By maintaining a strong, professional  network of people he developed through his previous employers, Mark Simmons quickly grew his SpeedPro franchise in Apex, North Carolina. He hit the break-even point in the fourth month of ownership and started earning a salary by the eighth month. The Jump from Retail to Large-Format Printing Mark spent more than 30 […]

Seventy percent of Americans are disengaged or unsatisfied at their jobs. Evolving employee attitudes and expectations are to blame for this, according to research by the same Gallup poll. Most workers, many of whom are millennials, approach a role and company with a highly-defined set of expectations. They want their work to have meaning and purpose, […]

Work-life balance is a top priority for today’s workers. It not only means extra time for family, friends and hobbies, but it actually affects your health. When we get stressed and overwhelmed by work priorities, our immune system suffers—meaning you’re susceptible to getting sick more easily. Many people turn to business ownership to reap the benefits […]

Few metrics matter more to business owners than gross profit. In spite of strong sales, franchisees that have to absorb steep operational costs are less likely to see the return on their initial investment they expected. So, understandably, entrepreneurs seeking out new opportunities want to have an idea of their bottom line before investing in […]

Let’s face it: Few people aspire to middle management. On the other hand, more than half of Americans want to own their own business. From following your passion to being your own boss, the benefits of business ownership are endless. Still, starting up a business can be a formidable prospect, especially for people new to the industry […]

Aspiring entrepreneurs often opt for a franchise model over an independent business because they instantly benefit from the franchisor’s proven framework—avoiding many of the pitfalls that new business owners encounter. Franchise brands offer varying degrees of support to help new franchisees hit the ground running. SpeedPro franchisees have access to a robust, full-scale system that […]

Among the things entrepreneurs think about when they consider investing in a franchise is what kind of business owner they want to be – absentee, semi-absentee or owner-operator. Absentee owners, just as the name implies, are rarely present at their franchise business. They often view ownership primarily as an investment. Because they’re not present, they […]

In some franchise systems, individual owners operate completely independently, or even competitively. This setup leads to many missed opportunities for collaboration, troubleshooting and client-sharing. In the printing and graphics industry particularly, studio owners benefit immensely from openly sharing ideas and best practices. That’s why SpeedPro fosters a community of franchise owners that support and work […]