by UFG | Aug 26, 2013 | News
August 26, 2013 (Buffalo, N.Y.) – For nearly 30 years, Edward Sullivan steadily climbed the corporate ladder in the food industry until he stood solidly as a national vice president of a multi-billion dollar global company. Then the longtime Buffalo resident took a surprising leap: This month, Sullivan launched a hyper-local business in a totally different industry. On August 23, 2013 EmbroidMe opened its doors at 23 Lafayette Square, Suite 106 in Buffalo.
“My vision is to build a company that understands how to promote Buffalo, its companies, schools, teams, events, people, history and architecture,” said Sullivan. “I am passionate about our city, and I want to use this company to give back by instilling pride in Buffalo and helping it to grow.”
Sullivan acknowledges that there are a number of companies selling Buffalo-themed products. But he feels that two factors give him a competitive edge: First, his business is a franchise of the world’s largest promotional products company: EmbroidMe. The significant buying power, and training and marketing support he receives from the international franchise system is unparalleled. Second, his focus on service, quality and community involvement is incredibly strong.
“Many businesses promote Buffalo-themed products to make money,” he said. “I want to make money so that I can promote Buffalo. This is what I want to do with the rest of my working life.”
Sullivan’s passion for the city is revealed in all of the choices he made when launching the business, which helps other organizations brand themselves and make an impression by customizing marketing products that feature a name, image, logo or message. He chose a location in the heart of downtown, in the historic Brisbane Building on Lafayette Square. Even the artwork on his walls features beauty shots of Buffalo.
The St. Bonaventure alum spends his spare time as a volunteer tour guide with Buffalo Tours. He and his wife, Lynn Marie, a teacher and curriculum development specialist in the Hamburg Central School System are also collaborating on a Buffalo-centric project for students. The Orchard Park couple is developing a program to teach children about the city’s history and architecture.
“Tight budgets have forced many school districts to eliminate such an important activity for our children,” he said. “We will provide funding toward the cost of the tours. Our curriculum will align with the history children will experience on their downtown Buffalo tour, and we will give it to schools that want to participate.”
Sullivan plans to grow his new business quickly, and hopes soon to add more employees and produce a larger volume and broader array of in-house product offerings. Many might consider that ambitious for a start-up. But Sullivan believes that leveraging decades of success with business-to-business marketing and sales, coupled with the strength of EmbroidMe—which, he says, has the strongest and most professional image and support program in the industry—make his goals absolutely achievable.
His determination is indisputable, and his investment echoes it. He and his wife bypassed debt financing, opting instead to invest their life savings to launch the EmbroidMe franchise.
“This business is my retirement plan now,” said Sullivan. “It is a big risk; but we believe in Buffalo, and we’ll find a way to make it great.”
With more than 300 locations in 12 countries, EmbroidMe currently has eight locations in New York and expects further expansion in the market, with plans to open 15 franchised units in the greater New York City area within 3-5 years.
Nationwide, EmbroidMe plans to open 70 new resource centers through the remainder of the 2013, reaching 500 locations worldwide by the end of 2016. For more information, please visit www.embroidme.com
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by UFG | Aug 20, 2013 | News
GERMANTOWN, Md. (August 20, 2013) – SIGNARAMA, the world’s largest sign franchise, announces a new store at 19532 Amaranth Drive, under the ownership of local resident Greg Utterback.
This is the second SIGNARAMA store for Utterback, who has been a franchisee since 1994. His previous location was 4200 Wisconsin Ave., NW in Washington, DC, and he will continue to serve as the representative SIGNARAMA for the Washington DC clients.
“I hope to maximize the potential of this new service area while maintaining my existing client base in Washington, DC. Through the years, my clients have appreciated my ability to recognize their needs and provide advice that has helped them succeed. Sometimes that advice has been to spend less on signage at the outset and upgrade as their business grows. That honesty has helped me build lasting business relationships,” said Utterback.
Utterback now offers FREE DELIVERY for his Washington, DC customers who had previously picked up their orders. “We don’t want to add increased expense or inconvenience as a result of our move. We deliver to DC as often as necessary to meet our customers’ needs and it has worked out very well. The customers have actually benefitted by not having to leave their businesses,” he said.
SIGNARAMA Germantown’s hours are Monday through Friday 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Approaching 900 stores in more than 50 countries, SIGNARAMA uses cutting-edge industry software programs to provide a full range of comprehensive sign and graphic services to both the private and commercial segments of the business community.
For more information on SIGNARAMA in Germantown, contact Greg Utterback at 202-244-9171. For franchising information, please call (800) 465-0362 or visit www.signarama.com.
