Five Pennies: Ten Rules to Successfully Build a Franchise Mega-Brand and Maximize System Profits "All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved." - Sun Tzu, The Art of War, 5th Century BC This is Sun Tzu for Franchising Every year tens of thousands of new franchisees open their doors for business and look to fulfill the American dream of success, and every year hundreds of new franchise companies announce their plans to be the next McDonald’s®, SUBWAY® Restaurants, Marriott®, RE/MAX®, or Great Clips® and fail to reach that goal. Why? Beyond the initial legal work, basic operations manual, some training and a fancy logo to get started, what does it really take to be a successful franchise brand? To start, let me put you in the right mindset. Having a rapidly growing franchise company does not generate wealth and success. A franchisor’s wealth and success are by-products of having wealthy and successful franchisees. Learn the ten success secrets of America's greatest franchise brands on how to strategically grow your company into a franchise Mega-Brand. If you like Good to Great by Jim Collins - this book translates to "Good is never good enough, but Mega is great and sustainable." Franchise Mega-Brands continuously seek to excel to greatness. Throughout the book - don't miss the franchise Mega-Brand "Best of Class" examples that illustrate these Road Rules for successful franchising.

2. Five Pennies: Ten Rules to Successfully Build a Franchise Mega-Brand and
Maximize System Profits
“Franchisee profitability is the most important mission of the franchisor!”
- Fred DeLuca, President and Co-Founder, SUBWAY® Restaurants
“This book will be an important piece of work for anyone who intends to make a
living in the franchise community!”
- Sid Feltenstein, CFE, Past CEO & Chairman, A&W® and Long John Silver’s®
“I can only say, that I certainly wish that I had an easy to read book like this when I was
starting out - it would have eliminated some head, heart, and financial aches!”
Mary Ellen Sheets, Founder, Two Men and a Truck®
“Lonnie has captured the true keys for franchising success. It is easy-to-read with
great examples of BOTH the right way and the wrong way to grow a strong fran-
chise brand. Poised to become the new textbook for franchisors, Five Pennies is a
must-read!”
- Jeff Bevis, President & CEO FirstLight Home Care®
The Book
Five Pennies is "THE FIELD MANUAL" for Building and Growing a Franchise Brand With the
Right Mindset and Tools!
This Book Contains over 120 Tools to Build, Grow and Manage a National Franchise Brand!
Lonnie Helgerson, CFE
CEO, Author, Speaker, & Serial Featuring Examples of 20 "Best of Class" Franchise Brands to Learn From - and 10 "Franchise
Frantrepreneur! Mega-Wrecks" to Avoid!
With over 27 years in the franchise Learn About:
industry working with companies  Creating and Growing Sustainable Unit Profitability
such as Super 8 Motels and  Managing Franchise System Relations
Ident-A-Kid. He is recognized as the  Staying Ahead of Your Growth Rate
pioneer in the technology franchise
 Enhancing System Profits With Continued Education
sector as the founder of Computer
Doctor, the first franchise of its kind
 Turning Your System Into a "Best Practices" Machine
- in addition to founding six other  How to Recruit Franchise Buyer 2.0 and Maximizing Their Results
franchise brands. Currently he is  Structuring Layered Franchise Support and Marketing
the CEO of Helgerson Franchise  Developing Macro-Level Programs for System Growth
Group a platform company that  Utilizing Technology to Grow and Manage a Brand
owns and operates franchise  Resource Management for a Growing System
brands. He is a frequent speaker
and facilitator for the International "All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of
Franchise Association, Franchisor which victory is evolved." - Sun Tzu, The Art of War, 5th Century BC
Association of Florida and many
This is Sun Tzu for Franchising
other various franchise and busi-
ness seminars.
Every year tens of thousands of new franchisees open their doors for business and look to fulfill
the American dream of success, and every year hundreds of new franchise companies announce
their plans to be the next McDonald’s®, SUBWAY® Restaurants, Marriott®, RE/MAX®, or Great
Contact Details: Clips® and fail to reach that goal. Why?
Lonnie Helgerson, CFE
Beyond the initial legal work, basic operations manual, some training and a fancy logo to get
727-455-0056 Direct started, what does it really take to be a successful franchise brand?
lonnie@helgersonfranchisegroup.com
FranchiseMegaBrand.com

