This Week on Franchise Today: International Franchising – A Franchisor’s Insight

This week on Franchise Today, Host, Paul Segreto and Co-producer, Joe Caruso welcome Catherine Monson, CEO at Fastsigns International.

Based upon recent experience leading Fastsigns into Puerto Rico, Catherine discuses the benefits of expansion via international franchising, preparation necessary in exploring and entering international markets, and establishing important international connections from square one. In addition, Catherine provides a glimpse into her upcoming appearance on CBS Undercover Boss.

About Franchise Today

Franchise Today is hosted by Paul Segreto, President and CEO at franchisEssentials, and co-produced by well-known franchise veteran, Joe Caruso. Their unique perspective and extensive industry experience provides the foundation for relevant discussions about franchising and franchise best practices. Weekly guests include some of the brightest minds in the franchise world, with specific expertise and experience within various areas of franchising.

Other features include Franchise News, as reported by the leading franchise publications, the IFA Corner, news and events from the International Franchise Association, New Brands in Franchising, a look at up and coming franchise concepts, and “Are You Kidding Me?”, eye-opening and thought-provoking insight into the comical, and sometimes illogical side of franchising.

The team at Franchise Today is dedicated to franchise success at all levels. So, whether you’re a franchise professional looking to grow a franchise concept, needing some assistance in facing today’s challenges or would just like to better understand franchise best practices, then Franchise Today is for you!

Franchise Today airs LIVE every Thursday at 12 PM CST / 1 PM EST with archived segments available on-demand.

This Week on Franchise Today: Franchise Times Editor, Nancy Weingartner Talks Franchising!

This week on Franchise Today, Franchise Times Executive Editor, Nancy Weingartner joins Host, Paul Segreto and Co-producer, Joe Caruso, to discuss the recently completed IFA Convention, and Nancy’s involvement in internatonal franchise trade missions.

Joe and Paul begin this week’s segment with a recap of last week’s show with IFA President & CEO, Steve Caldeira, and glimpse into future segments of Franchise Today including the 3rd Annual Franchise Legal Series scheduled to start April 12th.

About Franchise Today

Franchise Today is hosted by Paul Segreto, President and CEO at franchisEssentials, and co-produced by well-known franchise veteran, Joe Caruso. Their unique perspective and extensive industry experience provides the foundation for relevant discussions about franchising and franchise best practices. Weekly guests include some of the brightest minds in the franchise world, with specific expertise and experience within various areas of franchising.

Other features include Franchise News, as reported by the leading franchise publications, the IFA Corner, news and events from the International Franchise Association, New Brands in Franchising, a look at up and coming franchise concepts, and “Are You Kidding Me?”, eye-opening and thought-provoking insight into the comical, and sometimes illogical side of franchising.

The team at Franchise Today is dedicated to franchise success at all levels. So, whether you’re a franchise professional looking to grow a franchise concept, needing some assistance in facing today’s challenges or would just like to better understand franchise best practices, then Franchise Today is for you!

Franchise Today airs LIVE every Thursday at 12 PM CST / 1 PM EST with archived segments available on-demand.

This Week on Franchise Today: International Franchising… Taking Your Brand Global

International Franchising is front and center this week on Franchise Today as Host, Paul Segreto welcomes as his guest, Ray Hays, a seasoned international franchise executive and consultant.

Hays has a successful 20-year track record of developing and supporting Master Franchisees worldwide, including actual field experience in 50 countries. He has earned his Certified Franchise Executive designation in 2007 and his MBA in 1994. Building upon his Bachelors of Science degree in International Affairs from Georgetown University, Hays studied within a Spanish and Cultural Curriculum in Spain at the Universidad de Sevilla.

In addition to his international work as a franchise executive and consultant, Hays planned and executed trade missions and partner searches with U.S. Commercial Service, U.S. State Department, foreign government agencies and the International Franchise Association.

