by UFG | Apr 10, 2024 | News
For the 11th year in a row, Print & Promo Marketing is proud to present its annual “Women in Print and Promo” feature. In honor of Women’s History Month — and every month — we are sharing the transformative paths these women have taken to help drive the industry forward. Find out what motivates them, where they’ve succeeded, and how companies can advance female talent. Stay tuned throughout the month for more profiles, and check out the March issue of Print & Promo Marketing for the full feature.
Michelle Longueria, vice president of operations for Fully Promoted (an affiliated brand of United Franchise Group and part of the Starpoint Brands family of franchise concepts), West Palm Beach, Florida, discusses her journey from nonprofit to the promo space, and how adversity fueled her eventual success.
Is the glass ceiling — or even a concrete ceiling — an illusion? Michelle Longueira is too busy to find out. She doesn’t believe in failure, but she does believe in reevaluation. Her nominator describes her as a “steadfast advocate and business coach who [thinks] teamwork and communication skills are integral to effective leadership and enduring growth.” Here is her story.
It was 1991. Some of the ’80s fashion trends, including biker shorts and oversized sweatshirts, weren’t ready to leave closets. Soon a new style consisting of baggy, worn-out jeans, flannel shirts, and Doc Martens would effortlessly take over. For Longueira, embroidered apparel was everything.
At the time, her father-in-law owned a dry-cleaning business in Manhattan, with five locations, and he was outsourcing his clients’ garments for simple embroidery. He suggested Longueira and her sister-in-law — two people who had never even seen a machine — start their own business. And that’s exactly what they did.
They signed up for a one-week training course that taught them how to operate a single-head embroidery machine and hoop the garments for embroidery, Longueira says. The two sisters-in-law were ready to open the doors — of the family garage. But in a world where everyone is selling something, how could they get the word out and build a customer base? Think like a marketer.
They first turned to their local bowling leagues. Many of the members wore embroidered apparel. It worked. From there, they opened a small retail location, then contracted with the Staten Island Mall to launch a permanent kiosk.
“Once we moved to the small retail location, we purchased a book of designs to embellish clients’ apparel,” Longueira says. “Our first customer was the owner of the local taxi company next door. He purchased a jacket and had the name of his business embroidered on the back.”
What started as a two-person operation in a garage, eventually grew to two retail locations — one in Staten Island, and one in New Jersey. The sisters-in-law also added a warehouse with 16-plus heads of embroidery and on-site screen printing in Staten Island.
Unfortunately, due to rising costs, both mall locations closed in 2002. Between that and other personal changes, Longueira sought out different opportunities.
She accepted a director of operations role at a nonprofit, working with mentally disabled adults. She taught her students embroidery operations from the ground up to prepare them to enter the mainstream workforce. Longueira was passionate about advancing inclusion and promoting equal opportunity in the industry, which, according to her nominator, “serves as a testament to the servant leader she is.”
Longueira discovered another side of the business that she was excited to explore: digitizing logos. Having an art education background, she felt that digitizing fed her need for creativity. “In my quest
to possibly start my own digitizing company, an ad for operations advisor with United Franchise Group caught my eye and I decided to apply,” she says.
Since accepting that operations advisor role for Fully Promoted’s northeast region, Longueira climbed the ranks and currently holds the title of Fully Promoted’s vice president of operations. She is responsible for driving franchisee profitability and managing the daily aspects of operations, including training, support, business development, and marketing.
Her Proudest Career Achievements
“Building the team for our brand. There is no ‘I’ in team and so I embrace the fact that our achievements have not been attained by me alone, but with the skill set and loyalty of the team that is Fully Promoted. Our internal operations team at Fully Promoted is passionate about helping our franchise owners meet their goals and they work together every day to make that happen. I could not be prouder of my Fully Promoted team — our franchise owners deserve the best and that is what our team is.”
How Failure Taught Her Resiliency
“For me, failure is truly not an option, so I don’t see anything that has happened throughout my career or in my personal life as a failure. If I don’t succeed at reaching my goals, I reevaluate and utilize other resources to get back on track. I think having this mindset is resilient in and of itself because it doesn’t give space to accept or wallow in defeat. If something doesn’t work, I pivot and keep going.”
