Retailer of natural, organic mattresses, box springs and top-of-the-bed products.

The East Coast Organic Mattress Store® franchise owners will provide consumers with an extensive line of  mattresses all made with organic ingredients, box springs and bedding items sourced from throughout the globe. The East Coast Organic Mattress Store® franchisees get the benefit of beautiful showroom designs, an education-based sales process and a customer service philosophy dedicated to creating customers for life.

To vote for The East Coast Organic Mattress Store as a Top New Franchise, leave a comment on their franchise listing page.

Dennis and Leora Hornick founded The East Coast Organic Mattress Store® almost 7 years ago. TopNewFranchises.com recently had the privilege of interviewing Dennis Hornick, who filled us in on The East Coast Organic Mattress Store concept, philosophy and franchise opportunity.

Top New Franchises: How do you describe the The East Coast Organic Mattress Store franchise concept?

Dennis Hornick: Americans spend 1/3 of their lives in bed, and we provide them with a way to enhance their sleeping experience. The East Coast Organic Mattress Store® provides consumers with a line of natural mattresses, box springs and bedding items that’s far superior to commercial, mass-produced products sold by most retailers. Our retail concept includes large, beautiful showrooms, an education-based sales process and a customer service philosophy consistent with our high-quality, green product line.

Top New Franchises: What is an “organic mattress”? What is your product line, and what makes your products unique?

Dennis Hornick: Our organic mattresses and related products are made from the finest organic cottons, organic wools and natural latex that we and our vendors have sourced throughout the USA and world. We have carefully screened all of our vendors to ensure that all their mattresses and other bedding products are made with certified organic cottons that have met the strict standards of the USDA National Organic Program, which is the gold standard. We have a written agreement with our vendors to provide us with the same materials each and every time.

We ensure that all of our mattresses are designed to enhance the health of our customers as well as our planet. They are designed to significantly reduce stiffness, along with back and shoulder pain. Our mattresses provide uniform support from head to toe, eliminate pressure points, and the off gassing from conventional mattresses, and are dust mite resistant as well. Our mattresses will also control body heat by whisking away the moisture your body is putting off each night as you sleep. All of our beds are extremely comfortable as well.

Top New Franchises: What is the need in the market need that The East Coast Organic Mattress franchise owners will meet? Can’t other retailers simply offer organic mattresses?

Dennis Hornick: A growing number of people are sensitive to the abundance of chemicals used in the manufacture of everyday items, including mattresses and bedding. They are becoming more educated and interested in using natural products made with non-chemical materials and processes. Our average customer is informed, educated and armed with information. Some travel for hours to view our product line, which we believe is the best in the nation. The more educated our customers become, the more they realize that the East Coast Organic Mattress Store is really the leading retailer in the green bedding revolution.

As for competition, the government has strict guidelines regarding what products can be called “organic.” We believe that the long and costly process that we went through in order to keep the word “organic” in our name and marketing is a significant barrier to entry for competition.

The quality and depth of our product line is really second to none. It’s a key reason we have very good repeat business. Customers who know enough to invest in our mattresses don’t want to undo the benefit by using pillows, sheets and bedding that were mass-produced using chemical processes.

So we offer the wide selection of quality organic bedding choices, such as natural wool comforters and duvet covers, our OMS private label Pima Peruvian cotton sheets, and our pure shredded and contour rubber, wooly bolas and natural cleaned and carded wool, and millet/wool Rejuvenation pillows.

We provide premium products for a knowing and caring clientele. It has taken us almost 7 years to source our product line and develop our highly valued USA vendor relations. 95% of what we do is made in the USA, but some things have to come from overseas, like the Natural Rubber cores which go into the mattresses. Those are key advantages our franchise program provides to franchise owners from Day One.

Top New Franchises: Tell us a little bit about the kind of person who would make a good The East Coast Organic Mattress franchise owner? Is furniture industry or other retailing experience required?

Dennis Hornick: Furniture industry experience is not necessary, though sales experience is certainly a plus… especially sales experience that involves developing a relationship and rapport with customers, as opposed to hard sell. The ability to develop long-term relationships with customers is key to our business, as is the ability to educate and communicate both our company and product philosophies.

We are looking for franchise owners with a teachable spirit, who are willing to learn and follow a program that we have tested over the years. He or she has to like a little structure and be easy-going at the same time. A general knowledge of Word, or Excel, and a point of sale system is good, but this is all easily teachable.

What it gets down to is having a beautiful showroom, opening up 6 days a week and getting the customers in there. Product knowledge is a major plus and delivery of the product. All the in-between stuff of ordering is the easy part. The selling part is easy since we have a beautiful product, but having sales experience is definitely helpful.

We want good honest people looking to take a shot at being first out the gate and not afraid of taking risks. Everything is a risk, and nothing is guaranteed. We prefer non-smokers because most customers are non-smokers and it would turn the customers off. A franchisee can’t be afraid to work and he or she has to be green-thinking. Franchisees should be into a cleaner, greener lifestyle. They should walk the walk a little and gradually ease more into it as time goes on.

Top New Franchises: How do The East Coast Organic Mattress franchise owners attract new customers? How do they create repeat business?

Dennis Hornick: Over the years, we have developed numerous marketing and advertising strategies that enable us to target and engage potential customers in our preferred demographic. Our philosophy is to engage and convert every new customer into a customer for life. Our marketing and advertising techniques are shared with franchisees during training, and are included in our fine tuned Operations Manual.

The Internet is a powerful way for us to connect with customers and potential customers. We are very aggressive in making sure that we and our franchise owners will rank at or near the top Google searches for the terms “organic mattress” that customers use.

Once we sell a customer a mattress or mattress/box spring set, that customer is given Customer for Life status and gets a 10% discount on any top-of-bed products they purchase at any time, in any of our stores. Maintaining ongoing customer relationships and generating valuable referral business are top marketing priorities for us.

Top New Franchises: What role does technology play in your organization?

Dennis Hornick: We think of ourselves as both a high-touch and high-tech organization. We had a custom point-of-sale system built to our specifications which makes order processing, fulfillment, inventory management and financial reporting both efficient and effective. And as I mentioned, we value the Internet, Google and social media as ways to connect and communicate with potential and current customers.

We value technology whenever it can streamline operations and enhance our customer communication, but not to replace face-to-face customer interaction and relationship building.

Incidentally, our service philosophy extends to our franchisees also. We will provide extensive training and support, and we, as owners, will be very hands-on in getting them up and running as quickly and effectively as possible.

Top New Franchises: What do you see as being the greatest non-financial rewards of being part of The East Coast Organic Mattress franchise family?

Dennis Hornick: A franchisee will be hooking up daily with all kinds of forward, green-thinking people. Making new friends and building relationships as you go is a huge plus.

As an East Coast Organic Mattress Store® franchise owner, you’ll be making a positive impact on your customers’ health, as well as the health of the planet. You are giving the customer an investment in their health. Without one’s health, all the money in the world does not mean a thing.

Also, yes, you can take naps. In fact, naps are part of the deal. Without them how will your employees know what these mattresses feel like? Besides in this hectic world a good 15 minute nap will revitalize you and give you more energy to do your job.

Top New Franchises: Where are you looking to expand? Where would you like to see your next organic mattress stores open?

Dennis Hornick: We intend to expand regionally, with our initial focus on the Northeast. This way we can support our first stores easier rather than going national. We are looking into Brooklyn NY, North New Jersey, Philadelphia, Virginia, and Maryland. There’s a possibility I could be persuaded to expand my definition of “Northeast” to include Miami, Fla. though, since it’s only a 3-hour plane ride away and I love Cuban food. We are registered to sell with the attorney generals in these states.

As far as the demographics of our store locations, we are attracted to upscale neighborhoods with the types of educated, green-minded clientele that also shop at retailers like Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods Market. We cater to people who care about their health, care about their comfort, and care about their planet and its living things.

Top New Franchises: Thanks for sharing this great info about your franchise opportunity.

Dennis Hornick: Thanks for the opportunity.

For more information, read The East Coast Organic Mattress Store franchise listing.

Home-based pet sitting & dog walking franchise for animal lovers

In Home Pet Services is a low investment, home-based pet sitting & dog walking franchise for animal lovers that has received high praise from its franchisees and customers (both human and furry – see the numerous comments on the In Home Pet Services listing).   Founded by former zookeeper Robyn Elman, In Home Pet Services enables individuals to enter the booming pet services industry with complete in-depth training, unparalleled support, an exclusive territory and more. 

To vote for In Home Pet Services as a Top New Franchise, leave a comment on their franchise listing page.

Top New Franchises spoke with In Home Pet Services founder Robyn Elman about her popular and growing pet service franchise.

Top New Franchises:  How do you describe the In Home Pet Services franchise concept? 
Robyn Elman:  If you love animals and have the desire and motivation to be your own boss than  this is the franchise concept for you! We take animal lovers with or without business backgrounds and experience and fully train them to be successful in this field. The franchise concept is simple – we provide affordable and reliable daily care and pet sitting visits for all pets in the clients’ homes. We also offer optional services such as in-home boarding & daycare.

