Every geek’s dream: Sitting on their ass playing music trivia.

(pic is from here)

From/De: Activision

Call of Duty(R) Franchise Surpasses $3 Billion in Retail Sales Worldwide

SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov 27, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ — Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI) announced today that the Call of Duty(R) franchise has surpassed $3 billion in retail sales worldwide, according to The NPD Group, Charttrack, GfK and internal Activision estimates.

Since its first release, the award-winning Call of Duty franchise has sold in excess of 55 million units worldwide. The latest title in the franchise, Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty(R):Modern Warfare(R) 2, recently shattered box office and video game records with a worldwide estimated five-day sale through of approximately $550 million, establishing the game as the biggest entertainment launch in history.

“Call Of Duty has become one of the greatest entertainment franchises of all time,” said Bobby Kotick, CEO of Activision Blizzard, Inc. “If you consider the number of hours our audiences are engaged in playing Call of Duty games, it is likely to be one of the most viewed of all entertainment experiences in modern history.”

Modern Warfare 2 picks up following the historic events of Call of Duty(R) 4: Modern Warfare(R), the blockbuster title that remains the top selling first person action game in history. Modern Warfare 2 is rated “M” (Mature) by the ESRB for Blood, Drug Reference, Intense Violence and Language. For additional information about the game, visit www.modernwarfare2.com.

Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.

Activision Publishing maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, Russia, Japan, South Korea, China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.

don’t come along that often! I’m doing sales for the company I have been involved with for a while and what we do is IPL/RF hair removal, thread veins removal, rosacea treatments and total Radio Frequency facial rejuvenation. I’ve just been to the sales meeting (I will be identifying and working with potential franchisees) about the franchise and even I have been tempted to buy one. Such an amazing untapped market, with the very latest in fantastic technology and such low overheads is practically unheard of in the franchise market so I’m hoping it will be easy to identify and engage potential franchisees. This is the ideal job for me. I mean I am fine selling into clinics and spas and particularly with our new machine it is a very easy sell as they already have clients waiting for these treatments, but I really LOVE talking to fellow entrepreneurs, other women (and men) who can see the potential in an opportunity, and whos’ eyes light up with talk of half a million turnover in year one with only 3 or 4 employees, or a minimum of £120,000 working only 20 days per month! What is great about this is that it is a fantastic industry to work in (particularly for women) as client love the treatments, thank you profusely when they are leaving and even say things like ‘your treatments have changed my life, I am so grateful, I would pay for these treatments over anything else’ I mean, not many jobs where you get that AND around £200 per hour! And our new model means almost NO overheads! All very exciting, and I can’t wait to get started, finding people like me who want to make as much money as they can, in an industry that people are happy to come to, and work in, with all the support they need (from me!!).

All very exciting, am excited.

In other, also exciting news, Adam (hubby) has finally got organised to send of his manuscript to publishers, we have a cover letter people! So not exactly sent yet but still, a step closer! I do so hope that a publisher spots his talent and a big cash advance is winging its way to us!

AND it is Friday! AND Christmas tree is going up this weekend. Its all good.

Helen x

Looking for a challenging but rewarding business?

MSA LTD – known as the market leading providers in educational software introduce their innovative product StudentDocumentor.

With over 45,000 schools in the UK, StudentDocumentor has the potential for outstanding profitable growth, incredible equity value plus be enjoyable, rewarding and easy to manage?

MSA are looking for highly motivated individuals to operate a franchise within their area.

For more information contact janet.palmer@msarochdale.co.uk Tel: 07595 281517

Franchise royalties are sometimes looked upon in a negative way in the eyes of franchise seekers, often simply because of the fact that their function in the franchise equation is misunderstood. There are several important points to grasp when it comes to franchise royalties, exactly what they are, and how they benefit both the franchisor and the franchisee.

Royalties are the franchisor’s portion of the income generated from the franchisees customers and clients. Simply stated, royalties are paid by the franchisee for the use of the franchisor’s proven system, support system, and brand recognition, which are then passed on to the customer.

Think of royalty fees as a monthly investment in your business that will contribute to a steady increase in sales over time. As the brand becomes more and more recognized as a household name, the value of the entire franchise, including your location, increases dramatically.

Full text: Franchise Royalty Fee

Franchising a business means distributing a trademark of a business in return for some amount or a percentage in monthly sales. It helps in the expansion of business without considering the operational expenses. It can also minimize the risk and helps to concentrate in the growth of a business.

