By Julia Moody, Director of Marketing, British Swim School

In the world of franchise marketing, forming authentic partnerships is essential for enhancing brand visibility and creating lasting connections with audiences. This summer British Swim School, the nation’s leading franchise learn to swim provider, partnered with Peppa Pig, an internationally beloved children’s character, to capture the attention of young swimmers and their families. This collaboration showcased the power of strategic alliances in driving brand awareness and delivering meaningful, family-friendly engagement.

The inspiration for the collaboration between British Swim School and Peppa Pig emerged from recognizing a shared commitment to teaching children. With Peppa Pig’s universal appeal, British Swim School saw an opportunity to introduce both water safety and the brand to a wide breadth of new families. The partnership aimed to create memorable experiences for children while increasing the brand’s visibility and credibility within local communities.

The collaboration came to life through a series of creative initiatives and campaigns that delighted young swimmers and their families. British Swim School focused on integrating Peppa Pig into key initiatives, ensuring that the partnership was an authentic extension of both brands’ values.

Sweepstakes:

To build initial excitement around the collaboration, British Swim School launched a sweepstakes offering a grand prize that included a trip to the Peppa Pig theme park in Winter Haven, FL, along with prize packs and three months of swim lessons. The promotion attracted over 13,000 families across the US and Canada, driving significant engagement on digital platforms. Along with the grand prize, five runner-up prizes were awarded, creating additional touchpoints for brand interaction. Winners were selected through a random draw and notified with personalized communication, enhancing the overall experience.

Peppa Pig Safety Week:

A highlight of the partnership was integrating Peppa Pig into British Swim School’s “Survival Week,” a week-long event held multiple times a year to emphasize the importance of survival-based swim lessons. During Survival Week, British Swim School swimmers participate in their regular swim lessons, but with their clothes on! It’s critical to teach the littlest swimmers how different the water can feel with the weight of their regular clothes, as opposed to their swimsuits. The majority of water accidents occur while children aren’t dressed to swim, and there’s a distinct difference in the weight and feeling of regular clothes in the water. While an extremely serious topic, Survival Week is a fun approach to teaching children these important water safety skills. During the rebranded “Peppa Pig Safety Week”, swim schools transformed their pool decks with British Swim School x Peppa Pig collateral, Peppa Pig decorations, and fun photo opportunities for the kids, creating a vibrant and engaging environment where children could learn vital water safety skills with their favorite character. This initiative made water safety education even more engaging and effective for young learners.

Activity Packs:
Knowing the importance of local marketing opportunities for their franchisees, British Swim School developed age-appropriate activity packs featuring Peppa Pig. These packs were distributed at preschools, community events, and through various local marketing efforts, providing valuable resources to families while reinforcing the brand’s commitment to child safety and education.

Social Media Content:
Social media played a critical role in promoting the collaboration. British Swim School used Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok to share content featuring Peppa Pig, including videos, images, and interactive posts. Hashtags such as #PeppaSplashAdventure, #BSSxPeppaCollab and #SwimWithPeppa generated buzz and encouraged user-generated content, amplifying the campaign’s reach.

Even with elements of the collaboration still ongoing, the partnership between British Swim School and Peppa Pig has had a significant impact on brand visibility and engagement with young swimmers. The partnership led to a noticeable increase in brand awareness, as evident from the over 1.2 million impressions from various advertising opportunities, over 20% increase in social media followers and over 13,000 sweepstakes entries.  

Parents and children responded positively to all elements of the collaboration, especially Peppa Pig Safety Week, with many sharing their positive experiences on social media. The initiative’s creative approach to water safety education resonated with families, leading to increased engagement rates on digital platforms.

Similarly, franchisees reported positive impacts on their businesses, noting increased interest from families and successful local marketing opportunities tied to the Peppa Pig-themed collateral, providing strong credibility when introducing the brand to prospective parents and partners for the first time.

The British Swim School and Peppa Pig collaboration offers valuable insights for future partnerships. The success of this collaboration was rooted in the seamless integration of Peppa Pig into British Swim School’s core mission. By maintaining authenticity, the partnership created a meaningful connection with the target audience, effectively incorporating British Swim School into the Peppa Pig universe.

The collaboration wasn’t just a marketing tactic but a meaningful extension of both brands’ values, helping build trust with customers and effectively introducing a new audience of young children to crucial water safety information. By staying true to their mission and creatively integrating Peppa Pig into their programs, British Swim School created a memorable experience that resonated with children and parents alike. As other franchises seek to enhance their brand and connect with target audiences, they can draw inspiration from this successful collaboration and explore similar partnerships that align with their values and objectives.

