And we’re not the only believers in this franchise. As Jeff D’Arcy from the Allbusiness.com recently wrote, “Flip Flop Shops is the authentic retailer of the hottest brands and latest styles of flip flops and sandals. It’s more than just a shop they like to say… it’s a lifestyle.”

Jeff was so interested in Flip Flops Shops, he invited Brian Curin, president and founder of Flip Flops Shops onto his Franchise Show, one of the top of internet radio shows. Jeff and co-host Christine Mudd talked to Brian about what makes this lifestyle concept and their ‘transparent’ franchise organization. Listen to the interview here.

“It’s very rare that you find a business that works, but the stars have aligned for it,” Brian says.

Brian also discusses Flip Flop Shops first international store (not to mention its units on the Jersey Shore). If you’re interested in this franchise, we’d recommend you take the time to listen to the interview – audio seems be more direct than the written word at times.

Undoubtedly, Flip Flop Shops will be providing foot cover for a lot of holiday-goers this weekend. If you’re ready to open your own Flip Flop Shops franchise, follow this link.

Polls of consumer attitudes across the board show that people are spending much less than they were in the past and trying to make their money go further. And so perhaps consumers are not buying that new car, but where do they draw the line where their pets are concerned? There are so many different pet franchises now, with everything from pet food courier services to mobile pet cleaners on offer. But can they survive?

Over on the Small Business Trends blog, which is one of our favorite small biz blogs, Joel Libava has an interesting breakdown of the industry and lends his own opinion on a variety of pet franchise concepts. Joel doesn’t offer any direct advice about whether or not to buy a pet franchise, and instead provides analysis as a pet-lover with a grasp of the business world. Readers considering buying a pet franchise will come away with some common-sense wisdom.

“If you are a pet owner, you know the costs involved in keeping your pet happy and in tip-top shape.  Franchises can delivery the quality and consistency you crave,” he says.

Many of these new pet franchises take the work out of owning a pet. Yet some of these statistics from the American Pets Production Association are staggering:

• 62% of U.S. households own a pet, which equates to 71.4 millions homes
• $45.4 billion will be spent on our pets in the U.S.
• $3.4 billion of that figure will be spent on grooming & boarding

The fascinating thing is that even when the economy is down, America’s love affair with their pets goes on and on.

Brian Miller, CFE of The Entrepreneur’s Source, has written a lengthy piece for Franchising Times, in which he talks to a number of franchise experts. His feeling is that franchising is about to make a breakthrough. The nub of his argument is this:

Unemployment will continue to rise and create this form of “forced entrepreneurship.” The sooner the credit markets thaw, the faster this economic boom will occur. And as this fertile ground for entrepreneurs emerge, we’ll have opportunities we haven’t even thought of yet. We’re seeing more of an emphasis on “lifestyle” franchises these days as well.

Brian also cites some interesting statistics. In a recent Zogby poll, 63%  of Americans said that entrepreneurs and small-businesspeople would lead America to a better future.

Snap Fitness CEO Peter Taunton also offered some interesting analysis from the front lines of franchising:

“Over the past few months, we have seen a definite increase in the amount of franchise prospects who are ready to control their own destiny. Many who have lost their jobs due to downsizing have stated that they do not want to go through this again and they feel that the real way to financial security is to own their own business.”

With all the talk of green shoots in the global economic climate, it is certainly heartening to hear some positive talk on the franchising front. Miller admits that no one knows what will happen in the next 18 months, but it seems that intrepid franchisees may be able to inspire the economy to greater things.

Click here to download this week’s Franchise Update, or watch in the player below:

The IFA has announced the line-up for its Franchise Development Super Session which will be held in Los Angeles from September 30th to October 1st in the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites.

Karen Mills, the head of the SBA, has announced a new strategic alliance with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineer aimed to boost business opportunities for innovative entrepreneurs. The IEEE is made up of over 200,000 engineers, scientists and professionals with interests in electrical engineering and computer science.

