From the rubble of 9/11 a master franchisee is born

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September 11, 2001 marks the date that Gregory Carafello lost his business headquartered at the World Trade Center, but fortunately he and his staff of some 40 employees survived the tragic events of that day.

Carafello and his wife owned a thriving multi-unit printing business, but after 9/11 they lost 70 percent of their contracts.

One day, looking for ways to recover, he answered an advertisement in the Wall Street Journal soliciting prospective franchisees and master franchisees for a business called Cartridge World. He had never been a franchisee and he had no idea what was meant by “master franchisee.”

Major industry brand

Cartridge World, the world’s largest retailer of printers, printing solutions and cartridges, started out in the 1980s as an ink and toner refill service. With experience and the introduction of various technologies, the company evolved to the point of manufacturing its own line of printers and creating a revolutionary app called “Print World,” a service which enables users to print from their iPhone or tablet from anywhere in the world.

After some discussions, which included revealing that master franchisees are mini-franchisors in a sense — they own a franchise territory for which they recruit, train, and support franchisees as they open new units – Carafello became Cartridge World’s master franchisee for a huge territory encompassing six northeastern states and the District of Columbia.

Today, his franchise business includes nearly 100 units! Much of his success as a master franchisee harkens back to the skills that he developed while building his printing business. But now, he’s selling the Cartridge World brand to people who want to open their own business.

Admiration for Hewitt

While building out his territory, Carafello said he became aware of John Hewitt, co-founder of Jackson-Hewitt, a tax preparation franchise, and more recently, Liberty Tax. Out of admiration he contacted Hewitt, who’s a consummate salesman.

Next thing Carafello knew, he became an area developer for Liberty Tax covering a territory from New Jersey up to the Canadian border and east of New York State. An area developer is similar to a master franchisee, but with fewer responsibilities. For example, while area developers sell franchises, they are generally not responsible for the training and support of franchisees.

Carafello doesn’t use the word “responsibility” lightly, and he has identified his major responsibility as providing support and guidance to franchises. “We’re here to build a business together as partners,” he explains. When the franchisee is struggling, Carafello says his business struggles, too, so he takes extra measures to provide the support franchisees need to succeed.

The brand as asset

From the rubble of 9/11, Carafello has made an amazing comeback, and he realizes that franchising offers him, and other franchisees, something that a non-franchised business can’t easily do.

Cartridge World and Liberty Tax are household names. They’re recognized brands. As such, they are assets that can be sold. Many non-franchised businesses, even some that are substantially profitable, often do not become brand names, and therefore their resale value is, at best, limited.

When you purchase a franchise, Carafello explains, you are purchasing an asset to build using the franchisor’s proven system. Then, he says, you have the luxurious opportunity to sell that asset!

Carafello’s interview with Dr. John P. Hayes may give you some ideas about the opportunities that await you in franchising.

Categorised in: Service Franchises

This post was written by Dr. John Hayes