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Everyone Loves an Upgrade

Whether it’s a new cell phone, more cable channels or six inches of extra legroom on that cross-country flight, an upgrade is always appreciated. When that upgrade is to a home, however, that appreciation is all dependent on the service you receive.

The Ripon Record reported that Ripon, California residents Gina and Terry Dickman have been improving the garages of countless local residents with stellar results since March of 2005 with their business, PremierGarage.

“It is such a great product, how could we pass up an opportunity like this,” Gina said. Gina says when they first purchased the franchise, she went to homes, designed and even laid flooring and aided in building cabinets. Now Terry does most of the designing and Gina handles the office and scheduling appointments for clients. “I can’t sell a product I know nothing about, so I had to do some installs,” said Gina.

Since their start with PremierGarage, the two now have a team of six who take a marked truck out to homeowners’ homes, sit down and create a new look for their garage. “Before the garage area was wasted space …we make it an extension of the home,” Gina says. “One of our biggest selling factors is tricking out your floors and teaching you how to organize your garage. The floor coatings are a green product, so it doesn’t harm the environment. It doesn’t bring on allergies and is safe for children and pets to be on.” The Dickman’s business has been so well received that the couple recently opened a second franchise in Sacramento – PremierGarage’s 100th outpost.

One-Stop Shopping

When shopping for a new mattress, you go to the showroom and lie on each bed to determine their comfort. When ordering an expensive bottle of wine, you get a small taste to ensure the flavor is to your liking. When selecting flooring, however, that try before you buy option has never been easy to find.

The Victoria Times Colonist reported that renovating a house is a much larger undertaking than selecting a bed or wine varietal but homeowners are seldom able to visualize the effects of such a sizeable makeover. Thanks to home improvement company’s ever-evolving technologies and services, it’s becoming much easier to see how your living room would look with hardwood versus carpet or your kitchen with ceramic tile versus laminate. With the click of a mouse, the phrase "what you see is what you get" has finally become a reality.

The programs have grown more sophisticated while they've become simpler to use. Daryl Stanley, owner of Floor Covering International in Victoria, started using a digital flooring program in October. He still bumps around as he navigates the program, but in a short time, he has become adept enough that the program has changed his sales calls.

"I used to draw diagrams for customers," says Stanley. "Now I can show them whatever it is they want -- tile, hardwood, carpet, luxury vinyl. If they want to see what Brazilian cherry will look like in their living room, I can show it to them." He notes, however, that consultation is still a big part of the selection process. "I don't think any program can make it perfect, and there are still things to discuss." Those things include lifestyle, traffic and decorating preferences.

Not Quite Ready to Retire

While the word “retirement” brings images of Florida, golf and jogging suits to mind, John Hiatt imagined nothing of the sort – in fact, he invested in a parka and found a new career.

The Capital Times reported Hiatt concluded a long career in radio about 18 months ago when CBS Radio sold the four stations he was running as a senior vice president in Austin, Texas. But while he was ready to retire from radio -- "What I got into radio for had kind of disappeared ... it became more and more corporate and my whole day became dealing with numbers and contracts," he said -- he wasn't ready to retire.

"I was 57 and had about 16 years with CBS so I was able to take early retirement and still hang on to all my options and those kinds of things," Hiatt said. "I'm still just a kid. My dad was a doctor and retired at 48 and got old quick." So when he and his wife, Gail, decided to open their own business, Hiatt’s extensive advertising experience led them to focus on Valpak, the business that mails out packets of coupons in light blue envelopes.

"I had actually been using Valpak to promote the (Austin) stations because it's a relatively inexpensive way to reach a lot of people," he said. However, the only Valpak franchises available at the time in Texas were the small markets of Tyler and Waco, which he wasn't interested in. Valpak then suggested Madison. Valpak had taken the local franchise back from the previous franchisees about 18 months ago and the Hiatts jumped at the chance to have an impact on such a large market. Eventually, they'd like to grow things here to the point where they can have the typical real retirement -- or something close to it.

"We're Texans and we'll probably end up going back," he said. "We have hired some very good people up here and would probably put them in charge of Madison and then we could come up here in the summer and spend our winters in Austin."