Her Most Significant Barrier as a Female Leader
“I’ve found that the only barriers I’ve faced are ones I imagined in my mind, which I quickly realized and let go. During my tenure with United Franchise Group (UFG), I can state with 100% certainty that no barriers have ever been placed in my path to stop my growth.
“Since joining UFG 16 years ago, I’ve advanced from a regional operations advisor to manager and director positions within support and training, all the way up to my current position which allows me to leverage my experience and strengths to make an impact on Fully Promoted franchise owners and our greater organization.”
How She Thinks Companies Can Attract and Retain Female Talent
“Incorporate a culture that allows, recognizes, and appreciates the growth of women who bring to the table the excitement and thirst for growing the industry. Within Fully Promoted, some of our very best team members and franchise owners are women, and we strive to empower them and recognize their success. Last year during our annual brand convention, we honored nine women franchise owners for their outstanding performance and contributions including Michelle Bottino, who owns two Fully Promoted franchises in Illinois; Tina Pouliot, who operates a Fully Promoted with her husband in New Jersey; Cristina Bertero, who won awards in two categories: Team Player and Mentor of the Year; Alice McCalla, who is the owner of one of our franchises in Houston; Jo-Anne Reeger, another franchise owner in Texas; Dina Slain, who runs our Fishers, Indiana franchise with her husband; Michelle Monhollen, one of our franchise owners in Ohio; Kathleen Mawanay in California; and then Maude Swearingen, who took home our Humanitarian of the Year Award alongside her husband.”
Her Job Advice to Women
“What an exciting and ever-changing career path! I am 32 years in and still learning. My advice [is] to fully embrace the opportunity and remember that the only limit is the one you place on yourself.”
Her Upcoming Goals
“Acknowledge our ever-changing industry, stay ahead of those changes, and continue to engage and encourage our team to utilize their skill sets (and mine) to always support our franchise owners on their business journey. Staying empathic to the different paths that life leads all of us on while maintaining the goals and growth of the brand and company.”
by UFG | Apr 10, 2024 | News
The very first Graze Craze franchise in the state of Alabama opened its doors this month. It’s in midtown Mobile, just across from Pop’s. I had the chance to go behind the scenes to see how the sausage (or cheese board) is made.
What is Graze Craze?
Simply put, Graze Craze is a charcuterie catering service. They build fantastic meat, cheese + fruit boards so you don’t have to. They offer a variety of sizes for every occasion from the Grab + Graze personal-sized snack box to the giant Game Day boards that can serve 6 people.
All boards are made-to-order, all the way down to slicing the meats for each board.
Graze Craze is not necessarily a restaurant, more so a catering place. You place your order online & specify if you want to pick up your order or have it delivered. From there, the team gets started hand-building your board with delicious cheeses + the freshest produce.
The folks at Graze Craze will also deliver your order for FREE.
About the Mobile, AL location
by UFG | Apr 10, 2024 | News
A charcuterie board franchise officially opened its doors in Rosslyn earlier this month.
The second Virginia location of Graze Craze is located within the Le Méridien Arlington hotel at 1121 19th Street N.
The business was two years in the making, according to franchisee Amaan Bhanji. He was in high school when he got started on this venture, making him the youngest Graze Craze franchisee, per a press release.
“I’m so excited to serve the community and create relationships with the many amazing people I meet on my entrepreneurial journey with Graze Craze,” Bhanji said.
Bhanji started working in food service when he in high school. While he originally planned to pursue college, those early work experiences, along with visits to several Graze Craze locations, led him down the path of entrepreneurship.
“I immediately fell in love with the concept, the fresh ingredients, and the creativity that goes into creating stunning charcuterie. I knew opening my own Graze Craze location would be the perfect venture to kick off my entrepreneurial journey,” Bhanji said.
The business offers a menu of different “grazing” boards and boxes curated to fit different flavor and dietary preferences. The boards can also be made for one person or as many as 10. Customers can meet with a “charcuterie expert” who will help customize boards for anything from small gatherings to large events.
Menu offerings are made fresh daily, with a variety of meats, cheeses, fruits and dips that are made in-house. The menu also offers occasional seasonal boards, such as a “Game Day Board,” as listed on the website.
