What's Your F'ing Business?®
What's Your F'ing Business?®
The Power of Thought Leadership, Roundtables, and the IFA Convention Starts Now!
Attention franchise suppliers! Do you think your role at conventions is just about direct selling? Franchisors, do you thing the roundtables are only a place to one sold? Think again. This episode sheds light the suppliers' role in creating the vibrant hubs of shared learning and collaboration - the Thought Leadership Roundtables. With insightful contributions from Emily George of the International Franchise Association (IFA) and Marcia Mead, President and founder of M2 Franchise Consulting and Executive team of the Supplier Forum Advisory Board , we highlight the shift from "Business Solution Roundtables", to the more inclusive Thought Leadership Roundtables. These sessions are now driven by supplier facilitators and the input from franchisors, franchisees, and suppliers, fostering dynamic, participant-led discussions that focus on mutual learning and the exchange of innovative ideas in 7 key responsible franchising pillars.
Marcia and Emily break down the process for achieving critical deadlines for topic ideas and facilitator options for the 2025 IFA convention and, ensuring you are well-prepared for upcoming events. We also discuss the importance of strategic participation for both franchisors and franchisees, ensuring maximum learning and networking opportunities.
Finally, they share ideas on the essential etiquette for franchise suppliers, emphasizing the power of networking and knowledge-sharing over hard sales tactics. Discover why bringing paper business cards remains a timeless and crucial strategy, and learn how to effectively showcase your expertise. Their tips will guide you in making meaningful connections that go beyond the sales pitch, helping you leave a lasting impression without overwhelming potential clients.
Tune in for an episode rich in practical advice and insights tailored for the franchising community!
We don't just talk about operations, we help you refine them. Check out how FranWise can help your business!
Fran Wise presents what's your F-ing Business, a podcast about franchising. Here's your host, marianne O'Connell.
Speaker 2:Hey everybody, welcome back to another edition of what's your F-ing Business, a podcast about franchising, and you know I'm Marianne O'Connell, I'm your host and I am the founder and president of FranWise. We're a franchise consulting service and the listeners know that we tend to focus on franchisors that have really great operational influences or operational innovations that are driving success for their franchisees. But in the last call and on this one, we're taking a slightly different turn because, as a past chairman of the Franchise Supplier Advisory Board, I believe that there is this amazing resource that's out there that we don't tap, which is the network of suppliers. Many of us started in your position as a franchisor or franchisor executive. Some of us have been franchisees and most of us are touching a number of brands and we can bring a lot to you.
Speaker 2:So now we're looking at how this is done on a group effort through the supplier forum board and using roundtables at the convention. So we have some new and innovative things and two great people to talk about it Representing IFA. The director of it's a long title here the director of membership, recruitment and retention is Emily George and the founder and president of M Squared is Marsha Mead, who is a franchise consultant for franchise development and in the chairs to become an officer of the Supplier Forum Board. So welcome, ladies.
Speaker 3:Thanks so much. It's great to be here.
Speaker 4:Thank you for having us, Mary Ann. Oh, I think this is great.
Speaker 2:I started pretty much my involvement in IFA conventions through the roundtables. It was the first chance I got to participate and it was first just going and sitting in and listening, and then it was a real privilege when I was asked to host one. So I would ask one of you to jump in and kind of tell us the history of the roundtables and how they've evolved.
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely. And, marianne, it's funny you say that because roundtables were very much my first like opportunity to participate with the IFA. So awesome that we have kind of a shared history there.
Speaker 2:And Emily, you come into it through the supplier side also. Yes, I came in through the supplier side.
Speaker 3:So I worked very briefly on the brand side, although it was not technically a franchise company.
Speaker 3:I worked for the president of Wendy's International and the CEO of Arby's, so they operated like a franchise and then I came in through the supplier side actually to the IFA.
