Franchise Today

Shelly Sun is the CEO and founder of BrightStar Group Holdings, the umbrella company for multiple brands offering care services globally in various settings including in-home, assisted living and memory care communities as well as in commercial settings like hospitals through medical staffing services. Serving thousands of families in the USA, through its network of nearly 350 locations, BrightStar Care® delivers a full menu of in-home care, as well as premium healthcare staffing for corporate clients, such as nursing homes and physicians.

In 2005, BrightStar Care launched its franchising efforts, becoming the first and only franchising company in the country to specialize in both medical and non-medical home care and health care staffing.  Shelly also served as Chair of the IFA Board of Directors (2017-2018), is a Certified Franchise Executive and was selected by the IFA as the 2009 Entrepreneur of the Year. BrightStar Care® has appeared for multiple years on Forbes magazine’s Top 10 franchise opportunities under $150,000 and also for 7 consecutive years on Inc. 5000.  Shelly and BrightStar Care® were featured on CBS-TV’s Undercover Boss, she is the author of Grow Smart, Risk Less and discusses her journey as an emerging franchisor through amazing growth, lessons learned and game-changing ideas.

Matt Haller has been the man behind the man at IFA for nearly 10 years at the IFA.  First, for Steve Caldiera and more recently, for Robert Cresanti.  Matt leads the Government Relations, Public Affairs and Advocacy Team that monitors and protects the brand of franchising at the Federal and State legislative levels.  Today, Matt joins us to share updates on the impact of the Government's actions and in some case, inactions, on IFA members and on certain market sectors within franchising.

To put some perspective on how much things have changed in the last couple of months, I asked my panelists from the IFA session that I moderated just a couple of months ago, to put what they shared then, (regarding big data and marketing) into perspective, since the advent of Corona. 

My wonder, was whether what they’d prescribed then, would be been different, had this virus hit before convention, or if their digital marketing advice, would have remained the same. 

Today, those questions are answered by: Christian Pillat, co-CEO of Transitiv, Jason Anderson, President of United Franchise Group’s, Venture X and Chris Lybeer, Chief Strategist for Revel Point of Sale Systems.

Dr. John Hayes and the Titus Center for Franchising have been hosting a series of webinars, bringing industry experts together, to talk through some of the implications of COVID 19 on our businesses, employees, clients and customers.  His panelists have included luminaries from the franchisor, franchisee and supplier sides of our ecosystem.  Dr. Hayes will bring us up to date on all of that and more and tell us how we may access this library of recorded knowledge.

In 1973, Hungry Howie's started with one hamburger shop turned delivery and carryout pizzeria in the suburbs of Detroit. Their now President/CEO Steve Jackson was there as a delivery driver. Since then, Hungry Howie’s has become a top pizza franchise with over 550 locations in 21 states and is still growing.

Hungry Howie's has perfected pizza and they have a proven franchise system. Single store locations and multiple store territories are available in great markets across the United States.

Hungry Howie's: The past, the present and future, right here on FRANCHISE TODAY!

Today I am going to continue the "Covid Crisis" conversation with Mike Drumm, a franchise lawyer and friend.  Mike and I will discuss some of the immediate legal implications that this moment in time is having on our businesses and our lives and we will look ahead to the extent that we can, on what franchisors need to consider, as pertains to everything from FDD renewals, to functioning in your business.  Drumm has built his legal practice, which consists of 24 professionals, on a virtual office model and has some inciteful tips to share about how to operate your business remotely.  This could have some very powerful and pertinent implications for us, as we now into our second week of "social separation."   

Before founding Drumm Law, Mike wore a suit and tie every day and worked at a large, national law firm.  What he is most proud of today, is being the father of three young kids and hearing the following statement, when people meet him for the first time, "you really don’t remind me of a lawyer.”

Mike is continually recognized as a Franchise Times magazine Legal Eagle, an 1851 Franchise Legal Player and is a designated CFE.  He is also an accomplished, serial entrepreneur and the founder of a start-up entrepreneurial venture of his own, Party O’ Clock, a revolutionary DJ company, for weddings and other personal and business catered events.  Like many, Mike's Party O'Clock business, is on hold for now too.

The pendulum never stops in the middle, does it?  We've gone from the best of times, to the worst of times, in a matter of days.  Now, as COVID-19 has us all swimming in uncharted waters, IFA President and CEO talks about his efforts to protect franchisees from the very legislation that Congress is ostensibly trying to enact, to protect themselves from the abyss that we all could face, if cool, calm minds don't prevail in this crisis.  .  He also talks about a 3 part webinar he is particpating in, produced by Nick Powills and 1851franchise.com this week, honing in further on what exraordinary measures are required to survive, in these extraordinary times.

Cassidy Ford joined FRM Solutions in 2018, after years in restaurant franchise sales, development and operations. Immediately prior to joining FRM, Cassidy was with Huddle House, an iconic breakfast brand, here in Atlanta.  She worked across departments to add new units, improve resales, increase profitability and support under-performing franchisees, relying on FRM all the way, as a client and power user.  Cassidy brings this unique perspective to our client base offering her insights and our collective best practices, for all of our clients.

For more than 30 years, Dave McDougall has worked to optimize franchise brands for growth and efficiency. His mission at Your Pie is no different. As CEO, Dave leads Your Pie’s brand strategy and direction, identifying priorities, managing resources and aligning operational excellence with brand mission, culture and values at every level. Prior to joining the Your Pie family, Dave’s background includes household brands like Back Yard Burgers, Cinnabon and Carvel. No stranger to navigating high volume growth, Dave leverages his experience to hone and strengthen Your Pie brand positioning while maintaining the unique experience that has always defined the Your Pie brand. In his free time, Dave enjoys jogging, playing tennis, working in the yard, and college football Saturdays. A Seattle native, Dave now resides in Atlanta with his wife, Cheryl.

Marcus Slater is the (CMTO) Chief Marketing Technology Officer at Deka Lash, a company that is experiencing explosive growth within a $62 Billion dollar industry.  Marcus is going to help us navigate the path between those fuzzy lines that are Marketing and Technology and the interrelationship bwtween the two.  This is a fact that should come as no surprise to anyone who walked the Exhibit Hall at the IFA Convention this year, by virtue of how many new exhibitors had the words "digital" AND "marketing" somewhere in their corporate names or collateral material.  

Marcus is going to break it all down for us, from B2B for FranDev and the impact too, that digital marketing has on the B2C side of franchisee consumer marketing.   Stay tuned, this Franchise Today!