The Wisdom of Mayor Suarez – City of Miami. Last week I had the opportunity to spend some time with the Mayor of Miami – Francis Suarez.  At 41 years old, Mayor Suarez is one of the youngest Mayors in Florida.  In addition, he is the first Miami born Mayor of Miami and won with…...

I Want to Be A Chick-fil-A Franchisee At a busy Chick-fil-A in Rome, Ga. Richard Yadkowski keeps a paternal eye on employees squeezing lemons and cooking chicken. Like seven teens who work in his restaurant, Yadkowski, 33, came to Chick-fil-A when he was living in a group foster home created by Chic...

Are You An Entrepreneur? Over the past 20 years, I have been honored to work with thousands of people who are now business owners. What a joy to work with so many unique and interesting people. Every individual comes to business ownership from a different place. They each have different skill sets, ...

Don’t Forget Your Running Shoes I love to read.  I read lots of books on a variety of topics.  Recently I decided to reread a few books.  One of the wonderful books I chose to reread was Who Moved My Cheese.  Last time I read this book was almost 10 years ago.  It was a…...

More Important Than Money As a franchise coach, I often speak with people about risk. Folks share the fact that they are interested in opening a business but they are not comfortable with the ‘risk’. I often ask them to describe the perceived risk. The answer always revolves around finan...

Life is a Funny Thing Hard to imagine it is already November.  Thanksgiving is around the corner, the holidays, then 2019 before you know it.   Are you ready? Life is a funny thing.  It is something that happens to you when you are not looking.  Before you know it the years have gone by, the&he...

You Must Own Your Future A few years back I had the distinct honor to hear Tom Shay, CEO/Owner of Right Management, Florida/Caribbean speak on the topic of job transition and career management.  What an interesting discussion. Mr. Shay has been involved in career transition for almost 40 years and...

This morning I spent some time in a 4th grade classroom.  The program is called Project Teach and the purpose of the visit is to discuss first impressions, career planning and the importance of education.  What tremendous fun.  Try asking a 4th grader how the world works and what they plan to do ...

Lessons From A Veteran As a franchise coach I get to speak with individuals about more than just franchising.  We take time to discuss their vision, values and insights.  Part of the process involves the creation of a personal vision statement. Last week I had the honor of working with a decorated...

What’s New in Franchising? Each year I attend several franchising conferences.  Normally these conferences are fairly predictable.  The conference I just returned from was different.  The energy and power was palatable.  Things are rapidly changing, evolving, in franchising.  Here are my ...