Multi-unit franchising is a popular business model that allows entrepreneurs to start a business with an established brand, products, and services. While franchising can offer many benefits, such as lower startup costs and support from the franchisor, success is not guaranteed. In fact, according to the International Franchise Association, about [...]
Seasonality, inflation, politics, people, and technology are a few headwinds impacting fuel dealers, wholesalers, and service contractors in the energy space. We are often asked, "How can we create predictable revenues in an industry influenced by so many outside "threats?" In this episode, Doug Woosnam, a Consultant with Cetane Associates, [...]
Successfully integrating family into the business, whether as an employee, manager, or one-day successor, requires having a plan. Next-Gen business owners may need to invest their entire net-worth back into the business to compete with the larger consolidators. This means being less a caretaker of the business as generations past, [...]
Successfully integrating family into business leadership while balancing family dynamics is full of complexities. As Joe Chastang shares, many private and family business owners screw it up. Thanksgiving and Christmas come around every year, and the business provides for 100+ employees.Mis-matched expectations, communication differences, and management styles can create challenging moments [...]
Hope is at the center of many dealers' business strategies. Hope that if they sell the business, the sale will return the cash they need to retire and support their dream lifestyle. However, many dealers have to show up with checks to pay debt and find a job to help facilitate [...]
Operating a store is hard work, but it is rewarding. A common question we hear is what are the options to keep the dealership(s) as a family asset if no family is interested or capable of filling the shoes as Dealer/Operator. The good news is that the world is your [...]
Many business owners lean on the DIY approach to strategic planning, integrating family into the business, succession planning, and positioning their business for sale on the open market. Where entrepreneurs are sharp in many ways, without outside help, they often suffer from being able to see the trees from the [...]
This is part three of our discussion focused on Ownership and Accountability. We started this discussion focused on the impact we can have when we take ownership of our attitude and how we choose to show up in the episode titled Ownership & Accountability. In part two of the series, [...]
People are the backbone of any successful business, and business owners across all industries have difficulty finding qualified talent to fill open roles. No longer will people put up with toxic work environments or dead-end jobs; they want more for their future. In this episode, Marty Kirshner, Partner with Gray, [...]
The competitive landscape for automotive retail requires dealers to think even more about competition and growth. Some think they need to get bigger or get out; however, the bigger question is, what will it take to corner your market and fulfill your strategic vision? In Houston, for example, it will [...]
