Thirteen years ago today, the Fairfield Union Falcons won a football game on Halloween… it wasn’t just any win; it was one for the ages. It wasn’t on the scale of Game 6 of the 2011 World Series; but for a group of 17-18 year old young men, it seemed equally as big at the time.

The 43-42 victory over Hamilton Township propelled the Falcons to 8-1 on the season, a 5-0 home record, and the Falcons first league championship in 10 years. Equally as important was “how” we won… Hamilton Township scored a go ahead touchdown in the final minute, giving them a 42-35 lead. Trailing by 7, on our own 18 yard line and only 32 seconds remaining – to an outsider, it may have seemed hopeless; however, to myself and the 10 other guys in the huddle… we knew we were going to win. There was no doubt, the outcome had already been determined in our minds, we just had to connect the dots.

An incomplete pass, a 53 yard tight end screen, a 25 yard tailback delay pass and a 4 yard touchdown run as time expired, followed by a two-point conversion ended up being the dots leading to our 43-42 victory!

That drive, that victory, was the culmination of 12 months of hard work from 51 teenagers and a group of coaches who would be the first mentors to many of us… 12 months of PHC (pride, heart, commitment). Coach Christian Barnett instilled a “whatever it takes” mentality in all of us, turning us onto the power of positive thinking and a strong mental attitude. 14 Seniors came together and vowed to end our high school careers as winners. We weren’t the biggest team, we weren’t the strongest team and we weren’t the fastest team… however we worked harder than everyone else. We had an intense desire to be successful and unmatched will. Despite going a combined 3-17 in our sophomore and junior seasons, and dropping our season opener – we were winners. We knew we had what it took to be champions, and we were going to do whatever it took to get there. The league title and undefeated season at home meant so much because we worked so hard for it. It was a Herculean team effort. We had built a positive team and family spirit and believed anything was possible working together.

Not only was that season and our championship some of my fondest memories – the principals and lessons I learned are core values that have led to success in every step of my career and our own business.

Many of our Core Values at HSL were derived from that season in 1998; inspired by Coach Barnett, Coach Philabaum and the rest of the staff and teammates.

To my first mentors – Coach Barnett & Philabaum – thank you for the inspiration and leadership!

To my 51 teammates and 14 classmates – thank you all for the great memories and your PHC!

Never ever give up.

One of the first of many "WooHoos"

Walter Payton was a "real-life hero"

“There used to be heros; athletes that kids could look up to as role models…” my grandmother reminded me today. “Maybe there still is.” she said referring the athletes who participated in Lee Evans’ Celebrity Flag Football game last weekend.

I was telling my grandmother about the Ohio Homecoming and some of the events, including the flag football game… I was fortunate to be able to spend some time with several professional and former professional athletes… I was very impressed with what I witnessed.

T.J. Ward of the Cleveland Browns playing football with a big fan!

Joe Haden cracking everyone up!

Professional athletes – Lee Evans, Joe Haden, TJ Ward, David Lighty, Dallas Lauderdale, Dustin Fox and many others gave back to their community, gave back to their fans.

There are still “real life heros”, role models do exist! Unfortunately, the media only reports on “the good” that professional athletes do about once a year… when the Walter Payton “Man of the Year” award is announced. I believe there is a lot of giving back by these athletes that goes unreported and I think that should change.

I don’t care that Pacman Jones got in another bar fight… I don’t care that Cedric Benson beat up a family member… I don’t care that Kenny Britt got arrested again. (Fox Sports actually ran an article on “NFL arrests since lockout“)

I do care about athletes giving back. I’d rather read articles like this -> 10 Stars making the most of the lockout or this -> Peyton Manning’s foundation doubles giving. Thank you to Peyton and many other athletes for being role models…for being “real life heros”!

The next time you witness or hear about an athlete giving back – spread the news! Let’s start a “good news” revolution.

We become adults and we become serious all the time. We think to be successful; we must act like adults and not have fun and not compete in silly games like shotgun. We are to busy paying mortgages, car payments and credit cards, to busy working some job we don’t enjoy, to busy doing laundry and cleaning the house. Stop that – and start having some fun – start competing again! The most successful people I know are big kids – they love life and play all the time. They are competitors…they are winners. Some of the most successful days in our business have been the result of a competition. Whether it’s a contest to see who can sell the most iProtect or which store can raise the most money on a Give Back Day – competition fuels winners and drives results. Competition is a bigger motivator than money.

