, Empire Business Brokers and Advisors of Texas can help. Working with current and aspiring entrepreneurs, investment groups, privately-held companies and family-owned businesses, representing both sellers and buyers, the Empire team offers a suite of business brokerage and advisory services including valuations, commercial financing, franchise sales and many others.

More info…

Entrepreneurship Lessons That I Learned Amidst The Global Pandemic

Entrepreneurship can be a tough and long journey for most of us, but it surely is a fulfilling one. More often than not, it’s a journey of perseverance, self-discovery and it’s an open secret that no year has been as testing as 2020. The world was presented with a huge unforeseen problem with no apparent solution: an ever-changing pandemic forcing global business communities at large to pause in confusion, panic, and distress.

Read more…

Keep The Faith In Small Business

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of business closings peaked at around a quarter of a million at the end of 2008 but returned to pre-recession levels by the end of 2011. Nearly as many new companies were started in 2012 as in 2006.  And even in this year of a pandemic, the country has recently seen tens of thousands of new business starts each week. The 36th week of this year saw over 101,000 new starts, nearly double the same week in 2019.

Read more…

Franchise Foundry represents a number of quick service restaurant (QSR) brands realizing year-over-year sales increases.- Low initial investment – Funding support- Site selection assistance- Small real estate footprint- Support & training- Multi-unit opportunities- Multi-brand opportunities.

Learn more…

What is a Strategic Plan and Why You Need One

When you are starting or running your business, you need to have a plan that ties your current state to where you want to go. That plan cannot just detail the things you will do, but it must follow a strategy that sets you apart given the market conditions you are facing. One way to think about strategic planning is that it identifies any gaps between a current state and desired future state, and then dictates how to close those gaps – how to get you from where you are to where you want to be. To that end, various factors are taken into consideration in order to formulate an effective plan.

Read more…

Mark Cuban: These are the 2 books I’m reading right now

Self-made billionaire Mark Cuban has consistently attributed his success, in part, to his devotion to life-long learning. In fact, the “Shark Tank” investor previously called it “the greatest skill” to have. For Cuban, life-long learning means spending “four to five hours a day” reading, he told CNBC Make It in 2018. “I read everything I can. I don’t care what the source is.”

Read more…

Acceler8Success Cafe Daily Monday 10.26.20

· 1 Comment ·

Dunkin’ Brands holds acquisition talks with Arby’s owner Inspire Brands

Dunkin’ Brands on Sunday acknowledged that it has held talks on a potential sale to Arby’s owner Inspire Brands. Karen Raskopf, chief communications officer for the Canton, Mass.-based owner of Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins said the company held “preliminary discussions” with Inspire. “Dunkin’ confirms that it has held preliminary discussions to be acquired by Inspire Brands,” Raskopf said in an emailed statement. “There is no certainty that any agreement will be reached. Neither group will comment further unless and until a transaction is agreed.”

Read more…

Your Life Isn’t Defined By Your Choices, It’s Defined By Your Reactions

When we feel most stuck and helpless, it’s because we’ve bought into the idea that our choices, and choices alone, determine the outcomes of our lives. Our real choosing power is actually how we respond to what we didn’t choose. The way we react to the reality that is in front of us is how we invent the next reality we will experience.

Read more…

Interested in business or restaurant ownership but overwhelmed by what has to be done? Learn how a franchise provides support to help move you through the process. Be in business for yourself, but not by yourself.

Learn more…

6 Habits of Highly Focused People

The biggest reason people struggle to focus is that they don’t understand what focus really is. Most of us think about focus like willpower — the effort you apply to keep your mind on one thing when it wants to go somewhere else. But this is only a tiny part of focus — and by far the least important.

Read more…

What to Do When Your Coworker Brings Up Politics

Political topics have always been challenging in the workplace, but never more than now. In the past, the goal was to avoid escalation. Today the conversation often starts heated. Furthermore, they can feel unavoidable, especially if they’re sprung on you with no warning.

Read more…

If you’re looking for a business lending source to help finance your start-up or manage your future wealth, contact us today. Benetrends Financial, a pioneer in the industry, has helped thousands of potential small business owners like yourself secure funding over the past 35 years.

