The National Arbor Day Foundation has announced a new partnership with ink and toner-refill franchise retailer Cartridge World to help replant America’s national forests that have been damaged by wildfires and other natural causes. In conjunction with its frequent buyer program, Cartridge World will make a donation to the Foundation to plant a tree in a national forest. The retailer hopes to plant 75,000 trees in national forests.

“Plant a Tree, Not a Cartridge” reinforces Cartridge World’s commitment to keeping discarded ink and toner cartridges out of landfills by providing an alternative to purchasing new cartridges. Beginning in April, customers at its 550 stores nationwide will be offered a “Plant a Tree Frequent Buyer Card”. Once the card is filled, the customer will receive a tree gift certificate which tells the customer a tree has been planted in a national forest on his/her behalf. New stores also will be handing out Arbor Day Foundation Gift Trees to customers during grand openings beginning in April.

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REALTY WORLD® Northern California and Northern Nevada, Inc. today announced it has signed a franchise agreement with respected Silicon Valley broker and Intero Real Estate Services founding executive Terry Meyer.

A 22-year veteran agent, broker and executive, Meyer started his career as an agent and branch manager with Century 21 Seville-Contempo Realty in San Jose, where he rose to executive vice president. Later, he managed 120 agents and staff at two San Jose Coldwell Banker offices before helping found Intero in 2002.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to welcome a professional of Terry Meyer’s caliber,” says Scott LeForce, president and chief executive officer of REALTY WORLD Northern California and Northern Nevada, Inc. “Terry is a prime example of the kind of brokers who leave an established brokerage because they are tired of subsidizing the cost of large brick and mortar offices that are visually impressive but don’t directly help them sell real estate. By contrast, we offer a low-cost, predictable business model that provides the technology tools and marketing resources to be successful without all the per-transaction and extra fees that eat away at a real estate professional’s income. That’s key in today’s market.”

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Jim Evers, president of 1-800-DryClean, announced that Scott and Tina Thomas were awarded a franchise serving Rocklin and Roseville, California, north of Sacramento.

“What makes this interesting is that Scott was a FedEx driver. I bet most people don’t know that FedEx drivers are independent contractors. They own their own routes and typically lease their vans,” said Evers. “Scott came to us because he wanted more growth opportunity.”

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The 16th annual International Franchise Expo will be held in Washington, DC from Friday, March 30th to Sunday, April 1st. Hundreds of the top franchise concepts will be exhibiting.

GET THE EDUCATION YOU NEED TO SUCCEED

Whatever your interests and needs in franchising, slect from the three tracks, Buying a Franchise, Franchising Your Business and Acquiring a Master Franchise, which best addresses your requirements. Each track includes a Symposium (3 or more hours) which requires a fee to attend. There are FREE Seminars designed to your specific needs. Specialty Seminars are also FREE and focus on franchising opportunities for veterans, minorities, women and multiunit franchisees.

For more information, please visit www.ifeinfo.com

More than 20,000 homes in the Houston area are a lot more peaceful than they used to be, thanks to local dog-training guru Jim Burwell and his patented canine calming methods. Now, he’s launched a mission to spread that peace nationwide and tap into the $25 billion pet services industry with his new franchise – Jim Burwell’s Petiquette.

With one Houston franchise up and running, Burwell has been actively pursuing other markets throughout the state of Texas for growth of the Petiquette franchise in the state and then nationwide. Company plans call for five franchise locations in Houston, TX by the end of 2007 and the following Texas cities in 2008: Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, and Corpus Christi.

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Imagine opening 10 new business locations without having to foot the bill for real estate and development costs or taking on any of the risk.

Even more, imagine finding managers to run those locations, who are just as committed to growing the company as you.

Sound far-fetched?

Not if we’re talking about franchising, one of the fastest ways to grow a small business without breaking the bank, experts say.

“It’s a way for companies to expand and grow, using other people’s capital and human resources,” says Harold Kestenbaum, a franchise attorney who is counsel to Farrell Fritz in Uniondale.

That’s because it’s the franchisees, not the franchisor, that have to pay the expense of securing a location, renovating it, equipping it, stocking and staffing it, Kestenbaum explains. In essence, they become stakeholders, who now have a vested interest in making the business work.

