In a power generation facility uninterrupted steam production is vital. It follows logically then that a reliable source of boiler quality feed water is also vitally important. Frequently these days this means the installation and operation of an Industrial Reverse Osmosis (RO) system.
The use of RO in power generation facilities has become increasingly common over the last 15 years, especially in newly built facilities. Reverse Osmosis retrofits to the boiler water pre-treatment systems of large, older power generation facilities are common as well, irrespective of the fuel source.
This article presents 5 operational considerations when purchasing an industrial reverse osmosis system for your Power Generation facility.
Industrial Reverse Osmosis Consideration #1: Focus on the permeate
In Power Generation facilities normally the permeate is the desired water stream. System designs with more than one pass may be needed to ensure that the final product is of the specified purity. Other considerations may include RO redundancy to allow some trains to be removed for cleaning or membrane replacement, boiler makeup demand vs. RO flow rate, the need for an RO water storage tank, both upstream for the RO feed and downstream for the permeate.
Industrial Reverse Osmosis Consideration #2: Sometimes you’ll focus on the reject
If the reject is the desired product, multi-staging may be necessary. In a power plant, wastewater and in some instances cooling tower blow down will be concentrated using multi-staging RO to reduce the total quantity of water that must be treated to final effluent standards.
Industrial Reverse Osmosis Consideration #3: Prevent scaling of the RO membranes by hardness, strontium, or barium
The three most common means of preventing scale build up in Power Generation RO systems are; feeding acid to control pH, installing a softener ahead of the RO system and feeding an antiscalant.
Industrial Reverse Osmosis Consideration #4: Prevent microbiological fouling of the membrane
While generally not as damaging as mineral scale, microbiological fouling can significantly reduce the efficiency of a Reverse Osmosis system. Again, preventing fouling is a far more effective strategy than fouling remediation. Microbiological fouling of Reverse Osmosis systems is generally done by controlling the MB content in the RO feed water to a specified maximum using a biocide.
Industrial Reverse Osmosis Parameter #5: Prevent non-microbiological organic fouling of the RO membrane
This is most successfully done by controlling the COD of the RO feed water. If the RO feed water is plant service water and uncontaminated (or does not contain recycled water or waste water) then the COD is almost always color or decaying vegetation. Both can be removed through proper upstream clarification or an anion exchanger.
If the RO feed water contains a recycled or waste component, then the COD can be almost anything. In this case, proper upstream treatment using secondary (biological) treatment of the waste or recycled stream will be needed to reduce the COD to levels such that non-biological organic fouling of RO membranes does not occur.
An in-depth discussion of Reverse Osmosis design considerations for the Power Generation Industry including tables and drawings can be downloaded in the free 11 page Layne Christensen white paper titled Eleven Things to Consider When Purchasing a Reverse Osmosis System for Your Power Generation Facility.
As a leader in the development of Reverse Osmosis (RO) systems, Layne Christensen Company has the technical expertise to design and build reverse osmosis systems for all of your plant water needs. Beyond RO, Layne Christensen’s Water Treatment Division Research & Development team focuses on refining and expanding the water treatment methods we currently employ so we can meet the most demanding challenges head-on with innovation.
Your concerns about water quality are Layne’s concerns as well. The Water Treatment Division has been resolving water quality problems for over a half century, installing thousands of treatment systems throughout North America. You can reach our technical experts through our website at www.LayneWater.com or by phone 262.246.4646.
A complete list of design considerations is provided in the free ($97 value) Layne Christensen technical paper. Grab your copy of Design Considerations while they are still available. For additional Reverse Osmosis Information visit Article Source:
Packing and moving to new location is not an easy task. It is one of the most problematic and chaotic task that no one wants to deal with. Lots of work has to be done to make the shifting hassle free, easier and smooth. Packing, loading, unloading, unpacking of goods these tasks has to be done to make complete shifting. Though these tasks look so simple but in reality they are really problematic and time taking. Sometimes these chaotic tasks often make the people mentally and physically stress that it hunts them as the nightmare. So instead of facing these problems it is better to hire the services from the professional movers and packers companies.
In India you will find several movers and packers companies offering their valuable packing and moving services. But it is not true that the moving companies provide hassle free and cost effective services. These days packers and movers companies are getting more popularity for their quality services as the cost effective rate. They have teams of expert professionals who are proficient in packing and moving of goods in safe and secure way to new location. They pack the entire goods with high quality packing material to ensure that the goods do not get damage while transporting it to new location.
Pune packers movers companies provide wide range of packing and moving services to the clients. Their services includes packing and moving of household goods, freight forwarding, air cargo services, air mail services, home shifting, air mail services, household shifting, etc. They also provide various other services as per the needs and requirements of the clients. They also have teams of expert professionals who are proficient in packing and moving of goods in safe and secure way. For any assistance related to packers and movers you can contact to any one of the packers and movers of Pune. They will assist you with their valuable services to move your valuable and loveable goods in safe and secure way to new location.
Some of the packers and movers Pune companies also provide car carrier and transportation services. Moving of car is not an easy task and has to be done with care and dedication to make it smooth and easier. Moving of car to new location is a very risky task and needs to be done with care and dedication. Even a small mistake can cause a huge damage so it has to be done with proper care and dedication. Experts of the moving agencies of Pune are expert in moving of the car to new location with care and dedication and never leave any stone unturned about their services. They cover the car with car covering material and transport it to new location in a hassle free way without making even a single scratch on it.
Well if you need any packing and moving services it is advisable to hire the services from the movers and packers Pune companies. They will assist you with best of their services to make the relocation of the goods in safe and secure way to new location. They can prove to be your best friend shifting of your lovable and valuable goods in safe and secure way to new location.
Rachel is an amateur writer focusing primarily on Business related topics. For more information and to visit
One has to say that print brochure is a leaflet advertisement. Generally, brochures are used for various purposes such as marketing, advertisement, classified ads, fund raising, agitation, promotion, demonstration, peace, love, harmony, religiosity and the list goes on. They are stylish yet innovative way of marketing your products and services all around the globe. Company is offering cheap brochure printing services to its exciting customers worldwide in a reliable and professional manner.
Their design needs a special artwork. Usually, they are produced by a team of artful and professional designers. These designers make use of advanced designing skills so as to produce attractive and eye catching brochures printing designs. For the most part, they make use of logo designing, template design, texts, images and graphics. In addition to presenting elegant masterpiece of , they do provide free unlimited design revisions.
