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Franchise Bio: Joel Libava

It turns out that the King did not die, but is very much alive and well in the form of Joel Libava – the Franchise King.

Joel keeps a regular blog on the franchise world, as well as helping franchise companies grow by finding potential franchisees with innovative online and social media marketing techniques, and through direct consultations with prospective franchise owners. Based in the US, Joel helps people all over the US find fantastic franchise opportunities with his superior personal franchise matchmaking methods.

Joel describes himself as “a brutally honest, but not always politically correct, entrepreneur-who’s hyper-focused on the world of franchising.”

With a diverse background as a radio and TV announcer, Las Vegas Maitre’D, food and beverage manager, Joel has also worked in automobile franchising in a management capacity, and a sales trainer.

You will frequently find Joel giving presentations on the topic of franchising, and he is the “Franchise Expert in Residence,” and columnist for the award winning Small Business Trends website. Joel is also The Community Promotions Director for Small Business Trends. Joel also writes over at the OPEN FORUM by American Express blog, joining other small business experts like Guy Kawasaki, Chris Brogan, and Anita Campbell.

In addition to all of this, Joel also regularly contributes as an expert source to The Wall Street Journal, Fox Business News.com, Entrepreneur Magazine, MSNBC.com, Bottom Line Personal, Crain’s, The Plain Dealer, and numerous other US national and local publications and websites. He is also interviewed regularly on Jim Blasingame’s Small Business Advocate radio program, as well as on Barbara Weltman’s Build Your Business radio show.

Pheuw! And if that wasn’t enough, Joel was recently approached by Business.Gov to contribute articles about the business model of franchising. This website is the official business link to the US Government, and Joel says he is very excited to be a part of it!

Check out Joel’s Franchise King blog (http://www.thefranchisekingblog.com/) to read about all the goings on in the franchise industry, as well as some insightful observations on the nature of franchising and the environment in which franchisees operate their businesses.

Here is our US blogger - Donald Cranford’s second part in his franchising in India observations.

When people think of franchising, the first thing they think of, almost anywhere in the world, is McDonald’s. So I was pretty keen to have a look at how McDonald’s operates in India, given the exploding market there, as well as the country’s varied ethnic identities.

McDonald’s opened their first store in India in 1996. India, while a huge market, posed many cultural challenges for McDonald’s. Hindus, by far the largest religious group in India, are traditionally vegetarian. On top of that, they treat the cow as sacred (for instance, there were four cows tied to tree outside my hotel in Mumbai and they would sleep every night on the street). At the same time, there are also 133 million Muslims in India, who do not eat pork. So McDonald’s, before they even opened their doors, were at a quandary. Is a McDonald’s without a Big Mac or a Quarter Pounder really a McDonald’s? Bravely, they removed all beef and pork products from their Indian menu and created a number of meals to satisfy the Indian palette.

But problems have occasionally flared up. When McDonald’s revealed in 2001 that they cooked their french fries in beef fat, there were riots outside Indian restaurants. They seem to have gotten their cultural sensitivities in line though, and based on my own eyewitness evidence, their urban restaurants are thriving.

The McDonald’s I have documented below is in The Fort area of Mumbai. It’s the traditional business area of the city and throughout the whole day, it is a hive of activity. There are many beautiful Victorian buildings in this area. McDonald’s is in one of them actually, with a nicely-designed interior with outdoor picnic-style seating along the street. The menu might be the most diverse of any McDonald’s in the world. You can get veggie burgers, hot cheese (paneer) wraps, and even something called a McPizza Puff.

The McDonald’s in The Fort was packed the evening I visited, as was the one I passed by in New Delhi a few days later. For the generation of wealthy young Indians, McDonald’s, remarkably, has a reputation as a healthy, vegetarian-friendly restaurant. Also, they offer delivery, which is an exciting frontier for McDonald’s. It seems as if the Golden Arches have a great future in India.

This is a photo of an advertisement outside of the McDonald’s at The Fort. There are some menu items to the right and in the background you can see the umbrellas for outdoor eating. The warm climate in Mumbai makes India perfect for outdoor eating.

This is outside the door of McDonald’s. The most interesting thing here is that they are advertising their delivery service. This is pretty unique for McDonald’s. Obviously, they feel they need a delivery option to compete with Mumbai’s many other food services.

Here we have a closer look at some of McDonald’s food options. Notice the Veg Pizza McPuff and the ice cream at the bottom.

Here’s an interior shot of the restaurant. You can get a sense of how the distribution works. All of the eating takes place outside, as far as I can remember. The store was strongly air-conditioned, as well.

You can read our earlier post here on franchising in India. Keep an eye on the blog over the coming days for further insight on Indian franchising.

