Growing My Current Franchise Business Seminar | build business at Franchise Expo West

Growing My Current Franchise Business

As franchising continues to grow within the United States, as well as internationally, the time is now for franchisors to explore expansion, as well as evaluate best practices in the industry.

All educational seminars are FREE unless indicated otherwise. These sessions will help you make the right decisions during your franchise research.

Meet our Faculty Members here or by clicking on their names within the session descriptions.

Thursday, November 2

Friday, November 3

Saturday, November 4

9:30 AM - 12:30 PM Workshop 5: 5 Habits of the Highly Successful Franchise System (Separate Fee Required)

Room: 518

Presented by: Brian Schnell, Partner, Faegre Baker Daniels

Most franchisors have implemented a number of best practices that make them successful. But what habits make a franchisor HIGHLY successful. Undying devotion to the brand, knowing and balancing the interests of the franchisor, franchisee and franchise system as a whole, and empowering franchisees are just a few highlights that will help a franchisor take their system to the next level. In today’s economy, most franchisors do not have hundreds of thousands of dollars to invest in new strategies or initiatives. This dynamic session will identify best practices that franchisors can apply – without significant financial investment – to achieve a powerful impact in the near future and over the long haul. Click here for more details.
Sponsored by Accredited

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM Maintaining Brand Standards as a New Franchisor

Room: 514

Presented by: Scott Jewett, Senior Advisor, iFranchise Group

Whether you are considering franchising for the first time or are an established franchisor, your brand integrity must always remain your top priority. One of the primary advantages of franchising is that it provides you with a highly-motivated operator. And in many franchise systems, franchised units will routinely outperform the franchisor’s company operations on quality scores. But in poorly controlled systems, franchisees who do not follow the system will cause the brand to suffer. This seminar will focus on how to use the “four pillars of quality control” to improve consistency while harnessing the entrepreneurial spirit of your franchisees.
Sponsored by

10:30 AM - 11:30 AM How to Leverage Technology in a Franchise System

Room: 501A

Presented by: Peter Maxwell Sessions, Founder and CEO, FewerHats

Technology has experienced such rapid growth over the last 10 years that it has become difficult for a business to navigate the congested marketplace of software and digital services. A significant investment of time is required to properly research, select, and implement new technology. It has become extremely common in the franchise industry for software to become more of a distraction than an asset. By utilizing tips and tricks, a Franchise system can properly leverage technology to streamline their operational efficiency and accelerate their growth.
Sponsored by

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM Going International -- Moving intelligently into international expansion

Room: 501A

Presented by: Kay Marie Ainsley, Managing Director, MSA Worldwide

Are you ready for international expansion? How do you put together a pro-active plan? What support needs to be in place? Where should you go first and what results can you expect? This and so much more will be discussed in this lively session.
Sponsored by

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM The Franchisor-Franchisee Relationship: Striking the Perfect Balance

Room: 513

Moderated by: Lane Fisher, Esquire, Fisher Zucker LLC

Panelists: Kim Nunez, CFE, Director of Franchise Development, Primrose Schools and Nick Kurji, Pleasanton, CA Franchisee, Primrose Schools

The franchisor-franchisee relationship is a delicate balance that when managed correctly can result in both parties thriving. With access to capital still difficult to obtain, it is more important than ever for franchisors to support franchisees on everything from real estate, construction, food sourcing, labor management and IT to marketing and advertising. This panel will include discussions from both franchisors and franchisees on how these parties should work together in order to create a successful brand. (Also available on Friday at 1:30pm)
Sponsored by

1:00 PM - 2:30 PM 10 Commandments of Franchise Sales

Room: 518

Presented by: Danell Caron, Principal, Gray Plant Mooty and Erica Tokar, Associate, Gray Plant Mooty

The legal issues related to selling/awarding franchises should not be a mystery. A franchisor should be able to meet its sales goals with complete confidence that it did so in full compliance with the law. This session will help every franchisor understand the legal aspects of franchise sales with a focus on ten simple and common sense rules to implement as part of your sales compliance program. (Also available on Thursday at 1:00pm)
Sponsored by

1:30 PM - 4:00 PM Workshop 3: Operations Manuals: The Foundation to Consistent Execution (Separate Fee Required)

Room: 511C

Presented by: Marla Rosner, Senior Learning and Development Consultant, MSA Worldwide