One of the amazing aspects about business brochure printing is that it can be easily taken towards the customization in order to suit your specific business products. All you have to do is to find custom brochure printing company so that you can be able to customize your order with ease and elegance. Online printing company is providing custom brochure printing services to its loving clients worldwide in a resounding manner.
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Online brochure printing company is offering free shipment to its valued customers all around the globe. More to the point, it is providing online printing service to its exciting buyers with 10% brochure printing sale. Also it is offering cheap presentation folder printing to its clients with cheap . So if you need any assistance regarding brochure printing online, please do not hesitate to contact us! We will provide you the best brochure printing services worldwide in a cost effective manner.
Brochures are stylish yet innovative printing products that can enhance your business identity quickly. They are very accommodating both as cost-wise and as size-wise. Then they can provide definite benefits to the organizations i.e. increased business litheness, nifty marketing, business identity development, revenue generation and competitive edge over the businesses. Online printing company is providing customized brochure printing to its loving clients throughout the world.
Hello, I am Muqtada from Streamwood, USA and I am writing lover. I write about my personal experiences and spread the words which I like and dislike. Thanks
Business intelligence and performance management focuses on providing the tools and processes to help you make better business decisions. In order to make better business decisions you first need to understand how your business is currently performing, you then need to understand why it’s working the way it is and this should lead you to be able to see where you need to take your business next. Business intelligence and performance management is all about making sure you’ve got the right tools and solutions to make these analyses accurately enough to derive better business decisions.
Performance management is the encompassing term that looks at both understanding the process of being able to pull in all the data within your business, then turning that data into useful information that can then be used with processes like budgeting and forecasting. Business intelligence is the specific process of taking that data and turning it into useful information that the people within your business can then use.
Performance management is particularly important if your business is growing because of the amount of data you have is always going to be growing and changing as the business grows, this means that the complexity of your processes, planning, budgeting and forecasting is also going to be increasing too. The tools you may be using already such as spreadsheets are going to quickly become overwhelmed and not suitable for the data they need to manage. A fully comprehensive performance management system will enable you to have greater control and add more cohesion to gathering and analyzing the data you need to ensure you are able to push your business forwards.
It’s not just growing businesses that could benefit from performance management systems, any organization from commercial to not for profit to public sector of any size can benefit from performance management because it’s about the data coming in and using it to power the business. It’s not just internal information and data that needs to be analyzed and assessed, no business can afford to be slack when it comes to keeping up with their industry and what their competitors are doing, by analyzing this information you are able to decide which direction you want to focus your business on. When it comes to critical business applications, like the general ledger, it’s often the finance department that’s in charge and responsible for running processes like the annual planning exercise, the budgeting or forecasting exercises. However, in order to gain real value from performance management you need to ensure it encompasses all departments within your organization like sales, HR, marketing etc. For example, by understanding the data from the sales department, the marketing department will be able to ensure campaigns are targeted in the areas that have proven to be successful. This means the finance department then acts like a central hub and gathers all the information from the different departments and can use it to the generate projections and outcomes for the overall business.
Once you’ve implemented an effective performance management system, you should start to see improved business performance which will give you the ability to make better business decisions faster. You’ll be able to identify any risks facing your business at a glance and mitigate them before they become a real threat as well as being able to identify opportunities and action plans to act on them. Performance management also means you’ll be able to have confidence that the data you’re working from is accurate and up to date which means time management should also improve too as no one is going to be arguing over whose numbers are correct.
IT Performs are , their primary objective is to help organizations get the most value from their data in the most effective way possible. IT Performs not only offer a full range of software solutions, but also consultative advice and too.
There are so many network designers and network design companies free online at present in lieu of merchants to habit as possessions in lieu of their ecommerce needs, choosing the reasonable individual can occasionally be a obstinate decision. What if the decision of who you decide to forefront your company’s ecommerce look and feel can be an easier decision than eternally sooner than? You would probably feel much better knowing to facilitate at hand are more within your means solutions to facilitate can be accomplished quickly and effectively to understand your ecommerce matter the online presence to facilitate it needs to vend the products and services you offer your clientele. With so many options, choosing the reasonable ecommerce network place designer can be an overwhelming and stressful decision. Take these ideas into consideration sooner than you hire your then ecommerce network place design company or network designer to assist you with your ecommerce network place needs.
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There is no shortage by health-related infomercials or pop advertisings circularising during the net and telecasting today. Inch information, the health electronics industry trusts on-duty attention-grabbing headlines and immediate flakes of fact to establish purchasers devote care. This constitutes not the indemnify direction to grocery store a product, and it could in addition to exemplify dishonourable. Merchandising whatsoever product fire embody hard inwards much that a free-enterprise food market ascribable the astray chain of products acquirable
Along with the common processes, commercialising health electronics products often commands an indigence to back the lays claim costing couch forth by the companionship. This normally acquires about a fact-based approach path, furnishing statistics and enquiry to back their fact. Cautiousness mustiness symbolise utilised while running health electronics productions for imitative calls could appoint disadvantageous to a hominal health electronics or life history. Inwards a lot of causas, the supportive protest costs funded from the caller advertizing the unquestionable product! This costs an impregnable grounds to cost cagy around the intersection
I normality decree to leave statistics, a diverseness of explore know-hows must cost adopted. While importing health electronics products, approximately companionships advantage to conduct technological psychological test* and others opt for an additive nonproprietary approach shot. Scientific inquiry testament not dejected go strategic data, only likewise support to the fellowship itself that the nonverbal product crops since dispersed
There are leash independent typecasts of tactics convoluted inwards marketing health electronics merchandises:
1. Regulating contingent purchasers
Inward this cause, health product marketing relies during determine to draw in new emptors. This character of commercializing costs much attracted during late-night infomercials, thought with renown horde. Exploitation a stark or well-qualified spokesperson, the fellowship endeavors to deal their nonverbal product* from specifying the purchasers into the impressions and lays claim of others. A lot of consumers companion an informed convey up with cartel, gravelling around companionships to authorize jillions of dollar mark* away merchandising health products through and through a far-famed boldness
2. Connection with celebrity imprimatur
Interchangeable to the above-referenced process, marketing health products expending this know-how might also demand the employment of a renown. Nonetheless, they are not the judgement of the glorious earthborn that consumers are described to, thems the production itself. Physical fitness equipment, for well-behaved example, embodies a best-selling product calculated for inwards shopping health products. When a muscle-bound celebrity fitness guru acquires to the microscope stage, appreciating audience shore at faith trendy the equipment. As they go through out the spokesperson deform, they ray off to regard that the merchandise volition provide them with the same events
Ternary. Furtherance of health electronics benefits
Some products claim to induce extra health electronics protection or prevention capabilities. When this typecast of strategy costs exploited for marketing health electronics intersections, the companion testament bespeak come out the groundses why you demand to corrupt their mathematical product. This know-how may in addition to incorporate a channelize study to extra productions along the food market
Commercializing health electronics intersections may demonstrate to live additional arduous than that of early goodnesses or helps since by it is close-fitting connective to dwell health. It embodies of import to adopt a footmark backrest and deal the realities and testimonials costing left, inward club to deflect hazarding the upbeat of viewing audience or consumers. Around products future the grocery may crop for quested, but nearly fluster not. It costs difficult because the consumer to clutch from the baseball field from the grating. The most basic fashion to establish a decision constitutes to face for unbiassed, ordinal party reality around the product
Ecommerce is also called as e-marketing by which the buying and selling of goods and services takes place online. The individual or company, who sells the product will have their own website, which explains the details regarding their products or services and are browsed by the customers. If they find the product suitable to satisfy their need, they can buy it online. Thus, the customer can purchase a product merely by sitting at home without spending energy, money and time in going out and finding it from the stores. The success of the online business lies in the effectiveness of the ecommerce website design.
