Indholdsfortegnelse for September/October 2024 i Entrepreneur Magazine

BDPST Group GROWING WITH HUNGARY With strong consumption at the forefront, Hungary’s economy is expected to grow by 3.5% in 2025, according to the European Commission, as real wages rise rapidly. Investment is also set to grow strongly due to “rising capacity utilisation, large FDI-financed projects, and government support schemes”, while inflation is tempering. Tourism is one of the most dynamic sectors of the Hungarian economy, driving both consumption and investment. In 2023, the country welcomed a record 16m tourists who spent 41m guest nights, according to the Hungarian Tourism Agency. BDPST Group is at the forefront of the industry, István Tiborcz developing some of the country’s top hotels Founder in partnership with leading international hotel companies, as part of a broader portfolio including financial services and logistics. “Last year…

IF YOU HAVE IF YOU HAVE a tween girl, you’ve probably heard of Rowan. It’s the cool brand for piercings, where licensed nurses insert hypoallergenic studs into thousands of ears every day. With more than 500 employees, it’s on track to have 65 stores and an annual run rate of $100 million in revenue this year. But in 2017, Rowan was just a fledgling startup with a great idea and a bad business model. It survived because founder Louisa Schneider was willing to pivot, and pivot, and pivot again, until its mission, profit, and market all clicked into place. Here, she explains how she threaded that tricky needle—and kept her eye on the hole. Step 1/Enter the market. Back in 2017, Schneider was a new mom working at a hedge fund,…

1/A door lock that reads palms. The Philips 5000 Series Smart Deadbolt [$360; usa.philips.com] unlocks a door with a scanner that reads your palm, meaning your keys and phone can remain in a pocket or bag. The deadboltintegrated doorbell alerts you to visitors through the Philips app, and rings the included wireless chime. When you head out, the sensors detect your hand reaching for the interior knob and automatically unlock the door. Powered by batteries, the smart lock also works with a key, an access code, or through Alexa and Google Assistant. 2/An on-call cold brew barista. Cold brew coffee drinks are more than a summer fling; they’re a lifestyle. Crafting them at home is time-consuming, but The Cumulus Machine [$695, plus $25 for 10 coffee capsules; cumuluscoffee.com] makes crafting…

I Imagine what a tattoo shop looks like. All My Heart does not look like that. The Charlotte, North Carolina, studio is airy and suffused with natural light. In the reception area, there are modular chairs, midcentury couches, and a vase of fresh flowers on a Japanese-influenced cabinet. But the real surprise goes beyond aesthetics. All My Heart’s owner, Graham Beech, isn’t just playing with a new look; he’s trying out a whole new business model. “Historically, tattoo shops have wanted to control the clientele, and use the tattoo artist as kind of a cog in the wheel,” Beech says. “What’s different about our business is that the client is the artist, and they have their own individual clients.” Like many entrepreneurs, Beech was his own ideal customer: He was…

Online Oreviews matter, especially for small businesses. They’re a chance to get unbiased feedback on how your business can improve. But low ratings can also skew your average and threaten your ability to attract new customers. According to Kelly Kurlychek of Better-Reputation, a company that helps businesses and individuals maintain their online reputations, upwards of 90% of prospective customers are searching for reviews before making a purchase. “Your prospects are Googling you. If you aren’t showing up at all, or in any kind of negative or even mediocre light, you are losing business,” says Kurlychek. So how do you avoid bad reviews? And what do you do if they come your way? Adam Levy is co-owner of the Huntington, New York, yoga studio Sound Body & Mind, and he deals…

It’s weird that there aren’t more hundred-billiondollar companies, because it doesn’t seem that hard to do, Max Rhodes caught himself thinking one day in 2021. He was sure making it look easy. The company he’d cofounded, called Faire, had gone from stumbling startup to galloping unicorn. Fueled by a steady diet of VC money, its valuation kept climbing: $1 billion, then $2.5 billion, up to $12.4 billion, and even $12.59 billion, the numbers rising like bubbles in champagne, jubilant and intoxicating. As with so many tech startups then, Faire was fully embracing the unofficial motto of Silicon Valley: “Growth, growth, growth at all costs.” And why not? After four years of building and iterating, investors were finally behind them. The company had over a billion dollars of their capital to…

