选择慢成长的五家创业公司

特许经营模式：先建设，再出售

公司名称：ShelfGenie

地点：佐治亚州，玛丽埃塔

年销售额：640万美元

    ShelfGenie公司成立于2000年，从事橱柜滑出式货架系统的设计、制造和安装。公司现有51家特许加盟商，但它本来可以吸引到更多的特许加盟商。公司首席执行官和共同创始人阿兰•杨是一位有条不紊的陆军老兵。他认为帮助每一个特许加盟商发展壮大更为重要，因为他希望创建的是一家可持续发展的公司。他说：“我的经验是，特许经营商，尤其是年轻的初创企业，要么必须特别善于出售特许经营权，要么必须特别长于为特许加盟商提供支持。我们必须在这两者之间做出选择。”

    杨和公司总裁、共同创始人巴瑞•法尔科为加盟商提供进入定制式客户关系管理系统和商业支持中心的权限，帮助他们应对管理问题。同时，公司还将特许经营销售业务外包给Franchise Dynamics公司，寻找潜在的特许加盟商，同时确保特许加盟商的责任心和匹配度。ShelfGenie公司要求各地区的特许加盟商每月至少在广告宣传方面投入5,000美元。杨说：“就算我们的特许加盟费可以达到100万美元，让那些没有能力的人参与进来也没有意义。”

Building franchises ahead of selling them

Company: ShelfGenie

Location: Marietta, Ga.

Annual sales: $6.4 million

    Founded in 2000, ShelfGenie -- which designs, builds and installs slide-out shelving systems for cabinets -- could probably have attracted more than its current 51 franchisees by now. But CEO and co-founder Allan Young -- a methodical Army veteran -- thinks it's more important to help each individual franchise grow and thrive so he can build a sustainable company. "My experience was that franchisors, especially young startups, are either really good at selling franchises or supporting franchisees," says Young. "We had to make a choice of what we do well."

    Young and co-founder Barry Falcon, ShelfGenie's president, offer franchisees access to a custom-built customer relationship management system and business support center to tackle administrative tasks. Meanwhile, the chain outsources franchise sales to Franchise Dynamics, which vets prospective franchisees to make sure they're committed and a good fit. ShelfGenie requires them to spend a minimum of $5,000 a month on advertising for each territory. "Even if our franchise fee was $1 million, it would not be worth bringing on someone who was not going to do well," says Young.