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Log In / Register | Feb 7, 2012

FDIC To Insure Gift Cards

Posted Sun, 2008/11/16 - 11:21 by Craig Hsueh

The FDIC on November 13 issued a statement that they will insure stored value cards if those funds have been placed at an insured depository institution.

7-Eleven Franchising Central Florida Stores

Posted Fri, 2008/05/23 - 18:27 by Craig Hsueh

7-Eleven wants a network of only franchised stores. That's why it has announced plans to convert its 475 company-stores in Central Florida to franchised units.

Good News for MLB Franchise Owners

Posted Fri, 2008/04/18 - 09:53 by Craig Hsueh

If you own an MLB franchise, Forbes has good news. You are getting rich like never before.

Locating Your Business Through Google Maps

Posted Tue, 2008/02/05 - 09:40 by Craig Hsueh
Take a tour of the mapping future that is here now

There's a revolution happening, not just by listing your business by phone number, category and having customer comments but also now by cyber mapping. Your customers can take a virtual tour of your business street.

Take a tour of the future.

Firms Find Ways Around Massachusets Universal Health Law

Posted Sun, 2007/12/23 - 23:56 by Craig Hsueh
Massachusetts policy makers are watching carefully the effects of the first nine months of the state's universal health insurance law. The state requires businesses with 11 or more full-time workers to offer insurance or pay a fine. And it bars employers from offering better employer-subsidized insurance to higher-wage workers.

The Boston Globe describes the mixed results for a Burger King franchisee:

"For years, Doug Barlow and his business partner had paid 100 percent of the insurance cost for 11 full-time salaried workers at their three Burger King restaurants in Boston. The new law's antidiscrimination provisions led them to offer insurance to 27 hourly employees. But the potential cost - nearly $1,100 per month for family coverage - pushed them to cut the firm's contribution to 50 percent."

Some employers are finding it more cost beneficial to drop the insurance and pay the state fine. The state's free care program will start in April of 2008.

British Care Provider Wants Doctors to Franchise

Posted Mon, 2007/12/17 - 12:03 by Craig Hsueh

Is Franchising The Next Advancement in British Health Care?

BIRMINGHAM, U.K. - A Birmingham health care provider, part of Britain's National Health Service, wants to copy the business format of McDonald's and Pizza Hut to solve their health care problems. The Heart of Birmingham PCT thinks having its general practitioners operate as franchises is the solution to opening during hours in which its patients need them to operate (take note American doctors) and in providing more flexible services to patients.

The British Medical Association is up in arms.

For now, once a general practitioner's neighborhood clinic has been set up, the GP's clinic will exist as long as they want. 5 and 10 year franchise agreements would fundamentally change a GP's security of tenure. Local doctors are concerned that franchise chains could become health care "supermarkets" that would eventually replace more personal "corner stores."

Complisults: Insulting While Complimenting

Posted Tue, 2007/12/11 - 10:05 by Craig Hsueh

Complisulting Franchisees and Franchisors Can Be Quite Satisfying, But Beware If You Don't Have The Art Down

A complisult is a gentlemanly insult subtly disguised as a compliment. These are reserved for the truly idiotic franchise owners who are pulling your whole network down to new lows. Or the franchisor who is sinking you and other owners to the depths of bankruptcy because they are so thick headed or callous to the operational needs of their franchisees.

But be careful. Franchisees have been terminated by franchisors and ostracized by fellow franchisees for being too obvious. Here are a few good examples:

  • To be said to the Sr. VP of Operations at annual conference: “I am truly impressed by how intelligent you sounded in your presentation.”
  • To the new CEO, "You’re not as evil as everybody says!”
  • To a fellow franchisee who is giving the brand a bad name, “It’s incredible how you stand tall with so many disrespecting you”

Complisult is a coined phrase of writer and CEO Stanley Bing. Bing explains of the art:

Help from Franchiser Boosts Odds of Success

Posted Sun, 2007/10/14 - 15:48 by Craig Hsueh

Going the franchise route, the SBA says, can significantly improve the odds for success.

According to Patricia Beck of Colorado Springs' SCORE office, a not-for-profit arm of the Small Business Administration that aims to help starting entrepreneurs, "You have a better chance of making a go of it (in franchising) because they (the franchiser) are there to show you how to do it." And Beck should know such statistics because "Beck operated a Manpower franchise in Lincoln, Neb., for nearly 40 years. She was the first female Manpower franchisee."

Not necessarily. Click here to see some professors, experts and statistics that show that buying a franchise in general doesn't necessarily reduce business risk.

Apparently, buying a franchise is pretty easy. FranChoice's Tamyra Wallace, a franchise broker, adds these words of advice on how to pick a franchise:

Twisted Video Game of Running McDonald's Franchise

Posted Mon, 2007/10/01 - 17:52 by Craig Hsueh

Developers Release Business Management Games That Skewer Franchisors and Corporations

CYBERSPACE - In the past few years, advertisements have morphed into online games. But now, in almost an answer to those ad games, a new genre of games, known as "anti-advergames" skewer policies of large chains.

And franchisors are hardly exempt from this gaming trend.

For example, the McDonald's Video Game, is a game that parodies managing a McDonald's franchise. The game is set up so that you cannot win without compromising.

Italian design shop Molleindustria says, "Behind every sandwich, there is a complex process you must learn to manage. From the creation of pastures to the slaughter, from the restaurant management to the branding. You'll discover all the dirty little secrets that made (McDonald's) one of the biggest companies (in) the world." (CNet)

Consumer Advocates Eye Jiffy Lube

Posted Thu, 2007/09/13 - 13:03 by Craig Hsueh
5 Out of 9 Jiffy Lubes Inspected in Southern California Billed Consumers for Parts and Services Not Provided

Southern California's KNBC has recently run a TV news series on Jiffy Lube centers. Employees are scamming customers by charging them for bogus services and parts so that they meet their sales targets and are not let go. Here's the video (10:24 min.).