Food Franchise

Archive for January, 2010

Working hard and living within your means will allow you to live a good life, but to become truly wealthy you need leverage. You need either people working for you, or money working for you.

If you are trading your time for money, there is one huge problem: there aren’t enough hours in a day.

Let me give you two quick examples:

If you are dentist charging $100 per hour, you can make $1000 in a ten hour day. If you want to make an extra $500 per day, all you have to do is work 15 hours per day.

Or, you can hire a recent med school graduate as your assistant,pay him/her $50 per hour while still charging $100 per hour for their services. You are now earning $1000 for the work you are actually doing, and $500 for the work they are doing for you. Add a second assistant, and you can make $1000 per day, even if you are not working. This is the power of leverage, or duplication.

Similarly, your local McDonald’s has a sign that says, “Billions and Billions Served.” Did Ray Kroc flip all those burgers himself? Of course not.

Ray Kroc perfected a system of making money from a fast food restaurant, and sold the idea to tens of thousands of entrepreneurs, taking a franchise fee up front, and a percent of the profits from each of the thousands of restaurants. He earned billions by letting others work for him.

Simply put, profits are better than wages. To earn a good living you need to work hard and live within your means. To become truly wealthy, you will need to duplicate your efforts, having people working for you, or investing and having money working for you.

Vending machines have become a familiar part of our daily lives, from snack and drink machines in the workplace to ones that dispense tissues and other small personal goods in bathrooms. There are even book vending machines available at locations like airports and universities. With a growing demand for convenience, consumers are attracted to vending machines and the goods they offer.
This is a lucrative market for the right person to enter, and the best way to start a vending business is by considering a vending machine franchise. A franchise opportunity will allow you to have access to bulk purchasing power, which can reduce the cost of stock and the vending machines themselves. There are also many different types of vending franchise opportunities to choose from, although refreshment vending machines are the most common.
Your job as a franchisee will be to grow your vending business by finding great locations to put your vending machines, and convincing the building or business owners that they would also benefit from the presence of the machines. You will also have to manage the vending machines, including servicing, restocking, and collecting money on the machines. Depending on the product, the amount of re-stocking and maintenance will differ. For example, food and drinks will require more restocking efforts than a tissue vending machine.
Some of the attractive points of vending machine franchises are:
• You can run these as part time or full time franchises. Either way, there are flexible hours involved; you can choose when to service your machine according to what’s convenient for your schedule. That can be helpful for people with children that need to be picked up and dropped off at school, as well as people with hobbies and interest that may require hours that a 9 to 5 job doesn’t accommodate.
• You’ll get support for your machines. Franchisors will help you with complicated repairs that need to be done on the machines by sending backup from the Head Office or a third party to complete the repair. You should also get assistance with any regulations or licences needed for the industry from your franchisor.
• You don’t need special education. There aren’t any education requirements, like college degrees or lots of work experience. These are easy-to-operate franchises that don’t require extensive education.
• You don’t have to chase down payments. Since people pay cash for their vending machine purchases, you won’t have to worry about tracking people down and asking for payments. They will already be safely stored in the machine, ready for you to pick up and deposit in the bank.
• You get to interact with lots of different people. Since the bulk of your job consists of having meetings with new clients and keeping up with your current customer base, you won’t have to worry about feeling isolated. There will be plenty of opportunities to make new friends, and ample opportunity to get referrals and drum up new business.
• There are low overheads. Your biggest fees will be for buying stock for your machines and petrol for the car you use to drive to and from the machines.
• There is fantastic income potential. Although your income will depend highly on whether you decide to pursue a part time or full time vending franchise, you will have great earning potential. Part time vending franchises will generally offer a substantial second income, whilst full time franchises will give you a much higher earning potential.
• You won’t be stuck in an office all day. With a vending franchise, you don’t have to sit behind a desk for eight hours, staring at a computer screen. Vending franchises allow you to get out there and meet new people, as well as travel to potential and existing locations for vending machines.
If these benefits of vending business opportunities pique your interest, here are some tips for running your own successful vending machine franchise:
• Know your local area well. It’s important for you to keep researching your local area to find the best vending sites. Location is important in the vending machine industry, so make sure you position yourself for success! Remember, higher traffic means more business.
• Create lasting relationships. Try to cultivate friendships or good relationships with everyone you come in contact with. These people can help you find new locations to place machines and get you repeat business and referrals for new business.
• Think creatively. Don’t limit yourself to obvious locations for your vending machines. Think outside the box from the typical shopping mall or gym. For instance, consider whether or not the foot traffic in the location ever stands still or needs to wait. That would make a place like a train station or bus stop a great place for vending machines. Think of locations where there aren’t coffee shops and stores readily available, so people turn to vending machines instead. Also, putting machines in groups can make them more successful, as people feel they have more choices.
• Keep your machines stocked. When you keep the machines full, your product will look more attractive. Although this seems counterintuitive, marketers say this works.
• Open a post office account. Since your vending machine business is cash-based, you will have lots of coins to cash in. Banks will charge you a fee for counting the coins, but post offices won’t. So take your money to a post office first and get it counted, then transfer it to a bank.
• Get motivated. To be a successful franchisee, you cannot afford to be afraid of sourcing new locations, meeting new people, and selling your product.
If these key advantages of vending franchises have made you eager to start your own, please browse through Franchise Direct’s directory of vending franchise opportunities.
For more information visit: http://www.franchisedirect.co.uk/vendingfranchises/209

