Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine Issue III, 2014 | Page 8
Chairman’
sNote
Where Deals Get Done
D
ear Fellow Franchisees,
For those who attended this year’s MultiUnit Franchising Conference, what an amazing event we had! The theme this year was
“Planning for Growth” and we delivered in spades! With
record attendance in every category, the feedback from
participants has been nothing short of overwhelming. We
were inspired by the great leadership trainer John Maxwell, motivated on how to see a dream into action from
JB Bernstein, educated by fabulous panels, and had the
opportunity to collaborate through ample networking and
exhibit time.
Many attendees told me the
price of admission was already
earned after hearing John Maxwell’s five stages of leadership
session. John outlined for us how
this technique can create a sustainable organization through
leadership development. As he
often stated, “Culture eats vision
for lunch.”
But that was only the beginning for us. We followed
that up with panels on talent management, and an important session on outsourcing held at the franchisee luncheon. That was followed by breakout sessions based on
a “track system” where the moderators and panelists were
the best-of-the-best in franchising. We ended the day in
the Expo Hall where space for the event had sold out far
in advance. Attendees reported that the mix of exhibitors was better than ever, and there were several excellent
emerging brands that many had never seen before.
On day two we heard the remarkable story of JB Bernstein. His tale served as an inspiration to all on how to
dream big and never give up, even when others discourage you. His Million Dollar Arm project is now a Disney
movie that was released in May. JB is in his third year of
the program, which attracts 500,000 potential baseball
pitchers for a competition throughout India.
We continued day two with the announcement of the
MVP Awards given to outstanding franchisees. There
was a great panel on the need for franchisees to be active
in public affairs to help prevent inadvertent issues in our
economic growth through the unintended consequences
of well-intentioned government policy. Back by popular demand, we featured another healthcare panel to help
further dissect the incredibly complex healthcare law into
actionable items.
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MULTI-UNIT FRANCHISEE IS S UE III, 2014
We ended on Friday morning with a session on capital growth. Some of the most successful franchisees in the
business shared how they manage their financial structures.
I have highlighted just a few items in a week filled with
content, networking, and just a lot of fun. Best of all, this
year the conference announced Franchise Update’s new
Franchise Learning Academy (FLA) where all of the content is available through a cloud-based service at a very
affordable price.
This is the conference where deals get done. I have
already heard of several serious discussions taking place
and have no doubt it will result in significant activity in
the year ahead. Thanks to the great staff at Franchise
Update Media for their tireless work, and to all the attendees, franchisees, franchisors, suppliers, and our terrific sponsors for making this conference a success. Have