Small Business Today Magazine OCT 2015 TEXAS SECURITY SHREDDING | Page 28

SPECIAL FEATURE

the truck to contract discussions with franchisees and vendors.
Jim says, “Janet and I have an agreement; the business is hers
but I help with those things that are less fun for her. I especially
like organizing the warehouse for her because I tend to be a tad
bit obsessive-compulsive by nature.”
CBI has franchisees throughout the United States and Canada as well as all of the continents except Antarctica. Janet
explains, “Our top franchise, in terms of sales, is in Tokyo; I ship
product to them almost weekly including the containers, candy, and cellophanes.” Dr. Jim has patients who have visited the
Candy Bouquet store there in Tokyo. “They love it!” exclaims
Jim. He added, “Our ganache-filled chocolates are perhaps
most popular in North America but our Asian franchisees really appreciate the range of cellophanes and other products we
offer. Our franchisees in the Arab world are doing very well.
We’ve added region-specific candies into their Candy Bouquets
such as figs, dates, and almond candies. Delicious! We are always looking for ways to help our franchisees’ businesses improve and become more profitable.”
“We currently have about 75 franchisees”, stated Janet. “The
Great Recession of 2007 and 2008 hurt so many of our franchisees’ profitability which of course affected our cash flow.” Jim
added, “Our priority has been to serve our existing franchisees
with fresh products, promptly and with minimal breakage. In

addition, it is our mission to help them maintain and grow
their businesses. It is more important to treat our franchisees
like family and carefully nurture their business rather than us
focusing on expansion.”
“As a franchisor, we’re a bit unique”, noted Jim. “Unlike many
other franchisors whose franchise fees could range anywhere
from six to ten percent of the gross income, we ask for no franchise fees. I