Illinois Feature Articles

Looking for a franchise opportunity in Illinois? Whether you're a first-time business owner or a seasoned entrepreneur, Illinois offers exciting potential for franchise success. With thriving markets in key cities like Chicago, Aurora, Rockford, Joliet, Naperville, Springfield, Peoria, Elgin, there's a perfect environment to launch and grow a franchise. From food and beverage to retail and services, the diverse economic landscape in Illinois is ripe for franchise opportunities. Explore the best franchise options today and take the next step toward business ownership in Illinois.

Informative articles to support business buyers, franchisees, and franchisors in Illinois.

The Winner's Column

As savvy franchise companies continue to flourish in this challenging economy, FUSR will continue to bring you good news each month, highlighting brands that are adding units, increasing comp store sales, striking deals with investors, and continuing to grow despite the economy - maybe even because of it. And, as the U.S. struggles through its "jobless recovery," growth-oriented franchisors continue to look overseas for expansion opportunities.

Eddy Goldberg
11,308 Reads 93 Shares

New Traditionalists: Give the People What They Want--where They Want It!

About two years ago, at the behest of a friend, Nick Vojnovic, president of Beef 'O' Brady's, made his first foray into a nontraditional franchise location, opening a restaurant at the TradeWinds, a resort in St. Petersburg, Fla., with 1 million annual visitors. It wasn't exactly on his radar, but Vojnovic decided to give it a go.

Eddy Goldberg
4,313 Reads 1,023 Shares

Franchise Law: State Of The States

The franchise registration states require an updating of your FDD annually. This requirement necessitates the filing of a renewal application (including the revised FDD, current audited financial statements, and supplemental documents) with each registration state in which you plan to continue selling franchises.

Brian Schnell
9,744 Reads 1,021 Shares

The State of the States Report

I have been a franchise lawyer my entire professional career. I still recall vividly my first project on my first day, September 8, 1987. International Dairy Queen had acquired Orange Julius of America (OJA) earlier that year, and we were updating the Orange Julius UFOC to enable OJA to continue to offer and sell franchises. We then also filed the revised UFOC in the various registration states.

Brian Schnell
3,773 Reads 33 Shares

Economic Stimulators: Sheer Will And Smarts Help These Multi-Unit Franchisees Move Ahead In Challenging Times

It was like a gut punch for Charlie Marshall. In less than a year's time, the Spring-Green Lawn Care multi-unit franchisee went from paying $12 per bag for lawn fertilizer to more than $25 per bag. "That will make you look for ways to streamline and cut costs," says Marshall. To add insult to injury, gasoline prices were skyrocketing, making it even more expensive to fire up his seven trucks and dispatch crews to care for his customers' lawns each day.

Kerry Pipes
4,577 Reads 57 Shares

Franchising provides a second act for former family business owner

Most people would trade their day job anytime for Bob Stucker's problem a few years back: "I retired too young."

Kerry Pipes & Eddy Goldberg
4,809 Reads 11 Shares

Multiunit rookies make up in attitude what they lack in experience

Conventional wisdom would say the best franchise operators are individuals with past business experience - or even better, previous franchising experience. But that may not be the case any longer. A youth movement is under way in the world of multiunit franchising.

Kerry Pipes
5,909 Reads 98 Shares

Casual dining opportunities re-establish themselves in the world of franchising

Sit-down restaurants, also known as casual restaurants, have re-established themselves in the world of franchising - a world more often associated with such fast-food standards as McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, KFC, Taco Bell, and Subway, for example.

Eddy Goldberg
2,686 Reads 49 Shares

Icons who helped shape the industry

In the chronicles of franchising history, some names come immediately to mind - Ray Kroc, S. Truett Cathy, Dave Thomas. The names conjure up images of independent-minded entrepreneurs with the savvy, know-how, and vision to create successful business models replicable anywhere. As part of the celebration of Franchise UPDATE's 20th anniversary, we look back at some of these colorful, inspiring, and sometimes controversial characters.