There are lots of difficulties with the franchise based business. Franchisors have to be more careful in selecting franchisees than appointing direct employees for the expansion of business. Incompetent employees can be more easily replaced than incompetent franchisees. Also incompetent franchisees can harm the reputation of the company.

On the other side franchisees also face lots of difficulties in carrying out business. They have to invest a large starting amount for the agreement without having any surety of financial success. Apart from the initial capital, large investment is required in Bookkeeping, Finance & Accounting etc. Although franchisee can use the trademark of franchisor, franchisee has very less control over the business.

FULL ENTRY: I Should go with Franchise?

Bambang Rachmadi (BR) kembali melancarkan serangan kepada pihak McDonald’s Corporation. Mantan pemilik Bank IFI ini menilai pihak McD Corp telah melakukan berbagai pelanggaran hukum dan penipuan, sehingga akhirnya mengajukan tuntutan hukum.

“Kami melakukan beberapa tuntutan terhadap McDonald’s di PN Jakarta Selatan, karena diduga pihak McDonald’s telah melakukan pelanggaran2 hukum dan penipuan-penipuan yang cukup serius di Indonesia dan sangat merugikan kami sebagai partner lokal,” jelas Bambang dalam keterangan tertulisnya, Kamis (26/11/2009).

Beberapa materi-materi tuntutannya mencakup seluruh kecurangan yang telah dilakukan oleh McDonald’s di dalam perusahaan Joint Venture (JV–PT Bina Nusa Rama) antara McD dan Bambang Rachmadi adalah:

Pertama, terkait keuntungan US$ 190 juta yang diperkirakan BR berhasil dikeruk McD selama beroperasi di Indonesia pada periode 1991-2008. Keuntungan itu menurut Bambang sebagian terbesar didapat melalui royalty, franchise fee dan bunga pinjaman.

BR mengaku tidak pernah mendapatkan pembagian laba sepeserpun, karena memang tidak ada dividen. Sementara perusahaan Joint Venture tersebut, menurut BR dibuat rugi sebesar US$ 130 juta oleh McDonald’s, selain meninggalkan utang sebesar US$ 150 juta.

Kedua, BR menduga McDonald’s diduga telah mencederai undang-undang perseroan dan perjanjian Joint Venture Agreement serta Cooperation Agreement yang telah ditanda tangani. Dalam perjanjian-perjanjian tersebut tercantum apabila akan dilakukan penjualan saham, BR-lah yang mendapatkan hak prioritas pertama untuk membeli terlebih dahulu.

“Tetapi pihak McDonald’s menghindar dari perjanjian yang telah di tandatanganinya dengan melakukan penjualan kepada Grup Teh Botol Sosro melalui Asset Purchase Agreement (A.P.A) yang kami anggap illegal dan bukan melalui penjualan saham, dimana seluruh restoran berikut bahan baku, seluruh karyawannya, dan termasuk Franchise Licence-nya pun dialihkan kepada Grup Teh Botol Sosro,” jelas BR.

Ketiga, BR menuding McDonald telah melakukan multi conflict of interest massif yaitu sebagai:

* Franchisor (McDonald’s Corp) vs Franchisee (majority shareholder joint venture)
* Lender (McDonald’s Corp) vs Borrower (joint venture).

Hal itu menurut BR mengakibatkan abuse of dominant position (penyalahgunaan posisi mayoritas).

“Berdasarkan pada semua point diatas dan demi mendapatkan keadilan, pada kesempatan ini pula dapat disampaikan bahwa dalam surat BR kepada McDonald’s per tanggal 16 Oktober 2009, justru BR-lah yang telah melakukan pemutusan hubungan secara keseluruhan dengan McDonald’s,” urai BR.

Seperti diketahui, Bambang pernah mengelola restoran McDonald’s bersama McDonald’s Corp melalui PT Bina Nusa Rama (BNR). Kepemilikan PT Rezeki Murni (PT RM) milik Bambang di BNR hanya 10% sementara sisanya dikuasai International Development Services (IDS) yang berafiliasi dengan McD Corp. BNR mengelola 97 gerai McDonald’s di Indonesia.

Selain lewat BNR, Bambang melalui PT Ramako Gerbang Mas juga mengelola 13 gerai McDonald’s di Indonesia sejak tahun 1991.

