Guidant Partner Blog

David Nilssen Featured on Franchise Direct

2013-04-10T12:11:00.001-07:00

Hungry for some Zoup?

2013-03-28T14:08:00.000-07:00

Scenes from the Zoup seminar. Photo by Jana Chiabai.

The Zoup franchise is looking to expand to the Pacific Northwest, and is offering free seminars for prospective business owners to check them out!

Our own Jana Chiabai attended the Seattle seminar last night and sampled some of their award-winning soups after hearing their brief presentation. She thinks, "this market is perfect [for Zoup] due to the cool weather."

If you're interested in funding your own Zoup restaurant, contact our Business Development team at 888.472.4455 x3331 to learn more about how Guidant can help.

To attend the Oregon Zoup seminar tonight in Lake Oswego, click here.to RSVP.

From Honor To Owner

2012-11-12T10:15:00.003-08:00

Our partners at the International Franchise Association have prepared a wonderful new video highlighting veteran entrepreneurs. Have a look here:

Rocking Out at the Anytime Fitness Conference

2012-09-21T10:36:00.001-07:00

It's not often that our representatives return from company travel and talk about chainsaw juggling acts or Kiss cover bands, but that's exactly what happened this week.

Business Development West Coast Representative Jordan Melin attended the Anytime Fitness Conference in Chicago, which featured a performance by Hairball (pictured at left) and a meeting that ended with a presenter juggling chainsaws (for real).

1300 professionals attended this annual event, which celebrates the achievements of the franchise, provides inspirational seminars and offers educational opportunities for franchisees looking to take their Anytime Fitness clubs to the next level.

Follow Anytime Fitness on Twitter: @AnytimeFitness
Follow Guidant on Twitter: @guidant

The Conclusion of our August Contest

2012-09-04T13:08:00.001-07:00

Congratulations to our final batch of $150 gift card winners for August. They are:

Daniel R. (CBI Midwest Business Brokers)
Susan M. (The Entrepreneur's Source)
Chris S. (FCBB San Diego)
David O. (The Entrepreneur Authority)
Michael A. (The Entrepreneur's Source)
Anita L. (Apex Business Advisors & Brokers)
Bob M. (The Entrepreneur's Source)
Tim T. (The Entrepreneur's Source)
Tim & Lisa M. (Top Franchises)

Follow Guidant on Twitter: @guidant

Are you LinkedIn?

2012-08-21T11:08:00.000-07:00

Did you know that Guidant Financial has a company page on LinkedIn? If not, you can find it here.

We'd love to connect with you!

More Winners Announced

2012-08-17T09:14:00.002-07:00

The partner contest continues!

Congratulations to our first batch of $150 gift card winners for August. They are:

Hugh (Franchise BizNow)
Dan (TES)
Jim (St. Louis Group)
Laurel (Sunbelt)
Ron (TES)
Alex (Franchise INC)
Debra (TES)
Bill (Oates & Breadfield)
Michael (Entrepreneur Authority)
Susan (TES)

Best of luck to all for the next contest, which concludes on Aug. 31.

Guidant Mentioned in IFA FranBlog

2012-08-13T13:05:00.003-07:00

In a post today on the IFA FranBlog, Guidant is noted for their participation at the Faegre Franchise Summit in Minneapolis last week, where CEO & Co-founder David Nilssen served on a finance panel and stepped up the commitment to VetFran by becoming a VetFran Preferred Provider.

Read the full post here.

Join the conversation with Guidant Financial on Facebook.

Congratulations to our Winners!

2012-08-01T10:18:00.001-07:00

The winners of our July contest for $150 gift cards are as follows:

Bill (TES)
Dan (TES)
Jim (TES)
Ray (TES)
Richard (Veterans Franchise Centers)
Ed (TES)
Ed (St. Louis Group)
Nancy (TES)
Natalie (Franchise Alliance)
Cheryl (First Choice Business Brokers)

Congratulations to all!

Guidant at the Veterans Affairs Expo

2012-06-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Members of our Business Development team are currently on-site at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Veterans Small Business Conference & Expo in Detroit.

