Beacon connector technology, in tandem with digital signage,

can provide an effective cure to make urgent care patients more comfortable.

By Sylvain Bellaïche

The urgent care business is transforming patient healthcare from a commodity into a consumer-oriented business. Its growth is being driven by the demand to cut down on the relatively long waits for appointment times that are associated with traditional healthcare providers. At the same time, owners and franchisors of urgent care chains are discovering the importance of differentiating themselves from competitors by integrating cutting-edge technology into their operations – not only in the exam room itself but also in the waiting area.

Read more: Digital Marketing

The power of experience:

How brick-and-mortar retail can thrive in the age of e-commerce.

By Dana Spinola

In today’s fast-paced, tech-savvy society, e-commerce is changing the game for retail as we know it. As CEO of a fashion enterprise with 42 retail stores and a full e-commerce space, I’m always watching advancements like mobile apps, drone delivery and digital assistants and how they entice online shoppers with increasingly simple and accessible methods.

Yet despite our growing dependence on technology, the vast majority of retail sales are still generated in-store.

Read more: Brick and Mortar

Being both an entrepreneurial business owner and interdependent with your franchisor

can lead to exceptional success for a franchisee.

By Ben Davis

When it comes to running a franchise, 95 percent of the factors of success are the same factors that any small business owner is thinking about: maintaining cash flow, finding new customers and retaining quality employees, to name a few. However, there is a small albeit paramount subset of issues unique to franchisees that revolves specifically around the franchisee/franchisor relationship and the co-marketing of a brand.

Read more: Keys to Success

The new Franchise Management for Dummies helps make sense of the legal,

money, location and other issues a would-be franchisee must understand.

By John Krukowski

Franchising is attractive to many people who want to launch second careers or be their own bosses. What they quickly discover, however, is that there is much to learn about their new venture. Helping to make sense of it all, Franchise Management for Dummies was released May 1 by John Wiley & Sons.

We reached out to one of the authors to get her take on the state of today's franchise industry.

Read more: Franchising Today Interview