Speaker 3:But roundtables have had such a history at the IFA and at convention I have known just in my seven years around the IFA I have known them as both business solution roundtables and now thought leadership roundtables. So when they were business solution roundtables they were facilitated. They were co-facilitated by a franchisor and a supplier partner on one topic and it was very much engaging conversation with the attendees of the table to draw out ideas and frustrations and solutions around a particular business problem. Over time it morphed into what we now call the thought leadership roundtables, which is just a slightly different term for a very similar thing. Now thought leadership roundtables are facilitated by either a franchisee, franchisor or supplier partner. Same intention to draw out conversation from the participants who can share their struggles, their successes, the things they've tried that have worked wonderfully, the things that they have tried that have crashed and burned. It's just all about facilitating that conversation and drawing out those ideas.
Speaker 2:Thanks. I think that's a great definition and you you know that they were started by the suppliers. I mean, in the very beginning it was only suppliers who were hosting the tables. Um, and then ifa had two, two tracks. They had the one day would be franchisor tables, one day were supplier tables. Then we merged and now we're just putting the right people at the right table. Marsha, what looks different when you call it a thought leadership roundtable.
Speaker 4:I think that's a great question because I think a lot of people that have been members for a long period of time really I don't know that they fully in their minds realize that there's a difference between the previous format, the business solution roundtables, and now we're calling them TLRs or thought leadership roundtables, which has been in place for several years. But I think some of us are slow learners, including myself. And just one quick history thing before I answer that question. I also believe that the roundtables, the BSRs, back in the day when I first started coming to the IFA convention, were one of the first. It was the first time that I facilitated or led or had any kind of opportunity to be in a seat that wasn't a learning seat. And, if I'm not wrong, marianne O'Connell, I think that you are a supplier that tapped me in my role as a franchisor at the time and I think we led a BSR together.
Speaker 4:Yes, we did, but what's different is that it is participant driven discussions where the business solution roundtables were experts, a supplier and a franchisor leading a discussion providing information, where attendees were asking questions and really more in note-taking mode and learning mode and with thought leadership. Yes, we need experts, franchisees, franchisors and suppliers of the IFA that are facilitating those discussions, but they're really there to be more of that. What I think of facilitating a thought leadership roundtable, I think of it as facilitation police, not in a bad way, but just more of keep the conversation moving along, keep the conversation productive, so that all participants are being heard and have an opportunity maybe one or two hot takes to get a discussion going, but from there it really is the participants driving the conversation and the facilitator is just being a true facilitator keeping conversation moving and productive and ensuring that it appears that all people that want to speak up are having the opportunity to do so.
Speaker 2:I appreciate that.
Speaker 2:I mean that really was the original intent of them.
Speaker 2:I used to be an advocate for let's not put an expert in the topic on the table, because then they can't lecture because they don't know.
Speaker 2:But I know that in the past and there are still a lot of franchisors who might be listening to this who are saying, look, I'm fairly new, I'm emerging or I'm going into something that's brand new for us.
Speaker 2:I don't have expertise to bring to the table I posit that your questions are as important in expertise as the answers, because first of all you might find out a whole bunch of other people have that same issue and then at least try and share attempts at solutions you've tried and haven't been successful, and why, and together you all might come to something that is unique and really solves your problem. So, from the supplier point of view, since these were first of all always the highest rated part of the convention and I say that for our listeners to say come, because obviously there is a lot of great content, that's why it rises so high in the satisfaction ratings. But let's talk about from that franchisor point of view and I don't mean to exclude franchisees, but our focus has always been on the tables with the franchisors to exclude franchisees, but our focus has always been on the tables with the franchisors.
Speaker 4:So let's talk from the franch are their issues and questions, and this is their opportunity to interact with a mix of franchisors, franchisees and suppliers all around one table, of which there are 100 choices each day. So you will find a subject matter where you have questions and they're split up by track so you can really focus in on exactly what information it is that you're trying to seek out. But bring your issues, bring your questions and be prepared. It's fast paced and busy, so be prepared to speak up. If you're more of an introvert, just know to bring your extrovert hat for that short amount of time. You can do it, I know you can, and it's loud.