As the franchisor, you are responsible for providing the necessary training to get them started, as well as any follow-up they may need and companywide marketing support, use of name, logo, etc. Most of these start-up costs would be covered by an initial franchise fee that you would collect from the franchisee, Kestenbaum says. You would also be paid a weekly or monthly royalty fee, which typically ranges between 4 percent and 6 percent of a franchisee’s gross sales, he notes.

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One of the nation’s largest graphics and sign franchise companies, Signs Now A Division of Allegra Network LLC, has announced plans to expand their network into the Mid-Atlantic region, with a specific focus on Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington D.C and surrounding markets.

To further recruitment, Signs Now representatives will be on hand during the International Franchise Expo (IFE) at the Washington Convention Center March 30 – April 1, 2007 to discuss ownership opportunities with prospective franchise owners.

“We see the potential for 15 to 20 new Signs Now stores in the Mid-Atlantic region,” remarks Signs Now President Steve White. “The company has several model franchises in this region and their achievement rates continue to rise. We feel the current growth trends in franchising and the proven success of Signs Now provides a winning combination for potential owners in the area.”

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Although the accidental death of J.D. Byrider founder Jim DeVoe was a year ago, the nation’s oldest and largest used-car franchise and finance company reports that his legacy is stronger than ever. Byrider posted record sales and customer satisfaction levels in the past year, licensed an unprecedented number of dealerships, and took steps to attract an increasing number of new-car dealers as franchisees.

Byrider, which serves customers with special financing needs, plans to open at least 20 new locations this year. About 40 percent of those store owners will be new-car dealers. Even before this latest influx, 33 percent of Byrider’s franchisees came from the new-car side.

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RICHARD SNEAD came up through the restaurant industry when bigger was better.

He earned his managerial stripes in the fast-food industry as Burger King, McDonald’s and Wendy’s waged war over who could offer bigger burgers, more fries and larger cups of soda. Few questioned the strategy, not even after casual dining restaurants embarked on their own supersizing battle in the 1990s.

Now Mr. Snead is breaking ranks. As chief executive of Carlson Restaurants Worldwide he has chopped portion sizes at T.G.I. Friday’s, Carlson’s chain known for calorie-rich items like deep-fried potato skins stuffed with Cheddar cheese, bacon and sour cream. In a closely watched experiment, Friday’s will see whether diners will order what it calls “Right Size” portions that, on average, are about two-thirds the size of the usual serving.

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In a little more than 18 months, Mary Dillon, athlete, marathoner and the mother of four children, has taken the world’s largest hamburger chain to venues its founder Ray Kroc could not have imagined.

While Dillon, 45, who was named executive vice president and global chief marketing officer of McDonald’s Corp. in September 2005, hasn’t yet run a guerrilla marketing campaign, she has introduced the button-down company to YouTube, Webisodes (short Web-based episodes), cell-phone text messaging in Japan and podcasts, all places where its young adult and “forever young” customers now are found.

“It creates buzz and fun about the brand,” Dillon said.

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Couple aim to be big-time contenders in fitness market.

Walk into the Prime Time Boxing gym, and the energy hits you like a short left to the chin.

The sound system’s pulsing beat turns the Del Paso Boulevard gym into a dance floor, while the trainers shout encouragement like drill instructors to the men and women working in the ring or pounding on the heavy punching bags.

“What time is it?” an instructor yells at the group in the ring.

“Prime time!” comes the loud response.

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A healthier fast-food restaurant business born in Tampa has its sites on becoming a national chain.

Going against the grain of fast food giants, EVOS serves America’s favorite comfort meal of burgers, fries, and shakes that have 50 to 70 percent less fat and calories compared to other restaurant chains.

To hear co-founder Dino Lambridis tell it, EVOS was conceived on a whim, after he and co-founders Alkis Crassas and Michael Jeffers drove for miles in search of a healthier fast food fix and couldn’t find one.

But in reality, the trio had long yearned to launch a business like EVOS – a company that would make a contribution to society.

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In 1994, Todd Beckman’s plan for building his tanning business was simple: start small, cultivate and then expand.

“My original expectation was just to have three stores, and it just took off,” said Beckman, 42, chief executive of the Tan Co. Today, the Fenton-based company has 72 locations in 12 states and annual revenue of $35 million.

Franchising played a big part in that growth, which was something he hadn’t expected. “Franchising was not a thought, not at the very beginning,” Beckman said.

Companies with a business model that can be replicated have two ways to grow.

