The 2016 Smart Ideas Project

By |2020-11-12T18:14:30+00:00August 15th, 2016|Research, Resources|

FBR Insights, Issue No. 1, Spring 2016 We asked franchisors across North America to share the innovative ways they’re moving the needle on franchise performance. Our goal was simple: to gather the collective brainpower across top franchise brands and share as many smart ideas as possible on ways to improve business performance. The results are compiled here in the 2016 Smart Ideas project, the first in our series of reports for exclusively for franchise professionals.

The Missing Piece of Your Corporate Culture

By |2021-05-27T14:29:43+00:00May 13th, 2016|Blog|

Franchise brands with strong cultures have extremely high satisfaction and engagement among their franchisees. But cognitive culture is only half the story. Research cited by Harvard Business Review article points out that emotions are central to building the right culture.

FBR Staff Picks: Recommended Reading

By |2016-01-27T08:42:42+00:00January 27th, 2016|Uncategorized|

How does Franchise Business Reviews’ staff stays inspired and motivated? Check out our latest list of great reads. CEO Eric Stites recommends Making Idea Happen: Overcoming the Obstacles Between Vision and Reality. According to productivity expert Scott Belsky, no one is born with the ability to drive creative projects to completion. Execution is a skill that must be developed by building your organizational habits and harnessing the support of your colleagues. Read on for more inspiring titles.

  • binoculars representing transparency in franchising practices

GAINING TRACTION: 5 Steps to Drive Franchise Performance and Profitability

By |2021-02-12T16:59:51+00:00February 20th, 2015|Blog|

Having a strong culture of transparency is critical for the long-term success of your franchisees and your system as a whole. Franchisees can easily get distracted as their business grows, which will ultimately stall their growth. Being 100 percent transparent as an organization will keep you and your franchisees laser-focused on things that really matter.

3 Ways You Are Wasting Money

By |2015-01-07T12:58:30+00:00January 7th, 2015|Uncategorized|

Prior to spending the bulk of your budget on advertising, online lead generation, or attending shows to generate interest from potential franchisees, it's crucial to address things your franchisees aren't happy about. Why? Because your franchisees’ feedback can make or break a deal when trying to bring a new franchisee on board.

Don’t be a Dummy

By |2014-07-03T00:00:00+00:00July 3rd, 2014|Uncategorized|

No matter how “good” your system is, there’s a little bit of dummy in every organization. If any of these sound like someone you know, now is the time to address it – they could be holding you back from being truly GREAT.

Improve Franchisee Relations One Note At A Time

By |2014-06-19T04:00:00+00:00June 19th, 2014|Uncategorized|

A common complaint from franchisees is that their franchisor doesn’t listen, the corporate office is out of touch, and they don’t feel part of the larger brand. There are a lot of big picture things you can do to change this, but there’s also one seemingly small thing that can make all the difference: A handwritten note.

Complainers Among Us

By |2021-07-23T15:17:49+00:00June 5th, 2014|Blog|

There’s no doubt we’ve all worked with a complainer or two—that person who spends all his time griping about a situation rather than doing something to improve it. Complainers may hurt your brand in more ways than you know.

Let Your Franchisees Teach Your Franchisees

By |2014-05-07T00:00:00+00:00May 7th, 2014|Uncategorized|

We hear it time and time again: Franchisees learn better from each other. So, when a franchisor has a best practice to share, an improvement to make, or a new process to implement, they get better results when the news is delivered by franchisees.

Long Run Leadership

By |2014-05-03T04:00:00+00:00May 3rd, 2014|Uncategorized|

Being a runner from Boston, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what I’d have done if I’d been crossing the finish line at 2:50 p.m. on 4/15/13.

Jimmy John’s Greatest Mistake

By |2014-04-07T00:00:00+00:00April 7th, 2014|Uncategorized|

The passion of Jimmy Liautuad is palpable. He’s got a big personality, and as he shared at Franchise Time’s Finance and Growth Conference in March, he’s had a great ride as CEO of Jimmy John’s Gourmet Subs—a brand he started back in 1983. But it hasn’t all been roses.

The Five Most Important Things We Learned at IFA

By |2023-03-22T19:56:50+00:00March 5th, 2014|Blog|

Our team spent most of last week in New Orleans at the IFA Convention, so I asked them to dig out from their beads and give me the best tip they took away from being there. Just like the conference itself, there’s something for everyone in their responses.

The No-Longer-Optional Item 19

By |2014-01-16T05:00:00+00:00January 16th, 2014|Uncategorized|

You may be able to come up with lots of excuses not to include an Item 19 in your FDD, but the reality is your competitors include it and so should you.

Compete Locally to Succeed Nationally

By |2013-10-07T04:00:00+00:00October 7th, 2013|Uncategorized|

Local efforts can have a big impact on a franchise system as a whole, including its unit profitability, storewide sales, and overall brand growth. If you’re not already, you may want to consider what (or who) is actually driving your local efforts.

Item 19: Uncluttering the Debate

By |2013-06-27T04:00:00+00:00June 27th, 2013|Uncategorized|

It’s no secret that the Item 19 is a hot-button issue in franchising. While the majority of experts vote in favor of it, there are still many who argue that an Item 19 is not absolutely necessary. Who's right?

The Best Conference Tip I’ve Ever Gotten

By |2023-10-18T15:45:37+00:00May 22nd, 2013|Blog|

The best conference tip I’ve ever gotten was from Susan Black-Beth at the IFA Leadership Luncheon in February. I always walk away from conferences with a few (soon-to-be-forgotten) great ideas, but Susan’s hit home and I’ve been thinking about it—and working on it—ever since.

Would You Trust You?

By |2023-03-22T19:59:48+00:00March 5th, 2013|Blog|

If by some unlikely twist of fate, you were instantly transplanted from the home office to ownership of your own franchise unit, how would you feel about the direction of the company? What thoughts would be crossing your mind as you read the latest memo from the executives? Would you trust you?

The Silent Killer

By |2012-10-31T04:00:00+00:00October 31st, 2012|Uncategorized|

A few months ago, I wrote about complainers and their negative effect on a franchise brand. Since then, I’ve been [...]