Multi-Unit Franchising Conference 2011: Day 1 Recap

For those of you not attending, the Multi-Unit Franchising Conference in Las Vegas, I thought I would provide a recap of the conference so that you might get a better idea if the MUF conference is right for you in the future. This is my first MUF, so I am evaluating the ROI of the conference as well.

In unusual fashion, the Conference did not start with a general session but went straight into concurrent breakout-type sessions.

Concurrent Session 1

We attended Growing to 20 Units with Cheryl Robinson (43 Supercuts), John Hotchkiss (40 Little Caesars and 3 Firehouse Subs), Steve Adams (10+ Pet Supplies Plus), and Greg Thomas (13 Great Clips, 2 Smoothie Kings and 1 Baci Fashions).

• Overall, it was a very strong session. There was a lot of focus on how to grow, perils of growing too fast, how to scale operations, and how to change the role of the owner as you grow.
• Key Takeaway: Outsource administration; never outsource anything that affects the customer’s experience.

Concurrent Session 2

We attended Growth Strategies for Integrating Additional Brands with Aziz Hashim (lots of locations in five QSR brands), Greg Cutchall (6 concepts in 42 locations), and Anil Yadav (78 Jack In the Box and 16 Dennys).

• Good session. All three were exceptionally knowledgeable and had lots of wisdom to impart; however, the presentation did not focus much on the “integration” topic and really could have been an extension of the first session we attended. Still, we learned some great tips.
• Key Takeaway: A quote from Greg Cutchall. “If it’s not exceptional, it’s unacceptable.” Love that!

Franchisee Leadership Program and Luncheon

This was a moderated luncheon/roundtable session. Most of the discussion centered around growing and retaining key people. The top suggestions from each table were put together in a Top Ten power point and presented to the whole group.

• Key Takeaway: Actively seek referrals from existing employees for recruiting.

General Session

We began with a welcome message from the President of Franchise Media Group, Therese Thilgen. It was your customary intro, and she shared some impressive data on how fast the MUF conference has grown. To Therese’s credit, she is a good speaker. She did her thing and did it at just the right length.

Opening Keynote: The Pizza Turnaround Story with Patrick Doyle, CEO of Domino’s Pizza. Doyle’s talk was followed by an open discussion of profitability with Doyle and two multi-unit Domino’s franchisees. By far, this was the highlight of the conference so far. The inside story of Domino’s amazing about face and ballsy marketing campaign was incredible to hear! I would tell more… But this story deserves to have its own blog post at some point.

Government Affairs and Public Policy Overview with Steve Caldeira, President of the IFA. Obviously, a dry but important topic for people involved with franchising.

• Key Takeaway: The IFA is on the way to becoming a powerful lobby.

Concurrent Session 3

We attended Best Practices for Benchmarking Unit Performance with Steve Lefever (consultant), Grant Norrid (multiple Jack In The Box and Dennys), and Don Fowler (multiple Jiffy Lube).

• This was a strong session. Both Norrid and Fowler gave great tips on how to use data to benchmark unit performance. Lefever gave an engaging presentation on how little franchisees understand the components of profitability.
• Key Takeaway: Making sure managers are financially literate is key to enhancing the bottom line.

Cocktail Reception in Exhibit Hall

I think this session might have been a little misnamed. It should have been entitled Trade Show with Booze. We were already familiar with most of the concepts, though not the 7,972 new fro-yo brands that were exhibiting. We received an incredible tour from Dan at Expion of their amazing social media management software.

A Side Note and a Shout Out to SIB Consulting:

Multiple sponsor videos were played throughout the conference sessions. They were kept to a respectful length, and the conference planners made sure the conference participants were not subjected to much advertising during the sessions.

However, I wanted to give a shout out to one of the sponsors: SIB Consulting. SIB focuses on evaluating business expenses, reducing costs and finding previous overpayments. SIB’s teaser video was one of the best service industry videos I have ever seen. It was clear, creative, and actually did a great job explaining  SIB’s services. This was in marked contrast to the video of another sponsor (who will remain nameless) that left me, after almost three minutes, still trying to figure out what the Company actually does. Check out SIB’s excellent video here.

Well… so far MUF 2011 is off to a good start. We’ll see how Day 2 and 3 to go. Fortunately, the two people I am most excited to see are yet to come: Jason Falls and John DiJulius.

Next: Day 2 Recap, Day 3 Recap