Grill me some advice…make it rare

As I walked out the Gilbert Grill my mind was filled with thoughts of what cold medication I was going to get. I was sick. I couldn’t remember a time when I had a cold worse than the one I had that day. I stood outside of Prentis Hall trying to breathe in some fresh air as Wayne State bustled around me. All of the sudden, I notice Dan Gilbert strolling down Cass talking with Ross. On their way to Dan’s car I can only assume. I looked around and noticed all the business student’s coming in and out of Prentis laughing or listening to their iPods oblivious to the fact that a billionaire business professional was standing right next to them.

 

In no way do I say this to say billionaires should be worshiped. I say this because we never know who is right next to us that we may be being rude to, or offering a favor, and even more strongly who may be randomly giving us advice. Ramy Noja is a regional VP at Rock’s Troy office and he spoke to us this week about a chance happening while he was in Chicago. A stranger gave him a random nugget of advice on focus. From this he explained at the age of 15 he began what would later turn into the retail chain Half-Off Card shop, from literally garbage he had been paid to throw away, and later sold the chain to Hallmark in a multi-million dollar deal.

 

All and all, we should all be available to receive advice and don’t worry about who it is from, just worry about how valid it is. The best piece of advice I received at the Gilbert Grill didn’t seem to me from Dan, it was by his friend next to him that did construction when he discussed developing as a viable option in this downtime. I’ve seen all too many times in this group when individuals get advice on ideas they come up with that is great, but they shoot it down and get defensive because they don’t want anyone corrupting their baby. Honestly, I didn’t get a great deal from this addition of the Gilbert Grill in the traditional information Business Wisdom sense. Maybe it was because I was sick or maybe because it wasn’t as strongly focused as most Business Wisdom sessions, but finding good in anything people say or do is what I realize I need to do more o

Franchise Anyone?

The article entitled, Build Your Own Franchise, in Black Enterprise, discusses how two former business partners who owned a Blimpie sub shop started their own franchise. Chris Spears and Gary Williams decided to open a healthy take out seafood restaurant. They did this to counteract the deep fried and high fat seafood options that were available. The great thing about their story is before they even sold one meal, they had already sold a franchise.

 

This article highlights the trend in healthy fast food and take out that is taking place. Also it highlights the trend in franchising ideas. I recently read in article in a local Detroit paper that discussed, while traditional businesses weren’t doing well currently, franchise ownership is actually up doing this economic time in Michigan. The article went on to explain that many former autoworkers took corporate buy outs and then used that money to start franchises. Possibly, what these partners did could be a viable concept to be done in the Detroit area.

 

The article goes on to discuss certain things to look for if you want to create a business you can franchise. The article discussed the high cost in attorney and consultant cost that have to be attended to in order to create a “franchisable” business. Companies such as ifranchise.net and others were given as good experts in the field to consult with. The article also discusses how the franchisor has to pay government fees in every state he plans to build a franchise.