April 2014
| Business World Magazine | 77
fit, and they’d come back and say we couldn’t
get the money from the bank. These were re-
ally strong candidates,” said Jennifer Lemcke,
Weed Man’s chief operating officer.
Similarly, brands like FirstLight HomeC-
are andMarco’s Pizza have added staff specif-
ically to help franchise candidates navigate
the lending waters.
“I have one person on the staff whose sole
job is helping franchisees obtain financing.
In a fast-growth environment like we’re in,
we need to do everything we can to help that
process along,” said Ken Switzer, vice presi-
dent and CFO of Marco’s.
It’s worth noting that brands with higher
satisfaction and a strong history of perfor-
mance have a much easier time getting fi-
nancing for prospective franchisees.
Numerous brands say 2013 was their best
year ever – for franchise development, prof-
itability and franchisee performance. Brands
like Men in Kilts and Our Town America
have aggressively focused on franchise sales
in the past year, and franchisees, more than
ever, are looking to grow their existing busi-
nesses or expand into other territories.
This renewed focus on growth by the
franchisor can impact the franchisee both