BDO USA “BDO’s proactive approach and personalized service have significantly streamlined our financial processes, ensuring accuracy and compliance. Their ability to provide insightful, strategic advice has not only helped us optimize our financial performance, but also supported our growth and expansion efforts.” —JACQUELINE BOERS, VP controller, Sculpture Hospitality 1 BDO USA Professional services corporation serving franchises worldwide 2 Citrin Cooperman Accounting, tax, and advisory services 3 Kezos & Dunlavy Full-service CPA firm specializing in real estate tax and accounting, franchise audits, and related issues 4 PwC Audit, assurance, consulting, and tax services 5 A&G Full-service accounting 6 Reese CPA Audit services for the franchise industry 7 Deloitte Audit and assurance, tax, legal, risk and financial advisory, and consulting services 8 PKF Accounting and advisory services 9 Metwally CPA PLLC Audit,…

1 iFranchise Group Franchise consulting and development services for emerging and established franchisors 2 SMB Franchise Advisors Franchise consulting services for emerging brands 3 Big Sky Franchise Team Franchise consulting, development, and marketing 4 Global Talent Solutions Franchise executive search, recruiting, and talent acquisition 5 FranLift Franchise sales outsourcing 6 AC Inc. Field coaching education and training 7 FranDevCo Franchise sales organization 8 BrandONE Franchise development services 9 FranWise Operations and compliance consulting 10 Franchise Performance Group Franchise consulting firm specializing in franchise development 11 Franchise Business Review Market research firm specializing in measuring franchisee satisfaction and employee engagement 12 Franchise Creator Franchise consulting, development, sales, and marketing for startup and existing franchisors 13 MSA Worldwide Domestic and international design, development, and expansion for emerging franchisors 14 Gerson Advisory Services…

1 Reshift Media Inc. Social media, search, software, and website development for franchises 2 Fish 919 Full-service digital marketing and PR agency serving franchisors, franchisees, and multi-location businesses 3 SOCi Centralized digital marketing platform for multi-location brands 4 TopFire Media Full-service digital media national marketing agency specializing in franchise development lead generation and public relations 5 Franchise-Filming Promotional video production services, training videos, marketing 6 Consumer Fusion Inc. Reputation management solution specializing in removing fake reviews 7 Eulerity SaaS local marketing platform 8 Hot Dish Advertising Full-service strategic marketing agency specializing in franchising 9 Scorpion Digital marketing and technology solutions 10 Netsertive Digital marketing technology for multi-location businesses 11 Promo-Republic Social media marketing suite for franchise and multi-location brands 12 Rallio SaaS platform combining social media technology, artificial intelligence, and…

Fishman PR “Fishman PR not only does a great job at securing coverage for the Dogtopia brand, but they also work hard to secure opportunities for our franchisees in their local markets. It’s great to work alongside a partner who really knows our business and takes the time to get to know our network so they can secure beneficial coverage on a regular basis.” —TONI TEPLITSKY, senior director of marketing, Dogtopia 1 Fishman PR PR and content marketing for franchise lead generation and brand awareness 2 All Points Public Relations PR, social media, content marketing, digital, lead generation strategy, and franchise sales 3 BizCom Associates Publicity, social media, thought leadership packages, marketing materials, and crisis counsel 4 Franchise Elevator PR PR services for emerging franchise brands 5 Ripley PR Strategic…

Peter Riggs saved Pita Pit once. But can he do it twice? Two decades ago, Riggs was a student at the University of Idaho and loved his local Pita Pit. After graduating, he and some friends bought a few franchises in California, and then asked for a development agreement for the whole state. Instead, the Canada-based company asked them to take over all U.S. operations. “They were ready to move on,” Riggs says. So he and some partners bought the business, grew it to 250 locations, and sold off their stake in 2018. But during the pandemic, the U.S. brand shrunk to 65 locations. So this last March, Riggs (who’d become an Idaho state senator) returned as U.S. CEO. To save Pita Pit again, he knew he’d have to work…

HOW RESPONSIVE HOW RESPONSIVE are you—to friends, colleagues, and even strangers? Now, be honest: Have you ever really thought about that? You should. “I find responsiveness to be one of the qualities I value most in people, and some of the best leaders and people I know are responsive,” the pop artist Artie Sandstone recently wrote me. “On the flip side, so many people I love and respect seem to place responsiveness on a lower level of importance. Why? It requires little talent and adds so much value.” Great question. Responsiveness might be the easiest, simplest, and yet most overlooked thing you can do to make people happy, show them respect, and create new opportunities. I reply to almost everyone who emails or DMs me, and have benefited enormously. I get…