In the shorter term, there’s an interesting IFA event being held in LA at the end of September. The IFA has announced plans for its Franchise Development Super Session which will be held in Los Angeles from September 30 to October 1st in the Westin Bonaventure Hotel and Suites. This year’s Super Session title is “Selling Franchises in a Challenging Economy”. There’ll be a revamped agenda and its program will aim to keep you on the path to successful franchising. Highly notable is the keynote speaker: internet and technology entrepreneur Scott Ksolosky.

A CEO of three successful start-ups and a Turnaround Expert, Scott will be sharing some of his innovative ideas on how to use to the internet and technology to generate sales.  You can also expect the “unconference” format for a section of the event. It’s sure to be a n energizing session, and you can book your place today at the IFA’s website.

Knowledge is power in this economy, so inform yourself at these two events.

Then today we stumbled upon an interesting debate on the blogosphere that moves this discussion on a bit. Social entrepreneur and power coach Yu-kai Chou recently blogged with his suggestion for keeping entrepreneurs afloat: government subsidies.

Yu-kai suggests that the US government should float entrepreneurs about $20,000 simply to keep them in business. He thinks it would save the economy. Here’s his rationalization:

The government can give entrepreneurs a VERY low amount of survival money, like $20,000 a year, as a salary to do entrepreneurial work. This is useful because there are lots and lots of people who would be entrepreneurs but they couldn’t pursue their dreams due to realistic survival issues. This plan allows them to pursue the innovation work they want without the fear of dying on the streets. Many entrepreneurs are some of the smartest and most creative people in the workforce, and they demand very little to survive. They also need to spend all $20,000 of that money because they don’t have the capacity to save.

There’s an interesting debate happening on the comments section of this blog post about whether this suggestion amounts to socialism and kills competition. Whatever your political feelings, its certainly an interesting suggestion, and would welcomed by many franchisees and entrepreneurs.

As for when you get your business or franchise off the ground,  Paul Segreto at the franchiseinsights blog has some worthwhile suggestions for making your business stand-out once you open your doors.

Getting the keys to your unit does not assure customers or profits. In many ways, the hard work only really starts once you open your franchise. As Paul writes:

Many franchisees find it necessary to stand behind the counter and serve the customer when they would better serve the business by getting out from behind the counter and mingling with the customers, visiting other businesses, participating in community events, etc.

The major challenge is that most franchisees refuse to take this approach, feeling they’ve made a large investment and the business should come to them, or put the responsibility on the franchisor, or are just lazy and would rather wait for tomorrow. Well, as Garth Brooks sings, “if tomorrow never comes…” Instead, they need to make it happen today and forget tomorrow, as if there is no tomorrow!

It’s great advice and something we should all keep in mind.

Last week’s Wall Street Journal reported that many entrepreneurs are taking up part-time work on top of their existing business simply to make ends meet. The piece profiles a Chilean flower importer who is now working for a white-water rafting company, a CFO of a PR company who is doubling as a ranch caretaker, and a maker of preteen educational DVDs who is now moonlighting as an education consultant.

Bu the fact that many entrepreneurs are taking up second jobs is no reason to be depressed. There is a lot of work out there that is ideal for people looking to trying turn a spare 15-20 hours in the week into profit. Look at Franchise Direct’s home-based franchises or part-time franchises. These are ideal for the truly enterprising entrepreneur. With say, a vending opportunity, you can maintain your regular job and just attend to the machine when it requires. Use your home or garage for spare office space and let the business manage itself.

Sure, times are tight. But only by being brave and thinking cleverly will we be able to overcome this challenging time.

Click here to download this week’s Franchise Update, or watch in the player below:

Kiva, the entrepreneur lending site have announced a US pilot version. This will extend their current angel business lending facilities to entrepreneurs in Africa and South America to include entrepreneurs in the US. Visit Kiva’s website to find out more.

