NIFA Hosts Fall Luncheon at Google Headquarters
December 4, 2017
The Northern Illinois Franchise Association (NIFA), founded by All Points PR executive team Jamie and Lauren Izaks as well as friend and Marks & Klein lawyer Andrew Bleiman, hosts quarterly events, continuing its work of education the Chicagoland’s franchise community about the most pressing franchise-related topics of the day.
2017 was a strong year for NIFA, with four fabulous events including:
- March Luncheon, sponsored by Laner Muchin and co-hosted by Job Creators Network (JCN), held at Chicago’s River Roast with keynote speaker Stephen Bienko about “Franchise 3.0: Scaling the Franchise Model”
- May Luncheon, sponsored by Patriot Software and held at Joy District in River North with keynote speaker Dr. Ben Litalien about “The Future of Franchising: A Look at the Global Shifts Disrupting Today’s Franchise Model”
- Summer Social, sponsored by All Points Public Relations and Marks & Klein, held at Rockit Burger Bar in Wrigleyville with a great raffle including Amazon and Apple products as well as Cubs tickets and more
- Fall Luncheon, sponsored by Google, held at the Google Headquarters in the West Loop
The most recent event was the Fall Luncheon, during which nearly 100 guests networked at the beautiful Google Headquarters and enjoyed a delicious lunch in the unparalleled . NIFA membership enjoyed an invigorating keynote address by two of Google’s leaders, Lisa Landsman (Google Head of Industry, Restaurants) and Michelle Schumaker (Google Head of Sales Development, Retail & Tech Sectors), entitled “Maximizing Your Local Footprint through Digital.”
Michelle’s presentation centered on how digital advances influence consumers daily, and provided a unique perspective as both a Google innovator and a franchisee. Audience members were inspired to “be there, be useful and be ready” for digital innovations in the future. Among the helpful tools she imparted was the use of Test My Site, which helps business owners identify their website speed and how it stacks up to the competition in ease of use and loading time.
As always, NIFA stays committed to supporting the individuals and businesses in franchising at the franchisor, franchisee and supplier levels. Looking ahead, NIFA is planning a fantastic spring event – visit us at www.northernilfranchise.org to keep track of the latest developments.