Zookeeper Robyn Elman

Top New Franchises: Why did you first start In Home Pet Services?
Robyn Elman:  I’ve always had a passion for animals, from my first job in a pet store, to Zookeeper at the Bronx Zoo. I have also always had a stong entrepreneurial drive – from the standard ice-tea stand (where I made my parents buy the supplies to maximize profits ), to a ty beanie babies business. When I was unfulfilled in my current career as a zookeeper, I knew I just had to take a leap to combine my two passions. I did a lot of reading/research, designed advertising materials, and starting advertising dog walking and pet sitting services.

My business quickly grew due to my hard work and dedication and I began hiring staff and growing the company. I loved being my own boss and seeing the business grow. My favorite part of the business was how happy I was making people, by providing them with not only an affordable option to care for their pets, but a way to make their lives easier by enabling them to go away on vacations or stay late at work without worrying about their furry kids at home.

The biggest challenge I faced (besides the occasional dog that wanted to rip me to shreds), was hiring staff and choosing the right people to keep my high standards – a challenge which I think every business owner faces.

Top New Franchises:  What led you to decide on franchising as the way to grow your business?
Robyn Elman:  There are two main reasons I decided to take In Home Pet Services to a franchise.  As my business grew, I constantly received requests from clients outside the service areas I was able to cover. People went so far as to literally beg us to come to them. I knew that the only way to be able to provide more clients in other areas with the same level of care was to franchise. That way, each franchisee can be local to their area, providing a higher level of service to clients and their pets.

The second reason I decided to offer franchises is that I wanted to provide franchisees an opportunity that I didn’t have – to have a successful business in the pet industry with the support and backing they need. If this franchise opportunity was available to me when I first started, I would have jumped on it.

Top New Franchises:  When did you launch the franchise program?  How many franchises are up and running?  How fast do you want to grow?
Robyn Elman:  We had all our franchise documents and registrations in place in 2005. It took us a little over 2 years to get our first franchisee in 2008, in Brooklyn, NY and we now have 4 franchised locations, and 1 company owned location all here in the New York area. Our focus is on slower growth, so we can provide each new franchisee with all our resources, undivided attention, and support. Our ideal model is to have a new franchise location every 4 months – so approximately 3 new franchises a year.

Top New Franchises:  Where are you looking to expand?  What types of markets and demographics work best for In Home Pet Services?
Robyn Elman:  We have been very successful the way we have been expanding – each franchisee to date is in the NYC & Long Island areas. In NY, we are looking to expand to western Queens, other areas of Long Island, and Westchester County. We are also eager to open locations in NJ and have been registered in CA for the past few years. CA has similar areas to where we have been currently successful. Our model works best in metropolitan & suburban middle class areas.

Top New Franchises:  What is the need in the marketplace that In Home Pet Services franchise owners will meet? 
Robyn Elman:  There are so many pet sitting & dog walking services out there.  We provide clients with affordable (key), practical, and reliable care for their pets. The way we run our business leads us to be able to fulfill all our clients’ needs – from a last minute late night or weekend visit, to picking up their pet from the vet and we make it effortless for them to contact us and book appointments. Through our amazing website, social media outlets, participation in networking groups, and working with not-for-profits in the community, new clients can get to know us even before our first meeting.

Top New Franchises:  What are the backgrounds of some of your franchise owners? 
Robyn Elman:  Our franchisees come from all different backgrounds. Andrea in Brooklyn was the previous owner of a children’s daycare, our first franchisee previously owned a photo store, and our 2 newest franchisees were staff members of our company!

Top New Franchises:  What qualities are important to you in selecting new franchisees for your system?
Robyn Elman:  We look for outgoing pet lovers with the drive and motivation to succeed and thrive as a small business owner. We want someone who is willing to be hands-on in the business and not an absentee franchisee. A passion for pets and the desire to grow their business is key. Our franchisees do not need to come from a business background or a professional animal background because we provide full,  comprehensive training in all aspects of the business, including advertising, accounting, hiring & training staff, pet care, etc.  Some level of physical fitness is important, as it can be a physically demanding job at times. Clients want to be confident their pet can be handled and exercised in the manner they desire.

Top New Franchises:  Let’s talk marketing.  How do In Home Pet Services franchise owners attract new customers?  How do they create repeat business?
Robyn Elman:  Well, that information is some of our best kept secrets Sean!

Top New Franchises:  Of the training and support services you provide franchisees, which do you think are most valuable to their long-term success?
Robyn Elman:  Hands down, our unlimited ongoing support has been the most valuable tool for them. Even our first franchisees have questions or concerns that come up and call or email us. We also continually update our franchisee with new information, tools, and new ideas & technology which helps them to stay current and fresh in the industry. We have a yearly holiday party which is a great way for franchisees and staff to get together and exchange ideas and we also try to have one large staff meeting a year which is optional for the franchisees to attend – although now with facetime (yep – I’m now an ipad2 user!) and skype and video conferencing services, it’s easier than ever for multiple people to connect and exchange ideas and information.

Top New Franchises:  What role does technology play in your organization? 
Robyn Elman:  A big one! To compete in any business, being technologically savvy has its advantages. From mobile email and texting, to social media, to using the right software & phone systems. By staying on top of all the latest technology, we have not only been able to make the lives of our clients easier (making them even more satisfied with our company and services,) but have been able to outcompete other companies in the industry who aren’t as familiar or comfortable with the newest trends. If any franchisee is lacking in skills in any of these areas, we provide additional (free) training until they are comfortable and excited about what new technology has to offer them.

Top New Franchises:  What makes In Home Pet Services different from other franchise opportunities?  What do you think are its unique advantages?
Robyn Elman:  We differ from other similar franchise opportunities concepts in several ways. First, we have a very hands-on approach to our training. All training is done at our Queens, NY headquarters. This is a very personal business and we feel that over the phone/video training is not appropriate. Each franchisee gets their own private training week and it is tailored around their specific individual strengths and weaknesses.

All franchisees are required to live within their service areas/territory – something which we believe is crucial. All our franchisees get trained in Pet First Aid & CPR as part of our program. We also offer unlimited support at anytime – and this isn’t just a saying – it’s our practice. Just ask our franchisees about the unbelievable and timely support they receive.

We have no monthly minimums for royalty fees, allowing franchisees to grow at their own rate. Plus, the website control and amenities that each franchise gets is truly the first of its kind in this field – including a  mobile site for smartphones – the first dog walking/pet sitting service in the country one!

Check out our site to see for yourself!

Top New Franchises:  What do you see as being the greatest non-financial rewards of being part of the  In Home Pet Services franchise family?
Robyn Elman:  This is my favorite question. I LOVE being able to have taken people who wanted to have their own business and work with animals, and help them be the successful business owner they always dreamed of being. This may sound a little corny but it’s the absolute truth  This opportunity has changed their lives. This couldn’t be more true than with our latest 2 franchisees who were working as dog walkers for our company-owned location. They found a love and passion for their job and we were able to help them take that passion to the next level.

Top New Franchises:  Robyn, thanks so much for sharing the story of the In Home Pet Services franchise
Robyn Elman:  Thank you for the opportunity

Are you a fan of In Home Pet Services?  Leave a comment at:  In Home Pet Services

To learn more about the In Home Pet Services franchise opportunity or pet services, visit the In Home Pet Services listing on Top New Franchises, and the In Home Pet Services website.

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This work by Top New Franchises is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Innovative mall-based retail concept that buys, sells, and repairs new and used cell phones

Cell Again is an exciting franchised business that specializes in buying, selling, and repairing new and used cell phones without the hassle of contracts. Cell again focuses on low-overhead, mall-based kiosk locations where customers can sell their old cell phones and purchase gently used and refurbished phones and accessories.  Top New Franchises got the inside scoop on this innovative, cutting edge concept from Matt Kelly, founder & CEO of Cell Again.

Top New Franchises: Matt, what was the inspiration for the Cell Again franchise concept?

Matt Kelly: I was involved with the traditional cell phone franchise business, both as a commercial leasing agent helping to secure locations for franchisees, and, later, as a franchise owner myself.

The traditional cell phone retailer is really in the business of selling service contracts for 3rd party providers, such as AT&T, Verizon, etc.  They primarily see phone and accessory sales simply as a means to the end of selling contracts.  They sell new phones at a deep discount in order get the consumer to sign up for a 1- or 2-year contract, but have little interest in selling phones to the vast numbers of consumers who want to upgrade and/or replace their phones.

It’s a very tough & competitive business selling contracts.  But I recognized that there was virtually no one set up to meet the rising consumer demand for the equipment itself.  I developed Cell Again to do just that.

Top New Franchises: How do you describe the Cell Again franchise concept?

Matt Kelly: The Cell Again concept is a fun and thrilling business.

At our specially designed kiosks at mall and other high-traffic locations, Cell Again buys and sells new, refurbished and used phones, discounted new models, performs repairs on cell phones, iPods, and small electronics.   A franchisee is an independent operator who sells phones, not contracts. People want to buy new and used phones, they want to have their phones repaired or sell them outright. Cell Again takes a commodity that usually sits in a drawer at home and turns that into a profitable transaction for both sides.  The customer is happy to have cash, and we are happy to have a fantastic product to sell to the next customer that wants a different phone.

Top New Franchises: I know you can’t disclose numbers, but can buying and selling cell phones really be profitable?

