Black Friday Walmart Ad 2009

By Sujay Kumar

Shakespeare wrote that “Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds.” And with Valentine's Day coming up, that phrase can be adapted for the comic book world to “love is not love which alters when alter-egos are found.” After all, our favorite superheroes may battle villains for a living, but sometimes it's heartbreak that proves to be the ultimate enemy.

On film we've seen Peter Parker woo Mary Jane, Rachel Dawes fall for Bruce Wayne, and even the Hulk get his heart pumping for Betty Ross. But in the lexicon of comic books, there's plenty of other stories that would make us feel all warm inside.

Read on for five of our favorite comic book romances that we'd love to see adapted (in some cases, a second time) on the big screen.

PETER PARKER AND GWEN STACY
While Peter Parker's first love made a small appearance in “Spider-Man 3,” Gwen Stacy may be the perfect leading lady to reboot the Spider-Man franchise. Marc Webb's film, set in high school and rumored to be drawing from Marvel's “Ultimate Spider-Man” comics, could use the blonde's traditional storyline to open a fresh arc taking the webslinger to the heights of the George Washington Bridge and snapping fans out of a hangover from its predecessor. And if that's not enough teen drama, Felicia Hardy may add another dimension to the romantic web.

BATMAN AND CATWOMAN
Bruce Wayne's had a rough stint with love in the Christopher Nolan films. But as we remember “Batman Returns,” nothing's quite as perfect as the chemistry between Batman and Catwoman. Selina Kyle's dark tale would be a welcome addition to Nolan's world and provide an actress with the best opportunity to embrace the role of a comic book villain since the Joker.

GAMBIT AND ROGUE
Love has to be in the cards for popular X-Men Gambit and Rogue. Both characters appeared in separate X-men films, but instead we followed the love triangle of Cyclops, Jean, and Wolverine. Now time for the ragin' Cajun to test his charms on Rogueeven if that means avoiding contact.

HAL JORDAN AND CAROL FERRIS
“Green Lantern” is set to hit theaters next year, meaning fans of comic book movies will be introduced to Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris. Ferris, played by Blake Lively, runs her father's aerospace company and falls for Jordan, a cocky test pilot. In the comics, the romance goes awry when Ferris becomes Star Sapphire a villain with green ring-like powers who is enlisted to kill Green Lantern.

CLARK KENT AND LANA LANG
Now that Christopher Nolan is mentoring a Superman reboot, comic book fans will be looking for distance from “Superman Returns.” A change from the more traditional onscreen romance of Clark and Lois, Clark and Lana's relationship traces its origins to high school. Directors wouldn't need to look farther than “Smallville” or “Superman III” to see successful adaptations on the Man of Steel's first crush. In the “Superman: Secret Origin” comic book series, Lana finds out about Clark's powers — another possible twist for the film franchise.

Let us know what you think in the comment section or on Twitter!

The Tampa Bay Lightning got a dramatic victory at home last night against the Toronto Maple Leafs, but stormier financial skies are appearing on the horizon for the embattled hockey franchise.

According to an article for the website Sports Business Daily, the Lightning have received an advance of the revenue sharing money from the NHL to make payroll this season. The Lightning apparently also previously received an advance payment from their broadcast partner, Sun Sports, to make April's final payroll.

According to SBD's sources, the Lightning's ownership group, OK Hockey Group, led by Oren Koules and Len Barrie, have defaulted on their loan from Palace Sports & Entertainment, the previous owners of the Lightning. PS&E financed the deal for OK Hockey when OK Hockey struggled to find a lending institution to back their purchase of the franchise.

Muddying the water even more is the fact that the widow of William Davidson, Karen, is looking to divest herself of Palace Sports & Entertainment, which her late husband owned.

NHL sources say the team could revert back to PS&E as soon as Feb. 15. If this happens, it's possible that the Lightning could be packaged with the Pistons and other Palace Sports entities, leaving the struggling franchise in limbo.

The tenure of Oren Koules as owner of the Lightning has been a nightmare for Tampa Bay. After taking the reigns, Koules and his partner, Len Barrie, fired Stanley Cup winning coach John Tortorella and General Manager Jay Feaster for Barry Melrose. Melrose lasted seven games before being fired.

Koules also forced the management to trade away fan favorites Brad Richards, Dan Boyle, and Andre Roy. The team nearly traded away Vincent Lecavalier before feeling the backlash of the fanbase and killing the deal.

