Franchise Interviews

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 meeting with Jerry Egner, the CEO of Closets by Design,

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 snack, or a delicious meal in itself. Menchie’s also serves a variety of tasty fruit sorbets, as well as low-carb and sugar-free yogurts. For an unforgettable experience, try your yogurt inside one of Menchie’s fresh-made waffle bowls. Menchie's loves being the ultimate fro-yo destination, but we truly pride ourselves on being a part of the local community. Menchie’s is the perfect place for the post-soccer game celebration or the Little League victory. Local schools depend on Menchie's to help fundraise for programs and events; and for every regular customer that walks into a Menchie’s, there’s a trained “Mixologist” that knows his or her name. It's a beautiful thing. ABOUT THE NAME: When Adam and Danna first started dating, Adam gave Danna the endearing nickname of “Menchie.” A slightly confused Danna knew that the origin of the word meant a “good or generous man,” and after a few months of dating she

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, President of Franchise Services.

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, USA Today, International Herald Tribune, etc. and many publications sponsored by the International Franchise Association. Corporate Level Expertise From November 2004 until January 2009 he served as President & CEO of HomeVestors of America, Inc., the We Buy Ugly Houses® company. He was a franchisee of HomeVestors from 2002 until 2005. He has been a franchisee of several other concepts and he served on the Board of Directors for both HomeVestors (Chairman of the Board) and The Dwyer Group (1992-2003). Seminars & Workshops Dr. Hayes leads a variety of seminars including How To Capture & Keep The Right Customers, How To Capture & Keep The Right Franchisees, and he facilitates Masterminds for franchisors, franchisees and industry suppliers. He is a popular speaker and trainer at franchise conventions and meetings internationally. Dr. Hayes has provided services to dozens of franchise companies during his career.

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 student bios will allow franchisees to create a variety of print materials (door hangers, postcards, posters, ads) that are suitable for their local market. Actual Mathnasium students are featured in the student bios. The messaging is targeted at families with kids who need math help and is aimed at motivating them to call or visit their local Mathnasium franchise. The campaign messaging will also be used on Mathnasium’s promotional items. Warning: Your Child Could Become Crazy About Math is a message that is part of Mathnasium’s history. It originally appeared on a poster in the front window of the first Mathnasium Learning Center. The poster featured the words in bright red type on a black background. The same bold message was recently displayed on a window in the Manhattan Mathnasium. It delighted and attracted New Yorkers and resulted in a surge in business. Working with The Madison West Agency,

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 for any shirt to be laundered. ZIPS offers same day service “In by 9 out by 5” with the motto, “.We take the sting out of dry cleaning.”

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 even a taxicab, while providing a higher level of service.