Documentation of your business’ processes and procedures is the foundation to consistent execution of your franchise concept. In this workshop, learn how to create a user-friendly Operations Manual as well as key content that should be included. Click here for more details.
Sponsored by Accredited

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM Why Franchising? How Women Can be Successful in Today’s Franchising Marketplace

Room: 513

Moderated by: Marisa Faunce, Partner, Plave Koch PLC

Panelists: Alejandra Font, Owner, The Camp Transformation Center and Lisa Hamilton, Littleton, CO Franchisee, Pearle Vision

Franchising is not a business opportunity for men alone. More and more franchise owners are women – women who are extremely successful and making a difference. Learn from some of the savviest female franchise leaders, representing a wide variety of backgrounds, who chose franchising for their career path. Why did they look to franchising? What have been their biggest challenges and how did they overcome them? What are the rewards? What would they do over again? Hear real stories, personal experiences, best practices and lessons learned from an elite group of female franchise founders/CEOs and franchisees. By attending this session, you will walk away with the following: insights about franchising and determining whether it is the right fit for you; who can help you learn more about franchising and the steps necessary to become a successful franchise owner; tips for overcoming obstacles in launching a successful franchise business.
Sponsored by

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Best Practices for Marketing Franchise Opportunities: Lead Generation for Franchise Sales

Room: 501A

Presented by: Mark Siebert, CEO, iFranchise Group and Matthew Jonas, President, TopFire Media

Franchise lead generation is essential to successful franchise sales. This seminar will teach you how to improve your franchise marketing efforts by leveraging digital age marketing. Topics will include improving lead generation through public relations, social media publishing, search engine optimization, Pay-Per-Click advertising, website design, and inbound marketing.
Sponsored by

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM Structuring and Creating Item 19 Financial Performance Representations

Room: 518

Presented by: Adam Siegelheim, Attorney, Stark & Stark

Each year, more and more franchise companies are including Item 19 Financial Performance Representations in their Franchise Disclosure Document. This seminar will explore the types of information and different structures you can employ when structuring and creating your earnings claim. It will also discuss strategies you can employ during the sales process if you do not have an Item 19.
Sponsored by

9:00 AM - 12:30 PM Workshop 4: Web 2.0: Social Networking + Data in Franchising (Separate Fee Required)

Room: 518

Presented by: Lee Plave, Partner, Plave Koch PLC; Paul Segreto, CEO, Franchise Foundry; Theresa Huszka, CFE, Senior Consultant, MSA Worldwide

This session will delve into how franchisors and franchisees can protect their brand while making the best use of social networking sites. Among other things, this session will explore some of the do’s and don’ts of setting up social networking sites for an entire system, addressing rogue franchisees and licensees who set up their own sites, and establish a system-wide strategy and policy for social networking and social media. This session will also explore data collection, use, and protection in franchise companies. Finally, this session will address using online tools to manage and enhance your company’s online franchise development efforts. Click here for more details.
Sponsored by Accredited

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM Training: The DNA of your Franchise System

Room: 501A

Presented by: Marla Rosner, Senior Learning and Development Consultant, MSA Worldwide

The replication of a franchise concept is accomplished through effective training programs. These programs not only address franchisees but also convey standards and procedures to field staff, unit level management and employees. This presentation provides an overview of training methods used in franchising ranging from classroom to eLearning and addresses typical content covered for different audiences.
Sponsored by

11:00 AM - 12:30 PM How to Avoid the Top 10 Mistakes New Franchisors Make – Build Your Foundation for Success

Room: 511C

Presented by: Brian Schnell, Partner, Faegre Baker Daniels

According to some sources, franchising is as old as the Catholic Church. And yet numerous new franchisors make the same mistakes over and over again. This session will identify the ten most common mistakes, and provide you with solid strategies for avoiding the mistakes or mitigating their effects.
Sponsored by

12:00 PM - 1:30 PM Maximize the ROI on Your Franchise Development Budget… Regardless of your Spend!

