Expansion Experts Blog

Well… here is the Nardelli’s Travel Channel show… Congratulations to our clients!

You want to grow your business. You believe franchising is the way to go but have learned that you are not quite ready yet. Is there anything you can do to get ready?

Step 1 — Am I ready?

The first thing you need to do is to find out whether or not you are ready to franchise your business. Go to the section in our website titled Ready to Franchise? and read through these points to help you determine whetehr or not you are ready http://www.expansionexperts.com/franchise/franchise.shtml.

DO NOT feel overwhelmed if you do not meet some or most of these requirements, not too many businesses do. We often take our clients through many of these steps as we go through the process of franchising their businesses. However, do contemplate these questions and let us know if we can help you.

Step 2 — Protecting your business’ name

Getting a trademark for the name of your business is something we often do for our clients at the start of a franchising project, if they do not already have a trademark in place. However, if you feel you are not ready to franchise now but will definitely do so in the future, getting your trademark at this point is a good idea.

You can start the process by going to www.uspto.gov  and clicking on Trademarks on the left-hand column. You can learn about the process of obtaining a trademark; you can search to see if someone else  is already using your name and has a trademark; and, you can also apply for a trademark. Make sure to call us if you have any questions about this process (864-248-6407 or 864-631-1237).

Step 3 — Developing, testing and recording procedures

Another step you can take in anticipation of franchising your business in the future is to make sure that all your operating procedures are easy to replicate. Also documenting them at this time will not only make your business run more efficiently but will save you time and effort when you do franchise. Make sure that you have procedures for:

• Getting customers (generating leads, managing leads, and closing sales which depending on the business may include making presentations and writing proposals)
• Administrative procedures to convert a lead into a customer
• Delivering the service or selling the product
• Customer service (including all customer communications and handling complaints)
• Staffing (how many employees, what they do, how are the best candidates chosen, management techniques that work in your business, etc.)
• Maintenance and cleaning
• Billing and financial procedures
• Ongoing marketing activities
• Any specific technical information and processes that apply to your business

Step 4 — Creating strong relationships with vendors

Depending on the type of business you have, you most probably use suppliers and vendors for equipment, goods, and supplies. Start with the end in mind when you choose your suppliers. Ask yourself:

• Will they be able to deliver all over the US?
• Will they be able to handle sudden increases in demand for their products?
• Will they provide impeccable customer service and act as partners?
• Will they be able to give you quantity discounts as you add more franchisees so you can pass on better pricing to them yet still be able to make some money to recoup the investment you’ve made in developing these relationships?

Choose only those suppliers that can provide what you need now and when you franchise.

These steps will make your life easier when you are ready to franchise. They will also make your business more efficient and valuable even if you decide not to franchise. Let us know if you have any questions on this subject. We will be glad to help.

Most franchisors, if not all, have an idea of who they want to bring into their systems (the ideal franchisee). Many of them have written documents detailing the profile of the ideal individual. However, too many other franchisors do not have enough clarity around this issue as to attract and accept the most suitable candidates. Bringing the wrong individual into the franchise system can be costly for the franchisee and for the franchisor.

Creating the Ideal Franchisee Profile requires the franchisor to reflect about the company values, the beliefs it holds, the culture, and the traits and skills required of franchisees by the business. It also calls for franchisors to be flexible and recognize that the profile will most likely need fine-tuning and modifications as the franchise company changes and grows.

For example, new franchisors that do not have an established and recognizable brand need and tend to attract more risk-taking franchise candidates when they first start to franchise. As the franchise system grows with increasing numbers of franchisees, the risk tends to decrease. Firstly, an increasing number of franchisees usually leads to the building of the brand and to a higher name recognition making easier for franchisees to market their business and get customers. Secondly, as the franchise company grows it will most likely develop stronger support systems that can result in higher success levels for some franchisees. Both of these factors lead to lowering the risk associated with the franchise opportunity. Therefore, it is appropriate to think that most franchisors will need to modify their Ideal Franchisee Profile at the point when these factors are achieved. Risk tolerant candidates will probably not make the most suitable franchisees under the new conditions and individuals with different characteristics may become better franchisee candidates.

