Realizing How Lucky I am to be in New Jersey
New Jersey Franchise Exposition
Today, we finished the second and final day of the New Jersey Franchise Exposition, held just outside New York City at the Meadowlands exposition center. The show was as these shows typically go, about 75 exhibitors, maybe 2,000 people in attendance looking for the right franchise and the right business opportunity that fits their needs and interests. There certainly seems to be a buzz about the entire franchise market recently with renewed optimism for small business with a business-friendly president, recently enacted SBA regulations that make small business lending simpler and an overall optimistic sentiment for the economy in 2017.
At the Franchise Marketing Systems booth, myself, Christopher Conner, Paul Reisner, Scott Maczuga, CEO of Vortex Martial Arts (http://leander-vortexmartialarts.com ) and Jai Jaithurth, Franchise Director for Curie Learning (http://www.curielearning.com ) all were in attendance. After some time, your knees get tired, the back soon follows and if a conversation runs long you will sometimes realize how tired you are after a dozen hours on the show floor. During the last day of the show, we were fortunate to have some great business owners come to visit the exposition as well, considering the venue for marketing their own franchise brand. Abdul Elanani, founder of Cocoa Grinder (http://cocoagrindernyc.com ), Leo Goldberger, founder of Patch Boys (http://thepatchboys.com ), Dan Hom, CEO of eFresh Café (http://www.efreshny.com ) all visited the show and spent time discussing the current state of franchising and business growth in general at this early point in the year. Mr. Michael Duchnij with SuperPro Painters (www.SuperProPainters.com ) exhibited at the show next to the Franchise Marketing Systems booth and with constant positive energy and a never-ending enthusiasm presented the SuperPro franchise to each visitor who passed by.
On Saturday, Mr. Conner presented on how to make the transition from an employee to owning a business along with the differences between buying a franchise and starting your own business. Overall, the exhibition was well attended and was a success for what seemed like the large majority of the exhibitors.
At the end of the show as the weekend came to a close, I realized how fortunate I was to spend time with such good people. Each of these entrepreneurs had unique stories and backgrounds that would be published in college textbooks should any of the brands become global names. They, like the Henry Ford’s, Ray Kroc’s and other greats, all have taken great risks and gone to extreme hardships to be in their current positions. Their diligence, commitment and effort is in my opinion what has supported our country’s growth and innovation. It is the entrepreneur and the visionary who creates growth and opportunity for the rest of us. As these business leaders offer their brand, business system and franchise model, I realized how much of a blessing it is for me to be with them in the trenches and in the battlefield of business. Right now, I would not choose to be next to anyone over these professionals who wear their heart on their sleeves and exhibit a perpetual dedication to the expansion of their brand and vision. If the rest of this new year has more of this in store for me, I’m feeling as lucky as I could be.
Christopher Conner
President
Franchise Marketing Systems
