Franchising World November 2011
 

By: Alisa Harrison  

The CEO Roundtables conducted in Tampa and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. this past October provided an opportunity for C-level franchise executives to share business strategies, as well as gain insights on policy issues by learning more about the activities that the International Franchise Association conducts on their behalf.
   

This represents the first time the IFA CEO Roundtable has come to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Interim Healthcare President and CEO Kathleen Gilmartin served as the host. 

Valpak Senior Advisor Joseph Bourdow, CFE, and IFA Board of Directors’ member hosted the Tampa session once again. 

A few of the highpoints from the meeting included that some attendees reported a small uptick in franchise sales over the past month. However, the reason given was not that people were feeling better about the economy, but as they saw their investments and home equity continue to decline in value, they were taking steps now before they could lose more assets. 

Another related issue was that prospective franchisees are also still concerned about consumer spending. Credit access remains an issue, as well as health care and attendees expressed uncertainty about how best to address the health care reform law requirements imposed on their businesses and urged IFA to continue pushing for repel or significant fixes. 

An area of strong support shown by these franchise executives was their interest in the recently re-introduced Help Veterans Own Franchises bill. Roundtable attendees expressed frustration with lawmakers who do not seem to have the best interest of the nation’s citizens at heart and discussed support for IFA’s pro-growth agenda. 

Summaries for CEO Roundtables scheduled Atlanta, Ga., Oct. 25, and Orange County, Calif., Nov. 1 were not available at press time. Look for coverage in upcoming issues of Franchising World magazine. 

Alisa Harrison is vice president, communications and marketing for the International Franchise Association. She can be reached at 202-662-0775 or

aharrison@franchise.org
.