7:30 – 8:30 a.m.
Registration/Continental Breakfast
8:30 – 9:00 a.m.
Introduction
Mark Radosevich, President and COO, PetroProperties & Finance, LLC
We begin the course with a brief overview of the topic matter, the current state of the market and the goals of the next two days of instruction.
9:00 – 9:45 a.m.
The Basics of Site Analysis
Jim Fisher, CEO, IMST Corp
Finding the right location may seem easy, but without proper due diligence, it could be the biggest mistake you make. Jim, with over 30 years’ experience, will walk you through a step-by-step approach to finding the best location to maximize your returns. You’ll find out how to acquire and use live data to develop accurate volume and profit estimates that give you negotiating power to save thousands.
Bonus: Get 6 key market facts you need to know before signing on the dotted line.
9:45 – 10:30 a.m.
Building a Better Box – Internal & External Design
Michael Lawshe, President, Paragon Designs
No marketer can survive on fuel profits alone, so whether you are starting from scratch, remodeling or doing a raze and rebuild you need to make sure your store is designed and built to help maximize your traffic. Michael will give you the benefit of his 28 years of experience designing winning C-store’s inside and out so you can build the most cost-effective and efficient store for your lot shape and size.
10:30 – 11:00 a.m.
Refreshment Break
11:00 – 12:30 p.m.
Group Exercise: Four Stations in Profile –
Breathing New Life into Underperforming Sites
Mark Radosevich, President and COO, PetroProperties & Finance, LLC
Michael Lawshe, President, Paragon Designs
Jim Fisher, CEO, IMST Corp
Using data we’ll gather from attendees before the course, we’ll break the class into four groups to discuss how to improve sales at four underperforming sites. Each group will examine how their site is branded from both exterior and interior photos, how it is laid out for interior sales and how it is performing on a P&L basis. As small groups, you’ll compare existing category sales to an optimum performance level and discuss how to reach that goal for each site. At the end of this exercise, you’ll have hands-on experience with planning a site’s resuscitation and learn how to apply those lessons to your own business.
12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Networking Luncheon
1:30 – 2:15 p.m.
Obtaining the Proper Financing
Mark Radosevich, President and COO, PetroProperties & Finance, LLC
Now that you are armed with the resources you need to effectively start up a petroleum outlet and have selected a can’t-lose location, it’s time to get the financing. In this session, you’ll learn valuable tips on how to work with multiple lenders to obtain capital for both acquisitions and rehabbing existing units. Key issues that we’ll tackle include:
- The different kinds of lenders available.
- How to negotiate more favorable terms.
- Construction loans and how to get the best results.
- How to make your purchase more attractive to a lender.
- Easy ways to reduce closing costs.
- Why different lenders have different requirements, and how that helps you!
- How to create a rock-solid business plan — what to include, what lenders key-in on, what to leave out.
Bonus: Financing checklist included!
2:15 – 2:45 p.m.
Cutting Through the Red Tape –
What You Need to Know Before Breaking Ground
Mark Radosevich, President and COO, PetroProperties & Finance, LLC
No matter how big or small the deal, understanding zoning, construction, legal, and environmental issues and complying with them is essential. In this can’t-miss session, you’ll get details on how to tap underground storage tank reimbursement funds to facilitate deals and defray costs, how to assess adjacent sites for problems in advance of closing a deal, recordkeeping requirements, key clauses to be inserted in every deed — a complete primer.
2:45 – 3:15 p.m.
Refreshment Break
3:15 – 4:00 p.m.
Branded vs. Unbranded –
Getting the Best Fuel Supply Deal
Stewart Spinks, President, Spinx Oil
Oil companies are eager to give you upfront cash to fly their flags and be locked into a long-term deal. The question is what brand is best for your area or is an unbranded deal the way to go. Stewart will walk you through the most common arrangements being offered, how to properly evaluate them and reveal why you need to be cautious before you commit.
4:00 – 4:30 p.m.
Free Resources You Can Use
to Your Advantage
Fred Rozell, Retail Director, OPIS
In this take-home value-rich session, you’ll hear a comprehensive listing and explanation of resources, both free and paid, that you can use to boost your site smarts. Market and real estate intelligence is out there waiting for savvy business owners like you to gather it up and apply it to their plans.
Bonus: A high-quality listing of resources you can bring back to the office for easy reference and a complimentary 3-week subscription to OPIS’ Retail Fuel Watch.
5:00 – 6:00 p.m.
Cocktails with the Instructors
8:00 – 9:00 a.m.
Registration & Continental Breakfast
9:00 – 10:30 a.m.
Overview of Industry Trends and History
Brock Rule, MAI, COO, Hopkins Valuation
To know where we’re going we have to explore where we’ve been. Brock will go over the big real estate trends of the past to give context to today’s reality. He’ll share marketers’ “war stories” and lessons learned from the franchise bond days which were marked by extraordinary capital liquidity for the “Mom and Pops” and follow through with details of the bond crash, the failures and the foreclosures.
He’ll also explore the clean-up operations, rationalization and “dealerization” that followed, leading to the growing influence of hypermarkets and New Americans. You’ll learn how the smart players sold off the “dogs” in order to re-invest in their upper tier properties, how oil companies disposed of and consolidated their holdings, what led to the current era of lease-back real estate, and how you can ride the current trends to success.
10:30 – 10:45 a.m.
Refreshment Break
10:45 – 12:00 p.m.
Step-by-Step Approach to Single Unit Valuation
Brock Rule, MAI, COO, Hopkins Valuation
An unprecedented number of petroleum properties are up for sale. Valuing them gets more complicated as a variety of car washes, fast-food franchise deals and different ancillary services create different valuations.
Learn step-by-step the many valuation approaches, from straight real estate methods to cash-flow and gross profit multiples. You’ll also discover how to allocate between the business value and the hard asset value.
12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Networking Luncheon
1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Case Study: Sale Lease-Backs – Opportunities and Pitfalls
Brock Rule, MAI, COO, Hopkins Valuation
Sale lease-back deals can be very beneficial, allowing marketers to focus only on their core competencies. But they are not for everyone. Learn the pros and cons of these arrangements, how some marketers have gotten burned, and how others have prospered. Brock takes you through actual cases where companies navigated successfully through the choppy waters, and show you others where a simple mistake caused them to sink. You’ll get an in-depth look at a variety of tools being used, including…
- Financial Arbitrage — How to make 2+2=5.
- Choosing between fee simple vs. leased fee and leasehold.
- The ins and outs of the 1031 exchange market.
2:30 – 2:45 p.m.
Refreshment Break
2:45 – 4:30 p.m.
Case Study:
Dealer Flipping – How to Buy Sites With No Capital
Brock Rule, MAI, COO, Hopkins Valuation
Sometimes capital is hard to come by, but that doesn’t mean you still can’t invest in good sites. Brock will show you how one company bought a 60-unit chain with absolutely no cash, immediately sold off 30 of the sites at a profit, and used that money to pay down his debt. You’ll discover…
- Which units to operate and which to lease with supply.
- Which vital operating expense every investor needs to benchmark.
- How to buy sites at a discount and sell them quickly at or above market value.
4:30 p.m.
Course Adjourns
6:00 – 7:30 p.m.
SIGMA Supplier Welcome Reception
Complimentary to all OPIS Site School Graduates