深夜福利站

In furthering our mission to help our members achieve Total Quality Franchising鈩犔齌QF鈩� the Association has developed four principle goals of service.

• I. Market Support Services
• II. Legal & Financial Support Services
• III. Legislative Support Services
• IV. General Member Benefits

I. Market Support Services

Above all else, the heart and soul of the American Association of Franchisees and Dealers is helping franchisees develop greater market power, especially negotiating leverage, so that fair and equitable franchise relationships can develop over time.

The founders of the 深夜福利站strongly believe the American free market works over time. Our free market economic system is based on the premise that听“a willing buyer and a willing seller, each with equal bargaining power, will come to fair and balanced business arrangements.”

The concept of听market support services听is really quite simple.听 The 深夜福利站helps franchised members听build market power and bargaining leverage by organizing into effective and cohesive associations of franchisees, affiliated with the AAFD’s听Trademark Chapters.听深夜福利站Trademark Chapters听achieve negotiating leverage with their franchisors, their suppliers and ultimately their customers by developing vital marketing networks.

The 深夜福利站provides market support services in many ways:

PUBLIC EDUCATION:听The 深夜福利站educates franchisees and the general public regarding critical issues and problems in franchising. The Association must serve to echo strong warnings and objections to inequities in the franchising community. By exposing problem areas in franchising, the franchising community will be forced to take note and respond.

FRANCHISEE BILL OF RIGHTS:听The 深夜福利站has declared a Franchisee Bill of Rights which identifies 15 important contractual protections every franchisee should demand of his/her franchise relationship. Prospective franchisees should use the Franchisee Bill of Rights as a negotiating list with prospective franchisors.

THE EIGHT THINGS TO LOOK FOR IN A FRANCHISE OPPORTUNITY:听The 深夜福利站has identified 8 important criteria for franchise selection. The 深夜福利站cautions against buying any franchise听unless all 8 criteria are met.

THE AAFD’S FAIR FRANCHISING STANDARDS:听The AAFD’s crowning achievement has been the development of our听Fair Franchising Standards,听the first ever comprehensive effort to develop guidelines for franchising practices which balance the legitimate interests of both franchisors and franchisees. The new standards serve as the basis for the AAFD’s new franchisor accreditation program (see the听AAFD’s Fair Franchising Seal听below).

TRADEMARK CHAPTERS:听Most importantly, the Association has organized itself into Trademark Chapters. The AAFD’s听Trademark Chapters听effectively serve as networks for every franchise system represented by the Association. Franchisees are encouraged to participate actively in a听Trademark Chapters听for the benefit of the franchisees of their particular system. The AAFD’s听Trademark Chapters听fulfill the functions of a trademark specific franchisee association at a fraction of the cost of forming an autonomous organization.听Trademark Chapters听are fully supported by the 深夜福利站and are represented on the Association’s Franchisee Leadership Council (FLC).

FRANCHISEE LEADERSHIP COUNCIL (FLC):听The 深夜福利站has created a special听Franchisee Leadership Council听of all independent franchisee associations that have affiliated with the AAFD, and the presidents of each Trademark Chapter. The 深夜福利站will not create a separate听Trademark Chapter听for any franchise system that has an independent franchisee association on the Franchisee Leadership Council. Rather, the FLC member trade association will serve all the functions of an AAFD听Trademark Chapter.听All franchisees of a FLC member association are granted affiliate membership in the AAFD. Affiliate members may upgrade their membership at substantial savings. Membership in the FLC is available to any independent franchisee trade association that either pays FLC annual dues or is a managed Trademark Chapter of the AAFD.

THE FAIR FRANCHISING SEAL:听The 深夜福利站has established a prestigious award for franchisors that recognize independent franchisee associations, are dedicated to听Total Quality Franchising听through their substantial compliance with the听AAFD’s Fair Franchising Standards,听and have established a reputation for fairness with the franchisees of their system. Prospective franchise purchasers can now look to AAFD听accredited franchise systems听to identify franchisors with a track record of fair franchising practices.

MEMBER BUYING POWER:听The AAFD’s exclusive听Branded Programs听and Supporting Member programs help maximize the buying power of franchisees by negotiating substantial member discounts across a broad range of products and services.