A proper ecommerce solution is essential to attain great success in business. Ecommerce solution helps to set up the ecommerce store easily and quickly through which one can start selling at the earliest after setting the store. Through e-commerce solution it is possible to create shops online. There are a number of companies create shops for ecommerce on behalf of the sellers. These companies make use of software for the creation of ecommerce shops. Through ecommerce solution it is possible to create website with the buttons displaying buy now and also can install the shopping cart software. The ecommerce website design companies also do the optimization of the created site for the search engines to publish in the Internet for getting orders. The product selling organization should only add the description regarding the products and content information.
The ecommerce solution contains which contains a large number of templates of websites. These templates can be modified according to the product of the company. Images can also be incorporated in suitable size in the required places. They also provide other features like tax and shipping calculations, accepting payments from the customer, product options, discount offered etc. Ecommerce solution also has the provision for the automated stock control. It also provides for the publishing of the shop on any Internet website space. Based upon the automated stock control, the ecommerce software will send orders to the website and also give order confirmation to the customers automatically. Regular payment options that are compatible to most of the software include GlobeCharge, Paypal, credit cards etc.
One can find a that sells effective or can develop on your request suiting your business requirements. Also, the software can be downloaded from the company website on payment of a certain amount. After downloading, one can customize their personal website, make it ready for online shopping and are used for ecommerce development. Most of the companies charge a rate for downloading the software. There are lots of similar ecommerce website design companies, which may offer products with slightly different features. Basically, most of them offer the features like store setup, shopping cart software, store design and layout, sales and marketing, store administration, merchandising, payment options, customer relationship management, security, hosting and network infrastructure too, in addition to the other benefits afore said. In short, online shopping and e-transactions have become easy and smooth with the aid of ecommerce solution.
The writer specializes in writing on technical topics like software development, custom software development, agile software development, ecommerce development, website design. To know more about the , visit http://www.infysolutions.com
Now, I am going to give you one of free easy ways to make money online today in order to burn your hot niche markets in 2007. My highest recommendation for small business home based internet marketing strategy is to provide great unique articles to your niche markets – Burn Your Hot Niche Markets through Great Articles!
From Overture, a keyword suggestion tool, you will see the millions of searches done to a certain keyword. When these keywords are typed on search boxes of search engines, indexed websites containing articles with those keywords will be displayed. And this is what leads traffic to websites with keyword-rich articles. Yes, the magic word is articles. Those articles give you a lot of free easy ways to make money online. You can use those articles in several ways to earn money easy at home.
Remember, high quality & well written content is the king! You can say that again. That is why writing articles is one of the most utilized home based internet marketing business media & free easy ways to make money online today. Internet surfers just can’t get enough of information on various fields. Providing information or great content through these articles is a surefire way to drive hot traffic to your web site & one of most effective free easy ways to make money online.
Why is this so? Here are the benefits that writing articles can give your home based internet marketing business. You’ll discover how article marketing can burn your hot niche markets & how you can discover a lot of free easy ways to make money online with your articles below:
1. It is absolutely free – You just spend your time for writing your articles. Writing your own articles is one of extremely powerful free easy ways to make money online.
Is it too good to be true? Not. Okay, you have to pay for your Internet Service Provider. That’s it. All you need is your thoughts, your computer or laptop, and your hands. If you have those, nothing will stop you from typing words that will make you complete that article for your website. On which aspect of that process did you really shell out any cent? It is maybe later when the electric bills come.
2. Your website will be noticed in a short period of time – All search engines love fresh & update content.
Submit that high quality & well written article of yours to article directories with a high Google Page Rank that get the most web traffics and in no time your web site will be crawled. That is if you don’t forget including your resource box or byline.
3. Obtain back links automatically – Increase your link popularity in your resource/author box. It is absolutely brilliant idea to put your links into your resource properly. It can drive you a lot of traffic. This is one of technique free easy ways to make money online with your article.
When you submit your articles to directories, surely, other websites will make use of your article too. With the copyright terms of your articles, the URL of your website will still be in tact and will subsequently direct more traffic to your website.
4. Improve your reputation – Also, you will increase your creditability and reliability. Of course, your reputation will be improved dramatically with your articles. This is one of my favorite free easy ways to make money online & increase my reputation in my specified markets.
As an Internet marketer, if you plainly display your products on your website, you will not gain much conversion rate. Conversion is when your traffic converts to sales. You have to show that you are knowledgeable on your field. And what better way to show that than by writing articles that will allow you some bragging rights, right?
Just make your creative juices flow and jot down or key in those ideas quickly to jumpstart your article writing momentum. With those benefits listed above, a writer’s block is the last problem you will ever be able to surmount.
Conclusion, I am sure that article marketing is one of the most effective free easy ways to make money online from home. However, my investigations show that so many internet marketers want to save their time. They don’t want to spend a lot of time to write high quality & professional well written articles. Thus, one of free easy ways to make money online with writing articles is to purchase private label rights articles. That’s why PLR articles are the most popular in the industry today. Those PLR articles will save you a ton of your time and they give you a high quality & well written professionally. Also, you can do anything you want with those articles with full private label rights.
