The Road Less Traveled

On January 25, 2006, an amendment to the Mexican Industrial Property Law was published in the Federal Official Gazette. The Amendment was published after a long discussion initiated by Congress in early 2005, and became effective on January 26, 2006. The amendment's final provisions were the result of a very effective lobbying campaign by major players in the franchising sector and, fortunately for the industry, Congress eliminated many of the overly restrictive aspects of the initial bill that could have unnecessarily hampered the industry. In the end, Congress' objective of providing more protection to franchisees was well balanced with the legitimate rights of franchisors. For example, certain ultra-protectionist provisions for franchisees originally contained in the bill, such as certain rights of first refusal in franchisees' favor and the right to request cancellation of registration of franchisor's trademarks in certain cases, were not incorporated into the amendment.

Belgium's new franchise law, which was the subject of several legislative delays during 2005, has now been formally adopted. Originally, the law was set to go into effect as of September 1, 2005; however, on January 23, 2006, a decree published in the Belgian Official Gazette notified the public that the law had been amended to establish an initial effective date of February 1, 2006.

Franchising is attracting young entrepreneurs who see the field as full of opportunity. Some are working hard enough and have found the right niche to make their way to the top quickly. Take Gregg Majewski, who became chief financial officer of the Jimmy John's Gourmet Sandwich chain at the age of 22 after working only two months in what began as a summer internship position.

Manuel Solorzano was frustrated with his drivers and their excuses. The owner of six Martinizing Dry Cleaning stores in Tampa, Fla. would call his drivers on their cell phones during the day and never know whether he would reach them or not.

There are a lot of ties in life. In baseball, a tie goes to the runner. In the hiring process, a tie goes to the boss's son. Well, for customers choosing between competing stores, a tie often goes to the graphics.

"If you're not moving forward, you're standing still," goes the old business axiom. In franchising, expansion is one way of moving forward. Whether you're a start-up organization or a player who's been around a while, growth through new sites is an objective--and when it comes to successful site selection tactics and techniques, consider the following approaches.

After more than 20 highly successful years in the painting business, Charlie Chase still finds himself--several times a day--trying to convince people that painters aren't just guys who can't hold down a job.

There's nothing mysterious about what investors and franchisors want from one another: a reliable partner who can help them achieve their goals. For the franchisor, it's all about brand and unit growth; for the investor, it's return on investment.

State regulators across the country are out to blur the distinction between franchisors and employers. If they succeed, they could crimp the growth of one of the franchise industry's hottest segments: franchise providers of janitorial, security guard, industrial gardening, delivery, and other services to commercial clients.

After 25 years in franchising, Russ Cooper, age 55, retired--but it didn't stick. "I flunked retirement, basically," he says, laughing.

Barbara Moran had given up on the idea of ever heading up her father Dennis's company, Moran Industries. She'd wanted to be president, but was told that it wasn't in the cards because a woman in a male-dominated industry just wouldn't work for customers and franchisees.

Jacques Lapointe founded Jan-Pro in 1991, and over the next 15 years grew the commercial cleaning company to more than 75 master franchisees and 4,500 unit franchisees. He had a solid business model, continuous and solid growth, and was looking for a way to take the company to the next level. But the day-to-day details, which were no longer challenging but still required his attention, kept him from focusing on strategic growth.