Matt Kelly: The key to this business is the customer value perception created by the traditional cell phone companies and carriers.  Let’s say Customer A signs up for a 1 year cell phone plan, and as part of the deal gets a new $249 phone but only pays $29.00 for it.  He uses the phone for a year or two, but changes carriers and gets a new phone in that deal.  If he’s offered $30 for the phone he paid $29 for and used for a year, he’ll be overjoyed.

Let’s say Customer B signed up for the same deal, but dropped his discounted phone in the bathtub a week later.  He’s now upset to find that his $29 phone will cost him $249 to replace.  At Cell Again, he’ll be overjoyed to learn that he can get the same phone, gently used or refurbished, with a warrantee, for half that.  It’s a win-win-win for the seller, the buyer and the Cell Again franchisee.

Top New Franchises: When did you launch the your franchise program?  How many franchises are up and running?  Is the chain growing?

Matt Kelly: Definitely growing!  We launched in January of 2010, already have 7 great franchisees on board.  We’re growing at a pace that is right in line with our projections. The affordable concept entry costs and our proprietary systems should continue to drive strong franchise interest.

Top New Franchises:  Where are you looking to expand?  What types of markets and demographics work best?

Matt Kelly: We’ll expand in any market that has cellular phones. Cell Again is a concept that could work in any country. Our focus for the moment is the markets in the United States, Canada, and South and Central America.

Anyone with a cell phone is our demographic. Any customer that wishes to buy, sell, trade, or repair a cell phone can find a fit with our services.

Top New Franchises:  How does the Cell Again concept work on the consumer level?  Have the recent launch of the iPhone4 and Droid operating systems created more – or less – demand?

Matt Kelly: Anytime a new phone or a large launch like the iPhone 4 comes out we see a large influx of phones brought into our stores.  Cell Again gives customers a place where they can instantly sell their 3G iPhones to be able to afford the new 4G iPhone.

Whenever a new product comes out there are customers who want the latest and greatest phones. We’ll purchase their older phones, giving them the chance to offset the cost of their new phones. Cell Again takes the older phone and sells it at a discounted price compared to the new price of the same phone. This allows customers that may not be able to afford the newest iPhone to purchase a slightly older model at a wallet-friendly price. This is the same concept for all other phones, iPods, and small electronics.

Top New Franchises: What is the need in the marketplace that Cell Again franchise owners will meet?  How does Cell Again’s solutions differ from competing programs?

Matt Kelly: Mobile phones have become our 11th finger–we can’t be without them. Broken or lost phones used to have to mean days out of touch with your entire network. Cell Again offers an instant way to stay in communication. We cut the time you’re out of touch to an hour, instead of a week.

Cell Again means you can be instantly back up and running. If you’ve ever broken your phone and are still under contract, your only instant option is to pay full price. But with Cell Again, you have an immediate option to save money by purchasing a fully tested used, new, or refurbished handset.

Cell Again franchisees give consumers peace of mind; they’re purchasing phones from a store front location, not an online site where you have to wait 5 days just to take a risk on a used phone, and worry about being cheated. Cell Again offers warranties on all of our handsets and friendly service to make sure the customer is taken care of in the right way.

Cell Again takes environmental concerns seriously. We advocate keeping cell phones in circulation, reducing the environmental costs to produce new phones, and prevent phones from going into a landfill. We also function as a recycling place for any headset. Customers can drop off their used phones, and even if we don’t purchase the handset, we’ll recycle it for them.

Cell Again is the first in the marketplace to provide an upscale used, new, refurbished cellular experience that doesn’t sell contracts. Since we’re in their local mall, consumers can instantly replace their handsets. We stand far and above Internet sites like eBay and Craigslist because we allow the customer to shop a physical selection and with a guarantee. When you compare the headache of waiting for a phone to arrive, receiving a phone that is in terrible shape, or even broken, the instant service of a trusted Cell Again franchisee is an easy choice.

Top New Franchises: Tell us a little bit about the kind of person who would make a good Cell Again franchise owner?  What are the backgrounds of some of your franchise owners?

Matt Kelly: Cell Again franchisees have diverse backgrounds:  a traditional cell phone dealer, a stockbroker, a former mortgage broker.  Sales & marketing experience is definitely a plus.  Someone already operating a business or businesses in the mall might be ideal.

Top New Franchises:  How do Cell Again franchise owners attract new customers?  How do they create repeat business?

Matt Kelly: New customers come from within the existing cell phone store structure.  We get referrals constantly.  Cell phone stores are in the business of contracts; they do not want to sell phones outright, even at a higher price.  That’s why prices are low;  they want the customer to renew or sign-up for a new plan. However, since most customers are under contract, we get instant referrals from stores within the malls and surrounding retail pads.

We attract customers with ads placed around the malls, or if the Cell Again store is in an shopping center we do traditional advertising, like radio, TV, and billboards.

Repeat business happens naturally.  Customers tell their friends and family about Cell Again: when you break your phone you usually tell your friends and family that you don’t have your phone. As soon as Cell Again solves their issue, word of mouth starts to spread.

Top New Franchises:  Of the training and support services you provide franchisees, which do you think are most valuable to their long-term success?

Matt Kelly: We are constantly refreshing our training videos and courses. Cell Again offers training on how to repair phones, purchasing phones, and selling phones. Our proprietary software is built to help franchisees know the true market value of a given cell phone. That allows them to determine the right price to pay for a used phone, which is a crucial step in building long-term success. We also ensure our franchisees purchase inventory from a reputable Cell Again authorized wholesaler to supplement stock. Corporate does not make profits off of wholesale phones our franchisees purchase. We simply negotiate the best pricing for the franchises.

Top New Franchises:  What role does technology play in your organization?
Matt Kelly: We are in the technology business, so we take it as our responsibility to do what’s necessary to be a subject matter expert.  We have the most up-to-date knowledge and database of cell phone information of any retailer we know of.

If a franchisee does have a question, they can call or email our help desk to get any question answered. Cell Again maintains an internal intranet site called Franhive; it’s key to communicating changes and new ideas that Cell Again is implementing. The site also gives franchisees access to forums, ads, and success stories with best practices to address issue-solving.

Top New Franchises:  What makes Cell Again different from other franchise opportunities?  How is it a unique opportunity?

Matt Kelly: We are a totally new concept, and you can be first in. You could be the way that malls offer cellular phone services to consumers in the future. Cell Again has extremely competitive start-up costs when compared to traditional cellular franchises, or even other franchises in general. Cell Again franchise fees are affordable because we’ve refined the process. Most franchisees were shocked at how quickly they could become profitable.

Top New Franchises:  What do you see as being the greatest non-financial rewards of being part of the  Cell Again franchise family?

Matt Kelly: The excitement of being part of a new spin-off to an existing industry. Cell Again is part of a new way of thinking about cellular phones. As long as we have mobile phones, Cell Again will have a place in the business world.

The Cell Again concept is just downright fun and exciting. Your customer is happy because you saved them money. You’re happy because you know the profits you just made off that phone. You’re offering people the chance to keep cellular phones affordable, keep them out of landfills, and giving them a place where they know they can get great services for all their small electronic needs.

Top New Franchises:  Thanks for sharing the details of the Cell Again franchise opportunity, Matt.

Matt Kelly:  Thanks for the opportunity.

On-site digitization and storage or personal and business photos, documents, and more…

What iPreserve does is take your personal memories such as pictures, video, slides, or documents and converts, organizes and preserves them into a digital format. iPreserve provides a local or even onsite transfer, digitization or scan of information from any media.

In an exclusive interview with TopNewFranchises.com, iPreserve Founder & VP of Franchise Support Matt Bills explains both the iPreserve service and the iPreserve franchise opportunity.

Top New Franchises: How do you describe the iPreserve franchise concept?

Matt: iPreserve is a franchise that focuses on saving memories and simplifying life. iPreserve franchisees provide on-site conversion of physical media–photos, documents, videos, slides, film, etc. to a digital file.   iPreserve caters to both residential and business customers.  Once we have digitized the media, we can assist in recommending tools for organizing, sharing, and enjoying those memories.

Top New Franchises: Do franchisees work from home or do they operate a retail storefront?

Matt: Franchisees have the option to do either, and we help them decide based on what’s best for their local market and their personal preference.  We encourage franchise owners to keep their overhead as low as possible, so many choose to operate from home offices or other inexpensive space.  Others have locations where the marketing benefits and visibility of a storefront more than offset the costs of having a retail space.  iPreserve concept is both flexible and scalable, allowing the franchisee to choose.

Top New Franchises: When did you launch the your franchise program? How many franchises are up and running? Is the chain growing?

Matt: Yes, growing quickly. We just recently launched the franchise program and the response has been great.  We have franchise locations in Princeton, New Jersey, Twin Falls, Pocatello, and Boise, Idaho and Salt Lake City, Utah.  We’re developing company-owned locations in Salt Lake City, Provo and Southern, Utah and Arizona.

Top New Franchises: Where are you looking to expand? What types of markets and demographics work best?

Matt: We’re looking to expand in places that contain a strong suburban population.  Our largest market is residential, with businesses a close second.  Demographically, suburban households are the greatest market opportunity since they are constantly creating media and making memories, with continuously shrinking time to digitize and/or manage it all.  The nice part about iPreserve is that franchisees have the flexibility to market to both consumers as well as businesses.  With businesses, they will be doing mostly document scanning, and with consumers, they will be digitizing almost every type of media, from video to slides, negatives, photos, and film.