Konflik pun mencuat kala BNR tiba-tiba mengumumkan penjualan seluruh asetnya, yaitu 97 gerai restoran ke anak usaha Grup Sosro, yaitu PT Rekso Nasional Food. Bambang mengaku tidak pernah menyetujui penjualan aset itu ke Grup Sosro.

Konflik dengan McDonald’s ini terjadi tak lama berselang setelah Bank IFI miliknya dilikuidasi oleh pemerintah akibat kekurangan modal. Sementara BNR yang telah dijual asetnya kini masih menyisakan utang sebesar US$ 150 juta atau Rp 1,5 triliun.

Bambang pun mengajukan gugatan kepada McDonald’s Corp senilai US$ 105 juta atas kerugian material dan imaterial berkaitan dengan penjualan 97 aset itu. Pada awal Oktober 2009, Bambang memutuskan untuk menyulap 13 gerai McD yang dimilikinya menjadi ToniJack’s.

detik

As consumers, we all like to do business with companies that we already know, like and trust.  This basic statement is part of our strategic rationale in building the multi-branded franchise offerings under the Outdoor Living Brands umbrella organization.  To learn more about the benefits for franchisees of our strategy of assembling three leading franchise brands – Archadeck, Outdoor Lighting Perspectives and Mosquito Squad – all under one company, check out this article, “Multi-Unit Growth Through Multiple Brands“, that I wrote for the October issue of the International Franchise Association’s (“IFA”) Franchising World magazine. Or, to see the article as a pdf file, click here:  2009-10-30 Franchising World – Grandpre Article.

This year, the GulfAtlantic ActionCOACH team has many reasons to be thankful….

Our Coaches – through their training and hard work, they have created winning results for themselves and their clients.
Our team members – for supporting our coaches and focusing on seeing the GulfAtlantic team succeed.
Our clients – for remaining loyal and referring us to other business owners because they have seen their own companies achieve an increase in profitability and overall results because of our business coaches.
You – for clicking this link to see what becoming an ActionCOACH with the GulfAtlantic team could mean to you. 

On behalf of the entire ActionCOACH GulfAtlantic team, we would like to wish you a Happy Thanksgiving.

Sushi Club se encuentra actualmente en Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay y España. Proximamente llegará a El Salvador.

Joel Libava is a well known expert on the franchise industry.  He’s a contributor to several small business blogs including  Small Business  Trends, the American Express Open Forum and was just interviewed on FOX Business News on the topic of franchising and financing.

Joel recently asked me to do a guest post on the current state of financing for small business. That post can be read in full on The Franchise King Blog.

Työkaveri tuossa juuri kertoi Vapiano-nimisestä italialaisesta ravintolaketjusta, www.vapiano.com, jossa saapi erikseen aina valita haluamansa pastatyypin ja esim. kastikkeen ruokaansa. Sitten vissiin kokit kokkailee annoksen siinä avokeittiöissä annosta toiveiden mukaan maustaen.

Kuulostaa sen verran hauskalta idealta, että tuonnehan on mentävä. Frankfurtissa näyttää olevan näköjään kolme Vapianoa, joten ei tarvitse kuin valita sopivimmalla paikalla oleva. Maailmanlaajuinen ketju enkä ollut aiemmin kuullutkaan, vaikka taloutemma pastan suurkuluttajiin jossain määrin kuuluu. No, aina oppii uutta.

Suomesta ei jostain syystä tuota löydy. Virosta ja Ruotsista kylläkin. Ravintolayrittäjyydestä kiinnostuneelle olisi tuossa erinomainen liikeidea. Varsinkin kun ihan Franchise-pohjalla konseptia ilmeisesti tarjoavat pyöritettäväksi.

Kuka alkaa ravintoloitsijaksi ja Suomessa pisnestä hoitamaan? Voin lähteä osakkaaksi ja hoitaa toki kaiken IT-puoleen liittyvän.
Oon aina halunnut oman ravintolan

Local daily, Arab Times reported on Nov 20, 2009 that Municipality Branch of Mubarak Al-Kabir Governorate confiscated and destroyed 1,38,000 CDs and DVDs during the last three months.

Stolz auf Ihr neues Town & Country Haus – Familie Mietelski

Von unserer Lizenzpartnerin Manuela Wolfram, Vollkasko-Massivhaus, aus Chemnitz haben wir eine sehr erfreuliche Webseite  zur Kenntnis bekommen. Zufriedene Kunden, Familie Mietelski, die Ihre Freude und Ihren Stolz über ihr neues Town & Country Haus in einem ausführlichen Bautagebuch dokumentieren.