This week, we have a guest blog post from our US blogger - Donald Cranford, who is bringing us some observations on the franchise industry in India, following his recent trip.

For years now, we have been hearing that the 21st century will be the Asian Century, lead by China and India. You read this claim so often in the business pages of the international newspapers, you sometimes begin to wonder if it is merely hype. I was fortunate enough to visit Mumbai and New Delhi recently and can say with some confidence that the future of business lies in India, especially where franchising is concerned.

Before I discuss my own experiences, let’s just state some of the reasons why franchising is working in India and certain to grow in the coming years. This is a country of over 1billion people. There are more than 3 times as many people living in India compared with America. In a few decades, it will be the third largest economy in the world.

Now India may have a huge population, but that’s not the whole reason why it is so ripe for franchising. India’s rise is being driven by a rising middle class who are increasingly looking to the west, and to the US especially, for cultural input. I had the pleasure of sampling New Delhi nightlife and it was remarkable just how similar Indian nightclubs were to American ones. Much of this wealthy young generation of Indians has spent time in the US or the UK and picked up a taste and an interest for Western goods, foods and services. Foreign investors should also note that India is a country with a historical relationship with the English language and a decidedly pro-business, low-tax ethos. I was there on Budget Day and it was remarkable to witness the hundreds of media outlets debating the various points of the budgets.

On the other hand, it is still a country weighed down by bureaucracy and with corruption issues at grassroots political levesl, but India’s business practices have come on by leaps and bounds in recent decades. There are also some pretty vast cultural divides between India and the West, but perhaps the spread of wealth will shrink this gap. With a vital national entrepreneurial spirit, compared to other developing economies, one thing is sure- India is open for business.

As for the franchising scene, it is growing fast. I traveled around Mumbai and New Delhi, largely on foot. The franchises that I encountered, both Indian and foreign, were mostly food franchises. UPS and a few other shipping franchises are also set up on the ground. Many people still choose to eat from vendors on the side of the road, but more and more people are looking for cheaper, Western food.

I’m proud to say my first meal in India was from a franchise operation: Felafal’s Veg Hummous House, a very clean and air-conditioned restaurant at the Colaba Causeway, one of main arteries around Mumbai’s big tourist area. The food was cooked quickly and with a coke, the meal only cost about 90 rupees, which is less that two dollars. I was fully satisfied and I was thanked by management on my way out the door. It couldn’t have been a better experience.

In the coming days, visit the blog as we’ll be providing more insight on our travels through Indian franchising. Our next post will be about the experience of McDonald’s in India.

Last week, Franchise Direct’s UK team attended the Franchise Show in Excel, London. As we previously blogged, a lot of the franchises featured on our site were in attendance at the show and our team really enjoyed the chance to “put a face to the name” and met a significant number of franchisors face to face.

Brian Rogan, our Sales Manager, commented that the show was very busy and successful in that “a lot of people were approaching our stand and had clear ideas of what kind of franchise they would be interested in - this is great because our site can help those people find a variety of franchise opportunities to suit what they are looking for”. There is a lot of choice in the franchise industry nowadays and with franchise in attendance from such diverse industries as home services franchises to business consultancy franchises - there is something to suit everyone.

Franchise Direct girls Lillie and Sandra most certainly enjoyed their weekend in London and especially enjoyed meeting YourPlumber’s novel mascots:

Brian ready to help attendees discover the world of franchising through Franchise Direct! 

Franchise Direct’s Dublin office received sad but also heart warming news last week, when our multimedia editor and creator of our famous franchise videos -  Karen Wrafter announced she was leaving Franchise Direct for a higher cause. Higher than franchising?! Karen is off to Haiti with Irish charity – Haven Partnership. The charity builds houses in many disadvantaged countries across the globe and this coming April, Karen and her Dad will be on a chartered flight with 248 other volunteers – some skilled builders and tradesmen and some unskilled volunteers to take part in their Build It Week initiative in Haiti.

Over one week, 250 volunteers will build approximately 40 houses to provide much needed homes to families affected by poverty in Haiti. Following this amazing week, Karen doesn’t intend on taking a break and will spend another 3 months carrying out other charity work in Haiti – she’s our very own Mother Teresa!!!

While we are all sad to see Karen go, but we are all immensely proud of her big heart and wonderful enthusiasm to help others in need. Karen needs to raise €4,000 to get herself out to Haiti along with materials and supplies to help build the homes in Haiti. If you would like to find out more about Haven or to donate, then visit Haven’s donation website and remember to cite Karen Wrafter as the person you want to sponsor!!

Here is a video from last year’s Haven Build it Week in Haiti, we’re all sure our Galway girl Karen will have loads of fun teaching the Haitian kids the lyrics to The Fields of Athenry or The Galway Girl!!!