My bottom line is that the article marketing is one of the most successful home based businesses today! I am sure that you can burn your niche markets through high quality & professional well written articles. Also, you can make money online with article marketing.
to discover top inside tips, techniques and secrets of how to make money at home easy through your online home based internet marketing business with multiple marketing strategies (e.g. email promotion internet marketing, affiliate marketing business, and blogging). There are many easy ways to make money online there. You’ll learn a lot of easy ways to make money online at home. Also, you’ll save your time & money for your online home based internet marketing business!
Read more articles about online home based internet marketing business and how to earn extra money at:
*Reprint Policy: Reprint in full with writer’s name, contact information, active links and brief bio.
Siripong R. or zMillionDollars is a recognized authority on the subject of making money online from home through highly profitable & successful home based business. His websites, and , provide a wealth of informative articles and resources on everything you’ll ever need to know about earning money online.
As the economy weakens, many people look to start their own online business to bring in extra money. If you are thinking about starting an online business, your first question is usually where to start looking for ideas. But the answer is simple; base your online business on your own interests and talents. Chances are, if you are interested in a particular subject, there are probably others who have the same interest.
While you are determining the subject of your online business, write down ten words or phrases that people would use to search for items and information related to your business. Then, enter those words into Google’s keyword tool. This will tell you how many people are searching for information that is related to your online business. The more people searching for your information, the better your odds of success.
Then you have to determine what products you are going to offer. Will you be offering physical products or digital ones? Are you going to develop your own products or sell someone else’s? These are all questions you have to answer before opening your online business.
Will you use a website or a blog to offer products to your customers? If you are not familiar with html (the computer language used to build websites), you may be better off using a blog. Blogs do not require you to know any specialized computer language to get started. If you can type, you can use a blog. It is very simple.
But the next step is the hard part; getting people to visit your site. This is where most businesses fail. In order to bring sustainable traffic to your site you should use several different sources. Many people write articles to bring in traffic. This technique is free and works well if you can write at least one article a day. Posting on large Forums can also be an effective free technique to bring in traffic. And finally, using ads can be effective, but this tactic will cost you some money. Regardless of which traffic building techniques you decide on, you must do it consistently.
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Millions of people dream about owning their own business. Having the independence that being your own boss brings, the security that no one can fire you, enjoying a good income – and for the most successful – the accumulation of wealth and prosperity. Unfortunately, the cards are stacked against a new small business making it big – or making it at all. An endless stream of problems makes competition from large, sophisticated chains too intense. Many new start-ups end as failures.
represents a different approach to starting a business. For an upfront franchise fee plus ongoing royalty payments, the parent company teaches its business model and methods to the franchised-operator who shoulders all operating and financial responsibilities of the outlet. Some statistics are impressive: it is said over 40% of all U.S. retail sales are through franchised establishments. While franchise giants like McDonalds, KFC, H&R Block and Radio Shack are familiar, household names, franchises are available in a wide range of industries. The list of 3,000-plus companies selling franchises span over 100 different industry categories.
American Dream … Or Nightmare? But just as franchising represents a chance to get rich, it’s also a chance to get stung. An alarming number of franchised operators make less than the minimum wage, working seven days, sixty to eighty hours a week, pursuing an expensive and elusive American Dream that turns into a nightmare. Since the ongoing franchise royalty payment comes right off the top, as a percentage of gross sales or a fixed minimum amount, the franchise company gets an assured revenue stream, even if its franchised units are operating unprofitably and are sold over and over again to new, unsuspecting buyers. The internet is filled with comments of the many people who lost $250,000 and more on concepts like eBay Drop off stores (iSold It), 30 Minute Fitness concepts (Curves), The UPS Store, etc. Yet many of these companies continue to sell and resell franchises over and over again. How do they accomplish that? Because there are enough people who think they can “believe” their way to success, even with a concept or business that’s not working in the marketplace. As discussed below, in many cases franchise investment decisions are incredibly based on emotionalism, not on business logic or even common sense.
Ownership And Being Your Own Boss? Pride of ownership and being your own boss are highly touted phrases in franchise recruitment ads. But these are more fantasy than reality. Although you get all the financial exposure, headaches and stress of business ownership, what do you really own? A franchise owner is merely licensing a trademark (or service mark) from a company that dictates every detail of business operations. So the real boss isn’t you, but the company that sells you their franchise rights . . . and sea of franchise obligations.
Equity Build up? But at least you’re building up equity, the ownership value of the business as a going concern beyond your investment of money, to compensate for all those years of hard work and long hours – right? Wrong – at least in the world of franchising. The franchise company reserves rights to acquire your entire business at below wholesale prices if their contract is not followed precisely. The acquisition rights provide for predetermined asset-based valuations, like book or liquidation value. These valuation methods provide bare minimum compensation (the used value of some file cabinets, office furniture, equipment, etc.) and are not generally used to determine the selling price of any business.
Absolutely no compensation is paid for established goodwill, the value of a business that is generating $X in profit or cash flow every month after years of effort, investment and expense – thus eliminating the most valuable ownership asset. Of course, you may be able to sell your franchise to a third party for a sales price that includes an earnings-based valuation. But that’s possible only if: (a) you can find a buyer who is willing to live within the complexities of a franchise relationship, and (b) you happen to own a franchise that’s showing healthy profits.
What follows is a bottom-line franchise checklist and tips compiled by franchise attorney and franchise expert, Mr. Franchise, based on reviewing over 500 franchise offering circulars and twenty-eight plus years of experience in the franchise industry – including ownership of a very successful franchise. These factors to consider in making a franchise investment will help you eliminate 95% of the companies you are considering. Then, you can concentrate your efforts on the 5% “cream” of the crop” companies that may deserve consideration. This franchise checklist assumes you’re suitable for and willing to live within the confines of a franchise relationship. It also assumes the franchise company:
(1) has itself successfully operated the concept being franchised for at least five years at multiple locations; (2) is not plagued by franchise litigation and franchise lawsuits from disgruntled franchise owners; (3) does not have unusually high franchise attrition rates (owners who have “left the system”); and (4) has a balanced, fair franchise contract. SOLD It – An American Dream That Turned Into A Nightmare An example of a franchise company in trouble that failed to meet basic threshold standards is iSOLD It, an eBay drop-off store franchise. The company started its one and only company-owned store in November of 2003. Just weeks later, on December 10, 2003 they filed an application to sell franchises. The California Department of Corporations didn’t say “What are you thinking? You’ve only been in business a couple weeks, how can you even consider selling franchises?” Nor did they require this be disclosed as a risk factor on the cover page of the Franchise Offering Circular, as it should have. Disclosure responsibilities ultimately rest with the company (and its attorneys), and this will become one of many issues in future franchise litigation.
