Yesterday, Wednesday, April 18, was a special day for Edible Arrangements and all our hardworking franchisees. On behalf of Edible Arrangements, I appeared on Taking Stock with Pimm Fox, a national investment program airing on Bloomberg TV. This was a milestone for our brand as Pimm Fox is one of the most respected business reporters and hosts around, and I was honored to be on his show. It’s a dream come true for me in that this was an amazing opportunity for a national audience to learn more about Edible Arrangements, our incredible products, our franchisees and brand mission to ‘Wow You,’ and to just have the opportunity to tell our story. Please click Here to watch the video. I’ve always said you can obtain any goal or achieve your dream so long as you believe in yourself, work hard with intelligent passion, be honest and start small but dream big. Edible Arrangements was my dream only 12 short years ago, and nothing thrills me more than making so many people’s dreams of owning their own business –an Edible Arrangements franchise –and building their own enterprise come true.
I always find it especially gratifying to see husbands and wives working together to start their own franchise business. In the case of Michael T., who just took over operations of the Whitby, Ontario Edible Arrangements location at the end of last month, the decision to go ahead with the venture was cemented by the approval of his closest confidante and business partner: his wife, Tracey.
While attending Edible Arrangements University (EAU) in our Wallingford, CT headquarters today, Michael had a chance to relate that in person:
“When we looked into this franchise, my wife really was impressed. She thought it was amazing, and so unique. She said we should go for this one. She was really happy, and we looked over everything carefully and both said, ‘We should do this.’”
A traveling computer consultant for many years, Michael welcomes the opportunity to be close to home instead of constantly on the road. He is also looking forward to the chance to share work responsibilities with his wife Tracey for the very first time:
“We were looking for something that both of us could do. My wife is partially disabled, and she wanted something she could help out with as well. This was a great opportunity for her, because she can work a few hours in the store doing day-to-day bookkeeping, and I can concentrate on running and marketing the store.”
And although they just joined the Edible Arrangements family, that hasn’t prevented Michael and Tracey from already dreaming up expansion plans. They hope to be able to grow the business and add a few more locations as soon as they can, and are excited to take on the new and convenient Edible to Go product line in the process.
I wish Michael and Tracey great success in their husband-wife venture, and trust they will find it to be a most rewarding experience.
As I’ve said before, passion –intelligent passion – for everything you do is the name of the game if you want to be a successful franchisee, or successful in life. And sometimes, our franchisees are so passionate and enthusiastic that it even amazes me. For example, we just signed a brand new Edible Arrangements location in Chantilly, Virginia, just south of Dulles International Airport. Amazingly, our new franchisees have already signed their lease and will be starting construction very soon. Wow! Farhad, the primary owner, is anxious to open in time for Mother’s Day, which even I have to admit is an aggressive timetable to meet. However, we will do everything we can to help him meet this goal. That’s the kind of determination and dedication I look for in potential franchisees. It all stems from a passion for the product. I’ll let him explain:
“I thought it was a fascinating idea. Tariq was killing two birds with one stone: Selling arrangements that reminded me of flowers, but you could eat them! It makes people feel good, and you always have something going on during the course of the year, in terms of holidays and special gifting events. The more we researched it, the more interesting it became.”
Farhad has been in business ever since he first came to America in the 1970s, so he definitely has a nose for what works at this point. I’m personally honored that he and his partners (wife Faranak, sister-in-law Kambiz and close friends Farzaneh and Noushin ) have chosen to partner with Edible Arrangements. I have a feeling their enthusiasm will be rewarded.
Certified Happiness. It’s not just a catchy tagline, but rather a very real philosophy that is taken seriously as a corporate goal by all of us here at Edible Arrangements. We hold ourselves to the highest standards, and make superior customer service a priority at all times. That’s why when we don’t completely live up to those standards, there is no one who is more disappointed about it than us. After all, our mission is to WOW you each and every time.
It pleases me greatly to know that our Edible Arrangements franchisees brought happiness to more people this Valentine’s Day than ever before. In locations across America and around the world, they worked tirelessly to fulfill hundreds of thousands of orders on our busiest day of the year, and are eminently proud to service their local communities.
That said, there were also some customers whose orders were either delivered in an untimely fashion, or not delivered at all. And for this, I personally apologize. It may have been a small percentage of you, but as far as I’m concerned, if we successfully fulfill a thousand orders and miss one, then we have fallen short of our mission.
Edible Arrangements Fruit Experts are among the most dedicated and passionate franchisees in the world. As such, they hold themselves accountable when things go wrong—as we all do on the Edible Arrangements team. When standards are not met, we all seek to address the problems promptly and effectively. This is why our franchisees are working around the clock to do just that.
We are already hard at work revamping our operations and formulating strategies to minimize these issues going forward. In short, we are learning from what went wrong this time around.
To all those customers and recipients whose Valentine’s Day was brightened by Edible Arrangements, I thank you for placing your confidence in us, and allowing us to help you share your love. Without you and your support, we would never have been able to build the Edible Arrangements brand in the first place. And if we missed our mark for any of you, do not hesitate to reach out and let us know. Your voices will be heard, and I can assure you that all our owners will do whatever it takes to make it up to you. Because certifying happiness is more than a mission statement—it’s our way of life.
I’ve just returned from a two-day special training session sponsored by the Institute of Certified Franchise Executives (ICFE). ICFE held this session right before the International Franchise Association’s (IFA) 52nd Annual Convention so franchise executives could attend both with only one trip away from their businesses. I could not stay for the entire IFA Convention as it conflicted with Valentine’s Day – one of the biggest holidays of the year for Edible Arrangements, but as a Certified Franchise Executive I did not want to miss out on the opportunity to present at one of the ICFE sessions. I was honored to be asked to be a part of the “Managing System Change – Challenges and Opportunities” training session. The session was moderated by Michael Seid, CEO and Managing Partner of MSA Worldwide. Michael has been a huge influence in my life and has helped guide me since the very beginning (I’ll save that story for another blog entry). Other presenters were Kay Ainsley, CFE, Managing Director at MSA Worldwide; John Francis, Strategic Business Advisor at PostNet International Franchise Corporation and Stuart Hershmann, Partner at the law firm of DLA Piper, whose area of expertise is franchise law and who has been Edible Arrangements external franchise attorney, and trusted friend, for many years.
The session focused on the unique challenges of managing change in the context of the franchisor/franchisee relationship and understanding the types of things that drive change: brand innovation, pricing strategies, different classes of franchisee ownership, second generation franchisee ownership, international expansion, mergers and acquisitions, and introducing or eliminating products and services. We also explored case histories with examples of successful and unsuccessful change strategies.
I am particularly interested in the subject of change in business because to me, change is synonymous with growth. A smart company continuously examines its product offerings and operational procedures, and measures what it’s doing against what customers want. If you are not adapting to respond to consumer’s ever-changing appetites, market trends, economic conditions and other factors that directly impact your business, you are not growing. And when you’re not growing, your business is dying. It’s that simple.
ICFE offers a wide range of continuing education programs to franchise executives for professional development. They also offer a certification program that leads to the “Certified Franchise Executive” (CFE) designation. . For more information on becoming a Certified Franchise Executive visit the IFA website.
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