Franchise Interviews

The Pie Hole, the celebrated Los Angeles based pie and coffee concept, recently  announced the launch of its worldwide franchise program. Named to Conde Nast Traveler’s Best Pies in America list, The Pie Hole features sweet and savory, made-from-scratch pies and locally roasted premium coffee in a fast casual, local gathering space format.  We are meeting with Sean Brennan Founder/CEO The Pie Hole.

We asked Sean what he looks for in his franchisees.  He suggested  if you have a passion to be part of the great American traditions of pie and coffee, you may be a perfect partner for The Pie Hole.  If you care about your community and want to provide made from scratch sweet and savory pies – you may be a perfect partner for The Pie Hole. If you want to own a business that does good in your community and makes the world a little happier one slice at a time- you may be a perfect partner for The Pie Hole.  The Pie Hole has franchise opportunities in many regions of the US and overseas. 

In part 2, you will hear a clip from our popular Great Quotes in Franchising podcast with Steve Caldeira, the President of the International Franchise Association.

We are meeting with Trinity Hall, Senior Vice President of Development for Dickey's Barbecue Pit.  Every Dickeys Barbecue Pit location smokes all of their meats on-site at the restaurant the same way it was done in 1941. Over the years Dickey’s Barbecue Pit has been recognized by journals and business magazines.  Some include the following:

“Top 100 List: Private Companies”   Dallas Business Journal

“Top Fastest Growing Companies” by Inc. Magazine

Dickey's serves up beef brisket, pulled pork, ham, polish sausage, turkey breast and chicken, with an extensive array of home-style sides from jalapeño beans to macaroni and cheese. Buttery rolls are served with every meal along with the complimentary ice cream and dill pickles. And just like always, kids eat free on Sunday.

In today's podcast, we are meeting with Ron Holt, the CEO and President of Two Maids and a Mop.  Over the years, the Two Maids and Mop received some great accolades.  Some include the following.

Inc. Magazine’s 2013 Fastest Growing Cleaning Company in AmericaCleaning for a Reason’s 2012 National Maid Service of the Year2013 Hire Power Award for Best Job Creator in Home Cleaning Industry

TWO MAIDS & A MOP™ offers a unique selling proposition that has long been admired within the residential cleaning industry. People from almost every serviced based industry have worked extremely hard to determine the true inner workings of the famous TWO MAIDS & A MOP™ Pay for Performance Compensation Plan.

What makes the Pay for Performance Plan so great and how does it work? In a nutshell, the Plan makes an owner out of every single one of our Team Members. Basically, a customer will rate their service on a simple scale from 1-10. The rating–and that rating alone–directly determines the compensation level paid to the two Team Members responsible for cleaning the home. Customer feedback is the only factor utilized when determining Team Member compensation. The Plan revolutionized the cleaning industry and has always created significant buzz for our company. Over the years, hundreds of companies have reached out to us with offers to actually purchase the Plan from our company. People from all over the world have contacted us with questions about the Plan. Copycat models of the Plan have popped up and disappeared just as quickly. And most importantly, thousands of customers have hired us primarily because of the Plan.

 

By franchising, you will have access to this plan and will be able to leverage its internal and external benefits on the first day of your business’ operation.

From what we have witnessed, the real estate market has changed dramatically over the last couple of years. Franchisees face a more difficult task of finding their way through that real estate maze and finding the best location for their particular franchise.

We are glad to have Mark Block on the show. Mark is very knowledgeable on the topic of Real Estate with a unique ability of help franchisees get though this maze and find great locations.

Mark is a licensed Real Estate Sales Person working with one of the foremost Real Estate Firms in NYC, EVO Real Estate. Marks unique experience covers every aspect of the Real Estate industry. Mark has run his own Architectural Firm, Construction Company, Real Estate Development Company, has managed institutional real estate portfolios on a national basis, all with tremendous success in negotiating and closing Real Estate transactions. Mark now brings all of that experience to franchisees, helping find and select great franchise locations and guiding franchisees through the real estate transaction that follows.

