Innholdsfortegnelse for September 2018 i Entrepreneur Magazine

WANT TO KNOW why we put a 13-year-old entrepreneur on the cover of this magazine? There’s the simple reason, of course: We want to celebrate youthful achievement and inspire others. But there’s a deeper reason, aimed at anybody old enough to rent a car. If that’s you, go take another look at Zollipops founder Alina Morse on our cover. She looks like she’s having fun, right? So carefree! Her whole life ahead of her! But make no mistake; she and her peers are coming to replace you. They are smart—trust us, we’ve interviewed them, and they are frighteningly smart. They see problems with fresh eyes, unencumbered by the calcified logic that blinds those with more experience. They’ve watched you, and seen you fail and succeed, and absorbed the lessons. They’re…

Saima Khan had an epic string of luck. She was a banker in New York, and one day she ended up chatting with Warren Buffett at an airport. “We had a very personal conversation about love, loss, risk, home, and food,” she says. By the end, she’d offered to cook him a meal at her home. Buffett accepted, brought Bill Gates along, and ate well. Then the industry titans asked her to cook for their upcoming charity event, which she did—making large, shareable plates, harking back to how her Pakistani immigrant family fed guests. The event was a hit. More invitations followed. Soon, Khan saw opportunity. “People who were quite well-traveled were always looking for new dining experiences,” she says. So in 2012, she moved back to her hometown of…

That’s why we’ve created Green Entrepreneur, a new resource from the editors of Entrepreneur.com dedicated exclusively to covering the exploding cannabis industry. Our goal is to provide the latest news, advice, information, and recommendations about the budding marijuana business to help small-business owners on their paths to green-ness. We’ll feature educational stories such as how to transfer your skills and expertise into the cannabis industry to motivational stories of entrepreneurs blazing new trails. We’ll focus on the business, technology, and lifestyle aspects of this hot industry. At Green Entrepreneur, we aim to provide stories that inspire, give insight into current trends, and offer actionable takeaway tips for entrepreneurs looking to either plant their stake in the ground or expand their holdings. Read on to learn more about what it takes…

As robots go, the three telepresence machines that wheeled themselves into a conference room in Culver City, Calif., in mid May were not exactly what one would call lifelike. Flatscreens mounted on stilts rising from a mobile base, operated from afar by flesh-and-blood humans sitting in front of keyboards, the robots were functionally little more than sophisticated teleconferencing gear. Some people Skype into business meetings, but that’s not forward-thinking enough for Peter Diamandis. So when he gathers the dozen or so employees of his company PHD Ventures for their monthly meetings, the off-site participants send robot stand-ins. “All right, you rebels!” says Diamandis, after the attendees are all in place. “Let’s go!” He calls this assemblage his Jedi Council; he is Obi-Wan, and they are his disciples. Nobody blinks an…

It’s a line used so often in franchise marketing that it’s become a cliché: You’re in business for yourself, not by yourself. But like most clichés, it exists because there’s more than a little truth to it. In fact, it’s true of not just franchisees but franchisors as well. Few if any franchise companies can become national brands (let alone global powerhouses) without some behind-the-scenes help. At Entrepreneur, we’ve spent 40-plus years covering franchising, but we’ve rarely shined the spotlight on the service providers—“suppliers,” as the franchise world usually refers to them—who contribute to the success of so many franchisors and franchisees. Now it’s time to change that. We’re proud to present Entrepreneur’s inaugural ranking of the top franchise suppliers. To find out who the top suppliers are, we surveyed…

FRANCHISING COMES with its own unique set of legal challenges, starting with the need to draft a complicated legal document—the FDD—and update it every year. So it’s no surprise there are a large number of law firms that specialize in working with franchises, offering help with everything from dispute resolution and trademark protection to mergers and acquisitions and international expansion. In this highly competitive category, these are the firms that came out on top. 1 Gray Plant Mooty Full-service law firm with a franchise and distribution practice team 2 FisherZucker LLC Full-service franchise law firm offering pre-litigation counseling, litigation, arbitration and mediation, non-compete, antitrust, collections, regulatory compliance, trademark protection, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence, and international and domestic transactions 3 DLA Piper LLP Legal services including franchise law compliance, mergers…

