Franchise Today

Riding the wave of a very productive week at the IFA Public Affairs Conference in Washington DC, host Paul Segreto is joined by former IFA Chairperson and long-time CEO of The Dwyer Group, Dina Dwyer-Owens. On this week's show Dina shares her experience and perspective on IFA efforts on Capitol Hill. Paul and Dina will touch on some of the particular issues addressed at the just completed conference, especially jobs creation, and more specifically jobs creations for veterans.

About Franchise Today

Franchise Today is hosted by Paul Segreto, President and CEO at Franchise Foundry. Paul's 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.

This week on Franchise Today, host Paul Segreto is joined by a 4-headed star-studded panel of experts from the International Franchise Association to discuss the upcoming IFA Public Affairs Conference in Washington DC September 16-18. IFA experts include Matt Haller, Jay Perron, Dean Heyl and Erica Farage. Each talks about state and federal issues and the various ways franchisors, franchisees and suppliers can get inolved politically through the IFA.

About the IFA 

The International Franchise Association is a membership organization of franchisors, franchisees, and suppliers that protects, enhances, and promotes franchising.

Starting off the new season on Franchise Today focus is on the upcoming Franchise Update Leadership & Development Conference. Joining host, Paul Segreto from the Conference Board of Directors is Tom Wood, Conference Chair and President & CEO of Floor Coverings International, Shelly Sun, CEO & Co-founder of Bright Star Care and Greg Vojnovic, Chief Development Officer of Popeyes. Paul and guests discuss their experience and perspective from attending previous Leadership & Development Conferences and what this year's attendees can expect to takeaway from the event.

About the Conference

The Leadership & Development Conference is an exclusive annual event for CEOs, Presidents and Franchise Sales & Development Executives. The event is produced by Franchise Update Media Group and Franchise Update Magazine. The event is in Buckhead, GA, October 9-11 at the Intercontinental Buckhead.

The Franchise Model Series wraps up this week on Franchise Today with a segment on Technology in Franchising. Host, Paul Segreto is joined by Amit Pamecha, Founder & CEO of FranConnect, one of the leading technology companies in franchising. Paul and Amit discuss current state of affairs in franchising technology, what franchisors should be doing to improve their technology infrastructure and taking it to the local level, the state of consumer and franchisee technology.

About Our Guest

Amit Pamecha is the Founder and CEO of FranConnect – the world’s #1 provider of franchise management and recruitment systems. Amit has personally worked with over 300 franchise organizations, helping them implement solutions for improving franchise recruitment, enhancing franchisee relationships and performance. Under Amit’s leadership, FranConnect has grown to become the world’s largest technology provider to franchise systems with over 450 franchise brands as customers. Amit is also a frequent speaker, motivator, and strategist helping franchise organizations find creative solutions to their complex needs. Amit serves on the board of the IFA supplier forum and is a Certified Franchise Executive.

Franchise Sales & Development is one of the cornerstones of the franchise business model and it's the topic this week as the Franchise Model Series continues on Franchise Today. Host, Paul Segreto is joined by Robert Stidham, President of Franchise Dynamics, the world’s leading full-service ‘franchise sales outsourcing’ (FSO) firm. Paul and Robert dive into franchise sales and development best practices and will discuss lead generation, the sales process and much more.

About Our Guest

Robert Stidham is president of Franchise Dynamics, the world’s leading full-service ‘franchise sales outsourcing’ (FSO) firm. Based in suburban Chicago, Franchise Dynamics currently represents a number of emerging to large-sized franchisors in a wide variety of categories throughout the United States and worldwide.

 

Mr. Stidham is an accomplished franchise sales and business development executive with a proven track record of increasing franchise units, revenue and profitability while gaining market share and expanding brand awareness for both new franchise concepts and established brands. He has held a variety of positions in the franchise industry in franchise development, operations, consulting and as an international franchise company president. Mr. Stidham is active in the International Franchise Association (IFA), serving as a member of the International Committee and Research Committee, having previously served as a member of the IFA Membership Committee.

