THE
T H E M A G A Z I N E O F F R A N C H I S E B U S I N E S S S E R V I C E S
2016 ISSUE 4
FBS Business
2016
Summit
Meet the Chief Financial Officer:
Alexander Ware
PAGE 20
A Look at Your New
Board of Directors Members
PAGE 22
PAGE 26
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
FBS Board of Directors
Wray Hutchinson
Chairman
Mark Jones
Vice Chairman
Jenny Beaudoin
Director
James Bitzonis
Director
Brian Carmody
Director
Steve Grube
Director
Roz Mallet
Director
Larry Podlager
Director
Karim Webb
Director
Christy Williams
Executive Director
FBS Editorial Board
Kristi Keith-Hoffman
Editor-in-Chief
kristik@myfbsonline.org
Jessica Loeding
Managing Editor
jessical@myfbsonline.org
Christina Cannon
Communications Manager
christinac@myfbsonline.org
Advertising Sales
Jeff Reynolds
Director of Business Partner Relations
jeffr@myfbsonline.org
Design and Layout
Kristen Thomas
KT Graphic Design
ktgraphicdesign@gmail.com
Headquarters
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Phone: 678-797-5161
Fax: 678-797-5171
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environment, this publication is printed
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paper using eco-friendly inks.
Copyright© 2016
Printed in the U.S.A.
www.myfbsonline.org
ON THE COVER
The FBS Business Summit made its return to Las Vegas
this year. The event brought together franchisees,
corporate partners and system suppliers. FBS Board
Chairman Wray Hutchinson, left, and Vice Chairman
Mark Jones, second from right, welcomed keynote
speaker James Damian, chair of the Buffalo Wild
Wings® board, and BWW EVP, President of North
America Judy Shoulak. Turn to page 26 to see more
from the FBS Summit.
COLUMNS
2
Chairman’s Column
DEPARTMENTS
4
FBS Member News
16
Team Up for Kids™
17
Recognitions
19
Event Calendar and New Store Openings
21
Franchisee Spotlight
FEATURES
20
Meet the Chief Financial Officer: Alexander Ware
22
Meet Your New Board Members: Jenny Beaudoin and Larry Podlager
24
Spotlight on 114th Congress: Rep. Bruce Poliquin (R-ME-02)
26
2016 FBS Business Summit: Blazing Forward
34
Service Excellence: The Leadership Factor
by Dennis Snow, Snow & Associates
38
Social Media Offers FBS Members More
by Anna Streetman, FBS e-communications coordinator
40
How the Incoming Administration May Impact Labor and
Employment Issues
by Douglas H. Duerr, Elarbee Thompson Sapp and Wilson, LLP
42
Don’t Miss Out on the Benefits of Section 179
contributed by Mize Houser & Company P.A.
44
Three Methods for Being an Effective Personal Adviser
by Dan Coughlin, The Coughlin Co.
46
Retention 101: How to Re-Recruit Your Team Members Every Shift
by Jim Sullivan, sullivision.com
DIRECTORIES
18
Associate Member Listing
48
Advertisers Guide and Editorial Calendar
2016 Issue 4
2016 Issue 4 |
THESCORE
A Message FROM THE CHAIRMAN
This year’s
event made its
return to Las
Vegas, and if
you weren’t able
to join us for this
awesome event,
you certainly
missed out.
With a theme
of “Blazin’
Forward,” the meeting offered sessions
focused on today’s hot topics, as well as
lively entertainment for all.
We enjoyed fantastic keynote
speakers like Buffalo Wild Wings®
Chairman of the Board James Damian,
who made us think about innovation
and how the brand’s future looks; BWW
Vice President of Franchise Operations
Dale Gallion, who guided us through
a franchise operations update; and
Golden State Warriors GM Bob Myers,
who hit the mark with his presentation
on taking a collaborative approach to
decision-making.
The Summit also delved into
emerging trends within the alcohol and
restaurant industries. Sazerac President
Mark Brown provided insight into where
alcohol may be headed, and Wall Street
analyst John Zolidis provided predictions
for the casual-dining segment going
forward.
We also had time to have some
fun while building relationships at
both our exhibitor trade show and
during our annual Casino Night and
Texas Hold ‘em Tournament. As
always, we concluded with a lively
auction, graciously led by our very own
auctioneer, Mike Jones.
This year, we also provided tangible
benefits to our managers in the form
of a course from Rapport Leadership
on keeping a service culture alive. FBS
wants to continue to offer valuable
content for managers at this event in
the coming years, and I encourage you
to submit ideas for courses or training
that you would find enticing as reason to
register them.
Designed specifically to address
issues important to you, as franchisees,
I wholeheartedly believe the Summit is
worth the relatively minor expense and
time away from your business to attend.
I hope to see everyone next year, Oct.