Learn more…

How This Problem-Solving CEO Is Keeping Her Restaurants’ Doors Open

Dawn Lafreeda is President, CEO and founder of Den-Tex Central, Inc. dba Denny’s Restaurants. In 1984, she opened her first Denny’s and since then, has built an incredible 85-location operation. Lafreeda, like so many business owners in the restaurant space, has been massively impacted by the pandemic but has found a way to manage her way through this incredibly destructive crisis. 

Read more…

55 Smoking Hot Blog Post Ideas That Will Delight Your Audience

Are you struggling to come up with ideas for your next blog post? Want to create blog posts that keep your readers coming back for more? Digital Marketer share their blog post ideas in this infographic.

Learn more…

Accelerating Success for individuals and brands alike!

Acceler8Success Cafe Daily Sunday 10.25.20

·

5 Steps for Navigating Entrepreneurship in a Post-Covid Era

The world has become a place which nobody had ever imagined a few months ago. It has been surrounded by the outbreak of a virus that has brought the working of many businesses, brands, and entrepreneurs to a standstill. Nobody was ever prepared for such crucial times in the business world and the situations and circumstances have today made companies and entrepreneurs introspect and come to the conclusion of what needs to be done now to either retain their original positions in the market or thrive with the new normal.

Read more…

Young Entrepreneurs are Redefining the American Dream

For young entrepreneurs, the American dream has changed. There has been a massive shift in values. Rather than looking for a job with good benefits and the opportunity to become a homeowner - young entrepreneurs are seeking freedom. Freedom of time and location.

Read more…

“Are you bored with life? Then throw yourself into some work you believe in with all you heart, live for it, die for it, and you will find happiness that you had thought could never be yours.” – Dale Carnegie

For info about how owning a Pepperoni’s franchise can help you find happiness along with security and prosperity, please visit HERE.

Restaurant operating profits will rise 15% in 2021, Moody’s predicts

Moody’s upgraded its outlook for the U.S. restaurant industry from negative to stable, according to an an Oct. 20 report emailed to Restaurant Dive. The status change comes as business conditions are expected to continue to slowly improve in the next 12 to 18 months due to easing restrictions and consumers’ gradual return to dining out.

Read more…

Why the Fast-Food Dining Room Could be a Thing of the Past

Is the fast-food dining room dead? Probably not. But the pandemic could well give rise to a new generation of restaurants that ditch indoor seating altogether. With quick-service restaurants thriving during the pandemic, thanks largely to the drive-thru, more companies are considering takeout-only units. Del Taco said last week, for instance, that it plans to test a smaller, drive-thru-only restaurant that ditches interior seats. That comes on the heels of Burger King’s new drive-thru-focused prototype, some versions of which do not include interior seats. 

Read more…

Benetrends Financial, a pioneer in the industry, has helped thousands of potential small business owners secure funding over the past 35 years. If you’re looking for a business lending source to help finance your start-up or manage your future wealth, contact Benetrends today.

Leveraging entrepreneurship to close racial wealth gaps

The latest jobs report shows that our national recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact will be slow and painful for millions of Americans, particularly those who did not have the luxury of wealth before the pandemic. It is increasingly clear that the capitalist system created for our society is not working for everyone, leaving some insulated from the wreckage of our economy, while others cannot escape. Without a change to the mechanisms of how our economy functions, there is no hope for a fully equitable recovery.

Read more…

The Acceler8Success team focuses on helping entrepreneurs, solopreneurs, restaurateurs, brand founders, business partners, professional services providers, freelancers and multi-level marketers achieve their entrepreneurial goals while building and strengthening their personal brands.

Learn more…

Acceler8Success Cafe Daily Saturday 10.24.20

·

9 Ways Successful Entrepreneurs Spend Their Weekends

What successful entrepreneurs don’t do is spend the entire weekend buried under work. We all need a break, and entrepreneurs are no less immune to burnout than anyone else. Their weekends are spent restoring their bodies and minds, and getting prepared to function optimally come Monday.

Read more…

3 Things I Learned Growing Up In A Family Of Entrepreneurs

How we grow up and the things we’re exposed to during our formative years can play a significant role in who we become. Which is why many consider themselves fortunate to have grown up in a family of entrepreneurs.