Speaker 4:So speak up people that aren't usually introverted. But be aware that you can look by track. The topics will be published in advance so you can look up the information to prepare and know which table to go to. The tracks this year will be finance, franchise development, international legal, international legal marketing operations, supplier relations and franchisor relations. So you'll be able to look by track, look at the subject matter, bring your issues and questions and be prepared to speak up. And one last thing that I think is really important is this is a great way for leaders in franchising to bring those younger, less experienced, emerging leaders in their organization to these roundtables, because they get to sit shoulder to shoulder with CEOs at tables and C-level, c-suite leaders of franchises, and it's such. I remember it being such an impactful learning experience for me when I was newly rising up into leadership roles in franchising.
Speaker 2:Emily, anything to add to that?
Speaker 3:Yeah, I would say also bring business cards.
Speaker 3:Oh my gosh, I was just thinking that I feel like, right, oh my gosh, I was just thinking that People you could never expect to meet in daily life and to be able to trade information and follow up with those people, that's game changing. About the TLRs, I think, too, to Marsha's point. You can plan ahead for your TLRs and you get four chances to pick a topic. You get two chances the first day, two chances the second day. So maybe it's a matter of choosing a few topics where you really are coming with an issue that you want to learn from other people at the table, and then maybe you find a couple of topics where you feel like you've been through it and you've got a lot to share. So don't hesitate to approach your choices of a TLR from both perspectives where you have something to learn and where you have something to share. Come with a plan and execute.
Speaker 2:That's a great idea. I want to circle back to business cards and I'm going to be real old school here. I know you said whether you have your digital or your paper. This is a true story. I was at another conference last year and there was somebody who really we wanted to connect and she had the digital and we bumped cards but I didn't remember her name and I had no way to go find it in my contacts. So please bring paper cards.
Speaker 2:They are the least expensive marketing tool you can invest in and those tables do become little peer groups if you use it right. And even if you're a very experienced CEO of a brand that is large and looked up to doesn't mean you're not going to learn something from some new person coming in who has a completely different, unjaded way of looking at franchising. Let's talk about these from the supplier point of view. There are good and bad things. Let's put it out on the table. Sometimes people stay away from these because they think suppliers are going to be selling them things at the table. Let's address the good, the bad and the ugly. Who wants to go first on that one?
Speaker 3:I'll take that one. So yeah, we totally get that perspective and I try in everything to be really transparent and very open and honest about all of the things. So, yes, for supplier partners, this is one of relatively few opportunities to speak at convention and to kind of hold court. So it's a really important opportunity for suppliers to take advantage of. It's why we limit it to one representative from every company. So of the 625 supplier members we have, only 120 are going to have a representative from their company hosting a table, but it is 120 different companies that are represented. So it's a massive opportunity and we want every supplier partner that wants to participate to be there with us. But it is not an opportunity to sell. So we don't allow you to come with a presentation to share. We don't allow you to do PowerPoints or, you know, share a computer screen. We ask that you not distribute sales materials, flyers, one pagers, anything like that. It's really. Business cards are great.
Speaker 3:Yeah business cards are great. That's why I say business cards Like that's the thing you can share. And then it's really like Franchising is such a networking community. You don't need to share your sales pitch, you need to share your personality, you need to share your expertise and your ability to be relational. That's the gold of the supplier. Opportunity for thought leadership roundtables.
Speaker 2:Well, put Marcia anything to add to that?
Speaker 4:I'll add two points. The first is to the people attending you won't be sold to, that will be policed and that will be shut down, so don't worry about that. Your opportunity when you sit at a table that's led by a supplier is that suppliers touch so many different franchisors and franchisees. There's so much experience and information inside their heads. Your goal should be to pull it out at the table. Your goal should be to pull it out at the table.
Speaker 4:This is a really great opportunity for you to learn from an expert. They would not be selected to be facilitating that table if they weren't an expert. So keep that in mind and to my supplier friends that are facilitating these tables, keep in mind that all you have to do is demonstrate your expertise. That is appropriate selling. So you're not coming with a PowerPoint to say exactly what it is that your business does, but you can explain in a very simple explanation what your organization does as you introduce yourself and then demonstrate your expertise and then hand out that business card at the end.
Speaker 4:It's not selling, but it is your opportunity to demonstrate to people at your table that might turn into business later. So keep in mind demonstrate expertise. It's a great opportunity to showcase in front of at least 10 to 20 people that you are an expert, and that is as a person that has spent more time in franchising as a franchisor than a supplier. That's gold. When you find someone that's an expert, I don't need to see a presentation. I want to know that you're really good at what you do.