We’ve researched and written countless business plans. What do we believe are the essential elements of an attractive business plan?

Profiles
Strange as it may seem, perhaps the most important element of the business will be the profiles of the people who are behind the plan. Not only should there be a profile of the person who has generated the vision but also those others on the team, demonstrating that they too are engaged with the passion to design the business plan and to deliver the customer outcomes.

The profiles should demonstrate that individually and collectively the team has the experience and skills to deliver the plan within the budget constraints. The document should describe those previous business ideas that the team members have realised. If they’ve done something similar to the current proposal it should be described. If there is an opportunity, the plan should describe the team and its members’ track record in innovation, in change management and in cost and time management.

But also the business plan should be honest in an assessment of the other skills and experience still need to be added to ensure that the team is balanced to meet the needs of the project.

Collateral
A key aspect of any business plan is likely to be the proposal to buy or develop assets. The plan needs to address how (or even if) such assets will hold their value for the long-term benefit of the business and how the collateral for the required investment will be provided.

Such a demonstration of value retention will come from describing how the investment value will be crystallised, probably on exit. The plan needs to detail whether the developed asset will be sold on as part of a trade sale or part of a future floatation – and, if so, detail of comparable transactions can be used to provide reassurance of value on exit.

In the case of some proposals – for example a rooms refurbishment programme – there may not, in fact, be any long-term value creation. Rather there will be an avoidance of value loss and this can be just as valuable, so long as it can be demonstrated.

Occasionally, the business plan will be proposing development of an asset that will create new intellectual property. In such circumstances, the plan should identify how intellectual property is going to be protected.

USP
The business plan also needs to clearly establish what is the unique selling proposition (USP) that the investment will deliver and, just as importantly, how the USP will be defended.
In the case of a new build hotel, one of the USPs will, of course, relate to the location since this can’t be replicated. Other aspects of the development may be capable of being copied, so the plan needs to establish how the business is going to defend itself.

Branding is one form of defence since a franchise will normally come with radius protection for a number of years. If the plan includes development of a signature restaurant, a plausible defence would be a restraint clause on the chef from running off and creating something similar down the road. Sometimes owners will see a 20-year management agreement as an encumbrance but, in the context of a long term funding request, such an agreement provides the lender with certainty that the brand’s USP can be defended for the long term.