11-13, when we are back in the Big Easy
at the Hilton New Orleans Riverside.
As we move into the New Year, we
will face an evolving regulatory envi-
ronment. Misty Chally from FBS and
Tim Ehlert from Buffalo Wild Wings
addressed the election’s potential effects
in Las Vegas, while attorneys from
respected labor and law firms discussed
the impact of the sea of regulations
facing franchisees, but it’s on us to stay
informed on how our businesses will be
affected.
As an association, FBS will keep
you updated throughout the year with
emails, webinars and The SCORE on
changes to business regulations and how
to prepare. I encourage you all to take
advantage of those opportunities. It’s all
about engaging for success.
2017 brings a fresh start and a new
season. Ringing in the New Year means
college bowl games and the Super Bowl,
which bring big business. I hope 2017
brings happiness to you and your family,
as well as success to your business.
Wray Hutchinson
was quite the year! It
saw the improbable
become possible –
Donald Trump was elected the 45th U.S. president, and the
Chicago Cubs won the World Series! FBS also capped the
year off with a winning combination of engaging speakers
and networking fun at the 2016 FBS Business Summit.
As a Buffalo Wild Wings® franchise owner, you think about service, productivity, laws and regulations, time management and the
everyday challenges of running a business. Insurance for your franchise doesn’t have to be one of those concerns. BB&T Insurance
Services is proud to be Franchise Business Services’ (FBS)* exclusive property and casualty insurance provider. Our agents are licensed
in all 50 states and work with franchise owners throughout the nation.
Your business will be supported by a dedicated team of franchise insurance specialists who are knowledgeable about your industry
and will develop a plan specifically for you.
Advantages of our program for FBS members:
■
Competitive pricing on all lines of coverage
■
A dedicated team of specialists from BB&T Insurance Services
■
Certificates of insurance within 24 hours
■
Proactive renewal planning conducted 60 days prior to the plan expiration date
■
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We are excited to work with you and encourage you to take the time to learn about BB&T Insurance Services. To speak with the FBS
team, please call or email:
*FBS is unaffiliated with BB&T Insurance Services, Inc.
© 2014, Branch Banking and Trust Company. All rights reserved.
Manage your business
and we will manage your risk.
FBS Insurance Services
1-866-402-7952
memberservices@myfbsonline.org
ServiceNow
1-888-399-2040
ServiceNow@BBandT.com
Insurance.BBT.com
2016 Issue 4 |
THESCORE
MEMBER NEWS
n Oct. 12, a Buffalo Wild Wings® in Yuma, Arizona, held
its sixth annual Pink Party for Bridget’s Gift, a local breast
cancer organization.
On top of donating 15 percent of net restaurant proceeds
for that day, the B-Dubs® location also featured a raffle and a
silent auction where items ranged from a diamond pendant and
staycations to coolers and event tickets. “It was a huge collab-
orative effort from so many local business owners,” said Wings
West Operations franchisee Lisa Meyer. T-shirts were also sold
to help raise money.
Roughly 500 people came out to support Bridget’s Gift, and
with the community’s help, the event was able raise a total of
$10,000.
Local organizations such as the news media, radio station,
police and fire departments, and even the Jaycees chapter all
collaborated to pull off the best event yet. The 2016 event repre-
sents the most money ever raised at the annual Pink Party, and
Meyer thinks that the company is already on the path to raise
even more money next year.
“It was the most successful fundraiser we’ve ever had, and
it was made possible from an enormous collaborative commu-
nity effort,” said Meyer. “I’m so grateful to have a business
involved in a Yuma-based organization formed in memory of
Yuma native Bridget Orta Martinez that focuses on education,
awareness and support of breast cancer in the Yuma County
area.” S
Wings West Operations Raises $10,000
for Breast Cancer at Annual Pink Party
The sixth annual Pink Party was able to raise $10,000 for Bridget’s Gift, a Yuma, Arizona, breast cancer organization.
A
Watchung, New Jersey, BWW® hosted its first ever 5K to
raise money for a local Boys & Girls Club.
On Oct. 30, roughly 100 runners gathered at a local park to
support the organization. Runners were given an event T-shirt,
goodie bag, coffee, water, energy drinks and snacks. There were
also multiple sponsor tables and a live DJ.
“This was an amazing event where AMPAL Group was
able to give back in a big way while hosting a fun event for
the local community,” said franchisee Amit Patel “We were
very grateful for the turnout and generosity of the community
throughout our first 5K event.”
The 5K raised approximately $2,500 for the Boys & Girls
Club, and B-Dubs® also held an Eat Wings Raise Funds event at
the restaurant, which generated an additional $500.