Das möchte ich den Lesern meines Blogs selbstverständlich nicht vorenthalten:

Bitte lesen Sie hier die Startseite der Homepage:

Wir haben uns entschlossen unsere ganz persönlichen Erfahrungen vor, während und nach dem Bau unseres Traumhauses allen Bauwilligen zugänglich zu machen. Wir, das sind Brit und Bert aus Chemnitz, bauen ein Massivhaus Flair 110 (5 Zimmer Variante) mit Keller als KfW-Effizienzhaus 55 mit der Chemnitzer Firma Town & Country Lizenznehmer Manuela Wolfram. In den letzten Wochen und Monaten habe ich unzählige Bautagebücher gelesen und damit es allen Bauwilligen an dieser Stelle nicht langweilig wird, verzichte ich auf die ausführliche “Wegbeschreibung” von der Mietwohnung zum Bau eines Eigenheims. Also an dieser Stelle nur ein kurzer Auszug aus unseren gedanklichen Verwirrungen. …-2008 – Mietwohnung nervt! (Wir sind wohl jetzt in dem Alter, in dem man einfach ruhebedürftiger wird!) Januar 2009- Neue Wohnung suchen- Wow, bei den Preisen für ein kleines bisschen Luxus (z.B. Wanne und Dusche), da könnten wir auch ein Haus kaufen. Februar 2009- Im Internet wurde eine Doppelhaushälfte zum Kauf angeboten. Nachdem der Immobilienmakler uns das Haus gezeigt hatte kamen einige (viele) Zweifel auf. Nein, das ging gar nicht… und an dieser Stelle beginnt unser Bautagebuch…weiterlesen

Indiana Jones is a very successful film franchise featuring Harrison Ford. The trademark Fedora wearing, leather jacket donning, bull whip holding hero has been through a lot. Discovering the Ark of the Covenant, saving an Indiana village, finding the Holy Grail, and returning a crystal skull to Acator. Although the latest film was a little disliked by some, a fifth movie has been green lighted. (Spoilers are Present)

The fifth film was initially thought to feature Shia LaBeouf as the character’s son taking over the mantle. But Lucas has since then stated otherwise.

Indiana Jones is Indiana Jones. Harrison Ford is Indiana Jones. If it was Mutt Williams it would be Mutt Williams and the Search for Elvis or something.

Harrison Ford and Shia LaBeouf have both confirmed that the fifth film is heavily in the works. Ford later said:

The story for the new Indiana Jones is in the process of taking form. Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and myself are agreed on what the fifth adventure will concern, and George is actively at work. If the script is good, I’ll be very happy to put the costume on again.

So far no release date has been given. But as this franchise is one I love very much, I will keep you informed.

Franchise Future Articles Coming Up: Pirates of the Carribean, Christopher Nolan’s Batman films, Spider-Man, The Hobbit Films, Michael Bay’s Transformers, Iron Man, X-Men, Abram’s: Star Trek, National Treasure, Taken, Guillermo Del Toro’s Hellboy, Cloverfield, and more to come.

Franchise Future is a weekly column that appears every Tuesday. This one appears on Monday.

So, I fired off two more emails…  One to Subway, and one to my new friend Mr. Jones at Quiznos.  No response from Mr. Jones yet, but we do have one from Subway.  I’ll share it all below!

OK, so email one, to Subway:

From: ERiC AiXeLsyD world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com
To: “Bridenbaker, Mack” m.bridenbaker@sfaft.org
Cc: Paula Gomez gomez_p@subway.com; Kevin Kane kane_k@subway.com; Anna Marie Seeley seeley_a@subway.com
Sent: Mon, November 23, 2009 10:24:20 AM
Subject: Re: Subway [Customer ID: 1918316]

Hello Mr. Bridenbaker,

It’s been over a week since your email to me saying that Ms. Gomez would address my concerns and I’ve yet to see any sort of response.  I still haven’t had a reply to my initial message to Ms. Seely, or  from anyone on your team.  I’m disappointed in the lack of comment overall, my first message which was sent on Oct. 28th has still gone unanswered.

I now understand why the employees in your stores have an “I don’t care” attitude.  It trickles down from the top, and certainly must be passed on in franchise owners, hiring, & training.

