The tenth annual Franchise Expo South features 200 franchise brands looking to expand in the Houston market. Tom Portesy is with MFV Expositions, which is staging this three-day event at the NRG Center.
“You know, we’ll certainly have the Papa Murphy’s Pizza and the Carl’s Junior and the Hardy’s. But we’ll also have some up and coming franchises that you may not have heard of — senior care, you’ll have pet care, you’ll have child care. Franchising now touches just about every industry. So you’ll have automotive, you’ll have companies that make signs. There’s companies that imprint on boulders.”
Business owners benefit from lessons that have already been learned by the company that’s selling the franchise.
“You know, every one of these companies, regardless of who they are, they’re going to have a proven system. So you’re gonna go there and you’re gonna be in business for yourself, but you’re not gonna be out there by yourself. You’re gonna have training, you’re gonna have ongoing support, you’re gonna have systems. They’re gonna help you navigate all the landmines a business faces when they start up.”
Houston’s economy stands to benefit. Nationwide, more than 13,000 new franchise locations are expected to open their doors in 2016, with an estimated economic output of $994 billion this year.