We are meeting with Nick Molina, CEO of VaporFi.  VaporFi is a leader in the E-Cigarette and Vapor industry is on a mission to change the way you smoke. VaporFi retail Stores cater to a wide range of vape enthusiasts, from those curious about ditching tobacco to those advanced techy vapers who are the true hobbyists. VaporFi’s exclusive, proprietary and branded product line has taken the world by storm. Their E-Cig products provide all the pleasures of traditional smoking without the bad breath, stinky clothes, tremendous cost, and harmful effects of tobacco.

One of Marty McDermott’s favorite movies is Forrest Gump.  So when we heard Scott Barnett, author of Gumption: Taking Bubba Gump from Movie to Restaurant completed his book; we knew we had to have him on the show. Scott Barnett’s restaurant knowledge began when he was a teenager parking attendant in a popular steakhouse in Palm Desert, California. Taking the hard road, he performed every job there was to do in the business as he cooked, served, and bartended his way through college and crashed into the restaurant industry in his rebellious and irreverent way. Learning the ropes of the corporate world, he nurtured a belief that things in the restaurant business could be done differently. After taking the reins of a failing company, he and his team saved it and then began searching for something to grow. Thus began the Bubba Gump Shrimp Company restaurant concept. Fighting bad economies, old notions of how to do business, preconceived opinions, some Wall Street investors and his own misgivings, he and his group created one of the most successful restaurant companies in the world!  Learn more by listening to the show.

We are meeting with Andrew Gruel, CEO/Founder, Slapfish Restaurant Group, LLC. Slapfish has made healthy, chef-driven seafood approachable & affordable for the masses, with signature items that include the 'lobsticle', baja mahi sandwich and house-made, original dipping sauces. Slapfish is a chef-driven and sustainable American seafood concept, served up in a fresh fast casual atmosphere. Slapfish was recently named on FastCasual's list of the industry's Top 100 Movers & Shakers.

We are meeting with Maureen Recalde, winner of the Voice of McDonald's.  Voice of McDonald's is the largest global singing competition of its kind, open to the 1.8 million McDonald's restaurant employees around the world. More than 2,500 employees entered the inaugural competition, which kicked off in 2005. In 2007, more than 3,600 singers entered Voice of McDonald's II; in 2009, more than 10,000 employees entered Voice of McDonald's III; and in 2011 more than 20,000 employees entered Voice of McDonald's IV. 

Maureen discusses her experience as the winner of the Voice and McDonald's and shares her story of her mom who has worked with McDonald's for over 40 years and is now an owner-operator of two McDonald's. McDonald's is the world's leading global foodservice retailer and franchise with more than 33,000 locations serving approximately 64 million customers in 119 countries each day. More than 80% of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local men and women.

In part 2, we play a clip from our Great Quotes in Franchising Podcast.

This morning we are going to be discussing franchising with Hossein Kasmai, Chief Executive Officer and founder of Franchise Creator.  Mr. Kasmai founded many franchise concepts of his own including Guard-A-Kid. Guard-A-Kid founded in 2005, quickly became the industry leader and a very successful franchise in the field of Children and family safety.  Mr. Kasmai gives his advice to prospective franchisors and franchisees.  Franchise Creator provides a one stop approach to franchise development.  In part 2, we will hear a clip from our Great Quotes in Franchising Podcast.

We are meeting with Matt Bailey, vice president of operations for "The Original" Kono Pizza.  The "Original" Kono rocked the country when it introduced pizza cones in the United States, solving the problem of eating a slice without a gooey, drippy mess. The cones, with their cutting-edge 3D crust, feature the first and only seamless bread product that can be held and eaten in one hand without spilling or dripping any of the grease or sauce. The cones are customized with whatever ingredients you desire before they're baked in the brand's proprietary pizza oven.