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Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame Takes off in Atlanta

The brainchild of serial entrepreneur and radio talk show host Mitch Schlimer (Let's Talk Business), the EHOF, as it will now be known, debuted its first live ceremony Saturday night, Dec. 1st at The Estate in Atlanta.  The venue was lovely--but more unbelievable the inductees were the who's who of the business world.  And only one as tenacious and dedicated as Mitch Schlimer could have pulled this off with about 30 days to prepare. And gotten these important people to show up!

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 [email protected]

Photo above from left: Fred DeLuca, Harris Rosen, Ray Margiano,  Famous Dave Anderson

Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame Holds First Induction Ceremony on December 1st

The Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame will host its inaugural induction event for the class of 2012 on Sat., Dec. 1 from 6 to 11 p.m. at the Estate, a historic venue located at 3109 Piedmont Dr in Buckhead, Ga. Although the Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame (EHOF) has been recognizing business leaders online and in its museum since 2002, this is the organization’s first official ceremony.

            “Entrepreneurship is vital to our society,” said Mitch Schlimer, social entrepreneur and founder of the EHOF. “At least 70 percent of all startups fail within two years. I founded the EHOF to reverse that statistic in two ways: recognizing current business leaders who have impacted the world, and empowering our youth to become future entrepreneurs.”

            The recipients are all founders and executives of companies that earn over $100 million in annual sales and exemplify the EHOF’s core values of philanthropy and innovation. They were chosen by an induction committee comprised of prominent business experts including author, keynote speaker and syndicated columnist Jane Applegate, Inc. Magazine’s editor-at-large Bo Burlingham and long time business journalist Rieva Lesonsky, formerly Entrepreneur Magazine’s Editor in Chief for more than 20 years.

            The 2012 inductees include Sara Blakely, founder of Spanx and the world’s youngest female billionaire; Subway founder Fred Deluca; Harris Rosen, president and CEO of Rosen Hotels & Resorts; Don Dwyer of The Dwyer Group; and David Anderson, founder of restaurant chain Famous Dave’s. Steve Mariotti, founder of the Network for Teaching Entrepreneurship, will receive a special social entrepreneurship and philanthropy award; and Dave and Catherine Cook will receive a youth award for their social network MeetMe.

            Business owners and entrepreneurs are invited to attend the ticketed event. In addition to the awards ceremony, guests will have the chance to mingle with the inductees, entrepreneurs, members of the press, and other VIPs over cocktails and hors d'oeuvres. Doors will open at 6 p.m. and the ceremony will begin promptly at 7:30. After the awards presentation, guests are invited to stay for the after party and continue to network with fellow business leaders. Tickets are $250 each and reservations are required.  

            Mitch Schlimer founded the Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame and Museum in 2002 as a way of commemorating outstanding inventors and business leaders. The EHOF is housed within the EPICENTER, a leading center for studying and teaching entrepreneurship with a focus on youth outreach, named for its core values of entrepreneurship, philanthropy and innovation. The EPICENTER is located at 245 Peachtree Center Ave. in Atlanta. For more information, visit www.theehalloffame.com.

Another Great IFA Convention

Hats still off to Debbie Moss and her amazing team that make the IFA annual convention so cool--I can only guesstimate that there were upwards of 2500 people at this event in Orlando Feb. 11-14 but they make it look easy.  An APP that we could download this year and last is BEYOND convenient.  You can see at a glance where and when everything is going to be happening then just click on what you want to attend and it makes a little calendar for you.  Wish they had that the year I slept through the First-Timers Reception which I was an Ambassador to!! Jim Amos, CEO of Tasti D-Lite, pictured to the left, received the Hall of Fame award, the highest honor one can receive in franchising.  Although he left me out of his thank you speech :-) I still adore him and it seems most everyone else does too.  No dry eyes in the house as a fantastic video of his young years was viewed along with his military accomplishments and then business.  A terrific gala topped the program off with The Franchise All-Star Band (franchise people with REAL talent) and a song dedicated to ME-Unchained Melody sung by the incredible Ron Taylor of Sandler Sales Institute. 

Money Mizer Franchisees Find Success In Auburn

Brothers-in-law team Hank Richards and Rick Snell decided to go into business for themselves after being affected by downsizing in their respective companies.  Snell heard that Northside Pawn owner Robbie Whitten in Phe0nix City, Ala. was looking to expand his business and the idea took off from there.

The Money Mizer Pawn Shop opened in March 2010 at 1027 B-Opelika Road in Auburn, Ala. and has experienced great growth in spite of the recession according the The Corner News.  Richards says the best selling items are electronics and firearms and there are some more unique items that pass through the shop including war memorabilia, football rings and even a book of old currency. Future plans may include expanding to an additional location in Alabama. Richards adds, “We don’t yet have one year under our belt, and we are real pleased with the progress.” 

Money Mizer currently has three corporate-owned locations in Columbus, Ga. and Phenix City and Dothan, Ala., in addition to the franchised location in Auburn, Ala. The chain expects to sell 10 to 15 franchises in 2011, with 150 locations open by the end of 2015. Prime territories include cities with populations of at least 50,000, as well as college towns and military bases.

Did You Miss us? A New Look and Blog for 2012

We were down but not out! We are currently reworking and updating this blog to be better than ever with guest columnists and more artwork and fun like "Guess the Name of This Franchise Exec" and win a post and pic on here all about you, your company, your family, whatever you want!! This should all be ready by the end of the year, or more simply, in a week or two. Until then please have a safe and healthy, happy holiday season from all of us at Daily Franchise News!