Three months after I launched my company, we were featured in The New York Times. Other national outlets followed. The attention led to partnerships with Shake Shack, Bombas, Urban Outfitters, and hundreds of other major brands. You might think this sounds good. I sure did when it happened. Hockey stick growth is a sign of success, right? But it wasn’t. My company, This App Saves Lives, had fallen into one of the most surprising and ultimately fatal traps for entrepreneurs: We grew before truly understanding our product-market fit. That mistake would ultimately result in the demise of our business. Here’s why this problem is so deadly—and how, with my new company, I’m plotting a slowgrowth strategy to avoid it. For the uninitiated, productmarket fit (PMF) means building the right product…

Small Sbusinesses have a hiring problem. According to the July monthly jobs report from the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), 19% of small businesses rank the inability to find quality labor as the single most important issue facing their company, while 38% reported job openings they could not fill. Overall, 49% reported few or no qualified applicants for the positions they were trying to fill. “Most people who want a job have a job, so there are very few out there actively looking,” says Holly Wade, NFIB’s executive director of research. The U.S. unemployment rate has hovered around 4% in 2024—and although it’s been slowly ticking upwards, the talent pool for small businesses remains tight. Moreover, worker demographics evolved during the pandemic years. “There were so many baby boomers…

If Iyou want to raise money from friends and family, then know this: Your job isn’t just to pitch them a great business. It’s to lower their risk. That’s advice from Mike Maples Jr., one of the most celebrated investors in Silicon Valley and coauthor of a book about why startups succeed called Pattern Breakers. He’s a cofounder of Floodgate, a leading pre-seed and seed-stage fund whose investments included Twitter (long before it was known as X), Twitch, and Lyft. And although he’s not investing in mom-and-pop shops, he says that the fundamentals of fundraising remain the same. Here, Maples takes you into the mind of any investor—even if it’s your dad or sister—and how to make them comfortable. Let’s imagine someone can’t afford to open a bakery on their…

AR AWorkshop is a DIY studio franchise, and Patrice Chatman was once just a happy customer. Then she became a part-time teacher. And in 2023, she bought the Westfield, New Jersey, location—inheriting a studio she loves, and a lease agreement with a steep learning curve. “Before I offcially took ownership, I think we were forecasting that somewhere between 27% and 30% of our gross revenue would go toward rent and utilities,” she says. About a year in, that number is 43%. “Rent is definitely a struggle.” Chatman is not alone. In April, the business networking platform Alignable reported an uptick in small businesses that were unable to pay rent in full. A poll of 4,171 small business owners showed that 43% were delinquent on rent that month, a high not…

Hey, local retailers, what’s on your mind? Entrepreneur wanted to know, so we partnered with Faire, an online wholesale marketplace where gift shops, pet stores, clothing boutiques, and other mom- and-marketplace where gift shops, pet stores, clothing boutiques, and other mom-and-pop shops source their products. Faire put five questions out to its retailers, and more than 1,200 responded—revealing their biggest concerns, wins, and what it really takes to keep a small business alive. “These owners are out there fighting every day, making things work, and having an incredible impact on their communities,” says Faire cofounder and CEO Max Rhodes. “They’re super resilient.” SEE THE RESULTS. What concerns you the most right now? Which sales channel is driving the most of your sales? *Remember, these answers are coming primarily from local…

1 FranFund Funding solutions including 401(k) business financing, SBA loans, unsecured business loans, and equipment leasing 2 Benetrends Financial 401(k) rollover funding, SBA loans, and equipment leasing 3 Guidant Financial 401(k) business financing, SBA loans, unsecured business loans, business valuations and appraisals, payroll, bookkeeping, and taxes 4 BoeFly Franchise financing 5 Chase for Business Deposit accounts, loans, credit cards, cash management, and payment processing 6 Tenet Financial Group Small business and franchise funding via 401(k) ROBS, SBA loans, and unsecured loans 7 ApplePie Capital Franchise financing 8 First Financial SBA financing for franchise startups, working capital, construction, and acquisitions; equipment leasing 9 Bank of America Small-business banking, credit, and digital investing tools 10 Huntington National Bank Online banking solutions, mortgage, investing, loans, credit cards, and financial services 11 TD Bank…

IFA Convention “Within franchising, no event shines brighter than the IFA Convention. It’s an annual celebration gathering the industry leaders together to help foster community and camaraderie. This allows for conference-goers to tap into the collective wisdom of the franchise ecosystem assembled each year.” —Kristopher Stuart, cofounder and COO, Bloomin’ Blinds 1 IFA Convention by International Franchise Association Annual franchise event with networking, learning, and keynote addresses 2 Springboard Event for Emerging and [Re]Emerging Franchisors by FisherZucker & Fishman PR Event for emerging and reemerging franchisors 3 Franchise Leadership & Development Conference by Franchise Update Media and International Franchise Association (IFA) Event for franchise sales and development and C-suite executives 4 Multi-Unit Franchising Conference by Franchise Update Media Event for multi-unit franchisees 5 Franchise Expos by MFV Expositions Networking and education…