Instead, the Department simply collected its $675 filing fee and issued an order declaring the franchise registration effective the next day – on December 11, 2003. Then the magic of franchise marketing took over. By 2006 the company had nearly 200 franchised drop off stores in operation and was touted by Entrepreneur Magazine as #1 in their list of “Top New Franchises for 2007” and #17 on their “Hotter Than Hot” franchise list. Entrepreneur Magazine, which requires franchise companies to submit their FOC’s (Franchise Offering Circulars) for supposed review each year before they’re listed, didn’t consider the high attrition rate (franchise owners leaving the system) or the fact that the audited financials in their FOC showed the company hadn’t operated profitably since 2004 as serious negatives and awarded iSold It the #1 listing for Top New Franchises of 2007. How did all of this happen? It’s yet another bizarre reality in the world of franchising.
The franchise company’s audited financial statements for the year ended 12-31-05 showed an operating loss of $1.1 million. Nine months later, in September of 2006, the net operating loss mushroomed to over $4 million.
In its November 3, 2006 Franchise Offering Circular, the table in Item 20 disclosed a total of 10 franchise owners leaving the system, yet a hand count of Exhibit D-3’s “Former Franchisees” revealed a significantly different number – 44. A similar “discrepancy” exists about franchise transfers. Item 20 says 12 transfers whereas Exhibit D-3 discloses 27.
In a long overdue letter distributed to franchise owners on April 5, 2007, CEO Ken Sully painted a dire picture of an American Dream that had turned into a nightmare. Mr. Sully’s letter admitted the company has not been profitable since 2004 (according to the audited financials, the company showed its one and only operating profit of $356,286 in 2004 before the precipitous downward spiral of 2005 and 2006). Over 60 franchised stores have closed and many more are struggling for survival. Mr. Sully observed “Tragically, many individuals who believed passionately in the potential for the category have lost sizable investments, including homes and retirement savings.”
Lost homes and retirement savings? How could such a travesty happen? I counseled a number of persons considering an iSold It franchise and warned all of them against the investment. Fortunately, they followed my advice. The concept was never proven in the marketplace before franchise efforts began, violating the most basic Franchise 101 precept. I also felt the management team lacked strong franchise credentials and the five-day training program was woefully inadequate. Finally, the franchise company was operating increasingly in the red and had a high attrition rate (owners leaving the system). It didn’t take a lot of brain power to see this was an accident waiting to happen. I predicted the bubble would burst and, sadly, it did.
Common sense could and should have prevented so many people from losing so much. Unfortunately franchise sales persons appeal to emotions (passions and potential, to use Mr. Sully’s terms) and strive to keep common sense and business logic out of the buying equation. If a franchise company is able to obtain a ranking on a media list, the sale is even easier. Reprints of high rankings on lists, like Entrepreneur Magazine, are included in the package given to franchise buyers, who are lulled into a false sense of security and begin to stumble over each other in a rush to sign up before someone else takes their desired territory (another favorite closing technique used to sell franchises).
iSold It! amended its FOC at the end of May, 2007 to add some long overdue risk factor language to the cover page of its Franchise Offering Circular. Hmmmm… maybe they read my comments above and did a little research. The new FOC cover page risk factor language says their “franchise system is still new and unproven.” That’s very interesting. How can they say a franchise system, that’s approaching its fourth anniversary, is “still new?” Maybe they’re looking at things from a ‘how old is our universe’ perspective? The word “unproven” is another play on words. The system is most certainly proven in the sense that many people, to quote Mr. Sully, “have lost sizable investments, including homes and retirement savings.” So why not use this quote directly in their Franchise Offering Circular? Answer: can’t sell any franchises that way.
In an August 31, 2007 Business Week article, CEO Sully claimed it wasn’t necessary to disclose these risk factors in the FOC. His reasoning: “We told everybody that this is sort of like the wild, wild West” he says. “It’s a brand-new concept and nobody knew for sure where it was going.” Disclosure was added to the UFOC recently, he says, “because of the number of stores that weren’t understanding the complexity of the business.” Hello? You don’t tell your franchise investors after the fact what you were required to disclose in the FOC before they bought so they could make an informed investment decision. That’s the purpose of franchise disclosure laws. And claiming written disclosure of risk factors in the FOC is not necessary if a prospective buyer hears a salesman’s verbal wild, wild West story ignores franchise disclosure responsibilities and is really an admission the company failed in this regard. With its amended FOC, the company incredibly continues marching forward with franchise marketing efforts.
Now, let’s consider the franchise checklist and factors to consider before any leap into franchising.
INDUSTRY TREND Is the franchise in a cutting-edge industry that is doing well currently and is projected to do well in the future despite any economic slowdown? Education and home-improvement services are stable categories. Food is over-saturated generally and, except in exceptional circumstances, is not worth the high investment, long hours, headaches and marginal income.
TOTAL INITIAL FRANCHISE INVESTMENT In general, don’t expect a franchise that requires a five-figure initial franchise investment to produce a six-figure income. As with most things in life, you get what you pay for. On the other hand, don’t assume a six-figure investment will lead to a six-figure income level. Be realistic and conservative. Is the total initial franchise investment range (including working capital) $125,00 or less; and the maximum investment less than $200,000? You can find solid companies in this investment range if you’re willing to look around.
Don’t forget to consider long-term financial commitments, particularly the real property lease (see discussion below under “LEASING AND LOCATION”). Also, the working capital estimate (called “additional funds” in Item 7 of the company’s franchise offering circular) does NOT cover operations up to the break-even point. It only covers a short initial phase (usually only three-months) of operating costs As the break-even point (where revenues cover all operating costs) may not happen for one, two or more years, knowing only what it’s going to take to get you through the first 90 days is not helpful – in fact it may set you up for financial suicide. In many cases, reaching the break-even point can require more reserve funds than the total initial capital investment. Don’t ever forget the name of Item 7 in the Franchise Offering Circular: “Initial Investment.” If you don’t have enough reserve capital to reach the critical break-even point, your entire investment will go down the drain and franchise failure occurs.