TRADE ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SERVICES: The Association offers management support services to members of the 深夜福利站Franchisee Leadership Council. Trade associations taking advantage of 深夜福利站management services may, in effect, use the 深夜福利站as its management and administrative support staff. The 深夜福利站will provide organizational and management support, database management, facilitate communications, and assist in meeting planning.

II. LEGAL AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT SERVICES:

THE FRANCHISEE LEGALINE AND FINANCIALINE鈩�
The 深夜福利站Franchisee LegaLine鈩� is the foremost network of legal counsel who focus on franchise law and the representation of franchisees.听 All LegaLine affiliate attorneys offer special members only rates, and packaged services designed for 深夜福利站members.听 Modeled on the AAFD’s听LegaLine program, the Franchisee听FinanciaLine^鈩犔� is designed to offer a range of听financial services, including bookkeeping, accounting, tax advice and lending services.听The听深夜福利站is developing a new Lenders Network听of banks and Small Business Lending and Investment companies interested in doing business with 深夜福利站members on a preferential basis.

III. LEGISLATIVE SUPPORT

The 深夜福利站monitors important legislative initiatives and provides testimony and advocacy in support of franchisee causes.听 The 深夜福利站also maintains an Amicus Brief Committee to file friend of court briefs in support of franchisee causes.

IV. GENERAL MEMBER BENEFITS
As a national business trade association, the 深夜福利站endeavors to provide the full array of general member benefits one would expect from a broadly based trade association. Some of the AAFD’s current and planned member benefits are as follows:

The Franchisee Voice鈩�听newsletter is now an online blog.听 Formerly,听the Franchisee Voice鈩犔齛 quarterly publication, the first issue was only eight pages and the publication听grew to over听thirty pages. The goal is to build听The Franchisee Voice Blog听as a听format that keeps 深夜福利站members abreast of the pressing issues in franchising, while providing an ever growing orientation to 深夜福利站member benefits.

深夜福利站Communication Central: The 深夜福利站strives to facilitate communication and networking among members, and to serve as a clearing house of information of interest to franchisees. This website is the cornerstone of this effort. We now feature unlimited bulletin boards & live chat. Equally important, the 深夜福利站has made an investment of thousands of dollars to develop a sophisticated franchisee database,听cloud computer network,听teleconference and webinar services, centralized mailing, and a host of other services which help us to communicate with our members, and for our members to communicate with one another.

For our franchisee trade groups and Trademark Chapters, the Association provides several mechanisms for the dissemination of information and by which our members are able to communicate and network.

InfoLine鈩�, Meeting Call,听Broadcast email听Network, Centralized Mailing:听The Association has developed many systems and facilities to dramatically improve the ability of franchisees to communicate, including our national 800 number, the Franchisee InfoLine鈩�, which provides franchisees a place to call when they have questions regarding their franchise businesses. The AAFD’s state-of-the-art teleconferencing services, provided by听Branded Program鈩犔齈artner Intella II, are available as a free service to all of our franchisee members. The association provides broadcast听email blast听services also without charage.

The First Franchisee Association on the Internet:听The 深夜福利站was听proud to be the first franchisee association to set up residence on the Internet. In 1997, the 深夜福利站dramatically expanded its Internet presence to become a central source for information about franchising, and a gateway to access hundreds of 深夜福利站benefits and service providers. The 深夜福利站is proud to have been honored as a Dow Jones Select Site and a top site by Smart Business Computing Magazine.听 In late 2011, the 深夜福利站published a totally redesigned website taking full advantage of the benefits of social media.

The 深夜福利站continues to extend听Communication Central听to our members at the edge of telecommunication technology. The combination of our mailing, blast email, telecommunications webinar, and Internet services, as well as听The Franchisee InfoLine鈩�听and听The Franchisee Voice鈩�creates a dynamic ability for the Association to communicate with its members. The AAFD’s communication efforts are tied together by 深夜福利站MemberManagement鈩�, a powerful database management software system that allow us to maintain close contact with 深夜福利站members throughout the United States.