Bhanji said the business will debut a new “Springtime Spread” board tomorrow (Tuesday), with watermelon radish, Italian prosciutto, dried apricots and merlot cheese.
The franchise, founded in 2018 by an Oklahoma Air Force veteran, was launched amid the rising popularity of charcuterie boards. Now with over 40 locations in 18 states, it is considered a top franchise in the “grazing food” category.
Bhanji said the first week of business has been a success and he looks forward to continuing to win new customers.
“It’s thrilling to be part of this young brand that will help bring joy to our community. I love the fact that I will be able to cater events and help relieve stress from our customers while doing something I truly enjoy,” he said.
by UFG | Apr 10, 2024 | News
We asked Taylor Gregory, Director of Marketing at United Franchise Group (UFG), “How does your brand’s customer experience drive franchisee profits?”
Customer experience is integral to driving franchisee profits within any franchise system and is our top priority at United Franchise Group (UFG). Our mission statement is, “We have one customer: our franchisee. When they are successful, we are successful.” That said, the success of our franchise owners is paramount to us, and we’re constantly innovating to ensure we’re providing them with unparalleled support, training, and resources to aid them in operating a profitable business.
Overseeing 11 diverse franchise brands within our Starpoint Brands division, the target customer can look different for each one, but there are core pillars of the customer experience that translate brand to brand: quality, reliability, and value. In an increasingly saturated and automated business landscape, we’ve found that these pillars are key differentiators for us and set the foundation for our franchise owners’ success.
At the heart of Starpoint Brands is our dedication to making our customers’ communities better places to live while supporting small local businesses. No matter who the customer is, each of our brands offers a high-touch customer experience that prioritizes quality, independent of the brand, product, or service – whether it be a custom vehicle wrap from Signarama, a new hire kit from Fully Promoted, catering from The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, or consulting from Exit Factor. Providing exceptional quality is the cornerstone of our customer experience and helps to drive franchise owner profits at a foundational level.
Within UFG, we’ve strategically developed a robust ecosystem designed to benefit our franchise owners and help drive their profits. Having a well-established and reputable family of brands that provide their own unique solutions to businesses and consumers, we have more mass purchasing power than a smaller franchise system or single brand would. Also, the size of our ecosystem gives us the opportunity to leverage industry-leading tools (technologies, software, and applications) and vendors (public relations, marketing, and web developers) that make our franchise owners’ lives easier and give the end-user customer a better experience.
Additionally, there are incredible synergies within each of our brands, and we encourage all our 1,600+ franchise owners to do business with the other brands within our network. For example, a new Venture X franchisee opening their first co-working space will have needs as a business owner. When they need a sign for their new location, they can call Signarama. For their grand opening, they will need promotional items to give away which they can get from Fully Promoted. For events, they can order catering from Graze Craze, The Great Greek Mediterranean Grill, or Cannoli Kitchen Pizza. Eventually, when they’re thinking about selling their business, they can work with Exit Factor to maximize its value and then use Transworld Business Advisors to handle the transaction. This is just one example of the ecosystem at play, and the benefits that our franchise owners receive are the same for end-customers.
We’ve set a high standard for our customer experience across all brands so that when a customer comes into any one of our locations globally, they’re met with the highest level of personalized care and unmatched value. By combining our quality products and services with the resources we have at UFG, we provide local communities with reliable grassroots solutions that cater to their unique needs.
by UFG | Apr 10, 2024 | News
WeWork’s former location in the Security Building in Miami’s downtown was recently leased by flex workspace operator Vast Coworking.
According to a press release from the tenant, Vast Coworking Group leased 20,300 square feet on the seventh, eighth and ninth floors of the property at 117 NE First Ave. As mentioned by a Vast representative, an undisclosed franchiser agreed to operate the location under the Venture X name for 10 years.
Eyal Peretz’s Fuse Group International is the owner of the 17-story Security Building. The Fort Lauderdale-based company acquired the building in 2021 after purchasing the loan secured by the then-foreclosure-prone property.