The management contract provides a further type of defence too as it offers the probability that the hotel’s general manager will be qualified and suitably supervised throughout the life of the investment. This will more likely suggest a long-term defendable profit picture to an investor or lender than a situation where an individual hotel owner is proposing to borrow and operate an unbranded hotel by themselves.

Growth
The fourth topic that a business plan needs to address is the nature of the demand being targeted.

The investor or the bank will want assurance that the investment is targeted at meeting the needs of a growth segment of the market.

In the case of an investment driven by a brand’s requirements to meet new needs better, evidence for the change in market meets will be provided by the licensor. In other cases, the team proposing the investment need to have researched the market themselves, or commissioned independent research, to provide evidence of the growth in market demand being targeted by the investment.

Some investment proposals will be necessary simply to enable the hotel to stay in business (e.g. the replacement of a kitchen stove) and, in this case, the plan needs to be frank, explaining that the investment is required simply to defend current profitability.

A mature management team will not seek to support an investment proposal that is essentially defensive with arguments that are suited to an investment targeted at expanding the business. And it may well be valid to target investment at an element of cost that is rapidly growing with a view to reducing the long-term cost as it is to target investment at a revenue stream will long-term growth potential.

Market demand
It’s all very well to target a growth sector; market demand must also be demonstrated. The use of market research, focus groups, interviews with customers and intermediaries should be produce evidence for the business plan that not only is investment being targeted at a growth segment but that there is also demonstrable demand.

Sometimes competitors will provide evidence of demand; sometimes experience in other markets and other countries will provide the evidence. An investor will typically fail to attract funding for a proposal that is all vision and no evidence, just as a management team will fail to attract support for a budget that is all evidence and no passion.

Scalable
A business plan addressed to lenders should adequately cap the exposure to lines of credit. By comparison, a business plan addressed to current or future investors will frequently be more successful if the proposal provides for the scalability of the proposal. Investors will not want to be limited by a single location but will more inclined to invest in a new idea if it can be rolled out to other locations.

Emotion
Finally, and not to be forgotten in any plan, budget, board submission, loan application, etc., is to include – and repeat – the ‘wow factor’.

Even in today’s hardened times, all the stakeholders – the investor, the board members, the lender and the employees – needs to be emotionally engaged by the idea, the opportunity, the vision.

Although it pains me as an accountant to say so, this almost certainly means that the business’s conservative accountant should not be the plan’s author.

Subway is one of the largest franchises all over the world for fast food restaurant. It is mainly known for its sandwiches and salads. It is also called as Subway Sandwiches. Two people, Fred De Luca and Peter Buck in the year 1965, founded this restaurant. The corporation Doctor’s Associates Inc. owns the trademark of this restaurant. Its popularity has surpassed by having over 28,274 franchised units in 87 countries.

It is one of the fastest growing franchises in the world and had over 2000 locations added in the year 2005. The subway sandwiches have gained a lot of importance in concern with the health related aspects of the customer. Its growing popularity is adjudged by the health conscious diet prepared and served. The restaurant is thus, marketed as a health-conscious restaurant chain.

The slogan of the subway sandwiches is “Eat Fresh”. This slogan explains the way every sandwich is made from freshly baked breads, using fresh ingredients. The most exciting and unusual thing is that the whole preparation is made in the vigilance of the customer depending upon their requirements. Many restaurants operate in other non-traditional locations like military bases, and inside Wal-Marts etc. Many of them are increasing in college and university campuses too.

The most important thing that makes the Subway Sandwiches so famous is their menu. This is the main reason to hold on the customers for years together. The menu in the restaurant changes depending upon its location, state and country. In the Muslim Countries like Iran, Iraq, Pakistan etc, the menu omits ingredients like ham, and pork cold cuts. Where as the core sandwich items are retained as, it is. The most likable and famous sought after dish is the Submarine Sandwiches. They are sold in six-inch, foot long sizes. They have also introduced its smaller version of four inches especially for children known as Mini Sub.