3. To start, let me put you in the right mindset.
Having a rapidly growing franchise company does not generate wealth and success. A franchi-
sor’s wealth and success are by-products of having wealthy and successful franchisees.
Learn the ten success secrets of America's greatest franchise brands on how to strategically grow
your company into a franchise Mega-Brand. If you like Good to Great by Jim Collins - this book
translates to "Good is never good enough, but Mega is great and sustainable." Franchise Mega-
Brands continuously seek to excel to greatness. Throughout the book - don't miss the franchise
Mega-Brand "Best of Class" examples that illustrate these Road Rules for successful franchising.
“Franchising is badly in need of information that works, that makes sense, which can
guide us through these times of change in our industry. Best practices that teach us
how to work—and also inspire us to understand why we work. Lonnie has done that
with Five Pennies.”
- Ken Hutcheson, CFE, CEO, U.S. Lawns®
“I have been in franchising since 1979. If I had been given a book like this back
then, I could have shortened the learning curve. The book is an easy read with
thought provoking ideas and great suggestions that can change an existing fran-
chise system or quick start a new Franchisor.”
- Mark J Johnson, CFE, CEO, Granite Transformations®
"There are a handful of disciplines necessary to drive any successful business and
a critical discipline that is unique to the mega-franchise business. Five Pennies get
right to the point, sharing this #1 "franchise fact" upfront and outlining the other
important keys to building a thriving franchise."
- Verne Harnish, Best Selling Author, Mastering the Rockefeller Habits & The Greatest Business
Decisions of All Time and Fortune Magazine Growth & Leadership Summit facilitator and
columnist
“If you’re serious about building a successful national brand, Five Pennies is an
absolute must read! I highly recommend it as training material for all manage-
ment and staff members - as the time spent reading this book is the best in-
vestment anyone working in franchising can make in their on-going education
and their business.”
- Ron Berger, CFE, Chairman and CEO of Figaro’s Pizza®, Pizza Schmizza®,
Nick’N’Willy’s® & Sargo’s Subs®
“Five Pennies is THE field manual for building and growing a franchise brand with
the right mindset and tools! Lonnie’s knowledge and information can be applied to
any franchise brand at any time for almost immediate results.”
- Dan Monaghan, CFE, Director, Franchise Capital Corporation, and Co-Founder,
WSI Internet Consulting
“This book, with its considerable franchise related wisdom broken down in easy to read
– as well as entertaining – “rules,” promises to become a “go to” book for those starting
out in franchising!”
Contact Details: - Rosemarie Hartnett, CFE, President & Co-Founder, Abrakadoodle®
Lonnie Helgerson, CFE
727-455-0056 Direct
lonnie@helgersonfranchisegroup.com
Definition
Franchise Mega-Brand
- A franchise system that excels to greatness with a profitable and sustainable fran-
chisee business model.
FranchiseMegaBrand.com

4. Franchise Brands and Companies Featured in Five Pennies
 7-Eleven
 SUBWAY Restaurants
 Service Brands International
 Mr. Handyman
 Molly Maid
 ProTect Painters
 1-800 DryClean
 Sid Feltenstein - Previously Long John Silver’s and A&W
 Kinderdance
 Great Clips
 FirstLight Home Care
 Figaro’s Pizza
 Pizza Schmizza
 Johnny Rockets
 Abrakadoodle
 Two Men and a Truck
 P&G/Agile Pursuits Franchising
 Mr. Clean Car Wash
 Tide Dry Cleaners
 U.S. Lawns
 Dwyer Group
 Mr. Rooter
 Mr. Electric
 Glass Doctor
 Rainbow International
 Mr. Appliance
 Aire Serv
 The Grounds Guys
 Roark Capital
 Arby’s
 Corner Bakery Cafe
 Carvel
 Seattle’s Best
 Cinnabon
 Schlotsky’s
 Moe’s
 Auntie Anne’s
 Batteries Plus
 FASTSIGNS
 McAlister’s Deli
 Money Mailer
 Primrose Schools
 Pet Valu
 Bosley’s
 Wingstop
Contact Details:  PostNet
Lonnie Helgerson, CFE  BrightStar Healthcare
727-455-0056 Direct  McDonald’s
lonnie@helgersonfranchisegroup.com  Super 8 Motel’s
 FRANdata
 Expetec
 Computer Doctor
 Ident-A-Kid
 Marriott
 RE/MAX
FranchiseMegaBrand.com

5. Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Introduction
Rule No. 1 - Tee up your franchisees for mega-success, not failure!
Rule No. 2 – Franchising is a mega-relationship business!
Rule No. 3 – Franchising is not a drag race, it is more like the 24 hours of Daytona
Rule No. 4 – Do not have an accountant remove a brain tumor!
Rule No. 5 - Plant, cultivate, and harvest system best practices
Rule No. 6 - Stack the “entire” deck with strong franchise owners
Rule No. 7 - Focus on where the rubber hits the racetrack
Rule No. 8 - Create partners in growth
Rule No. 9 - Manage your system like NASA would
Rule No. 10 – Manage resources and understand the financial requirements to grow a franchise
Mega-Brand
Ten Rules Pocket Summary
Selected Bibliography
About the Author
Index
A Few More Endorsements
“Great read for anyone in the franchising business. It is clear, concise, and accurate of how to do
build your brand the right way. Should be a mandatory read for everyone in the industry.”
- Ron Randolph -Dewcor
“Five Pennies should be on everyone's read list who is thinking about franchising their business...
Set the expectations right from the start and you will achieve long term success... Thanks for giv-
ing back to the industry!”
- Paul Wolbert, CFE, Vice President, U.S. Lawns®
"Why anyone would think of starting a franchise without getting the best help available is beyond
Contact Details: me. Why anyone would even consider thinking about it without reading Five Pennies, is simply
Lonnie Helgerson, CFE INSANE!"
727-455-0056 Direct - Daniel Durney, CFE, Regional Franchise Development Expert
lonnie@helgersonfranchisegroup.com
FranchiseMegaBrand.com