Questions to contemplate and answer in order to create the Ideal Franchisee Profile include:

• What is the company’s mission? What do individuals have to believe in order to align themselves with it?
• What are the company’s values? What beliefs will support these values? What beliefs will not?
• What kind of prior experience should an ideal franchisee have?
• What kind and level of education should an ideal franchisee have?
• Where do ideal franchisees want to open their franchises? Companies need to know their expansion plans; that is: where they want to grow and when as well as what makes a good market for their franchise and what does not. They also need to know if they are prepared to turn away an otherwise qualified candidate who wants to open in a state where they do not plan to go in the near future. If they decide not to follow their expansion plans and react to their candidates’ preferences they need to be prepared to accept the consequences of that decision as far as support to the franchisee and the cost associated with providing that support.
• What reasons should ideal franchisees have to invest in the franchise? – What reasons would make them undesirable candidates?
• Would an ideal franchisee be someone who only wants to be an owner operator or would it include investors who want to operate the franchise with an appointed manager?
• Would an ideal franchisee be someone who only wants one location, who wants multiple locations or either?
• What type of management style does an ideal franchisee have?
• What is the ideal communication style of an ideal franchisee?
• What dreams and objectives will an ideal franchisees hold? Are there any dreams that an ideal franchisee should not hold? For example, work independently, if the business requires a staff.
  What is the preferred work environment of an ideal franchisee? What are the preferred hours and location?
• What are the preferred tasks of an ideal franchisee?
• What beliefs and attitudes about success, following direction and guidelines, importance of marketing, direct selling, customer service, hard work, employees, working with others and such must ideal franchisees hold?
• How resilient do ideal franchisees have to be?
• What are the personality traits of ideal franchisees?
• What are the abilities and skills of ideal franchisees?
• What are the economic resources that an ideal franchisee must have: net worth, liquid assets, and total investment parameters?

Rocco Boulay, founder of Integrity Health Support for Women, has dedicated his life to fitness and to achieving the impossible, including winning a world championship in bench pressing—five times.  Rocco is truly no lightweight when it comes to fitness and health; it is his passion. After leaving the world of competitive weightlifting, Rocco could have taken the easy route as a “trainer to the stars”; instead, he heard another, more personal calling.

The growing epidemic of obesity, diabetes, and heart conditions among American women prompted Rocco to ask, Why are so many women ignoring their health?”  The answers to these questions became the basis of the Integrity vision: a club where even the most out-of-shape woman feels safe, a club where trainers listen to their clients, a club where women are encouraged every step of the way, a club where fitness is achievable.

Rocco understands that a healthy and fit woman will inspire her friends and family to follow suit—part of his vision is, in fact, this trickle-down affect.  As he franchises his very successful concept, Rocco’s mission isn’t just to build the most successful chain of health clubs in the country; first and foremost, he wants to solve the health crisis, one woman at a time.

We are proud to have Rocco as our client. Visit Integrity Health Support For Women at http://www.integrityfit.com/index.htm

Last August we finished creating the franchise system for Right TIme Kids, a childcare drop in center (http://www.righttimekids.com/). In this short time Right Time Kids has sold two 3-pack franchises. Congratulations!

Right TIme Kids worked hard during the development of their franchise system to collect the names and contact information of those people who were interested in the franchise opportunity. They became proactive in alerting people that they were working to create a franchise system and this diligent approach paid off.

There are many methods to grow a franchise system. Each method produces slightly different results. When a company decides to franchise they need to decide how fast they want to grow. We assist our clients create the strategic plan that will meet their objectives.

One of our first steps in working with our clients is to understand their objectives, especifically their exit strategy. That is: how many years do they want to work in the business? Do they have family members that can run the business afterwards? When would they want to sell it?

For the right business owner, Franchising may be the best investment vehicle to ensure the retirement they desire. Franchising creates the multiple locations that increase the value of the business. It creates a network of distribution that can be used by others making it an appealing acquisition prospect for many companies. Further, franchising directs the business owner into more “big picture” thinking patterns and away from the worries of the daily operation of a single location. This new emphasis inevitably results in increased value.