The ingredients that include in making of the sandwiches are the lettuce, green peppers, tomato, onions, olives, banana peppers and pickles. Like other restaurants, they even offer limited time offers to their customers. Subway sandwiches also offer catering for occasions, which have giant subs minimum 3 feet long along with the sandwich platter. The subway offers rest of the things from Subway sandwiches like breakfast items and other baked goods and bagels. Egg and sausage sandwiches are available with personal pizzas being served in some selected outlets. However, the provision of breakfast and pizzas is not available in all the stores.

The subway sandwich restaurant has the facility to load and reload the subway card to pay for their restaurant purchases. This accompanied with earning points on each item purchased. The points then could be redeemed for the food items such as 10 points = 1 cookie, 15 points = 1 bag of chips, and so forth to 75 points = regular foot-long Sub or Salad. In sports too, it plays an important role, as it is one of the long time sponsors of World Wrestling Entertainment. It is also sponsor of some of the football leagues. There are subway coupons available in the market every month. The customers can avail profit or discounts on their favorite items by submitting the coupons in the restaurant.

The United Kingdom is composed of a few countries. England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales. Fast food found in the United Kingdom is not about fish and chips, haggis or a great tasting bowl of Irish stew or Cornish patties anymore.

When traveling in the United Kingdom you can find a variety of fast food places, many will be to your liking I suppose, but as far as best goes, it will depend on your own tastes.

There are many fast food franchises for you to visit. There are street vendors too. Lots of pubs where the food is served with a smile, is great tasting, healthy, and reasonably priced.

If you decide to go for something new and different, try out the street vendors delights, curries, don airs, kebabs, served quick and are relatively healthy.

I prefer the down home feel of a local pub, with varying menu items, service with a heartfelt smile always works for me. Plus a chance to mix with the locals is always interesting. Oh and the standard fish dishes are still to be had. For best fast foods in the U.K. try a pub.

It was a member of one of my business networking groups who told me this tale when we were discussing the impact of the recession on our individual businesses. This story is so relevant to today’s economic climate…….enjoy it.

There was once a barbecue restaurateur. But he was no ordinary purveyor of the humble rib for he used only the best spare ribs from only the finest, pigs in the land. The fries that accompanied his famous barbecue spare ribs were of equal quality, cut from the best potatoes available and fried in the most exclusive oil. He operated from small business premises not exactly on the restaurant strip and put out the advertising message on his frontage proudly stating that his barbecue spare ribs were the “best in the world, made with only the finest ingredients.”

As a result, his small business flourished and, in his own moderate way, he was financially successful. He had one son, his only child, and he wanted nothing but the best for him, so, using the money earned from his BBQ restaurant, he sent him away to university.

His son did well, enjoying being exposed to such clever people and weighty opinions, and it was some time before he returned home to his father during a holiday. He waxed lyrical about subjects previously of great mystery to the father, demonstrating his newly acquired knowledge with great panache and style, and his reputation grew.

One evening, shortly before his return to university, the son took the father aside to discuss the family business. “Father”, he said, “there is talk of a great recession that is going to take place in the world, with even large corporations fighting for their very survival so think how this will affect a small business. Times will be hard and the only way to stay afloat is to cut costs drastically”. His father listened attentively as his son added, “everywhere I look, in the papers, the radio and in the halls and coffee bars of my university, the message is ‘cut cut, cut’. I urge you not to fall behind the trend. My advice to you is to cut costs to survive this recession”.

The father was by now in awe of his learned son, and he could not ignore advice from him, which was so well supported by the media and the discussions that take place within a recognised seat of learning. He drastically cut his orders of pork ribs and potatoes, chose a cheaper, more common frying oil, did the same with the wood chips for the BBQ smoker and changed the advertising message on his diner to reflect that he no longer used the finest ingredients.