Speaker 2:I love that, but I want to put a caveat, as somebody who managed that program for two years. You want to show your expertise, but this is not a lecture. That's right. This is not a presentation that a supplier has been asked to do at this table of 10 or 12. Sometimes they get to be really huge.
Speaker 2:You show your expertise by the questions. You ask the participants at the table, the way you draw them out. Both of you have used the words that you know. Some people are introverted. It's how you see there's a glimmer of something. They ask that question for a reason. Go deep on the questions.
Speaker 2:Very often, when we have been monitoring the room and walking around, you'll see suppliers that are lecturing and at the end they'll say well, there was nobody. Everybody was brand new. They didn't know anything, but you still. Your job is to guide them with questions, not to sit down and say I'm the expert on this. You might find that the best piece of advice you give somebody is to look into one of your competitors or somebody who's closely aligned to what you do, but not exactly what you do. So I just want to say you learn more what's the old routine, but you learn more when you're listening than when you're talking. So, oh, marsha's pointing at two ears than when you're talking. So, oh, marsha's pointing at two ears. One mouth here, and I first thought she was telling me to shut up. But it is really important that you don't spend a lot of time talking. Yes, have guidance and use your expertise. Expertise, maybe, to tell a story that brings two people's questions together, but don't lecture.
Speaker 4:It's not a lecture opportunity that's such a great note, Marianne.
Speaker 2:Let's also talk about some. We're going to get into a minute on the ask for everybody Because we have these. Women are doing some heavy lifting on this program. You should try and figure out how you have 600 suppliers and you have to figure out who the 125 are going to be, that get awarded seats at the table and which topics are being chosen. But let's do some pointers. If you are chosen to be a facilitator, what are some ways you can open the conversation, keep the conversation going and be an asset to the, to the participants.
Speaker 3:I would say start with questions. So come prepared with questions, more than coming prepared with a lecture, and use those questions as a way to start sparking that conversation. As a way to start sparking that conversation building, you know like you've got a huge task ahead of you. You've got to build trust with 10 relative strangers and get them to share, you know, relatively vulnerable information. But that's the beauty of the franchise community. That's what we do Like we get deep, we get vulnerable, we share, you know, like our dirty laundry, and we help each other. So come with questions that will help bring your table together and make people feel comfortable and open to sharing, and then just keep those questions going. You know, share your expertise by way of asking those questions.
Speaker 2:Your keyword was vulnerable. Be ready to be vulnerable. We all are. We just don't admit it. Marsha any great ideas.
Speaker 4:Well, I'm going to be vulnerable here. No, I'm kidding. I will give a different suggestion. Since Emily said to come with questions, I'll go back to. Something I mentioned earlier is come with a hot take. I can't imagine that the table will get quiet or have a hard time rolling with conversation, but sometimes starting the conversation is challenging and there's nothing like a hot take that'll get some franchise people fired up. So facilitators come armed with a couple of nuggets that will spark even the participant that comes with their arms folded and says I'm just going to sit and listen, boy, a hot take will get that person leaning forward in a minute.
Speaker 2:I love that. A hot take makes me think. Maybe we should all start when we know what our topic is, read articles that we can say well, you know, did anybody see that article in Forbes or whatever it is? And you know, franchise Times was talking about X, y, z, and that's how it relates.
Speaker 2:In terms of asking questions, I want to throw in a few of my own. I always like to start with going around the table, asking who the person is, what their brand is a little, not a big background, how big are they? How long have they been in it? So you're getting a feel and then ask them what is the one thing they have to leave this table with them, what is the one thing they have to leave this table with? Because you're generally going to find, if you have 10 or 12 people at a table, there really are only three or four major things, but you can also, if you've written those down, you can go back before your session is over and make sure, ask everybody if they were heard, if they felt they got something, and my other thing is if they felt they got something.
