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“As McDonald’s goes, so to does franchising.” This might be an extreme overstatement, but nonetheless, the Golden Arches has had such a defining role in the evolution of franchising that many entrepreneurs and analysts will use it as a bellwether for how the industry is faring as a whole.

Those insiders will be have taken positive news from the McDonald’s recent gathering for analysts and journalists at its corporate headquarters in Illinois last week. According to the Wall Street Journal, the attitude of the McDonald’s corporate executive was typically bullish, with the company extremely optimistic about the way it has positioned itself for the time beyond the recession.

“This is also as much about changing the perception of our brand in the consumer’s mind that allows us to stretch both the price and products you can serve in a re-imaged restaurant,” McDonald’s Chief Financial Officer Peter Bensen said.

The confidence is a direct result of the investment in new stores and technology, as well as the unveiling of popular new products.

Restaurant profits are down in the last year across the industry, but McDonald’s market share has remained steady. The WSJ reports that some of the products coming down the pipeline are new wraps, smoothies and frappes and possibly a $1 breakfast menu. Clearly the challenge for McDonald’s, and indeed everyone in the QSR sector, is balancing the surge in consumer frugality brought on by the recession with the constant demand for a high-quality product.

As the year goes on, McDonald’s seem like they’re in a great position to retain the top ranking in Franchise Direct second Top 100 Global Franchises.

It’s been a good month or two for Matt Shay.

Many IFA presidents have influenced the national debate on small business, but Mr Shay came through in a big way for small business owners and those in the franchise industry last month when President Obama announced the details of his small business recovery plan.

The hard work of Mr Shay and others at the IFA was rewarded that day. But how did Matt ascend to the position he is in? The cover story of the newest issue of Franchise Times explains how, as well as providing some of Mr Shay’s insight on how the IFA is changing.

The story features a dramatic story about how Shay overcame a serious car accident where he went through a windshield, breaking every bone in his face and fracturing his two legs. Shay eventually recovered and began his work with the IFA, working in state capitals. He gradually climbed the ladder and found himself as IFA president at a time of critical economic importance.

I thought this paragraph in Nancy Weingartner’s story was very insightful into what makes Shay successful.

No one will ever admit this—at least not on the record—but it can’t be easy to lead a bunch of strong-willed, self-made entrepreneurs. In essence, Shay not only has a different “boss” every year, as the new chairperson moves into the top volunteer spot, but he’s accountable to an entire board of directors, plus membership.

It’s a very tough job. But Shay has guided the IFA to a position where it is now ‘punching above its weight’. “Five years ago board members didn’t realize how much ability we had to improve our regard,” Shay says in the story.

Shay has mobilized the IFA in recent years. If you’d like to watch more about Matt, here is below in an interview recorded at this year’s IFA convention.

Produced by Franchise Direct

When you are a franchisee, you are not at the bottom of the corporate food chain. Far from it. You are the eyes and ears of your business, responsible for instituting the innovations that will drive the franchise forward.

This is not just corporate cheerleading. These are established lessons. Consider the story of Subway franchisee Stuart Frankel, which was recently featured in Business Week magazine. You wouldn’t expect a man who owns two South Florida franchises to institute one of the biggest eating crazes in America, but Stuart had a big idea.

He’s the guy, who realizing that business slowed substantially on the weekends, cut a dollar off the foot-long sub at his restaurants. He tells Business Week it’s because he likes round numbers. Whatever the reason, you can now buy a $5 foot-long sub in every town and city in America these days. It has generated $3.8billion for the company. For this genius innovation, Subway has to thank not its armies of market researchers nor its well-paid corporate executives, but a franchisee at a grassroots level who sensed a new niche for his business and had the courage and inventiveness to satisfy it.

“The whole thing took on a life of its own,” Jeff Moody, CEO of Subway’s franchise-owned advertising arm, the Subway Franchisee Advertising Fund Trust, told Business Week.

Business Week’s story is quite insightful as to how franchisees can bring about huge profits for a franchisor – sometimes in the face of skepticism from the franchise itself. It’s essential reading for any franchisee looking to make a greater difference in their franchise organization.

We’d like to take a moment to congratulate the IFA which turns 50 years old this year.

Those people who started the International Franchise Association a half a century ago would hardly recognize today’s business landscape, but still their organization continues to provide advocacy and guidance to franchised businesses around the country.

What began when Dunkin’ Donuts founder Bill Rosenberg brandished a 100 dollar bill from his wallet at a franchisor convention in Chicago back in 1959 is now a hugely mobile and influential organization, as the recent successful of lobbying of President Obama on small business reform shows.

The latest issue of Franchise Times magazine features a detailed story on the history of the IFA. For anyone with an interest in franchising, this is a must-read. Writer Nancy Weingartner takes a decade-by-decade look at the IFA’s evolution, discussing how it planted roots in Washington and began its education programs, and many other things.

Part of the IFA’s initial success was that it let franchisors of all stripes convene and discuss the in’s and out’s of operating a franchise business.

“Companies got together to share ideas,” said Jerry Darnell of Benetrends. “There is no place else to get this information.”

Franchisors weren’t afraid to share best practices because they weren’t sharing trade secrets with their competitors. Members were in a number of different industries and the information they were sharing had to do with business-format franchising, not with burgers or brake jobs.

And as for today? Well, the IFA remains more vital than ever. We particularly enjoyed how the story concluded.

IFA’s challenge is to make business-format franchising a priority in their members’ businesses. They’ve accomplished this in part through economic studies, education and lobbying for small business concerns.

And by selecting volunteers who are committed to the cause. The past chairs stay involved. “They don’t do their time and walk away,” IFA’s CEO Matt Shay said.

“Where IFA goes is where franchising goes,” stated Zeidman.

Here’s to 50 more years of success!

It is easier than ever to develop your franchise into a top global business, thanks to Franchise Direct. The Atlanta-based, world-leading franchise portal recently compiled its rankings of the Top 100 Global Franchises. After a number of insightful follow-up interviews with ranked franchisors, Franchise Direct can now shed some light on what takes to grow a business into a top global franchise.

As recent reporting in the Wall Street Journal shows, international development is now a profitable course for many franchises seeking new markets, as economies around the world have been somewhat slower to introduce the franchising model than the US. With its inaugural rankings of the Top 100 Global Franchises, Franchise Direct not only listed the best-performing global franchises, but it provided a blueprint to other franchises eyeing similar growth.

Interviews with franchisors with businesses on the Top 100 list showed that there is no one path to successful international expansion. Selling a master license is a common strategy, but by no means the only route, as Coffee News USA discovered.

“In those countries that are doing well, we will leave them alone. If we take back countries we will run them from here for awhile and then sell them once we have someone who can do Coffee News well there,” said Bill Buckley of Coffee News USA.

Other companies like PakMail have tailored a business model that can be easily reshaped into different foreign economies.

“We are open to further international expansion and prefer to establish master licensees outside of the U.S. The Pak Mail operating concept is pretty easy to adapt to foreign markets as evidenced by the success of our franchises in Mexico,” says PakMail’s Sandy Lasky.

There will be many cultural roadblocks for the franchisor to overcome when opening in a foreign market. “Knowing the culture, language and business processes, as well as ensuring successful product distribution,” are some of the problems that PuroClean encountered when it launched its Canadian operation. However, it found a solution that changed the way it did business in the country.

“By having a native Canadian manager running operations in Canada, PuroClean has been able to overcome typical obstacles faced when entering a foreign market,” said PuroClean’s Natalie Zupo.

Launching a franchise on a global level takes time and patience. But the rewards can be limitless, as the success of Franchise Direct’s Top 100 Franchises has shown.