Our East Coast Representative, Jana, is pictured here at our booth speaking with an entrepreneur.

Learn more about the VetFran outreach here.

Follow @guidant on Twitter for real-time updates.

VA Expo in Detroit will Offer Jobs and Small Business Ownership Opportunities

2012-06-22T11:33:00.000-07:00

At the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs National Veterans Small Business Conference & Expo in Detroit June 26 - 28, 40 franchise brands of the International Franchise Association will present the inaugural Franchising Pavilion.

At the event, the new free Veterans Franchise Toolkit and Veterans Mentor Network will be unveiled.

These initiatives are an extension of the Operation Enduring Opportunity campaign, which began in November of 2011 as a national effort to get veterans back to work and into business ownership.

Guidant is proud to be participating! If you're attending the event, please stop by our booth (10810) at the Open House, and say 'hi' to Rachel and Jana, who will be representing our team.

Increase Your Franchise Recruitment Results by up to 300%

2012-06-11T10:16:00.001-07:00

Join industry leaders at FranDev 2012 from June 23 - 27 at the Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain Resort.

Guidant Financial is proud to be a sponsor of this event and welcomes you to join the leadership of Management 2000, FranConnect, Faegre Baker Daniels, Greenbaum Marketing, FranData, Fishman PR, MFV Expositions, Tortal and others for a franchise recruitment summit like no other. For more information or to register, click here.

Follow Guidant on Twitter: @guidant

Stephen Caldeira Announces Strategic Alliance with Guidant

2012-05-22T09:13:00.000-07:00

FranDev Conference, June 23 - 27

2012-05-10T09:48:00.002-07:00

How does four days at a luxury resort in the mountains of Arizona sound?

If world-class hiking, a Jack Nicklaus golf course, fine dining and spa treatments appeal to you, we’d like to tell you about the upcoming FranDev conference.

The most experienced franchise experts and leaders are coming together June 23 – 27 at the Ritz Carlton Dove Mountain in Tucson, Ariz. to spend time discussing the best ways to improve their systems. Topics covered include: recruitment, lead generation, marketing—and of course—financing. You can also receive 450 Education CFE credits for attending.

Click here to read the brochure.

To register, fill out the form on page 14 of the brochure above. Be sure to check “Guidant Financial” where it asks how you heard about the conference.

We hope to see you there!

Guidant at the Make More Money Expo in Issaquah

2012-04-26T15:50:00.000-07:00

Guidant Financial Business Development Representative Jordan Melin was a featured presenter today at the Make More Money Expo in Issaquah, Wash.

The Expo aims to help aspiring entrepreneurs meet with local companies to learn more about becoming a business owner.

Melin shared information about the iFinance program, SBA Loans and Unsecured Credit.

Follow Guidant Financial on Twitter.

Guidant Mentioned in Nation's Restaurant News

2012-04-23T14:10:00.002-07:00

In an article today about the IFA's recent partnership announcements, Guidant Financial is recognized as a key player in helping potential franchise owners gain capital to start their new business.

Read the full story here.

Connect with Guidant Financial on LinkedIn.

David Nilssen, Guidant Mentioned in Huffington Post

2012-04-19T13:13:00.002-07:00

At the IFA Small Business Lending Summit earlier this week, Guidant CEO David Nilssen served on a panel of experts who spoke about creating jobs and franchise financing in today's economy.

Nilssen emphasized the optimism Guidant saw in their most recent annual client survey, and the fact that our services, coupled with SBA lenders, can provide liquidity to a transaction and enable it to close.

Read more about the summit on the Huffington Post.

Guidant Becomes a Preferred ROBS Provider of IFA

2012-04-17T12:43:00.002-07:00

A new strategic alliance between Guidant Financial and the International Franchise Association was announced today at the Small Business Lending Summit in Washington, D.C.

The formation of the alliance takes an important step in the ongoing quest to make more credit available to both aspiring franchise owners and existing franchisees.

Read the full press release here.