Speaker 2:And my other thing is, as the facilitator, I've always collected everybody's business card and then put together a little database, just a little spreadsheet, and send it out to all the participants at my table and say this is your network group, keep the conversation going and put it out that way, and for the suppliers it's also a great way to make sure you got everybody's name. Paper business cards that's what we should title this Paper business cards. So things are happening. You know, a lot of us think that the IFA just only appears like Brigadoon, you know, just before an event and you don't do anything in between. And the volunteers aren't doing anything. You ladies have been working on this for quite a while now. What do you need from the suppliers, what do you need from the franchisors, and when is all this going to happen?
Speaker 4:I will take that supplier piece. I'll let Emily jump in on the franchisor piece. The really big ask is the call for topics and, as Marianne said, I know we all think convention happens overnight at the beginning of February and then we all show up and have a really great time and learn a lot and make a lot of great connections in Las Vegas in February. However, call for Topics starts in about a week, on July 24th, and the Call for Topics runs from July 24th to August 16th, and please know that we are doing this differently this year than in years past.
Speaker 4:In years past you might remember seeing an email communication from IFA to supplier members that asked you for your willingness to facilitate a thought leadership roundtable and what your topic would be If you were accepted. That topic that you suggested was typically the topic that you were going to facilitate. This year we're slipping it, so please be aware of that. You can submit up to five topics and that is more of the focus this year, because we want the best topics for our franchisors and franchisees and supplier members sitting at those roundtables. So topics first, five topics, and then you can submit up to three facilitator options from one supplier company. So what does that?
Speaker 1:mean. Can you explain that?
Speaker 4:one supplier company. So what does that mean? Can you explain that? Yeah, what that means is one person at the company can fill out the electronic form that will come out in communications for different emails, plus check your LinkedIn. It's going to be all over social. So, in case you're the kind of person that misses an email here and there, do check your LinkedIn social. The kind of person that misses an email here and there, do check your LinkedIn social. There will be plenty of reminders.
Speaker 4:To have one person at your company complete this form with up to five topic ideas. Don't worry if you have one or three or four, you can pause there. If that's where your creativity ends. You'll be able to state the expertise what track you guys, your supplier group, your company should be presenting or facilitating in. And then the three up to three. It might just be one, but up to three facilitators from your company, all in one electronic form. So one form submission per supplier company and in the end, the supplier forum board team, as well as the IFA, will work together to call the list down, focusing on the best topics first and then assigning one facilitator per supplier company.
Speaker 4:So just because you submit three facilitators does not mean that all three will be selected. So I just want to make that very clear so that we all get to spread out, as you said earlier 625 suppliers, 120 tables. We want to spread out as many opportunities as possible. And, again, leadership at the supplier companies. I would highly encourage you to submit rising stars in your companies. Don't just have the founder or the CEO or the president speaking, but give that opportunity for your rising stars to facilitate these thought leadership roundtables. I bet they'll do a great job.
Speaker 2:Oh, thank you, and I love that last part, and also don't feel that the topics you submit have to be part of what you do. Is that a great thing? Yes, but remember we're not guaranteeing anyone is going to be matched with their topic. But what are the topics that you, as someone who touches many brands, know is out there and is vexing a lot of people? And they can't all be AI. It can't all be that there's always a topic du jour, but really think broadly when you're handing those topics in. Emily, we now know what we want the suppliers to do. What do the franchisors need to do to support this? Yep?
Speaker 3:So franchisors and franchisees will also get a call for topics. So wherever you see it in your email, on social, just respond to the call for topics and facilitators. Again, we want as many people involved as possible. There are franchisee and franchisor facilitators as well, so definitely be on the lookout for that. Other than that, it's coming to convention ready to participate and truly bringing as much of your team as possible and then divide and conquer. You know, like I love my team as much as the next person, I'm sure you love your team as well. Don't sit by them. Don't go to the same round tables. Don't go to the same breakout sessions. Them Don't go to the same round tables. Don't go to the same breakout sessions. You know, if you've got two people, go to 20 things. If you've got four people, you know, go to 80 things. Divide and conquer as much as possible and just come ready to participate and share that's great advice throughout the whole convention.