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by UFG | Aug 15, 2013 | News
Local resident comes out of retirement to open new embroidery business with grandson
August 15, 2013 (Jacksonville, Fla.)—Philip Mobley, 59, wants to bring a little more personalization to Northeast Florida. Coming out of retirement, the Jacksonville resident will team up with his oldest grandson, Henry Williams, 20, to open EmbroidMe at 540-125 Commerce Center Circle on Aug. 27. The company is the world’s largest diversified promotional products franchise, helping organizations brand themselves and make an impression by customizing marketing products that feature a name, image, logo or message.
“Since retiring from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida after 34 years, I’ve dedicated myself to helping non-profit organizations in the area and working with at-risk boys within the urban core of Jacksonville,” said Mobley. “Some of the men from the Northside Church of Christ and I founded a very successful night basketball program that was designed as a youth enrichment and mentoring program using basketball as a hook to get the boys interested.”
WIN Night Basketball is in its eighth year and works with 50 boys – 95 percent of them have been promoted in schools and have stayed out of the juvenile justice system since starting the program. Mobley also serves as the executive director of a non-profit organization and the Duval Public Schools System. In addition to his volunteer work, Mobley is currently working on his PhD at the University of North Florida.
“I started working with a non-profit at the end of 2008,” said Mobley. “When all the other non-profits were losing funding, I was able to increase funding levels of the Northside Community Involvement by 300 percent. I know that my ability to reach out to the community will help Henry and me build a very successful business with EmbroidMe.”
Mobley and his grandson share a unique relationship: 10 years ago Henry’s father (Mobley’s son) was killed in a car accident. Since then, Mobley has raised Henry as his son.
“Henry and I have a vision of growing this business to other areas within Northeast Florida that are underserved in the embroidery sector,” said Mobley. “We also strongly believe in giving back to the community and are positioning this company as a community outreach business. We will be implementing incentive and give-back programs for our community partners.”
With more than 300 locations in 12 countries, EmbroidMe expects to open 70 new resource centers through the remainder of the 2013, reaching 500 locations worldwide by the end of 2016. The company currently has 17 locations throughout Florida and expects to double that number within five years, targeting markets such as Jacksonville, Tampa, St. Petersburg, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Cape Coral, Coral Springs, Miramar, Hialeah, Port St. Lucie, Hollywood, Miami Gardens, Orlando, Tallahassee, Pembroke Pines, Gainesville, and Clearwater for further expansion.
Founded by franchising veteran Ray Titus, who along with father Roy founded Signarama in 1986 – which has grown into the world’s largest sign franchise with almost 900 locations in 50 – EmbroidMe specializes in embroidery, garment printing, custom apparel, promotional products, screen printing and personalized gifts. The company is the most comprehensive source for promotional apparel, premiums and advertising specialties for businesses, but also focuses on individual customers and their needs, delivering solid solutions to the branding and promotional challenges of businesses, especially small business.
As testament to its success, EmbroidMe was recently ranked 20th by The Advertising Specialty Institute’s (ASI) Counselor magazine in its annual Top 40 Distributors listing, which recognizes the top distributors in the promotional products industry based upon the previous year’s gross revenue.
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by UFG | Jul 25, 2013 | News
St. Charles, Ill. (July 25, 2013) – Transworld Business Advisors, a unique business concept that provides services for business brokerage, franchise consultant, and franchise development, announces a new location in the Fox River Valley area of northern Illinois under the ownership of local resident Linda Thomas.
Transworld Business Advisors is essentially three complementary businesses rolled into one: business brokerage, franchise consulting, and franchise development. The brokerage side successfully puts buyers and sellers of businesses together; the franchise consulting side gives entrepreneurs access to more than 200 pre-screened franchises and the franchise development service assists people in growing their businesses through franchising.
“Discovering Transworld Business Advisors came at the perfect time in my life; after years of working within the confines of a large corporate structure, I was ready to work for myself,” says Thomas. “Owning my own business with the experience and support of a major franchisor is the best of both worlds.”
Prior to owning a Transworld Business Advisors agency, Thomas was the assistant vice president of the property and casualty division of a major insurance company. Her background includes extensive experience in commercial insurance underwriting and marketing, as well as management.
Transworld Business Advisors is a joint venture between United Franchise Group, (UFG) an industry leader in the development of successful franchise systems with over 1400 franchisees in 50 countries, and Transworld Business Brokers, one of the nation’s largest business brokerage companies handling business sales and mergers and acquisitions.
For more information on the new Transworld Business Advisor in St. Charles, contact Linda Thomas at 630-797-2250. For information on how you can own a Transworld Business Advisors Franchise, call 800-205-7605 or go to www.transworld-info.com.