Things Heat Up at Pyrogrill

If your ideal meal is one devoid of color and flavor, stop reading now. If not, be prepared to start salivating.

The Palm Beach Post reported that the fare at Pyrogrill’s newest location in Wellington, Florida has managed to please the palates of two notoriously discriminating groups – food critics and children – specifically, Post staffer Carol Rose, her husband and their two kids. The restaurant caters to the tastes of each guest, specializing in made-to-order mixes of flavorful proteins, veggies and toppings but also offers their Popular Pyro menu for those customers overwhelmed with the myriad of combinations available. The idea is to create your own meal from a list of protein, veggies etc., served in a wrap or bowl. All items are as fresh as possible because there are no freezers or microwaves in the kitchens.

According to Rose, the scent of the food was just as good as the actual taste. While her daughter’s wrap was a bit too spicy, a quick switcheroo with her brother – who loves spicy food – remedied the problem. With everything so flavorful it was difficult for Rose to settle on a top pick but the mix of flavors in her Big Kahuna bowl with pork proved too tasty not to take the top honor.

Laying the Groundwork

The housing market may be going down the drain but that drain will be bedecked like none other if Doug Disney has anything to do with it.

The Sacramento Bee reported that despite the floundering housing market, Rancho Cordova, California-based Tile Outlet has launched an ambitious expansion. According to Disney, the company’s founder, Tile Outlet currently has 65 franchise stores – and 34 more set to open – in six Western states but is now pushing the concept across the country, planning to open supply warehouses in Houston and Massachusetts to serve prospective franchisees in those regions.

"By the end of next year we'll have 200 locations," says the 37-year-old, who opened his first Tile Outlet here in 2001 and almost immediately began franchising. His basic concept: open small, no-frills showrooms and sell ceramic, marble and other tile products, mostly to homeowners, at deeply discounted prices. The total cost of a franchise startup, including fees, inventory and tenant improvements: about $64,000, according to Disney.

"I wouldn't say we're recession-proof, said Disney. But almost. "When people can't buy new homes," he says, "they put money into their existing ones."

Changing the Career Channel

After 24 years in the cable television industry, Brett McKee decided to flip the switch from employee to employer.

"I had a great time with the cable industry," the 57-year-old McKee told The Daily Breeze. "But after numerous consolidations, I wanted to branch off on my own and have a little bit more control." McKee says he depends a lot on the management, customer service and operational skills he gained from the cable industry to launch a home-based business.

McKee is the Los Angeles County franchisee for American Ramp Systems, which sells, rents and installs wheelchair ramps for homes and some businesses. Since opening for business in May, McKee has been focusing on marketing, and creating awareness that there is a new resource in town and going to homes and making sales evaluations and writing proposals. Once a new client is ready, McKee manages the installation – everything from bolting the ramps together and carrying them off the truck to laying pavers to create an even surface for the ramp to rest upon.

Ramps are available for rent as well as for sale with a 30-inch width ramp for residential use costing approximately $108 per foot with railings. McKee explained that with installation, the cost for a ramp at a standard two-step house is about $1,600 to $2,000. The ramps can usually be installed within one and three hours.

Sign Him Up

What do the Navy, theatre and entrepreneurship have in common? Not only do they all take a certain amount of skill, discipline and courage but one man has had a hand in all three.

Military.com reported that Chuck Black was looking forward to retiring from his 20-year Navy career and embarking on his new full-time vocation of skiing but back surgery two years before his retirement date sidelined his career plans. What to do? In Black’s case, it was act. In 1992, Black joined a two-year acting conservatory program in the Georgetown section of Washington, D.C., quietly telling himself that in five years he wanted to be performing onstage at the famed Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Always the overachiever, Black fulfilled his vow to himself by appearing center stage at the Kennedy Center as a stilt-walking, fire-eating clown in a Washington Opera stage production just one year after graduating from the conservatory.

The untapped creativity that led Black to the center stage of one of America's most famed performing arts centers has also served Black well in his most recent venture as a Fort Lauderdale, Florida franchisee of Signs By Tomorrow – one of the franchised pioneers of the one-day sign and graphics industry. The 55-year-old Black, along with his wife and business partner, Lynn Elsasser, will celebrate their four-year anniversary of opening of Signs by Tomorrow franchise this month. It has been a seamless transition for Black, whose Naval career included 12 years of sea duty running missile systems and serving aboard five different types of ships. He also spent time in recruiting and human resources before retiring as a senior chief.

