Franchise Interviews

Get ready for the Super Bowl of franchising...Tom Portesy, President of MFV Expositions, and Joel Goldstein, Group Marketing Director. We are also meeting Paul Mann from Fetch Pet Care The Fetch Pet Care Way. Thrive with Fetch! Pet Care - The Pet Care Leader Work with the ones you love - the pets. Fetch! Pet Care offers pet franchise opportunities with a thriving future that gives you incredible freedom, and a career that offers long-term growth and income potential. Fetch! Pet Care is America's largest and most trusted pet sitting and dog walking franchise servicing more than 1,800 cities and towns nationwide and we're constantly growing. We've partnered with some of the largest corporations in America that market our services to millions of their employees, customers and members to deliver new business to you. The Fetch! Pet Care brand is rapidly becoming a household name, and you can be part of it. Last year we were voted among 100 of America's lowest risk and low-cost franchises by Entrepreneur Maga

We are meeting with Dr. Scott Shane, author of Born Entrepreneurs, Born Leaders. This is the first book to review the entire range of scientific literature on genetic effects on organizational behavior and explain in a practitioner-friendly manner, how your DNA affects your workplace behavior. Dr. Scott Shane is the author of over 60 scholarly articles on entrepreneurship and innovation management. Dr. Shane is currently a Professor of Entrepreneurial Studies and a Professor of Economics at Case Western Reserve University.

Home of the World’s Best Margarita Announces Franchise Offering New England’s Beloved Margaritas Mexican Restaurant to Franchise across Atlantic Seaboard. About Margaritas Mexican Restaurants Founded in 1986 by John Pelletier, Margaritas Mexican Restaurants has 19 locations throughout Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshireand Connecticut. From colorful authentic décor to a commitment to community relations through field trips and visiting artist demonstrations, Margaritas provides an atmosphere rich with the culture and flavors of Mexico, offering guests a fun dining adventure in a festive gallery of Mexican art. Margaritas Mexican Restaurants have earned numerous awards and honors, including being named the best Mexican restaurant in both New Hampshire and Connecticut. Margaritas is franchising for the first time The first company-owned restaurant in the plan is set to open in the first quarter of 2010 in Lexington, MA. Most Margaritas Mexican Restaurants range in size from 5,200-7,500 square feet, due to the

Sam Ballas, CEO of East Coast Wings and Grill. Sam will be talking with Marty and Don about why East Coast Wings & Grill has enjoyed 24 consecutive quarters of positive same store sales increases despite other restaurants seeing consecutive losses. Committed to family and far different from the norm in the chicken wing segment, Ballas and Kontos took over in 2000, after they noticed that the vast majority of wing concepts focused on pushing alcohol sales to make money. By creating a warm and inviting decor and focusing on families, customers started flocking to the restaurants. In fact,alcohol sales at East Coast Wings & Grill attribute for less than 8.5 percent of total sales, while the wings account for more than 35 percent. Another reason for their success is the diverse menu offerings. The East Coast Wings & Grill menu offers an array of high quality food including wraps, salads, overstuffed sandwiches, burgers and more. While the wings will always be the staple and have won

We are meeting with Geoff Hill, vice president at Roark Capital Group. Roark Capital Group is an Atlanta-based private equity firm that specializes in business and consumer service companies with attractive growth prospects and revenues ranging from $20 million to $1 billion. Roark has acquired 15 franchise/multi-unit brands that collectively have more than 14,000 points of distribution, 2,600 franchisees, and $3.7 billion in system-wide revenues across 50 states and 33 countries. Its franchise portfolio includes such well known brands as Carvel, Cinnabon, Schlotzsky's, Moe's Southwest Grill, Seattle's Best Coffee International, McAlister's Deli, Money Mailer, Fast Signs, Batteries Plus and Primrose Schools. The firm has more than $1.5 billion of equity capital under management.

The Book: Guerrilla Marketing for The Franchisee Many franchisees enter into a franchise business and think owning their own business will be much easier than it really is. Consequently, they often become discouraged from not experiencing the success they thought they signed up for. Other franchisees don't understand marketing and what it actually takes to grow their business. There is a false sense of security thinking that the sales will automatically come because they signed up for a "turn key" system. At the end of the day the success of each franchise business comes down to the operating franchisee. This book teaches business owners how to own their success and failures, what marketing is and what it takes to compete in today's tough business environment. Guerrilla Marketing defines marketing as "every bit of contact you or anyone in your company has with any part of the public. With over 14 Million Books sold worldwide, Guerrilla Marketing is one of the best known marketing brands in history: because i

For more than 20 years, enterprising individuals have found success and satisfaction with Unishippers franchise ownership. Today, more than 280+ franchises serve the needs of 75,000 small and mid-sized business customers nationwide by providing individualized shipping solutions that save time, trouble and money. Their franchisees say they enjoy the flexibility, challenge and opportunity that Unishippers provides.

