Before we can shut the book on our predictions for 2008, Franchise Times feels a responsibility to look back on some of our picks from the previous year. We’ve highlighted just a few here, but suffice it say that we once again stand by our picks’ watchability. And, if you’ve read Franchise Times this past year, you probably saw much of our list in our Currents section. Here’s what you may not know.
Joyce Mazero of Haynes & Boone has the same 24 hours in the day as the rest of us, so why then does she seem to get so much more done? Here’s just a sampling of what she accomplished in 2007: established the Dallas/Fort Worth chapter of Women’s Corporate Directors, an educational and networking organization for executive women who serve on boards; conducted a Restaurant Executive Law Series for high-level executives; along with the Women’s Franchise and Development Forum, she put together a seminar for franchise expos, starting with the Franchise Expo South this month for prospective female franchisees; led efforts to create a corporate board link at the Women’s Foodservice Forum and spearheaded the executive track programming for the organization’s annual meetings. She also joined an advisory board, and, oh yes, practiced law and continued raising her two children.
Another of last year’s 20 to Watch who was equally busy was Greg Nathan,
Greg Nathan
who established the Franchise Relationships Institute in Brisbane, Australia. Much to our dismay, Franchise Times was not able to observe Nathan in his native surroundings, so we are forced to deliver this update based on information delivered via e-mail. During 2007, his institute completed a major study of 890 franchisees from 30 franchise systems, the results of which will be presented at several conferences this year. He also organized a forum for marketing professionals on "Winning Franchisees Hearts and Minds;" traveled to India for a franchise presentation; and was featured on TV talking about franchisee selection. Snap-on Tools ordered 4,000 copies of his book, "Profitable Partnerships," which means he will be doing a special print run of the book in the U.S. And, when he’s not researching or speaking on franchisee relations, he’s a guitarist in a band of franchise professionals. Whew.
Not to be outdone, two of our 20 teamed up in business. In addition to being comrades on the IFA board as the only supplier members elected to the board in their own right, Michael Seid of MSA, along with Lane Fisher of FisherZucker and Brad Fishman of Fishman Public Relations, bought into FranchiseWorks, a marketing and lead-generation company.
The last quarter of 2007, Seid appointed Gavin Bell, the president of the Kenyan Franchise Association, to assist his company with its pro-bono work with the CFWshops and other franchise programs in East Africa, in order to free up MSA personnel to work with existing and new clients. Fisher, who has difficulty standing still, spearheaded membership and the legal symposium for the IFA, as well as serving on the FranPAC committee. He’s also the legal advisor for the roll out of LA Sunset Tan Productions. Dan Martin of IFX International had no complaints about business this year, either.
But the real reason we wanted to watch Seid, Fisher and Martin was because they were bringing more supplier input to the IFA board of directors. How did that work out?
Lane Fisher
Lucratively. According to IFA President Matt Shay, the three proved their worth, not only in their verbal input at board meetings, but through their exceptional fund raising skills for the association’s political action committee. "To its credit, the Supplier Forum has completely and totally embraced IFA’s strategic plans," Shay said. "They are committed to helping IFA at both the program level and (with) political action."
Shay also had rave reviews for ServiceMaster’s Michael Isakson and his term as chairman. Having an incoming chairman is like getting an MBA with a new teacher every year, Shay said. "Mike is a person with a lot of passion and vision for the organization and he was able to marry that passion and vision to programs and processes that helped us focus on measuring our success," he said. Another value was Isakson’s ability to look down the road —"not just what’s on the agenda for the board meeting coming up, but two or three years out." Shay said Isakson brought the hallmark of his brand—metrics, quantifiables, benchmarking and long-term strategic thinking—to the IFA this year.
Up North, Lorraine McLuchlan, who had just joined the Canadian Franchise Association as its new president and CEO at the beginning of 2007 brought a "refreshing, new approach," according to Edward "Ned" Levitt, the association’s general counsel. "Change in the CFA is paralleling change in franchising in Canada," Levitt said.
"There’s more activity, more provinces passing legislation." McLuchlan, after a settling in period, "quickly established her authority and credibility" with both members and the regulatory landscape. A consensus builder, McLuchlan and her board will keep busy as franchising starts maturing in Canada and, unfortunately, starts emulating the litigious bent of its neighbor to the south.
20 to Watch 2007
2008 is the first time since this list started that we haven’t included the Franchise Rule, although it’s actually the first year the Rule actually may have something to watch. Implementation of the rule—which was rewritten and approved for the first time in 20 years—begins in 2008, but we’ve written and read so much about it, we decided to give everyone a break here. Look for it to be back on the list in 2009, when noncompliance issues may actually be fun to watch.
In 2007, we watched as Raving Brands sold off its crown jewel, Moe’s Southwest Grill and dealt with some unhappy franchisees in its other systems.
We’re happy to announce that trans fat became less of an issue than we predicted because almost everyone jumped on the greasewagon and cleaned up their acts. It still was a costly and labor-intensive nightmare for companies and some restaurant chains, like Hardees, are still dealing with it. And, we have to admit, the esteemed professionals on our 2007 list of 20 to Watch, most likely didn’t enjoy sharing the limelight with something called "trans fat."
