JEC Publications on Franchising, Etc.

Over the years, Janssen Ellison Company has produced a variety of informational resources on topics related to franchising and business growth. Some of these writings have appeared in commercial publications, some were created for in-house publications of various types, intended primarily for our clients, prospective clients and others interested in our fields of endeavor.
The selection of copyrighted articles and reports summarized below has been edited and reformatted for this electonic medium. They are presented here in Adobe Acrobat PDF format (click here to download Adobe's free Acrobat Reader) as a free informational service of Janssen Ellison Company. From time to time we will be adding articles, both new and from our archives.
Visitors are encouraged to browse at their leisure and may print out copies for their own personal use with the understanding that they may not be reproduced and/or distributed for commercial use. Clicking on a title below will begin downloading the article.

Starburst: A High Performance Hybrid Distribution Model for a New Millennium -- Hybrid third wave franchise models offer remarkable benefits for many types of non-retail, non-cookie-cutter businesses. The full Starburst report illustrates the model's functionality through four example applications drawn from actual experience: 1) a manufacturer of industrial products; 2) a wholesale distributor; 3) a branded paint manufacturer; 4) an oil company. The latest edition also includes a discussion of Starburst and 2nd generation "clicks and mortar" eCommerce. A JEC Special Report.

Some Plain Talk About Franchising -- Franchising is both more and less than its mythology would have us believe. This article illuminates some of the dominant fallacies as well as some of the untapped possibilities of franchising as a business method. It is a "must read" for anybody exploring the idea of getting into franchising, either as a startup wanting to be the next McDonald's or as a major corporation seeking to rejuvenate distribution channels while cutting costs. From Issues in Franchising, No. 21.

Retailing: Who Should Franchise? -- Business owners interested in franchising their successful business concept must understand whether or not their concept is franchisable from a practical perspective before making the leap into franchising. This article lays out our approach to assessing franchisibility; another "must read" for prospective franchisors. From Issues in Franchising, No. 22.

The Human Edge in Franchising -- Managing relationships is a messy and imprecise business -- more art than science. Yet it is a key to successful franchisor/franchisee relationships that franchisors and would-be franchisors ignore at their peril. This article characterizes the changing nature of this relationship at different stages of the business relationship. From Issues in Franchising, No. 4.

The People Factor: On the Front Lines -- The "front lines" in a retail business is the place where employees and customers interact. Managing this interaction, which often is handled on the company side by low-wage employees, is an important element in the franchise business system. This article explores some of the issues involved through the example of a convenience store. From Oil Focus, July 1998

What Makes a World Class Franchisor? -- Terms like "world class" have become so ubiquitous in recent years that they verge on having no meaning whatsoever. To remedy this in the franchising field, we postulate seven characterists that go into making a world class franchise company. From Issues in Franchising, No. 17.

Managing a Franchise Company in Tough Times -- When you're riding the crest of a business cycle, it's easy to forget what it was like in the trough of the cycle. This article is a reminder that, like death and taxes, tough times are inevitable. Here are some tips on things to do early in the down cycle that can help franchise companies survive and, hopefully, emerge a stronger company ready to benefit from new opportunities on the next upslope. From Issues in Franchising, No. 3.

Issues in Conversion Franchising: An Example -- Conversion franchising is one of the most powerful business tools ever created for rapid growth and brand building. Here we explore some of the "ins and outs" of conversion franchising as applied to the gasoline and convenience retailing industry. The sidebar How Size Matters illuminates some hidden potholes in designing a retail franchise opportunity, while the sidebar Coping with the Entrepreneurial Factor sheds light on some of the relationship issues that corporate franchisors can encounter. From Convenience Store News, October 1998.

A Conversion Franchising Fable -- This is a conversion "what if" that illustrates what could happen when the right combination of vision and resources come together in a retail industry that's ripe for consolidation. It has happened before and it can happen again. From Oil Focus, December 1998.

Challenging Times: Conflicts and Opportunities -- Challenging times in a franchised industry (in this example, the oil business circa late 1998-early 1999) are breeding grounds for conflicts that have been ill-managed in better times and thus allowed to fester. Challenging times are also a ripe moment for organizational changes -- other than downsizing -- such as planting and nurturing the seeds of a more entrepreneurial, higher performance culture. From Oil Focus, March 1999.