About Franchise Today

Franchise Today is hosted by Paul Segreto, President and CEO at franchisEssentials, and co-produced by well-known franchise veteran, Joe Caruso. Their unique perspective and extensive industry experience provides the foundation for relevant discussions about franchising and franchise best practices. Weekly guests include some of the brightest minds in the franchise world, with specific expertise and experience within various areas of franchising.

Other features include Franchise News, as reported by the leading franchise publications, the IFA Corner, news and events from the International Franchise Association, New Brands in Franchising, a look at up and coming franchise concepts, and “Are You Kidding Me?”, eye-opening and thought-provoking insight into the comical, and sometimes illogical side of franchising.

The team at Franchise Today is dedicated to franchise success at all levels. So, whether you’re a franchise professional looking to grow a franchise concept, needing some assistance in facing today’s challenges or would just like to better understand franchise best practices, then Franchise Today is for you!

Franchise Today airs LIVE every Thursday at 11AM CDT / 12PM EDT with archived segments available on-demand.

franchisEssentials Continues International Expansion

Texas-based Franchise Marketing, Media & Development Firm Extends Resource for the Franchise Community in North and South America

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PR Log (Press Release) – March 28, 2011 – International franchise consulting firm, franchisEssentials, has recently extended an exclusive partnership agreement with UK-based Franchiseek Global Alliance Network to develop its North and South American franchise portals based in Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Canada and the U.S.

The Franchiseek Global Alliance network was formed to provide international branded exposure for franchise firms seeking to expand their operations into world-wide markets. Franchiseek’s web portals provide franchises the opportunity to connect with future franchisees at the push of a button, as well as providing prospective franchisees the opportunity to identify specific franchise organizations in which they have interest. The two are able to connect directly thru these clear and concise web portals which are organized by international geographic locations.

Paul Segreto, President and CEO of franchisEssentials, brings a unique perspective and diverse background to the task of developing these North and South American franchise portals. For over twenty years he has exclusively served the franchise industry as a consultant and coach, senior-level corporate executive, activist, multi-unit franchisee and area developer. Says Franchiseek founder Trevor Hart, “We understand the value of appointing partners in the geographic regions we represent online, especially professionals who have been involved in franchising for some time. Paul’s credentials have proven him to be the best partner for us in this North and South American region, and we are delighted to extend our agreement.”

Because of his depth of franchise industry experience, Paul intends to incorporate a new layer of services for potential franchisees into the the North and South American Franchiseek portals. As a proponent of inter-dependent franchise relationships, Paul emphasizes to potential franchisees the need for them to become as educated as possible about the franchise industry, as well as the specific franchises they may be exploring. The development of the North and South American Franchiseek portals will serve as a conduit for that education. The information available via the portals will enable potential franchisees to do much more than gain the minimal franchise company information available thru other sources, but rather will provide them with a level of information similar to that an actual franchisee would receive as part of their franchise training. This increased level of knowledge will enable them to make decisions based on knowledge rather than a ‘sales pitch’, thereby resulting in a higher level of completed franchise deals and satisfied franchisees, thereby benefiting both the franchisor and the franchisee.

When asked his reason for expanding his firm’s offerings into the area of franchise portals, Mr. Segreto replied, “The opportunity with Franchiseek further strengthens our concept of Integrated Franchise Marketing. The key to IFM is the development of a comprehensive marketing strategy that benefits the entire franchise organization, and is in line with the goals and objectives of all parties to the franchise agreement. It includes coordination at all levels to deliver concise, consistent messages that ultimately ensures positive results for franchisors and franchisees alike. In conjunction with our success with Franchise Today on Blog Talk Radio and the recent development of the franchisEssentials Media Group, we feel our partnership with Franchiseek solidifies franchisEssentials as the leading integrated marketing, media and development organization in franchising today.”

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franchiseEssentials is a franchise marketing, media and development firm with its focus on integrating social technology with traditional strategies. Paul Segreto, President and CEO of franchisEssentials, brings a unique perspective, entrepreneurial spirit, and extensive industry experience to startup and emerging franchise companies. For over twenty years he has exclusively served the franchise industry as a consultant and coach, senior-level corporate executive, activist, multi-unit franchisee, and area developer. Paul can be contacted at paulsegreto@FMDpro.com, and the company website can be viewed at www.franchisEssentials.com.

