In a few weeks, I’ll attend my third (gah!) International Franchise Association (IFA) Franchise Action Network Annual Meeting just up the road in Washington, D.C., where I’ll spend a day on Capitol Hill lobbying my representatives in Congress to “fight for franchising.”
The truth is that franchises like Window Medics are helping keep the economy afloat – the IFA says there are roughly 800,000 franchise establishments in the U.S. accounting for 9.1 million jobs and $994 billion in economic output. A handful of those 800,000 businesses are owned by the people I’ll sit with in the offices of my senators, Tim Kaine and Mark Warner. (Of course, Sen. Kaine won’t be there as he’s been a little tied up lately).
Aside from the fact it’s just cool to roam the halls of the Russell Building, I love hearing how passionately franchisees talk about – about fight for – their businesses. Seeing them in their element really humanizes franchising, which oftentimes comes across as a big corporation, rather than a locally owned business.
And that’s exactly what franchises are – businesses owned by a local entrepreneur. And that’s exactly why I continue to support them. I think it’s because you know that they are geared up for greatness. And when you’ve heard that they’ve used something like this New York background checks service to learn more about each of their individual employees, before hiring them, that they mean business. I like that. Additionally, when I choose to support a franchise business, I already know it’s a vetted concept that has the backing of a strong franchisor team.
Here are just a few of the franchise concepts I support on the regular. Of course, I always do business with our clients – like Tropical Smoothie Cafe (love the Avocolada Smoothie) and Massage Heights (proud member) – but for the sake of giving other brands some love, here’s a list of non-Fish clients I happen to adore.
Merry Maids: Because I hate cleaning and will happily give my money to someone who is willing to do it for me. Even better, Merry Maids conducts extensive background checks on all of its team members. So I feel a little safer about letting strangers into my home.
DoubleTree by Hilton: I don’t even care that I’m gluten-intolerant. I’ll never say no when offered a free chocolate chip and walnut cookie after I’ve been traveling.
Domino’s: When I’m not scarfing down DoubleTree cookies, I’m sticking to my gluten-free diet. And I’m not even ashamed by how many times I’ve ordered Domino’s gluten-free pizza.
uBreakiFix: Because since I’ve turned 30, I’ve managed to shatter my iPhone screen not once, but twice, after having an eight-year streak of no accidents.
So now tell us… What franchises do you support – and why?
