Franchise Interviews

Welcome to a prime-time edition of Franchise Interviews.  Tonight’s show features four franchisors in the junk and hauling industry.  While providing similar services, each franchise is a bit different from the other.  We will play clips from previous interviews with 1-800-GotJunk, College Hunks Hauling Junk and Moving, Bin There Dump That, and the Junkluggers franchise opportunity.

Today's great quote comes from Art Coley of Alphagraphics. AlphaGraphics, Inc. plans, produces and manages visual communications for businesses at nearly 300 owner-operated, locally-based business centers worldwide. It is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, in the AlphaGraphics network. Here is part of the transcript. I tell you, Marty, you said something earlier, I was saying earlier about that nearly ten years of restaurant ownership. There were months, and we were not a franchise; there were months Marty where I begged for somebody to send a royalty check to if somebody could bring me some turnkey marketing programs if somebody could bring me some training solutions that were already ready to go for the employees and how to hire them and who is the right person, how to recruit them. Suppose somebody could bring me a process for creating more traffic at my restaurant or an operational workflow and checklist. Marty, I believe, I believe, and I've had people, great people like Bud Hadfield, and I can go down the list of just the names of people in my cell phone that I can call anytime. I mean John Luther over at Duncan Brands and Jim Amos, who run OLED mailboxes, etc. You know all these names. I'm honored to be on your show today just knowing those guys. People like that are people that you've interviewed. And franchising, I believe, is the greatest invention for small business ownership. Because franchising doesn't change the fact that you are still a small business owner, all franchising should do; my job as president of Alpha Graphics, is to take people who have decided they want to be a small business owner and they want to do it in this arena of providing visual communication solutions, whether that's a document solution or marketing solution

Every business has a story.  Cliff Kennedy's story begins while sitting in traffic and discovering Frios Gourmet Pops.  Once he tried the product, he knew he had to be part of this fantastic brand.  Cliff signed on as a franchisee in 2018, buying the Mobile, Alabama territory. He then bought Frios Gourmet Pops within six months to add more support and structure to the company.  By joining the Frios family, you are not only joining the fastest-growing ice pop franchise in the U.S., but you are also joining one of the most straightforward and most flexible franchise concepts around! Enjoy your all-in-one mobile office that equips you with what you need to start selling happiness and bringing smiles to your community and have the confidence in selling their pre-packaged product knowing it has had zero contact with human hands.  Learn more about Cliff's story and the Frios Gourmet Pops franchise by listening to this podcast.  In part two, we play a clip from our popular Great Quotes in Franchising podcast.

There is a great expression which suggests success leaves clues. In this episode, we ask Dan Castellini, the frantrepreneur who owns one how he became so successful in franchising with the Liberty Tax franchise system. Let us know your thoughts!  Great quotes in franchising.  Dan Castellini is one of Liberty Tax Services top franchisees.  Why?  Listen to some powerful words of wisdom from hall of famer in franchising John Hewitt and successful franchise business owner Dan Castellini.

Today's Great Quote in Franchising comes from Lawrence Doc Cohen, a veteran of the franchise industry who first franchised Great American Cookies over 40 years ago, and became the first-ever franchisee inducted into the International Franchise Association?s (IFA) Hall of Fame. Here is a quote from Doc - I had been part of other startups and knew just how difficult it was to begin a concept. So, let's say I wanted to be Doc's Cookies. I could have done that. I could have said, all right, now I've got to develop a recipe. I've got to do my marketing program. I've got to get the financing. I've got to do an operations manual. I've got to figure out how to do it. I've got to figure out where the locations ought to be. A lot of that is done for you already. A franchise provides a concept that has been proven and tested. Somebody else has done all that work. The systems are typically in place and have been revised over time to prove they can succeed. It was just a great way to go.

We are meeting with CEO, Dr. Sam Meisler, DVM of the PetWellClinic franchise opportunity.  PetWellClinic is a walk-in veterinary clinic, providing excellent preventative, wellness, and sick care for dogs and cats on an on-demand basis. There is no need for an appointment because PetWellClinic’s technology, design, and operational systems provide customers with a modern-day experience in an antiquated industry. PetWellClinic recently began franchising after the success of its company-owned operations in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Learn more by listening to the podcast.  In Part Two, we will play a clip from our popular Great Quotes in Franchising podcast.

Today, Franchise Interviews is meeting with Pierre Panos, Founder and CEO of the Fresh To Order franchise opportunity. Fresh To Order: f2o is an innovative, franchised restaurant model that combines quality American cuisine, gourmet fresh ingredients and fast service to offer unbelievable food served in less than 10 minutes for around $10. Find our more about Fresh To Order by listening to the interview.

We are meeting with Andrea Pirrotti-Dranchak  Andrea serves as Chief Marketing and Development Officer for both Franchise Development and Brand at Office Evolution (the fastest growing and #1 coworking franchise in the US). Office Evolution is seeing interest from companies and entrepreneurs who are now giving the benefits of rentable office space to their employees. In fact, Office Evolution relies on its suburban business model approach to be the most convenient place to have an office and conduct business outside of the home. As long as work patterns remain up in the air, the kind of service the likes of Office Evolution provide may be more in demand. Few companies are in a rush to make their employees come into the office full time and even more are deciding that Office Evolution is the solution.  In Part Two, we play a clip from our popular Great Quotes in Franchising podcast.

We are meeting with Peter Carlson, President of Pet Evolution Franchising, LLC.  Unlike your standard pet supply stores, Pet Evolution takes a health-driven approach to keep dogs healthy and their owners happy. Each location offers products that cater to specific pet diets and health concerns, along with specialty services like grooming, self-serve dog wash, and mobile nail trims. Every Business Has A Story Pet Evolution was founded in 2012 by friends Rian Thiele and Mike Osborn, both having watched their childhood dogs suffer through the itchy paws, chronic ear infections, and multiple vet trips of undiagnosed food allergies. Peter Carlson, President of Pet Evolution Franchising, LLC, suggested the brand begin franchising after falling in love with Pet Evolution. Once a loyal customer before joining the team, Peter turned to Pet Evolution as his Standard Poodle, Leo, struggled with digestive and allergy issues, following countless tries with other products with no results. After switching to products endorsed by their team, Peter immediately saw positive results to help his dog live a happier life. In Part Two, we play a clip from our popular Great Quotes in Franchising podcast.

We have a great show today. We are meeting with Justin Nihiser, CEO of Code Ninjas. Code Ninjas® is the world’s largest and fastest-growing kids coding franchise, with hundreds of locations in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Their goal is to create the problem solvers of tomorrow. At their centers, kids learn to code while building their own video games in a fun, safe, and inspiring environment. Kids gain confidence, logic, resourcefulness, and problem-solving skills that will serve them for the rest of their lives. In Part Two, we play a clip from our popular Great Quotes in Franchising Podcast.