Fiducial | We help your business grow and be profitable.

by Stephen Parezo

Among the participants in last week’s 2006 Regional Meeting in Columbus, OH, were, from left, James Layton, Fiducial’s director of systems support and development, franchisee Ed Comer, franchisee Richard French and Roger Bierman, Fiducial franchise relations manager.

June 26, 2006—There was a meeting of the minds last week when members of Fiducial’s Franchise Relations Committee gathered with fellow franchisees and branch managers for the 2006 Regional Meeting in Columbus, OH. Perhaps franchisee Ken Gabriel of St. Clair Shores, MI, summed it up best when he said, “I don’t think there was a person there who wasn’t glad that they didn’t show up.”

Roger Bierman, a franchise relations manager for Fiducial, observed that everyone in attendance, whether from the corporate or franchisee side, got something out of the event.

“It seemed to be a positive meeting and the franchisees indicated they want to see more of these,” said Bierman. “This was the first co-shared meeting held with company personnel and franchisees. We all got value out of it and talked about various issues so the company and their businesses could grow and be more profitable.”

Franchisee Michael Davis of Stow, OH, was struck by the contrast between attending the Regional Meeting and a meeting of the Ohio Society of Certified Professional Accountants that he went to on the following day.

“The CPA meeting had a totally different atmosphere,” said Davis. “If you try to talk about practice management everybody clams up because they are competitors. There’s certainly no spirit of cooperation.”

Davis benefited from the Regional Meeting because it enabled him to gain some insight into different methods of managing his business such as monitoring client fulfillment standards to gauge how well clients are being served.

“We came to share our knowledge and our experience of what works and solutions if problems start to come up so we can nip them in the bud,” he said. “You can cut out the disease before it gets too strong and it gets to be a habit.”

Recharging the batteries

Gabriel had the opportunity to meet some newer franchisees and get a better feel for the direction Fiducial’s going with certain programs. For him, there’s no better way to strengthen the network than participating in these types of functions.

“I’ve said it for 30 years that getting together with your peers, exchanging ideas and rubbing shoulders recharges you,” said Gabriel. “If it wasn’t for the franchise system, I wouldn’t want to run the business.”

Charles (Chic) Hilliker, district manager for Fiducial’s seven Indiana offices, found the Regional Meeting to be tremendously beneficial to company newcomers such as himself and senior business advisor Penny Sue Jones.

“Everybody benefits from the shared knowledge,” said Hilliker. “Why reinvent the wheel if some else has figured out a way to do it?”

Hilliker finds the benefits of bringing a group together valuable in a number of ways and it helps put a face with a name.

“It just makes it easier to pick up the phone,” he said.

Getting help from your peers

Jones noted that things went well during the day-long session and she found this format led to some enlightening discussions.

“It’s a good way to learn from each other and express concerns,” said Jones who got the inside track on how franchisees run a profitable business.

If franchisee Ed Comer had any complaints about the meeting it’s that Fiducial should hold more of them.

“There was a lot of interaction here,” said Comer who’s based in Springfield, OH. “You get a lot more out of the smaller get-togethers.”

Comer bought his franchise 20 years ago and would like to see additional meetings scheduled.

“If we were having more local meetings these guys would get more help from their peers,” he said. “When you have regional meetings you feel like you’re part of something. I feel like I’m more in the loop.”

‘We can accomplish anything’

David Buth, a franchisee in Naperville, IL, agreed that there should be more of these meetings because it improves the overall communication of the network.

“One of the main reasons I joined Fiducial was because of the network,” said Buth. “The more often you can have these meetings on different topics the better off since more people are going to grow their business.”

Franchisee Mike Paul traveled from Jackson, MI, to attend the meeting. He joined the network due to the additional perspective offered by the franchisees.

“It’s always great to talk to other franchisees whether they’re old or new,” said Paul who also appreciated hearing what Fiducial was planning for the future.

Howard Margolis, Fiducial’s director of sales and marketing, remarked that events such as the Regional Meeting are extremely important for all participants since nothing can replace face-to-face contact.

“You need face-to-face contact to build relationships and have a true understanding of each other’s perspective as we try to build a network that’s on the same page,” said Margolis.

Asked what he brought back from the meeting, Margolis replied that he took away what he already knew.

“If we meet we can accomplish anything we want,” he said.

Stephen Parezo is the Media Manager for Fiducial.

Whatever your small business needs, your Fiducial tax and financial professional can analyze your situation and recommend an appropriate action plan. To locate a Fiducial office nearest you on fiducial.com, see the Zip Code Locator located in the upper right hand corner of the page. Do you have a particular topic that we should be writing about that can help your business? Please send your suggestions to: stephen.parezo@fiducial.com.

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