We have the pleasure of meeting with Dan Lockwood, President of Unishippers and Chris Cadigan, owner of Unishippers of Oceanside, NY. Unishippers helps small businesses save time, trouble and money on all their shipping needs. They create a complete, individualized shipping solution for customers and know that one size definitely doesn't fit all and are proud to tailor their solutions to a business’ specific needs. Learn about this growing industry and franchises that demand aggressive/competent sales people to succeed. They will also talk about b2b relationships and how to create long term relationships with customers.

Maaco is “America’s body shop” with nearly 500 franchised locations across the continent boasting systemwide sales that approach $500 million. Maaco provides auto paint and auto body repair services for more than 12,000 vehicles a week and 600,000 a year, more than any other company in North America. The more than 17 million vehicles Maaco has repaired since 1972 could create a traffic jam 15 lanes wide from New York to Los Angeles.

EduFit is a franchised fitness concept providing convenient, appointment-based personal training services to men and women. Different from circuit or group training concepts, EduFit’s certified personal trainers work with up to five clients during a session, with each client following a customized training program based on their particular conditions, needs or weight loss or body-composition goals. The company was launched in Scottsdale, Ariz. In August 1998 and began franchising in April 2009. Currently, EduFit has two locations in Scottsdale and one in Phoenix. They expect to have 25 studios either open or in development by the end of 2010 and 200 locations nationwide within five years. Initial growth is expected to come primarily from single-unit franchise owners.

Team Blue: By providing a superior hand car wash experience, Team Blue is seeking to change and lead the multi-billion-dollar U.S. car wash industry by opening a national chain of “first-of-its-kind” franchised locations that offer a better quality wash; clean, customer-friendly operations and a unique “brand experience” to customers, while establishing itself as the first national presence in the car wash industry. Team Blue expects to have 35 franchises either open or in development throughout the country by the end of 2012.

Since 1982, Closets by Design has built a reputation as the nation’s leader in the closet organizing and storage remodeling industry. The company offers customers comprehensive solutions to all their organizational needs in a short and simple process by designing, building and installing custom home offices, closets, garage cabinets, wall units, laundries, pantries, wardrobe mirror doors and other home organization systems. Closets by Design offers a wide selection of finishes, accessories and hardware. There are currently 33 franchise locations across the country. With the real estate market the way it is, more and more people are deciding to refurbish their home instead of moving into a new one. We have seen that new closets are one of the easiest ways for people to feel like they have made big changes in their home, without having a major construction project going on. Especially with all the home remodeling shows out there, everyone these days is looking for simple ways to upgrade their homes. We are me

We are meeting with CEO Amit Kleinberger of Menchies. Menchie’s is the brainchild of Danna and Adam, whose passion and love for creating the perfect frozen yogurt quickly transformed into the ultimate fro-yo lover’s paradise. Other ice cream and frozen yogurt stores offer a limited amount of choices and charge customers for every flavor or topping they ordered. Menchie’s customers are able to serve themselves the perfect yogurt mix by choosing from a wide variety of delicious flavors, and more than 40 toppings with everything from chocolates, candies, and hot fudge, to granola and fresh seasonal fruit. You can mix all the flavors and toppings you want and only pay for what you take! When you’re finished crafting the perfect yogurt, just place it on the scale and pay per ounce. Seeking to create the perfect yogurt experience, Menchie’s offers the purest and creamiest “real” yogurt flavors, featuring live and active cultures. Low in fat, and high in calcium, Menchie’s Frozen Yogurt makes for both the perfect s

Have you heard of the famous 8 minute abs? It’s the creation of Jamime Brenkus. Jaime Brenkus is the Founder/America’s Premier Weight Loss Coach and Fitness Trainer. Jaime has dedicated his life to providing time-oriented approaches to enhancing one's lifestyle through proper nutrition and fitness. For the past 22 years, Jaime has trained with thousands of clients on a personal level, and has helped millions of people with his famous, nationally acclaimed 8 Minute Abs Workout Series. Jaime designed supermodel Kathy Ireland's videos as well as featured on radio, TV, and publications. Jaime was awarded a Fitness Advocate for the President's Challenge. Brenkus maintains certification as a Health and Fitness Instructor from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