By: Jamie Izaks, President at All Points Public Relations

In the last few years, the rise of the work-from-home culture has shifted how companies and people navigate work-life balance. Bringing work into the home has led to blurred lines and increased the casual and personalization or “social media-ification” of LinkedIn.

Once a purely professional space focused on networking and job listings, LinkedIn has now evolved into a storytelling platform with a strong social media component. Its transformation can be observed across various aspects of its use: 

1. How individual users share personal content
2. How businesses are adapting strategies to reach a broader audience
3. How LinkedIn’s features and functionalities have changed to support this new, more social environment

1. The Personal Side of LinkedIn

For younger generations, like Generation Z (Gen Z), maintaining a social media presence on platforms such as Instagram and TikTok is more than just a pastime; it’s a strategic effort to build a personal brand. Often, they treat their LinkedIn profiles the same, like a storefront, showcasing themselves to potential employers as a brand would showcase a product to consumers. When Gen Z shares personal content, it is with the intent of reinforcing their carefully constructed brand identity.

Some Generation X and Millennials who have been utilizing LinkedIn before its conceptual shift, are adopting similar trends, now approaching the platform more like an extension of Facebook, sharing posts about their everyday lives and experiences. Whether these posts relate to their jobs or work-life balance, they tend to be more personal and include pictures and anecdotes from their lives. This offers an intimate glimpse into their world.

LinkedIn capitalized on that desire and crafted a longform version, introducing personal articles to the platform. Across all generations, users enjoy this medium to present themselves as multi-dimensional individuals rather than just job titles by providing deeper insights into their thoughts and opinions on various professional topics. Comments on posts across the platform have followed suit— interactions are no longer limited to professional feedback but include more personalized and conversational responses, sparking genuine discussions. This increased emotional investment and authenticity in interactions contribute significantly to LinkedIn’s evolving dynamic.

While there are different ways in which each generation interacts with this change in content, the overarching trend is clear: LinkedIn is becoming a more personal and engaging platform, blurring the lines between professional and social interactions. This is also bleeding into the ways in which brands interact with LinkedIn.

2. Building Relatable Brands

Brands are starting to follow the lead of individual users on LinkedIn, adapting to the platform’s evolving dynamics. With people spending more time on the site, treating it like other social media platforms rather than strictly for work purposes, the nature of business content has shifted. Companies now focus on longer, storytelling-driven content to engage users, incorporating more design elements, motion graphics, and videos to capture the attention of the casual scroller.

Moreover, businesses are targeting a consumer audience, promoting their products to LinkedIn users rather than solely posting job opportunities. This shift is evident in the increased interaction through comments, shares, and likes, as well as the rise of business communications such as newsletters that users can subscribe to. By engaging directly with users in this way, companies can build stronger, more personal connections with their audience.

Plus, business-to-business focused companies have evolved on LinkedIn as well. Adopting the language, tone, and colorful graphics of consumer advertisements has led to a new form of brand success on LinkedIn. This eye-catching strategy puts a twist on the tried-and-true tactics of consumer marketing for professional industries such as software sales or franchise development.

In a time when the morals and people within a company matter, the incorporation of fun consumer-focused posts helps to endear a brand to these consumers who are looking for relatability and humanity. This extends to when these companies are looking to hire as potential applicants browse their LinkedIn content to understand their culture. It is a strategic move to look desirable on all fronts.

3. How LinkedIn Has Embraced its Social Media-ification

With the platform updates we’ve seen in the past few years, LinkedIn’s goal has been clear: keep users engaged and on the platform for longer periods. LinkedIn has implemented social media tactics to accomplish this through increasing “scrollability”, opportunities for personal engagement and conversations, and even games.

Shorter attention spans are now commonplace. Social media platforms understand that their key quality is the never-ending ability to scroll, sucking users into the loop of information and entertainment it provides. While storytelling and longer posts are commonplace on LinkedIn, the added detail of a “…more” button shortens posts, allowing users to more easily move to the next thing that will grab their attention. In May 2024, they released three daily puzzle games reminiscent of the popular New York Times games. The game’s notification system reminds users to open LinkedIn every day— prompting many to stay and scroll— as well as join the conversation with other players.

