Franchisee to freshman: Before heading to Washington, D.C., Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-S.C.) was a Fresh franchisee.
"I found something that I really liked," he says of Salsarita’s Fresh Cantina, a Mexican-food concept with 80 locations in 17 states. "I knew the folks and believed in the system."
In March 2009, the then-state Senator purchased a single-unit Salsarita, and minority ownership stake in the franchise. That was before he was elected to the U.S. Congress in November 2010, where he represents South Carolina’s fifth district, and sold his location.
"Well, you can’t make money in the restaurant business if you’re not in your restaurants," Mulvaney says. The sale was also due to the Outside Income Restriction, which restricts members of Congress from earning more than 15 percent of their base salary (totaling $26,550, as of 2009) in outside earnings.
Nonetheless, Mulvaney is acutely aware of the grim business climate facing franchisees. Since being elected, he has met with Yum! Brands representatives, sat down at a private dinner with Burger King franchisees and plans to speak at their convention this fall. With last year’s repeal of the 1099 employer tax paperwork provision in the Patient Protection and Health Care Act, and the reduction of interchange fees from 44 to 21 cents per debit-card swipe, Mulvaney says franchisees are peppering their representatives with the same questions. "Now it’s gone back to healthcare," he says. "It’s just going to kill small businesses, especially small franchises."
However, just because there won’t be more 1099 paperwork for small businesses, doesn’t mean cherry-picked sections in the Healthcare Law that franchisees disagree with will continue to be repealed in the 112th Congress. "(1099) was one provision where everybody knew that was a mistake," he says.
Mulvaney planned to run the day-to-day operations as a Salsarita area developer, (he also had rights in Lancaster and York counties), while his wife Pamela provided the restaurant’s catering. Ultimately, though, he—or, more accurately, his constituents—decided he could serve more people as a freshman Congressman than a restaurant franchisee.
"I don’t like Washington, but it is my job," says Mulvaney, a Tea Partier. "It’s an entirely different world than you and I are familiar with."
Seeking 75,000 vets: On November 10 the International Franchise Association, along with Joining Forces Initiative, is scheduled to announce a plan to hire 75,000 veterans in the franchise industry before 2014.
Like VetFran, Joining Forces aims to get returning vets hired. Representatives attended IFA’s VetFran reception at its September Public Affairs Conference, and liked what they heard, says VetFran Campaign Manager Beth Solomon. First Lady Michelle Obama, along with Second Lady Jill Biden, is fostering the initiative, which will dovetail with IFA’s VetFran strategic initiative. Franchise CEOs and members of the Chamber of Commerce will also be in attendance for the official announcement.
A number of additional VetFran media events are planned in Atlanta (at Aaron’s, TSS Photography), Denver (Faegre & Benson), Minneapolis, San Diego (The UPS Store), Houston (Fastsigns), Dallas (The Dwyer Group), Colorado Springs (Conspire), Miami/Ft. Lauderdale (Fish Consulting), Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Seattle (Guidant Financial), Baltimore (Sport Clips), Jacksonville and Nashville (Tasti D-Lite).
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