“The local Boys & Girls Club brought their teens to help
with the event, which was a treat to be able to work alongside
those who the donation was going to help,” said Patel. S
New Jersey BWW 5K Raises
$3,000 for Local Boys & Girls Club
AMPAL Group’s Watchung, New Jersey, location raised money for
the local Boys & Girls Club through a 5K held Oct. 30.
THESCORE | 2016 Issue 4
MEMBER NEWS
n Oct. 22, employees from the six-unit Potters Wings
gathered at Chain Park in Mississippi to participate in the
Hattiesburg Food Festival. A total of seven food vendors partici-
pated in the festival, with roughly 1,000 people in attendance.
“The purpose of the event is to bring local vendors
together in the community in order to build diversity,” said Will
Littlejohn, regional director for Potters Wings.
B-Dubs® had a booth staffed with six employees that
featured a limited menu of burgers, traditional wings, boneless
wings and wedges that were sold for anywhere from $3 to $7.
The restaurant made $550 at the event.
Vendors at the festival paid an initial $75 entry fee, but
were able to set their own prices and keep 100 percent of their
proceeds. Vendors also had unlimited space to set up their
booths.
Littlejohn notes that finding the right employees to attend
the festival and setting equipment up was a bit of a challenge,
but it was still well worth it to attend the festival.
“Community involvement is one of our passions. We love
to make new friends to continue growing our family,” said
Littlejohn. “We made new friends out there to help support
local sales in our restaurant. We have continued to see growth
in sales every time we do events like this in the community.”
In addition to
being able to purchase
food, attendees at the
Hattiesburg Food Festival
enjoyed live music,
visited with animals from
the Hattiesburg Zoo,
participated in arts and
crafts, hopped on board
several rides, played
games and even toured
one of the Hattiesburg
Fire Department’s fire
trucks. S
Potters Wings Participates in
2016 Hattiesburg Food Festival
Potters Wings’ Hattiesburg BWW® location was one of seven
vendors at the Hattiesburg Food Festival.
2016 Issue 4 |
THESCORE
MEMBER NEWS
n Oct. 5, a Buffalo Wild Wings® in Ann Arbor, Michigan,
hosted a fundraiser that hopefully made the Christmas
season a little brighter for a few children. For the first time, the
JK&T Wings location participated in Shop with a Cop, an event
which is now in its 15th year and is put on by the Washtenaw
County Sheriff's Office.
The BWW® location donated 20 percent of their sales on
Oct. 5 so that the local sheriff’s office could purchase gift cards
and other necessities for the area’s youth in need. Approxi-
mately $1,074 was raised for the event.
“We were approached by the group to hold a fundraiser at
our Ann Arbor location. This was the first year we’ve held the
fundraiser and would love to do it again,” said franchisee Kent
Ward. “The community perceived this event well and rallied
behind it by showing up for the fundraiser.”
The event aims to provide kids who normally wouldn’t
have the financial ability to celebrate Christmas the opportunity
to buy gifts for friends and family. On top of a $125 Meijer gift
card, Shop with a Cop presents roughly 100 children with a
backpack, T-shirt, a hat, gloves, a blanket, toothpaste, a tooth-
brush and even a personal letter from Santa.
The event took place in two consecutive sessions with the
western Washtenaw County Shop with a Cop taking place at
a Meijer in Ann Arbor, Nov. 30, and the eastern Washtenaw
County Shop with a Cop event taking place at a Meijer in Van
Buren Township on Dec. 7.
“Helping out the community and assisting with charitable
organizations is just something that we don’t need to be asked to
do,” said Ward. “We feel strongly that if we come into communi-
ties then it is our responsibility to stand behind them.” S
JK&T Wings Raises Over $1,000
for Local Shop with a Cop Event
The western Washtenaw County Shop with a Cop event took place
at a Meijer in Ann Arbor on Nov. 30.
THESCORE | 2016 Issue 4
MPAL Group hosted a grand opening event Oct. 15-16 to
celebrate the company’s latest BWW® location situated in
Marlboro, New Jersey.
On Oct. 15, the day before the official grand opening, the
restaurant sponsored an invite-only VIP party where those in
attendance included the local police department, fire department
and mayor’s office. All three groups were treated to a free meal.
Alcohol sales from the night, which totaled over $2,500,
were donated to JDRF, a charity committed to education and
research for type 1 diabetes.
“AMPAL Group is very excited to bring the Buffalo Wild
Wings® experience to Marlboro, New Jersey, and to join this
dynamic community,” said franchisee Amit Patel. “We had a
great opening and
look forward to
continued success in
Marlboro.”
As part of the
celebration, AMPAL
Group provided the
first 100 customers
to attend the grand
opening with a
coupon book featuring free wings for a year. The company also
gave the first five guests a $50 BWW gift card.
As a result, guests started lining up around 6 p.m. in order
to save their spot for the 11 a.m. opening the next day. There
were roughly 100 patrons lined up by midnight and around 180
by the time the restaurant opened.
