The Franchise King Blog

Blogged.com

Shara Karasic over at Work.com made mention of Anita Campbell's Small Business Trends blog as being voted Number #1 in the Business category, over at a nice blog ranking site called Blogged.com. I was asked to be a guest columnist at Small Business Trends, and write a monthly column on franchising for Anita. I am also the "Resident Franchise Expert" at Small Business Trends, so I am available to answer any questions related to the franchise industry by Anita's huge readership.{Small Business Trends has an amazing 130,000+ subscribers!}

This blog is also ranked over at Blogged.com, coming in at Number #5 in the Franchise category out of #48 blogs on franchising that are listed.  Number #1 would be nice, and Blogged.com let's you vote. {Subtle hint...} Just click Here to vote..
Check out Small Business Trends, and Blogged.com.

Dairy Queen Franchise Owners Not Chillin

Old. New.
DQ. Dairy Queen.The Blizzard. Conjures up sweet memories, huh. Well DQ Corporate has a new idea or two, which involve a lot more than their new logo above, and some franchisees of the chain are quite angry.....

Why The Franchise King Blog LiveBlogged The Cleveland Presidential Debate

Because the franchise industry will be affected by the outcome of the 2008 election. Since the Republican nomination seems to be a lock, lots of Americans are watching the Clinton-Obama battle....

Who Won Cleveland Democratic Presidential Debate?

Pretty intense debate, huh? Spirited. Non-violent. Was this the last one? The overwhelming response feel from those that were commenting and following this blogger was very anti-Hillary.  Lots of joking around, with Hillary being the brunt of the jokes. So..who won?

2008 Democratic Debate! Sign up for Twitter, and converse with us!

Meet The Bloggers
A Cleveland Original!
Debate starts soon!
Cmon folks. It takes 44 seconds to sign up for a free Twitter account. Then come back here, and find the Twitter area {Bottomish rightish}Click "follow me" after you have an account set up. Then we can share our views!

Follow Cleveland's Democratic Debate Live On The Franchise King Blog, via Twitter!

  Meet The Bloggers.net / LiveBlogging Event!

{www.Thefranchiseking.com}

Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama are debating at Cleveland State University, and some cool Web 2.0 things are included at no charge....

Yours truly will be joining some other Northeast Ohio bloggers at Cleveland's NBC Affilliate, WKYC-TV in a live-blogging event, during the debate. {LIVE} My focus will be on the issues that affect small business. Even though I am not a politico blogger, I was welcomed with really open arms to participate in this interesting event at the WKYC studios.

The small business voting block contributes about 33% of the votes in an election year, and I am anxious to hear the Democrats debate about issues that affect small business owners in our country. So far, the small business community has been quite disappointed with the lack of focus concerning small business.

You can participate in this debate in the comfort of your own homes. I will be using twitter, which is an amazing Web 2.0 tool that allows one to write snippets of snippets. In this case I will be writing short, and to the point snippets of what Mrs. Clinton, and Mr.Obama are debating about, while it is happening. Here is how you can join in:

On the lower right hand side of The Franchise King Blog, find the "Twitter" area, scroll down to the bottom of the Twitter block, and click "Follow me on Twitter." If you don't have a FREE account, it will take you 44 seconds to sign up. After you sign up, you will be able to follow me. Here is my follow link- http://twitter.com/franpro 

Just follow along, and when you feel like chiming in, chime in! Invite your aunts, uncles, cousins, cousin's boyfriends, brothers, sisters, and any other humans that you feel might enjoy this. Have them get a FREE Twitter account.Twitter is rather addicting, as you will see....

The other bloggers that will be alongside me at Channel 3 News include George Nemeth {Brewed Fresh Daily}, Gloria Ferris {GloriaFerris.net}, Tim Ferris {TimFerris.blogspot.com}, Roger Bundy {fsgf.blogspot.com}, Derek Arnold {Subsetofderek.blogspot.com},  Brian Layman {Thecodecave.com.}, and Will Kessel  {collisionbend.com}.

Jill Zimon {Writes Like She Talks}, and Jeff Coryell  {The Ohio Daily Blog} will be on the floor of the debate, and we expect to find some way to all interact, and get the real scoop, on the real scoop... Stay Tuned!

Speaking Of Small Business....