As a franchise owner, we enjoy the benefits of being an independent business owner; however, at the same time we’re still driven to compete with other franchisees… we want to be the best franchisee, we want to have the best store and we instill this competitive environment in our culture, and you can too. If you are a business owner – start incorporating more competition with daily, weekly & monthly contests for your team. If you work in corporate america – start some competition with your co-workers, either work/results related, or start a fundraiser. If you are independent – reach out to others who do similar work as you, compare results and start weekly/monthly competitions.

Most importantly – competing doesn’t just take place from 9-5. Compete at home; play games with your spouse, kids & friends. Competing will keep you sharp – keep you young. When you are on your way to the fireworks store today to have a better backyard fireworks show than your neighbor… race your kid to the car and yell “SHOTGUN”!

When I call Chris Jourdan’s cell phone, the Black Eyed Peas answer the phone. The pop rap group who starred in this year’s Super Bowl halftime show sing, “I got a feeling that tonight’s gonna be a good night.” It’s a recording, of course, and when you own 13 Verizon Wireless Zone stores (six in the Tri-State, six in Ohio, and one in Florida) like Jourdan does, you know how to master your cellphone. Jourdan could have chosen any song, but this catchy, upbeat, often-played radio hit encompassed his outlook — an encouraging attitude that things can change for the better.

In early 2008, Jourdan was a business sales manager with Verizon, the national phone service company, in central Ohio when his wife, Lindsay, an Evansville native, longed for her hometown. In November 2008, the couple arrived in the River City and opened Verizon stores in Madisonville and Owensboro, Ky., and Newburgh, Ind. The couple had big promotional plans such as Break the Record Days, an incentive program for employees to surpass sales records, but a year later, the idea morphed into Give Back Days, a charitable outreach program aiding nonprofits. “As opposed to an inward event,” Jourdan says, “we wanted to get out into the community and volunteer our time.”
At these events, held on the third Saturday of every month at the Jourdans’ stores, $20 from every phone purchase goes to a selected charity. The first one in November 2009 raised a few hundred dollars that bought food for the Tri-State Food Bank. More than a year later, the Verizon stores earn around $1,500 for their charitable outreach each month.
Jourdan credits the inspiration for this ongoing program from an event that happened when he was 23 years old: the death of his father. “That opened my eyes to what I was doing with my time,” Jourdan says. “I started focusing my goals, my dreams outward instead of inward. I realized that if I could help those around me achieve their goals, then my ambitions would take care of themselves.”

From Evansville Living

Wireless Zone is scheduled to open March 1 at 5 Atterbury Boulevard. The store will carry Verizon phones and wireless accessories.

Chris Jourdan of Newburgh owns the business. It will be managed by Alex Yeater of Hudson.

Jourdan has 12 stores in Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.

The 1,600 square-foot store was formerly the InkStop. It’s in Hudson Station, next to Chipotle.

Jourdan picked Hudson because it’s “a great community.”

“We strive to build long term relationships with clients and businesses within the communities we operate in,” he said. “Hudson seems to be a perfect match.”

The store will have four employees and focus on customer service, Jourdan said.

“Our clients are our No. 1 focus,” he said. “Our success isn’t gauged by how many phones we sell, but rather by providing the best customer service in retail; we strive to deliver wow with every interaction.”

The employees are “extremely knowledgeable, and many have been in the industry for a number of years,” Jourdan said.

The store will also focus on community involvement, he said.

“We are very passionate about giving back and actively work with local non-profit organizations and charities,” Jourdan said. “We host a ‘Give Back Day’ the third Saturday of every month in which a portion of our proceeds are donated to the charity we are supporting that month.”

Before opening up the Wireless Zone stores, Jourdan was a sales manager for Verizon Wireless.

Store hours will be 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, Friday and Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

For more information call 888-333-7114 or visit www.WirelessZone.com.

“We are really the complete wireless solution,” Jourdan said. “Wireless Zone is a premium retailer of Verizon Wireless, so we specialize in Verizon products and services, but we offer a variety of accessories almost for any phone out there, whether it’s with another carrier… We don’t consider ourselves a retail organization necessarily, more so, we’re professionals. We’re the local wireless professionals.”