Within only a few months, his business could no longer support him and his family, and he sold it to a BBQ restaurant franchise at a great loss and was forced to take early retirement. He called his son to tell him of the sad news, telling him he must stay at university, as his son had become so clever that he had foretold the difficulties the recession would bring. His final words to the educated offspring were: “what a wonderful thing a university education is.”

And the moral of this story?

Don’t believe all that you read and take control of your own destiny.

Whether it is worse to eat at McDonald’s or eat there, is relative.

I live in a small, low socio-economic town so McDonald’s has provided employment for some families and education opportunities for a handful of young people.

Employment has give young people self-esteem and hope.

I personally loath McDonald’s food. It is expensive, tasteless and I suspect totally nutrient void, despite what the colorful (and unrecycled) professes. I am highly suspicious of their “salads” and juices and frequently worry that their food contains drugs that will hook my children onto Macs.

One sometimes wonders if these salad vegetables aren’t the rejects from a failed G.E. experiment. But I am being unfair and clearly showing my prejudice against McDonalds and my prediliction for fresh food.

But back to protecting my children, as they are only preschoolers.

I have diligently keep them from view of that twinkling red and yellow tower, that beckons and entices them.

I do occasionally treat my children to a happy meal, if my husband is with us and insists that they have one as he, unfortunately loves their Quarter pounder combo’s and most other of their combinations.

Once again the bright packaging is wooing my children and the bright and (movie or television series) relevant toy that rattles menacingly inside the happy meal bag.

I remember when McDonald’s first appeared in New Zealand and I was 16 years old.

My girlfriends and I went to McDonald’s to hang out as this was the newest, coolest place in town. Once I tasted their food, I couldn’t never again be convinced that this place was cool plus their spokesperson is a clown ! Called none other that Ronald !

Very few people christen there sons Ronald now! Orlando, Keanu, Johnny but never Ron.

I am also opposed to the huge franchise, conglomerate, brainwash take-over that is McDonald’s.

So what are the positive aspects of McDonald’s.

Their toilets are always clean and there is always toilet paper in there.

Whilst you use their pristine amenities, your children can play in their extremely safe and psychologically-friendly, colored playground.

You can then buy two, fifty cent ice-creams for the privilege and dash to your car promising your children a “real” visit, next time we come to town.

If you’ve ever owned or thought about owning a small business franchise, you’re probably familiar with some of the more common franchises available. Everyone is familiar with fast food franchises, retail franchises and even some of the more common auto repair and lube franchises, but if you look a little closer you can find some really unique franchises that are not only fun and out of the ordinary, but also have the potential to make good money in their niche markets. If you’re the type of entrepreneur that likes to take the road less traveled, consider the following Small Business Franchises You Didn’t Know About.

All About Honeymoons

This franchise is fond of the phrase, “Our Name Says It All” but what the name doesn’t tell you is how big of an industry exists in sending happy couples on the honeymoon of their dreams. With over 2.4 million weddings each year in the U.S., and with a staggering 96% of newlyweds taking honeymoons, it’s easy to see how this seemingly niche market has huge profit potential. All About Honeymoons is a fun and exciting small business. They’re dedicated to helping newlyweds have the trip of a lifetime, but they also destination weddings and romance and leisure travel. Whether you’re married or single, an All About Honeymoons franchise is a great choice for a small business with big business potential.

Bar-B-Cutie

Running a small business can work up quite an appetite, and if you like bar-b-cue you can’t go wrong with Bar-B-Cutie. This restaurant franchise has been serving up some of the best bar-b-cue around for more than 50 years (quite an achievement in the restaurant business). With over 200 restaurants worldwide, Bar-B-Cutie is growing fast and they’re designed their restaurant to not only serve up great food, but also generate revenue fast. With revenue streams coming from dine-in, take-out, drive-thru and even catering services, your Bar-B-Cutie franchise will have more potential ways to make money than just about any other type of franchise and each one revolves around one thing: great tasting Bar-B-Cue.

Prime Time Boxing, Inc.