The SBA began accepting loans for a temporary new program called America’s Recovery Capital on June 15th.  “ARC” loans of up to $35,000 are available to provide a “bridge” for small businesses suffering financial difficulties to keep their businesses in operation until they get back on track. Visit the administration’s website to find out more.

The IFA has recently published some very interesting first-hand accounts of the experiences of minorities in franchising. It makes for interesting reading and shows how a range of minorities, be they African-American, Hispanic or Chinese, are doing extremely well in franchising.

Take Serdar and Sujata Chakraborty, who  own three Wireless Zone franchises in Maryland. As the IFA writes:

For the past three years, the Chakrabortys have worked hard to reclaim the marketplace one customer at a time. Leading by example, the team has successfully maintained their managers’ and sales team’s dedication to servicing the customers. By treating, trusting and building relationships with their local Maryland communities, the Chakrabortys have been able to maintain a stronghold on the market as the leaders of three Verizon Wireless service and products franchises.

Or consider the story of Sam Hilo, whose family moved from Jordan to the US when he was 11 year old. Sam opened a Liberty Tax Service franchise in 2003 and now enjoys multiple trips in Europe every year.

“My first year in business I had the No.1 new office in the system. With a staff of eight, we prepared 1,340 returns and grossed $160,000 in revenues. I grew my business to eight offices in seven years without any outside financial help,” Sam said.

And there’s the experience of Ron and Patricia Ramsey, who aside from owning a Furniture Medic franchise, have been working tirelessly to advocate the benefits of entrepreneurship to citizens in Cleveland.

The Ramseys also spend time letting others know about the benefits of minority certification. They applied for the Minority Business Enterprise certification with the City of Cleveland, the city’s school board, the Ohio state government and Cuyahoga County in 2007. Minority certifications are important because government agencies and many large corporations are required to contract with a certain amount of minority and women-owned companies through supplier-diversity programs.

Reports like this show just how committed minorities are to succeeding as entrepreneurs. Owning your own business is part and parcel of the American dream, and this report highlights six people who have achieved it. Many franchisors may be unaware of this hunger to thrive in business, but it exists.

Meanwhile, minorities interested in franchising should stick with Franchise Direct. The entrepreneurs listed above all made their way in business with franchises that are part of the Franchise Direct network. There are a great number of exciting franchises for sale here.

A so-called millennial who came of age in the era of the internet might say 19 or 20. Just look the multi-billion dollar success that young entrepreneurs have enjoyed with Youtube and Facebook.

A more battle-hardened Gen X-er, who’s witnessed the rise and fall of the dot-com bubble might say 35 or 40. Ten or fifteen years of climbing the business ladder can expose you to some common management mistakes and protect you – and your investment – from the dangers of business naivete.

But a new school of thought is emerging that the best age to start a business is in your 50s. I know, it’s an age when most people are taking the long view and looking to firm up their retirement plan as the golden years loom, but an interesting story in Business Week magazine profiles a few Baby Boomers who have taken the plunge in entrepreneurship quite late in life.

The story quotes this eye-opening statistic from the AARP: “according to the nonprofit AARP Public Policy Institute, in 2008, 21% of the self-employed were between 55 and 64, while 10% were 65 and older.” As ever, the recession here is the key. While, in the past, many professionals approaching 60 might just hang on until retirement day, Baby Boomers, along with millenials, are often the first people in the firing line once the B-word - buyouts - is mentioned.

Forced by sheer necessity into business ownership, many seniors are finding entrepreneurship is its own fountain of youth, as Wally Blume, who started his business in his 60’s, says.

“I always wanted to go into business for myself when I was younger. But I didn’t have the money. At 61 if I was trying to get into a business that I didn’t understand and spent that kind of money, someone should have put me in a home. But I understood this business, and I saw its potential.”

For those Baby Boomers with business knowledge and the desire to relaunch their career, there are many great franchises for sale with Franchise Direct. Franchising gives one the same joys of business ownership, while eliminating many of the risks.