"The creativity that I learned from my theater work relates well to the sign business. So does the operational systems background I gained at sea and the sales experience I gained as a Navy recruiter," Black said. "This franchise is a perfect fit for me."

What's more, Signs by Tomorrow has evolved into a visual communications consultant with clients ranging from Fortune 500 companies and professional sports teams to the local plumber. "I had never really noticed signs before," Black admitted. "But when I started thinking about it, I realized that everybody needs signs. Even the guy going out of business needs a sign to tell people he's closing. It is an interesting industry."

Wanna Get Stoned?

Get your mind out of the gutter: you’ll look like this, not this.

The Long Island Business News reported new high-end massage facilities are coming soon to Long Island in the form of three Hand and Stone Massage Spa franchises. Debra Cuadra, who owns development rights from New Jersey-based Hand and Stone for Nassau and Suffolk counties and eight counties in New Jersey, plans to open her own spa in Jericho. Last week, she was in the process of finalizing the sale of two other franchises.

This is not the first franchise rodeo for Cuadra who, after working in marketing and sales for a subsidiary of Eastman Kodak and the Daily News, spent 18 years as an owner and operator of eight McDonald’s franchises in Brooklyn and Queens. Looking for a third career, she made the choice to get back into franchising because “it’s a safer alternative than being in an independent business,” Cuadra said. She also wanted to go into the wellness industry because “it has fewer moving parts than the food industry,” she added. “There are fewer regulations and you don’t have to deal with food and the public issues.”

Cuadra believes she’s riding a wave after she monitored the industry and watched the expansion, she said. She may be right. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, employment for massage therapists is expected to increase 18 to 26 percent by 2014, due to “increased interest in alternative medicine and holistic healing … Healthcare providers and medical insurance companies are beginning to recognize massage therapy as a legitimate treatment and preventative measure.”

Beyond the Back Yard

When the dining hall offerings all begin to look the same, many college students venture off campus to find some more edible fare. Vic Beroth did just that and not only did he find a quality meal but a business opportunity as well.

The Elkin Tribune reported that when Beroth was a student at Appalachian State University, he had his first taste of Back Yard Burgers. He enjoyed the premium burgers, options beyond regular fast food and the service so much that he introduced the restaurant in the Winston-Salem area in November of 2004 and has plans to build a total of 13 across North Carolina, including his newest location in Jonesville that’s scheduled to open later this month.

"There is nothing else like it there," Beroth said last week of the coming Back Yard Burgers at the Jonesville interchange. The new local store design fits on a little less than an acre and requires 40 to 50 parking spaces. The restaurant is 2,900 square feet, seats 87 and boasts a drive-thru window for those who need food on the go.

And the Award for Best Franchising Opportunity Goes to…

The franchising gods have spoken: 7-Eleven is their chosen one.

The Dallas Business Journal reported that Entrepreneur has named the Dallas-based convenience store the best franchising opportunity in America in next year's Franchise 500 ranking.

The recognition, in the issue of Entrepreneur on newsstands today, ratchets up its former No. 4 rating and is special to 7-Eleven’s president and CEO Joe DePinto because it tells him they're "on the right path." It also means they overshadowed formidable competition like McDonald's, Dunkin' Donuts and Subway, which held the top slot for 2007 and now is bumped to No. 2.

"At 7-Eleven, we're synonymous with convenience. Everyone is trying to get a foothold in convenience," DePinto said. "You not only have to be convenient to the customer, our business ... really has to be there to support franchisees."

Maria Anton, Entrepreneur's executive editor, said this is 7-Eleven's first time to occupy the top slot in the 29 years the magazine has compiled this ranking. The criteria include factors like number of years in business, number of years franchising, franchise unit growth and financial stability, she said.

Rounding out the top 10 are Subway, Dunkin' Donuts, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Sonic, KFC, InterContinental Hotels, Domino's Pizza and ReMax.