LinkedIn has revamped its algorithm to prioritize content that generates more engagement, similar to how other social media platforms operate. This means that posts with high levels of interaction are more likely to be pushed to a user’s feed and reach a wider audience, encouraging users to create content that resonates with their connections.

Recognizing the growing importance of diverse formats in capturing user attention, in addition to personal articles and business newsletters, LinkedIn has invested in video content and live streaming capabilities. The introduction of LinkedIn Stories, akin to Instagram Stories, allows users to share short, ephemeral content that can highlight their day-to-day activities or professional insights in a casual and engaging way— in many ways, the content plays as if a user is talking to their connections face-to-face. 

By embracing these social media features, LinkedIn has effectively blurred the lines between professional networking and social interaction, creating a platform that is both informative and engaging. Each of these three elements— personal users, business promotion, and LinkedIn itself— have and continue to inform each other to build the social media-ified version of LinkedIn that we use today. 

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Jamie Izaks is the President of All Points Public Relations, a franchise-focused integrated PR agency based on the Chicagoland area, www.allpointspr.com. 

Read the Spring/Summer ’24 Edition by clicking here.

 

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By Dean Hartley, Five Star Bath Solutions

 

Starting an entirely new independent business requires extensive capital and years of hard work. There’s also significant risk involved.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 76 percent of small businesses that opened in 2022 were still operating a year later, and approximately half of ll small businesses shut down within fi ve years of opening. Th ese statistics have remained relatively stable for several years.

Franchise businesses, on the other hand, have been shown to consistently outperform those results. A survey of 1,260 North American franchises found that 91.2 percent were still in business after two years, with 85 percent still in operation after five years.

Franchising opportunities, however, come with the support of a proven business model. Instead of risk, franchisors offer franchise systems that have been demonstrated to work, as well as other advantages, such as built-in brand awareness and shared resources.

Proven, repeatable business systems and processes are key to the franchise model. One of the most powerful tools franchisors can off er franchise owners is a marketing system designed to efficiently target new audiences, consistently communicate with existing and former customers, and generate leads. It’s one of the most direct ways that franchisors can support their franchise owners and drive overall growth for the brand.

Many franchisors, regardless of the industry, provide franchise owners with digital tools to manage and optimize their outreach, including data and analytics and email marketing platforms. Franchisors oft en also have corporate- or platform-level marketing teams who create content that can be leveraged locally. Th eir web expertise can ensure your internet presence is optimized, and these teams can also help franchisors create content specific to their territory and off er guidance, training and support.

Some franchisors have franchise development public relations partners who coordinate announcements and earned media opportunities at both the corporate level and for franchise owners. Often, PR partners will help franchise owners generate local media coverage that can drive awareness as well as leads and revenue. Don’t let PR opportunities coordinated by your franchisor or their partners pass you by. (And consider consulting your own public relations partner if your franchisor doesn’t have a PR strategy.)

Th e first step of any successful franchise owner’s marketing strategy should be to take full advantage of the tools available through your franchisor. Streamlining or automating as much of your marketing outreach as possible frees you to focus on closing sales, providing exceptional service, increasing revenue and driving growth – the things that help you reach your goals and the building blocks that propel growth for the franchisor.

But that doesn’t mean that franchisors or franchise owners should expect a one-size-fits-all approach. Th e best franchise businesses provide flexibility and encourage initiative among franchise owners, who can then make real-time decisions on the ground that will fi ne-tune and optimize the franchise system to fi t the needs of their particular territory or market. They can create unique email or social media campaigns around local events or traditions or tweak their outreach based on localized data.

Social media, which remains an essential marketing tool for any business, including franchises, provides franchise owners an opportunity to elevate their marketing outreach. Th e franchisor may offer some content to be shared by local owners, but franchise owners must take control of their own platforms to truly connect with their communities on social media. Providing engaging, entertaining content to a local audience on a regular basis and interacting positively with followers and other organizations all help build brand awareness and customer loyalty while establishing your company as a trustworthy source of expertise.

Infl uencers are an increasingly eff ective and popular method for reaching existing and new customers. Working with infl uencers in your industry, or popular infl uencers who resonate with your audience, can help franchise owners distinguish themselves in their market. Th e endorsement of an infl uential personality can take awareness and interest in your brand to a new level.

