Get the Biggest Bang for your Buck! Become an Active Member of IFA’s Supplier Forum

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The Supplier Forum Advisory Board serves to represent all suppliers within IFA and help further the association’s mission to protect, enhance and promote franchising.

By Larry Weinberg, CFE

Suppliers continue as a key component of the franchise community. Suppliers make up the proverbial third leg of the stool along with franchisors and franchisees. Just as it would be without franchisors or franchisees, if there were no suppliers, franchising could not be the success story that it has been over the last 50-plus years. 

One key to the success of franchising as a business model are committed quality suppliers. No better way for suppliers to show their commitment than by becoming and maintaining their membership in the International Franchise Association. 

And no better way for franchisors and franchisees to promote IFA, their trade association, than by seeking out and using IFA’s supplier members when in need of any of the services provided by the supplier community. 

And no better way for suppliers who are members to get their names known by the franchisor and franchisee members of IFA than by becoming not just members of IFA, but active members.

I should know. I have the honor this year to serve as the Chair of the Supplier Forum Advisory Board. This honor was provided to me after more than 20 years of active IFA membership, which not only served IFA and the supplier community, but candidly, my own self-interests in promoting me and my law firm as qualified suppliers of legal services to the franchisors looking to do business in Canada, where I am based. But this does not have to just be my story. It can be yours too. 

The Supplier Forum Advisory Board serves to represent all suppliers within IFA and help further the association’s mission to protect, enhance and promote franchising. The Advisory Board consists of 21 supplier members and is led by a five-person executive committee. 

Members of the Supplier Forum Advisory Board serve fixed terms of up to six years, and so we add at least a few new suppliers every year as the terms are staggered. And for those who shine, there is the opportunity to serve on the Executive Committee of the Supplier Forum Advisory Board, made up of the Chair and two Vice Chairs, who are joined by the immediate past chair in the forming the full executive committee. 

We even seek to ensure there are enough active members by nominating each year up to three alternate members of the Supplier Forum Advisory Board, who are permitted to attend all meetings and participate in board activities, filling a permanent or active seat if one becomes available in the middle of a year. The following year, the alternate members typically graduate to active seats, and new alternates are appointed.

Watch for information in the middle of 2017 for the next round of nominations to the Supplier Forum Advisory Board. 

Supplier Forum members continue to be a valued group within IFA, which is reflected by the growing number of supplier members in the association relative to the overall membership. The role of suppliers continues to grow also as measured by revenue contributions and industry support. In fact, last year Supplier Forum members accounted for nearly a quarter of the IFA’s membership, but more than a third of its revenue with each Supplier Forum member reflecting more than $8,000 — an increase of 28 percent since 2011. 

Supplier member contributions have been so valuable to the association that the IFA Board of Directors recently voted to expand the number of supplier members eligible to serve on the IFA board from two seats to four. These seats will be in addition to board seats for the Supplier Forum Advisory Board Chair and Vice Chair, bringing the total to a potential six supplier seats. 

This opportunity for expanded representation will undoubtedly provide Supplier Forum members with even greater benefits to your association membership. 

But it begins with suppliers becoming members, and getting active. That is how you as a supplier member will get the most “bang for your buck.” Below highlights some immediate opportunities to get involved:  

  • Submit Business Solution Roundtable ideas for the IFA Annual Convention. A “Call for Topics” was recently emailed to all members asking for ideas for the business solution roundtables to be held during #IFA2017. If your ideas are selected, you may be chosen to co-facilitate a table. And these roundtables are a fixture of the convention. So even if you missed out on next year’s coming convention, there will be opportunity next year.
     
  • Share your Supplier Success Stories by emailing to suppliersuccess@franchise.org and potentially earn a chance to have your company featured in an upcoming news story, blog or bylined article in one of the IFA’s many media outlets. The IFA is looking for examples of how your Supplier Forum membership has benefitted the growth of your business. 
     
  • Submit a topic for the Wednesday Wise Webinars, and if chosen, you can join other suppliers presenting on a subject of interest to franchisors or franchisees during the monthly webinar series organized by IFA.
     
  • Attend an upcoming IFA event to network with other members and potential new customers. First and foremost on the list is the IFA Annual Convention, where you can network with often more than 3,000 people representing franchisors, franchisees and other suppliers committed to the franchise business model. But there are other events throughout the year, and you can learn more about those events at www.franchise.org/events, including those planned for fall 2016, such the Emerging Franchisor Conference and FranTech, among others, and those in 2017, such as the annual IFA Legal Symposium and annual IFA/IBA joint conference on international franchise law.
     
  • Learn more on becoming active and maximizing your supplier membership by attending the annual supplier oriented workshop during the IFA Annual Convention in Las Vegas from Jan. 29-Feb. 1, 2017.
     
  • Meet the Supplier Forum Advisory Board during the IFA Annual Convention. These are open meetings, so your attendance is welcome.
     
  • Get involved locally in your community by joining the Franchise Action Network to educate local lawmakers on the benefits of the franchise business model. Attend a local Franchise Business Network meeting and share your stories as part of IFA’s recently launched @OurFranchise campaign.

Space allotted for this article cannot do justice to all of the opportunities available to IFA supplier members to maximize your membership. If you are still in doubt, feel free to reach out to any Supplier Forum Advisory Board member, including those on the Executive Committee. 

Larry Weinberg, CFE, is Partner at Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP in Toronto. He is Chairman of the IFA Supplier Forum Advisory Board and a member of the association’s Board of Directors.

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2016 IFA Supplier Forum Advisory Board

CHAIRMAN:
Larry Weinberg, CFE

Cassels Brock & Blackwell LLP

FIRST VICE CHAIRMAN:
Ronald Feldman, CFE

Siegel Financial Group

SECOND VICE CHAIRMAN:
Mary Ann O’Connell, CFE

Franwise

IMMEDIATE PAST CHAIRMAN: 

Ryan Cunningham 

Javelin Solutions

MEMBER-AT-LARGE TO THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:

Lorne Fisher, CFE

Fish Consulting

 

MEMBERS:

Matt Alden, CFE

Franchise Solutions

Aaron Chaitovsky, CFE

Citrin Cooperman

Amy Cheng

Cheng Cohen LLC

Marisa Faunce

Plave Koch PLC

Stan Friedman, CFE

FRM Solutions

Gary Goerke, CFE

Clarity Voice

Nina Greene

Genovese Joblove & Battista, P.A.

Stuart Hershman

DLA Piper LLP (US)

Lynette McKee, CFE

McKeeCo Services, LLC

Larry Myer

F.C. Dadson, SIB, LLC

Amit Pamecha, CFE

FranConnect

Michael Rozman, CFE

BoeFly, LLC

Geoffrey Seiber

FranFund, Inc. 

Philip St. Jacques, CFE

St. Jacques Marketing

Ritchie Taylor, CFE

Manning, Fulton & Skinner, P.A.

Edith Wiseman, CFE

FRANdata

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