Franchise Update does it right--lots of good info in a day and a half and a nice awards dinner. The problem? Fewer franchisors attending and lots of suppliers/sponsors--maybe double the amount of franchisors in attendance. Let's explore how this works shall we? This is a money making venture and the money deserves to be made. However, a conference that focuses more on sponsorships and less on attendance is very much like an "ad rag"--that's what we used to call magazines that were filled with ads and little content. Soon they lost all their advertisers, because, whoops, no one was reading the magazine anymore!!! Why would they? Very little content and what was there was mediocre. So cart? Horse? With lots of great content you get a bundle of attendees at a conference or seminar. Then follows sponsors.
However this blogger and several other suppliers went a step further and gave a fantastic dinner at Southern Art, Chef Art Smith's (and a friend of this blogger) fabulous and gorgeous restaurant in the InterContinental Hotel in Atlanta where this conference was held a few days ago. Fried chicken, the best in the world, is cooked to order so we were all clamouring for more, more as they brought out platters every 30 minutes. Beyond YUM. If it's good enough for Oprah, Obama, Lady Gaga and Queen Noor of Jordan, we franchisors can enjoy too! (Above left Chef Art Smith and this blogger)
Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame Takes off in Atlanta
The long and short of it, according to Schlimer, a Long Island resident who spends much of his time in Atlanta doing his radio show, "you can find a Hall of Fame for quilting but nowhere is there a Hall of Fame, a standing site included, for Entrepreneurs."
The standing site is currently located at what is called the EPICenter in Atlanta but Mitch thinks in a year or so he will have to find a bigger space. More about this center in another blog.
Inductees in this ceremony Saturday shared their amazing stories with a crowd of 170. The evening went long but no one seemed to mind because each speaker was so fascinating. Dina Dwyer-Owens, CEO of the Dwyer Group was first up to accept an award for her Dad, the late Don Dwyer, the founder of Vetfran, a program dedicated to help vets get into franchising. I saw her eyes glistening with tears before she even hit the podium. Truett Cathy, founder of Chick-fil-Awas accompanied by his son Dan Cathy who now runs the ocmpany. Truett referred to Dan as "his assistant". The gorgeous Sara Blakely, the 41 year old billionaire founder of Spanx was a delight, and so beautiful up close I gasped. Ray Margiano, founder of Foot Solutions and Heel-Quik got the veteran's award for all his programs--the legendary Fred DeLuca, he who created Subway, told the delightful story about his partner Dr. Peter Buck and called him the smartest businessman in the world. "He comes in 4 times a year, asks me what we are doing, then says great, and then goes home. And he owns half the company". The crowd roared because everyone in business knows that the greatest ROI story of all time was Dr. Peter Buck suggesting to a 17 year old Fred that he sell submarine sandwiches-then gave him $1000 to start the business!
Harris Rosen, founder of Rosen Resorts, told an equally hilarious story of his beginnings. And the most touching of all had to be Dave Anderson of Famous Dave's, a Native American who helps people in that community start businesses of their own. Awesome. As a proud member of the induction committee for this event, I can't wait to see what next year holds. If you know someone you believe belongs in the Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame--email Mitch.Schlimer@gmail.com
Photo above from left: Fred DeLuca, Harris Rosen, Ray Margiano, Famous Dave Anderson
Posted on December 04, 2012 in Celebrities, Expert Commentary, Featured Executives, franchise, Franchise , Franchise Consultants, Franchisees, Restaurants, Retail, Small business | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Tags: Entrepreneurs, Famous Dave's, franchise, franchising, Fred DeLuca, Hall of Fame, Let's Talk Business, Mitch Schlimer, Spanx, Subway, The Estate