Really interesting article in this weekend’s Wall St. Journal on how private equity firms are buying up car washes and turning them into regional chains. There is a trend in private equity to buy up small businesses is to bundle the businesses in order to “roll-up” those businesses and find new ways for them to

I made this observation on Twitter recently. Franchisors should stand by their trademarks.

What? Why would you say this? Doesn’t every franchisor stand by their trademarks?

No. No they don’t.

If you look closely at your franchise agreement, it is very likely the franchisor will not indemnify its franchisees against trademark infringement by third parties.

A business owner approaches you to invest in his business. He comes up with an idea to “sell” a portion of his equity in the business. You listen to the business owner’s pitch and likes the idea. You decides to invest in exchange for “ownership.” The problem? Nothing is in writing, you have invested the

*This blog post was originally written for the Greater Des Moines Partnership.

I am fascinated by the mindset of high performers regardless of their profession. Because I am a sports nut, I am particularly drawn to the champion mindset of athletes. How are the very best able to achieve at such high levels? For

In March of 1995, Michael Jordan had one of the shortest press releases announcing his return to basketball. He simply said,

I’m back

Well, I may not be the caliber of Michael Jordan, but after a long hiatus I am announcing I am back to blogging. I have been blogging (for the most part continuously)

I was recently interviewed on the Entrepreneur Iowa Podcast by Dan Tooker. Dan is with the Des Moines Radio Group and is also the owner of Franchising Done Right. Dan’s franchise related business helps displaced executives and budding entrepreneurs find franchise opportunities. Dan and I discussed franchising, what it takes to be successful in business,

FRANCHISE Marketing Branding Retail and Business Work Mission Concept

I saw a post from Global Franchising that warranted attention from franchisors as we move into 2021. All too often I have seen franchisors this year bury their heads in the sand and not communicate with franchisors. This article discusses six

Are you interested in starting a new franchise? This blog post will discuss 7 initial steps to franchising your business.

Step 1: Decide if franchising is right for you. Franchising is not something to take lightly. It is a significant commitment, not only in terms of time but also the financial investment required to start

Recently I had a conversation with a very successful small business owner I have known for a long time that really shook me. I learned his sales are now down 80% during the latest surge of the pandemic . He said,

The virus is killing us. People are scared.

Meanwhile, Amazon’s sales increased 40 percent