Since online tools are so important for eff ective marketing in today’s world, careful reputation management is also critical. Monitoring social media and online reviews, engaging constructively with negative comments or reviews and ensuring the integrity of the franchise brand and your individual franchise location are essential. Without consistent and thoughtful management of how your franchise is perceived in the digital realm, your entire marketing strategy could be undermined, with negative consequences for you and the franchisor.

If you’re considering a new franchise opportunity, pay close attention to the marketing resources available. Franchise owners benefi t from strong systems that off er a solid foundation for their individual marketing strategies. But to stand out from the competition, franchise owners must make the most of the tools available to them with smart and consistent strategies of their own, targeted to their audience and community.

 

Dean Hartley is the brand president of Five Star Bath Solutions. Dean directs franchise systems and processes to assist franchise owners in growing successful, profi table businesses. Dean brings over 15 years of experience in the one-day bathroom remodeling industry and a vast knowledge base to assist in building the Five Star Bath Solutions franchise system. Before joining Five Star Bath Solutions, he most recently held the position of vice president of sales and marketing with Design Imaging, where he supported dealers with sales and technical assistance. For more information about IFA franchisor member Five Star Bath Solutions, please visit franchise.org/franchise-opportunities/five-starbath-solutions.

By Chris DeJong, Big Blue Swim School

 

With a built-in support network and a proven business model, franchising is often considered a reliable path to business ownership that carries significantly less risk than going it alone. However, success is never a guarantee. Selecting a franchise that fits your goals, resources and lifestyle is a crucial part of the puzzle. You need to have a solid idea of what you want and where you want to go before selecting the best partner to get you there. Here are five questions you need to answer before buying a franchise.

1. How involved do you want to be in operations?

Franchising can be very hands-on or hands-off — it depends on the model. Some owners like to be on the frontlines of the business, building relationships with customers and their team and maintaining an active role in operations well after things are up and running. Other owners, especially serial investors, prefer to set things up and walk away, letting the business operate independently. While they still have an active role in the overall growth and strategy of the business, day-to-day responsibilities are left in the hands of the management team. With a hands-on role, you can ensure that the details of the business are running the way you want them to, but it also means taking on more of the work. A hands-off role gives you more freedom to do other things but requires a strong management team and a lot of trust.

2. What kind of investment can you make?

Capital is an important consideration when franchising. High-capital opportunities provide larger returns, but they also cost more upfront. The returns of a low-capital franchise may be smaller, but they’re more obtainable, especially for those just starting out or working with a limited budget. Another consideration when deciding on an investment is whether to do a home-based or brick-and-mortar business. When property or real estate becomes involved, there tends to be more responsibility put on the franchisee regarding capital requirements

How much time you can invest is also a thing to be mindful of — not just in terms of operations involvement, but long term. Many franchise contracts have a minimum time commitment, often a decade or more. This means you can’t decide to sell off the business and leave if you lose interest in a year or two.

3. What is your long-term plan?

Always think about your long-term goals when considering a franchise. There are many ways you can approach this kind of investment. It’s common for more seasoned investors to build up a location and sell it off later. Others look at them as a long-term investment to pass along to their kids for reliable income. Scaling up to purchase more units is another approach. While your plans can change over time, having an idea of what you’d like to do with your business in the long term will help inform your decisions. For example, if you have young kids and want to build a mature business model to help pay for their college later, you may choose to go with a high-capital franchise over a low one.

Always think about your long-term goals when considering a franchise.

 4. What kind of support and infrastructure do you need to make it happen?

Once you know what you’re looking for in a franchise and what you’d like to do with it, you need to consider what kinds of support and resources you will need from the franchisor. Training and onboarding are always important to look at, especially if you are new to the industry or franchising in general. If you want a hands-off investment, you will want a brand that knows its business model from the inside out and can educate you on the internal drivers so you can maintain your responsibilities while being remote.

5. What kind of people do you want to work with?

Even though you’ll own your business, as a franchisee, you’ll still be part of a larger corporation. There will still be a culture and tone you need to interact with relatively often, so it’s wise to find one that is a good fit. Some organizations thrive on competition, while others are very close and want high-contact relations with their franchisees. Some encourage experimenting and innovation, while others favor doing things entirely by the book. There is no wrong answer; every model can be successful with the right people at the helm. You just have to decide if you want to be on the ride.

At the end of the day, franchising is a partnership between a brand and a business owner. And like any successful partnership, it requires good communication. They can’t help you if you don’t tell them what you need. But how can you tell them without first knowing the answer yourself?

 

Chris DeJong is the founder and president of Big Blue Swim School.