On this SPECIAL EDITION of Franchise Today, our guest is Susan Black-Beth, Founder of Dealmakers' Summit. Host, Paul  Segreto and Susan discuss the second annual Dealmakers’ Summit, which serves as a unique platform for matching growth-oriented companies in franchising with capital partners to keep private equity dollars in the franchise sector.

Founded in 2012, Dealmakers' Summit, to be held August 26 -28, 2013 at Hotel Sofitel in Chicago, is the only event with the sole focus of connecting equity investors with franchisors, and multi-unit franchisees, who are pursuing funding to enhance and grow their brands. This year’s cutting-edge meeting will be the top venue for capital investors of all sizes and franchise companies to meet, network and exchange information with the end goal of placing equity.

In an effort to help bridge the gap between the franchising community and access to private equity funds, a driven Chicago-area franchising industry executive is hosting the second annual Dealmakers’ Summit, which serves as a unique platform for matching growth-oriented companies in franchising with capital partners to keep private equity dollars in the franchise sector.

For more information about the Dealmakers’ Summit, visit www.dealmakersummit.com.

In the second week of The Franchise Model Series, host, Paul Segreto welcomes as his guest, Mark Liston, President of Glass Doctor. Paul and Mark discuss operations support and franchisee relations best practices with emphasis on the franchise relationship itself.

About Our Guest

Mark Liston is President of Glass Doctor, a brand of the Dwyer Group. In franchising since 1981, Mark is very involved in the International Franchise Association (IFA). He is the immediate past Chairman of the Board of Governors for the Institute of Certified Franchise Executives having earned his CFE in 2005. Mark is also on the IFA’s Educational Foundation Board of Trustees. Previously, he was a member of the VetFran Committee and IFA’s Public Relations Committee.

After a very successful 4th Annual Franchise Legal Series on Franchise Today, up next is the Franchise Model Series - Consumer Marketing, Operations & Franchisee Relations, Franchise Sales & Development, and Technology in Franchising. The 4-part series begins this week and continues throughout the month of June.

In the first segment, the topic is Consumer Marketing and our guest is Ed Waller, VP CRM of CertaPro Painters and Chairman of the 2012 Franchise Consumer Marketing Conference. Show host, Paul Segreto and Ed discuss various factors of successful consumer marketing including target audiences,  strategic messaging, media vehicles and much more.

 About Our Guest

Edward Waller is the VP CRM at CertaPro Painters. He oversees a marketing and a centralized customer service department, which allows him to focus on making and replicating a positive customer experience at all levels of the organization.  

Edward was part of the original equipment at CertaPro.com and has seen growth from 1 to 300+ franchises. He's been involved with all elements of the organization including the marketing of franchises, but his main interest and core skill set keeps him focused on consumer marketing. Edward left CertaPro briefly during the dot.com boom and managed to start a company, which still survives, but enjoys franchising and generating leads at CertaPro so that's where he remains.

As the 4th Annual Franchise Legal Series comes to an end, host, Paul Segreto is joined by Dean Heyl, Senior Director, State Government Relations, Public Policy & Tax Counsel at the International Franchise Association. Dean provides a recap of the recently completed IFA Legal Symposium held in Washington DC.

About Our Guest

Dean Heyl is a veteran lobbyist, attorney and expert on issues impacting franchise businesses.  Heyl comes to IFA from the Direct Selling Association, where he was Director of Government Relations in addition to serving as an attorney for the association for almost nine years.  In this capacity, he was responsible for lobbying at the local, state and federal level, providing legal analysis, and liaison activities with Republican and Democrat-related organizations.

Heading down the backstretch in the 4th Annual Franchise Legal Series, host, Paul Segreto is again joined by Jonathan Redgrave, Partner at Redgrave LLP. The topic of discussion focuses on eDiscovery and what franchisors should know and be prepared for when required to produce records of digital communications.

About Our Guest

Jonathan Redgrave is a founding partner of Redgrave LLP. He has extensive experience in all areas of complex litigation in both state and federal courts and focuses his practice in the areas of Information Law, which include electronic discovery, records and information management, as well as data protection and privacy issues. He has authored, co-authored, and edited numerous publications, including serving as Editor-in-Chief of “The Sedona Principles®,” and speaks around the world on topics including cross-border discovery, Information Governance, privacy, data security, and emerging technologies.