Top New Franchises: What is the need in the marketplace that iPreserve franchise owners will meet? How does iPreserve’s solutions differ from competing programs?

Matt: iPreserve franchise owners meet the need of saving not only the client’s memories, but also saving them time and money.   Our lives are getting busier and more complicated.  This is a growing trend, with no signs of stopping.   None of us have the time to figure out how to digitize or manage all of our memories.

Most of us have a scanner, but we all have a schedule.  Hands down, our schedule will win over the scanner.  This has created a growing market where each of us have a large amount of media, a strong desire to preserve it, and a decreasing amount of time or resources to accomplish that goal.

iPreserve was created to serve this need.  It saves us time by utilizing high-end equipment to digitize all of our media quickly instead of one-at-a-time like most consumer’s equipment.  iPreserve saves the client money because the comparative cost to purchase the digitizing equipment, software, as well as time spent learning everything would easily take ten times the amount of money than simply using the service.  It would be like purchasing an entire mountain to go skiing, instead of just buying a lift ticket.

Top New Franchises:  How does iPreserve differ from competing digitization services?

Matt: iPreserve is different (and better) than competing programs for many reasons, but there are four main reasons that will not only differentiate you from competitors but also help you grow your profitability:  First, we digitize everything.  Most competitors will only do one or two media types. We have done everything from 16th century Danish land records, to photos from two years ago as well as every other type of media and condition. This also means that you can approach both businesses as well as consumers.  You can easily go from an appointment to digitize documents for a law firm to an appointment to digitize photos for a household client.

Second, we “meet the client where the client wants to be met”, which is, we provide the service on a local basis, instead of having a single, central location–which forces clients to send their priceless memories through the mail.  Our main competitors forward their client’s items to India. The next one sends their client’s items to Costa Rica.  No one wants to risk the loss or damage of their irreplaceable items.

We also offer the option to go to the home of clients and digitize their photos and documents right in the privacy and convenience of their own home or office.  We can scan 1500 photos or documents per hour at the client’s location.   This is an unheard-of and fantastic option for many clients, and it is a great time to have them refer neighbors and friends.  We have found the local service, as well as the option to go to the client to be a real game-changer in the market.  It really places the iPreserve franchisee above the rest.

Third, we offer membership plans.  No one else out there offers plans that make the service approachable or affordable.  This allows you to expand your market to clients that want to do the service but are hesitant about price.  This means continued cash flow and a wider market.

Fourth, we keep a copy of everything we do for clients.  Instead of just providing the service and moving on to a new client, you can continue to profit from each client because you have kept a copy of everything.  This provides both peace of mind to them that there is a remote backup, but also a way to continually upsell each client whenever new media formats emerge.

Top New Franchises: Tell us a little bit about the kind of person who would make a good iPreserve franchise owner? What are the backgrounds of some of your franchise owners?

Matt: The people best suited to own an iPreserve office are people that simply like helping other people. They don’t have to possess the ambition of Donald Trump or the technical capability of Bill Gates. It doesn’t hurt, but people that are the best match are the ones that look around them and see possibilities, they enjoy helping others and finding a solution. If you like memories and are a people-person, you can own an iPreserve location.

Top New Franchises: What qualities are important to you in selecting new franchisees for your system? What makes a good franchisee?

Matt: A good franchisee is one that is willing to constantly communicate with their clients, understand the nuances of their local market, and communicate often and objectively with the corporate office.  We want to hear from the franchisees, and we want to hear success stories as well as ways we can improve the service offering.  We want to know what works and what doesn’t work.  We want to understand how we can help them.  You asked us what makes a good franchisee, but we also feel strongly about what makes a good franchise system.  With iPreserve, we have built a franchise system with the idea that “…the franchisees don’t exist to serve the franchise.  The franchise exists to serve the franchisee…”

Top New Franchises: How do iPreserve franchise owners attract new customers? How do they create repeat business?

Matt: iPreserve franchise owners attract new customers using mostly active sales campaigns. This means that franchisees aren’t simply throwing their name onto a billboard or the phonebook–but they are actively pursuing new clients through multiple sales campaigns–whether those are partnerships with complimentary services, or even running a door-to-door sales program. We have found that active sales are the way to unlock this industry.

There is a huge market for these services, but the inexperienced person will assume that clients will just magically appear.  They won’t. The small group of competitors that we have spend large amounts of money to advertise their services with only a modest return.  With active sales, it is a more difficult approach, but it can deliver phenomenal results.

This product offering is considered highly-desired, yet not actively sought-after.  Everyone wants to save their memories.   They have thought about it, but they never get around to actually accomplishing this.  This is considered the ‘someday project’.  ’Someday, I’ll scan all of my pictures…’ we tell ourselves. But as we get more busy, that ‘someday’ is pushed further away.  iPreserve’s support and training shows you how to engage these clients, act as a catalyst, and unlock the market in your area.

Repeat business comes in three different forms; first, is through our membership plans, since our clients are typically purchasing membership plans instead of just making a transaction, they are generating a constant cash flow on a monthly basis for two to three years.

Second, is the referral and affiliate plans with others.  Clients can have free services done when they refer someone else.  Affiliate plans with other local complimentary businesses, such as wedding videographers, accountants, insurance agents, law firms, funeral homes, and others, creates a new channel of clients for you.

Third, is through archiving.  We keep a copy of everything we convert for our clients.  That means that you can charge a monthly or annual fee for keeping an off-site backup of their most priceless possessions.  Most competitors simply convert the media and give it back.  If that client were to have a disaster, they lose both the original and the digitized copy.  With iPreserve, you can charge a nominal fee for archiving digital copies for these clients.  Not only that, you can continue to migrate these digital copies to new media types, such as Blu-Ray discs for continued revenue from each client.

Top New Franchises: Of the training and support services you provide franchisees, which do you think are most valuable to their long-term success?

Matt: I think the largest part of the training is based on how to actively sell and market to clients, as well as how to operate efficiently and profitably.  On the technical training side, we will not just show you how to convert media, but more importantly, how to process media with the least effort and greatest quality, as well as the operational side of the business, such as, how to pay your staff and keep track of orders.

Top New Franchises: What role does technology play in your organization?

Matt: Technology does play a strong role in the development of the services, but I would say the largest factor for success is improvement, ingenuity and innovation.  Any company can be technologically savvy but still not understand their clients.  I have seen many technologically adept companies that are completely oblivious of the potential or problems around them.   The way we leverage technology is by staying on top of the latest developments, and then seeing if there are implications or potential improvements for our clients.   This helps our clients since they do not feel forced to stay abreast of every new technology.  Instead of each client trying to individually learn and figure out the most cutting edge technology, there is now a company with national strength and a local presence to do that for them.    This improves the product offering of each franchisee and keeps each client closely tied to iPreserve.

Top New Franchises: What makes iPreserve different from other franchise opportunities? How is it a unique opportunity?

Matt: iPreserve stands alone in terms of scalability, flexibility, and opportunity for the franchisee.  We have worked hard to craft a great offering for potential franchisees.  This is the right type of franchise model, at the right time.

Regarding timing, it couldn’t be more right.  We are living in a time that straddles the physical and digital age.  We have a growing number of baby-boomers that need this service.  We have an aging population that is computer-averse.  Right now, everyone is able to enjoy the digital age, yet still have physical media, but still not have the time or know-how to convert everything.  We live in a time where those that are technologically-capable have no time to do this for themselves, and those that do have the time, are typically not technologically-capable.

The franchisees have the ability to start small, with virtually no fixed costs and grow to the level that matches their ambition.  Most franchise systems force their franchisees to purchase expensive and bulky equipment, hire personnel on an hourly basis, regardless of productivity or profitability, as well as immediately bind them into a lease for a building or commercial space.  iPreserve can be started out of your garage or spare room.  As you grow and find that you need to service new or different media types, you can decide whether to expand by purchasing the equipment or have the corporate office handle particular media types which makes it extremely scalable. If you choose to have a particular focus in terms of media type, you can simply purchase more pieces of equipment to handle higher volume, which makes the franchise extremely modular.  You can ramp up productivity and profitability simply by adding individual pieces of equipment to your franchise.

iPreserve is also extremely agile.  You can move between the consumer and household market for digitizing videos, or go into the commercial and B2B markets and start to provide services to businesses, municipalities, and other organizations.  Since all of these digitizing services are provided on a local basis, there is a huge opportunity for franchisees.  Just like local photocopy franchises were popular in the 1980′s, local scanning and digitizing franchises will be popular now and in the future.

Top New Franchises: What do you see as being the greatest non-financial rewards of being part of the iPreserve franchise family?

Matt: I have seen alot of cool services offered by companies.  I rarely see a service that where clients actually cry with happiness when they see the results.  I have seen that many times with iPreserve.  iPreserve’s services go beyond the typical services, and get right to helping the critical–people’s lives.  We’ve found that people’s jobs are to make memories, and our job is to save them.

Top New Franchises: Anything else you’d like to share?

Matt: I like the way we have structured the company to empower the franchisee.  They have the ability to move as fast as they want, be as ambitious as they want, serve the market they want, as well as have a seasonal or home-based business if they want.  It definitely has legs. The difference has come from our partnership with the Franchise Foundry, a company that provides a strategic growth partnership and knows the ins and outs of franchising.