The controversy angered Lecavalier and fractured an already confused locker room while also generating a fissure between Barrie and Koules. The feud between the two owners spilled into the public and eventually resulted in the NHL giving each the opportunity to buy the other out. Neither could come up with the capital to do so, thus the NHL began looking for a third party to purchase the club outright.

This season, the Lightning have been much more competitive on the ice, posting a 20-20-10 record through 50 games and are only four points out of a playoff spot. Tampa Bay won only 24 games all of last season.

“We are working with the current Lightning owners to resolve a number of issues for their mutual benefit and for the long-term benefit of the franchise and the league,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly texted reporters. “We hope to have a resolution on at least some of those issues in the relatively near future. Otherwise, we are not commenting further on the situation or on what may or may not be true.”

When OK Hockey took over the franchise from Palace Sports & Entertainment, Tampa Bay had the third-best attendance in the league, behind only hockey hotbeds Montreal and Detroit. After two losing seasons and all that has transpired, the Lightning are now 23rd in the league in attendance.

The Lightning fanbase is confused, disillusioned, and hoping that someone who cares about hockey in Tampa Bay will take over this franchise.

Reality says that with the team struggling to make ends meet, they may be a candidate for a billionaire to steal the team away to locations North.

A) I understand that in order to secure the right kind of franchise I need to be open minded and willing to look at all different kinds of franchises. I feel that I will be much happier working for myself therefore I would like to enter the franchise world in the near future. I realize that many of the bigger franchises would require a large amount of net worth, which I do not have. With this in mind my first real criteria would be low startup costs. Another important aspect would be flexible hours because I want to be able to take time off when required or have time to concentrate on other business ventures. I would also like a system that has plenty of room for growth, innovation and creativity on my part as the franchisee. I would also be looking for a business that requires a limited number of employees.

B) The first part of my criteria is fairly self explanatory I can not get onto a system if I do not have the net worth or other monies. I understand that I could try and establish net worth by working corporately, but I would rather get onto a smaller cheaper system. Also I consider myself a risk taker and would prefer to take a chance on a smaller system and build it up to a big success. Being able to work flexible hours is very important to me mainly because I want the chance to explore other opportunities. Also I would enjoy being able to take time off to spend with my family or take a vacation. Basically I want to be able to se my own hours. Incentive is also really important to me I need to feel motivated. I am not sure I would in some of the bigger franchises. For this reason I want to take on a smaller system that I can help grow and express my innovation and creativity to the franchisor. One of the things that puts me off franchising is the lack of creativity. I would like a system that allows as much creativity as possible. As a business owner I would also want to feel close to the customers. I would like the customers to feel free to contact me and know who I am. I believe on being a hands on Operator/Owner, so I would like to do so whenever I am there.

C) The first franchise I will review is Domino’s Pizza in the fast food industry. Domino’s have been established since 1960 and franchising since 1967. Currently there are 4,334 units franchised and 576 company owned. Overall 88.3% of units are franchised. As expected the largest amount of units are within the United States, with 65.2%. The costs are relatively low with a cash investment of only $30k. The fees are franchise fee of $3.2k, royalty 5.5% and advertising $3k. Earnings claims are not provided and the contract length is 10 years. There is also assistance with site selection and lease negotiations. The on going support is all provided within the initial fees and training is six to eight weeks. Domino Pizza has the following support services all included in fees:

• Central Purchasing
• Field Operation Evaluation
• Field Training
• Initial Store Opening
• Franchisee Newsletter
• Regional and National meetings
• 800 Telephone Hotline

This franchise opportunity interests me because of the assistance available and the low cost. I particular like the site selection and lease negotiation support that will help me get started.

My second franchise is Liberty Fitness in the Health and Fitness industry. Liberty Fitness was established in 2002 and began franchising that same year. Being a new franchise there are currently only 40 units all are franchised. At the present time there are no units in Canada or internationally. In order to get onto the Liberty Fitness system you must have minimum net worth of $250k. There is a total investment of $108-$160k. The initial franchise fee is $30.6k, there is a royalty of 5% and advertising is $300 a month. It takes an average of six employees to run the units. Earnings claims are not made and the contract length is 10 years. Passive ownership is allowed in this case. There is assistance with site selection, lease negotiation and indirect financial assistance. All available on going support is included in fees. Training takes place initially at HQ for one week and then locally for 2-3 days. There are plans for expansion with the United States. Liberty Fitness also offers the following included in fees:

• Central Purchasing
• Field Operation Evaluation
• Field Training
• Initial Store Opening
• Franchisee Newsletter
• Regional and National meetings

I am interested in this franchise because it is within my major so I will feel slightly more comfortable working there. I also like the support networks in place that give me the best chance of being successful. Finally I like the idea of passive ownership as I feel this will give me more flexibility on my hours of work.

