Franchise Interviews

We are meeting Craig Erlich, President of BRIX Holdings, the parent company for Red Mango, Smoothie Factory, RedBrick Pizza and Souper Salad.  We are going to speak with Craig can about BRIX’s position in the healthy food market and the healthy portfolio of brands they have built. We also discuss the following topics: Red Mango recently celebrated its 10th anniversary when other brands have long since come and gone in this spaceAs consumers demand healthier options, BRIX is seeing a growing popularity of non-traditional locations for the brands (inside gyms, casinos, college food courts)RedBrick Pizza will be debuting a new prototype by end of the year (opening in NJ)

We have a great show today.  We are meeting Michael Poates, President of Gatti’s Pizza. For nearly half a century, Gatti’s has been satisfying cravings.The Gatti’s Pizza brand is in the midst of a huge growth period as they introduce new prototypes at a record number of new locations, an updated brand, and new products.  Some of the topics we discuss include the following: What Is Gatti’s? The Gatti’s Story How Is Gatti’s Different? Available and Growth Markets Gatti’s Franchise Models What’s Special About Their Menu? What Technology Powers Gatti’s? Startup Costs and Fees for a Mr. Gatti’s Pizza or Gatti’s Pizza Franchise Who Makes an Ideal Gatti’s Franchise Owner? Gatti’s Franchise Reviews

We have a great show today.  We are meeting with Gigi Butler, the founder of Gigi’s Cupcakes.  People across the country know Gigi from her appearance on “Undercover Boss” on CBS, and her journey is the American Dream come true. Soon after opening, Gigi’s Cupcakes became a Nashville delicacy dessert of choice and now, nine years later, it has expanded to more than 100 locations across 24 states…making Gigi’s the largest cupcake franchise in the country! Moving to Nashville in 1994 from California to pursue a career in music at 15-years old, Gigi supported her dream by cleaning houses during the day and singing in honky tonks at night. While she loved music, she also had a passion for baking. As the years went by, she decided to take a chance on her cooking talents instead of her voice. She took a huge risk and opened a cupcake boutique in a high rent area just off Music Row in Nashville in Feb of 2008- not far from the bars where she sang. Soon after opening, Gigi’s Cupcakes became a Nashville delicacy dessert of choice and now, nine years later, it has expanded to more than 100 locations across 24 states….making Gigi’s the largest cupcake franchise in the country!

We have a great show today.  We are meeting Peter Boylan, to talk about the PJ’s Coffee franchise opportunity.  We will talk about the background of the PJ’s brand, the success PJ’s have seen so far, how they are rebranding, franchisee growth opportunities and more. BACKGROUND: PJ's Coffee of New Orleans was founded in 1978 by Phyllis Jordan, a pioneer in the coffee industry that demonstrated that better beans, superior roasting techniques, and pure passion for the art of coffee-making mattered. PJ's Coffee serves a wide variety of hot, iced and frozen coffee beverages using only the top 1% of Arabica beans. Founder Phyllis Jordan pioneered the cold-drip process that protects the flavor and strength of the beans, while producing a coffee that is 2/3 less acidic. FARM TO CUP: PJ's Coffee partners with farms across the world to provide their customers the finest free trade coffee. By partnering with farms like El Terrerito in Honduras, PJ's Coffee has developed programs to ensure the quality of life of Honduran farmers is improved and minimized the brand's environmental footprint. COMPANY GROWTH: * Founded in 1978 in New Orleans, PJ's Coffee began franchising in 1989. * Top tier of franchised units averaged $614,284 in gross annual sales in 2016 * PJ's Coffee has more than 90 locations open and operating * 6.8% sales increase over the last year

We are meeting Mike Bidwell, the President and CEO of Dwyer Group.  Mike Bidwell has been a visionary in the franchise industry for over three decades, beginning in 1984 when he opened up his own Rainbow International® Carpet Cleaning & Restoration franchise and later adding a Mr. Rooter® Plumbing franchise in 1992. Fast forward to January of 2014, where Mike has not only been president for seven years, he is now CEO of Dwyer Group, the holding company for 17 franchise brands with more than 2,800 franchises in nine different countries. In part two, we play a clip from our popular Great Quotes in Franchising podcast.