I’m amazed at your total lack of concern for the decline of your once championing establishment.  I should perhaps pass on my shellfish allergen and cross-contamination concerns to some allergy awareness groups.  Perhaps allergy awareness lobbyists will warrant some attention.  Everyone I know already hates Jared and the $5 footlong commercials, so I don’t need to push the issue on that one.  The concept of cheese tessellation will obviously elude the average sandwich artist from now until the end of time, so we have no hope there.

Perhaps in copying Quiznos’ idea of toasting subs, you should also adopt their business model in using better quality ingredients and customer service policies.  I have had a continued dialog with them regarding your lack of customer service and their seemingly misleading Toasty Torpedo ads with the very tiny hands.  They proudly stand behind their ads (however creepy), their innovation, and their customer service.

Not signed.  On purpose.  Notice all the Cc’s, everyone hates that… I don’t care who you are.   I tried to poke at every issue and make empty useless claims about allergy awareness groups, and I brought up that Quiznos is the trend-setter while noting that they’re also not perfect.

And, on a friendlier note to Quiznos, I decided to reveal my intentions to an amicable Mr. Jones:

From: ERiC AiXeLsyD world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com
Date: Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 9:22 AM
Subject: Re: The Quiznos Toasty TorpedoT ads?
To: “Jones, Tony” TJones2@quiznos.com

Thanks Tony,

I must confess, I do have a blog and I have been chronicling my email escapades there.  I like to play them as part consumer advocacy, part humor and all goofy.  I used to write snail mail letters, but email has made it so much easier & faster.  Some friends have encouraged me to keep writing, so I have.  I really enjoy the open & honest dialogue that we have going on, and appreciate that you stand behind the product & integrity of your company… and take the time to respond to emails such as mine.  Also, you obviously have a sense of humor, which has to be a “must” for any kind of customer interaction.  I’m sure you get goofier emails and phone calls from actual crazy people.

I’m intrigued at your suggestion that I get into consulting or franchise journalism.  Do you know how I would even go about this?  Would I need to obtain a degree in something?  I hope to grab followers to my blog just for amusement, but am unaware as to how to make it a profitable venture, ha ha ha.

Thank you once again for your time, I’m actually waiting to hear from some of your Quiznos colleagues, and Subway has still not given me a response beyond “someone will respond”… not that I’m at all surprised by that at this point.

Rock on!
-Eric

Hopefully he writes back in a positive light, and still finds all of this amusing.  Still waiting for further comment from his other colleagues, none of which have really delivered so far.

And, now, the fun part… Subway’s response (or lack thereof):

From: asksubway@subway.com
Date: Mon, Nov 23, 2009 at 3:03 PM
Subject: Subway
To: world.and.lunar.domination@gmail.com

Monday, November 23, 2009

Dear Mr Aixelsyd:

First, allow me to apologize. Secondly, I would like to thank you for taking the time to contact us and share your comments.

At each SUBWAY® restaurant, it is the goal of every owner; manager and employee to produce each sandwich and salad properly made to order.

Our customers provide us with valuable input, which we use to improve our operations. Your comments were shared with the regional office in your area as well as the owner of the SUBWAY® restaurant that you have visited.  Since all restaurants are individually owned and operated it is the owner who would be the person to contact you in response to your concern.

I have gone ahead and copied our Training Department so that further lessons can be addressed with owners and their employees on proper handling.

Again, I appreciate you taking the time to contact us. SUBWAY® looks forward to your continued visits.

Sincerely,

Paula Gomez

Heh.  “First, allow me to apologize” not followed by an apology is extremely profound, and hopefully intentional.  Then, she thanks me for writing, probably through gritted teeth.

This line reeks of copy & paste:  “At each SUBWAY® restaurant, it is the goal of every owner; manager and employee to produce each sandwich and salad properly made to order.”

And, I love the long winded “it wasn’t me”/”it’s not my fault”/”it’s not my problem”:  “Your comments were shared with the regional office in your area as well as the owner of the SUBWAY® restaurant that you have visited.  Since all restaurants are individually owned and operated it is the owner who would be the person to contact you in response to your concern.”  Basically, she’s telling me that I’m being ignored by a lower level.

“I have gone ahead and copied our Training Department so that further lessons can be addressed with owners and their employees on proper handling.”  With what?  Cross-contamination?  Cleanliness?  Cheese tessellation? How to reply to customer emails?