{www.Thefranchiseking.com}

Did you that this is National Entrepreneurs Week? Well, it is! Events are happening around the country. In 2006, Congress dedicated the last week of February to Entrepreneurs. C'mon fellow Entrepreneurs, let's keep thing moving forward in 2008! Don't give up!

Here is the full story!

More!

The Presidential Candidates Better Start Talking About Small Business

   
As we all watch the presidential candidates strut their stuff, there seems to be a major theme missing from their platforms.....

New Franchise Directory For Veterans!

Military Veterans can be successful franchise owners because of the franchise business model itself...

Green Franchises/Garbage In-Garbage Out

       {Click Flag. Get Free Help}
{www.thefranchiseking.com}
The newest franchise that will hopefully provide some green to it's owners, and an environmentally positive service for it's customers is now open, in the "green" state.

Franchise ebook Breaking News!!! New Bonus!!!

As you probably know, I have just written my first book.



I feel that the information that I have included in my ebook will help you tremendously, and I have included research steps that you probably haven't thought of.

{All for the price of a dinner for 2 at Applebee's, or Maggiano's, or other nice restaurants of your choice.}

How would you like to find out if you are headed the right direction in a franchise business of your own?

How would you like it if you could use a real franchise industry insider to bounce your research findings off of?

How would you like a FREE half hour in-person or phone consultation included with your ebook purchase?

If you invest a little in this ebook, you will receive a FREE half hour consultation with me!
This entire FREE consultation  will be focused on you...I won't be selling any add-on services, or try to convince you to work with me. This is just about providing some FREE guidance to you!

How many books have you purchased  that offer a FREE Bonus like this?????

Just go here now, to learn more about the book, and the consultation.....

A Cleveland Franchise {Trade}

Well, the Cav's Franchise pulled it off. A stunning trade, and one that will be discussed on local and national blogs for the next couple of weeks.  As I digress a little into a sporting franchise instead of a pure business franchise, I want to tell you my opinion, at first glance:
I love it!  We need some defense {Wallace}. We need a 3 point shooter {Ssczerbiak}.
How do you feel about this franchise trade?

Why It's Time For THIS Franchise Consultant To Brag

{www.thefranchiseking.com}

I have had several speaking engagements in the past month, and I want to share with you what some attendees have been telling me about their experiences concerning finding the right franchise....

Meal Assembly Franchise Saga Continues

{www.thefranchiseking.com}

Please file this under your "Joel told you so' file. Last year I discussed this fad on another franchise blog. Sean kelly's Franchise Pick is a great blog, and Sean is quite the character. In his post from July 24th, 2007 concerning whether or not these meal prep franchise concepts are real or a "flash in the pan", here is what I said in the first comment on the story:
Sean,
"This is a flash in their pan…
I predicted this 1.5 years ago. Not only am I a franchise industry
veteran that knows what I am talking about sometimes, I am a dual
income household type human. Question:
If my wife and I don’t have time to cook, or to do much of anything
M-F, how would one of us have time to cook 10 meals ahead of time for 3
hours on a sunny Sat. morning, right here in Cleveland, Ohio?
And…here is the other thing…What if we don’t even have freezer space to keep the 10X3 meals needed for our family of 3?
This was not well thought out.
Another fad. More bad PR for our industry a couple of years from now,
when 80% of them are out of business, unless they figure out how to add
some more services or products."

Today, The New York Times published this telling story concerning this failing concept. Here

I suggest reading the entire comment stream on Sean's Blog. Pretty intriguing. Here


 

And The Winner Of My NEW Franchise eBook Is.......

The Managing Director of Business Development at Blue Bridge Networks in Cleveland, Ohio. His name is Kevin Goodman!

"BlueBridge Networks is a leading provider of mission critical, high availability services such as secure data center hosting, dedicated Internet and network access, managed network security, managed data storage, and VM solutions.
BlueBridge specializes in securing critical IT assets, ensuring that these functions and data remain highly available, always."

BlueBridge is a great Cleveland company...Kevin, congrats on winning "The Essential Steps To Researching a Franchise Opportunity." Kevin subscribes to my E-Newsletter. Maybe you should, too! {Go to the rather large orange box on the right}

It's The Economy. Franchise Interest Increasing

{www.thefranchiseking.com}

As a veteran of the franchise industry, I have been able to watch and experience the sometimes cyclical nature of franchise interest....

