According to iPreserve CEO Matt Bills, the average home has something like 4500 precious but aging &  fading print photographs that could be preserved and stored.  It has miles of family movie film and videotape in a wide range of outdated analog formats. The average office has years worth of accumulated documents, photos, videos and files that could be compactly stored and efficiently organized by converting them from mountains of paper to digital files. So what has prevented American families and businesses from preserving their priceless documents and uncluttering their livesthrough the use of today’s digital technology?  Three things stand out:  Time.  Equipment.  And expertise. Meeting the needs of this massive market is... [Read more]

Top New Franchises Our Top New Franchises program is designed to identify, investigate and spread the word about innovative and promising new franchise opportunities.  If you know of a top new franchise you’d like to see featured, email us at info[at]topnewfranchises.com. *  *  *  *  * The unique iPreserve franchise opportunity was “discovered” by the franchise investment, consulting and development firm Franchise Foundry.  The iPreserve franchise is a digital imaging and storage franchise that is truly unique in the industry. In an exclusive interview with Top New Franchises, iPreserve Founder & VP of Franchise Support Matt Bills explains both the iPreserve service and the iPreserve franchise opportunity.  (Also... [Read more]

The test that launched 100 co-branded locations may have put one Cold Stone Creamery franchisee out of business. Last February, Cold Stone Creamery announced that they had concluded a successful test co-branding two stores with Tim Horton’s, Canada’s largest coffee and doughnut chain. The results of the two Rhode Island test stores were so impressive that Cold Stone Creamery and Tim Horton’s were initiating a 100-store co-brand expansion nationwide. However, not everyone was pleased with the co-branding test or initiative.  According to a post on Unhappy Franchisee, (COLD STONE CREAMERY: Bitter Franchisee Alleges Encroachment) an established Cold Stone Creamery franchisee in Providence, Rhode Island blames the recent failure... [Read more]

The most oft-repeated cliche in franchise marketing materials is that when you buy a franchise you are in business FOR yourself, but not BY yourself.  And that is the way it should be. Two important ways franchisees expect their franchisors to be there for them are: 1) that the franchisor will police the franchise system to ensure that the systemwide brand image is being upheld by their fellow franchisees, and 2) that the franchisor will be concerned for their success and will lend extra assistance to struggling or failing franchises. An Unhappy Franchisee post today, titled CURVES: In Oregon, Curves Franchises Die Alone, tells of a financially troubled Oregon franchisee couple whose house has been foreclosed upon and whose three clubs are... [Read more]

Signworld delivers what they promote: a business that has the potential to be a lucrative enterprise.… Signworld is a great investment… It’s a fun and profitable business… Signguy1 (Unhappy Franchisee) SIGNWORLD is a huge ripoff… If you feel compelled to spend well over $250K in capital, I recommend that you convert it to dollar bills, pile it up at a camp site, light it on fire, and gather the kids around for a good old fashioned marshmallow roast rather than waste your time with Signworld. RK of Spokane (SIGNWORLD Complaints) According to its website, “Signworld is a national organization with more than 240 independently owned sign companies, which provide commercial custom signage and graphics… The ongoing... [Read more]