Read more…

Taking The Entrepreneurial Plunge; Conquering Your Startup Fears

According to a research, a staggering two-third of American adults have thought at least once about starting their own business, but only one third have actually ventured forward to take the plunge!

Read more…

Are you ready to own your own business?

Are you thinking of going into business for yourself and learning how the choice of a franchise can “jump-start” the process and your earning potential?  Well, Franchise Foundry can help. Working with in-house franchise professionals you will work one-on-one in determining if you’re right for franchising and whether it is right for you.  If you determine that franchising is a path to consider, you will be introduced to various industry segments and ultimately, brands that could be a “right-fit” situation . . . all to help ensure your future success!

Read more…

3 Steps Ahead of Business Ownership

Many people have a dream of owning a business. It’s an American Dream! But, whether doing so as an independent business or as a franchise there are important initial steps to take to ensure their dream-turned-reality starts off on the right foot.

Read more…

About Acceler8Success Group

Acceler8Success Group has achieved success in many aspects of small business and franchising. Widely recognized as industry leaders & influencers, Acceler8Success Group leadership have extensive experience as entrepreneurs in small business & restaurants, as senior-level executives within nationally recognized brands, and as franchisees within successful franchise systems.

Read more…

NOW OPEN: Acceler8Success Cafe

·

Known as FranchisEssentials since 2009, we’ve re-branded this site to be relevant beyond franchising. Although franchising is still an integral part of this site and our core business, we’ve expanded our efforts to encompass small business, restaurants and the exciting world of entrepreneurship. Across the top of our site you’ll be able to access information that will provide you a glimpse into our evolving world, now under the Acceler8Success Group umbrella.

As for Acceler8Success Café, it is our digital resource that includes newsletters, online meetings, podcasts, webinars, social networking and other virtual activities & events. All shared content is relevant to entrepreneurship, small business, restaurants and of course, franchising.

Future plans for Acceler8Success Cafe include meeting at local restaurants and coffee shops to offer no-cost opportunities for local business owners and aspiring entrepreneurs to get together in a relaxed setting to discuss ways to accelerate business and personal success.

Please follow hashtags #Acceler8Success #Acceler8SuccessCafe across social media. In addition, we have launched our new Acceler8Success website and have recently updated the Franchise Foundry website.

Thank you!

Paul Segreto, Founder, Acceler8Success

3 Questions to Ask Before Franchising Your Business

·

three questionsBetween building a larger community network, adding an additional revenue stream and the plethora of other advantages to turning your business into a franchise, it can seem like the obvious next step for business owners that are anxious to further growth.

While franchising can provide immense success, achieving better business margins is not guaranteed.

To determine if your business is ready, prompt an honest conversation with yourself with these three questions:

1. Have you seen consistent success?

While there are no rules about the required years of experience, revenue dollars, etc. before you can franchise, owners should be able to demonstrate that their concept is successful enough to take on a second location. Think about how you will pitch to potential franchisees when that day comes—you should be able to communicate the value of the business and the success they can reasonably expect from buying in.

2. Can the success be replicated?

Seeing business success is promising, but the revenue of the company doesn’t multiply just because the number of storefronts does. If your business gets boosts from a local event, one great shift lead or customers specific to your current neighborhood, attempting to replicate that might be challenging. However, if your operations don’t have many variables and you think a new region will benefit from your business, that’s a good sign that expanding will be a positive thing.

3. Are you ready to invest in your franchisees?

In large companies, the responsibility of providing training and resources doesn’t typically fall with the owner. Being a new franchisor means building that support network from scratch. Providing continuous support to franchisees is an investment in not only their success, but the success of the franchise as a whole—therefore it’s a responsibility that should not be taken lightly. The franchisor-franchisee relationship is equal parts manager and mentor, and you need to be ready to provide the guidance they will seek.

If you’d like to learn more about franchising your business, that’s our specialty! Contact Franchise Foundry today to learn more about what franchising can do for your business.

Is Owning a Franchise in Your Future?

·

For many individuals that explore franchising as the next step in their career, as a way to control their own destiny or as a way to create a family business understanding the process can be quite overwhelming. Below are several articles by franchise experts that will help interested parties diligently navigate the process to help create a playing field that is best for them as opposed to seeing them aimlessly tiptoe through a minefield consisting of franchising’s good, bad and ugly.

