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We recently talked with a business owner who was looking to expand his successful service business. He told me that he wanted to franchise his business, but he didn’t want to call it a “franchise.” He wanted to sell the right to use his business’s name and systems and collect ongoing royalties, but he didn’t want to go through the hassle or cost of preparing the franchise disclosure documents.

I told this particular owner the same thing I’ve told many owners before: “You can call a duck an eagle, but that doesn’t make it true.” In other words, the name you choose to use doesn’t define a business arrangement. Rather, the arrangement determines which name is correct.

Franchise and license aren’t synonyms, and the distinctions are crucial. If your company creates a franchise but doesn’t provide the required disclosures, you could be personally liable for the buyer’s damages.

THE FTC’S DEFINITION OF ‘FRANCHISE’

The Federal Trade Commission regulates franchise disclosures through the Franchise Rule (“The Rule”). The Rule defines a “franchise” as a business arrangement that has the following broadly-interpreted elements:

• A common trademark or commercial symbol

• Payment of $500 or more during the first six months of the relationship

• Significant control or significant assistance

USING A COMMON TRADEMARK OR SYMBOL

This element includes registered trademarks, like names (e.g., McDonald’s or Nike) and logos (e.g., the Arches or the Swoosh), as well as trade names, service marks, and other symbols that indicate a common origin or enterprise. A

common symbol could even exist where the phrase “Part of the Acme Business Group” is used in marketing materials.

Generally, if a name or logo is a part of the arrangement, the trademark element will be satisfied.

PAYMENT OF $500 OR MORE IN THE FIRST SIX MONTHS

A franchise fee of $500 or more is sufficient, but, because the elements are interpreted broadly, all of the following payments count toward the $500 threshold:

• Inventory and equipment

• Marketing and sales materials

• Training and training materials

• Rent (equipment and real property)

• RoyaltiesContinued on page 2 ...

FRANCHISE VS. LICENSE WHY THE DIFFERENCE MATTERS TO YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS

Your Business MattersAlexanderAbramson.com • (407) 649-7777

November 2018

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Maintaining the flow of ideas and information between team members is as necessary to a business as the nervous system is to the human body. Internal communication (IC) is what determines how flexible and responsive your company is to day-to-day challenges. In today’s fast-paced, decentralized marketplace, leveraging the right tools and strategies to make IC engaging, effective, and fun has never been more important. Here are a few tips to help you get there.

MORE CHATS, FEWER MEETINGSMaking IC engaging from a leadership standpoint means taking the time to use the right medium for your message. The last thing you want is to have team members sitting through a meeting thinking, “Couldn’t this have just been an email?” Recognizing what you want to communicate and why are important steps in deciding the best way to deliver information. Saving in-person meetings for big collaborative projects and important announcements will add more weight to those moments while allowing communications of lesser magnitude to be handled quickly and efficiently over email and instant messaging.

INTERNAL, YET GLOBALRemote work is becoming more and more common — and it’s a good thing. Research conducted by IBM suggests that remote workers are, on

average, more engaged and effective than those who come to the office from 9 to 5. With group messaging apps and cloud-based software, you can keep your team on the same page no matter where they are in the world. The best tools to make this possible will depend on your business, but keeping everyone under the same umbrella of programs, such as Google’s G Suite, is a great strategy to start with.

MEMES AND GIFS GALOREA company’s culture exists within the ways its team communicates. Having avenues available for employees to blow off steam, share funny stories, and stay abreast of each other’s lives is an important part of improving retention and company morale. Even spicing up a companywide email with a well-placed GIF or pop culture reference can do wonders to give your IC a voice unique to the culture and values of your company.

Finding the styles and methods of communication that best fit your company takes time, but it’s worth it. Not only will creating your own communication style ensure that time and resources are used effectively, but it will also ensure that your team has a voice. Nailing this key aspect of your business will allow everything else to run far more smoothly.

... Cover story continued

In short, I assume this element will be satisfied in most cases.

ABILITY TO EXERCISE SIGNIFICANT CONTROL OR SIGNIFICANT ASSISTANCE

This element is usually the determining factor. It broadly considers the power and dependency dynamic between the buyer and seller.

“Significant control” hinges on whether the seller has the right to direct the buyer in how to operate the business or provides services and components that are essential to the operation of the franchised business. Indicators include an operations manual, the use of financial reporting procedures, or mandatory sales or management training.

If a buyer wouldn’t be able to operate the business without the seller’s systems, training, or services, the reliance factor will likely be satisfied.

STAY SAFE® OUT THERE™

Franchising to expand your business must be accomplished carefully to avoid running afoul of franchise disclosure laws. At the end of the day, business owners must remember that whether or not a business arrangement is a franchise or a license depends on the arrangement, not the name. Once required disclosures are provided, a properly structured franchising arrangement can lead to increased growth of an already successful business.

You can always get more information about franchising or licensing your business on our website, www.AlexanderAbramson.com, or by calling the office at (407) 649-7777. If you have specific questions or comments, don’t hesitate to reach out. We’d love to hear from you!