By Soraya Rivera-Moya, Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Florida  

 

It’s a time when we can make a profound impact on the lives of those in need, particularly families with sick children staying at Ronald McDonald House.    As a franchise owner, you have a unique opportunity to make a positive impact on the communities you serve. Beyond business success, engaging in philanthropy and actively participating in community initiatives can foster goodwill, build stronger customer relationships and boost employee morale.  

Here are a few tips and strategies on how to get started with your own philanthropy initiatives this holiday season and all year long: 

1. Identify your local needs: identify specific needs in your community. Learn about demographics, socio economic factors and local challenges. Align your philanthropic initiatives to local issues and how this can make a more significant impact.  

2. Build a partnership: Partnering with local nonprofits, community centers and government agencies. Attend community meetings and events to network and gather information. These can create mutually beneficial relationships. Think about what makes your franchise unique. Do you offer products or services that could address specific local needs?  

3. Employee involvement: Involve your staff in the decision-making and volunteering. They may have insights and passions related to local needs. Consider holding brainstorming sessions and surveys among your staff. This can foster a sense of pride and teamwork.

4. Prioritize and set goals: Once you have a list of potential initiatives, prioritize them based on their feasibility, alignment with your brand and potential impact. Set clear, measurable goals for your philanthropic efforts.

5. Plan and implement: Develop a detailed plan for your chosen initiative, including budget, timeline and responsible parties. Ensure that your initiative is well organized and sustainable in the long term.  

6. Communicate your philanthropic mission: Have transparent communication with customers and the community about efforts.  This can inspire others to get involved and support your franchise. 

7. Celebrate success and inspiring stories: Celebrate your philanthropic achievements with the communities and staff. Share ideas of recognition and celebrations which can foster a sense of pride and motivation and how collective efforts can create a more compassionate and thriving community. 

Partnering with organizations like Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Florida provides an opportunity for companies to support families with sick children by being together at the house during challenging times. The Ronald McDonald House offers a welcoming and comfortable environment for families to stay near the hospital while their child receives medical treatment. This helps reduce stress and allows parents to be close to their child when they need them the most.

Meet the Mina Family

In April 2021, Mina and his wife, Manar, traveled with their two young children, Noah, 3 and Adam, 8 from Cairo, Egypt to West Palm Beach, Florida to visit friends for vacation. Unfortunately, while on vacation, 3-year-old Noah had a burn accident. A microwavable soup spilled on his chest and part of his arms, causing a third-degree burn. After being rushed to the local hospital, it was recommended they travel to Miami to seek treatment at the Miami Burn Center located in Jackson Memorial Hospital. The family was unable to be airlifted due to harsh weather conditions. Scared and nervous, they quickly drove towards a city they had never been to and left their other son, Adam, behind. Noah was admitted and suffered severe burns to his chest and arms which required extensive treatment. Back in West Palm Beach, Adam stayed in the care of friends and it was the first time the family had to be separated. The days quickly turned into weeks and when the treatment required months of doctor visits, it was clear the family needed to move to Miami in order to stay together and close to Noah as he underwent treatment. The unexpected costs and the emotional toll the accident had on the family was stressful. Fortunately, the family was referred to RMHC of South Florida where they were able to safely check-in and stay together as Noah began healing. “We are grateful for the lovely staff and volunteers that treat us and take care of us like the nicest family members,” said Mina. Today, Noah is slowly healing, and the family has been able to stay together and close to the pediatric hospital where he is being treated.

As a franchise owner, you have a unique opportunity to make a positive impact on the communities you serve.

Volunteers not only offer practical help but also emotional support, joy and laughter to the children and families. Each month, hundreds of individuals share their time and talent to make sure families experience the comforts of home while caring for their hospitalized children. Typical individual and corporate volunteering includes preparing a meal or activity for families, cleaning, painting, participating in any special events, collecting wish list items, preparing care kit packages, or hosting a fundraiser.  

Community engagement and philanthropy can be a win-win situation for franchise owners, their businesses and the communities they serve. Take that first step towards a more socially responsible and engaged franchise.

Due to a high demand, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Florida will be building a new house to help more families and eliminate its waiting list. To learn more on the Capital Campaign “Hope Has a New Home”, such as how to volunteer, schedule an activity for families and or donate to the Ronald McDonald House, visit www.rmhcsouthflorida. org or call 305-324-5683.

 

Soraya Rivera-Moya is the executive director of Ronald McDonald House Charities of South Florida.

