The IFA convention has been underway in Las Vegas since Sunday. The turnout has been strong and the franchise community has been galvanized by the large gathering.
The keynote address of the convention took place last night, as Mitt Romney, former governor of Massachusetts and likely Republican candidate in the US presidential race in 2012, spoke to a thronged audience. The theme of his speech was “Building the Future Together” and as the IFA’s FranBlog reported, Romney addressed issues of great importance to franchisors and franchisees alike, including financing, health care and regulation.
“Growing small businesses are what get us out of economic downturns. Instead of creating policies in Washington that help small businesses grow, we have seen the most anti-business agenda in a lifetime,” Romney said.
He also invoked the words of great franchisor (and IFA Hall Of Fame inductee) Doc Cohen as he closed his speech with advice for franchisors.
“If you want to be a good franchisor, listen to the ideas of your franchisees like Doc,” he said.
Good ideas all around from Romney. We wish everyone the best on the last day of the convention. We’ll be back tomorrow with a round-up of the convention. We hope it’s been an useful few days for everyone in franchising.