A Special Thank You to Franchise Professionals Ahead of the IFA Convention!

Are we there yet? That’s what I posted on Twitter about the upcoming IFA Convention in Las Vegas. I truly feel like a kid in the backseat of a long family road trip. I can’t wait to get there. I’ve been looking forward to it for quite some time. But now that it’s within reach, only a couple of days away, my excitement is peaking. Yes, are we there yet? How many more hours until we get there? Well, when we do get there I’m going to do this and that. Let’s just call it the kid in a candy store syndrome.

It is an exciting time in franchising. Riding the heels of the positive Franchise Business Economic Outlook 2011 report, and news about even the slightest loosening of business credit, it’s definitely an exciting time to be a part of franchising.

Year-long improvements at the IFA, a new CEO and President, Steve Caldeira, who by the way was just named to the board of directors of the Small Business Legislative Council, a new and improved website and social media presence, some great new people including Matt Haller complementing some great IFA veterans including Alisa Harrison, Paul Rocchio and Scott Lehr, just to name a few, just lends to the strength of the franchise community. Great work over the past year by IFA Chairman Ken Walker and anticipation of Jack Earl, a multi-unit franchisee, as incoming Chairman further exemplifies the focus of the IFA. Definitely too many to thank on the recent segment of Franchise Today as we only had an hour. But I believe all of you at the IFA and everyone else in franchising knows who you are.

To the many guests my co-producer Joe Caruso has scheduled to be on Franchise Today over the past year, I thank you as well and look forward to meeting all of you in person at the Convention. Again, many to mention but allow me to try…

Many thanks to Steve Caldeira for taking the time out of an unbelievably busy schedule to discuss the franchise business economic outlook, Alisa Harrison for helping to coordinate Steve’s appearance as well as her guest appearance on Franchise Today, and to Ron Feldman and Darrell Johnson for their great insight into franchise finance.

Of course, I can’t forget the many lawyers Joe has scheduled for both our popular legal eagle franchise series and individual segments where we discussed a wide range of riveting, relevant topics within franchising. To Warren Lewis for his great Franchise Sellers Handbook, to Lane Fisher for his fabulous perspective on Franchise Performance Representations, to Jonathan Redgrave for his discussion about the legal aspects of social media within franchising. To Michael Webster, franchisee attorney and strategic chair at the International Association of Franchisees and Dealers, and to Leslie Curran for her insight into utilizing franchise brokers effectively. And, to Arthur Pressman, who took time out of vacation on the Cape to spend an hour talking about franchise litigation. To all the attorneys that appeared on Franchise Today, I say thank you.

On the pr side, I thank Brad Fishman and Rhonda Sanderson for two very candid conversations on Franchise Today. Of course, thank you to my most recent guest, Jack Monson, another pr genius. To Mary Ann O’Connell who is always a pleasure to speak with, to Michael Stone for sharing his vision with the Professional Athletes Franchise Initiative, and to Nancy Weingartner and Franchise Times for time spent visiting with me both on and off the air, always providing compelling franchise news and sneak peeks at upcoming issues.

On the technical side of things I thank BJ Emerson and Jeremy La Duque for their insight into social everything. And let’s not forget the franchisors and franchisees that Joe has brought through our virtual studio including Amy Nichols and Deb Evans, and Dave Melton who shared his experience and success as a Dominos franchisee.

What an unbelievable “who’s who” in franchising that Joe Caruso has brought to the table for Franchise Today. Certainly, I’ve missed some and I do thank you as well. And look forward to meeting everyone at the IFA Convention.

Last, but definitely not least, I do thank my co-producer, trusted advisor, and sometime chaplain and therapist, but mostly friend, Joe Caruso. Without him Franchise Today would not be the leader in franchise media as it is today. I can’t thank you enough.