According to the press release, the Security Building’s anchor tenant, Vast Coworking, will feature 74 offices, in addition to a networking area and café. Matt Cozza, vice president of development at Venture X, said the space is expected to open its doors this year.
Under the leadership of Jason Anderson, Vast is a subsidiary of the West Palm Beach-based United Franchise Group, which, according to United Franchise’s LinkedIn, has franchises in a number of different areas, including coworking, signage and graphics, and food concepts. Vast has more than 190 coworking spaces spread across 2.4 million square feet in nine different countries. Office Evolution and Intelligent Office are two of Vast Coworking’s sister brands.
This project aims to revitalize a Miami landmark while providing a cutting-edge, flexible workspace solution that meets the changing needs of the modern worker. However, the new coworking location is bound to be more than a solution to filling out office space as the Security Building is also set to gain from this injection of creativity and energy due to its architectural significance and rich history.
by UFG | Apr 10, 2024 | News
One bite! Everyone knows the rules.
Barstool CEO Dave Portnoy took his popular pizza reviewing series to Florida this past week, stopping at 12 hotspots across the southern end of the state.
From Sarasota to Boca Raton, “El Presidente” chomped on several cheese pizzas for his social media accounts. The chosen pizza joints celebrated the spontaneous reviews from the media figure, reposting his reviews to their own accounts and sharing their experiences with him.
What is Portnoy’s ‘One Bite Review’ series for Barstool?
Portnoy’s “One Bite Review” is a video series where he travels across the country (sometimes the world) and buys a large cheese pizza, giving “one bite” pizza reviews for millions of followers.
“One bite, everybody knows the rules,” he says at the top of every review in which he rates every pizzeria out of 10 possible points. The channel has amassed more than 1 million subscribers since its debut in 2016, earning a cult fanbase.
In an interview Benzinga founder and CEO Jason Raznick, Portnoy explained what motivated him to review thousands of pizza joints. He shared it traced back to a debate he had with a coworker “Big Cat” Dan Katz. The two argued if they can only eat one food item for the rest of their lives, what would it be.
Portnoy argued pizza is the far superior option and decided to put his money where his mouth is by eating only pizza for one month.
“Since I was doing it, I (figured) I’ll take a bite and rate it — and it just kind of caught on,” he said.
David Portnoy pizza review list in Florida
Portnoy has journeyed to nearly 100 Florida pizzerias throughout his series. Curious if one of his favorites is right by you?
Here’s every Florida pizza joint Portnoy has reviewed:
- Mister O1- South Beach, Miami Beach – 8.9
- Ah-Beetz New Haven Pizza, Delray Beach – 8.4
- Eleventh Street Pizza, Miami – 8.2
- Lucali, Miami Beach – 8.1
- Heritage, Fort Lauderdale – 8.1
- Fantini’s, Stuart – 8.1
- Pizzacraft Artisan Pizzeria, Fort Lauderdale – 8.1
- Tucci’s Fire N Coal Pizza, Boca Raton – 8.1
- Blocks Pizza Deli, Miami Beach – 8
- Pizzette Miami, Miami Beach – 7.9
- Sicilian Oven, Boca Raton – 7.9
- Aunt Lulu’s NY Style Pizza, Boca Raton – 7.8
- Giotto Maestro Della Pizza, Miami Beach – 7.8
