Franchising - McGraw-Hill Introduction to Business

7-Eleven Plans to Provide Healthier Food Options

May 2, 2018

Famous for its sugary Slurpees and Big Gulp soft drinks, 7-Eleven allows people to grab a quick snack and get back on the road without a second thought. Although this business model has served the chain well since the 1940s, recent changes in consumer behavior have executives worried that 7-Eleven could be falling behind its competitors. According to the leading trade association of the convenience industry, the nation’s more than 155,000 convenience stores sold $53.3 billion worth of prepared foods Continue reading →

Marketing, Franchising, Food, Product Development, Retail, 7-Eleven

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 13: Marketing, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

Mobile Bike Repair Shops Challenge Local Stores

February 2, 2017

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

For many cyclists, the worst thing about owning a bike is getting it repaired. In the best case scenario, a person must buy a bulky, expensive rack for their car, load the bike, and then drive it to a local shop. If you don’t own a car, though, that means you’ll either need to grab a ride with a bike rack-owning friend or walk your wheels to the nearest repairman.

Or if you’re lucky enough to live near a Velofix Continue reading →

Franchising, Innovation, Transportation, Mobile Entrepreneurs, Online Retail, Bicycles, Velofix

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 14: Product and Price, Chapter 15: Distribution

Jimmy John’s Drops Non-Compete Clauses for Sandwich Makers

January 19, 2017

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

For many corporate executives, non-compete agreements are just a part of doing business. Since companies want to hang on to top talent as long as possible, they often insert clauses in contracts that prevent employees from joining competitors for a certain amount of time. While this limits a staffer’s options when looking for a new job, their high-level status usually provides them with plenty of alternative choices.

That’s not quite the case for sandwich makers, however. While non-compete clauses are Continue reading →

Non-Compete Clauses, Ethics, Franchising, Food, Human Resources, Labor Relations, Jimmy John’s

Chapter 4: Ethics and Social Responsibility, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions, Bonus Chapter A: Business Law

Engineering an Educational Franchise

February 18, 2015

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

For many entrepreneurs, great ideas can come along when least expected. In the case of Dori Roberts, her job as a high school engineering teacher laid the foundation for her million-dollar concept. Over the course of her 11 years in teaching, Roberts noticed that many of her students discovered a love for engineering late in their school careers. She then made it her mission to introduce engineering to kids at a younger age, starting out with an after school bridge-building Continue reading →

Franchising, Entrepreneurship, Product Development, Education, STEM, Childcare

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship

Turning Caregiving into a Franchise

August 23, 2014

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

In order to turn a successful business into a successful franchise, an entrepreneur needs a strong concept along with good people to implement it. That’s exactly what Allen Hager set out to do when he launched his home health care company, Right at Home, as a franchise nearly 20 years ago. By expanding the business plan and setting strict hiring policies, Right at Home has grown into a company with nearly 400 locations across the world and $265 million Continue reading →

Health, Right at Home, Seniors, Entrepreneurship, Franchising, Ethics

Chapter 1: Taking Risks and Making Profits, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 14: Product and Price

Sending Franchisees to School

February 10, 2013

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

When it comes to running a business, you can never know too much. That’s why many national chains are sending potential franchisees to school before they get the keys to a store. Although classroom lectures figure in to many of these programs, the main goal is to educate the franchisee-to-be on as many aspects of the business as possible. This can include everything from working the grill and mopping floors to employee management and media relations.

At Culvers, for instance, Continue reading →

Training, Franchising, Food, Human Resources, Culver’s

Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure, Chapter 9: Production and Operations Management, Chapter 10: Motivation, Chapter 11: Human Resource Management, Chapter 12: Labor Management and Unions

Cooperative Corporations vs. Franchising

February 5, 2013

NickelsMcHughMcHugh

Although franchising has many benefits, it doesn’t provide much freedom to the franchisees. After all, their primary job is to maintain the brand’s image, which just so happens to be whatever their corporate bosses say it is. They can also fall victim to larger trends that have affected their parent company. For instance, an entrepreneur named Jerry Merrill lost his Baskin-Robbins franchise in 1999, along with 600 other franchisees the company could not afford to keep. Merrill and 34 other Continue reading →

Cooperatives, Franchising, Entrepreneurship, Food, KaleidoScoops, Baskin Robins

Chapter 2: Economics, Chapter 5: Forms of Business Ownership, Chapter 6: Entrepreneurship, Chapter 7: Management & Leadership, Chapter 8: Organizational Culture and Structure