We have a great show today.  It was almost a decade ago we interviewed Marco’s Pizza.  We invited John Ramsay, the Vice President of Franchise Development Services to come back and give us an update.   Since 2008, Marco’s Pizza has continued to open an average 2-3 new locations every week, exploding from 200 to over 800 locations in just six years.  At Marco’s, they pride themselves on ah-uthentic Italian artisan pizza, made with fresh, real ingredients and dough made in the store daily. At a time when 91% of Americans eat pizza at least once a month, more people are choosing the quality pizza we’ve built our brand on.    In part 2, we play a clip from our popular Great Quotes in Franchising podcast.

We have a great show today.  We are meeting Gary Findley, a veteran of the franchising industry.  Gary Findley has over 25 years of experience in helping entrepreneurs build over 9,500 franchise locations worldwide with only 2 brands. He now oversees one of the fastest-growing restoration franchises in the country as CEO of Restoration 1, a franchise brand with more than 120 locations open and in development. Along with offering fire, water, and mold damage restoration services, the team at Restoration 1 also provides emergency services, storm damage services, sewage system cleanup and more! Their IICRC and IAQA licensed restoration professionals can address your problems in no time. For over a decade, we have been in the business of restoring damaged residential and commercial properties to their former glory. Restoration 1 Values At Restoration 1, they understand that the people they work with are going through a stressful and emotionally difficult time. Because of this, they strive to provide caring and courteous support, upfront communication, and effective services to our customers. They handle water damage, fire cleanup, smoke odor removal, mold remediation and any other services needed to restore your home or business. In part 2, we play a clip from our popular Great Quotes in Franchising podcast.

We have a great show today.  We are meeting Laura Spaulding-Koppel, founder of Spaulding Decon.  For over a decade, Spaulding Decon has provided services for residential, commercial, government, and industrial properties to return them to clean, healthy, and safe properties for the occupants. From crime scene cleanup to hoarding, drug lab cleanup, mold remediation, and decontamination, Spaulding Decon has the professional expertise and specialized certifications to get the job done properly the first time. Every Entrepreneur Has A Story Laura was a woman in blue with the Kansas City, MO Police Department when she was called to the scene of a double homicide in a family’s home. Naturally, the homeowners thought law enforcement would clean up the mess. Shocked and disappointed to learn it was their responsibility as the property owner, Spaulding, an action-oriented Army veteran, personally worked with the family to finish the cleanup. The experience led her to found Spaulding Decon.  In part two, we play a clip from our popular Great Quotes in Franchising podcast.

Every Business Has A Story We are meeting with Scott Marr, CEO of Fleet Clean USA.  At the age of 20, Scott was pursuing truck washing as a side gig - while working full-time in the lucrative banking industry. He started out earning around 45,000 (after taxes) per-year and that income quickly rose. Shortly thereafter, Scott made the decision to quit his job in banking, and launch Fleet Clean. Tapping into a niche service in a recession-proof industry, Fleet Clean has grown at more than a 40 percent annual rate since its inception in 2009. The $12 million company recently announced franchise expansion plans throughout the Sun Belt states and into the northern regions of the United States for the anticipated harsh winter. The booming franchise wouldn't be where it is without Scott, who saw so much potential in the truck washing business that he gave up a promising career in banking at age 20 to establish Fleet Clean.   In Part Two, we play a clip for our popular Great Quotes in Franchising podcast.

We are meeting with Christin Myers - Regional Director of the OpenWorks franchise opportunity.  OpenWorks is guided by a simple philosophy: A cleaner, safer and healthier environment means a more productive work place. This is our goal at OpenWorks – to offer more than maintenance by working with you to improve your work environment. This is what motivates and challenges OpenWorks to go the extra mile.  OpenWorks was founded in 1983 by their current CEO, Eric Roudi. Roudi, a career entrepreneur, realized commercial cleaning was a massive and underserved $100 +billion industry. There were very few professional commercial cleaning companies at this time. Already intrigued by the idea of franchising, Roudi saw a great business opportunity by putting franchising and commercial cleaning together to create the unique concept we know today. After diligent research and planning, Eric Roudi introduced OpenWorks Facility Services, a company that is committed to improving facilities by maintaining high standards and providing quality work to consistently make facilities cleaner, safer and healthier. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, OpenWorks has regional offices located in Los Angeles, California, San Franciso, California, San Diego, California, Seattle, Washington, Dallas, Texas, Austin, Texas, Houston, Texas, Chicago, Illinois, Denver, Colorado, Tampa, Florida, Atlanta, Georgia, Minneapolis, Minnesota and Phoenix, Arizona.  In part 2, we play a clip from our popular Great Quotes in Franchising podcast.