franpro's blog

Papa John's computer servers must be smoking, now. And..I checked their Alexa ranking .

State Franchise Centers.com, and The Franchise Engine are looking for the "Coolest" Franchise Website...Do you know of any franchise websites that are cutting edge?

If you have been recently downsized, or are just looking for a career change, you may be contacted by franchise brokerage/consulting franchise companies looking to hire you, or looking to sell you a f

{From Joel Libava's The Franchise King Blog }

Some Franchise industry experts say that the first Pope started the first ever franchise business model.

The story says that the Pope couldn't possibly cover the countryside by himself, collecting taxes, so he had some local townsfolk help him out...............

They had the ability by sheer numbers alone, to cover the vast countryside, and collect taxes.

They needed the work {Unemployment figures were not available at Presstime}, and the Pope gave them a piece of the action.

He saved footsteps, and was able to collect a larger amount of revenue this way.

Interestingly enough, my late father, Jerry Libava, introduced Don and his wife, Brenda, to the non-franchised sign business. They are great business owners. Their enthusiasm and high energy make them the successful owners that they are, and will continue to be.

I remember my Dad discussing them with me, and he felt that they would be great owners!

He was right....... 

Joel Libava
{AKA Franpro}
Cleveland, Ohio 

Signs PDQ Franchisee Learns Location Lesson - Franchisee shares biggest mistake of starting a Signs PDQ business was launching "a retail location instead of in a light-industrial area."

[Editor's Top Picks]

"16 years later everybody and their cousin is a so called franchise consultant"

Editor's Note: Joel Libava, known here as "Franpro", is one of Blue MauMau's earliest members and until just a few days ago was a franchise consultant for the Cleveland, Ohio area with FranNet, one of the industry's largest network of franchise brokers. He now heads his own franchise consultancy.

After a 6.5 year ride, I have left the Franchise Consulting group I was a member of, Frannet. My late father, Jerry Libava (pictured), was one of the original members, joining Frannet back in 1991. My Dad was in the corporate world for a stupid amount of years, traveling 4-5 days a week, almost all the time. His last "job" was as the Franchise Dev. Director of Physicians Weight Loss Centers , based near Akron, Ohio. The Federal Trade Commision came down hard on the diet industry in the late 80's, and Dad was downsized.He had a kid in college (Not me, I was learning things the hard way at the time), and normal debt like anyone else, but he said:

"Enough is enough! No more corporate America for me!" So he decided to get into business for himself. His business was called International Franchise Development, which he and my Mom named during a ride in the country. He started his business, found out about a guy by the name of Howard Bassuk , who was based out of San Diego, and he joined Howie with a few others. They were the pioneers of the Franchise Consulting Industry. Howie was the brains (Genius level),and 5 or 6 guys at the time were the brawn.

What To Do When One Door Closes

You are being "let go”. “You have just been replaced”. “You are being downsized”.

Several ways to say it, but all have the same meaning…you are unemployed!

Being unemployed is pretty scary. In my opinion, you have two choices. You can stay home, scanning want ads and the internet for jobs and then get depressed after about two weeks of that, or you can start getting more creative in your “career” search. Who told you that you had to be “employed” somewhere? Where is that written?

Have you thought about the “other” door? The other door is a pretty big door. Almost too scary for some people to approach, let alone try to “open”.

The other door (drum roll please), is self employment. Would you consider investing in yourself, “crazy?” “Insane”? Why? Could it be fear of the unknown? Fear of losing your investment? Just plain fear?

There is a way to explore business ownership, safely. Maybe you should spend part of your job search looking at investing in a franchise…..

With the New Year upon us, millions of people examine what is important in their lives and set about making fresh starts and amends.  Sometimes these evaluations are about relationships or personal habits, but thousands of people also tend to re-evaluate their careers and futures. 

For many workers, taking the plunge into owning their own business seems like an unattainable goal, but franchising has made it easier than ever to make this dream a reality. Currently, franchising spans 75 different industries provides 18 million American jobs and generates an overall economic output of $1.53 trillion, according to a study conducted by PricewaterhouseCoopers for the International Franchise Association.

I came across this wonderful come-on, and thought I should share it with the community. As much as people say negative things about franchising..."The franchise companies make ALL the money, who wants to flip burgers, or change oil, and make $30,000 a year", and all that type of stuff that we all hear, "Get rich on the internet by working only 15 hours a week" is the stuff of Pond Scum Predators {PSP's} that prey on peoples financial pain.

I have been reading all the posts that are related to the unfortunate situations that are and have been a problem with the Quiznos Empire. And with the amount of franchisees paying royalties, it is still an empire.

Empires of course have been toppled, if you all read the History books. As I stated in an earlier comment, I have never heard anything positive about Quiznos, and not only am I a consumer {not of the subs}, but I am an industry expert IN the franchise business.

I have met some of the Area Developers, and  was not impressed.

Here is a fact: There ARE pending lawsuits  by a number of franchisees. Most franchise companies that I work with, don't!