A Clean Car Does a Body Good!

For the entire month of May, select Super Wash® car washes hosted a FoodRaiser to raise money for local food pantries. $42,550 was collectively raised with an average donation of $250.00 made to each participating food pantry. All of the money raised will stay in the local community to benefit local families.

Bob Black, Co-Founder and CEO of Super Wash, Inc. remarked, “So many really wonderful people and hard-working families are struggling right now through no fault of their own. I began my career as a high school biology teacher, so it is particularly hard for me to grasp how many kids are going hungry, especially during the summer when school is out. We are so pleased to be able to make a positive difference in some small way through our FoodRaiser.”

On their website, Feeding America, the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity, states, “For every $1.00 donated Feeding America can provide 7 meals to men, women and children facing hunger in our country.” While food procurement and distribution challenges alter the number of meals, or pounds of food, that a $1.00 donation can provide in different parts of the country, it is notable that in Omaha, NE $1.00 donated to a local food pantry can buy $9.00 worth of food and in northeast Indiana $1.00 can buy 5.5 pounds of food.

Founded by Bob and Mary Black in 1976, Super Wash is the nation’s largest car wash franchisor/operator with 305 locations in twenty-one states. Visit www.superwash.com to find the Super Wash closest to you.

An Opportunity to Be A Part of History, Continued...

In Part One of this very engrossing two part series of blogs on the SBLS, I referenced baseball’s opening day, and voiced the sentiment that many IFA leaders were heading to D.C. with a sense of optimism because we felt we could truly make a positive difference. Well, now a week later, I can whole-heartedly say that last week’s Small Business Lending Summit (SBLS) was one for the record books and I absolutely DO feel like everyone in the room made a positive difference!! Think of the SBLS as the baseball game where each team scores every inning – one for you, one for us, two for you, two for us. My opinion is this “game” is far from over, but our team (the franchise community, the bankers and the policy makers) is currently leading against team No Money for You. We’re only in the bottom of the 2nd inning though, so what we have to do now is be relentless in keeping the pressure on in order to sustain our advantage.

I believe IFA Chairman, and McDonald’s franchisee, Jack Earle summed up the day very well when he said, “The dialog was at times tense and always enlightening”. At one point, there was a lot of “respectful disagreeing” going on, but even after that particular presentation the panelist came off the stage and offered a pat on the fanny to the crowd (metaphorically speaking, of course). True progress cannot be made unless all parties really make an effort to understand the opinions and views of their counterparts. I believe the SBLS absolutely provided the right environment for progress to materialize.

Here are my Top Ten SBLS “Plays of the Day”:

*There is an estimated $10.4 billion dollar demand for capital by the franchise community. Unfortunately, there’s only an $8.4 billion supply available leaving us with a $2 billion “lending gap”. This could seriously further impede the already slow economic recovery.

*When conference attendees are warming their hands by the coffee table heat lamps and wrapping themselves in tablecloths, it’s too cold in the room!

*Five Guys Burgers is estimated to have 1,000 locations by the end of 2011. How have I not eaten at one yet?

*Karen Mills, SBA Administrator, says the three reasons why banks aren’t lending are: 1) they don’t want the risk, 2) they don’t have any capital, 3) regulatory restrictions.

*The US borrows $4 billion dollars per day!

*Tony Wilkerson, CEO of the National Association of Government Guaranteed Lendors (NAGGL) says, history shows direct correlation between small business access to credit and job creation.

*Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal says history is clear that the economy does worse when one party (either party) controls government. Divided government equals best economic situation.

*Dr. Jeffrey Rosensweig, Associate Professor of International Business and Finance, and Director, Global Perspectives Program, Emory University, says two words to remember regarding franchising: “Resilient” and “Locomotive”. The franchise model is resilient and franchising can be a locomotive for growth.

*It is possible to run a 9 ¼ hour event with 200 attendees, 47 speakers, 5 panels, a white paper release, senior government officials and media and have it finish exactly on time! Amazingly well-done!!

*There are at least nine “C’s” in lending, not just collateral, capacity and character. A tenth was suggested to be added, “Common Sense”.

An Opportunity to Be A Part of History

Baseball’s opening day has arrived, and, as always, optimism overfloweth on opening day! Next week, myself, and many others, will head to Washington, D.C. for the Small Business Lending Summit (SBLS), and we will be armed with that same sense of optimism as we strive to truly make a positive difference. Just like with opening day, the SBLS marks an opportunity for a fresh start, a chance for us to step up to the plate and swing for the fences! If, collectively, we accomplish the objectives set forth for this event, we will: educate lendors and policy makers alike on the power of franchising, build communication bridges between each of these communities and encourage them to make credit more accessible to our organizations, thus letting us get back to what we do so well – fulfilling the American Dream and getting Americans back to work!

Let’s be honest, most of us are never gonna make history by hitting 73 home runs in a single season, or by taking part in turning a triple play, but we can make history in the arena where we serve. That’s exactly how I view the SBLS, a chance to (in some very small way) be a part of history. Won’t it be awesome when franchise businesses are highlighted in the footnotes of history books as being responsible for restoring economic stability in the United States?!

I am going to D.C. for my parents, two wonderful kids from Iowa who had to figure out how to make ends meet in the mid-1970’s, so they took the $17.42 they had and turned it into the construction of over 700 car washes across this great nation. More people should have the opportunity to be like Bob and Mary Black.

I am going to D.C. for my two little boys who deserve a chance to know a future where anything is possible, not a future where little is possible.

I am going to D.C. for you and me, because the people of franchising are some of the best I have ever known, and you deserve a chance to surpass all of your projections and expectations!

So, you see, it’s game time. I assure you, those of us going to D.C. to represent you, franchising, and the IFA, will do everything we can to “knock it out of the park”!! Let’s play ball!

Follow me on Twitter @superwashsusan for live updates from SBLS. Search for hashtag #SBLS.