Category: entrepreneurship

Acceler8Success Cafe Daily Thursday 10.29.20

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Every Company Needs an Entrepreneur in the C-Suite

Innovation thrives when it has power and status within an organization. To enable real innovative growth — and rapid response in the face of such crises such as Covid-19 — boards and company leaders must structure top organizational roles to give innovative efforts the resources and attention they need. In our work on business model innovation with over 100 large and medium-sized companies, we’ve found that companies looking for transformation have two good options: an entrepreneurial CEO or a powerful chief entrepreneur. Read more here.

7 Entrepreneurship Stages Will Propel You to Where You Need to Go

The road to becoming an entrepreneur is a journey, and it’s not a short trip. In my efforts to assist aspiring business owners like you, I find that too many see it as a short sprint to get over that one hurdle, like finding that innovative idea, or attracting an investor. In reality, I find that there are multiple stages to the process, each requiring a unique mindset and focused effort along the way. I was pleased to find a new book, The Entrepreneur’s Faces, by Johnathan Littman and Susanna Camp, which outlines the key stages and provides examples of real people making the transformation from one stage to the next. Read more here.

If you wouldn’t think about building a house without blueprints, why would you consider building a business without blueprints? Like plans for a home, business blueprints should include each component necessary for long-term benefit. Whether exploring franchise ownership or growing your brand via franchising, Franchise Foundry can help ensure you have the right blueprints specifically for you! Learn more here.

What Restaurant Sectors Thrived During The Pandemic?

Why did some restaurant chains sales thrive so quickly after the pandemic?

This week’s episode of the Restaurant Business podcast “A Deeper Dive” features Lorn Davis, who leads corporate and product strategy at the financial data firm Facteus. The company has been reporting sales using debit card information since the start of the pandemic, and its weekly reports have provided some key insights into the direction of retail and restaurant spending. Davis discusses some of the sectors performing particularly well, such as chicken wings, and those that have a longer runway for improvement, like coffee. He talks about the factors that have influenced the sectors’ success and failure, and he discusses how consumers have changed since the start of the pandemic—and how much of that change could be permanent. Listen to podcast here.

Jersey Mike’s Subs CEO Peter Cancro to join MFHA President Gerry Fernandez to talk about the path to Black restaurant franchise ownership

Peter Cancro, CEO of Jersey Mike’s Subs will be a keynote speaker at Restaurants Rise powered by MUFSO on its final day, Thursday, Oct. 29, at 3 p.m. EDT, in discussion on the path to Black franchise ownership, brought to you by PepsiCo Foodservice.

Cancro will be joined by Karim Webb, CEO of 4thMVMT and co-founder of PCF Restaurant Management — a franchisee of Buffalo Wild Wings — and Hugh Roth, senior vice president and chief customer and business development officer for PepsiCo’s Global Foodservice Division. The panel will be moderated by Gerry Fernandez, president and founder of the Multicultural Foodservice Hospitality Alliance (MFHA). TIME SENSITIVE: Read more here.

5 Best Business Ideas for 2021

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.  So there is no doubt that many entrepreneurs threw in the towel this year. 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. If you’re considering starting a small business in 2021, there are some trends to consider before making your plan. Read more here.

As Small Business Saturday is just around the corner please keep in mind that franchises are also small business. Franchise owners are very much the same as Mom & Pop businesses across America having invested their life savings to achieve the American Dream of owning a business. #ShopSmall and #ShopFranchise on #SmallBusinessSaturday.

Acceler8Success Cafe Daily Wednesday 10.28.20

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83% Of Small Business Owners Report Optimism For 2021

A new sentiment survey of small and medium-sized business (“SMB”) owners describes their outlook for 2021 as optimistic despite the significant impact of COVID-19 on business performance throughout 2020. The report, authored by GGV Capital and Hello Alice, also suggests that business owners expect an uptick in hiring, technology purchases, and overall growth.

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She Launched To Help Women Become Retirepreneur’s (Podcast)

Joi Disroe is the Founder and CEO of consulting company Retirepreneur 5.0. She recently launched the The Retirepreneur Podcast to help women 50 and older transition from the corporate world into becoming a Retirepreneur.

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Coupled with a strong branding program, technology integration and low-investment level, Pepperoni’s is positioned to be the next disruption in the Pizza segment of Franchising.

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Venus Williams’ Advice For Entrepreneurs: Don’t Let Fear Take Over—Just Push Through It

Tennis champion and Olympic gold medalist Venus Williams has some advice for the more than 30 million small business owners and entrepreneurs across the U.S. struggling to find their footing in the new normal: Don’t let fear take over. It’s a lesson she learned at the age of 19 while competing with sister Serena, then 17, at the 1999 U.S. Open. Williams only made it to the semi-finals—her sister went on to win the tournament.

