spend less on big-ticket items such as automobiles, and auto repair companies reap the rewards. The aging baby boomer generation means that this country will have a huge senior population over the next two decades, which is why Comfort Keepers, a provider of home care and assisted living solutions for seniors, made our list.
One of the great things about franchising, according to IFA President Matthew Shaw, who was appointed to the position earlier this year, is that it’s highly adaptable to new industries and new kinds of business, allowing you to franchise virtually anything. “If you say, ‘I’m a great entrepreneur and I have a great concept for providing home healthcare and I’d like to franchise this business,’ well, there is no barrier to entering that marketplace and it would be relatively easy,” explains Shaw.
A FAMILY AFFAIR
Family businesses have always been popular. Teaming up to open a Golden Krust franchise occurred to Richard Gore and his two sisters while having supper together one night. Gore’s older sister, Loiett, who wanted to start her own business, brought the idea to the table. “We were actually discussing another business venture and we were having a Golden Krust meal at the time,” recalls Gore. “That’s how we decided to look into this. It was just an idea that we floated out there after sitting down and working on another business venture. We said, ‘Let’s look into Golden Krust’.”
The diverse experiences of each family member and the influence that family values have on a business are some of the reasons families and franchises work well together. “My sisters and I have varied backgrounds in terms of our business experience,” explains Gore, whose younger sister, Lana Kay Gore-Webb, 39, also helps manage the Orange, New Jersey-based Caribbean
bakery and grill. Loiett, 42, a former director of marketing at Viacom in New York City, used her marketing skills for everything from writing the business plan to promoting their Golden Krust location. “I have a business background myself,” says Gore, 40, who enjoys cooking, but not enough to occupy the kitchen at his store. “We thought that we would bring all of this together, along with my passion for cooking,” he adds. “I figured that this would be sort of a perfect blend of all of those items.”
The Gores have generated $140,000 in revenues since they launched their Golden Krust venture this past May. But the New Jersey-based franchise wasn’t the family’s first choice. They were looking at multiple stores, not just one store. “We are trying to see if we could get another store off the ground,” Gore says. “We were not looking at New Jersey. We were focusing on New York City at the time. But someone’s financing fell through, and Golden Krust approached us and asked if we were interested in looking at that particular store. So we went back into the huddle, came up with the necessary funds, and said, ‘OK we’ll do it.’ ” Even though they were approved for a bank loan,