But experts caution that success only comes to those who put in hard work and long hours.
In the dozen years Mark Bergman worked for Ford Motor Co.’s sales and marketing department, he dreamt of pizza. Finally, inspired by a television commercial calling for Little Caesars franchisees, he accepted a buyout package from Ford in February 2007 and put the money toward his dream.
“To me, it’s happy food,” said Bergman, who opened his second store in metro Atlanta last month. “I can’t tell you how many people come in with a smile on their face.”
The recent economic turmoil has not dampened his plans to open a third store next spring, Bergman says: “Through good times and bad, people like pizza.”
From printing to pizza, aspiring entrepreneurs searching for a second career have almost 100 industries to choose from when shopping for a franchising opportunity. More and more of Michigan’s recently retired — from production line workers to white collar workers — are using severance money to open franchises and go into business for themselves.
Bergman is one of more than a dozen former Big Three automotive workers who have opened Little Caesars franchises after taking buyouts in recent years, according to David Scrivano, president of the Detroit-based pizza chain.
Franchising is “a way to take their nest egg and invest it in something they can control,” Scrivano said. “The more you put in, the more you get out.”
However, the credit squeeze is expected to make franchising tougher for existing franchisees and would-be entrepreneurs. Earlier this week, Domino’s Pizza chairman and CEO David Brandon said that the global credit crunch is forcing some Domino’s Pizza franchise owners out of business, as banks cut off loans. Continue reading.
Photo: John M. Galloway / Special to The Detroit News.