The JoelPost. February 17,2008/Politics+Small Business

Right                   Left
Small Business and politics seem intertwined, most of the time. Here is an observation:
As of last week, the only Presidential candidate that mentions Small Business on the home page of their website is Barack Obama. On the other sites, one really has to dig through them to find issues specific to Small Business. That does not mean that I endorse Obama, or that I lean to the right, or to the left. Just an observation. Small Business owners need to start learning about what impact the newly elected President will have on them....

Attention Texas! DFW Franchise Show February 23rd!

A fellow franchise consultant/business broker is putting on a really big Franchise Show next week at The Gaylord Texan. Last year's show was very well attended. Go see Anne Barr's website that is dedicated to this show!
Click Here!

Book Review: My Brand New Book On Franchising Gets a Thumbs Up!

Joel Libava's 1st foray into publishing just got reviewed by franchise industry veteran, Sean Kelly. Wow!

read more | digg story

The French Version of My Frenchise Website

As I was taking a look at my amazing blog stats {Well not really amazing, but I like that word}, I came across a link that shows someone in France that found the first franchise related website I started a few years back. It was a Google search, and it came back translated from English to French. Just another internet WOW. Here it is

Only In Ca. The Margarita Man

The Daily Franchise News, a blog out of Chicago , always has some interesting  stories about new franchise and even some non-franchise concepts. This one features a Sheriff. Brad Sheriff. Former Corporate Dude. Read on.....Here

Corporate College Franchise Class Cancelled Due To Weather!

Cleveland Corporate College's Franchise class for this evening  {2-12} has been canceled due to the Winter Storm we are experiencing. It will be rescheduled, soon! Drive safe...

The JoelPost. February 11, 2008. Speaking of Master Franchises...

In the recent post below on Master Franchising, I discussed the definition of a Master Franchise. Although Master Franchising is not for most people, it is for some. If you feel you are ready to become the franchisor, I have a couple of select opportunities in Master Franchising that may be a nice fit for you.

Just contact me via phone:
Joel Libava
216-831-2610/1-800-460-4299
or email- franpro at sbcglobal dot net

The Master Franchise/Build an Empire! {Part 1}

So you want to invest in a business of your own. You say you want something that can be big.....

Hermanisms/New Year's Resolutions Holding Up?

John Herman asks you if you are committed to your commitments on his blog....Are You?

read more | digg story

Our 1st Book On Franchising Just Released!

I am a busy guy...

In addition to working with those interested in exploring opportunities in the world of franchising, I administer 4 blogs, a couple of websites, contribute original articles to Small Business Trends,  do radio and newspaper interviews,and some other top-secret stuff, I have managed to write an EBook. My family has been quite patient with me during the past 6 months, and I am grateful for that! Click Here for the Press Release   

Franchise Choices For Veterans

{www.Thefranchiseking.com}
On one of my other blogs, I have put together a fine directory that lists some franchises that Veterans may want to check out. In my years of working with potential franchise owners, I have found that sometimes they just want some space, and need to do some research on their own, and on their own terms. This directory is a great place to start...
Go Here To See The Blog, And It's Directory!

OhioBiz.com Business Directory Relaunched!

OhioBiz.com, Ohio's largest, and now most extensive business directory has relaunched, adding lot's of cool Web 2.0 functions to it's platform. Actually, Mark Geyman, OhioBiz.com's owner, added the new functions...   

ValPak Franchising Going Web 2.0 at IFA Convention!

{www.Thefranchiseking.com}
The International Franchise Association Convention is February 9th in Orlando, and if for some reason you cannot be there, you can listen via Internet thanx to direct mail franchisor, ValPak . Access is available from these websites on the 10th and 11th:
www.franchise.org
www.valpak.com
www.franchisebusinessnow.com

Read more about this web 2.0 event here.

Quiznos Being Sued. This Time By Subway

   

Quizno's and Subway are known for two things.......

Weedman Franchise Company Awards Ohio WeedWoman A Weedy Award

{www.Thefranchiseking.com}

Weedman Franchising, also known as Turf Holdings Inc. has awarded several outstanding franchisees their "Weedy" award for exceptional service. Phil Fogarty, who owns the rights to our area, must be really proud. Here is the full story from Landscape Direct.