Swipesum “Swipesum has played a very important role in our brand, from our corporate location to our franchisees. The process of making payments is very simple, and the feedback from franchisees and their client satisfaction is top-notch.” —CHARLES THURSTON, COO, Wisdom Senior Care 1 Swipesum Payment processing and merchant services consulting 2 Stripe Payments infrastructure and business applications 3 Toast Cloud-based restaurant point-of-sale and management system 4 Square Payment processing, reporting and analytics, POS software, and business services 5 Intuit Quickbooks Cloud-based software for accounting, payments, and payroll 6 Global Payments Inc. Payment technology and software solutions 7 Fiserv Omnichannel commerce solutions, merchant services, and financial services technology solutions Service descriptions come from respective suppliers.…

LocateAI “I like that LocateAI is committed to franchising and focused on supporting our franchisees through the entire process of a commercial real estate search and lease negotiation. I love their software and how they can help find the best locations based on many factors.” —DAN COLLINS, senior vice president of franchise development, Stretch Zone 1 LocateAI Artificial intelligence and advisory services for retail site selection 4 Colliers International Global real estate services and investment management company  5 RE/MAX LLC Global real estate company 2 Reimagine CRE Real estate advisory firm focused on franchise retail nationwide  3 Morrow Hill Real estate technology and services for corporate and franchise organizations 6 redC Business Advocacy Franchise real estate, design, and construction management services 7 RESOLUT RE Analytics and brokerage services for tenants…

It’s 2:04 p.m. on a summer day in August 2010. I’m at the Mayo Clinic. I have a tracheal tube down my throat, so I can’t talk. There are wires all over me, and I’m in immense pain. It is incredibly uncomfortable. The day before, I had open heart surgery. At 2:05 p.m., a doctor walks into the room. “I know you’re feeling like death right now,” he says. Since I can’t talk, it’s not much of a conversation, but I nod in agreement. “I promise you in 15 minutes,” he continues, “you’re going to feel like a new person. We’re taking all the tubes out.” To be honest, I didn’t believe him—but he was right. When the chest and tracheal tubes came out of me, life flowed back in.…

Want to think big? Think like Brian Lee. He’s the cofounder of LegalZoom, ShoeDazzle, and The Honest Company—each of which were transformative inside of crowded spaces. And here’s how he spotted his most recent opportunity. He looked at the trading-card industry, which he says is “relatively small” at just a couple billion dollars. The secondary market for trading and selling those cards is more interesting to him, at maybe $25 billion. There are a lot of players in this space—manufacturers, auction houses, grading companies, and so on. So where would he fit in? “The reason I’m so excited,” he says, “is because that secondary market doesn’t really have a brand name. So there’s some very large players in the industry, but none of them are household names.” Now he’s building…

1/Followers ≠ buyers “I initially thought we should hit a certain number of social media followers. That did bring visibility, but we learned that high follower numbers without corresponding engagement didn’t translate to actual business success. On the other hand, one genuinely helpful bench-mark I’ve set was achieving a consistent customer satisfaction rate. This metric was crucial because it directly reflected the quality of our products and the effectiveness of our customer service.”  —KEREN YOSHUA, founder, Artizan Joyeria 2/Pitch counts ≠ funding “Our platform helps founders connect with advisors and investors. When we first launched, we focused on the investor views that a founder received for their pitch presentations. The more views, we figured, the more likely the founder would be to get intros, interest, and funding. That turned out…

Looking for a job? ClassDojo has 15 positions open, but heads up: The bar is deathzone high, and they’re in no rush to hire. The children’s education company has a team of 220 and a hiring rate of 0.09% of those who apply. How can a company grow while hiring that slowly? The answer is “talent density,” a concept that’s gaining steam lately. Netflix coined the term years ago, and it was popularized in cofounder Reed Hastings’ 2020 book, No Rules Rules. He defined it as “a smaller amount of talent overall, but the amount of talent per employee is greater”—which is to say, you hire a smaller team, and you only take superstars who can do multiple people’s jobs. Netflix adopted this strategy after laying off a third of…

Local businesses are beloved, but rarely get the full recognition they deserve. We want to fix that. That’s why Entrepreneur partnered with Foursquare to build this, our second annual America’s Favorite Mom & Pop Shops ™ list—featuring 150 of the most beloved small businesses across the U.S. To create this list, we leveraged places data from Foursquare—a geospatial technology company that captures more than 100 attributes about local businesses, including foot traffc, ratings, photos taken by customers, and even how many people leave tips. We limited our search to independently owned and operated businesses in the U.S. with a maximum of four locations, and which were marked open as of May 15, 2024. We then divided the top results into 10 categories (retail, nightlife, dining, and so on), and ranked…

