Executive Session with Phil LeBlanc

Executive Session with Phil LeBlanc

Franchise Development Manager for Signs Now

PERSONAL

Age: 42

Family: Five daughters, ages 19, 17, 11 (twins) and 5.

Hometown: Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

Education: Associate's degree at Seminole Community College in Orlando. "Also, I have 12 months of education in broadcasting from The Connecticut School of Broadcasting."

HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN BROADCASTING?: "I did that for a number of reasons. I've been able to use that to help me in doing voice-over work and some on-camera work, all related to the various positions I've held. It was just a personal interest. It's just something I've always wanted to do. It's helped me to create voice-over CD-ROM projects for other franchise companies and it's helped me to learn how to write marketing and communications. It should serve me well here. I've done some TV commercials, radio commercials and a few syndicated TV shows, nothing huge. I've done some on-camera work for a couple shows by Five Star Productions called 'Today's Health' and 'Parenting Beyond.' I'd like to do more of that kind of work, but my expertise and my enjoyment is really in franchise and dealing with entrepreneurs from all over - various personalities who are looking to start a new business. That is where I get the most reward personally."

HOW DO YOU ESCAPE?: "I enjoy music, I play basketball and softball and I really enjoy my time with my children."

HOW DID YOU LAND IN FLORIDA?: "I've been in Florida since '78. My parents moved down to Orlando when I was in high school. I bounced around between Tampa and South Florida. I spent the last seven or eight years in the Fort Lauderdale area before I relocated."

PROFESSSIONAL

Time with company: Hired in August 2005.

Positions previously held: Director of franchise development, vice president of franchise development and vice president of sales with Carlson Travel Network, CruiseOne and Cruise Planners Inc.

IS THIS YOUR FIRST FORRAY INTO THE SIGNAGE INDUSTRY?: "Yes, the sign industry is new for me, but I have 14 years of franchise-development experience."

WHAT MADE THE SIGN INDUSTRY SO APPEALING?: "Unlike travel, where the margins are so small and your destiny is completely at the whim of your travel suppliers such as airlines, what I saw in the signage industry was two things: The traditional sign business is very steady. It continues to grow at a nice, steady rate. There's been a huge advance in digital technology - the printing technology and materials technology. It's just now beginning to really be exploited. Secondly, it's a clean industry. It's a business-to-business environment. You're not dealing with the consumer, you're dealing with professionals. The fact that this company has availability to grow in all of the major U.S. markets was an attraction. And everybody needs signage and visual communication - digital graphics, exhibit displays, large-scale banners."

HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE RETAIL TRAVEL INDUSTRY?: After getting a degree from Seminole Community College, "I didn't know what I wanted to do. I went to work in the travel industry for an airline and I managed a travel agency in the Orlando area; I was working two jobs. I had an opportunity to sell franchises for Carlson Travel Network, one of the largest travel companies in the world. I spent five years with that company in franchise development and really got the training and the background and the understanding of franchise development, and that grew into other positions."

POSITION:

WHAT ARE YOUR NEW RESPONSIBITIES AS FRANCHISE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER OF SIGNS NOW?: "I oversee all the franchise development for the United States, Canada and any master franchises internationally. Canada and the United States are our primary focus. We currently have about 220 locations between the United States, Canada and the U.K. We actually have a location in Pakistan. My responsibilities are to interview, qualify and work with any candidate for the franchise program. I also manage all the relationships that we have with franchise brokers or consultants; these are organizations in Canada and the United States that are already working with entrepreneurs looking for business opportunities. They will bring us qualified folks with specific interests in a certain market, and then we will be matched up with those people."

WHAT ARE YOUR IMMEDIATE CHALLENGES AT SIGNS NOW: "To educate entrepreneurs that might be considering this industry as to how much opportunity there really is. The sign industry is not the sign industry of your parents and your grandparents. Technology is moving so fast. We're not a sign shop anymore. The challenge is to properly educate entrepreneurs and to introduce our brand with all of the enhancements that have been made in digital technology. Those are things that we want to very clearly communicate to the entrepreneurs, because that's where the future of the sign industry is."

What's ahead?: "In January 2005, we were acquired by Allegro Networks, one of the world's largest print graphics franchise networks. They have several brands underneath that umbrella. We're their signage arm. They've spent a lot of time and effort to allow to really grow the Signs Now brand. So our goal for the next few years is to have significant growth in the top 30 metropolitan markets in the U.S. We're launching a major P.R. campaign and some other marketing focus throughout the state of Florida, Philadelphia/Baltimore/Washington, D.C. area, Atlanta, Detroit. We will continue to look at markets like Minneapolis and the Phoenix/Tucson area and California. There's about 10 or 12 key markets that we will be focusing on in 2006. We also want to continue to focus on having an industrial studio look. The way we've re-designed our prototype center is a huge factor. From this point forward, when anybody becomes a Signs Now franchise, their center is not going to be a retail looking center. It's a cross between a craftsman's workshop and an artist's design center. It presents a very professional environment, so the people who are looking to spend a lot of money on a very high-quality job are going to want to do business there. The industry is changing rapidly."

- David Wexler