American Dream: Former Denny’s Waitress now owns 75 locations

Like many young people, Dawn Lafreeda started her working life at age 16. Her first job was as a hostess at a local Denny’s restaurant.

But this determined woman’s life quickly took a turn that would be instrumental in defining her success: “During college, she took on a second job at a software company, where she learned about accounting and managing personnel.” At 23, she was able to leverage her skills and burning desire to succeed to acquire a Denny’s store in Globe, Arizona. (It’s 87 miles east of Phoenix, in case you’d like to look it up).

18 months later, she was offered 4 more stores in Texas. Now, “Lafreeda has increased her empire to 75 Denny’s locations in six states, becoming the largest single-owner franchisee in the system.”

Read more…

Here’s another great franchise-building story, about NBA star Jamal Mashburn.

 

~ This story is posted by Norris Lozano, CEO of BusinessUS.

Small Business Lending: Top 10 Franchises of 2014 – Entrepreneur Mag

“As a non-bank lender competing in the small business lending world, we are constantly on the lookout for information about lending opportunities for small businesses with growth opportunities,” says Norris Lozano, CEO of BusinessUS.

“Many of these opportunities are franchises.”

Here’s a list from Entrepreneur Magazine – their 35th Annual Franchise 500 ranking which “reveals the impact of the newest trends and the industries poised for growth.”

Click on the link or the image to get to the list.