One franchise owner in a relatively low investment and low operating cost window cleaning franchise said his biggest surprise was how long it actually took his franchise to be profitable. Going in, he thought it would take 12 to 15 months. It ended up taking twice that time. Fortunately, he had enough reserve capital to make it there, but declined to say what his actual franchise profits or income level were once he reached “franchise profitability.” If you’re operating just above the break even point and making less than minimum wage, is that anyone’s definition of success?
REAL BUSINESS Is this a legitimate retail business, as opposed to a “work out of your home” operation? The vast majority of work out of your home concepts produce marginal income at best.
FRANCHISE MANAGEMENT EXPERTISE Does the management team of the franchisor (the company selling you the franchise) have executives with demonstrated past achievement and experience in operating a franchise company (not just persons who have sold franchises)? If not, this is a big RED FLAG. Many companies enter franchising and fail to realize they are in a brand new business – one requiring entirely different management skills and abilities to navigate franchise relationships. A seasoned franchise management infrastructure must be in place. If the franchise management team lacks strong franchise credentials, or does not receive ongoing advice from qualified individuals, you might as well take a trip to Las Vegas with the money you’re intending to invest. Your chances of making vs. loosing money are roughly equal.
NORMAL WORKING HOURS AND DAYS; SUFFICIENT FRANCHISE INCOME LEVEL Will the nature of the business allow you to work a normal five-day, forty-hour workweek? Life is too short for the seven-day, sixty to eighty hours a week, workaholic lifestyle that destroys health, family and pocketbook. Financially, we’ve calculated the true hourly rate for franchise owners who work these workaholic hours and discovered many are making far less than the minimum wage. One couple who operated a $200,000 fancy pizza franchise in an upscale mall were shocked to discover they were making fifty cents an hour each. Hardly an income level to recoup or justify the franchise investment. Many more fast-food franchise operators make even less, or operate at a loss until their funds, retirement savings, homes, etc. are exhausted. Buying a franchise in a non-food industry doesn’t necessarily improve the franchise profit picture. In a 2006 article “Mail Boxes Etc. Owners Fighting UPS Conversion,” a Mail Boxes, Etc. franchise owner who operated his franchise since 1993 reported profits for a typical MBE store like his were $16,000 per year after paying royalty and advertising fees to the franchise company. That calculates out to about $8.33 per hour for a forty-hour work week, approximately the wage of an entry fast-food worker.
Another major shortcoming of disclosures in the Franchise Offering Circular is not telling you how much money the franchises in the network are making. Instead of answering what is the most important question in a franchise investment decision, the franchise disclosure laws make this “optional” for the franchise company to answer or not. If they do answer this critical question, it will be found in Item 19. But don’t hold your breath – more than 90% of franchise companies “decide” not to answer this question. It’s another bizarre reality in the world of franchising. Although they collect complete monthly (and in many cases, weekly) financial profit and loss statements from their franchise owners, and know exactly how much their franchises are making (or losing), more than 90% decide not to share this information before you buy one of their franchises. A number of franchise salespersons have told persons asking this question: “the franchise laws don’t allow us to answer that question.” Nothing could be further from the truth.
And just because you’re a business executive making a 6-figure income now, don’t assume this income level will be duplicated in a franchise investment just because the company “approves” your application. One such executive, despite a plethora of negative feedback from current and past franchise owners who’d lost everything, marched forward with her franchise investment in a 30-minute fitness concept. Despite her 6-figure income, she didn’t invest a dime in professional franchise evaluation advice and stated she was taking a leap of faith, hoping to build her wings on the way down. Build her wings on the way down? Sound’s (and is) crazy, but this happens all the time. Due to the ploys of the franchise salesperson, too many franchise investment decisions are based on emotionalism. Prior business skills, business sense (and even common sense) are short-circuited. Needless to say, if this business executive made a similar investment decision for her corporate employer paying the 6-figure salary, she would be promptly fired.
MINIMUM NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES Can you operate the franchise business with 6 or fewer employees? Managing dozens (or in the case of some fast-food operations – hundreds) of minimum-wage teenagers who are constantly quitting or simply not showing up for work is a royal pain in the ….. Well, you know what we mean.
LEASING AND LOCATION For most retail franchises, the triple net lease of the location is the biggest financial commitment, larger than the total franchise investment. Yet, the typical real estate lease and its ramifications are not required disclosure in any Franchise Offering Circular (FOC). For example, an estimate that you’ll need 2,000 sq. feet of space with expected rental of $5 to $10 a foot per month is normally disclosed in the Franchise Offering Circular’s initial investment table as Leased Real Estate $10,000 to $20,000. A footnote to the investment table may say “assumes 2,000 sq. ft. at $5 to $10 a foot.”
But, that’s only the beginning of a much longer story. The lease is normally a 5 to 10 year triple-net lease. So, the financial commitment made when the lease is signed is at least $600,000 (at $5/foot for 5 years) to $2,400,000 (at $10/foot for 10 years). And this doesn’t include substantial, additional obligations to pay all of the landlord’s yearly property taxes, insurance, common area operating expenses, etc. With hundreds of thousands (or even millions) of dollars in financial obligations at stake, personal guarantees and other risks, more than just a warm, fuzzy feeling that everything will work out is necessary.
Key questions to ask here:
(a) is the franchise you’re considering one that can be operated in a low rent commercial business zone? Avoid franchises requiring the costly expenses and triple-net leases of a visible retail storefront and the extravagant rent associated with areas of high foot traffic, like shopping malls. You’ll sleep much better at night.
(b) What’s your total financial commitment under the lease?
(c) Do you have sufficient liquid assets (or a willing, sufficiently liquid third party guarantor) to meet the landlord’s lease qualification standards?
If you don’t, you might as well forget about investing in the franchise. Or even worse, getting involved in a questionable franchise and business model, then realizing you’ve made a big mistake – and discovering you’re on the hook personally for a $500,000+ lease obligation.