THERE’S NO DOUBT that technology has played an important part in the ability of franchise systems to expand worldwide while maintaining consistent operations and keeping franchisors and franchisees connected. Numerous franchisors and franchisees depend on the companies in this category for software and solutions in areas like CRM, sales, operations, accounting, and more to help their businesses run smoothly. 1 FranConnect Franchise management software 2 Naranga Franchise management solutions 3 HubSpot CRM, marketing, sales, and customer service platform 4 Salesforce CRM, cloud computing, sales, service, marketing, and analytics apps 5 Intuit Franchise Program Accounting, payroll, and payment solutions for franchisees 6 Microsoft Intelligent cloud, CRM, and software solutions 7 Zoho Cloud software suite and SaaS applications for business 8 FRM Solutions Software solutions for managing relationships between franchisors and existing/prospective…

There was a moment in 2011 when Tony D’Aloia considered his freedom to be a curse. In prison, where he’d just spent the better part of a decade, he could survive a full year on the $100 his mom sent him twice a year, on his birthday and on Christmas. But now that he was outside and back home in Washington state, he needed money to survive—lots of it. He’d heard of job openings with warehouses and construction companies, but nobody seemed eager to bring on a convicted felon. Then he finally found someone willing to interview him. A young Bellevue pizza joint called MOD was hiring a dishwasher. D’Aloia knew zilch about MOD and wasn’t excited about the work. But it came with benefits and a 401(k), which was…

When I say that my wife and I wrote a novel together, people’s first reaction is almost universal: “You’re still married?” The idea seems terrifying—but we loved it. The project took us three years, and though we had disagreements along the way, we kept each other motivated and focused. (And it’s coming out this October! It’s called Mr. Nice Guy.) If it worked for us, I suspect it could work for many entrepreneurs. Ambition can be a lonely road. Isn’t it nice to have support? This got me wondering: How many people work with friends and family—and how’s it going for them? To find out, Entrepreneur partnered with SurveyMonkey Audience to survey 1,007 people across America. Of those who said they had a business relationship with someone close to them,…

“I FELT LIKE I HAD NOTHING TO LOSE” ALINA MORSE, 13 Founder and CEO, Zollipops Just 30 miles northwest of Detroit is the headquarters of a multimillion-dollar candy company called Zollipops. It’s housed in a plain-looking warehouse, containing little more than boxes and boxes of sugar-free lollipops, hard candy, and taffy that’s sold online and in more than 7,500 stores, and is overseen by a team of six full-time employees and several independent contractors. But down a hall, fluorescent lights make way for the real magic of the place: a corner office decorated with sparkling pink dance trophies, paintings of smiling suns, and construction- paper family trees—the handiwork of the company’s founder and CEO, 13-year-old Alina Morse. During the school year, Alina splits her time among dance, homework, and running…

AUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS are a required—and vitally important—item in the franchise disclosure documents (FDDs) that are shared with prospective franchisees, so a good auditor is indispensable. And—as with any business—tax, advisory, and other accounting services are essential as well. In our ranking, you’ll find the “Big Four” accounting firms, naturally, but there are also smaller firms, including some that specialize in working with franchise companies. 1 Deloitte Audit and assurance, tax, legal, risk and financial advisory, and consulting services 2 BDO USA, LLP Audit and tax compliance, tax strategy, mergers and acquisitions, international consulting, royalty audits 3 EKS&H LLLP Audit, tax, technology, and consulting services 4 EY Advisory, assurance, tax, and transaction services 5 Grant Thornton LLP Audit, tax, and advisory services 6 KPMG LLP Audit, tax, and advisory services…