Join the conversation with Guidant Financial on LinkedIn.

Happy Anniversary, Joining Forces!

2012-04-12T09:11:00.001-07:00

In November, in conjunction with the IFA and Joining Forces, Guidant was honored to become a part of the Operation Enduring Opportunity campaign, which aims to put 100,000 veterans back to work by 2014.

Today, Joining Forces celebrates its first anniversary.

To learn more about our program for veterans, click here.

To view a video from the First Lady, click the 'play' button below.

Looking to buy a franchise? The time is now!

2012-04-05T09:04:00.000-07:00

It may seem unlikely in light of the volatile economy, but experts are saying that now is actually an ideal time to purchase a franchise.

In an article for NuWire Investor, eAuth.com CEO David Omholt discusses the timing:

Historically, some of the greatest business launches came at a time when it might have seemed counterintuitive to the academics and the uninitiated. If we rewind the clocks back to 1954 (a recessionary cycle that coincided with the end of the Korean War) a young salesman named Ray Kroc began negotiating with the McDonald's brothers to be their franchise agent. To many, Ray seemed 'off his (K)rocker' (or a couple Big Macs short of a picnic, as it were) to be taking risks in such an economic environment. Well, how wrong they were!

He goes on to say that it's difficult to see the hope in launching a venture when a good majority of the current financial media coverage is negative, "Yes, I too read the negative headlines and listen to the pessimistic pundits on their views of the world and here at home. Problem is, they fail to give the positive factors equal airtime. And there are plenty of them."

See his full assessment here.

Read about a franchisee who used Guidant Financial to start his branch of Dogtopia.

Guidant Becomes Charter Member of PAFI

2012-03-12T09:34:00.000-07:00

We're pleased to announce our new alliance with the Professional Athlete Franchise Initiative (PAFI).

PAFI is dedicated to helping pro athletes transition from sports careers to franchise ownership, and Guidant is poised to help those individuals secure funding for their new businesses.

Read the full press release here.

Follow Guidant Financial on Facebook.

Guidant at the Franchise Finance Conference

2012-03-08T09:30:00.000-08:00

CEO & Cofounder David Nilssen and Business Development Director
Rachel Villiott just returned from a wonderful visit to the
Franchise Finance Conference in Las Vegas.

There, they both connected with a number of franchise professionals,
sharing ideas about funding. David also spoke on the topic
'Franchise Finance Options A-Z: Financing Deals Under $500k' alongside
Ronald Feldman, the Cofounder of Franchise America Finance.

Ronald Feldman

David Nilssen

Join the conversation: Follow Guidant Financial on Facebook.

David Nilssen Featured in Franchising World

2012-02-24T09:43:00.000-08:00

Guidant CEO & Cofounder David Nilssen appears in this month's issue of Franchising World.

His article discusses the continued efforts to help veterans start their own businesses and details our 2012 scholarship program.

Read the full article here.

The Guidant Money Machine: a Big Hit at the IFA Annual Convention

2012-02-16T10:53:00.000-08:00


Our CEO, David Nilssen, testing it out.

Our first prize winner: Weslyn Bezila from National Tax Credit.

Our second prize winner: IFA President & CEO Steve Caldeira.

Congratulations, Susan Black-Beth!

2012-02-13T13:32:00.000-08:00

David Nilssen with Susan Black-Beth

On behalf of all of us at Guidant, our warmest wishes go out to Susan Black-Beth, Director of Franchising at Super Wash, Inc. who is also a valued Guidant partner.

Susan will receive the prestigious Bonny LeVine Award in a ceremony tonight at the International Franchise Association Annual Convention.

The award was created in memory of Postal Instant Press Co-founder and esteemed IFA member, Bonny LeVine, in 1994 to commemorate her outstanding contributions to the franchising industry.

The honor is bestowed annually to "a female franchisor or franchisee who has demonstrated ability in franchising as evidenced by her contributions to the growth of the business; contributions through her community through board positions, volunteer work and activities that promote the professional advancement of women; and, of course, her contributions as a mentor to women in franchising."