Fiducial | We help your business grow and be profitable.

by Stephen Parezo

Sam Smith

July 17, 2006—If there was one major point those attending took away from Fiducial’s second 2006 Regional Meeting last week in Raleigh, NC, it was that the event helped provide a glimpse into the company’s future course.

“I felt we got a true sense of direction of where the company is heading,” said Sam Smith, a franchisee from Middletown, MD. “People are truly interested in what’s coming.”

Michael Partee, a franchisee in Lula, GA, noted that the meeting gave attendees a look down the road where Fiducial is going in terms of new products and new ideas.

“It kind of reconciles our [franchisees’] thoughts with theirs,” said Partee. “That was another key benefit of being there.”

Partee found the affair an excellent way to gain some guidance and ask specific questions about practice management including pricing from those not just in the network but in the industry. He found that franchisees with more mature businesses were very willing to share their help and knowledge they’ve gathered over the years with less experienced members.

“If this had been just another CPA meeting it wouldn’t have been the same,” he said.

Franchise relations manager Al French served as moderator for the meeting that included mostly veteran franchisees along with some relatively new network members. He says everyone benefited from the day-long session.

“There wasn’t anybody there who wasn’t interested in seeing the system grow and be successful,” said French. “It gives the franchisees a way to interact with each other. It lets the franchisees know that our goal is to help them be successful and proves that we’re trying to build the system.”

‘A good way to learn’

Jerry Barrier

Jerry Barrier attended the meeting with his son, Mike, who he’s grooming to eventually take over his franchise in Albemarle, NC. The gathering gave him hope that the regional meetings will continue to be held. Early in his career he attended similar types of events and that’s where he picked up invaluable information for running his business.

“When I first started I learned 90% of what I know at these type of meetings about their success and failures,” said Barrier. “I learned not to make those same mistakes. That’s the big benefit of the group from my standpoint. It was a good way to learn.”

Franchisee Joseph O’Kobrick didn’t have to travel far to the meeting since his office is based in Raleigh. He appreciated learning “what Fiducial’s got down the pike with Pronet [it’s intranet] and making everything more useable.”

Now in his 26th year of operation, O’Kobrick says being part of a network has made the difference for his business.

“It’s really important to know that I’m not on my own and they [franchisees] can call me,” said O’Kobrick. “I’m looking forward to the next meeting.”

For Smith, a big part of the meeting is not so much the agenda as much as it is the camaraderie and getting to know fellow franchisees and managers who run the company.

“It’s the exchange of information with your peers and not your competition,” he said. “You have people that have truly grasped the franchise concept.”

The franchisees indicated they are looking forward to the next regional meeting that might be held after Fiducial’s Annual Convention September 17-20 in Chicago and before tax season.

Added Barrier, “I’m glad we had it and hope we have many more.”

Stephen Parezo is the Media Manager for Fiducial.

Whatever your small business needs, your Fiducial tax and financial professional can analyze your situation and recommend an appropriate action plan. To locate a Fiducial office nearest you on fiducial.com, see the Zip Code Locator located in the upper right hand corner of the page. Do you have a particular topic that we should be writing about that can help your business? Please send your suggestions to: stephen.parezo@fiducial.com.

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