“SUBWAY® looks forward to your continued visits” …so we can spit in your food?  Did she read my emails?  Perhaps this whole thing is just a reading comprehension issue.  I find it amusing that the e Subway spokesperson declined to comment.  Perhaps now is the time to move into old-school W(aL)D mode, and reply that Subway will not be allowed on the moon when I’m emperor.

Are there any psychologists or psychiatrists out there reading this?  I’d love to get your take (…if you can tell me without telling me what my own problems are, ha ha ha).

If you haven’t been following,you may want to check out the back-story rundown here:  If we’re keeping score, that’s Subway 1 and Quiznos 3½. That should explain the last email, and at the bottom there’s a rundown of all the ones that came before it (with links) if you’re interested.

Also… lots of people have been telling me they’re following… by word of mouth, or Facebook, or Twitter, and even via text message… but I beg you, if you’re reading… post a comment here, and others may have a comment about your comment.  I see by the stats that people are reading.  Don’t be shy.  We’re all friends here.  Except for you, people at Subway… Except for you.

Iloubnan.info

Détrôné par Dubaï au fil des ans, Beyrouth compte redevenir une destination privilégiée pour le luxe au Moyen-Orient, avec l’implantation de grands noms tel Dior ou Louis Vuitton, et des “souks” modernes qui offriront le nec plus ultra du shopping.

 

How do I get started? Where can I find an owner who is interested in selling an established business? How do I arrange the financing necessary to acquire an on going business? Where can I get some help? These are a few of the commonly asked questions of entrepreneurs as they get ready to take that first step towards business ownership.

There are three basic ways to become a business owner. You can start your own business, acquire an existing business or you can purchase a franchise. Each of these three pipelines have distinct characteristics regarding skills, investment, risk and time. It is important to assess which of the alternatives is most suitable in light of your goals, background and resources.

The successful start-up is generally dependent on special and marketable operational skills. The time involved with a start up, from conception to self sufficiency, is usually longer than with the other alternatives. The larger the proposed venture, the longer the time involved. The capital required by the start up is often the lowest initially, but often requires the largest investment overall. The successful start up will often show the greatest return on investment, but the risks of failure are greatest.

Ownership by acquisition can take place by means of an out right purchase or several other alternatives such as a buy out over time or inheritance. Acquisition by purchase generally results in the largest initial investment. However, a well planned successful acquisition should result in an orderly and profitable business from the start.

The franchising alternative offers a middle ground. Less initial investment than an acquisition and less initial risk than a start-up. Key to establishing a successful independent business as a franchisee is dependent on the careful choice of the franchiser and the territory.

Successful start-up opportunities are found where there are unsatisfied needs in the marketplace. When there is a customer willing to pay for a product or service that they cannot currently purchase, a business lays waiting to be born. Start-ups can also be found when there is a product or service that has such appeal and value, even if no one is currently aware of it, that when presented to the consumer, it will create a demand for itself.

If you are looking for acquisition by gift or inheritance, you should know where to begin. For those of us not so fortunate, there are a number or reliable sources for locating an established business for sale. First, you must remember that the purchase of a business is not an impulse buy. Be prepared to conduct a patient and thorough search. Depending on the size business that you are interested in acquiring, classified ads, business brokers and merger and acquisition consultants are fertile sources. Don’t overlook the power of networking. Make your intentions known to friends as well as to legal and accounting firms that are in your area.

The acquisition of an established business by means of a buy out over several years can be desirable for both the buyer and seller. In these types of situations you normally develop an agreement and begin working for a business whose owners are agreeable to selling it to you over a one to five year period. You use “sweat equity”, contributions that you make to the business, to generate funds that are used to pay the owners for their equity. It would not be uncommon for you to continue making deferred payments to the previous owners for several years after they have ceased active involvement in the business.

The buy out with “sweat equity” works best with owner operated businesses where the owners are looking to gradually retire, have a profitable business and there is a limited market for the business. It will be an appropriate alternative for you if you have limited financial resources, have the skills and determination to make a contribution to the business and the patience to work hard to realize your objectives.

Franchising has become quite popular in recent times. Because franchisers actively promote their businesses and there are a finite number of franchising situations available, you can conduct a reasonably systematic and thorough search of the opportunities available to you. Once the right opportunity has been identified, it is important to thoroughly investigate the franchiser. Unlike the start-up and acquisition, the owner of a franchise is dependent on others.