By Chuck Stinnett

Originally published 06:07 p.m., October 17, 2009
Updated 06:07 p.m., October 17, 2009

By Deborah L. Cohen

CHICAGO (Reuters.com) – If you’ve ever envisioned yourself slinging hash or pouring coffee in your own restaurant, your dream just got a lot cheaper.

With revenues flowing more like molasses than water, franchisors are slashing fees in an attempt to entice would-be entrepreneurs to ditch their cubicles and strike out on their own.

That’s the strategy employed by Huddle House, a growing chain of family diners, which recently slashed its franchise fee by 80 percent – from $25,000 to $5,000 – and is waiving royalty payments for the first five months.

It’s just one of many dramatic deals cropping up in franchising, an industry beleaguered by stagnant growth due to a lack of capital. Franchise concepts as varied as 360 Painting, a national exterior painting franchise and Sunbrook Academy, a fledgling developer of early childhood education centers, are reducing fees or providing other incentives to attract buyers.

“We have a lot of folks that are contemplating retiring or have retired from a corporate job,” said Huddle House’s vice president of development Thomas Flaherty, who came over from fast-food chain Papa John’s last summer to help spearhead franchise expansion. “They’re looking to invest. We also get existing restaurateurs from other concepts.”

Huddle House is willing to take a hit on franchising revenues for the near term on the promise of growth, spurred in part by the incentives to new and existing franchisees. With many landlords and developers starving for occupants, operators are likely to see generous terms on sales, rents and build-outs to keep the expansion ball rolling, he said.

“There’s probably not been in modern history a better time to get land than now; so many vacant spaces across the country,” said Flaherty, adding the 45-year-old chain, with more than 400 restaurants, opened 20 new stores last year and expects to sign agreements for at least 30 additional units this year. “Part of our growth plan is to get out there while the timing is good.”

Flaherty said Huddle House will only offer the reduced rates until the end of 2010.

SLUGGISH INDUSTRY

Even with new incentives on the table, it takes a lot of dough to open a franchise. Huddle House’s start-up costs vary significantly by geographic region, said Flaherty, but typically – including the full $25,000 franchise fee – they have required initial investment of $600,000 to $1.2 million, for those operators purchasing land. Franchisees must have access to at least 25 percent of the capital costs up front; in addition, the company requires significant business experience.

Additionally, the overall outlook for industry is not rosy. The International Franchise Association, an industry trade group, is forecasting slow recovery with only marginal increases in jobs and economic output this year. In 2009, the industry lost an estimated 409,000 jobs and $5.7 billion in revenues, according to a report produced for IFA by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP. Access to credit remains the primary impediment to growth.

“With a predicted $3.4 billion shortfall in lending to franchise businesses in 2010, franchise businesses are implementing innovative programs to help entrepreneurs get into franchising such as reducing up-front investment fees and other discounts, changing royalty payment schedules, and even self-financing,” said Alisa Harrison, an IFA spokeswoman.

STILL A TOUGH SELL

In this sketchy economy, parent companies are spending a lot more time kicking the tires on potential recruits to ensure they’re up to the task of running a fine-tuned business model that requires sticking closely to the script.

“During the due diligence process, there’s a lot of communication between the regional development person and the candidate,” said Sean Fitzgerald, vice president of franchise development for Wireless Zone, a 400-store mobile retailer using the Verizon network. “They have a lot of homework to do.”

Fitzgerald said interest in their stores has doubled since they offered to finance up to 50 percent of the $30,000 franchise fee and assist, along with Verizon, with build-out and marketing costs. The typical total investment is $125,000 to $150,000.

“If you look at our numbers from three or four years ago, our attrition rate has dropped dramatically,” said Fitzgerald, noting the percentage of stores that fail is below 5 percent. “We’ve hired a lot of key personnel in the organization to help with our growth.”

The assistance is tipping the scale toward franchising for entrepreneurs like Chris Jourdan, a 29-year-old resident of Newburgh, Indiana.

Jourdan, who had worked at a Wireless Zone competitor prior to starting his own business, previously considered going it alone as an independent mobile retailer. But when he weighed the incentives from Wireless Zone, including a line of revolving credit to help ease the costs of maintaining inventory, franchising made more sense. He has managed to open up nine locations in just 12 months. “It really was a no brainer for us,” said Jourdan, who said he has avoided taking on any debt. “The financing model was very attractive.”