Top New Franchises: Thanks for sharing with us, Matt.

Matt: Thanks for the opportunity.

Creative Tutors franchisees operate a home-based educational tutoring business serving students from grades PK-12. Creative Tutors franchisees enjoy training and support systems and an Internet-based reporting and accounting system that enables them to concentrate on marketing their services and building their businesses in their protected territories.

Top New Franchises had a chance to learn more from Creative Tutors founder Jan Van Blarcum.

Learn more at our Creative Tutors franchise listing. Share a comment on the Creative Tutors FanWall.

Top New Franchises: How do you describe the Creative Tutors franchise concept?

Jan: Creative Tutors franchise is designed to be an opportunity that’s both personally and financially rewarding for professional educators who desire their own businesses. Purchasing a Creative Tutors franchise will gives franchisees all the advantages of owning a home-based business, while allowing them to avoid the initial conception and inevitable learning curve associated with beginning from scratch.

Top New Franchises: What is the need in the marketplace that Creative Tutors franchise owners will meet?

Jan: Creative Tutors provides expert, one-on-one assistance tailored to the specific needs of each child. Our highly trained educators evaluate each student’s individual learning style and develop a customized program pinpointing the skills that require extra attention.

In order to develop a personalized learning plan for the child, our staff discusses concerns with parents, the students and, often, with the student’s teachers. Once a plan is in place, our tutors continually monitor student progress and make any changes necessary.

This customized approach combined with individualized attention allows children to experience less adjustment time and makes their sessions much more productive. Results are quickly realized. Children reach their potential and develop a love for learning that will last a lifetime.

Top New Franchises: What are the qualifications of your tutors?

Jan: Our expert tutors are certified to teach all subject areas – including mathematics, language arts, foreign languages, social studies, science, and history – for grades PK-12. Parents feel confident, as their child is working with a professional, licensed educator. In fact, many of our tutors have received Teacher of the Year and Presidential Awards; hold master’s degrees; and possess highly specialized training in education and child development.

Top New Franchises: Tell us a little bit about the kind of person who would make a good Creative Tutors franchise owner?

Jan: While our franchise owners will not be tutoring (at least extensively) themselves, they should be experienced, professional educators capable of recruiting, evaluating and managing their team of quality educators. They should have great personal and presentation skills so that they can promote and build relationships with parents and the educational community.

Top New Franchises: What qualities are important to you in selecting new franchisees for your system? What makes a good franchisee?

Jan: We really want franchisees who are passionate about education and helping students and families succeed. Our franchise is perfect for educators who want to renew the passion for teaching that led them to this career choice in the first place, but who are eager to get the rewards they richly deserve.

Top New Franchises: Creative Tutors is a home-based business. What advantages does being home-based afford to your franchise owners?

Jan: Being home-based is a significant advantage over franchises such as Huntington or Sylvan Learning that must incur significant upfront costs, high ongoing overhead and long-term leases. We have none of that.

Top New Franchises: How do Creative Tutors franchise owners attract new customers? How do they create repeat business?

Jan: Our marketing programs are really both community based and educationally based. Our franchisees must be an active part of the local community and get involved with local PTAs, parent and community groups, as well as promoting to and supporting the local school systems. We have programs to generate strong referral and word-of-mouth business.

Top New Franchises: Of the training and support services you provide franchisees, which do you think are most valuable to their long-term success?

Jan: Creative Tutors franchisees enjoy extensive training and support systems, as well as an Internet-based reporting and accounting system that enables them to concentrate on marketing their services and building their business

Top New Franchises: What do you see as being the greatest non-financial rewards of being part of the Creative Tutors franchise family?

Jan: Our franchise is really geared to provide lifelong learning support to families. Just as families have a family doctor for their health needs and an accountant for their financial needs, we seek to be the resource that helps families reach their educational and learning goals. Helping a student get through a rough year, build their confidence or get into and thrive at the college of their choice… that’s the kind of personal reward that money can’t buy.

Top New Franchises: Thanks, Jan

Jan: Thank you.

images:  Creative Tutors

Becoming Mom is a unique license – not a franchise – opportunity.  Becoming Mom centers specialize in meeting the unique needs of expectant moms… from performing prenatal ultrasounds using the latest 4D technology and providing pictures, videos of the ultrasound sessions to providing a range of therapeutic massage and spa services and products.

Top New Franchises had a chance to learn more from Becoming Moms founder Dawn Bierschwal.

Learn more at our Becoming Mom listing. Share a comment on the Becoming Mom FanWall.

Top New Franchises: How did the Becoming Mom concept start? What need did it fill?

Dawn Bierschwal: I worked at Procter & Gamble for 19 years. During that time I acquired a wide variety of business skills and worked with incredibly brilliant people, but I always knew I wanted to own my own business… ideally in the service industry.

One day, I read an article about elective ultrasounds and I was fascinated by the potential of that concept.  Every pregnant woman I had known wished they could have another ultrasound, but there was no place for them to go.

I knew there was an unmet need that was screaming to be filled and I knew that if there was this one unmet need for pregnant women, there were probably more…

Top New Franchises: What is the difference between the experience at Becoming Mom rather what a pregnant couple would receive at their doctor’s office?

Dawn Bierschwal: An ultrasound in a doctor’s office can be a cold, sterile experienced where mom is rushed and only allowed one guest.

And, it makes sense. The doctor’s office is the place where the Sonographer needs to ensure that the baby is developing appropriately and he/she needs to concentrate on accuracy. Having a gaggle of family members asking questions can be distracting.  Also, insurance only pays the doctor so much to complete the scan, so he/she can’t afford to provide extra time for the family to enjoy the experience.

At Becoming Mom, we do a limited diagnostic scan, but beyond that we are focused on creating an enjoyable and memorable bonding experience for the whole family.

Many businesses focus on babies, but how many cater to the expectant mom and her unique needs during this special time in her life? How many focus on making the journey of pregnancy an enjoyable and comfortable experience? That’s what a Pregnancy Spa & Imaging Centre is all about.

Top New Franchises: What Spa and other non-imaging products and/or services do Becoming Mom locations provide?

Dawn Bierschwal: We provide a wide variety of spa services, retail products and a network of other businesses that provide offerings to our clients.

Top New Franchises:  Tell us about the Becoming Mom license opportunity.

Dawn Bierschwal: The BECOMINGMOM Startup Consulting Package provides everything needed to run a successful Pregnancy Spa and Imaging Center. This is not a franchise opportunity where we take a percent of sales as royalties year after year, or dictate the hours that our clients open, or the name they use, or the equipment they buy, etc. It is simply everything they need to get their business up and running in the shortest amount of time and with the least amount of headaches and wasted expenses.

Our Startup Package will not only save much more than the cost of the package by avoiding expensive mistakes, but will earn the package price many times over in higher sales from the beginning. In addition, the proprietary information we provide helps our clients establish themselves quickly in the marketplace with competent staff and helps them avoid much of the lost sleep, stress and mistakes associated with starting such a unique business from scratch.

This business is all about reputation, and referrals can be one of the biggest sources of new customers. The elements that we provide will help ensure satisfied customers who’ll rave about our clients’ services from day one.

Top New Franchises: Why did you decide to consult v. franchise your concept?

Dawn Bierschwal: We actually started down the franchise path and we had everything prepared, including the 2 inch thick UFOC (Uniform Franchise Offering Circular), to franchise. However, in the end, we decided it wasn’t the right path for us. Yes, we want to help people start and run a successful business… but we also want it to be THEIR business. We want them to have the freedom to make the choices they want to make about how to run the business that they invested their hard earned money in. We know we have a proven success model, but that doesn’t mean that every piece works for every person.

Our clients get the best of both worlds. Because we had started with a franchise model, we have all the training and operations information that any reputable franchise business would have… they spend time here training and we spend time there helping them start up. But they pick and choose what pieces they want… the ones that make sense for THEM.

And, the beauty is, because our clients have the freedom to try things, we can all learn from each other and reapply other new ideas that work.

Top New Franchises:  Where are you looking to expand? What types of markets and demographics work best?

Dawn Bierschwal: We will only consult with people that we know are in markets that can support this type of business. We have turned a number of potential clients away after we ran demographics for their cities and realized they simply couldn’t be successful there. Because this is a unique business, the exact numbers we use are not something we are willing to disclose broadly.

Top New Franchises: Tell us a little bit about the kind of person who would make a good Pregnancy Spa & Imaging Center owner? What are the backgrounds of some of your clients?

Dawn Bierschwal: A Pregnancy Spa & Imaging Center owner doesn’t need to have a medical background or even a spa background… I sure didn’t. What they do need is a strong business background, the ability to manage and motivate a staff, a strong customer service mentality, and they absolutely must be self-motivated, enthusiastic and have a positive attitude toward success.

Top New Franchises:  What qualities are important to you in selecting clients? What makes a good client?

Dawn Bierschwal: We’re looking for people who appreciate the time and expense they can save from a proven success model… but people that realistically understand that they are still going to have to put an incredible amount of effort into getting their business off the ground and are still going to have to make many decisions for themselves. We provide guidance, of course, in making those decisions, but at least end of the day this is THEIR business and they need to run it in a way that meets their own personal goals and fits in with their personal lives.