A related real estate variant is securing a lease with a sufficient term (with renewal options) to recoup your investment and make a profit. In July, 2005, an attorney in her mid-forties purchased an existing ice cream store franchise for $375,000 believing it to be a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Trading her briefcase for an ice cream scoop, she attended the company’s 11-day Ice Cream University and assumed operations of the ice cream store. Turned out it was an opportunity – but only to inherit a store with numerous problems. These problems included (but were not limited to) a lease that would expire the following summer and a landlord who’d previously announced the lease would not be renewed. Rather than pay the $100,000-plus in relocation costs, the attorney returned to the practice of law, but is still paying off $350,000 remaining on the loan taken out to buy the once-in-a-lifetime franchise opportunity. Although there’s a franchise lawsuit pending, it’s yet another case of “franchise fever” – this time attacking a professional no less. Who would ever commit to paying $375,000 for an existing retail franchise without checking out the l-e-a-s-e? Sound’s like another bad attorney joke, but I can guarantee she’s not laughing. Business fundamentals were ignored or forgotten in the rush to acquire the opportunity of a lifetime. And I’m willing to bet not a dollar was spent on competent, pre-investment franchise advice.
IMAGE AND LIFESTYLE How does flipping burgers, scooping ice cream and cleaning restrooms fit the image of what you want to do for a living? Investing in a franchise will be the most important financial and psychological decision you ever make. Many prospective franchise owners fail to realize they’ll be wearing virtually every hat at some point, from salesperson to bad-debt collector, from firing employees to bathroom janitor. The franchise owner is usually the first one to arrive in the morning – and the last one to turn out the lights late at night. And you’ll need to forget about corporate perks like paid vacations, paid holidays and sick pay. In their place, substitute financial pressures, unexpected events and money draining out of your savings and retirement accounts. Does the typical working day and responsibilities of the franchise you are considering fit your personal image and desired lifestyle? You can experience some of this BEFORE you invest by working for a couple weeks in an outlet owned by one of the existing franchise owners.
TRUE FRANCHISE VALUE Buying a franchise from a “blue chip” franchise company that has spent decades and hundreds of millions on advertising to develop their brand can make a lot of sense. These companies have “true franchise value” that compensates for the long-term disadvantages of ongoing royalty and advertising fund payments. Often these additional payments literally mean the difference between earning a profit and operating at a loss. In unknown franchise chains with little or no brand recognition, you the franchise buyer are building their brand from scratch, and are saddled with severe, long-term competitive disadvantages.
In these unknown franchise chains, you have to ask yourself a simple, common sense question. What value is the company giving you that you couldn’t learn on your own by working at one of their locations as an employee for a couple months? Franchise truth be told, what most unknown franchise companies are selling is just a business opportunity – teaching you how to get into a new business venture. But unlike a business opportunity seller that charges a one-time fee to help get you into business, they call it a “franchise” and charge ongoing royalty and advertising fees like they’re a McDonalds or other blue chip franchise company.
The reality is they’re not a McDonalds type franchise – not even close to one. In the majority of these lesser-known franchise chains, you’d be much better off starting an independent business on your own. You can learn most or all of their so-called “secrets” in the franchise interviewing process and by talking to (and possibly working a short time for) existing franchise owners.
FRANCHISE PROFITABILITY & “SUCCESS” Dr. Timothy Bates’ study released in 1993 by the Entrepreneurial Growth and Investment Institute in Washington, DC (and another study published in 1996) was the first to compare start-up costs, franchise profitability and franchise failure rates for franchised vs. nonfranchised firms. In his analysis of some 7,270 firms over the test period, Dr. Bates found that startup capital for a franchised business averaged $85,293 compared with average startup capital for nonfranchised firms of $30,156. In 1987 nonfranchised firms reported average pre-tax net income of $19,744 as compared to a loss of (-$1,548) for franchised firms. Dr. Bates concluded “Despite their larger revenues, much better capitalization, and their supposed advantages of affiliation with a franchisor parent firm, the franchisees lag behind cohort young firms in profitability and rates of survival.”
The franchise companies ignore both studies by Dr. Bates, pretending they never happened. Instead, other techniques are employed. For example, some franchise companies use misleading success statistics to sell their franchises. Their promotional materials say franchises generally enjoy a 90% success rate, compared to less than 20% for independent firms. These figures are based on unverified information supplied thirty years ago by a select, non-representative group of franchise companies. A full third of the companies receiving “questionnaires “ elected not to participate. There was no verification of any of the information supplied by the franchise companies, not even random, spot checking. Nor was any effort made to identify franchise companies who, along with the franchise owners in their chain, had gone out of business.
Even more recent “studies” saying nine out of ten franchise owners (90%) consider their franchise to be somewhat or very successful also suffer from serious methodological flaws. These were simply telephone surveys of franchise owners who were still in business and asked to say (with absolutely no definition of the term “successful”) whether they felt their business was “very unsuccessful,” “somewhat unsuccessful,” somewhat successful” or “very successful.” Franchise owners who had gone out of business or bankrupt were not included in the survey.
Even if terms are defined and a representative sample obtained, franchise owners can be a quirky group. Hence the need, as in Dr. Bates’ studies, for review of financial data. I remember evaluating an existing franchise for a client. I asked the current owner of the franchise if his business was successful. He said it was very successful. But his financial statements revealed a different picture. He’d never taken a dollar out of the business for himself, never made a profit in two years of operation, and was on the verge of bankruptcy. Another owner of a bakery franchise, interviewed by Business Week, says being successful in franchising means “adjusting your definition of success.” He says he makes a profit, but declined to say what it is, or if he’s ever recouped his $250,000-plus initial franchise investment. Incredibly, he insists he’s in business “for lifestyle reasons, not profit reasons.” Huh? Probably a quote from the company’s franchise recruitment materials. In the world of franchising “success” and “profitability” are very subjective terms. FRANCHISE BROKERS WHO FIND YOUR PERFECT MATCH? Does the franchise you are considering have its own in-house marketing department, or does it utilize outside franchise brokers? The use of franchise brokers is a definite red flag. First, it indicates the franchise company is not very serious about who it lets into the franchise network, or even worse, they’re desperate to sell franchises. Second, franchise brokers receive a substantial commission up to 50% or more of the franchise fee you’re paying the franchise company. Franchise Broker Realities: (1) Their service is definitely not “free” despite these and other similar misrepresentations. It’s really common sense – how could anyone offer a “free” service and survive in business? Unfortunately, the common sense part of the brain tends to short circuit when the franchise brainwashing process begins. The simple truth is if you buy one of the franchises they’re hawking, your money goes to the franchise company, then into the broker’s pocket. If anyone ever calculated how much time they spend to collect their $15,000 or $20,000 commission, it’s probably a lot more than a brain surgeon earns. (2) Franchise brokers definitely do NOT have your best interests in mind. They will do or say whatever they have to in order to close a deal and earn their commission.
