Glen Convey has been a Master Publisher for Tidbits since 2008. He first found Tidbits on a family trip in the US and just had to know more, before he knew what hit him he became the Canadian Master Publisher. Since taking on the Tidbits challenge he has launched two of his own territories and has learned a lot from training and learning on his own.
"There is only fun to be had with our paper. I have been in the newspaper business for almost 30 years now and I have learned that free papers for the public never fade away. Add to that all good news and people flock to your paper. We are all tired of bad news so we find ourselves attracted to wanting to have fun. I love meeting new people and look very forward to meeting you soon." - Glen, Convey
BeTheBoss: What is the Tidbits franchise opportunity all about?
Glen Convey: What is Tidbits all about: Tidbits is a free weekly paper that goes out to places that people wait and have time to do puzzles and read funny stories. We simply provide a happy paper for people to read. Establishments welcome your paper as they have something to keep the clientele busy while waiting.
BTB: Who is your ideal candidate for a Tidbits franchise?
GC:Our Ideal publisher is anyone who wants to work for them self while experiencing low overhead and meeting all kinds of people in your community. Because our paper is community based you learn more about your community and become well known as the happy Tidbits person on the streets. Experience in selling advertising is definitely valuable but not necessary just the drive is what makes you successful.
BTB: What type of training and support do you offer Tidbits?
GC:Tidbits Canada offers a full two day training which includes a manual, meeting other new publishers, seminars and Skype calls from active publishers.
BTB: What are some of the advantages in being a Tidbits franchisee?
GC:The advantages of joining a growing company are that you still have the chance to secure your community and we will give you all the good news to put in your paper and have our phones ready for any questions for support along the way.
BTB: Tell us a little about the Newspaper Industry?
GC:The Newspaper industry as we all know of is suffering, the main ones that are suffering though are the subscription and purchase based papers. So many people don’t want to pay for news they can get on the internet free, that is why we are only good news and families love sitting down together going through our paper. The large corporate papers have huge overheads to tackle daily so they have to charge for their paper not to mention the high costs of advertising that a client has to pay. Because of your low overhead you would offer affordable advertising and can reach out to small business that normally cannot afford to advertise.
BTB: How successful is your company today and what are your future growth plans?
GC:Tidbits Canada presently has 8 publishers in place and hope by the end of 2014 to have 25. Once people see the product on the street expansion happens fast, in the USA there are over 250 markets in place.
BTB: What are your franchisees saying about the business?
GC:Our publishers love the freedom of not reporting to anyone, not paying royalties and the experience of working their own schedule from home. We only charge a weekly Media Fee that is the same no matter how large you grow your paper, we are not looking for a piece of all the extra money you work hard to get. Your Media Fee includes website, webhosting and all the content you require to fill your paper with fun fact and puzzles.
BTB: What advice do you have for someone looking to acquire a Franchise?
GC:As you are reading this I know it means you are serious about working for yourself, and maybe Tidbits isn’t for you, but in any step toward your future, working for yourself is the best way to enjoy life. Make sure you really research every opportunity you see out there and ensure it is something you are going to have lots of fun doing, no one wants to buy a job, they want to buy a future.
BTB: In your opinion, why do you think that Tidbits would be a great opportunity for someone?
GC:I believe that you will find Tidbits is one of the simpler business opportunities out there, but I would not lie and say it is easy, you need to get out there and meet people and work hard so that your future stays prosperous, how do you do that? By making people happy and they will continue to support their local business guaranteed.