Kerry Pipes
5,010 Reads

Don't overlook property taxes, the biggest expense in most businesses

Despite all of the attention recently focused on income taxes, it is the property tax that is the biggest expense in most businesses - and the most difficult to manage. According to the Council on State Taxation, a Washington, DC, think tank, American businesses shell out more on property taxes than for any other type of state or local taxes.

Mark E. Battersby
3,612 Reads 4 Shares

From troubled youth to model entrepreneur

At 17, Victor Chapron was just another boy in the 'hood facing one of three probable futures: drugs, jail, or death. Instead, he was rescued from his high-risk life in Los Angeles and sent to live with his aunt in Chicago. That's where he caught a break and turned his life around... maybe even saved it. Today, at 40 years old, he's come full circle. He's back in LA--this time at the top of his game.

Eddy Goldberg
8,469 Reads 105 Shares

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Chief operating officers for franchise companies face challenges with creativity, humor

They may not be the most visible, or even among the highest-paid executives in the company. But in the daily trenches of running a franchise system, chief operating officers, or COOs, are the go-to people for other executives, staff, and franchisees. Most come in early and stay late, taking only brief vacations and then doing so with cell phone in hand.

Debbie Selinsky
6,551 Reads 1 Shares

Drive-Thru Coffee: Franchisors Compete for Quick, Convenient Delivery

Starbucks may have blown the coffee market wide open to mass consumption, but its competitors are quickly redefining how coffee is served-especially the speed at which it's delivered.

Kerry Pipes
8,824 Reads 4 Shares

Boom Time for Personnel and Temp Services Franchises

A healthy economy and a continued demand for both long- and short-term employees is driving personnel agencies and temporary employment services-and they love the work. Staffing services is one of the fastest-growing industries in the country. In 2004, the staffing industry generated more than $63 billion in revenues, with temporary staffing accounting for approximately 90 percent and permanent placement contributing the remainder.

2,205 Reads 4 Shares

Barbara Moran learned never to take no for an answer

Barbara Moran had given up on the idea of ever heading up her father Dennis's company, Moran Industries. She'd wanted to be president, but was told that it wasn't in the cards because a woman in a male-dominated industry just wouldn't work for customers and franchisees.

Eddy Goldberg
3,934 Reads 1 Shares

99 BIG Franchisees: John R. Davis

It's a family affair all the way around at United States Beef Corp. Founded in 1969 when Bob and Connie Davis purchased their first Arby's restaurant – just five years after brothers Forrest and Leroy Raffel opened the first Arby's in Boardman, Ohio – today the Tulsa-based franchisee is headed by their sons Jeff, CEO, and John R. Davis, president. And a focus on a family-type atmosphere in its restaurants completes the picture.

Eddy Goldberg
6,179 Reads 349 Shares

99 BIG Franchisees: Tom Hofer

Tom Hofer has always been tuned into his own drive and sense of where he belonged. "I did real well in a retail environment after college, but I always knew it wasn't me," Hofer says. "I definitely knew I wanted to own my own business, but wasn't sure what to do. So when the opportunity came up for me to buy a territory with Spring Green, it felt right."

Linda Ray
3,525 Reads 9 Shares

In Praise Of The State Franchise Regulators

I must be becoming a curmudgeon. In recent Viewpoint columns, I have taken potshots at the FTC and my fellow franchise lawyers. So far, the state franchise regulators have for some reason been below my radar screen. Why? Over the course of my...

Franchise Update
4,903 Reads 7 Shares

In Praise Of The State Franchise Regulators

Rupert M. Barkoff
3,588 Reads 9 Shares

Study Measures Jobs, Payroll, Overall Output

Franchised businesses generate jobs for more than 18 million Americans and account for 9.5 percent of the private-sector economic output, a study released today by International Franchise Association Educational Foundation reported.

2,766 Reads 6 Shares

Franchisors, Developers Pursue the Perfect Match

When it comes to evaluating a potential area developer, don't marry for money, say franchisors. With money as a given, look for that indefinable "fit" and you're golden for the long haul.