Many franchise brokers claim they will help you find a franchise company that is the perfect match for you. In the beginning it sounds good. There’s some personality testing and review of your personal finances. At the end of the day, it turns out they only represent (and steer you towards) a handful of small franchise companies you’ve never heard of before. A detailed analysis often reveals these highly touted franchises produce mediocre or even below minimum wage financial performance. Yet franchise brokers don’t mention this, and individuals continue to rely on their recommendations, believing the broker represents them. Nothing could be further from the truth.
Also, many franchise brokers call themselves franchise consultants. A franchise consultant is usually an independent adviser who offers advice to others (usually franchise companies or firms that want to franchise their business) for a fee. This makes their advice more impartial in theory as long as they are not compensated by third parties. Because they are not legally required to disclose actual or potential conflicts of interest, it’s important ask questions. For example, if you’re using a franchise consultant who is recommending the “best franchises,” are they paid anything by the companies on their list? This could be a commission, kick-back or consulting fee. As mentioned, many franchise brokers call themselves “franchise consultants” to hide their true identity. So, make sure if you’re dealing with a franchise consultant, he or she is not really just a franchise broker in disguise.
FRANCHISE DISCLOSURE LAWS The franchise disclosure laws, while requiring franchise companies to give you certain, limited information, don’t come close to protecting your interests. For example, as discussed above, Item 7 of the Franchise Offering Circular only requires an estimate of additional funds for 90 days as part of the investment information. But economic reality is you need to know the additional funds you’ll need to reach the break-even point, which can be years away, or your entire “initial” investment will go down the drain. You’d think this type of information would be required by franchise disclosure laws, but it’s not.
FRANCHISE REGISTRATION LAWS Don’t ever assume that because a company has registered its Franchise Offering Circular in your state, someone at the state has approved or reviewed the document in your favor. Franchise registration is obtained by simply forwarding documents and paying a filing fee – period. In most cases, franchise offering circulars are given an extremely limited review to ensure state-specific disclaimers are present.
I remember filing a registration application for a new franchise company in a state with a reputation for being one of the “toughest” franchise registration law states in the country. After the three-week review period set forth in the statute had gone by, and not hearing anything, I called the examiner assigned to the application. After looking through his files, he finally found my client’s offering circular and application. He apologized for entirely misplacing the file and promised to immediately review the application and call me back. Ten minutes later, he called to say he’d finished and was making the registration effective that day. Ten minutes of review and the franchise company was given the state’s green light. This is not an isolated case – it happens all the time.
WHAT STANDARDS MUST A FRANCHISE COMPANY MEET TO SELL FRANCHISES; ARE THERE ANY REQUIREMENTS TO FRANCHISE A BUSINESS? Incredibly, the answer is – none. There are no minimum standards or requirements to franchise a business except preparing a Franchise Offering Circular. It’s yet another bizarre reality in the world of franchising.
You and I could have no background in any business, form a new corporation or LLC, capitalize it with only $1, put together a Franchise Disclosure Document and file it with any franchise registration state. While the offering may be subject to an impound or escrow requirement because of the low capitalization ($1), we’d still get “registered” and be able to sell as many franchisees as we want.
In these 14 franchise registration states, we may not be able to receive any money until each franchise actually opened, but simply posting a bond would alleviate this difficulty in the franchise registration states. And in the vast majority of states there are no franchise registration laws, so we’d be able to sell franchises and collect fees with impunity once we compiled our Franchise Offering Circular. The federal FTC Franchise Rule doesn’t protect against this risk either – it only requires disclosure (i.e. provide a Franchise Disclosure Document) and has no registration component or minimum standards for franchise companies.
Basic investor protections and requirements found in both federal and state securities laws for over 50 years were never carried over to franchise investments. While most non-blue chip franchise companies could never even qualify to sell you a single share of stock in their company, they are entirely free to collect unlimited franchise fees, ongoing royalties, equipment and other purchases, as well as cause you to incur financial obligations totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars, or even millions in some cases. This isn’t information you’re likely to find in the glowing articles about franchising and franchise companies prevalent in the media.
CLOSING REMARKS Remember, you are the only guardian when it comes to your franchise investment. It’s definitely an environment where the phrase “Buyer Beware” applies. So, before you sign on the line and make what will undoubtedly be the most serious financial and emotional commitment of your life, get all the facts and figures.
One couple I counseled after-the-fact, invested $2 million in a new franchise company. The contract they signed gave them no right to terminate, no matter what the franchise company did or didn’t do. Of course, the contract gave the franchise company unlimited termination ability, a right it had exercised. The franchise company’s management team had no one with experience in running a franchise company. Incredibly, the couple had not spent a dime on legal or business advice before investing $2 million. The once friendly franchise company had transformed into a formidable foe and was poised to take over their franchise. Sadly, this happens too frequently in franchise investments. Decisions are made on fuzzy feelings and emotionalism. In an effort to save a couple thousand dollars, franchise investors risk homes, retirement savings, everything they have. Then they scratch their heads in amazement later on after inevitable and often horrific problems develop, wondering how they could have been so nearsighted.
Another indispensable level of inquiry is whether you’re getting true franchise value and whether you’d be better off doing the business on your own. In the overwhelming majority of franchises touted by unknown companies, franchise value isn’t there and doing the same thing independently makes better economic sense and actually decreases the risk of failure.
Finally, and this applies to franchise investments as well as investing in any business venture, develop a plan to succeed but also plan a franchise exit strategy that minimizes financial risk in case things don’t work out. Both plans need to be thought through before the investment is made. Don’t wait until problems develop to start thinking about a franchise exit strategy – by then it’s usually too little, too late.
For more information, visit the Franchise Foundations Website.
Known in the industry as Mr. Franchise, Mr. Murphy is an internationally-known franchise expert, author, and instructor. For the past twenty-eight years he has specialized exclusively in the franchise industry and owned a very successful franchise in the home improvement field. He has written over 30 publications, including four books on franchising and one book on trade secrets. Mr. Franchise has drafted, reviewed and negotiated more than 500 franchise offering circulars and instructs franchise company personnel in best franchise practices. He also teaches franchise, licensing and intellectual property courses to attorneys. Mr. Franchise is a franchise attorney and Director of Operations for a San Francisco-based professional law corporation.