Top New Franchises: It seems like this would be a natural business for a physician or physician’s spouse. Do you have many licensees with ties to the medical field?

Dawn Bierschwal: We have a couple of clients who are Sonographers. But frankly, strong business skills are far more important than medical skills to be successful at this business. You can hire Sonographers, you probably don’t want to hire someone to run your business.

This business, however, would be an especially nice complement to a practice that has multiple doctors where they can also do their diagnostic ultrasounds. So some sort of partnership can make a lot of sense.

Top New Franchises: How do Becoming Mom clients attract new customers? How do they create repeat business?

Dawn Bierschwal: If I told you that, I’d be giving away part of what our clients pay me to teach them… and to potential competitors. And then I’d have to shoot you. : )

Top New Franchises:  In that case, let’s move on!  How does the Becoming Mom business fare in recessionary times… and why?

Dawn Bierschwal: This is our 5^th year in business, we have grown every year,and we are up 11% year to date over last year. I heard a quote the other day about this economy “Flat is the new up.”   And we’re more than flat! Moms will continue to have babies (in fact, possibility more babies… considering making them is cheap entertainment!), and family and friends will still want to buy them gifts.

Top New Franchises: Of the training and support services you provide clients, which do you think are most valuable to their long-term success?

Dawn Bierschwal: Our Business Plan and Financial Model is invaluable… these allow them to only secure funds, but also to assess the viability of their business based on their own operating chooses and local market conditions.

And the fact that our clients not only come here for training, but also that we go there for start-up is not something that many of our competitors offer and our clients truly appreciate that help.

Top New Franchises: What makes Becoming Mom different from other opportunities? How is it a unique opportunity?

Dawn Bierschwal: There are several other companies offering elective ultrasound businesses. The difference in our model is not only the range of products and services we provide that goes well beyond elective ultrasound, but also the business success model we offer.

Ours is not a model that looks for the lowest cost start up. If that’s what you want, there are plenty of other companies that will give you that… and not much else.

It’s going to cost you a lot more to open a Pregnancy Spa & Imaging Center using our model… but you’re going to be fully equipped with a successful model. And, the bottom line is a low cost start up does not necessarily translate to a high profit business.. especially in this space.

Top New Franchises:  Thanks for sharing the details of the Becoming Mom concept & license opportunity.

Dawn Bierschwal: We’re very proud of Becoming Mom program.  Thanks for helping us spread the word!

Vintner’s Circle is a lifestyle business that enables people to enjoy wine, wine making and wine education. Our warm, comfortable retail winemaking shops are designed to make winemaking easy and fun and provide an atmosphere where our customers can enjoy time alone or with friends.

In Part 1 of our Vintner’s Circle interview series, David Schmeltzle explains the Vintner’s Circle retail wine store concept.

Top New Franchises: Tell us about the Vintner’s Circle store concept.

David Schmeltzle: Vintners Circle creates a fun and self-fulfilling environment where individuals or groups of friends can meet to learn about wine making and handcraft their own wines. The Vintners Circle wine education series, in partnership with Wine Spectator and the Wine Spectator School, rounds out our commitment to the wine lifestyle.

We typically have two types of customers: those who make wine at home and those looking to make wine in our shops.  Our retail store provides all the equipment, supplies and raw materials home winemakers need.  Those who make wine in our stores can choose between individual and group sessions.  We take care of all the equipment preparation and cleanup.  We guide our customers through four simple steps about thirty minutes in duration spread out over seven weeks.

Top New Franchises: How did you come up with the idea for Vintner’s Circle?

David Schmeltzle: My wife and I had traveled to Napa to celebrate a wedding anniversary. We became hooked on the “wine lifestyle” and winemaking and began looking for opportunities to have a vineyard and make wine. We quickly realized that we didn’t have enough knowledge to create the quality of wine we were accustomed to drinking. Nor was the climate in New Jersey as conducive to grape growing as it is in California.

My grandfather had made wine and I wanted to learn to make high-quality wine. We decided not to grow grapes and didn’t want to be limited to producing wine only twice a year at harvest time (fall in the northern hemisphere and spring in the southern hemisphere). Crushing grapes and making 270 bottles of the same type of wine wasn’t practical for us. We liked too many different types of wine and wanted to create a variety of wine.

That led us to find varietal juice suppliers that enabled us to make six gallons – about 28 bottles of wine – at a time. We started making wine this way in our basement and we were hooked. Our concept took shape with a desire to create a retail winemaking shop that guided people through winemaking. We created a fun, entertaining retail store / winemaking environment where people feel relaxed and enjoy themselves while learning about wine and winemaking.

Top New Franchises: How many franchises are up and running?

David Schmeltzle: We have one company owned winemaking shop. We operate our franchise development and support team from office space in our company owned winemaking shop. We have a franchise in PA that is in transition to a new owner. A friend of mine started that franchise with the intent of growing and selling it. And we just launched a new franchise in Whippany, NJ. The Whippany store is currently in the build-out stage and is expected to open soon.

We are also very excited that our customers are becoming franchisees.  We are currently working on several more locations whose franchise owners are customers who made wine with us.

Top New Franchises: Where are you looking to expand?

David Schmeltzle: We are building brand recognition quickly in the areas surrounding the stores we open. We plan on focusing our franchise growth regionally, initially throughout NY, NJ, CT and PA. We’re looking for experienced area developers to launch and grow the SC, NC, and VA markets.

Top New Franchises: What types of markets and demographics work best?

David Schmeltzle: Our customers enjoy the wine lifestyle and are typically 40-65 years of age. We have an equal balance of men and women who make wine by themselves, and groups who make wine together.

Top New Franchises: Tell us a little bit about the kind of person who would make a good Vintner’s Circle franchise owner.

David Schmeltzle: Winemaking is a very social activity. Franchisees must be comfortable with effectively communicating with people. We’ve noticed that people who have a passion for life and enjoy social activities, wine and entertaining perform well at managing a winemaking shop. Chances of success diminish if a franchisee is not comfortable managing social interactions or giving instructional advice to people.

The craft of winemaking is often very personal, even “artistic” to a degree. Vintners Circle uses a very structured system to consistently create high-quality wines. Our customers have come to love this consistency and guarantee of quality. Franchisees must be able to follow the systems developed while adding the personal touch for customers though custom labeling and bottling options.

The two most important attributes we are looking for in franchisees are the ability to interact socially and a commitment to using the franchised system.

Top New Franchises: What makes Vintner’s Circle different from other franchise opportunities? How is it a unique opportunity?

David Schmeltzle: Americans’ love of wine continues to grow. And Americans continue to seek out and learn more about wine and the wine lifestyle. Vintner’s Circle serves a niche market with high-quality products. Vintner’s Circle is driven to provide top-shelf customer service.

Vintner’s Circle is unique in that it delivers a system that makes winemaking easy and wine education fun. Quite often, the wine lifestyle seems unapproachable to too many people.

We are dedicated to our team, and expect the same dedication in return from our franchisees. To make sure there is a great fit with a prospective franchisee, before Vintners Circle grants a franchise agreement we invite the prospective franchisee to spend a discovery week with us. We want our prospective franchisees to be comfortable with our franchise concept and business systems. We also want to be comfortable with our prospective franchisees.

Top New Franchises: Thanks a lot David.

David Schmeltzle: Thanks for the opportunity.

* *  *  *  *

For more information, visit Vintner’s Circle

Spoon Me is “a frozen yogurt franchise company that cares about the body we live in, the community we live with, and the world we live on. We have worked diligently to provide a product that is extremely healthy and a way of doing business that will have a positive effect in our stores and in the communities where they operate.”

Top New Franchises recently had the opportunity to learn more from Spoon Me founder and CEO Ryan Combe.

Top New Franchises: So, Ryan, what do you spoon at Spoon Me?
Ryan: Spoon Me frozen yogurt, of course.  Our frozen yogurt is fat free, has less than 83 calories per serving, and contains no table sugar or artificial sweeteners, colors, or flavoring. It’s natural and quite tasty.

Our yogurt comes in three flavors: Natural. Green Tea. Or Acai [pronounced ah-si-ee]. Toppings range from fresh berries to coconut to Cap’n Crunch. Or all of the above.

Once people are done eating the yogurt, they can move on to the edible spoon (which is made of corn starch).  We also offer smoothies and “heston-style” parfaits, made from the same ingredients.

So it’s very simple product line, operationally, but gives the customer lots of choices.

Top New Franchises: How and why did you start the Spoon Me concept?
Ryan: David James and I began seeing frozen yogurt concepts popping up on the east and west coasts.  We loved some of the products, but, in our opinion just having a good product is not enough.  We also think it’s important to have a friendly, engaging environment.  A fun but meaningful brand.  And a philosophy of giving back to the community.

We decided to throw our hat in the ring to see if we could improve upon these existing concepts. We wanted to give people a fun place to hang out and socialize, not just frozen yogurt, but a complete experience.  We wanted to create a place that people would want to visit 3-4 times per week.  And we’ve done that.  Sometimes they come for the product, sometimes for the Spoon Me experience.

Top New Franchises: What IS the Spoon Me experience?
Ryan: Our stores are designed to create a friendly, high-energy social environment.  There are no televisions.  Our employees engage the customers and let them know we’re glad they’re here.  We call our customers by name whenever possible.