Value Place Founded in 2002, Value Place is an economy extended stay lodging and short-term residential property brand that features remarkably affordable weekly rates, rigorous cleanliness standards and secure temporary lodging with an unparalleled commitment to the comfort, privacy and peace of mind of each guest. The Value Place brand comes from the management team that created and developed lodging brands such as Residence Inn (now owned by Marriott), Summerfield Suites (Hyatt) and Candlewood Suites (Intercontinental). Value Place is one of the fastest-growing lodging brands in the nation and the DeBoer/Value Place team has more than 585 combined years of professional real estate and development experience. The company currently has nearly 160 locations open in 26 states; the company expects to end 2009 with 167 locations. Since opening the first Value Place property in 2003, 47 franchise groups have committed to build over 500 properties over the next five years. We will be meeting with Gina-Lynne Smith

Since 1979, John Hayes has worked in the franchise community as a consultant, franchisee and franchisor. He is the author of several franchise-related books and countless articles that have appeared in media worldwide. He is also the co-author (with Zig Ziglar) of Network Marketing for Dummies. Areas of Expertise Dr. Hayes has served for many years as an advisor to franchisors, franchisees and small business owners internationally. His areas of expertise include management leadership, development, marketing, customer service, training and strategic planning. Widely Published Author He is the author or co-author of 18 non-fiction books including the Franchise Pre-Investment Checklist, Franchising: The Inside Story, Start Small, Finish Big, You Can’t Teach A Kid To Ride A Bike At A Seminar, and most recently Get It! The Secrets of Cultivating the HomeVestors Millionaire Mindset. His articles about franchising and business-related topics have appeared in Reader’s Digest, Inc. Magazine, Wall Street Journal, US

Mathnasium Learning Centers specialize in teaching kids math in a way that makes sense to them. Students go to Mathnasium year-round to catch up, keep up and get ahead in math. The proprietary Mathnasium Method™ is the result of 35 years of hands-on instruction and research. Franchising since 2003, Mathnasium has become one of the fastest growing educational franchises, with a new center opening each week. There are more than 200 Mathnasium franchises in North America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. Mathnasium has launched a new marketing campaign to provide its rapidly growing base of franchisees with customer acquisition and branding tools. The central theme of the campaign is Warning: Your Child Could Become Crazy About Math. The creative concept is to spotlight kids who are so crazy about math, that they just can’t help doing it and seeing it, wherever they are – at the beach, snowboarding, on the soccer field, and more. A customizable “toolkit” of five images and multiple

Jaime Brenkus is the Founder/America’s Premier Weight Loss Coach and Fitness Trainer. Jaime has dedicated his life to providing time-oriented approaches to enhancing one's lifestyle through proper nutrition and fitness. For the past 22 years, Jaime has trained with thousands of clients on a personal level, and has helped millions of people with his famous, nationally acclaimed 8 Minute Abs Workout Series. Jaime designed supermodel Kathy Ireland's videos as well as featured on radio, TV, and publications. Jaime was awarded a Fitness Advocate for the President's Challenge. Brenkus maintains certification as a Health and Fitness Instructor from the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

Don and Marty will talk with Andy Cucchiara, VP of Franchise Operations, about how ZIPS is reinventing the dry cleaning industry to appeal to the fast food generation. Zips is a cash only, pre-paid business. Every garment, every time is only $1.99 – no gimmicks, no exceptions. Because the cleaning machines are in-house you can drop off your garments at 9am and have them by 5pm. Because of the pre-paid model customers are more likely to pick up their garments faster. Have you ever had your dry cleaning sit at the drycleaners for weeks? I have! Also, by having the cleaning machines in-house the franchisees are able to do higher volume at a quicker rate. Andy can explain why ZIPS is a successful franchise in any economy, how the franchise builds from a strong support system and how they keep costs down by keeping inventory down. About ZIPS ZIPS, founded in 1996 and began franchising in 2006, has 18 locations on the East Coast. The company offers a fixed price of $1.99 for any garment to be dry cleaned and $1.19

First we are meeting with Mary Jo Larson, Publisher/VP at Franchise Times.  Next we are meeting with Express Medical Transporters.  Express Medical Transporters  was founded in 1995 by its President/CEO, Bernard A. Squitieri. With more than 25 years of experience in the transportation industry, Mr. Squitieri started the company with one vehicle. Today, Express Medical Transporters is the largest for-profit non-emergency transportation company in the state of Missouri. By completing thousands of trips per year with more than 150 vehicles on the road, Express Medical Transporters is able to provide the very best in price, quality and efficiency when it comes to transportation anywhere in Missouri. Because Express Medical Transporters, . owns all of its vehicles, equipment and has its own maintenance facility, we are able to eliminate the middle-man, thus reducing costs and controlling other transportation variables. These circumstances make their transportation services less expensive than using a broker or eve