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What says “hassle” more than holiday? And what says “holiday” more than a ham? Well, maybe a turkey. The folks at the Heavenly Ham, one of the best pre-prepared ham and turkey franchises in America, would like everyone to have a hassle-free “Heavenly” holiday season. With 160 franchises in 30 states, and 11 consecutive appearances on Entrepreneur Magazine’s franchise 500 list, Heavenly Ham certainly knows a thing or two about easing the strain of preparing scrumptious and special holiday meals. They suggest you plan your holiday menus and shopping a few days in advance to avoid last-minute lines and make a point of serving your family and guests high quality prepared foods. These could well include the spiral-sliced, smoked and glazed hams, smoked turkeys, and other specialty meats available at Heavenly Ham franchises supplemented by your family’s favorite holiday side dishes. If you’re entertaining weekend guests this holiday season take the stress out of preparing a slew of meals by making casseroles from your holiday leftovers. Cash For Entrepreneurial Vets The International Franchise Association Education Foundation has teamed with Michael H. Seid and Associates, a franchise consulting firm, to establish the Michael H. Seid and Associates Veterans Scholarship Fund. Using eligibility criteria established by the IFA Education Foundation, the Michael H. Seid and Associates Veterans Scholarship Fund will be awarded annually to U.S. Military veterans who are enrolled in an entrepreneurial course of study at an accredited college or university. The scholarship is intended to offset the cost of tuition and fees for these entrepreneurial studies. The first scholarship will be awarded in 2004. For information and application materials write to John Reynolds, IFA Educational Foundation, 1350 New York Ave., NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC, 20005. Concerto Adds A Franchise Maestro Concerto Networks, an up-and-coming franchisor of professional IT services for small and midsize businesses, has named a franchise expert to its board of advisors. Don Higginson, who is also the senior vice president of franchise relations for UPS’s Mail Boxes Etc. and a member of the International Franchise Association’s Franchise Relations Committee, is known in the industry as a guru of franchise law and franchise relations. To accelerate its global franchise expansion plans, Concerto is looking to Higginson to help the company recruit franchisees and promote franchise growth while adjusting to the changing needs of the company’s clientele. Concerto’s franchisees provide mobile on-site “corporate-style” computer and network services primarily to the SOHO (Small Office/Home Office) market. The company has been franchising since December 2002.

A Quick Peek into Franchise Life

Healthy, Happy Choices

With eating habits taking a turn for the better, now is a great

time to open a franchise that is fun, fruitful and fantastically

healthy. The Happy and Healthy Products company, based in Boca

Raton, Florida, distributes and sells smoothies, healthy snack

mixes and frozen dessert bars.

The company is also the originator of Fruitfull, which the folks

at Happy and Healthy describe as the most amazing, delicious,

frozen fruit bar in the world. As a home-based Happy and Healthy

franchisee you will primarily operate a wholesale business.

The company ships its products to a commercial cold-storage

facility in your area and you wholesale the products (which are

displayed in freezers and racks custom designed by Happy and

Healthy or in conventional retail models) to locations like

hospitals, colleges, health clubs, specialty food stores, snack

bars and cafeterias.

You can also sell Fruitfull direct to the public at fairs and

festivals held in your area. This retail selling is done by means

of a very festive, fruit-inspired freezer cart that is easily

transported to the event grounds. Most Happy and Healthy

franchisees experience the greatest success by combining both the

wholesale and retail aspects of the business. The company looks

for hard-working, ambitious decision makers to run its

franchisees and a love of fruity, healthy snack bars doesn t

hurt!

Happy and Healthy Products offers qualified franchisees four

franchise options.

Retail Only (a freezer, a watermelon-shaped cart and 1 pallet of

Fruitfull).
Standard Wholesale/Retail (10 custom Fruitfull freezers, 2

pallets of Fruitfull, a week of field training and 15 to 20

accounts).
Grand Wholesale/Retail (20 freezers, 2 pallets, 2 weeks of field

training and 30 to 40 accounts).
Super Grand Wholesale/Retail (30 custom freezers, 3 pallets of

Fruitfull, 2 weeks of field marketing and training and at least

30 to 40 accounts).
While this business centers around selling, sales experience is

not a must. All of the franchise options include at least a week

with a highly trained Happy and Healthy Products marketing

consultant who will help initiate contacts at your wholesale

locations.

Although you could conceivably jump into a Happy and Healthy

Products franchise full time, the company highly recommends

starting out part-time and building your business as you are able

to gather more wholesale contacts. Start-up fees range from

$23,217 (Retail Only) to $54,843 (Super Grand Wholesale/Retail).

Happy and Healthy Products does not charge its franchisees

royalties although there is a $300 a year advertising fee. The

company currently has franchises in 39 states and Puerto Rico.

Happy & Healthy Products is also a member of the Veterans

Transition Franchise Initiative (VetFran), a program designed to

aid veterans as they establish themselves in the small-business

sector. Happy and Healthy Products franchises are available in

all but 10 states.

Another Restaurant to Rave About

Healthy, hearty, quick and casual. That s what diners want these

days and that s what Raving Brands is delivering once again!

Martin Sprock and his Raving Brands trademark restaurants, which

include Moe s Southwest Grill, Mama Fu s Noodle House, Planet

Smoothie and PJ s Coffee, have developed a new link in their

chain of franchises. Doc Green s Gourmet Salads will serve up

fresh, healthy, made-to-order salads, soups, meat and three

meals (meat, chicken or fish with three vegetable

accompaniments), panini sandwiches, casseroles and other bistro

fare. With the growing number of people following low-carb diet

plans like Atkins and South Beach, Doc Green s will offer

customers light, low-carb, low-fat and low-cal dressings and

toppings for their meals.
If you re interested in a Doc Green s franchise (or Moe s, Mama

Fu s , PJ s or Planet Smoothie for that matter) don t be

surprised if your restaurant shares a wall or two with one of the

other Raving Brands franchises. In this business, it’s all about

real estate, said Sprock in a press release. Doc Green’s will

average 2,500-3,000 square feet, but we have the ability to take

something two to three times that space and fit multiple, but

independent concepts. We have such great franchise demand for the

portfolio that we may have two or three different franchisees

carving up one space for a Moe’s, Mama Fu’s and Doc Green’s

because the real estate is so premium. That’s a great place to

be. The first Doc Green s restaurants will be open later this

year. Keep your eyes out for franchising information to be

released soon.