Customer service is a key part of our concept.  We keep the operation simple so that the employees can talk to the customer.  We don’t force canned greetings on our employees;  we encourage them to be themselves.  If they want to say “what’s up, dude?” that’s fine as long as they’re welcoming the customer.

Our core, target customer is the younger, hipper demographic of 16-30 year olds.  So we keep the music lively and turned up loud.

Top New Franchises: You’ve used the term “lifestyle brand” to describe Spoon Me.  What do you mean by that?
Ryan: The Spoon Me brand represents more than frozen yogurt.  It also represents the values we share with our customers.  A love for fun, but also a commitment to giving back to our communities and to being environmentally responsible.

We’re always looking for cool ways to improve our local communities. We support local charities and causes.  People can help us spread the love by dropping a few coins in our “Keep the Change Charity,” or, if they are looking for a more hands on approach, they can check out our community board for other volunteer activities.

Spoon Me tries to be eco-friendly in every aspect of its business as well.

Top New Franchises: One thing that really sets Spoon Me apart is your use of social networking tools, such as Twitter, Facebook and text messaging, in your marketing mix.
Ryan: We cater to a younger demographic, and that’s how they communicate.  Our customers are constantly on their cell phones, texting, checking their Twitter and Facebook accounts on their laptops.  (All our stores have free WiFi)  If a business like ours doesn’t engage customers where and how they congregate they’ll get left behind.

Twitter, FaceBook and texting are fun and inexpensive ways to communicate with our customers and potential customers.

For instance, we maintain a texting database.  That enables us to send out last minute or specialized marketing messages.  We sponsor concerts and might offer a cell phone coupon to everyone there. They just have to show the coupons on their cell phone for $1 off or a Buy One Get One Free offer.

Top New Franchises: Why did you decide to franchise Spoon Me?  How many franchises are currently up and running?
Ryan: We saw the opportunity to get into the growth of frozen yogurt and believed we could build a significant market share with the right marketing. We launched the franchise program in February of 2008. Just the name itself brought franchising interest. We currently have 5 total stores 3 of which are franchises. We continue to grow.

Top New Franchises: What kind of person who would make a good Spoon Me franchise owner?
Ryan: We are much more fun to own than most franchises. We encourage owners to be social with the customers. Being outgoing and creating an exciting atmosphere has always been our goal. This is not your Dad’s frozen yogurt store.
It’s important for our franchisees to understand and believe in the brand and concept. We want someone who is willing to buy into that philosophy and implement it into their store.

Franchisees include a large variety of people including families, groups of friends, and parents buying the concept for their kids to run. It is a great concept for multi-unit buyers and also for entrepreneurial college grads who want to have their own business.

Top New Franchises: How does the Spoon Me business fare in recessionary times… and why?
Ryan: It’s a great time to be selling a healthy, guilt-free affordable treat.

We have a low price point; things have to be really bad for people not to spend four bucks. Many would rather take the family to Spoon Me than out to dinner. It simply costs less. Also, the younger market that we cater to is more recession proof; they don’t have to worry about certain expenses such as a mortgage or car payment etc.

Top New Franchises: What else should a prospective franchise owner know about Spoon Me franchise opportunity?
Ryan: We are ahead of the competition. We are a truly green concept and have an excellent customer service philosophy. Along with that comes our branding power. Without having to play catch up with our competitors, our franchise owners are ahead of the curve and this contributes to the longevity of the concept.

Top New Franchises: Thanks a lot for spooning with us.
Ryan: Thanks for being spooned.

To learn more: Spoon Me Franchise Information

Read/add fan comments: Spoon Me Fanwall

“It’s a chance to make a difference…

A chance to change the world…”

Fairway Divorce Solutions provides an alternative approach to divorce—a fixed fee, step-by-step independent negotiated resolution process. The Fairway Process™ reduces costs, time, stress, and protects children. U.S. franchises are now available for qualified professionals who want to build a strong business while helping people change the way they approach divorce.

Top New Franchises spoke to Karen Stewart, CEO/Founder of Fairway Divorce Solutions and author of “Clean Break: How to Divorce with Dignity and Move on with Your Life.”

Top New Franchises:  So, Karen, what inspired you to create Fairway Divorce Solutions?

Karen: The Fairway Divorce Solutions concept began after I went through my own grueling divorce. I was determined to create an alternative that enabled couples to separate with a fair division of assets, and with feelings of empowerment and dignity so they could move on with their lives. We developed the Fairway process as an alternative way to the traditional method of divorce – one that’s expensive, stressful and destructive to the children.

Top New Franchises: How widespread is divorce?

Karen: Accurate divorce statistics are hard to come by, but it’s safe to say that somewhere between 35% and 55% of marriages currently end in divorce. In the U.S., it’s estimated that there are more than 2 million divorces per year. Despite the fact that divorce is so commonplace, the process for obtaining a divorce is badly broken.

Top New Franchises: What IS the process most divorcing couples currently go through? How’s it broken?

Karen: There are really two groups. The first are those who each hire their own divorce attorneys and go through the traditional adversarial and costly divorce process. Each attorney is trained that their responsibility is to win for their client. So, from the start the scenario is set for a win-lose, rather than a win-win, outcome. Since these negotiations often involve children, win-lose situations can have very unfortunate consequences. Another problem with this system is that there is no financial incentive for the attorneys to bring a speedy, economical resolution. Divorce attorneys generally require retainers of thousands of dollars from each party and bill at rates of $350 – $500 per hour. While reputable attorneys wouldn’t intentionally prolong the conflict, the fact is that the longer it takes, the more they get paid… and the fewer assets are left to allocate.

Top New Franchises: And the other group?

Karen: The other group consists of couples who do it themselves; who try to forego lawyers fees and create an agreement without professional help. This may be fine in situations where there are few assets and no children involved. For most, though, do-it-yourself divorce is very unwise. First, these individuals are making critical financial and legal decisions not only without proper training, but usually in a highly emotional state of mind. Emotional decisionmaking can result in agreements that won’t be satisfactory long-term. In fact, the validity of do-it-yourself contracts may be legally challenged down the road.

Top New Franchises: How does the Fairway Divorce Solutions process differ?

Karen: Fairway Divorce Solutions offers a fixed-fee, step-by-step negotiated resolution process that is founded on cooperation, not confrontation. Our professional, trained negotiators lead divorcing couples through a well-defined process to achieve a fair and mutually acceptable division of financial assets as well as child custody and visitation. Fairway clients work with their trained negotiator as a team to achieve a mutually agreeable resolution in the least amount of time possible.

Top New Franchises: What professional qualifications are required to be a Fairway franchise owner?

Karen: Operating a Fairway Divorce Solutions business requires significant negotiation, mediation and/or conflict resolution skills. While one does not need to be an attorney or Certified Financial Planner, knowledge of the law, financial planning background or psychology is certainly helpful. Among our current franchisees we have an attorney, a CPA and several MBAs. While our first franchise owners manage their own centers, we would also consider franchisees wanting to hire those with required skills to operate their Fairway centers for them.

Top New Franchises: What personal traits do you value in a franchise owner?

Karen: We are looking for qualified professionals who not only want to build an economically viable businesses, but who also want to create positive change in society and in the lives of their clients. We would like franchisees who truly want to join us in changing the way people see and approach divorce. We want franchisees who have a passion for making a difference, and who will promote our message in their local markets. It also takes a special person to help introduce a completely new concept. They will need to be more of a team player and a bit more flexible, I expect, than with more traditional franchises. Their input and feedback will be highly valued as we grow.

Top New Franchises: What do you see as being the greatest potential reward for Fairway Divorce Solution franchise owners?

Karen: The greatest potential reward for our franchise owners is the same as it is for me: a chance to build a strong business future while positively impacting lives of those around us, especially children’s. It’s a chance to make a difference. A chance to change the world.

Top New Franchises: Thanks for sharing your story.

Karen: Thanks for the opportunity.

Concept Name: Dirty Dog Hauling
Franchisor Corporation Name: Dirty Dog Franchising Group, LLC.
Year Founded: 2005
Year Franchised: 2007
Number of units, company: 1
Number of units, franchised: 2
Initial investment: $25,000 – $93,000 (Average $75,000)
Home-based Business?: Yes, initially
Net worth/Financial Req.: $100,000
Priority Markets for Expansion: TOP 30 Metropolitan Markets
Contact information for franchise program: franchise@dirtydoghauling.com or 1-888-232-4175

Top New Franchises: How do you describe the Dirty Dog Hauling franchise concept?

Leland: Old business, New Technology!

Dirty Dog Hauling and its franchise partners provide professional, reliable, courteous junk removal to residential and commercial customers. We live in a “disposable society” Everyone has Junk  but they don’t have the time to get rid of. In addition, the garbage companies do not provide the labor needed to clean out garages, basements, attics, backyards, etc but, as we say,  Have no fear, Dirty Dog is here! (laughing)

Dirty Dog Franchising Group has developed a scalable and proprietary system for removing unwanted items from residential and commercial properties. Our model enables our franchise partners to work ON their business and not IN their business by providing a turn-key system of operation and ongoing support.

Incoming sales calls are taken by our Call Center through an 800# (1-866-4 MY JUNK) and dispatched to the franchise operator, based on zip code through our proprietary “PawTracker” system. Pawtracker books, dispatches, analyzes and tracks jobs, customer data and other key performance metrics which are monitored by the franchise partners through Dashboard Reports.

