The venue was filled to its capacity as guests gathered at Bonchon to learn from the evening's panel of speakers, who shared their insights and experiences on the franchise business. The space was buzzing with excitement and lively conversation, and everyone enjoyed learning from our speakers just as much as they enjoyed the delicious dinner provided by Bonchon!
Mariel Miller, Franchise Advisor at The Franchise Advisor LLC, served as moderator and kicked off the evening by giving a brief overview of franchising before introducing the panelists. Bonchon Franchise Sales Manager, Lin Luo, then spoke about the different franchising opportunities available with Bonchon, emphasizing the support provided to incoming franchisees by franchisors. Echoing Lin's statements, Grace Wen, Owner of 5 Sylvan Learning Center locations in Queens and Brooklyn, highlighted the training, supervision, and support provided to her by the Sylvan Learning franchise. She shared a very honest account of the ups and downs throughout her journey to becoming a successful franchisee, ending by saying, “If you don’t have any problems, you don’t have any business.” Michelle Murray-Bertrand, Corporate Attorney at Richard L. Rosen Law Firm PLLC, advised that those interested in becoming franchise owners know their budget and do their due diligence prior to making the initial investment, as these preparations will go a long way. Caleb Beckford, National Franchise Manager at TD Bank, elaborated on Michelle’s advice from a financial perspective, also providing an in-depth framework of the different approaches that TD Bank takes when it comes to veteran franchise owners versus newcomers. Once everyone was well-informed on the basics of franchising, Joann Lee, Managing Director at The Lam Group and longtime AWIB Member, educated the audience on the differences between franchising and licensing. Her company has a master license agreement with Starbucks and will be opening her second location over the next few months.
All of our speakers emphatically agreed that there was no correlation between the initial investment in a franchise and a franchisee’s potential to earn; rather, it was up to the individual to drive their own success. Attendees asked thoughtful questions and engaged in dialogue with the speakers, and networked the night away.