A Bird's Eye Perspective on Franchising

This week on Franchise Today host Marissa Ruderman is joined by Paul Pickett, VP of Franchise Development at Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc.. Marissa and Paul will be taking a bird's eye perspective on the world of franchising. They will be discussing one of the things that separates the Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc. franchise from others: the personal passion needed to be successful. Each franchise has a strong personal passion for the bird watching hobby and business enterprise. In addition, Paul will be diving into their unique business model, which operates as an operator model rather than an executve model. Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc. is aiming to spread their mission AND build a business enterprise, which has led them to undergo a cultural shirt from a buffet line model of providing lots of choices over the past five years. Lastly, Paul will shed some light on thier out of the box resources and suppliers. About Our Guest Paul Pickett's career with Wild Birds Unlimited (WBU) has perfectly combined his love of birds, nature, and people. He joined the WBU team as the first full-time employee in 1989 shortly after graduating with a master's degree in biology and ornithology from the University of North Dakota. He has more than two decades of experience in working with potential franchisees as they decide to join the WBU team. He also has managed all site selection and lease negotiation assistance for the brand. Paul Pickett has over 24 years of experience of 'Bringing People and Nature Together" as the VP of Franchise Development for Wild Birds Unlimited, leading the Franchise Development team to grow their franchise system to over 280 stores. Additionally, he manages all of the legal and real estate responsibilities for Wild Birds Unlimited, Inc.