Top New Franchises: How do you describe Dirty Dog Hauling services?

Leland: Simply “Point it Out and We’ll Take It Out.” Our customers enjoy the “Hands-Free” removal of their unwanted items from basements, backyards, attics, garages, anywhere that junk is the Dirty Dog will sniff it out!

Top New Franchises: How did you start the Dirty Dog Hauling concept start? What need did it fill?

Leland: In 2005, me and my long-time friend, teammate and fraternity brother Gary Fallings purchased a 1976 Chevy 1-ton dump truck from a local landscaper in Carlisle, Pennsylvania and decided to become “weekend warriors”. We would complete small hauling jobs on the weekend for supplemental income. We earned degrees in accounting and education, respectively, but we found ourselves subsequently unemployed as a result of state and corporate lay-offs. This is where one of our core value of TENACITY kicked in. This adversity created an amazing opportunity for full-time ownership, allowing us to dig into the dirty but lucrative world of junk hauling.

After successfully servicing the needs of residential and commercial customer throughout Pennsylvania, we had a chance meeting with a world-class franchise consulting firm at International Franchise Expo in March 2006. Following an enlightening experience that revealed the endless potential of franchising, we made the commitment to complete the processes required to bring the proven Dirty Dog Hauling system to the franchise market place. Dirty Dog Franchise Group, LLC is currently awarding throughout the United States.

Top New Franchises: When did you launch Dirty Dog Hauling franchise program? How many franchises are currently up and running?
Leland: We began offering our franchise opportunity in February 2007. We sold our first “two-territory” deal to franchisees in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. This location has been opened for 3 months. We are receiving over 2 dozen inquiries per month and we expect to have 8-10 more agreements completed soon.

Top New Franchises: Where are you looking to expand? What types of markets and demographics work best?
Leland: Our goal is to complete 8-10 more agreements by the end of this year, and to be in every major metropolitan market by the end of our third year of franchising. Metropolitan areas, where there is a large amount of transition and development and significant amount of disposable income in the city and neighboring suburbs, is where we will focus our strategic growth.

Top New Franchises: What are the primary responsibilities of Dirty Dog Hauling franchise owners? Is there a “typical day” in the life of a franchisee? Does this remain constant throughout the year?

Leland: We are looking for franchise partners who have a positive and outgoing personality and can properly execute our marketing and administrative systems. The core values at DDFG is defined as “F.E.T.C.H.” which is short for Faith, Enthusiasm, Tenacity, Community and Hard Work.

A typical day for a franchise partner is to inspire, market, network, strategize, review and provide feedback. The myth is that  “I HAVE TO HAUL JUNK” the reality is that “YOU RUN A BUSINESS THAT PROVIDES JUNK HAULING SERVICES.”

Flexibility is the constant with this business.  Each customer will have a different situation which keeps the business fresh and not mundane.

Top New Franchises: Tell us a little bit about the kind of person who would make a good Dirty Dog Hauling franchise owner?

Leland: The franchisee must have a minimum of $65k in liquid capital, and be ready to make a full-time commitment or have the capital to support a full-time General Manager.  Our franchise partners usually come from business backgrounds and they understand the importance of networking and building relationships.

Total “buy-in” of our unique system of doing business is required. We are flexible and will listen to the comments and concerns that our franchise partners provide us. I’m a “Big 4″ accounting firm alum where I learned how to develop systems that now enable our franchise partners to work ON their business and not IN their business. “F.E.T.C.H” are the core values that each potential franchise partner must demonstrate to us in the selection process. Remember, we award franchises not just give them to the person with the deepest pockets.

Top New Franchises:  How do Dirty Dog Hauling franchise owners attract new customers? How do they create repeat business?

Leland: This is where I get super excited ““ because we are not in the “Junk Hauling” business, but rather the “Junk Marketing” business. Our name is trademarked protecting us from competition and our name stands out as the one of the most memorable and marketable in the industry. We tell our potential franchisees that they will “lose their identity” and be called Dirty Dog everywhere they go. WE LOVE IT!!! THAT IS BRANDING AT ITS CORE.

Customers are attracted to Dirty Dog by seeing our trucks around town, which serve as moving billboards, as well as our yard signs and various advertising collateral. We also market to houses around the current customer. Furthermore, our website is one of our biggest lead generators and we are optimized on the web to give the best exposure to people looking for junk removal services.

Unlike most companies that focus on customer satisfaction, Dirty Dog Hauling focuses on customer delight. Furthermore, our Customer Service Representatives (“CSR”) conducts follow-up calls to foster customer relationships and encourage their referrals.

Top New Franchises: Of the training and support services you provide franchisees, which do you think are most valuable to their long-term success?

Leland: Support, support and more support coupled with our 250+ page confidential Operations Manual and a 5-day in-house training program at “Dirty Dog Hauling University”. The University includes a combination of roll-play and real-world exercises to help the franchisee become familiar with all aspects of the business, including a startup checklist, hiring and training procedures, bookkeeping and office organization, budgeting, marketing, sales and even junk removal procedures. Attendees graduate with a “Certificate of Junkology”.

Top New Franchises: What role does technology play in your organization?

Leland: Our significant investment in our customized proprietary industry-specific software called PAWTRACKER allows the franchisee to stay ahead of the game with an all-in-one solution to growing their business. The software is a secure, web-based intranet application with off-site backup that is accessible wherever there is an internet connection, so the franchisee and his team can login from any location.

The software allows them to manage and view their customer contacts and truck schedules in real-time, while outsourcing the scheduling and inside-sales tasks to the franchisor. The software gives the franchisee the advantage of updating the status of each job, setting routing parameters for each truck and each employee, managing jobs, estimates, customers, and potential clients. The franchisee can also export jobs to Quickbooks, upload or download important documents, purchase marketing material and branded collateral, as well as communicate with other franchisees on a variety of issues through the community forum.

Most importantly, the software records and databases everything for reporting purposes. For example, the franchisee can print a report to find out the most profitable marketing strategies and can also sort customers by type to communicate with specific categories of customers such as realtors or property managers.

Top New Franchises:  What makes Dirty Dog Hauling different from other franchise opportunities? How is it a unique opportunity?

Leland: WE ABSOLUTELY HAVE THE BEST BRAND IN THE INDUSTRY. PERIOD (smile).

Dirty Dog Hauling is currently offering huge exclusive territories in just about every top-tier metropolitan area. There are very few if any junk removal franchise programs currently available. Most other junk removal franchises are either sold out of all prime territories or offering extremely small exclusive territories in sub-par markets.

Top New Franchises: What else should a prospective franchise owner know about Dirty Dog Hauling franchise opportunity?

Leland: We are dedicated to assisting our franchise partners in their journey. We spent several years refining our junk hauling procedures and we are committed to the success of our franchisees. At the core, we are a “community-based service provider” that serves the needs of today’s “time-strapped” customer in a professional, reliable and courteous manner.

Top New Franchises: Describe your non-business, community and charitable activities of Dirty Dog.  Are they an important element of your concept?

Leland: Dirty Dog Hauling has a long-standing relationship with Rebuilding Together and we also sponsor the Dirty Dog Hauling Center City Baseball Tournament, Dirty Dog Duals (wrestling) and community clean-up campaigns. We love the communities in which we serve.

Top New Franchises: What are your non-business goals for Dirty Dog?

Leland: To be a solid example in the community that we serve. It is important to be present at fairs, parades, outreach programs, showcases and junk awareness initiatives. Most recently, my partner ““ Gary Fallings joined the “Keep Harrisburg Beautiful” committee with is a chapter of Keep America Beautiful. It is important for the community to know that we care!

Top New Franchises: There aren’t many “minority franchisors” What importance, if any, do you place on your role as a minority franchisor?

Leland: Historically, minorities have not been on the franchisor-side of the equation and I think this is a great opportunity to showcase what can be done when you have an awesome concept that you believe in, a burning desire to add action to your vision and provide a service that can’t be automated.

Our business is not affected significantly by being a minority franchisor – I think a prospective franchisee must have faith in the franchisor no matter what the nationality. I realize that some people have a misconception of minority franchisors, that why we work extremely hard to showcase our talents and operations.

Top New Franchises: Congratulations on your win at the MBA Business Plan Competition. Tell us a little bit about what it involved, and the significance of the award.

Leland: Delaware State University’s College of Business participated in the 8th Annual OFC Venture Challenge Business Plan Competition for Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) offering MBA/Graduate Business Degrees, in Atlanta, Georgia on April 17-20, 2008.

During the competition, we competed among 20 HBCUs, and we were selected as the first place winner of Track 3 to advance to the Final Rounds. For the finals, six (6) teams competed and we placed 2nd and also received the “Outstanding Presentation” award of the competition. We received a total of $5,000 for placing 2nd in this competition.

This was a great opportunity to compare the Dirty Dog Franchising system and concept to other high-tech, low-tech and no-tech companies in the competition. Attendees now have a better appreciation for professional junk removal and franchising.

In addition, the name Dirty Dog continues to be recognized as a great brand which is critical for continual growth.

Top New Franchises: Congratulations, and thanks for sharing your story.

Leland: Thanks spreading the word about Dirty Dog