Buying a Franchise
This Franchisee Found a Business That Rocked His World
When Ken Hall of Tennessee found School of Rock, he says he found the courage to leave his corporate gig and finally listen to the music.
More From Joan Oleck
Buying a Franchise
What’s Old Is New Again for These Two Resale Franchisees
Mark Hoon has never been an employee. Instead, he and his wife have been small-business owners for three decades-plus, and franchisees since 2008.
Buying a Franchise
This Franchise Knows Just How Cool (and Hot) It Is for a Woman to Own and Operate an HVAC Business
Mandy Solis considers herself lucky to have had a mentor who 'never treated me differently because I was young or a woman.'
Buying a Franchise
This Franchisee Is Cooking up Some Lessons in Life for Her Young Clientele
Nora Wachter-Lerner survived cancer and decided that for her next gig, she was leaving the corporate world and going back to the kitchen.
Buying a Franchise
Coffee Runs Deep in This Franchisee’s Veins. No, Really, It Does.
More than two decades ago, Ross Drever took over the world's first Gloria Jean's Coffees franchise. Its founder, in 1986, was his dad.
Buying a Franchise
Downsizing, Death, Divorce and Debt Are the 4 ‘D’s’ of This Estate-Sales Franchise
Two North Carolina sisters found Blue Moon the perfect solution to their twin passions: treasures and trinkets, and tots -- especially the five they're mothers to.
Buying a Franchise
This Franchisee Doesn’t Mind That Her Recruiting Task Never Ends
Tracey Hamilton of Minneapolis recruits hospitality managers. But her best recruits have been her own two daughters.
Buying a Franchise
The Açaí Berry: Combining Powerhouse Nutrition with Powerhouse Business
Vitality Bowls franchisees David and Irene Tang brought to Indianapolis the açaí bowls they first fell in love with, in Maui.
Buying a Franchise
This B2B Franchisee and Former Baseball Manager Believes He Hit One Out of the Park
Bill Papierniak was a minor league general manager in Richmond, Va. Today, the deals he's inking are with Cartridge World.
Buying a Franchise
This Franchisee Left a Life of Crime (Others’ Crimes) to Focus on Fitness
Government prosecutor April Porter had seen more than enough horrific sex offenses and homicides. She decided to walk away.
Buying a Franchise
This Husband-and-Wife Franchise Team Are Playing It Cool With a Successful HVAC Business
Ray and Tina Bramble are so successful that they won 2015's IFA's Franchisee of the Year Award.
Buying a Franchise
It Takes More Than Just An Average Joe to Be a Serial Entrepreneur
Joe Chiarello has bought and sold 16 businesses. Today, he's settled down, at least for now, with Murphy Business & Financial Corporation.
Buying a Franchise
After 30 Years of Pizza, This Franchisee ‘Cleaned up’ With a Very Different Concept
John Mansour wanted his 'second act' to be something outside the restaurant field, so he opened his own Cleaning Authority business in Illinois.
Buying a Franchise
This Franchisee Has a ‘Fix’ on Business Success in the Lone Star State
Andrew Brown traces his interest in fixing appliances back to a broken refrigerator in his childhood. Today, he's a top franchisee with Mr. Appliance.
Building a Business
This Franchisee’s Business Has Taken Flight, But Not in an Ordinary Way
Bob Minkert was enthralled that a hot-air balloon could be used to promote his Mr. Electric franchise. So he went out and bought one.
Thought Leaders
The Entrepreneur Who Inspired ‘Joy’ Talks Movie-Making and Retail
At one point, she shares, megastar Robert De Niro leaned in to ask her advice about his idea for an invention.
Buying a Franchise
When Visions of Sugarplums Dance, This Dental Fix Rx Franchisee Is on His Way
Philip May left a corporate career to own his own business, whose mobile vans fix dental equipment on-site and make all of us healthier.
Building a Business
Movie ‘Joy’ Celebrates Something We Already Appreciate: Entrepreneurs
Who knew that someone would make a movie starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper that centers on a mop inventor.
Buying a Franchise
This Franchisee’s Goal of Owning His Own Plumbing Business Was No Pipe Dream
Trent Dawson's family had been in the plumbing and draining business for three generations before Dawson bought his Mr. Rooter Plumbing seven-and-a-half years ago.
Buying a Franchise
Despite a Major Move, From Mortgages to Steaks, This Franchisee Never Bit Off More Than He Could Chew
Sonny Nguyen has found prime success in his two Flame Broiler restaurants.
Buying a Franchise
These 2 Franchisee Navy Vets Found Smooth Sailing With a FastSigns Enterprise
Woody Poole and Milton Guerrero were like brothers, as chief petty officers in the U.S. Navy. Now, they're brothers in business.
Buying a Franchise
Each Thanksgiving, This Franchisee Stops Selling and Starts Serving (From the Heart)
Eric Holm is part of Golden Corral's 'Helpings from the Heart' effort, which provides 20,000 meals to Central Florida residents.
Buying a Franchise
This Franchisee Takes the (Cup)Cake for Making Customers’ Celebrations Sweet
Marina Lee traveled the world for Cisco before settling in North Carolina to open her own mini-chain of Gigi's Cupcakes bakeries.
Buying a Franchise
No Sibling Rivalry Here: These Franchisees Are Happily in Business Together
Bill Nowak and Gail Gentry of Buffalo, New York, were chosen 'rookie of the year' by their Checkers franchisor.
Building a Business
This Franchise Took ‘Work at Home’ to a Whole New Level
Amy VanderMolen loved selling on eBay. So she made her hobby her business.
Buying a Franchise
This Veteran Is ‘Going Green’ in More Ways Than One
This Veterans Day, franchisee Andrew Mason is creating customized energy-management plans in Oklahoma City.
Buying a Franchise
After Buying Into AAMCO, This Franchisee Couple Found That Success Drove Itself
Kim and Greg Johnson of Santa Cruz are grateful that franchisor support helped their business survive the recession, unlike area independent car shops.
Buying a Franchise
Give This Franchisee a ‘Cut’ From Your Hair Care Bill This Month to Help Other Veterans Succeed
Cheston C. Syma is back from Iraq and Afghanistan, running ten Sport Clips locations and raising scholarship funds for his fellow vets and active-duty military personnel.
Buying a Franchise
This Franchisee Says He’s All About Renewal — of Carpets and Wood, That Is.
Albuquerque-based Glenn Buckland has been in the franchise business 28-plus years and now divides his time between businesses that clean carpets and refresh wood.
Buying a Franchise
This Postal Connections Franchisee Is Not Content to Just Mail It In
Kevin Papula of Pennsylvania credits his 'work ethic' and five years of steady effort for making his franchise a success.