They can add locations, financing each expansion themselves and taking full ownership of the new operations. Or they can find partners to open franchises under the company name. The franchise partners pay a fee to the company, and in return get access to its business model, products and marketing and advertising tools.

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Marco’s Franchising, LLC, the franchising arm for the rapidly growing Marco’s Pizza, home of the Italian Ah!thentic pizza, is partnering with Root Learning, Inc., a strategic learning company that engages and connects people to create results, to develop a state of the art electronic training system for Marco’s Pizza store managers and crew.

Jack Butorac, Jr., president of Marco’s Franchising, LLC, announced the agreement with Root Learning, which like Marco’s, is headquartered in the Toledo area.

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Ruby Tuesday, Inc. (NYSE: RI), one of the nation’s leading casual dining restaurant companies, announced plans for the development of 25 restaurants in Middle Eastern countries that include Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Lebanon, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates. The restaurants will be developed and operated by the National Arabic Company for Restaurant Management of Kuwait City (NAC) and will open over the next seven years.

“We are extremely excited about expanding our relationship with Ruby Tuesday in the Middle East,” said Emad Bu Khamseen, owner and Chairman of NAC. “We are committed to bring the Ruby Tuesday experience to people throughout the Middle East,” he added.

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From the reception desk to the CEO’s office, PrideStaff is setting a new bar in the vibrant $82 billion per year staffing industry with an energetic flair untested until now. With nearly 30 years of proven success in the industry, the full-service commercial staffing company offers the resources and expertise of a national firm with the spirit, dedication and personal service of smaller, entrepreneurial firms.

With a growth and profitability that has consistently outpaced the industry, PrideStaff is now taking its innovative solutions and vigorous “hands on” attitude nationwide, and expanding its concept solely through franchising. With 36 locations currently operating throughout the country, PrideStaff is poised to expand and maintain its well-established industry reputation through its commitment to solving the challenges of today’s evolving workplace. Company plans call for doubling the number of offices in the next three years.

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Dunkin’ Donuts, McDonald’s expand offerings to compete with Starbucks

NEW YORK — As Starbucks Corp. investors met in Seattle for the chain’s annual shareholders meeting, coffee drinkers around the country lined up Wednesday for a cup of joe from one of the coffee retailer’s competitors.

In a promotion the company said was timed to celebrate the first day of spring, Dunkin’ Donuts gave away free 16-ounce cups of iced coffee all day — a coincidence that only seemed to highlight Starbucks’ latest woes.

The Seattle chain, which dominates the specialty coffee market, has been faced with concerns from investors and its own management that if it continues to grow at its current rapid pace, the brand will be diluted enough to allow competitors to gain a stronger foothold.

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The oil used to cook fries at Carl’s Jr. restaurants in Arizona is getting a second life as fuel for the fast-food chain’s vehicles.

The company that franchises most Carl’s Jr. outlets in the state plans to convert its fleet, including cars and trucks used by repair technicians and regional vice presidents, to run on waste vegetable oil instead of gas by 2010.

Five of the 20 vehicles in the fleet are already running on used fryer oil from Carl’s Jr. restaurants, said Margaret LeVecke, director of marketing for MJKL Enterprises LLC, the Valley-based company that operates the restaurants, as well as Pizza Patron outlets in the Valley.

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The 2007 Industry Report on Franchisee Satisfaction, released today by Franchise Business Review, indicates that an overwhelming percentage of franchisees across North America are satisfied with their business investment. Overall, 82% of franchise owners gave their franchise system a positive rating. The report also indicates that the majority of franchisees are meeting or exceeding their financial expectations.

“All in all, franchising continues to be an attractive and rewarding opportunity for individuals looking to have a little more control over their future,” says Eric Stites, Founder and President of Franchise Business Review. “Over the past 12 months, we have surveyed thousands of franchisees from hundreds of different franchise systems and the majority of these folks are happy and making money.”

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ADE Franchising LLC announced that they received regulatory approval to expand their nation-wide franchise program into the state of California. This increased the number of states where A DESIGNER’S EYE home and garden design franchises is available to 38. This came quickly on the heels of the official launch of their franchise program in January, 2007.

“This is a milestone for us as we engage in an aggressive expansion of our business across the country,” Stephen Fofanoff, president of ADE Franchising, said. “This definitely helps bring us closer to reaching our goal of 500 units in 5 years.”

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