The Franchise King Blog

Caution Link Shorteners! Panera Bread Franchisees Are Watching Your Every Tweet...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalebdf/ / CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

As you sit at your table, laptop at ready-mode, enjoying your favorite hot beverage, beware;

The bitly url shortening police are within WiFi range...

TechCrunch is reporting that Panera Bread has blocked all bit.ly url shortening links from users who happen to be using Panera’s free WiFi. I guess that Panera corporate is getting worried about something. These are the worrisome things that come to my mind;

• A laptop-wielding customer could be Tweeting about the massive caloric content in one of their amazing bear-claws.
• A 15-year old waiting for her mom to order could be posting a message on Facebook stating that "These lines at Panera in Yorktown are like really like insane."
• A caffeine-crazed food blogger may put out a Tweet saying that Panera should not make their coffee so strong.
• The new group leader of a local social networking group may write a short blog post about the lack of service at his local Panera, as he has waited 20 minutes for a server to take his order. (They don't have servers at Panera, Einstein)
  

Lots to worry about, Mr. Panera......

Panchero's Mexican Grille Wins Franchise Awards

Panchero's Mexican Grill, an Iowa-based  franchise company, was recently honored with two awards - including first place in the new Social Media category - and was recognized for its excellence in lead generation, recruitment, and industry-wide best practices in franchising.

I remember running into Panchero's on Twitter last year. I think I may have been prodded along by fellow franchise professional, Rush Nigut, an interesting and engaging franchise attorney out of the Hawkeye state.

(Rush and I frequently go back and forth on Twitter during basketball season. We have Lebron, you know.)

Congrats to Panchero's. You do great work in franchise social media marketing.

Franchise Opportunities; Veterans Franchise Giveaway Contest Winner Announced

Just in time for Veterans Day....

We have a winner!

A few months ago, a great contest was announced here, as well on some other sites and blogs; 

"The Maid Brigade Veterans Franchise Giveaway, is a program that will
award more than $1.5 million in business ownership opportunities to 100+ veterans, creating more than 1,000 jobs nationwide."

Well, a winner was just chosen! It's Major Philip Piaget, of Crestview, Florida.

Congrats, major!

Bronze Star Medal with Valor Winner. Recipient of a Purple Heart, campaign medals for Kosovo and Iraq and numerous Meritorious Service Medals. Those descriptions all apply to Major Philip Thomas Piaget. Now one more honor has been added: Gold Award in the Maid Brigade Veterans Franchise Giveaway.

Piaget, of Crestview, Fla., won the company's contest in time for Veterans Day 2009. The father of four retired from the Army in September after serving 20 years as an Airborne Ranger and entered the franchiser's national contest the same month, noting that his life as a leader of infantrymen and that of a quality Maid Brigade franchisee have much in common. Compared to his daunting combat and diplomatic assignments surrounding the efforts to quell sectarian violence and insurgent attacks on Coalition Forces in Iraq, his road to franchise ownership was smooth.

Philip was one of six finalists. Look

Major Piaget

The Bagel And Pasta Franchise Hour

                    
              


I met Paul Segreto either on Twitter or Facebook, I'm not quite sure. I saw that he was doing some fairly intelligent musings concerning social media in the franchise industry, and I reached out to him.

We got to Tweeting back and forth a tad, and found that we shared some strong similarities;

• We were both non-International Franchise Association members
• We agreed on which franchisors were good, and which ones were weak, at best
• Both of our names ended in vowels
• He thought I was funny. That always wins me over
• He said that I had big ...ok-- he said that I had courage (Chutzpah)

My Franchise Business Advice For The Week Of November 9th, 2009

This weeks advice is for prospective franchise business owners;

You're probably hearing that it's a little tough to get a commercial start-up loan these days. It may not be easy, but big banks are not the only sources of capital for your new business. Try a community bank, or even consider borrowing money from yourself.

Thank You Note From A New Franchise Owner

Once in awhile, we get kudos from people that we didn't know how much we helped, either professionally, or personally.

As someone who helps people change things around, career-wise, it's visually easy to see the impact I can make. I can attend the Grand-Opening's of their new businesses, and see the joy in their eyes. I can also see the community support, as local politicians, and even other small business owners attend these ceremonies.

(This picture is from the Just-A Buck Grand Opening in Cleveland, Ohio)

Steve and Elaine Giordano just opened a TeamLogic IT franchise, and in their thank you note to me, they shared something that I had no idea I helped them do;

"We appreciate you guiding us through the franchise experience and the due diligence process. As a result, we feel that we made very few mistakes, and we were able to open our business three weeks before our contract opening date."

I really had no idea that I helped them open their new business earlier than they expected. Sometimes, we just don't know how we help others get where they want to go.

Just so you know, I didn't share this thank you note to brag. I just think that it's important to share.

Do you have something similar to share?

(Best of luck, Steve and Elaine!)

Is The US Economy Really Improving?

I keep hearing that the US economy is showing signs of improvement. But, where am I hearing that?

• Cable news networks
• Some newspapers
• Some small business owners 

I'm also hearing the opposite. I'm hearing some negative economic news from;

• Local franchisees
• Sales managers
• Auto dealers
• Family friends

Who should I believe? Should I believe;

• Millionaire news anchors
• Millionaire business owners
• Politicians (Some millionaire's there too, by the way)

Or should I believe folks that;

• May be on the verge of losing their homes
• Have been out of work for 8-9 months
• Are politicians

Do you think that I am being a "Negative Ned?"

Am I living in reality?

Are things really getting better?

Share.