PROFESSIONAL SERVICES PANELS:听The 深夜福利站has created several Professional Services Panels to provide quality services and products to 深夜福利站members at special members only prices. In addition to the Franchisee LegaLine鈩�, FinanciaLine鈩犔齛nd the National Lender Network (described above), the association has also developed its exclusive Suppliers Network鈩�, which has dramatically expanded from its original concept of a network of franchising consultants to the AAFD’s national network of product and service providers who offer discounts and members only pricing to 深夜福利站members! The 深夜福利站has also created a dispute resolution panel (of arbitrators and mediators), as well as a Speakers & Experts Bureau to provide a constant source of expertise to the franchising community.

TRADE ASSOCIATION MANAGEMENT SUPPORT SERVICES FOR FLC MEMBERS:听The Association offers management support services to members of the 深夜福利站Franchisee Leadership Council. Trade associations taking advantage of 深夜福利站management services may, in effect, use the 深夜福利站as its management and administrative support staff. The 深夜福利站will provide organizational and management support, data base management, facilitate communications, and assist in meeting planning.

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS:听A major mission of the 深夜福利站is to educate franchisees and the general public regarding the realities of the franchise industry. Through 深夜福利站publications, seminars, and sponsored public appearances, 深夜福利站sponsored educational programs will help enlighten the public regarding the realities and pitfalls of franchising, and teach existing franchisees how to prosper and improve their circumstances within the franchise industry.

The 深夜福利站is designing educational seminars and programs of benefit both to franchisees, franchise attorneys, and other professionals serving the franchising industry. The Association has participated in numerous public forums and has contributed articles to numerous magazines and journals including听Fortune Magazine, Franchise Times, Money Magazine, the Franchise Handbook, Entrepreneur Magazine, Black Enterprise, Working Woman, Glamour, the American Bar Association Forum On Franchising, and the听ABA Franchise Law Journal, among others.

NATIONAL INFORMATION CLEARING HOUSE:听The 深夜福利站functions as an unofficial clearing house of a constant flow of information regarding the franchise industry. As the Association grows, so will its capacity to accumulate and assimilate data of valuable import to our franchisee members. Presently, there is not a single source of unbiased information available to franchisees. The 深夜福利站is designing its internal database capabilities to serve as a repository of important information relative to issues of importance in franchising. For example, the 深夜福利站encourages Franchisee LegaLine鈩犔齧embers to advise the Association of franchise systems involved in litigation so the 深夜福利站may refer franchisees of a specific system to counsel already knowledgeable with the specifics of particular franchise systems. Additionally, the 深夜福利站intends to act as a clearing house for good and fair franchising business practices. In this way, the 深夜福利站will provide a valuable service to its members, the public, and the franchising industy.

ANNUAL MEETING:听Pursuant to the Association’s Declaration of Trust, the 深夜福利站holds its general membership meeting each year. The 深夜福利站annual meetings are an opportunity to bring together the general membership, to elect the Board of Directors, and to hold various advisory councils, as well as annual meetings for the Association’s Trademark Chapters and Franchisee Leadership Council.

A highlight of the annual meeting is the 深夜福利站sponsored听Market Power Trade Show. Exhibitors are limited to accredited franchisors,Branded Program Partners鈩�, and members of The Franchisee LegaLine鈩�, FinanciaLine鈩�, and CounseLine鈩�, as well as other supporting members of the Association. 深夜福利站annual meetings also feature noted speakers of interest to franchisees and are held in suitable convention cities giving 深夜福利站members an optimum opportunity to network with one another and to advance the cause of franchising from the perspective of franchisees.

深夜福利站PUBLICATIONS:听The 深夜福利站sponsored the authoritative book on franchise fraud and abuse,听The Franchise Fraud: How to Protect Yourself Before and After You Invest, authored by 深夜福利站Board Chairman Robert L. Purvin, Jr., and published by John Wiley & Sons in 1994. The Association published the AAFD’sRoad Map to Selecting a Franchise.听听听深夜福利站Chairman Purvin has also jointly authored Franchising 101 and the CPR Dispute Resolution听book on听the use of mediation in franchising.听听听The Association has developed the听深夜福利站Resource Store^tm听which carries selected titles that are available at discounted听prices through Amazon.com.