Ciara Stockeland teaches small business owners how to pay off their debts. It’s a personal mission for her, because she was once in debt too. Stockeland once owned a designer outlet boutique in North Dakota and grew it to 13 locations—despite not being able to pay herself regularly. It all fell apart after 11 years. Then she started a subscription box business, zeroed in on her data, and was profitable immediately. It sold within 18 months. Those two experiences crystallized something for Stockeland: Business owners often “manage margins with emotion,” she says. Now she’s a consultant and fractional CFO for inventory-based businesses, and teaches people how to keep feelings like guilt and fear out of profit decisions. Here, she explains. What’s the most common problem you see among clients? They…

When you think of the franchise industry, you probably think of two groups: franchisors and franchisees. But there’s a third group that’s just as important—the franchise suppliers. These are the service providers that help make it possible for franchisors and franchisees to succeed and thrive, by offering funding solutions, consulting, education, marketing, technology, and more. There are a lot of them! So how do franchisors and franchisees decide which suppliers to work with? To help with that, we present our seventh annual ranking of the top franchise suppliers. This year’s list honors 162 top service providers across 11 categories. To create this list, we conducted our annual survey of franchisors. We received responses from more than 1,100 brands this year, from newly emerging franchisors to those that have been at…

1 IFPG Membership-based franchise consulting network 2 Franchise Brokers Association Franchise broker training and membership organization 3 BAI Business Alliance Inc. Brokerage services for franchise companies and prospective franchise buyers 4 FranServe Consulting service to prospective franchise buyers 5 FranNet Franchise consultants that match clients to business opportunities 6 Franchise Sidekick Advisory services for prospective franchisees 7 FranChoice Free consulting service to individuals considering franchise ownership 8 FCC, The Franchise Consulting Company Free consulting service to prospective franchise buyers 9 The You Network Franchise consulting and education for senior-level executives seeking franchise opportunities 10 The Perfect Franchise Consulting firm helping clients find the right franchise opportunity IFPG “Our experience working with IFPG has been nothing short of exceptional. Their network is unparalleled, providing us with qualified, well-prepared candidates who align…

FisherZucker LLC “With FisherZucker, I don’t just get legal advice, but also business and life advice from people who really care about my success long term. I get more out of them in five minutes than I do with other firms in five hours. They are truly passionate about their clients and franchising.” —SLADE STRICKLIN, CEO, Duct Doctor USA 1 FisherZucker LLC Full-service law firm focusing on franchising and licensing matters 2 Spadea Lignana Franchise Attorneys Full-service franchise law firm 3 Internicola Law Firm Legal services for emerging franchise brands 4 Drumm Law LLC Full-service franchise law firm 5 Lathrop GPM Full-service law firm with franchise and distribution practice team 6 Franchise. Law Legal services for franchisors 7 Manning, Fulton, and Skinner, P.A. Franchise transactional and litigation representation 8 Mullin…

ClientTether “In the crowded field of automated marketing and CRMs, ClientTether’s platform stands out with its architecture specifically designed for franchising. Collaborating with them to build our integration has felt like a boutique experience, marked by personalized attention, detailed implementation, and rich conversations to ensure our success.” —TODD LAMSON, director of franchise operations, The Junkluggers 1 ClientTether Lead response, sales, online review, client engagement automation, and CRM platform 2 HubSpot CRM, marketing, sales, and customer-service platform 3 ServiceMinder Platform for managing and operating home services brands 4 Zoho Cloud software suite and SaaS applications for business  5 FranConnect Franchise management software 6 Leasecake Real estate and location management platform for franchisors and franchisees  7 Lumin.ai AI-powered text scheduling 8 CareerPlug Hiring software for franchises 9 FranchiseSoft SaaS-based franchise management software…

In 1994, I became the president of Kentucky Fried Chicken. It was a big job, and I was excited. But when the news got out, I got more calls offering condolences than congratulations. I understood why. KFC had been struggling. It hadn’t achieved its business plan and had no same-store sales growth for seven straight years. The company was owned by PepsiCo at the time, and it had become a graveyard for PepsiCo executives. I could have easily been the next one in the grave: I was the COO of Pepsi-Cola, the company’s beverage division, and PepsiCo chairman Wayne Calloway had asked me to take this job because of my reputation for turning around struggling businesses. Now I had my work cut out for me. To start, I was walking…