FRANCHISORS HAVE a wide variety of options when it comes to growing their brands through marketing, from traditional marketing agencies to those that provide marketing software and other tools. Many focus on digital marketing or social media, while others offer a broader range of services. And some are geared toward attracting customers, while others aim to recruit franchisees for their clients. Whatever the marketing need, there’s a supplier to fill it. 1 Scorpion CMS, web design, and digital marketing solutions and services 2 Hot Dish Advertising Full-service advertising agency 3 Integrated Digital Strategies Digital marketing company specializing in franchise development and franchisee marketing 4 Qiigo Digital marketing for multi-location brands 5 Adfinitely Marketing campaign management 6 Marketing 36O Digital marketing software and services 7 SOCi Inc. Social media and reputation…

Welcome to Entrepreneur’s second annual ranking of the top franchise brands. While our signature ranking, the Franchise 500®, takes a holistic view of the elements that might make a company attractive to prospective franchisees—growth, costs, support, and financial stability—with this list, we want to zero in on one area: brand strength. We do that by analyzing factors such as social media followers, system size, the number of years in business, and the number of years franchising. Those last two are particularly telling. New franchises come and go every year. Some build up hundreds and even thousands of units before disappearing from the scene, lucky if they’re remembered as a footnote in franchise history. The best brands are those that have proven they can stand the test of time. You will…

DEL TACO HAS ENJOYED 18 consecutive quarters of same-store sales growth, but the company isn’t resting on its laurels. A new rebrand announced in June will redesign interiors, menu boards, packaging materials, and uniforms. It will also emphasize the company’s use of fresh ingredients—like hand-grated cheese, slow-cooked beans, and hand-sliced avocado—with a new tagline, “Fresh Mexican Grill,” and social media campaign, #FreshAsDel. Stores will feature fresh produce chalkboards that inform guests where the ingredients were picked and who prepared them that day.…

One day in March, I arrived at my Los Angeles office and prepared for an emotional bruising. My executive coach had interviewed 17 people close to me—my wife, my mom, my cofounders, my direct reports, and some other employees—and it was time to learn what they said. What do they think are my strengths and weaknesses? What are my blind spots? Where do I need improvement? I wasn’t sure I was ready to hear the answers. Recently, I reached what felt like a pivotal time in my career. Over the past 11 years, sweetgreen, the company I started with two friends, has grown to 86 locations and millions of customers around the country, with more than 3,500 team members. I’m CEO, which means everyone comes to me with the hard…

Fred Stevens-Smith COFOUNDER AND CEO/ Rainforest QA METHOD/ Ask for problems WHEN FRED STEVENS-SMITH and his cofounder, Russell Smith, were accepted into Y Combinator, they thought they had a brilliant idea: Help businesses track (and curb) money spent on Amazon Web Services. But when they got their program in front of beta testers, users shrugged. “It just wasn’t a big enough problem,” Stevens-Smith says. The duo built multiple prototypes to solve other problems for software development businesses, but each time, they heard the same feedback. “Most people were like, ‘I’d pay $10 a month for this.’ ” The founders needed a larger pain point. At a loss, they emailed their network: “What problem do you have in your development process that you would pay $1,000 a month to solve?” Multiple…

Q My entry-level employees keep getting poached. We’re on a tight budget—is the only way to retain talent by paying higher salaries? —JESSICA M., PHILADELPHIA JESSICA, we feel your pain. We had a similar situation at one of our previous companies, where we kept losing employees after only five or six months. The time and money involved in recruitment and training—not to mention the effect the constant turnover had on our business and clients—made us take a hard look at our practices to understand what we could do better to build a long-lasting team. We started with research. Money isn’t everything, but it’s probably the first factor candidates and employees consider when comparing opportunities. Make sure that your compensation is at least market ratedon’t let a dollar or two an…

