AOL Money & Finance

Franchising posts

Feed

No soup for you? 'Seinfeld's' soup inspiration in trouble

Known for some of the best soup recipes on the island of Manhattan and immortalized in a famous 1995 episode of Seinfeld, the "Original SoupMan," may find himself in a soup kitchen of a different kind if his chain's financial troubles persist.

Al Yeganeh was reportedly the real-life inspiration for Seinfeld's uncharitably nicknamed "Soup Nazi" (portrayed by Larry Thomas), who refused service to George Costanza and Elaine Benes. Yeganeh was not interested in profiting off the Seinfeld name, however, discouraging employees from referencing the sitcom and frowning upon his supposed "nickname."

While he is known for his tight-ship practices and regimented way of doing business, he is also known for his exquisite varieties of soup. But even the best crab bisque, turkey chili or even Mulligatawny may not be able to save the Original SoupMan chain from angry franchisees and frustrated customers.

Continue reading No soup for you? 'Seinfeld's' soup inspiration in trouble

Top franchises -- are they also good stocks to own?

Franchising has been the saving grace for many small business owners who would like to launch their own businesses while getting help on key start-up decisions like location, equipment, inventories, sales and marketing, and operational logistics.

In fact, many franchises are extremely affordable (all things considered) ways to go into business for yourself, from home-based franchises (like Jani-King), to location-based franchises (like Jackson Hewitt or McDonald's). (Check out Entrepreneur Magazine's 2007 list of the top 100 franchises if you're in the market for a new business.)

If not, a far easier and lower cost way to get involved with some of these top franchises is to buy the stocks. I looked at Entrepreneur's list with an eye toward figuring out which ones would have also been good investments for your portfolio.

Continue reading Top franchises -- are they also good stocks to own?

Symbol Lookup
IndexesChangePrice
DJIA-137.0910,327.31
NASDAQ-30.702,145.35
S&P 500-15.831,094.80

Last updated: November 27, 2009: 10:47 AM

BloggingStocks Exclusives

Hot Stocks

DailyFinance Headlines

Latest from BloggingBuyouts

WalletPop Headlines

AOL Business News

BioHealth Investor Headlines

Sponsored Links

My Portfolios

Track your stocks here!

Find out why more people track their portfolios on AOL Money & Finance then anywhere else.

BloggingStocks Partners

More from AOL Money & Finance