Business Blogs: Trends, tips, and real-life anecdotes from industry experts.

One of the hot topics in franchising (and marketing, in general) is social media, aka Web 2.0. During the franchise convention in San Diego last month I co-hosted a round table discussion titled, “Using the Web in the Sales Process” and probably 90% of the discussion focused on corporate blogs, integrating video into your marketing [...]

Last week we took a brief glimpse at Wall Street and some of the good, and bad, news filling the media. Franchising, currently suffering like many other sectors, has historically outperformed other industries during economic downturns and subsequent recoveries. A few interesting points:

While dozens of retailers and corporate owned chains are expected to fail, franchises [...]

It’s very easy to get stuck in the doom and gloom that’s Wall Street. Just this past week, we heard that over $18 billion of the infamous Ballout Fund ended up in the pockets of Wall Street executives (in the form of bonuses) and over 200,000 additional people lost their jobs. Even the International Franchise [...]

At a recent email marketing workshop, several audience members asked me about old lists of customers or contacts they’ve gathered but have never emailed. Should they email them? Do they need to get permission again? All of these questions focus on the gray area of getting started building your email marketing list.
Have any of the [...]

By Erin Jacobs, VerticalResponse
Customers often ask me, what are the best offers to use in email marketing programs, or any lead generation program for that matter.  The answer, of course, is dependent on a list of factors- among them: What is the nature of your business? What are you trying to achieve with your email? [...]

Well folks, next week is my favorite holiday. I love the family time, I love the non-material/inclusive nature of the holiday, and of course, I love the food.
But there’s one thing I love more: Inspiring people to start and grow successful businesses.
That’s why I passionately accepted an invitation from Franchise India, Asia’s largest small business [...]

Earlier this month we discussed different options for those who are currently unemployed or recently heard they will be receiving a severance package and asked to look for different opportunities. While buying a franchise isn’t for everyone,  considering the idea is always a possibility after leaving corporate America.
Shortly afterwards, I read this article  in the [...]

I’m a big fan of Fast Company (both online and off). When I travel, the magazine is always in my briefcase.  If they offered an App for my iPhone (like The New York Times App) I would be a faithful subscriber. You get my drift …
So I was catching up on my Fast Company news [...]

Tough news in Charlotte, NC earlier this week. Wachovia Corp, one of the largest companies in Charlotte and the 6th largest bank in the United States, was purchased by Citigroup (Stock ticker C). 5,000 people were let go on Tuesday and I’m sure more will be before the end of the year.
When the unemployment rate [...]

It’s travel season … last week Washington, DC for Franchise Appreciation Day and this week Franchise Update’s annual Franchise Development Conference at the Drake Hotel in Chicago, IL. The conference agenda is helping owners of franchise organizations (in a peer to peer environment) understand the present franchise sales environment and gain valuable insight for improving [...]