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.

SW Annual Holiday Promotion

We are T-1 day from the launch of our annual Holiday Promotion and we are all really excited for what the winter season may hold for Super Wash. We have had a SUPER fall so far, having had an opportunity to be out on the road meeting with many of our wonderful managers and attendants. We know they are going to do their best to make a positive difference to our customers, and that feeling is just wonderful.

If you happen to live near a Super Wash, please head out to the wash this weekend as approximately 175 of our stores will be giving away FREE WASHES this Friday and Saturday (Nov. 19 and 20) to celebrate the kickoff of our Holiday Promotion. Tokens will be on sale at the biggest discount of the year and make great gifts for those special people on your holiday list who "have everything" or who are hard to buy for.

All of us at Super Wash, wish you and your family a joyous Thanksgiving. Thank you for all you do to be SUPER!

What a Day at Subway!

I had the amazing privilege of presenting two motivational/educational speeches at the Subway Worldwide Franchisee Convention this past Friday and Saturday. What a day at Subway!! There were 4500 people in attendance, from all around the world, including about 900 vendors to the Subway system. Subway currently has just over 33,000 stores in 90 countries!! Can you believe that? It's hard for me to even wrap my mind around! I learned a lot of interesting stuff through this opportunity (some "deep" things about me personally included), but one neat statistic was in regards to the frequency of people in North America eating out at QSR's or Quick Serve Restaurants. Did you know, that 31% of North American's are considered "heavy QSR users," meaning they eat at a QSR more than 12 times a month - TWELVE TIMES A MONTH!! But if you think about it, many who eat lunch out during the work week quickly fall into this category. Additionally about 34% are considerate "moderate" user (4-11 times per month) and 34% are considered "non/low" users in that they eat at QSR's 0-3 times per month. Which category do you fall in to? Depends on the month for me - if it is a busy travel month, I could easily be somewhere between a moderate and a heavy user. Thank you Subway for your subs under 6 grams of fat!!

The Subway system is made up of many family's, so they seemed to really relate to the family business side of Super Wash. I had a number of people approach me after the Saturday session, in particular, to tell me about their family business experience. For me, that's when we really start having fun!

And it certainly is a small world. After Friday's session, a Subway franchisee came up to me and said, "My mom and dad are franchisees of yours and I wanted to introduce myself." I had no idea who should could have been talking about because her last name did not look familiar (she's married). When she told me who her parents are, I just lit up! She has two super parents who have been a part of the Super Wash family since 1985 and we just adore them. It was a special treat to meet her at the Subway Convention.

Until next time, have a super week!
Susan

Next Generation of Talent

I had the pleasure of meeting two young guys this week who, like me and my sister, grew up in the car wash industry. Both Ryan and Kyle are doing some cool and innovative stuff to bring more awareness, via newer technology, to the car wash industry. What I especially liked about these guys is how both of them seem to have a real sense of need to give back to the industry in which they were raised. As you can probably imagine, car washing is very much a family business venture. It was that way when we started in the 70's and it's still that way today. What we are experiencing now though is the next generation coming into their 20's, 30's and 40's and really putting their mark on this industry.

Ryan and I had a chance to work together yesterday on a podcast focused on community involvement and fundraising, and he did a really nice job as the host. The podcast will likely be posted either today or early next week at www.washideas.com. It is also available as a podcast through itunes. Ryan produces this podcast as basically a hobby and his day job company, Wash Card Systems, allows him to do so on company time. Now that's thinking outside the box!! I applaud both Ryan and Wash Card Systems for their efforts to make this industry more inclusive. Thank you!

Kyle is creating "behind the scenes" looks at different companies in the car wash industry. He is posting those looks on his website www.carwashtv.com. Another great and innovative offering by some of the car wash industries next generation of talent.

Who's next up in your industry? What are they bringing to the table? Are you listening to what they are saying? How can you mentor them into being the next generation of leaders? All good things to be thinking about...

Until next time, be SUPER!!
Susan

1st Annual FoodRaiser a SUPER Success!

For the entire month of May, select Super Wash® car washes, hosted a Food-Raiser to raise money for local food pantries. I am very thrilled to report we collectively raised $52,460 with an average donation of $325.00 made to each participating food pantry! There were 162 participating facilities contributing to that $52,460 donation. All of the money raised will stay in the local community to benefit local families.

On their website, www.feedingamerica.org, 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.” This means that the $52,000 Super Wash donation will provide 364,000 meals to hungry families in the local communities we serve. If you are so inclined, please consider making a donation to Feeding America, or your local food pantry, to help those in need during these challenging times.

A big THANK YOU to all who helped make our first FoodRaiser a SUPER success!! It is our intention to make this an annual event. As Mary (my mom and co-founder of Super Wash) says, “A clean car does a body good!”

Until Next Time, Be Super!!
Susan

So Many Without Food

For purchases made in the month of May, Super Wash will donate $1.00 for every "Super Wash" automatic car wash and $1.50 of every 4-token package to local food pantries. We recognized a great need that we hope to be able to help fill in some small way, and what we have learned along the way has been very powerful. Did you know there are many families, kids particularly, right here in this country who go extended periods of time without eating? I learned that summer is one of the highest demand periods for Food Pantries because kids are not in school where they would otherwise have gotten state-funded lunch. As a kid growing up in a small farming community in western Illinois, I always cheered for snow days in the winter, even if we had to make them up later on. Do you know who doesn't root for a snow day? Kids who will not eat that day because they are not in school. Many of these kids do not have sufficient nutrition over weekends for this very same reason.

We have been so fortunate to talk with the wonderful volunteers who keep these Food Pantries running. What wonderful work they are doing! I got shivers the day we heard, "You have just answered a prayer for us." We are so grateful to be able to help local families in the communities we serve.

Please consider making a donation to your local Food Pantry - no matter the time of year. Food is great, cash is always welcome (in many communities, they use the cash to buy vouchers to the local grocery stores so families can buy perishable items the Food Pantry can't readily provide) and volunteered time is a very valuable commodity. These are tough times for many Americans. Let's commit to making a positive difference this May, and always! Until next time, have a super week!

Renewed Energy

Our annual Franchisee Homecoming was a success! Our theme was "Renewed Energy" and from the comments we have received back, our franchisees definitely left with renewed energy. How great it feels to be able to offer this kind of opportunity to our franchise partners!

There are times when all of us lose steam, when our "Passion Buckets" are empty. There is no harm in losing steam every once in awhile, but there is harm in not re-energizing when the time comes. When you're feeling low on spunk, do like we did at our franchisee meeting last week, surround yourself with people who have positive energy and believe in you. They will help fill your Passion Bucket right back up.

Have a super week!