Speaker 2:So let's get the dates again. It's starting out on july july 24th. The call will go out july 24th I was, you were close july 24th, and then they have to be in by august 16th the deadline to submit is august 16th.
Speaker 3:you will find out if you are selected and what topic you're selected for by the end of September, and then you have to be registered for convention by November 8th. That's good. So July 24th, august 16th, end of September, you find out, november 8th, you're required to register.
Speaker 2:All righty, you keep us busy every week.
Speaker 3:That's what we try Every month.
Speaker 2:That works out great. I also want to give some hints to people who have sent in topics before. Remember we said this isn't a lecture. So don't send in a topic that says six ways to improve your franchise sales Five key tips because that's a lecture, that's not a conversation. You just want to have a dinner party conversation.
Speaker 3:That might be a good blog post, but not a good TLR.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we're having a dinner party conversation at small tables with a thousand people in the room, but it's all very intimate, so I'm going to throw a bit of a curveball at you. We keep referring to the supplier forum board. A lot of people have no idea that it exists, that they're part of it and what it does. So jump ball here, women. Which do you want? Who wants to talk about that? What is, first of all, the Supplier Forum Board and its mission?
Speaker 4:I know I was like oh, mission, Do we have a mission?
Speaker 3:We do.
Speaker 4:I know we do because it just came up in conversation the other day, but I don't know what it is?
Speaker 2:It's basically we're there to support suppliers and the goals of the IFA. That's paraphrased. But go ahead and talk about its construction and what it is.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I'll start there and then I'll let Emily come in with actual facts behind me, sure, so those of us that have been members of IFA for a long time tend to use some slang and abbreviation. For a long time tend to use some slang and abbreviations. So just to put proper titling out there the Supplier Forum Advisory Board, or SFAB, or you'll hear people say SFAB or Supplier Forum Board for short, those are all your abbreviations. If you're a franchisor or a franchisee listening to this, think of the Supplier Forum Board as the Franchise Advisory Council for suppliers. There are 21 members and our role is to represent the 625 supplier members through 21 people. So it's a busy group.
Speaker 4:We focus on GR. Of course. That's a very important piece of what IFA focuses on, as we're protecting franchising. We also focus on promoting franchising and enhancing franchising all part of the IFA's mission. But we focus on GR. We focus on membership. We focus on communicating supplier news out to other suppliers. So if you're not a member of the supplier forum board, all supplier members are eligible to apply to be on the board and that we have seats open every single year. So watch for the opportunity to apply. We're currently taking applications right now.
Speaker 2:Yeah, but by the time this airs, the deadline will have passed.
Speaker 4:Dang it I thought I got to promote one more thing, Okay, sorry. So every of the 625 supplier members everybody is eligible to be a part of the supplier forum board and it is our role to support all suppliers and represent the supplier voice into the IFA. And we work very closely with the franchisee forum and the franchisor forum and there's a lot of people in the background between these three forums working very hard to really make our association great.
Speaker 2:Emily, what can you add to that?
Speaker 3:Yeah, absolutely so.
Speaker 3:I think one of the key things to realize is that by being a member of the IFA, every supplier member is part of the supplier forum.
Speaker 3:That's how you're a member of the IFA, so collectively, all of our supplier members are the supplier forum. The advisory board is just the representative group. The advisory board is just the representative group and, to Marsha's point, it's a representative sample of 625 amazing supplier partners. And really the mission of the supplier forum is definitely to represent suppliers in the space, but also to continue to support and grow franchising as a whole by being exceptional providers of goods and services to franchising. Anybody can do digital marketing, Anybody can do insert widget here, but we all know it's a special thing to do that in franchising, to speak the language, to do that in franchising, to speak the language, to know the business model, to be dedicated to the advocacy of franchising that's a unique thing. And when supplier members are willing to go that extra step and be a member of the association, that's the point of the supplier forum is that additional piece of advocacy and support for the business model.