My third franchise to review is Century 21 in the Real Estate industry. Century 21 is the world’s largest residential real estate organization. Century 21 were established in 1972 and began franchising that same year. All units are franchised and the total is 8,056 worldwide. 54.9% of units are within the United States. In order to get in there is a net worth requirement of $75k. The total investment is $12-523k. The franchise fee is $25k, royalty 6% and advertising is 2%. Unlike many franchises Century 21 encourage conversions, but earnings claims are not made. The most important criteria for franchisee is industry experience. There is no assistance for site selection, lease negotiation or financial. There are excellent marketing and advertising tools available. The following support services are included in fees:

• Central Data Processing
• Field Operation Evaluation
• Field Training
• Initial Store Opening
• Franchisee Newsletter
• Regional and National meetings
• 800 Telephone Hotline

At additional cost Central Purchasing is also available. Training takes place at HQ for 5 days. Then there is further telephone training for 3-7 sessions and 1 day training on site. Century 21 has expansion plans all over the world. I am interested in this franchise because firstly I think real estate is a very good business to be in. I would enjoy the customer interaction and feel I am providing a valued service. Its also of good interest to me as they are looking at international expansion. I also think that the marketing tools available are excellent and would give me a great chance of establishing my business.
Franchise information from (www.worldfranchising.com).

D) The industry that I chose for this section is sports/recreation and in particular gym’s or fitness franchises.

1. I choose this industry as I believe it has excellent prospects. Everyone in the world is becoming very health conscious, so I think there could be massive growth in gym’s. Its something there will always be a market for and the product is very valuable.

2. The top fitness franchises are:

1. Bally Fitness Franchising, Inc.
2. Curves Franchises
3. Cuts Fitness for Men
4. Gold’s Gym Franchising
5. Liberty Fitness

3. The franchises that I am most interested in are Curves and Cuts. These two franchises are gender exclusive. Cuts are an all men gym and Curves an all women gym. I find Cuts of particular interest as they have only been franchising since 2003, so plenty of room for growth. Cuts are also featured prominently on the lists of new franchises, which give me further confidence it’s a good one. I am definitely of the feeling that Cuts is a franchise I could be successful at. One of the more unusual features is training as long as needed, which give me a great chance of success. Overall Cuts seems to be a very exciting opportunity with a good support network. I also feel good about promoting health and fitness. Another appealing factor is that Cuts can be run with few employees.

Information from Entrepreneur Magazine (www.entrepreneur.com).
4. Both Curves and Cuts are relatively low cost in the world of franchising. This was one of the big things that is of interest to me. Curves allows for absentee ownership, where cuts does not. As this will be my full time responsibility I don’t think that either matters. As I said I would be looking for flexible hours, so Curves may give more options in that regard. Its difficult to say how much creativity I would be allowed, but I would think in this industry there would be some room for that. I am also drawn to Cuts only being franchising since 2003, so a lot of room for growth. The total investment for Curves is $31.4 – $53.5 k and the contract length is five years. Cuts total investment is $67.5 – $104.7 k and the contract is 10 years. Both franchising opportunities are on the lower end of franchising and also only require one or two employees.
Information from (www.entrepreneur.com)

Part II – Analyze Yourself
A) After completing several aptitude appraisal forms I feel good about my potential as a business owner. I enjoyed taking a test from (www.appraisalrx.com) even though it was for real estate. Owning my own business has been an aspiration of mine for quite some time and I do believe I have what it takes. I think for the time being it has to remain a long term goal because I do not have the financial resources to make it happen. I have no particular problems with working in a team, but I feel I have more motivation for success working for myself. I would say that amongst my greatest qualities is self motivation. Amongst my other strongest qualities is determination, drive and ambition. At the present time I lack the finance and past business experience to become a franchisee using most systems. When something needs to get done I always will get it done, so I believe this will hold me in good stead for business.

The biggest limitations and weaknesses stem from a lack of experience such as not having lawyers and general sense of running a business. Overall I feel prepared as I am willing to take a risk provided I have a good feeling about it.