However, Franchising does not create an increase in value overnight. It takes time to grow a network of franchisees. There is also the initial investment to develop the systems, comply with federal and state regulations and to recruit, train and support franchisees. As franchises are sold and the network grows this intial investment is recouped.

Franchising a business changes the nature of the activities the owner performs. When you franchise your business, you changes your business; you become a franchisor and your main acitivities are the recruiting, supporting and training of franchisees as well as the protection of the brand and innovation. Not everyone is suited for this type of transformation. But when a business owner is willing to embrace change franchising is a rewarding method of increasing the value of the business and its appeal to buyers in the future.

We are proud to announce that our client Nardelli’s Grinder Shoppe has been selected for the 9th year in a row by Connecticut Magazine as the best grinders in the state. Nardelli’s also have sold their second franchise AND they gained national recognition by being selected to appear in the Travel Channel’s “Food Par­adise.”

Please read the following wonderful article and visit Nardelli’s at www.nardellis.com

Congratulations Tony, Marco, Diana and Mrs. Nardellis — we are very proud of you!

Republican-American 09/18/2008, Page B03

National television discovers an area tradition Travel Channel program will feature Nardelli’s

 BY PAUL SINGLEY
 REPUBLICAN-AMERICAN

NAUGATUCK — Producers for a nationally televised food show discovered sandwich par­adise in the heart of the bor­ough on Wednesday.

  Film crews working for the Travel Channel’s “Food Par­adise” program spent all day at Nardelli’s Grinder Shoppe on Maple Street pointing cameras and microphones at employees, who served up hearty grinders like the Nardelli’s-style turkey club, Italian combo and baked stuffed pastrami.

  The footage will be aired sometime in November on the Travel Channel’s “Sandwich Paradise” segment. Nardelli’s, which has two restaurants in Waterbury and one in Nau­gatuck, will be featured among nationally renowned grinder shops like Katz’s Delicatessen in Manhattan’s Lower East Side, and the Los Angeles­ based Philippe The Original, which claims to have invented the French dipped sandwich.

  Producer Kaylyn Thornal said the company’s research about sandwiches kept pointing them toward Nardelli’s. So her crew hopped a flight from Los Angeles to see what all the fuss is about.

  “This place has a great histo­ry,” she said. “It’s a multigener­ational company, and it’s also unique in that all of the food is homemade. Everything is made with so much love and care. That used to be the norm but is now the exception.”

  She was not sure how many sandwich shops would be fea­tured on the show, but said Nardelli’s is the only one in Connecticut that will make the cut. Nardelli’s has been voted Connecticut’s No. 1 grinder shop for nine consecutive years by Connecticut Magazine.

  The grinder business has been a hit for the Nardelli fami­ly since the 1940s. That’s when Joseph, Anthony and Fred Nardelli, the owners of a gro­cery store on South Main Street in Waterbury, came up with the idea of selling grinders. While in New York one day, they no­ticed that hoagies were popular in the Big Apple, so they figured Brass City folks would like them too. Soon, lines were out the door for these grinders, which cost about 30 cents apiece at the time.

  The Naugatuck Nardelli’s is the oldest of the company’s three shops, which is why pro­ducers chose to film here.

  While Nardelli’s has been featured in several newspapers and magazines, the airing of the show will mark the first time it will achieve national recogni­tion, said co-owner, Marco Nardelli, who owns the compa­ny with his brother, Tony, and sister, Diana Troiano-Nardelli.

  “Our family had a vision, and we knew if we worked hard, things would take care of them­selves,” Marco Nardelli said.

  As he reminisced on his fami­ly business history Wednesday afternoon, film crews tiptoed around a line of customers in front o f a rotating glass case filled with cannolis, cheese­cakes and Oreo pudding de­lights.

  A customer paid for his lunch and left a dollar tip in a glass jar.
  As is customary, manager Gary Matarazzo chimed a bell and the whole room yelled in unison: “Grazie!” It means thank you in Italian.

  “We wouldn’t be as success­ful without our great cus­tomers,” Marco Nardelli said.
 

