I am paid to deliver franchise solutions

To engineer a more profitable relationship for everyone.

I work from home too

I am quite effective doing it for a wide range of clients.

Inground sprinklers. Landscaping lighting. Business consulting. Email Indexing Service (wiki). Speaking. Marketing. Sales. Projects.

Any landscape projects planned this season in the GTA or central ON?

Midhurst, ON 705-737-4635 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            705-737-4635      end_of_the_skype_highlighting Tel

I’m going to take some time off.

Cheers, Les

[ThisIsn'tHappiness]

Choose knowledge not the rabble

Choose WikidFranchise.org.

It ain’t everything.

But it ain’t nothing either.

If you want, I can show you how to build your own system’s wiki.

[Golden Age Comic Book Stories]

Class-action lawsuits poised to make franchisors eat humble pie

Ontario justices are sending a strong message to franchisors to play nice when sharing profits.

Pet Valu, Midas, Shoppers Drug Mart, Quiznos, Tim Hortons, Bulk Barn, Sunoco…just the first.

The cases often revolve around how the franchisor uses its power to set the prices – both the prices that franchisees must pay for the products they sell, and how much they can sell them for.

“It’s about dividing up the profit pie. And the person who has the pie cutter is the franchisor. And so, they cut themselves the biggest piece,” Mr. Sterns said. “But on the other hand, the franchisees are the ones who put a lot of investment into making the pie.”

Mr. Shaw is absolutely right and absolutely wrong:

1. The technology for organizing pre-trial franchisee groups is improving (daily) but
2. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

I guarantee that.

[see Revolt of the Franchisee: Behind some of the biggest brands - Midas, Quiznos, Tim Hortons - the messy class-action battles or The Globe and Mail]

What WikiLeaks is to diplomacy…

…WikidFranchise is to franchising.

Which is related to a custom franchise system-specific wiki.

Now we’re talking.

[eXperi-MENTAL]

Colonel Sanders is a greeny, lying son-of-a-bitch

The public thinks so ’cause there’s not one proven truthful person working with the  culture jammers.

The KFC franchisor team and franchisee independent association should agree on this:

• we need to protect our shared asset: the brand

This is why Les Stewart Consulting and friends exists: to provide a credible, pragmatic, independent third party to “work things out”.

Don’t trust me. Why not ask Seth if advisor reputation, industry credibility and a track record of resistance to abusive practices, means anything to the general public.

It’s not needing a thief to catch a thief: It’s just learning smart digital business practices from the kids in the hall and a few of Julian‘s buddies. Otherwise, it’s just put-your-hand-in-front-of-the-cam-corder-at-your-local-KFC YouTube time.

[KentuckyFriedForests.com, DogwoodAlliance.org, WikidFranchise.org]

I work for those with a future in franchising

The rest will be swept away.

Isn’t a resident 2nd opinion a waste of $ once you lawyer-up?

No: actually an independent business consultant is needed during legal action.

It is wise to avoid a franchise lawyer for at least a year (commercial, slander, etc. are fine). Lots of reasons but mostly groups need to mature and build trust before any professional can really help them. Leaders especially need a type of de-programming.

Franchisors understand one thing: power. In 2010, predators understand only actionable legal threats. There are therefore 2 stages: pre-first legal claim and post-first claim.

Pre-first Legal Claim: It takes 1 to 2 years and a one-time investment of $500,000 for a franchisee group to develop a susttainable independent franchisee association.

Only after that investment can you decide whether to sue your franchisor or not. No shortcuts: it takes time, experience and money. Most franchisees have never been in a group before and many choose to free ride on the dues paid by others. Frequently, only 10 to 15% of franchisees pay, while all of the benefits are distributed to 100% of the franchisees.

What happens most times is that the early professionals end up subsidizing the creation and early survival of the group. These are obligations or accounts receivable that consultants like me have accumulated over the years.

First Legal Claim: Once the legal card is played, the dynamics change. It has little to do with the honesty of the attorney: it’s just the way it is when their is such an imbalance of information between client and professional.

Every attorney is a credence good provider: their services are difficult to determine as far as quality and quantity are concerned.

Problem: The risk of low quality or excessive quantity of services is very real. Groups of franchisees are at the mercy of monop0ly legal service providers once the papers are filed (see The Price of Law: How the Market for Lawyers Distorts the Justice System).

The best solution is for the consultant to remain as a resident 2nd opinion during the life of the lawsuit.

What is fair compensation (accumulated A/R and ongoing services, who does what) should be determined in a transparent way before the writ flies. Not only is it fair to pay your obligations, it’ s being a long-term, shrewd businessperson.

Lawsuits should not be about franchisors paying out cents (now) and then clawing back $ (later).

The destruction of the independent franchisee association should not be an option on the table as settlement time happens. Its survival should not be acceptable under any terms.

Career advice from Ray & Carol

Dear Carol and Ray,

People are spreading rumours that I am an untrustworthy, obsessed and unbalanced person.

Should I write a book or continue to be black-balled?

Signed,

Les

Want to Sue? Get an independent 2nd opinion

Wise in medicine. Critical in franchise law.

Independent consultants ensure their honesty from pre-trial evaluation (before 1st interview) to settlement.

Any CDN lawyer who can’t work with me is saying a lot about themselves.

Don’t trust in non-verifiable monopoly services.

TEST: How’s your one franchisor: one franchisee relationship working for you?