If you’re thinking of becoming a franchisee, how should you prepare yourself?

franchise2

Buying a franchise can be a great move for a would-be entrepreneur who doesn’t want to create a new business from scratch. In theory, franchisees acquire a model that already works on every level, from branding to pricing to marketing. A ready clientele eagerly spends on Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s and 7-11. The market has tested the best recipes for glazed crullers, Egg McMuffins and the right combo of energy drinks to stock next to the register. But making a go as a successful franchisee can be a lot more complicated than simply finding an appealing brand and plunking down some cash. For a taste of what can go wrong, see Forbes’ piece about the problems at sandwich franchise Quiznos, which paid $206 million to settle a suit brought by franchisees who claimed the chain had oversold its markets and excessively marked up supplies.

Read more…

How to Buy A Franchise

Contrary to popular belief, the process of buying a franchise isn’t really difficult-but it is a process. I’ve found, (through working one-on-one with thousands of potential franchise owners) that it’s really important to tackle a major life decision like the purchase of a franchise business-or any type of business, in a very methodical way. (Even if you’re not a methodical person!)

But you need to realize that buying a franchise is a big deal. It could potentially be life-changing. That’s what you want, isn’t it?

After all, you probably wouldn’t be reading this if you wanted to just go out and find a new job -or keep the one you have.

With that in mind, kick off your shoes and grab your favorite beverage. In this article, Joel Libava, The Franchise King shows exactly how to buy a franchise.

Read more…

Why Owning A Franchise Business Is Good For Your Family

Many entrepreneurs choose to become small-business owners with an exit strategy of turning over the business to their children one day — a strategy that takes on more importance in an era where young people are struggling to find gainful employment. Children who begin working in the family business at a young age will typically start an ascension into management after college, with an eye on purchasing some or all of the family business as their parents head into retirement. Often, the parents will retain a percentage of the business as a revenue stream in retirement, adding an extra level of responsibility for the child as a steward of their parents’ nest egg.

Even if they don’t stay in the family business, studies show that parental entrepreneurship increases the probability of children’s entrepreneurship by about 60%. Children of entrepreneurial parents have already experienced many of the ebbs and flows of small-business ownership, which helps to mitigate their fears and raise their risk tolerance.

Read more…

Learning About Franchising

During research for Franchise Bible, 8th Edition, author, Rick Grossman found that the franchise industry had changed in many ways over the years. Technology has had the biggest impact by modifying buying behaviors. Not too many years ago, franchise buyers would find an opportunity in Entrepreneur magazine or by attending a franchise expo in-person. They would then go through the franchisor’s respective step-by-step process to qualify, purchase and launch their franchises. But today, buyers can find a plethora of information online about nearly any franchise they want to learn about. This has leveled the playing field for new innovative companies to compete favorably with the “big boys” in the marketplace.

Read more…

Are you ready to own your own franchise or expand your current franchise portfolio?

US job growth sluggish in March

·

The US economy ended a tumultuous week with disappointing news.

America added 103,000 jobs in March, slower than previous months and well below expectations.

March jobs reportEconomists had predicted 185,000 jobs.

The unemployment rate stayed at 4.1%, the lowest since 2000. It has come down steadily from a peak of 10% in 2009.

Wages grew 2.7% in March compared with a year ago, in line with expectations. Wage growth is one of the few yardsticks in the job market not to pick up meaningfully in recent years.

Job gains for January and February were revised down by a total of 50,000 jobs.

Read more…

QSR & Pizza Fueling Franchise Growth

·

Fast-Food-2Each year the International Franchise Association commissions a study from PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers) on the economic impact of franchising in the U.S. Highlights from that study include the following:

  • Taking into account the indirect impact of franchised businesses, business format franchises support more than 13.2 million jobs, $1.6 trillion in economic output for the U.S. economy, and 5.8 percent of the country’s GDP.
  • Franchise businesses provided more jobs in 2016 than wholesale trade, transportation and warehousing, nondurable goods manufacturing, and information (including software and print publishing, motion pictures and videos, radio and television broadcasting, and telecommunications carriers and resellers).
  • Quick service restaurants (QSR) is the largest category, representing 25 percent of all franchise establishments and 45.5 percent of all franchise jobs.
  • Jobs supported because of franchise businesses were at least 10 percent of the private sector nonfarm workforce in 33 states, and at least 6 percent in every state.
  • The number of people employed by franchises is greatest in California, Texas, Florida, Illinois, and Ohio.
  • Franchisees own and operate 88 percent of all business format franchise establishments and franchisors own and operate 12 percent.