Frugality is a great quality for the new owner of a business to possess. However, being “penny wise, pound foolish” can be costly when negotiating the purchase of a business. By this I mean that although negotiating the lowest price for a business is important, it is more important to focus on a price and terms of payment that the business can support. For example, a higher price payed over a longer period of time can be desirable.

Your success in running your new business will depend on your operating and management skills. Those skills are different than those required to structure your new business. Getting started is usually a once in a life time event. Get the help of professionals who are experienced with these types of transactions.

Because you want it to be your business, be patient but get started and take that first step.

There was post recently on the SPSP Forum regarding the lack of information on franchise operations and PCI compliance.  Since I have been searching for a topic to write on, I thought I would take up this topic.

The PCI DSS has only one reference to franchises and that is on page 7.  The reference on page 7 is only in regards to sampling.  During our first year of QSA training, we were told that PCI compliance in a franchise environment is controlled by the operational relationship between the franchiser (the organization that licenses the concept) and the franchisee (the organization that executes the retail concept).  Franchisees typically maintain their own merchant accounts and have their own contracts with an acquiring bank.  For PCI compliance purposes, most franchisees are independent from their franchiser and therefore, the franchisee is responsible for their PCI compliance and any document filing.

At their simplest, franchisees use “knuckle busters” and stand-alone terminals.  In these instances, the franchisee can fill out and file a self-assessment questionnaire (SAQ) B.  Other franchisees, such as those in the fast food industry have purchased un-customized integrated point of sale (POS) with a network at the restaurant.  These sorts of installations typically meet the requirements for SAQ C.

However, thanks to technology and integration, the PCI compliance of the franchiser and franchisee can blur.  The best example of technology creating a PCI compliance nightmare for a franchiser is Speedpass from Exxon/Mobil.  Speedpass is a great customer convenience and probably one of the more innovative uses of RFID technology.  The customer registers one or more credit cards at the Exxon/Mobil Web site and is mailed a Speedpass RFID fob.  At the service station, the customer merely waves the Speedpass RFID in proximity to the Speedpass logo on the gas pump and they are validated and pay without a credit card ever being used.  From a PCI compliance perspective, this sounds like a very secure approach and it is.  However, because of Speedpass, franchised operations have to send their Speedpass transactions through Exxon/Mobil’s central data center.  That data center is where the Speedpass RFID serial number is translated to a credit card number that the Speedpass customer entered into the Exxon/Mobil Web site.  That credit card number is then used with the franchisee’s merchant number to process the transaction.  As a result, Exxon/Mobil is on the hook for not only their own PCI compliance, but also all of their franchisees that accept Speedpass.  The lesson of Exxon/Mobil is that if the franchiser requires franchisees to process their transactions through the franchiser’s data center, then the franchiser is responsible for everyone’s PCI compliance.  The franchiser also is responsible for the monitoring and compliance of all franchisees.

Then you have the franchises that integrate sales and inventory management with corporate to ensure accurate ordering of material and to get daily sales figures.  No cardholder data is ever involved.  Most of these older solutions transfer their data at the end of day via FTP or some other batch data transfer method.  These sorts of solutions keep the franchisee and franchiser separated, so PCI compliance is straightforward.  In these instances, the franchisee just treats the franchiser as a service provider and files their own PCI compliance documentation.

However, in this age of total integration, newer solutions fully integrate the front of the business to the back of the business all to a central data center, regardless of the legal relationship between the parties.  The franchiser is typically not accessing individual sales transactions, they just want to know how many of each item has been sold and they want visibility into a store’s inventory data in real time.  This integration is also key to many franchise e-Commerce operations such as online ordering with in-store delivery, reservations and other customer friendly functions.  All of this integration means that the franchiser’s systems are then passing cardholder data (CHD) to the franchisee and possibly sending CHD the other way as well.

To add insult to injury, the franchiser, under the guise of making all of this technology easy to operate for the franchisee, provides help desk and IT operations management to the franchisee.  Where this all goes wrong is that now the franchiser’s IT personnel have access to the franchisee’s networks and computer systems and, possibly, CHD.  Regardless of whether or not CHD is involved, the franchiser has remote access to the franchisees’ systems, which means that the two parties must rely on each other for PCI compliance.

In the end, PCI compliance in a franchise environment all depends on the responsibilities of each party.  If they are truly separate, then there are no compliance conflicts between the parties.  However, when the franchiser begins providing PCI in-scope related services and/or technology solutions to their franchisees, then the franchisee relies on the franchiser for their PCI compliance and the franchiser is on the hook for that compliance.