Franchise Brokers Association BLOG

With the FBA Convention approaching quickly, I have to say I am pleased with how everything is coming together.  We have had a tremendous amount of interest and response from the brokers, we’re at 50% capacity for vendors and franchisors, and we are about to release a finalized schedule of events!  We have scheduled some excellent speakers, key notes, workshops and discussion topics.

Last year’s event was such a great success, I’m really looking forward to bringing everyone to Orlando in 2010.  2009 was my first year for planning and executing the FBA’s Convention, the most rewarding part for me was meeting the consultants in person, brokers and franchisors that we connect with via phone and e-mail every day and seeing them make connections with each other.  Last year, lead brokers and consultants formed strategic partnerships with many of the Franchisors in attendance, and now help them with their sales, franchise development, as well as planning and executing their marketing initiatives.

For me, putting faces to names was priceless!  Not only did I get to discuss the year in review, industry concerns, and plans for future growth with the attendees, I also realized a friendly Red Sox-Yankees rivalry among a few members, found out one of our members had run a marathon, saw who required a hefty dose of caffeine before the first session (which was most of us — Good News: this year there’s a Starbucks on site!), and learned a little bit about everyone’s family, hobbies, and personal passions.

The 2009 Convention was a great event, and one we learned from.

2009 Convention Cocktail Reception

This year’s event will be larger (with more brokers and vendors), longer (we’ve added an extra  day), more centrally located (the Sonesta Hotel is less than 20 minutes away from the Orlando International Airport), and with it being held in the FBA’s own “backyard” we’re here to help vendors and attendees get the most out of their time at the Convention and in Orlando.

If you have questions on events taking place, things to do and see in the area outside of the convention, or how to register contact me.

Hope to see you in October!

Last night’s Social Media Day event had an excellent turnout.  Over 150 people RSVP’d and it looked like a majority of them were able to make it out.

SPARK Brand helped organize the event, did some live blogging, and conducted some great giveaways (I so wanted those Rays tickets — alas, I didn’t win).  SeaWorld was there giving away park tickets, with stiltwalkers and a steel band in tow.

Most of the people I met last night were entrepreneurs, or worked in small businesses.  Everyone was interested in sharing their experiences with social media, what works for them, and how they got started.

I met Alex Monroe of www.getyourbizsavvy.com, a really great website that provides information, interviews, news and inspiration for entrepreneurs.  Alex is funny, too.  Check out his website, read some great interviews and get a laugh or two!

I also met Brenda Young, President of Marbay Group.  Brenda’s been a pioneer in the social media sector, teaching businesses why social media was actually FOR business before facebook pages and twitter accounts became mainstream in corporate culture and PR.

Last night was an excellent opportunity to meet with local media professionals, exchange ideas and stay posted on what’s new in the industry.  I hope Social Media Day stays strong, I know I’ll be there again next year!

The Franchise Brokers Association became business members of a local REIA (Real Estate Investors Association) group called CFRI (Central Florida Realty Investors) in March.  We have been to many CFRI meetings over the last few months and have learned so much!

At first glance the members are perplexed by our presence there.  They say “Franchise Brokers Association?  What does that have to do with real estate investing?”  “Well, it has a lot to do with real estate investing,” we tell them.  Almost all of our franchise consultants moonlight as real estate investors because the mind set of an investor is the same whether they are investing in a franchise, a piece of property, a stock, etc.

Investors are looking to grow wealth, and to increase their net worth and passive income streams.  They are looking to build equity, real estate and franchises are the best way to do that.

Real estate is attractive because properties appreciate over time and require minimal funds to manage and maintain, compared to the value of the asset.

Franchises are attractive because they are proven, successful systems that have been simplified so entrepreneurs without specific industry experience are still able to run and operate them.  They can produce a positive cash flow very quickly and yield a high return due to a number of factors, including back-end support and infrastructure, training that is provided to a franchisee’s employees, research and development that is done on behalf of the franchisees, cooperative advertising and marketing, branding, websites, access to funding, and an immense list of other benefits.

With a franchise, a franchisee can be profitable in a matter of months and can run their business passively after only a few months.  No other types of business strategies have been as simple or easy as this.