With over 26 years of boxing experience and 10 years of fitness experience under their belts, Prime Time Boxing will is one of the best small business franchise opportunities for anyone who loves fitness, training or taking a few swings at the heavy bag. With a Prime Time Boxing franchise, you’ll not only get training and advice from folks who really know boxing, you’ll also get training and support all throughout the business side of a Prime Time Boxing franchise. PTB offers their franchisees a plethora of services including gym layouts and startup, franchise and management training, internet exposure and plenty of other services designed to get your gym up and running in no time and help you knock out the competition. Many people are looking for intensive boxing training these days due to the recent popularity of sports like MMA or even movies like Rocky Balboa or The Hammer and with a Prime Time Boxing franchise you’ll be able to capitalize on this growing niche market and have the advantage of much better and more focused training than a regular gym is capable of.

Juice It Up!

We all know that we should eat healthy. Statistic after statistic, news reports, even movies about fast food over indulgence have been sending the message over the last several years to Americans that we’re overweight, we’re unhealthy and it’s going to kill us if we don’t shape up. Well one company is doing something to make Americans a bit healthier by providing a tasty way to fill up on fruit, veggies and vitamins and the response has been overwhelming. Juice It Up! Started out as a “California style” juice bar serving up blended smoothies to their customers who at the time were mostly young professionals. Since then, they’ve expanded through a series of franchises, added plenty more tasty and healthy recipes and have begun to attract a much wider demographic ranging from young children to senior citizens and everyone in between. Why so much success? Juice It Up! Takes ingredients that are good for you and turns them into a smoothie that tastes great. It’s a win/win.

Hopefully you found a niche market franchise that caught your attention. These niche markets often can appear at first glance to not be worth the investment, but for the majority of them their advantage is the niche market. Opening a new business is hard, especially when you face stiff competition from a handful of other companies offering the same goods and services as you, but with a niche market franchise you can be the only game in town and build loyalty and a strong customer base. Finally, consider that starting a small business from scratch is pretty tough, but all of these businesses have made it work and are now ready to pass everything they’ve learned on to you and with that comes their name to back it up. Of course there are no guarantees of success, but a new small business with a flourishing franchise will give you the best odds for success that you’ll find anywhere.

Merchant cash advances are the quickest fix for whatever funding needs your business might currently have whether to cover emergency expenses, purchase new inventory, support an expansion, or save a failing venture. The convenience, ease and speed of the features make it a lot more attractive compared to that of the traditional means of funding.

Merchant cash advance is a form of financial service wherein the provider agrees to buy, at a discounted rate, the future Visa and MasterCard revenues and pay upfront cash to the business owner. Payback will also be done through the credit card sales transactions where a pre-arranged percentage of this will be regularly deducted. This funding program is most ideal to retail, seasonal businesses, franchisees, and restaurant merchants not only because of the slim chance they have at getting approved for a business loan but also because of the immediate liquidity. But regardless of the industry or market you are in or the reasons for your borrowing funds, you can still apply and be granted of the cash needed.

This funding program may come in various names or terms but still come up with the same definition, requirements and benefits. When it comes down to really acquiring funds, how do you go about comparing merchant cash advances?

First off, search for likely candidates from where you will choose from the best financial service provider that is right for you. In comparing merchant cash advances from various companies, you should consider how much they are willing to pay for the purchase of businessâ€TMs receivables. Also, compare the percentage that the company will be deducting from the credit card sales.

Evaluate how the processing works for each company. Deciding to get a merchant cash advance means that you are indeed in a hurry to get the funds and would prefer fewer hassles. Comparing the timeframe and requirements by which you would be able to get hold of the money would be helpful.

Merchant cash advances are typically known to be unsecured which require no personal guarantee or security in the form of any personally owned or business-owned asset as collateral. Though not as popular, a secure form can also be availed of. Providing less of the risks to the lending company, secured merchant cash advances offers lower rates for the borrower. Existing and even would-be properties which will be bought using the advance can act as collateral including real estate, equipment, and other businesses. To compare and know which form is best for you, ask your merchant cash advance provider for policy information regarding both programs.

