Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital gets endowment Mike Reagan of WMTW Channel 8 reports that the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital is getting some perks from Dunkin’ Donuts. Maine franchise owners are giving the hospital a $250,000 endowment over five years for its hospital-based teacher program. The program inside the Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital at Maine Medical […]
Making small-business owners’ concerns heard in the political process
Franchise owners are small business owners and they can have a big political impact, which is our experience in Maine. Franchise owners in Maine will continue to have the opportunity to educate their lawmakers, which we have learned do not know much about franchising, but we have shown them the importance of franchisees in Maine, to invest and create […]
Thank you for your support! Without it we wouldn’t have gotten as far as we did.
Dear Members and Friends of MFOA, Thank you for your support, participation, and advocacy for Maine franchise owners. Your support helped advance the Maine Franchise Owners Association (MFOA) and its mission to protect, defend and enhance the equity for all franchise owners. Even though we lost LD 1458 in the senate, we did get our […]
Three Stories of Maine Franchise Owners or Franchisors Doing Business in Maine
Three Stories about Quiznos, Coffee News and Dunkin’ Donuts. Quiznos: Maine franchisees of the franchising firm that earlier this month filed for bankruptcy, failed miserably under a broken business model. Some are questioning what detriment there was to their state’s economy. Analyzing the sub sandwich chain’s past franchise disclosure documents shows there was approximately $5.4 […]
Maine Legislators and Small Business Owners One In The Same
Small businesses are the key to Maine’s well-being. They compose a significant share of the state’s economic production and hiring. According to the Small Business Administration Office of Advocacy, Maine’s businesses have shown signs of stability and improvement. In 2008, small businesses totaled 147,484. Of those, 33,926 were employers, and they accounted for 59.7% of […]
Failure to Pass Franchise Protections 20 Years Ago Cost Maine More Franchised Units
In 1994, Legislative document 1916, or as some people remember it — The Franchise Practices Act, was shot down by Governor John R. McKernan, Jr. even after it passed both the Maine House of Representatives and the Maine Senate. Leonard Kovit, owner of 5 Meineke’s in Maine and New Hampshire in 1994, remembers the bill […]
The IFA Has No Risk by Claiming “the Sky is Falling” in Maine
Recently the International Franchise Association (IFA) sent out its IFA Insider Newsletter (Vol. 19, Issue No. 47 ) with the following wake-up call to franchisors “next month the Maine legislature will address LD 1458 (Maine Small Business Investment Protection Act), the most far-reaching and harmful franchise relationship legislation in any state in the country”. They […]
Maine Unemployment Rate 6.4 Percent in November
State Labor Commissioner Jeanne Paquette released November workforce estimates for Maine. Seasonally Adjusted Statewide Data Survey of Households – The preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate estimate for Maine was 6.4 percent in November—the lowest figure since November 2008—down from 6.7 percent in October and 7.2 percent one year ago. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics […]
Maine’s Small Business Administration Wants To Help You
The Small Business Administration (SBA) believes “giving small employers a voice early in the process is key to reducing the negative impact of regulations on small businesses, increasing the level of regulatory compliance, and passing on cost savings to state economies. Regional Advocates help identify regulatory concerns of small business by monitoring the impact of […]
The Need for Voiding Out State Venue Clauses for Franchise Owners
Peter Lagarias posted at BlueMauMau a very compelling argument as why it’s important to pass legislation in each state to void litigation forum/venue clauses and allow litigation or dispute resolution in occur in the State the franchise owner has his/her business. Here are is an excerpt: Most franchise agreements provide for venue of franchise lawsuits […]