Employees kept the B-Dubs® fans entertained throughout
the night by playing games such as slapshot, KanJam and corn
hole and hosted a competition for the longest football throw, as
well as a free throw contest. Employees also gave away prizes,
including coolers, T-shirts, headphones, corn hole sets and
tailgating chairs.
The location treated guests to a Dunkin’ Donuts break-
fast the following morning and hosted a Blazin’ Challenge, in
which 10 people participated, at 9 a.m. on the morning of the
grand opening.
The local high school band, cheerleaders and dance team
came out to support and cheer on the Marlboro mayor for the
ribbon-cutting. S
MEMBER NEWS
AMPAL Group Opens New B-Dubs
Restaurant in Marlboro, New Jersey
On Oct. 16, AMPAL Group celebrated the grand opening of its Marlboro, New Jersey, location.
2016 Issue 4 |
THESCORE
MEMBER NEWS
rom Nov. 17-21, the city of Louisville, Kentucky, came
together to help out Toys for Tots, and Buffalo Wild Wings®
wasn’t going to miss out on the fun. A local radio station,
Q103.1, partnered with Sullivan University on the inaugural
Bikes or Bust, which donates new bikes to Toys for Tots.
Radio personality Dingo agreed to spend over four consecu-
tive days on a scissor lift parked in a Buffalo Wild Wings parking
lot, and the Derby Wings Management location agreed to be
the official location sponsor. The event encouraged anyone and
everyone to visit the BWW® location to drop off a donation, and
Dingo greeted those who stopped by from 40 feet in the air.
Dingo was outfitted with a tent and other necessities and
would update the community on the event via videos posted to
social media.
“I actually approached the radio station, ironically, for
another restaurant,” said franchisee Eric Titus. “I had told them
I was looking for some kind of traffic-driving promotion, and
they had come to me with several different things that I just
didn’t like and didn’t think would work. Then they brought this
up, and from the community connectivity aspect, I liked it and
thought there could be some traffic-driving elements to it.”
The B-Dubs® location at 10206 Westport Road provided
roughly 13 spaces to the radio station where they could park the
scissor lift and collect bikes. The company originally planned to
only use half of the space but ended up using it all.
“The majority of our parking is in back, plus we have an ease-
ment with the shopping center that’s next to us, so there really
is a lot of parking,” said Titus. “It didn’t hurt us that much, but
we ended up taking up more space than we originally planned,
mainly because of the amount of bikes that were donated.”
An amount that far exceeded the original goal. When the
event was first created, a goal was set to donate 41 bikes to
Toys for Tots because that was the projected need from the
organization.
“We realized quickly, however, that there was a lot of
people out there that wanted to donate bikes, so we adjusted our
goal to 700,” said Titus.
One of those people wanting to provide for the cause was
country music icon Garth Brooks, who called into the radio station
on the second day of the event and said he would donate 10 bikes
for every hour Dingo stayed in the lift. For the 103 hours Dingo
spent hoisted in the air, Brooks donated 1,030 bikes to the program.
“I was shocked, I was elated, and then I started realizing
that what we were doing was bigger than we originally thought,”
said Titus. “With Garth getting involved, all of a sudden there
was a national element to it, which was really exciting.”
Titus notes that Brooks was on tour and had an upcoming
show in Cincinnati, which is about one and a half hours away
from Louisville.
“He appeared on their radio station to talk about his show,
and through that process, he heard about what we were doing,”
said Titus. “Obviously it must have struck a chord with him
because he came out and said he wanted to get involved.”
With the substantial donation from Brooks, the team once
again readjusted their goal – this time to 2,000 bikes.
“The generosity of our guests was really striking,” added
Titus. “The bikes in the front were causing quite a stir in the
community. So many people were driving by just to look at it,
and then they would stop and ask us what was going on. It was
really moving to see how much the community appreciated what
we were doing.”
B-Dubs customers also showed the same sentiment with
many stating that they didn’t have time to go buy a bike but
donated money nonetheless.
“The thing that really struck me the most was that I had person
after person thanking me and just coming up and saying how
wonderful they thought what we were doing was,” said Titus.
At the end of the 103 hours, the event had surpassed its
goal of 2,000 bikes, and Buffalo Wild Wings saw an increase in
Derby Wings Management Partners with Louisville Radio
Station to Collect Over 2,000 Bikes for Toys for Tots
The inaugural Bikes or Bust event collected over 2,000 bikes. The
initial goal prior to the event starting was 41.
Radio station Q103.1 sponsored
Bikes or Bust, an event to collect
bikes for Toys for Tots, in which
radio personality Dingo stayed
on a scissor lift for four days.
Bikes or Bust collected new
bikes for Toys for Tots, which is
a program cultivated by the U.S.
Marine Corps.