The new Forbes magazine’s annual ranking of the incredibly rich lists 587 billionaires worldwide. Florida is fielding in its wealthiest at the 25th rank in the person of John Werner Kluge of Metromedia with estimated net worth valued at $9.1 billion. Kluge settles in Palm Beach where most of Florida billionaires huddle.

Including Kluge, Florida possesses a combined net worth of approximately $40-billion fielded in by 16 billionaires. Most of them are entrepreneurs while a crop inherited family businesses that they grew. The trade ranges from nondairy coffee creamer to sport team franchises, carnival cruises to vast plantations.

Two women join the rank and happen to be siblings. With a net worth estimate of $5.9-billion acquired from Miami’s Carnival Cruise Lines, the world’s largest cruise ship company, Micky Arison is No. 2 in the state behind Kluge.

Sister Shari Arison — the youngest Florida billionaire — relocated from Israel to Miami after taking some heat for financial woes at her Bank Hapoalim and saving some $4.6 billion net worth asset, making her Florida’s No. 3 billionaire.

The oldest, at 92, is Palm Beach’s Robert Rich Sr. still able at 5th position with a net worth of $1.9 billion obtained from the ubiquitous nondairy coffee creamer which he started in 1960.

While Palm Beach is loaded with the ultrarich, two of Florida billionaires reside in the Tampa Bay area. Bill Morean, chairman of St. Petersburg contract electronics manufacturer Jabil Circuit, has an estimated net worth of $1.3 billion.
The other one is the former owner of pro football’s San Francisco 49ers, Edward DeBartolo with a net worth of $1.2 billion, mostly acquired in shopping centers.

America’s biggest private landowner Ted Turner is in contention at No. 4 with $2.4 billion. The former CNN and Atlanta Braves owner still takes a hefty portion of Time Warner. The once broadcasting honcho has since shifted his residence to his Florida plantation near Tallahassee.

While most Florida billionaires acquires assets by maintaining a flagship business, the self-made George Lindemann and family amassed $1.2-billion net worth assets from diverse investments including contact lenses, cable and gas.
George Lindemann is married with three children. The family positions at No. 12 in the Florida billionaires list and 512 in Forbes world roll.

George Lindemann finished his Bachelor of Arts/Science at the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School. The Wharton grad acquired his fortune in 1971 through selling contact-lens-design Company to Cooper Labs for $60 million.
Thereafter, George Lindemann accumulated a string of astute investment outputs to include the landmark acquisition of New Jersey cable licenses. In 1982, the family sold Vision Cable for $220 million and put up cell phone venture Metro Mobile. In 1992, the flourishing cell phone business was sold to Bell Atlantic for $2.6 billion.

George Lindemann’s judicious business sense took a notch smarter with the purchase of pipelines from Enron in bankruptcy, via natural gas distributor Southern Union. Billionaire George Lindemann and family now hold 28 percent of Southern Union and steered Enron to a third-largest pipeline owner in the nation today. The family also has a large stake in Verizon Communications.

Other Florida billionaires include Wayne Huizenga noteworthy for the successes of Waste Management, Blockbuster, and AutoNation and accumulated an estimated net worth of $1.8 billion. Also at $1.8 billion mark is S. Daniel Abraham who sold Slim-Fast nutrition drinks to Unilever in 2000 for $2.3 billion.

The former owner of the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey franchise and now term life insurance magnate Arthur Williams Jr. has earned $1.5 billion. Not far at $1.4 billion is James Moran whose JM Family Enterprises controls the world’s largest privately held Toyota distributorship

Brothers James and William France, each with $1.2-billion control major NASCAR racing properties, including the Nextel Cup. Meanwhile, the founder of Campbell Soup secured a sizeable inheritance for his granddaughter Charlotte Colket Weber with net worth of $1.1 billion.