- Square Pie City, Miami – 7.8
- Luigi’s Coal Oven Pizza, Fort Lauderdale – 7.8
- Grandpa’s Pizza, Bonita Springs – 7.8
- Toby’s Original Little Italy Pizza, St. Petersburg – 7.7
- Nick’s New Haven Style Pizzeria and Bar, Boca Raton – 7.7
- Taglio Cucina & Pizzeria Romana, Port Charlotte – 7.7
- Industry Pizza & Slice Shop, Naples – 7.7
- Pete’s Pizza, Daytona Beach -7.6
- Pizza District, Boca Raton – 7.6
- Pizza Bruno, Orlando – 7.5
- Esposito’s Pizza Bar, Davie – 7.5
- Amarone, Aventura – 7.5
- Big Bang Pizzeria, North Lauderdale – 7.5
- Renzo’s Cafe Pizzeria, Boca Raton – 7.5
- Apizza Brooklyn, Miami – 7.4
- Pizza Time Ristorante, Boca Raton – 7.4
- Frankie’s Pizza, Miami – 7.4
- IL Panificio Pizzeria, Sarasota – 7.4
- Gianni’s Pizza, Bradenton – 7.3
- Prince Street Pizza, Miami – 7.3
- Pizza Pazza, Miami – 7.3
- Little Italian Pizza, Pompano Beach – 7.3
- Terre Del Sapore, Coral Gables – 7.3
- Tomasso’s Pizza and Subs, Boca Raton – 7.3
- Pizza Tropical, Miami – 7.3
- Giuseppe’s Steel City Pizza, Port Orange – 7.3
- Collins Pizza, Miami – 7.2
- Cafe La Buca, Pompano Beach – 7.2
- La Leggenda Pizzeria, Miami Beach – 7.2
- Sir Pizza, Key Biscayne – 7.2
- Rico’s Pizzeria, Sarasota – 7.2
- Conte’s Pizza – 7.2
- Cannoli Kitchen, Boca Raton – 7.1
- Black Magic Pizza – 7.1
- PizzeRizzo, Disney’s Hollywood Studios – 7.1
- Big Louie’s Pizzeria, Pompano Beach – 7.1
- Harry’s Pizzeria, Miami – 7.1
- Eddie & Sam’s NY Pizza, Tampa – 7.1
- DC Pie – Brickell, Miami – 7.1
- Grafa Pizza, Miami Beach – 7.1
- Nick’s Pizza, Deerfield Beach – 7.1
- Focaccia, Miami – 6.9
- LowBrow Pizza & Beer, Naples – 6.9
- Michael’s Ali Coal Fired Pizza, Winter Garden – 6.9
- The Big Cheese, Miami – 6.9
- Buon Pane Italiano Bakery, Miami Beach – 6.9
- Steve’s Pizza, Miami – 6.9
- Pizza Girls WPB, West Palm Beach – 6.9
- Banchero Miami, Miami Beach – 6.8
- Pucci’s Pizza, Miami – 6.8
- Pizza Rustica, Miami Beach – 6.8
- Blue Springs Pizza, Orange City – 6.8
- Fratelli La Bufala, Miami Beach – 6.8
- Andiamo, Miami – 6.8
- Brooklyn Boys Pizza & Pizza, Boca Ration – 6.8
- East Side Pizza, Miami – 6.8
- I Love Pizza, Miami – 6.7
- Venezia Italian Restaurant, Sarasota – 6.7
- Zuccarelli, Pompano Beach – 6.7
- Leo’s Pizza, Miami – 6.7
- New York Pizza & Restaurante, Miami – 6.7
- Franco & Vinny’s, Fort Launderdale – 6.7
- Miami’s Best Pizza, Coral Gables – 6.6
- Sazio, Delray Beach – 6.6
- Napoli Pizza, Daytona Beach – 6.6
- Casola’s Pizzeria & Sub Shop, Miami – 6.3
- Spris, Miami – 6.3
- Upper Crust Pizza, Celebration – 6.2
- Pizza Bar, Miami Beach – 6.1
- Lenny’s Pizza, Miami Beach – 6.1
- Piola – Miami Beach, Miami Beach, 6.1
- Chuck E. Cheese’s, Melbourne – 6 (also his most popular video with 4 million views)
- Primanti Bros, Fort Launderdale – 5.3
- Zinncredible Pizza, Davie – 5.2
- Biggie’s Pizza, Jacksonville – 5.1
- Planet Pizza, Orlando – 4.8
- Mom’s New York Pizza, Miami – 4.3
- Pizza De Miami, Miami – 4.1
- McDonald’s, Orlando – 2.9
- King’s Pizza, Clearwater – 2.4
- Pizza Al Fresco, Palm Beach – 2.2
What is the top pizza shop Portnoy has reviewed in the entire country?
Unfortunately, the top pizza place in Portnoy’s ranking isn’t found in Florida. Instead, it’s roughly 1,300 miles away in Massachusetts.
The only perfect score in the entire series, Monte’s Restaurant in Lynn has secured its spot as Portnoy’s favorite spot for pizza pies.
