Tag: opportunity

  • American Dream
  • Edible Arrangements
  • franchisee
  • giving thanks
  • opportunity
  • Tariq Farid
  • Tariq Farid Donations Tariq Farid Foundation
  • Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is one of the holidays that holds a special meaning for me. I was just a child when my family moved to the United States and we arrived knowing very little about our new home and its customs. We hardly spoke the language, and we had little idea what the future held for each of us. We did, however, know that this was a land filled with unlimited opportunity.

Thinking back, I can only imagine how my parents must have struggled with the pressure of making such a decision as moving their young family across the world to a new land. But I am so thankful that they were willing to risk everything to create a better life for all of us.

I am also thankful for the compassionate teachers who took us under their wings to help make the transition easier and gave us such a great education.

I am thankful for my early bosses and mentors, who believed in me and taught me more about business than I could have ever learned in a classroom.

I am thankful for all of those who have played a part in the growth of my companies over the years, our dedicated management team and team members, our committed vendors and suppliers, our loyal customers and, of course, our passionate franchisees who are responsible for the success we have all enjoyed.

I am thankful that there are people who have dedicated their lives to helping those in need or in pain, and that my success in business has given me the chance to meet so many of them and help them in their efforts.

I am thankful for the men and women of our military, our veterans and our first responders who, on a daily basis, have been willing to sacrifice their own safety for ours.

Most of all, I am thankful for my wonderful and beautiful family, for their support and for their love.

With all of the daily pressures of life in the 21st Century, it is sometimes easy to become frustrated or disillusioned and to lose focus on what is really important. This Thanksgiving weekend, however, is a time when we can all pause and count our blessings. We really do have a lot to be thankful for.

 

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  • American Dream
  • Edible Arrangements
  • Entrepreneurship
  • family
  • franchisee
  • Long Island
  • opportunity
  • small business
  • Tariq Farid
  • work-life balance

In 2004, Janine and her husband Jerry opened their first Edible Arrangements® store on Long Island, signing a 10-year franchise agreement. Things have gone so well that they have just signed on for another 10 years!

Janine explained why she and Jerry decided to pursue their small business dreams with an Edible Arrangements franchise.

“From the moment I saw my first Edible Arrangement, I loved the concept,” Janine said. “And that hasn’t gone away. Our product is wonderful and always makes people happy.”

Janine also noted that one of the biggest benefits of being a small business owner is that it has provided her flexibility over when she works. The result is a healthy work-life balance and a better quality of life.

“For me, it’s family first,” she said. “Being a small business owner at Edible Arrangements allows me to live this belief, and I am able to consistently spend time with my daughter.”

Despite always being very busy during the holidays, Janine says that the tradeoff of having quality time to spend with her daughter and family on a daily basis is wonderful!

“It is a good way to make a living and I would do it over again,” she noted.

And she has done it again!

In addition to signing on for another 10 years, Janine and Jerry also opened a second Edible Arrangements store in 2007, and have plans to open a third store within a year!

“I am very proud of what we have accomplished with our Edible Arrangements stores,” Janine said with a smile.

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How to turn a simple sales call into a business enterprise

  • American Dream
  • diversity
  • Edible Arrangements
  • Entrepreneurship
  • franchisee
  • Ohio
  • opportunity
  • Pennsylvania
  • Tariq Farid
  • West Virginia

Ron and Lori with their children, Mia and Eli, in Walt Disney World.

I am always interested in how our franchisees find out about Edible Arrangements. Interestingly enough, it often is an unexpected encounter with one of our beautiful arrangements.

Take Ron and Lori, for example. After graduating from West Virginia University, Lori became the morning and noon anchor on WOAY-TV in Oak Hill, West Virginia. She would later move on to a career making commercials for Charter Cable before taking time off to raise their two children.

Ron, meanwhile, was enjoying a career in the pharmaceutical industry in northeastern Ohio when he found himself on a call with one of his sales reps from Forest Pharmaceuticals.

It turned out that the rep had ordered an Edible Arrangements to be delivered to the prospect, and when they arrived at the office, there it was!

“One of the neatest things I had ever seen!” he remembers.

Lori had been talking about going back to work if she could set her own schedule, so Ron, who had worked with his father in the restaurant industry as a teenager, began researching Edible Arrangements. He and his father attended a Discovery Day and Ron was hooked.

Today Ron and Lori have eight locations throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. And they just signed a franchise agreement for their ninth Edible Arrangements store!

And to think it all started because a sales rep wanted to impress a prospect with an Edible Arrangements.

By the way, Ron’s favorite arrangement is the Apple Blossom with Cinnamon Dipped Apples while Lori loves the Berry Chocolate Bouquet with Dipped Bananas!

 

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Your chance to show the world that You Can Do It, Too!

  • American Dream
  • Edible Arrangements
  • Entrepreneurship
  • franchisee
  • IFA Education Fund
  • International Franchise Association
  • NextGen
  • Non-profit support
  • opportunity
  • Philanthropy
  • Tariq Farid
  • Tariq Farid donations
  • Tariq Farid Foundation

Are you between the ages of 18-35 with a great idea for a business but not sure how to get it off the ground? Do you know someone who is?

This week the International Franchise Association (IFA) Education Fund launched a new program called NextGen – A New Generation in Franchising. As someone who became an entrepreneur at an early age and used the franchise model to expand my business, there was no doubt that I would help sponsor this new program. I know there is no shortage of great ideas among young entrepreneurs, just a shortage of resources to pursue and develop those ideas.

This program will introduce young entrepreneurs and students to the world of franchising and share the franchise business model as they’ve never seen it before.

To launch the program, the IFA is sponsoring a global competition called “Young Entrepreneurs in Franchising.”

Fifty prizes will be awarded for the best, most innovative business and marketing concepts for new franchise businesses or existing franchise brands.

Prizes include a travel voucher and complimentary registration for the IFA Annual Convention, which will be held February 15-18, 2015 in Las Vegas, and an opportunity to participate in the first NextGen in Franchising Summit, a two-day educational and networking program at the convention.

At the summit, contest winners will have a chance to engage directly with leading franchisor, franchisee and supplier members of the IFA as well as other young entrepreneurs, students and participants in the NextGen in Franchising Summit.

Additional cash prizes and scholarships will be awarded from the pool of 50 contest winners.

For more information and to enter the competition, visit nextgenfranchising.org. Here’s your chance to prove that when it comes to building a successful business, you can do it, too!

 

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Sharing our stories on YouTube

  • education
  • Entrepreneurship
  • HUBCAP Wallingford
  • innovation
  • opportunity
  • Tariq Farid Foundation
  • technology
  • YouTube

Today, I am happy to announce that I am launching my own YouTube.com channel!

Here I will share news about Edible Arrangements (and our amazing franchisees!), the work of the Tariq Farid Foundation and other fun and interesting topics.

The first video I am posting is very special to me. It is an interview that I did at a small business incubator and co-working space in Wallingford, Connecticut, called Hubcap Wallingford.

I hope you enjoy it!

 

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