There is no question that the cannabis industry is booming. To date, nine U.S. states have legalized the use of recreational marijuana and 29 states and the District of Columbia have now legalized cannabis for medical and/or recreational purposes. Last year, total marijuana sales in the U.S. were estimated to be between $5.8 billion and $6.6 billion. Forecasters are predicting 22 by ’22—that’s $22 billion in 2022. And that’s just the U.S. market. While there is plenty of opportunity and momentum for entrepreneurs who want to stake a claim in the green game, the real question remains: Are you ready? Here are some questions to consider: ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WITH RISK? Support for cannabis legalization in the U.S stands at a record high. In April 2016, CBS News released a…

One night in 1975, 17-year-old Peter Cancro knocked on his high school football coach’s front door in Ocean County, N.J. Cancro, a senior and the team’s quarterback, was there to ask for a $125,000 loan to buy the sub shop he’d worked at for the past four years. Hours later, Cancro left with the loan, a seven-year payback plan, and the intent to purchase Mike’s Subs. Since then, he’s turned that small sub shop into Jersey Mike’s, a national franchise with 1,400 locations nationwide and more than $1 billion in annual sales. It’s the fastest-growing sandwich chain in the U.S., with more than 18 percent sales growth year over year, according to industry research firm Technomic. (Firehouse Subs, its closest competitor in sales growth, achieved less than 5 percent growth…

OBTAINING FINANCING can be one of the biggest hurdles to starting a business. One advantage of starting a franchise business, though, is that many franchisors have relationships with banks and other financial institutions they can refer their franchisees to for help. These are the financial providers franchisors trust the most to help their franchisees get up and running and keep them funded for the life of their business. 1 Chase for Business Deposit accounts, loans, credit cards, and cash management 2 Wells Fargo Banking, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance 3 Bank of America Small-business banking, credit, and cash management solutions 4 Guidant Financial 401(k) business financing, SBA loans, unsecured business loans, growth capital, and other business services 5 Benetrends Financial 401(k) rollover funding, SBA loans, and equipment leasing…

THE ABILITY TO securely process payments is crucial for every modern business, and here again, franchises have a large selection of suppliers to choose from. There are big companies and banks that serve a variety of business customers, as well as companies that serve only certain industries. When searching for the right merchant service provider, franchisors should also consider what other services they offer, such as loyalty programs. 1 Worldpay Inc. Payment processing, software solutions, reporting and data analytics, fraud monitoring and protection, gift and prepaid card solutions, consulting, and professional services 2 Square Payment processing, reporting and analytics, POS software, and business services 3 First Data Payment processing and technology solutions 4 Bank of America Merchant Services Multi-channel payment, e-commerce, and security solutions 5 Franchise Payments Network Payment processing…

IF THERE’S ONE group of franchise suppliers we at Entrepreneur knew well before we put this ranking together, it’s this one: PR agencies. They’re the ones emailing us daily, working hard to tell their clients’ stories in hopes of publication. Some of them even help their clients fill out their annual Franchise 500 applications and regularly update their free online listings. And that’s just a sampling of the work they do to help franchise brands gain good exposure and mitigate the bad. 1 Fishman Public Relations PR and content marketing for franchise lead generation and brand awareness 2 Fish Consulting Full-service national communications firm specializing in franchise PR and marketing 3 No Limit Agency Full-service communications firm 4 All Points Public Relations Publicity, social media, content marketing, and lead generation…

MCDONALD’S NEW headquarters is symbolic of the brand’s continuing evolution into the “modern progressive burger company” envisioned by CEO Steve Easterbrook. Headquartered in Oak Brook, Ill., since 1971, the Golden Arches returned to its original home base of Chicago this June with the opening of a nine-story, block-wide building in the West Loop neighborhood. The first floor of the new office features an “Experience of the Future” restaurant, open to the public, with self-order kiosks, mobile ordering and payment, table service, and a rotating menu of favorites from around the world. One floor up is the Hamburger University training center, which will host more than 3,000 students annually. Other features include “work neighborhoods” with open floor plans, huddle rooms, communal tables, workstations, and private phone rooms; a 700-person conference center;…