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How Incubators Help Entrepreneurs Succeed (Podcast)

Becoming a successful entrepreneur requires the right combination of factors, impeccable timing and often sheer luck. In her latest research, Wharton management professor Valentina Assenova examines what it takes to help entrepreneurs who need more luck than most — those who live in places where inequality is institutionalized and the obstacles to success are even higher to hurdle. Inspired by a trip to South Africa, Assenova tracked the improvement rates for small businesses in Soweto whose owners received help through an incubator.

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9 Tech Tools Your Small Business Needs to Scale

For entrepreneurs, any tool that helps do the job easier is a welcome addition. Choosing where to invest tech budget dollars and time to learn the applications are key decisions. As seen in the recent post, “Get Up and Grow: The Small Business Guide to Expansion”,  technology is a key area for business owners seeking to grow their business.

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15 Cities With the Most Successful Female Entrepreneurs

Nationwide, there are nearly 6 million female entrepreneurs who account for 7.7% of the female workforce, according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau. For many of these women, entrepreneurship offers more flexibility than traditional jobs.

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The Return to Work: Which Employees Should You Bring Back to the Office?

Since the nationwide shutdown in March, states have slowly and carefully allowed businesses to reopen. But many corporations have opted to allow their employees to continue working from home. While some employees view being able to work from the couch in sweatpants as a benefit, others are dealing with higher stress levels and difficulty focusing. Their productivity is paying the price. If companies can safely bring some employees back to the office, it could benefit both employees and the bottom line. The challenge that remains is effectively identifying who should return.

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Fighting loneliness can be especially challenging for entrepreneurs. Here’s how to find community during the pandemic.

Entrepreneurs and solopreneurs face a unique challenge. Without the built-in relationships with colleagues we’d have as workers in large companies, we are usually on our own. This professional independence might attract us to this career, but it can lead to loneliness. 

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Acceler8Success Cafe Daily Tuesday 10.27.20

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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Acceler8Success Cafe Daily Monday 10.26.20

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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. 

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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.

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Accelerating Success for individuals and brands alike!

Acceler8Success Cafe Daily Sunday 10.25.20

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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.

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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.

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“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.

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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. 

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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.

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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.

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Acceler8Success Cafe Daily Saturday 10.24.20

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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.

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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.

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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!

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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!

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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.

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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.

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NOW OPEN: Acceler8Success Cafe

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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

Is Owning a Franchise in Your Future?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

Is Franchising the Right Way to Grow Your Restaurant Business… or Any Business, for That Matter?

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This past January I presented a webinar for RestaurantOwner.com about the ins and outs of franchising a restaurant business. Special attention was also placed on preparing to franchise and how doing so could significantly improve the business itself and provide a road map for multi-unit operations – even without actually proceeding into franchising.

Well, the response after the event was quite robust and led to us performing a number of franchise feasibility studies for independent restaurant owners in various markets across the country. Our recommendations were split on whether to franchise or stay the course as an independent operation. In the coming months, we’ll be able to see how our recommendations play out. In the meantime, interest remains high, not only for restaurants but also non-foodservice operations across a multitude of industries and industry segments exploring franchising as an expansion or growth strategy.

RSG_Logo_Rev3.pngLast month, in Restaurant Startup & Growth magazine, a RestaurantOwner.com publication, appeared an article by the RS&G staff, taking a deep dive into my webinar and philosophy about franchising a business. The article started out…

Some of the most successful brands – in any sector – are franchises. In the restaurant business, they are household names. For many independent operators, franchising their concept is the so-called “Big Hairy Audacious Goal”. Before you take that leap, there are a lot of small and critical steps to consider.

The rest of the article, Baby Steps – Is Franchising the Right Way to Grow Your Restaurant Business? may be read on pages 42-47 by clicking HERE.

Winning at Poker & Business Starts with the Right Mindset

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If you’re not aware of the movie, “Rounders”, it’s basically about the dark side of underground high-stakes poker. Movies like this easily correlate to business. For instance, the main character, Michael McDermott says,

“Why do you think the same five guys make it to the final table of the World Series of Poker EVERY YEAR? What, are they the luckiest guys in Las Vegas?”

Similar sentiment can be expressed about entrepreneurs that start one business after another, and mostly succeed. Do you think that’s luck? Hell, no! It’s knowing when to take a calculated risk, understanding the odds, hedging bets when necessary, being patient, exploring opportunities to increase your bankroll and knowing when to take a competitor head-on. It really is a mindset. Something to think about from the movie as well, “You can’t lose what you don’t put in the middle.. but you can’t win much either.”

Acceler8Success Poker

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