Smashburger Attracts Five New Franchisees
There's a new trend hitting the "fast food" world. Insiders are referring to it as the "better burger" concept, and one up-and-comer, known as "Smashburger", has set its sights on Jacksonville. Smashburger recently announced its agreement with five new franchisees who have commitment to build 63 new franchise units across the country. This news brings Smashburger's franchise pipeline total to about 463 locations.
Jim Crossen, and his American Food Services Group, LLC represents one of the five new franchisees. In the announcement, Crossen is said to have committed to open seven restaurants in the Jacksonville-Duval County area over the next four years.
To read more on this article, visit Smashburger Finds FIve New Franchisees.
Continue reading " Smashburger Attracts Five New Franchisees " »
In a brief statement released by Winn-Dixie Stores, Inc., it confirmed having filed suit against Dolgencorp, the parent company of the Dollar General discount retail chain. Winn-Dixie alleges that Dollar General is willfully violating non-compete provisions built in to all of its commercial leases where a Winn-Dixie is located within a shopping center in which it is the anchor tenant. The non-compete provides Winn-Dixie the exclusive right to sell groceries within said shopping centers. The Jacksonville based grocer claims that Dollar General has been selling produce out of its stores that share commercial space with Winn-Dixie. Dollar General provided a response via email wherein it stated plans to vigorously defend these allegations. 
As Oprah is ending her 25 years on the air, small business owners, entrepreneurs, and anyone with a product to sell can learn from her success. From the beginning, she recognized that it is important to "just go with it". She made it clear that one can recover from mistakes that may come up, and she learned to do that over the years. Much too often, individuals let one mistake or problem disrupt their dream because they think it may mean they are doomed for a letdown. Instead, view problems as part of your “quest” and learn from them. Another important concept--give customers what they want. Too often, small businesses are unwilling to meet their customer’s demands. Those businesses that meet the demands usually find success. Keep your focus on your brand; a lack of focus leads to the downfall of many small businesses. Knowing who to associate with is also essential. It is important to find partners and employees who are devoted to promoting your business. An important thing to remember is to know when time is up and to let go. 
Over the past several decades, the average American household's debt level has consistently grown. However, with the recent economic hardship our country's endured, many people have found a way to pay down their total debt. Unfortunately, many of those who work hard to get out of debt often find themselves in debt again later. 
Since Blockbuster Video filed bankruptcy back in September, its stock price has fluctuated from 4 cents to 23 cents, yet some investors are undeterred and still purchasing those shares.
A report released by the Agency for Workforce Innovation shows that Jacksonville’s unemployment rate has fallen consecutively each month since January 2011. According to the report, the area's unemployment rate dropped from 10.2 percent in March, to 9.7 percent in April. This news is promising, considering it's the lowest unemployment rate for Jacksonville-Duval County since 2009. The Agency's report also indicated that Florida gained almost 83,000 jobs since April of 2010.
In a press release issued today, Friday, May 20, 2011, a spokesperson for Wachovia/Wells Fargo announced that the building formerly known as "The Modis Building" will be renamed "The Wells Fargo Center".
Only a few weeks after announcing its planned 3 for 1 stock split, CSX revealed during its annual conference that it expects yearly double-digit growth in its per share earnings and income through 2015.
The infringement battle between the Recording Industry Association of America ("RIAA") and LimeWire has settled outside of court for approximately $105 million in damages. The action was initiated by the RIAA in response to LimeWire's person-to-person ("P2P") file sharing application.
Jacksonville based corporation, CSX, announced earlier this month that it has approved a stock split of 3 for 1. In addition, the company committed to increasing the quarterly dividend of its common stock by 38 percent. CSX also plans to initiate a program to buy back over $2 billion of corporate shares.
Blue Cross Blue Shield, one of Florida's largest insurers, announced its plan to enter Florida's Medicaid market. A spokesperson for the company stated that the timing is right, especially considering the Legislature's recent decision to expand Medicaid's role statewide. 
A recent statement released by Zillow.com (an online real estate appraisal system) notes that Jacksonville home prices have decreased by another 12% since last year. The current average price for a home in Jacksonville is less than $125,000. According to Zillow's Chief Economist, Dr. Stan Humphries, the market will not hit bottom until 2012 at the earliest.
A recent decision by Delaware's Supreme Court held that officers owe the same fiduciary duty of care as its directors. However, in its decision, the Court did not address the standard of care for determining officer liability. 
State and local governments have been and will continue to drastically cut spending to attempt to close large budget gaps. These cuts in spending have reduced economic growth for the last fiscal quarter of 2010, and appear to continue dragging down growth through the first fiscal quarter of 2011. There are several ways that cuts in state and local spending affect economic growth. Specifically, cuts in education programs. These layoffs and other job losses, as well as cuts in benefit and spending programs may also negatively impact long term growth. Additionally, job losses and cuts in benefit programs impact the ability to spend.
In a move that reads like the script of a movie itself, Mike Tyson's tattoo artist is suing Warner Brother's Entertainment to halt the release of "The Hangover 2." The savvy artist responsible for the tribal design that now adorns Mr. Tyson's face retained the right to register the design at the time the work was performed. Therefore, legally, the artist has control as to whom he allows to recreate the image and is, of course, entitled to compensation for each recreation.
On March 3, thousands of credit union members warned that a cap on fees banks collected from merchants will force the card-issuing credit unions and banks to abandon free checking, eliminate rewards programs, and impose annual fees. However, a week later, many small business owners refuted those claims. In fact, retailers say that the Federal Reserve proposal will help lower retail prices while preventing card issuers from profiting at the their expense. 
Forbes magazine has ranked the "take and bake" pizza franchise Papa Murphy’s International 5th on its list of top 20 U.S. franchises. 