 

By Tricia Petteys, Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC

 

The IRS has made several big announcements recently. First, in September, it enacted a moratorium for processing new claims, due to a huge backlog and rampant fraudulent filings. In October, they announced a claim withdrawal process for business owners who may have been the target of a credit filing scam or who have doubts after filing that they actually qualify for the tax credit.

As chief operating officer and co-founder of a payroll service company that specializes in serving small businesses, we have successfully processed tens of millions of dollars of ERC credits for clients. But we also know many small business owners who were convinced to file for ERC by heavy-handed marketing used by questionable tax filing companies.

It’s more important now than ever for business owners to know the facts about ERC qualifications, how to spot a filing scam attempt, and how to withdraw a filing if they think they’ve made a mistake.

ERC Situation Overview

To recap, ERC is a special tax credit offered to employers who paid wages between March 13, 2020, and December 31, 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. To qualify, an employer must have experienced one of the following during this time period:

• Sustained a full or partial suspension of operations due to an order from an appropriate governmental authority limiting commerce, travel, or group meetings because of COVID-19 during 2020 or the first three quarters of 2021.
• Experienced a significant decline in gross receipts during 2020 or a decline in gross receipts during the first three quarters of 2021.
• Qualified as a recovery startup business for the third or fourth quarters of 2021

Additional information on ERC qualifications and how to file a claim are available on the IRS website.

Due to the large number of claims filed, the IRS announced on September 14 that it had a backlog of about 600,000 claims, and it was seeing an alarming number of fraudulent claims. To address the problem, the IRS put a moratorium on processing new claims, extending the original 90-day waiting period for valid claims to 180 days. Deadlines for filing and processing remain unchanged, however, which means business owners must be vigilant to avoid scams.

Spotting a Scam

Business owners have a limited time to file for ERC. According to the IRS, the filing deadline for the 2020 tax period is April 15, 2024, and the deadline for the 2021 tax period is April 15, 2025. Because of this shrinking window, unscrupulous filing companies will pressure business owners to file quickly and without doing their due diligence to ensure they’re qualified. To avoid being taken in by these scams, business owners should watch for these warning signs of an ERC scam:

• Unsolicited contact from companies claiming to help with ERC filings. 
• Instant eligibility determination promises, i.e., “We can do it in minutes.” • Large upfront fees or fees based on refund size. 
• A refusal to sign the ERC filing.
• Misleading claims about ERC risks, i.e., “There’s no penalty for an ineligible filing.”
• A lack of clarity on ERC eligibility.

 As a payroll professional whose company does business tax filings, I highly recommend business owners only work with reputable tax professionals when filing any claims. Make sure to check the eligibility and computation worksheet and perform a self-evaluation. Business owners shouldn’t file a claim if they have doubts about their qualifications. However, if they’ve already filed a doubtful claim, there is a solution.

Withdrawing Questionable Claims

On October 19, the IRS announced a new withdrawal system for business owners who suspect their ERC filings may not be valid. Fraudulent claims that were filed willingly won’t exempt the filer from criminal investigation and subsequent prosecution, but business owners won’t be penalized or fined.

Employers can withdraw an ERC claim if they meet four criteria:

• They filed an adjusted employment return (Forms 941-X, 943-X 944-X, or CT-1X).
• They filed the return only for ERC with no other adjustments.
• They are withdrawing the entire amount of the ERC claim.
• Either the IRS hasn’t paid the employer’s claim, or the employer hasn’t cashed or deposited the refund check.

 An employer that wants to withdraw an ERC claim should follow special instructions, which are available on the IRS website. To summarize, employers who filed through a professional payroll company should consult their payroll service provider; the provider may need to file the withdrawal request, depending on whether the claim was filed individually or batched together. Employers who file claims on their own should fax their withdrawal requests by computer or mobile device; requests may also be mailed, though this takes longer. Lastly, employers who have been notified that they’re under audit may send the request to their assigned examiners or respond to the audit notice if they don’t have an assigned examiner.

Business owners who have received a refund check can still withdraw a claim if they do so before cashing or depositing. They should mail the voided check with their withdrawal request, using the instructions available on the IRS website.

ERC is a valuable benefit to employers who kept their employees through a difficult economic period. Unfortunately, there will always be those who will take advantage of goodwill efforts and programs designed to help others. It falls to business owners to watch out for attempts to lure them into filing unqualified claims — so this financial assistance can reach those who need it most.

