Albany Business Review Tom Hoffman, Jr. is expanding his chain of car washes with plans to build a 22nd location on Route 50 in Saratoga Springs, New York. The CEO of Hoffman Development Corp. said the new exterior car wash, located near Northline Road along the southern entrance to the city, should be ready to open by December for the busy winter season.

Autobell Car Wash, Inc., headquartered in Charlotte, recently opened two new locations in Georgia and Virginia.

CBS San Francisco During the drought, the one thing I found it difficult to give up, is washing my car. I own a black car, so it dirties easily (I will NEVER again buy a black car!). I seriously enjoy soaping up my car, rubbing my car down from the outside and wiping it clean inside. But with a 25% percent mandatory rater cut in my neighborhood, washing my car was longer an option. So how do I keep my car clean? I go to the car wash. Not any car wash, only a car wash which washes cars with recycled water.

Entrepreneur Over time, Villafuerte built up a small independent cleaning business. While the business was successful, Villafuerte wanted to bring in more money while still being able to spend time with her two young children. So, she decided become a Maid Right franchise. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at her decision to give franchising a try.

Moneyweb When investing in a franchise it mainly depends on what you are looking for. There is a difference between starting up a new store compared with buying an existing one. Morne Cronje, head of franchising at FNB, says: "If you’re looking at a new store, then the franchisor determines set-up costs. In addition to that, the bank normally asks for a 50% owner’s contribution, which is the responsibility of the franchisee. This equals the investment amount." Whereas when "taking on an existing store, the selling price is determined by the value of the business and the franchisor needs to approve the sale of the business as well as approve the franchisee."

WilmingtonBiz For Chris and Janet Holman, taking the on-ramp to franchising has proved to be a sweet ride. Fifteen years ago, the retired military couple turned the key on Advanced Maintenance, a go-to-you preventive maintenance and emergency road service for commercial truck fleets, and they’ve never looked back.

Entrepreneur Ten years ago you would be hard-pressed to find anyone in the franchising industry who thought people in their 20s or early 30s were prime franchisee candidates. For the most part, franchise ownership has been reserved for a small demographic of high-net-worth individuals or executives from corporate America with the desire to go out on their own. But lately that has started to change.

Poughkeepsie Journal Greg Lobotsky has a tip for young professionals considering business ownership. "Just know that it's a lot of work, especially the first three years," said Lobotsky, 30, owner and head trainer of Poughkeepsie CrossFit in Poughkeepsie. "Do as much as you can to get ahead and stay afloat." In the three years since Lobotsky opened his gym, he's learned the importance of business planning, community outreach and open-minded thinking. For instance, in the beginning he figured clients would simply walk in the door. But he soon realized he could reach more people by connecting with the community.

Entrepreneur Companies that tout their employees’ annual community involvement or sponsor the occasional "give-back" event aren’t the kinds of organizations that need a social impact strategy. For companies that do need them, because of the impact their brands have on social issues -- the environment, community health, employment -- such displays may create skepticism and cynicism among observers. So, for these companies, a social impact strategy shouldn’t be an afterthought -- but an integral part of the corporate mission.

CSR Wire Community outreach and communication are important tools for spreading "good" knowledge. The anthropological view states that if we can help make the world a better place by helping humans share and adopt ideas, behavior and technology, we should share them. If a company is a model for sustainability, doesn’t it make sense that they should share their tactics so that others can learn from them?