Have a great Thanksgiving, and we’ll see you next month!

LET’S TALKGetting the Most out of Internal Communication

Recipe courtesy of Bon Appétit Magazine

• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons kosher salt

• 3/4 cup sugar

• 1 carrot, peeled and diced

• 1 large onion, peeled and diced

• 1/4 cup celery, diced

• 2 large sprigs thyme

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 tablespoon black peppercorns

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

• 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)

1. In a large stock pot, bring salt, sugar, and 4 cups water to a boil. Stir until all ingredients are dissolved.

2. Turn off heat and add remaining ingredients. Place brine in the fridge, uncovered, until cold.

3. Add 6 quarts cold water to brine. Add turkey and submerge completely. Brine chilled for up to 72 hours.

FOR SUCCULENT TURKEY

Ingredients

Directions

Take a Break!

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A Simple Brine

What Matters More in New Hires?Experience vs. Potential

Scaling a business is one of the most complicated challenges for entrepreneurs. Developing a model that allows for consistent growth while maintaining profit margins and effective systems is a substantial task for business owners. But once the proper blueprint is in place, a new test presents itself, and how well you perform will undoubtedly define the future success of your company.

Hiring plays a significant role along a company’s path to success. It’s not a landmark or a checkpoint on the map; it’s the vehicle that takes you to your destination. Your business is only as good as the people who propel it forward. You need individuals who fit into your culture, possess the necessary skills to be effective, and have a desire to continue learning best practices if you’re ever going to achieve your goals. Some qualities are universally known to be linked to good hiring practices, but there’s still one important question that divides the masses: Do I hire for experience or potential?

EXPERIENCE A degree- or trade-specific education can certainly lay a foundation for an employee to be successful, but experience provides specialized training that cannot be found anywhere else. An employee who has a working knowledge of their craft can provide a sense of security when hiring. With new employees playing such a pivotal role in growth, many

employers want to limit uncertainty and ensure they aren’t gambling with their company’s future. But experience doesn’t equate to competency, which is why some employers elect to hire for potential.

POTENTIALThe argument for hiring based on potential centers around two concepts. One is that by hiring someone with a bright future and helping them achieve their goals, you could gain the loyalty of that person and thus retain that employee for a longer time. This comes with the caveat that those who have potential also look for potential, so as an employer, it’s important to provide opportunities for advancement. The other argument is that potential combined with training can equate to a more effective employee in the long run.

In truth, the disagreement that transpires is a moot point. You can hire someone with experience or an individual with potential and strike out just the same. All successful employees will have one important trait: passion. You can’t teach passion, but you can hire for it.

Solution on page 4

Inside This IssueFranchise vs. License PAGE 1

The Key to Effective Internal Communications PAGE 2

Debunking Experience vs. Potential in New Hires PAGE 3

Take a Break PAGE 3

A Simple Brine for Succulent Turkey PAGE 3

How Thanksgiving Became an Official Holiday PAGE 4

Published by The Newsletter Pro • www.NewsletterPro.com

SARAH HALE

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How Thanksgiving Became a National HolidayThanksgiving is one of the most popular holidays celebrated throughout the United States. One of the first documented Thanksgiving celebrations took place in 1621, when Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared a feast together. But the banquet, which celebrated the colonists’ first successful harvest, wasn’t just one large meal, nor did it last for only one day; in fact, the feast lasted for three days.

In later years, Thanksgiving also lasted for longer than a single meal. During the time of the American Revolution, the Continental Congress chose several days throughout the year to celebrate giving thanks. Then, in 1789, George Washington made the U.S. national government’s first Thanksgiving proclamation.

He used this to speak to his fellow American citizens about the Revolution’s satisfactory conclusion and encouraged them to show their thanks for the freedoms they gained.

Thanksgiving became a national holiday more than 200 years after its first celebration. It gained this status largely due to the persistence of a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale. Hale was a successful magazine editor, prolific writer of novels and poems, and author of the famous nursery rhyme “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” which was first published in

her 1830 collection entitled “Poems for Our Children.”

In 1827, Hale began a campaign to make Thanksgiving a national

holiday. For the next 36 years, she wrote numerous editorials and countless letters to state and federal officials expressing her

desire that it gain official status.

In 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln finally declared it a national holiday, hoping that it would help heal the wounds of the country.

Lincoln decided that the holiday would take place on the last Thursday of November. It was celebrated on that day until 1939, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt moved Thanksgiving a week earlier in the hopes of increasing retail sales during the Great Depression. However, this plan was very unpopular, and in 1941, the president reluctantly signed a bill making Thanksgiving the fourth Thursday in November.

Without the efforts of Sarah Hale, we might not have the pleasure of the Thanksgiving feast we know and love to this day. This year, give thanks for family, good food, and the resolve of one woman who recognized the importance of Thanksgiving as a national holiday.

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