Speaker 2:So for that, first of all, I would say show up at the supplier forum advisory board meeting. They tend to have them very early in the morning, but it's OK, it's worth it. You generally get a continental breakfast out of it. So show up. Hangovers are welcome and listen, and if you don't hear your needs being represented, it's not the board. The meeting isn't the time to bring it up, but pick any one of those 21 people and get that concern to them. They are your voice, because we do have a seat on the IFA Board of Directors and the Executive Committee, so we really do want your voice to come in and ripple all the way up so that we're making sure we're a benefit to everyone. So come to the meetings is the number one thing. And I would also say something that will be happening after this air date, and Emily's talked about advocacy Come to the advocacy day in DC, september 12th September 9th to 11th this year.
Speaker 2:Okay, so you want to come and it's exciting to be up on Capitol Hill and we do generally defer to the franchisors and franchisees and let them tell their stories, but every now and then our supplier stories are welcome. But we are there to show force, to show that we are a very large part of the economy and it's also a more intimate way to get to know the leadership of IFA and the leadership of the brands. So I strongly suggest you come for that. Is there anything else we should know about what's going on these days?
Speaker 3:I would just add an additional plug for Advocacy Summit because I so strongly encourage supplier partners in particular to consider coming to Advocacy Summit.
Speaker 3:So I just want to second that and like specifically why it's one of only two events that a supplier can come to with the IFA, you can come to the Advocacy Summit for the same price as a franchisor, which is $399 for registration.
Speaker 3:To Marianne's point it gets you access to all of our committee and forum meetings, gets you access to education on the advocacy, and then we break you up by states. So, based on where you live, you will go to Capitol Hill and actually speak with representatives, with franchisors and franchisees from that state. So if you have a remote workforce and you can strategically bring people from different states, you go to the Hill with different groups of people and it becomes amazing networking. There are also some really incredible opportunities to sponsor the Advocacy Summit. So if you do want to take that extra step and show that additional support, we would of course love and appreciate that, but I like to point out to suppliers that it's not required. So it can be one of the most cost-effective and valuable events that you can attend with the IFA valuable events that you can attend with the IFA.
Speaker 2:Thanks for that. Anything else we should know from the supplier forum, Marsha? When will the new board members be brought on board?
Speaker 4:That is a fine question. So there, oh, you don't need the date to say it. Mine question. So they're oh, you don't need the date to say it yeah, I was like convention, right Convention or the term.
Speaker 4:So the new slate of members will be selected this fall and they will begin their terms at convention time. And I don't know if we said the length of term for supplier forum board members is two terms of three years. So that means that you serve three years and you may choose after three years that you may say this isn't the right thing for me, or I have other obligations or my job role has changed. There's just maybe a litany of reasons that you may not have volunteer time to serve on the board for a second three-year term. But if you do, we would love to have you serve for that second three-year term, so it could be a total of six years of service.
Speaker 2:It is really rare I think we've only done it twice where we've not renewed a term, because we really do want the best people who are there to do the work. But we invite you to come, get to know your fellow suppliers. We're all groggy, we share that, so please come. We're all groggy, we share that, so please come. Ladies, I want to thank you for sharing the information, for doing the really hard work of coordinating these roundtables and, in advance, thank everyone who submits a topic or volunteers to speak. It's such an important part of the convention and of the learning experience for everybody involved. So we'll see you all in DC September 9th.
Speaker 2:Yes, ma'am, looking forward to it. All righty, emily Marcia, thank you so much. And for all of you who are listening, as we say at the end of every episode franchisors, if you have a brand story that needs to be told, you want people to understand what you're doing and how you're innovating, please reach out to us. And, the same way, if you know a brand that should be spotlighted for what they're doing, you know the IFA has a big push right now on responsible franchising, which I think has been happening in the I hate to say that it's 44 years that I've been in franchising, the good ones have been doing it, but now we're going to try and share best practices. We'd love to shine a light on that through this podcast, so reach out to us at info at franwisenet Ladies. Again, thank you for this and to everyone else. We'll see you at the next episode of what's your F-ing Business.
Speaker 1:What you. For this and to everyone else, we'll see you at the next episode of what's your effing business. What's your effing business is created by o'connell and company inc. And fran wise. It is written and directed by marianne o'connell, technical mastering by ryan cleary. Our theme music was written and performed by sean j o O'Connell and Leviathan Brothers and is available on Spotify. All rights to this podcast and music are reserved.