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by UFG | Jul 9, 2013 | News
Raynham, Mass. (July 9, 2013) – SIGNARAMA, the world’s largest sign franchise, announces local residents Connie Delano and Paul Harris are now the new owners of the Raynham store at 1470 New State Highway, Rt. 44, Suite 21.
Before becoming a SIGNARAMA franchisee, Delano worked in sales development at Harwich Paint and Decorating on Cape Cod. Prior to that she was an IT applications/portal director at a major university in Boston, MA for 12 years. Before doing IT, Delano had been a fisheries program data manager at Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences and was a Marine Biologist at environmental institutions.
While Harris is now a co-owner of the SIGNARAMA franchise, he is also a property manager for private estates on an off-grid island on Cape Cod. Prior to being a property manager, Harris was a building contractor and custom kitchen and cabinet builder.
“Discovering SIGNARAMA came at a perfect time in my life because I was ready to become part of the local business community and was interested in helping businesses succeed with their marketing and branding,” said Delano. “My business partner, Paul Harris, got over the bridge when he moved to Kingston to be with me and wanted a way to serve the local community.”
Delano and Harris are active members of the community. They are beekeepers and members of Plymouth County Beekeepers Assoc. They also ski and paddle with the Cape Cod Ski Club, and sail on Kingston Bay with the Kingston Yacht Club. Harris also enjoys raising foul.
SIGNARAMA store hours are 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, and by appointment on Saturdays.
Approaching 900 stores in more than 50 countries, SIGNARAMA uses cutting-edge industry software programs to provide a full range of comprehensive sign and graphic services to both the private and commercial segments of the business community.
For more information on SIGNARAMA in Raynham, contact Delano and Harris at 508-822-7533. For franchising information, please call (800) 465-0362 or visit www.signarama.com.
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by UFG | Jul 1, 2013 | News
Largest Embroidery Franchise by the Advertising Specialty Institute’s Counselor Magazine
West Palm Beach, FL (July 1, 2013) – EmbroidMe, the world’s largest embroidery franchise,
announced today that the Advertising Specialty Institute’s (ASI) Counselor magazine has ranked the company in its annual Top 40 Distributors listing. Each year, the magazine recognizes the top 40 distributors in the promotional products industry based upon the previous year’s gross revenue.
“We are thrilled to be named as a top distributor by Counselor magazine,” said Mark Johnson, President of EmbroidMe. “We pride ourselves on serving as Promotional Marketing Partners to our clients, dedicated to providing outstanding service. This has been the driving force behind our phenomenal growth and recognitions,” he continued.
The list, which is compiled by ASI, the largest media and marketing organization serving the advertising specialty industry, seeks to recognize companies who have demonstrated outstanding sales revenues. The actual ranking on the list will be unveiled at the ASI Show in Chicago on July 17, 2013 and will be published in the upcoming issue of Counselor magazine.
With over 300 locations in 12 countries including the U.S., Canada and Australia, EmbroidMe is the largest embroidery franchise that specializes in full-service solutions and consultation to its clients, which includes custom embroidery and screen-printing for apparel, as well as promotional products and gifts to both private and commercial segments.
EmbroidMe is part of a successful system of business-to-business franchise brands and development services under the United Franchise Group, The Global Leader for Entrepreneurs. Since its inception, EmbroidMe has offered full-service promotional options to both small and large businesses, serving as a true Promotional Marketing Partners. EmbroidMe currently has more than 800,000 promotional products designed to help businesses build their brand and make lasting impressions. EmbroidMe can also assist not only with business-to-business branding and marketing solutions, but also globally via their international franchise network.
About EmbroidMe: EmbroidMe, Inc., a privately owned company, is the world’s largest embroidery franchise with hundreds of retail locations worldwide. Since franchising began in 2000, it has become the world leader in the full-service, embroidery and promotional products industry. For more information visit www.unitedfranchisegroup.com/embriodme or call 1-561-640-5570.
About the United Franchise Group (UFG)
The United Franchise Group, The Global Leader for Entrepreneurs, consists of a number of award-winning business-to-business brands and franchise development services including some of the world’s largest industry-leading names. The experts at UFG have used their over 25 years of franchising experience to grow the franchising giant into a $500 million dollar success story with approximately 1,400 franchise locations in 50 countries. The company includes franchise industry giants SIGNARAMA, the world’s largest sign franchise; EmbroidMe, the world’s largest embroidery franchise; Transworld Business Advisors, for people to research business opportunities before investing; and newly launched SuperGreen Solutions, a premium one-stop shop for all your energy efficient needs. For franchising information on any of the United Franchise Group brands, call (561)640-5570 or visit their website.
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