I fell in love with franchising back in the mid 80s when I joined a franchisor that had been in business for over 25 years and at that time had about 1000 franchisees.  I felt right at home then and that feeling has never changed. Despite finding myself face to face with what I call the Beast of franchising many times throughout my career, my feelings towards this method of doing business just get better as time goes by and as I change roles and affiliations.

Although I iniitially did not see it, I came to understand that when you franchise a business you create a family. Some families are dream families while others are totally dysfunctional; most, however, fall right in the middle, and like most ‘normal’ families they have some good qualities and some pretty bad ones. The principles of love, friendship, interdependence, camaraderie, protectiveness and loyalty present in most families also permeate most franchise relationships. Those principles and how they manifest in franchising keep me hooked and don’t let me go too far. They form what to me is the Beauty of franchising.

The relationships that are formed between franchisor (founder and employees) and franchisees and among franchisees can be very strong. There is support going both ways. For example, it is the responsibility of the franchisor to support franchisees as their businesses grow and mature. And, for the relationship to flourish, franchisees also have to support franchisors by paying their dues and by beign open to consider the franchisor’s decisions with which they may or may not agree. It is all about the give and take… the dance of franchising can be a beautiful one when all parties are giving and all are receiving.

Yet, the Beauty of franchising transforms quickly into a Beast when these win-win principles are not respected. Dysfunction is quickly evidenced when the “Us” versus “Them” type of attitude appears. Typical comments from franchisors and their staff that define this attitude include:

• Franchisees never follow the system.
• They just don’t listen.
• All they do is complain.

Typical comments from franchisees in an “Us” versus “Them” culture include:

• They (meaning the franchisor and the staff) don’t know what the real world is like.
• They never listen to us.
• All they do is refer us back to the Operations Manual; they never support us.

Unfortunately what starts as miscommunication and rash statements made in a moment of frustration or anger, when repeated, can become a habitual way of communication, albeit impared. This style of relating with each other rapidly becomes part of the culture. Thus, it is critical that franchisors and franchisees remain vigilant at all times of what they say about each other.

There is only one truth about all of the sample statements above: THEY ARE ALL UNTRUE. They are broad generalizations, interpretations, and imply a finality that is very unlikely true.

When we use the words always, never or any other words that convey such finality, the statements are usually not true. There may be an instance or even many examples when the statement may apply but there are not as many truisms as we tend to use. The problem with using these exaggerations is that we use them to prove that we are right. They place us in an inflexible frame of mind where understanding and openness are hard to come by. They move us to a world of right and wrong, where “we” are right and “they” are wrong.  Over time this attitude erodes the relationship until it is too late… the Beauty becomes the Beast.

In 1998 Hylton Rabinowitz and David Buxton, owners of NWJ Jewelers in South Africa, had several company owned locations and had an overwhelming desire to grow. Hylton and David chose franchising and our company to take them through this expansion process. They wanted to create a company with 100 locations that could provide business ownership opportunities and jobs to the people who were entering the market after years of apartheid. They also wanted to be able to retire in their 50s.

After we finished franchising NWJ, Hylton and David worked hard to grow a company of high standards and ethics. Every year they added more locations in Southern Africa and have reached their locations goals. Beginning in the year 2000, NWJ has been recognized by many organizations, specifically being named Franchisor of the Year by FASA (Franchise Association of Southern Africa).

This summer, Hylton and David sold NWJ to the South African Public Company Taste Holdings PTY (LTD). Although they continue working and managing NWJ, they have the ability to retire anytime. They have achieved all what they set out to do. We are very proud of them and feel honored to have assisted them at the beginning of their journey.

This past July we finished franchising DetailXPerts, a great low entry green concept. Emmanuel Williams, the founder and owner, engineered a patent-pending steam clean process for auto detailing. This eco-friendly process saves water and avoids the use of harsh chemicals. For Emmanuel it was the love for automobiles that motivated him to design this great process.

Emmanuel and Angela are both incredible people to work with and franchising another green concept makes us feel good about our contribution to the world. DetailXPerts has two additional positive social repercussions; the low entry requirements makes business ownership accessible to more people and the business creates jobs for lesser skilled workers.

Check DetailXPerts at www.detailxperts.net and see what others are saying about this great concept in

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