NTY Franchise Makes the 2016 Fast 50 List

What makes NTY one of the 50 fastest-growing private companies in the Twin Cities area? Find out in this excerpt from an article by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal:

2016 Fast 50 logo

We Asked Chief Operating Officer Chad Olson:

What’s one business decision you made in the past three years that’s been critical to your firm’s growth?

Putting as much information onto our franchise development website as possible. In the past this was taboo, it was normal to hold your cards close. In today’s world information is king. If you want to sell franchises you need to have your information front and center.

Ron and Chad for Fast 50 article
Photo by Nancy Kuehn and courtesy MSPBJ; Chad Olson (left) and Ron Olson (right).

Click here to see the impressive growth numbers for NTY Franchise Company.

Click here to see the full Fast 50 2016 list on bizjournals.com.

Learn more about the Fast 50 list in this excerpt from a note about the project by editor Kim Johnson:

Fast 50 2016 Editor’s Note

It isn’t the easiest task to get revenue figures from private companies. Our reporters are frequently told, “We’re a private company. We do not share revenue information.”

It’s even more of a stretch to ask them for actual financial statements.

However, each summer the Business Journal doggedly searches the Twin Cities 24-county metro area to find the region’s fastest-growing private companies. We look for independently owned, privately held, for-profit businesses that are headquartered here. We look for year-over-year revenue growth from the three most recent fiscal years. We look for companies with at least $1 million in revenue from the first of those three years.

And then we require them to send in three years of financial statements that have been audited or reviewed by an independent accountant.

And those documents go to our own accounting partner for further verification and number crunching.

It’s a lot to ask of private companies used to keeping their revenue numbers close to the vest. But it’s imperative we ask this of each company submitting a nomination for our annual Fast 50 awards. Everyone is held to the same standards to ensure the integrity of this list, which showcases some of the state’s best-in-class enterprises.

These companies aren’t just growing their bottom lines. They are creating jobs at extraordinary rates. They are providing growth opportunities for the businesses that serve them. They are boosting Minnesota’s economy.

So thank you to all the companies that submit nominations for this project — not just for the above, but for being willing to jump through the hoops we ask you to in order to produce this awards publication.

Click here to see the full letter on bizjournals.com.

Blogger Finds Amazing Fall Pieces at Clothes Mentor Springfield

Check out the recent blog post on shadesofsarah.com, which features some great fall fashions from Clothes Mentor Springfield:

clothes mentor springfield clothing haul

September Budget: Clothes Mentor Haul

Text and photo by Sarah from shadesofsarah.com

When it came to update my fall wardrobe this year, I tried something different: shopping at Clothes Mentor. My closet has its fair share thrifted pieces, but I hadn’t found a thrift or consignment store in the Philly area that I truly liked shopping at. Before I get into why Clothes Mentor is awesome, let me breakdown what I picked up courtesy of Clothes Mentor Springfield:

Dana Buchman faux leather jacket, $16 (not pictured)

LOFT lace dress, $14

  1. Crew pants, $20

Kohl’s chunky cardigan, $10

LOFT sleeveless tank, $8

Macy’s Style & Co. dress (with tags), $14

Black top, $14

Chico’s bolero (with tags), $18

Nine West heeled boots, $24

Delia’s ankle boots, $18

Not bad right? That’s 10 quality pieces for less than $160. My mom and I were honestly carried away — I used every penny of the gift card they generously provided (and more out of pocket!), and my mom picked up a bunch of stuff too. If you haven’t visited your local Clothes Mentor (there’s three in the Philly area!), here’s why it’s worth the trip:

♥ Quality pieces at discounted prices. I love bargain hunting, but sometimes you get what you pay for. At Clothes Mentor, it just happens that what I’m paying for is a new-with-tags Macy’s dress well over 50% off.

♥ Everything is vetted and on-trend. Clothes Mentor is a consignment store, not an average thrift store. Instead of being donations-based, the team at CM inspects items and only accepts clothing and accessories they know will sell. You can learn more about consignment stores here, but basically CM does the hard work for you. Speaking of consignment stores…

♥ You can make some shopping money. Cleaning out your closet? If you’re more the instant gratification type, you can try your hand at selling at CM. I haven’t tried this yet, but they do give you cash on the spot for what they’re happy to buy from you.

♥ It’s eco-friendly. Admittedly, I don’t have the most planet-friendly shopping habits but buying secondhand and saving gently-worn items from landfills is a good start.

As for the Springfield, PA location in particular, I cannot say enough good things about the staff. They are so happy to assist you in any way, and they keep the store in tiptop shape. It’s bright, organized and they have something for everyone. The shop girls had no problem finding items in my sizes and to suit my tastes.

Need more convincing? Just wait until you see the outfits I’ve come up with.

~ Sarah

P.S. Thanks again to CM Springfield for the invite!

Click here to see this post with more photos on shadesofsarah.com.