 

Tricia Petteys is the chief operating officer and co-founder of Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC. For more information about IFA franchisor member Payroll Vault Franchising, LLC, please visit franchise.org/franchise-opportunities/payroll-vaultfranchising-llc.

By Lisa Hafetz, Always Best Care

 

Most franchise owners don’t get into their business because they love to do the bookkeeping. They may understand the importance of regularly reviewing financial statements and setting monetary goals for the company, but they don’t necessarily come in armed with financial acumen. While all owners seek to improve the financial rewards they receive from their business, few know where to start in developing a strong company management strategy. It takes discipline and knowhow to gather the necessary information and integrate effective benchmarking into their process.

At Always Best Care, my role is to support our franchisees in having a better understanding of business financials and increasing their profitability and success. I oversee a Performance Group program, which brings together franchise owners to discuss finances, bounce ideas off one another and create strategies for operational improvements. What it’s really creating is accountability, to themselves and to each other. Groups of 8-10 owners meet quarterly throughout the year. They review a group benchmark report that shows how they are doing in comparison to their peers, their past performance, and the goals they have set for themselves.

Franchisors typically provide a lot of operational, marketing and training support to their franchise owners, but they do not give specific financial advice and guidance. In fact, very few franchisors have an entire department dedicated to helping franchisees with the financial side of their business.

The financial information tells the story about what’s going on in a company. Franchise owners must understand it, invest in it, and know they can use that information to change the way their business is operating. Whether or not they have a formal program to follow, here are the top tips I recommend to get started.

Invest In the Financial Part of the Business

Outsource the bookkeeping so the information you have about your numbers is accurate and reliable. When it’s not, it’s very difficult to use that information to help achieve different results. A payroll vendor is also an important partner to have so you don’t spend valuable time ensuring paychecks and payroll tax deposits are correct. Leave that to the experts!

Educate yourself on how to interpret your financial information. Once you understand that, the data becomes a tool you can use to run the business rather than annoying paperwork you have to suffer through. There are numerous ways to start putting your financial information to work. For instance, you can run a sensitivity analysis to illustrate how certain operational changes might affect your profitability.

Most importantly, you need to make sure you are focusing your time and attention in the places that will optimize your ability to be more profitable and successful.

Measure So You Can Manage

There’s a classic saying in the business world that “what gets measured gets managed.” Key financial data that you want to be able to read and understand includes measuring profitability, productivity, financial position and cash flow. An effective Benchmark Report would provide a summary of this data for your business and follow a standard format that allows you to record goals, set action plans, and assess progress at meeting goals.

This level of detail will show where you have been, where you are now and where you want to go. The one thing that doesn’t change from industry to industry is financial information and what you need to know about it. Once you have that financial acumen, you can take it anywhere you go.

But to actually put a plan in place that will get you there, you must be willing to make changes in the way you operate. That is why I recommend that all franchise systems put together a financial education program.

Create an Accountability Group

Putting together an informal “board of directors” can provide ongoing support and direction, adding discipline, structure, and accountability to keep you focused and committed to your goals. Ideally, this would be a group of small business owner peers, and regularly scheduled discussions would focus on finances and goals.

  The Always Best Care performance groups use accountability sheets. Each person selects at least two items that came up at the meeting that they’re going to implement, and they state on the sheet exactly what they’re going to do, when they’re going to do it and what the expected outcome will be. Then the group holds them accountable to those intentions by asking questions and following up on those commitments at the upcoming meetings. Once the goals are established, the performance groups look at areas that need improvement and prepare activities to help fill in those gaps.

Applying this process with a group of peers provides a pool of best practices, or standards, from which to draw when implementing plans. You’ll achieve your goals far more quickly and efficiently than doing it on your own.

With consistent accountability, you can integrate financial benchmarking into the ongoing process of monitoring and managing your business. By sharing experiences, peer groups can learn new approaches to old issues and develop a network they can call on for advice, support, and as a sounding board for new ideas. By focusing efforts toward a plan, you can go beyond crisis management and actually create the company you want to own.

 

Lisa Hafetz joined Always Best Care in 2022 as the vice president of franchise financial management. She was introduced to the senior services company as a contractor with Profit Mastery, where she gained extensive experience providing financial education and establishing and facilitating franchisee financial performance groups. For more information about IFA franchisor member Always Best Care, please visit franchise.org/franchise-opportunities/always-bestcare-senior-services.