Read more…

Quick Serve Franchise Sector Continues to Blaze a Trail for Franchising

There is little doubt that the franchise industry is undergoing significant changes fueled in great part by the success of various PE firms that began in the QSR sector. As other franchise sectors are targeted by PE investors, the competitive environment in those sectors will become more challenging. In order to prepare for these challenges, small to medium sized franchises will need to become successful franchise systems that produces sustained system growth, successful franchisees and an efficient operating system.

Multi-unit franchisee ownership that originated in the QSR sector continues to increase as franchisors seek large multi-unit franchisees that can own and operate more franchise units.This ownership model provides organizational stability, ample financial resources, sustained growth and economies of scale to the franchisee operation.

Read more…

Who’s Winning the Pizza Wars?

Welcome to the pizza wars, where brands big and small, quick-service and fast-casual alike face two choices: pick up the pace and earn relevancy through definitive, clear marketplace differentiation or step aside.

Read more…

 

 

Facts & Perspective on the Future of Franchising

·

franchise imageTwo out of three isn’t bad. In fact, in baseball that would be a phenomenal batting average never even remotely approached. A winning season percentage? Well, it has been done in several professional sports. However, what I’m referring to are leading stories last week (see below) about franchising. Two of three were positive with growth statistics for franchising shared and the power of the franchise model defined. The other presented as somewhat of a negative perspective on family-owned franchises as being less productive than non family-owned businesses.

In any event, I’d love to see more study done on family-owned franchises and how the notion of underperformance may vary from one industry segment to another. My thought on this focuses on the potential differences between multiple generations of families that own Dunkin’ Donuts franchises as opposed to families that may own a non-food brand that may be more inclined to rely on the performance of one, two or several key staff members. I’d also like to explore the difference between single-unit and multi-unit ownership by families. Any takers to start the discussion?

“Regulations have been trimmed, taxes have been cut, and, as a result, the franchise community has continued its economic momentum. As we move into 2018, we expect lawmakers will remain steadfast in their support for a strong business environment,” said Robert Cresanti, IFA President and CEO in a statement.

The franchise industry is set for another year of major growth!

Franchise establishments are set to grow by 1.9 percent to 759,000 locations after increasing 1.6 percent in 2017, while employment will increase 3.7 percent to 8.1 million workers after growing 3.1 percent in 2017. The gross domestic product of the sector is forecast to increase by 6.1 percent to $451 billion, and will contribute approximately 3 percent of U.S. GDP in nominal dollars, according to the report. Franchise business output will also increase 6.2 percent to $757 billion. The forecast follows a year of slower growth in 2017, mirroring trends seen the year prior in terms of employment and output. Read more.

Family-owned franchises underperform, study finds.

A new study that involved a Ball State University researcher found family-owned franchisees post 6.7 percent lower sales per employee than other franchise owners of restaurants and other chain businesses. “It boils down to the fact that often, family-owned franchises have different objectives as compared to their counterparts,” said Srikant Devaraj, a researcher with Ball State’s Center for Business and Economic Research. Read more.

Will franchise leaders embrace a new future state of franchising?

A relatively misunderstood business model, with a paucity of academic support, franchising is on the precipice of history.  Defined by the Federal Trade Commission as an ongoing commercial relationship that includes a license to a brand, payment of a modest fee and the existence of significant control or support, the average consumer knows it as Subway, McDonald’s or Anytime Fitness.  In layman terms, a chain of businesses that share a common brand and a consistent customer experience owned by a local consumer.  But the traditional methodology of franchising has been supplanted by an ever-growing array of hybrid formulations that increasingly are revealing the real power of this enigmatic model. Read more.