Because of the these benefits, franchises grow equity with each month that they are in business and with a good franchise, a franchisee should expect a net return of 20% or more.

So to an investor, franchising is a great approach to wealth accumulation, passive income and equity growth.  It has the same allure that real estate does and in some cases even more.   So if you are a serious investor, consider using a franchise system to grow your portfolio of wealth.

The Franchise Brokers Association teamed up with a new connections site called Bizilla during the IBBA’s convention in Orlando last week.  Bizilla was the primary sponsor of the event.

Bizilla’s operating partner, Hector Vasquez, is a colorful and outgoing individual.  He was constantly pulling attendees into the booth, mingling, making friends and amusing others with his directness and style.

Hector was able to find every big player in the industry and by the end of their conversation, they were open to working with our two companies.

IBBA’s training courses occupied much of the attendees’ time but the time we did shared with them was extremely valuable.  Thanks to Bizillla and IBBA for a great show!

CertaPro Painters has registered for the FBA Convention!

CertaPro Painters is North America’s largest residential and commercial painting company.  CertaPro offers their franchisees an affordable investment that requires few employees and low monthly overhead.

Join us at the FBA Convention to meet CertaPro Painters with other great vendors and franchise concepts.

Today marks 5 months until the FBA’s Annual Convention.

And here at the FBA offices we are eagerly working on plans and preparation for this year’s event.

The 2009 Convention was such a huge success; we had a great deal  of accomplished consultants in attendance as well as various franchise and business opportunities.

Last year we were fortunate to have BeneTrends as our Platinum Sponsor, and Crestcom International as our Gold Sponsor.

Silver sponsors included: Color Glo International, Sport Clips, Aamco, Carl’s Jr., Big Mouth Advertising, P.A.S.S., The National Franchise and Business Opportunities Expo, SignWorld, Express Employment Professionals, Franchise Dynamics, Mercury Road, Lawn Doctor and more!

We’re looking forward to many of last year’s exhibitors returning in 2010, as well as some new faces and concepts.  Stay tuned for a full list of exhibitors as the event gets closer.

Whether you are a Franchisor, Business Opportunity, Franchise Consultant, Business Broker, or someone interested in owning their own business, this is a must-attend event.

If you didn’t attend last year, you can see what you missed here.

2010 FBA Convention
October 20 – 22, 2010
Sonesta Hotel Orlando Downtown
Orlando, FL

For questions or to Register, email Andrea

This weekend, May 15 & 16, FBA members and Executive Director Sabrina Carter will be at the National Franchise and Business Opportunities Expo in Atlanta, GA at the Cobb Galleria Center.

Whether you’re a current franchise consultant or looking to own your own business, stop by the FBA booth and say “Hi!” We’ll be at booth #311

See information on the event here

Last Thursday, April 29th, the FBA hosted an Entrepreneur Roundtable in Orlando, FL.

The event was a huge success!  We had an excellent turnout, and a great deal of really interested people looking to pursue a business of their own.

We welcomed Eric Riess to discuss legal issues of franchising, Sabrina Carter to discuss her experiences as a business owner and franchisee, and Carl Gould to address small business development and sales strategies.  Tom Delgrosso of M & I Bank joined us to address financing in the current market, and two franchisors were represented — STOP (Service Team of Professionals) and Tutor Doctor.

The feedback was overwhelmingly positive.  Everyone found the information to be helpful and interesting.

We’re looking forward to another great event soon.

If you are going to be in Atlanta, GA for the Franchise and Business Opportunities Expo on May 15th & 16th, stop by the FBA booth!

Everyone here at the FBA is getting excited for tomorrow’s Entrepreneur Roundtable!

We’re welcoming FBA Board members Eric Riess, Carl Gould and John Hagood to discuss franchising and small business start-up.  FBA’s Executive Director, Sabrina Carter, will be discussing her experiences as the franchisee of two separate systems.  We’re also welcoming Tom Delgrosso of M & I Bank, Dr. Phillips Branch.

Really interesting topics with knowledgeable panelists.

If you’re in the Orlando area and want to attend, register here

If you’re unable to join us, look for a post next week on how the event went.