Room: 501B

Presented by: Stan Friedman, CFE, President, FRM Solutions

In this session, you will learn how to more quickly “engage” your leads and convert a higher percentage of them into “stronger” opportunities. We will also share readily available tools that you can begin using right now, to assure that your franchise development engine is properly tuned, fueled and delivering maximum performance.
Sponsored by

12:30 PM - 2:00 PM Best Practices for Start Up & Early Stage Franchisors

Room: 514

Presented by: Scott Jewett, Senior Advisor, iFranchise Group

New franchisors quickly realize that franchising is an entirely new business – with its own set of best practices. Some of the best practices discussed in this presentation include establishing compliance systems, developing effective communications systems, hiring and retaining the best employees, and developing a systematic plan for the growth of your franchise system and your franchise organization.
Sponsored by

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM Structuring Your Franchise Network Expansion

Room: 501A

Presented by: Jenine Hinkle, Associate, Greenberg Traurig, LLP

Is a master franchise, area development or area representative structure the right model to grow your franchise network? Even for experienced franchisors, confusion often exists when trying to determine the “best” model to expand the network to another state, region, a nearby country or across the globe. This session will explore common expansion models used for domestic and international growth, including the business and legal considerations for choosing one structure over another.
Sponsored by

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM Best Practices for Developing your System with Multi-Unit Operators

Room: 518

Presented by: Adam Siegelheim, Attorney, Stark & Stark

This seminar will focus on best practices to attract and develop your franchise concept with experienced multi-unit operators. We will explore effective lead generation and marketing techniques, as well as how to position your franchise model to appeal to a multi-unit operator’s needs and requirements.
Sponsored by

1:30 PM - 2:30 PM The Franchisor-Franchisee Relationship: Striking the Perfect Balance

Room: 513

Moderated by: Lane Fisher, Esquire, Fisher Zucker LLC

Panelists: Jim DiRugeris, Vice President, Franchise Development, The Goddard School

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM The Best Next Location for your Franchise Concept

Room: 501B

Presented by: George Anderson, Director of Market Analytics and Research, Retail Solutions and Sherry Naquin Sanchez, Principal & Market Leader – Louisiana, Retail Solutions

Navigating today’s retail real estate market in ANY part of the world can be intimidating, daunting and chock full of challenges. Determining where the NEXT BEST location for your franchise concept begins with Market Analytics & Research, continues with the Site Search, and then ends with Site Selection and Negotiation. Whether you are a restaurant, a fitness studio or a spa/salon, fulfilling your expansion needs & strategies is a science AND an art. Finding superior locations, out-positioning and out-performing your competition, improving your bottom line…join us for breaking down the site selection process step by step!!
Sponsored by

2:00 PM - 3:30 PM Show Me the Money: Practical Advice for Crafting and Using Financial Performance Representations (FPRs)

Room: 501A

Presented by: Danell Caron, Principal, Gray Plant Mooty and Erica Tokar, Associate, Gray Plant Mooty

A well-crafted financial performance representation (FPR) is one of the most powerful tools at a franchisor’s disposal for recruiting new franchisees and growing its system. At the same time, financial representations (both in and outside of the FDD) can be an area of significant potential risk. In this seminar, we will delve into the legal requirements and best practices for crafting and using FPRs, and we will discuss the pros and cons of different types of FPRs that franchisors can make.
Sponsored by

2:30 PM - 4:00 PM Improving Franchise Sales: Strategies and Tactics

Room: 518

Presented by: Mark Siebert, CEO, iFranchise Group and Matthew Jonas, President, TopFire Media

This session with help start-up and existing franchisors become more effective in the franchise sales process. Attendees will learn about the various sales strategies and how to best qualify prospects. Discussions will include steps on how to improve your sales strategies and tactics, and an overview of the compilation of best practices.
Sponsored by

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM 10 Commandments of Franchise Sales

Room: 512

Presented by: Danell Caron, Principal, Gray Plant Mooty and Erica Tokar, Associate, Gray Plant Mooty

10:30 AM - 12:00 PM How to Effectively Avoid the Most Common Franchise Disputes that Can Arise in Every Franchise System

Room: 514

Presented by: Brian Schnell, Partner, Faegre Baker Daniels

Disputes will happen in every franchise system, especially if a system is going to grow, evolve and be sustainable. During this session we will discuss those types of franchise disputes that are most common and what proactive best practices can be adopted in order to minimize disruption or avoid the disputes all together. With the proper understanding of when, where, why and how disputes happen and what to do if they occur or even before they occur, you will be far better positioned for sustainable growth and success.
Sponsored by

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM How to Generate More Franchise Leads through Website Conversion Optimization

Room: 514

Presented by: Matthew Jonas, President, TopFire Media

Learn how your website should be at the center of a comprehensive franchise lead generation strategy to increase lead flow and improve lead quality.
Sponsored by