{"id":15517,"date":"2023-02-23T18:46:47","date_gmt":"2023-02-23T18:46:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.speedpro.com\/chicago-loop\/?p=15517"},"modified":"2026-01-29T11:49:59","modified_gmt":"2026-01-29T11:49:59","slug":"nominee-international-franchise-associations-2023-franchisee-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.speedpro.com\/chicago-loop\/nominee-international-franchise-associations-2023-franchisee-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"SpeedPro Chicago Loop is Nominee of IFA 2023 Franchisee of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"SpeedPro Chicago Loop is proud to have been nominated by our corporate offices for the International Franchise Association’s<\/a> (IFA), ‘2023 Franchisee of the Year’.\u00a0 \u00a0This is the gracious submission which was made on our behalf.<\/p>\n

______<\/p>\n

Launched in 2015, SpeedPro Chicago Loop (SPCL) is a certified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Business.\u00a0\u00a0 From the beginning, and for the first several years, they broke countless performance records for a studio their age and had revenues commensurate with operations several years their senior; they received the coveted Rookie of the Year Award in 2016.\u00a0\u00a0 That same year, not only was owner Eric Lazar elected to join SpeedPro\u2019s Franchise Advisory Council (FAC) but his studio was tasked to produce graphics for the inaugural\u00a0ChiTown Rising New Year\u2019s Event,<\/a>\u00a0ranking among the Top 10 largest New Year events in the world; clearly proving that they could punch well beyond their weight class.\u00a0 The following year, Eric ascended to President of the FAC after less than two years as an owner, while his dynamic studio was approached by Laurence Gartel, the \u2018father of digital art\u2019, to wrap three vehicles for display at Miami\u2019s famous Art Basel festival.\u00a0\u00a0 The mind-blowing mobile car-art exhibitions were the fancy of the thousands of attendees and caught the discerning eye of\u00a0several trade publications<\/a>.\u00a0 The impressive track record clearly demonstrated that this small shop of just four people had the tenacity and skillset to take on highly visibility projects, resulting in team being awarded the contract for rebranding two British International School campuses in Chicago, for which they won\u00a02018\u2019s \u2018Project of the Year\u2019<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While SpeedPro Chicago Loop continued to build their brand and recognition within the highly competitive Chicago market, the COVID pandemic paralyzed their growth trajectory.\u00a0 Nonetheless, the Chicago Loop team quickly adapted, launching their \u2018Signs of Hope & Thanks\u2019 campaign to raise community spirits, and money, for first-responders; their efforts received both local and national press coverage.\u00a0\u00a0 (Sample Coverage:\u00a0\u00a0FOX32-TV<\/a>,\u00a0NBC5-TV<\/a>,\u00a0WGN Radio<\/a>,\u00a0Sinclair Broadcasting)\u00a0<\/a>\u00a0While 2020 was relatively stagnant from a revenue perspective, they emerged from the pandemic with their best year to date in 2021\u2014in large part due to their continued dedication to corporate citizenry excellence.\u00a0 Their endless perseverance and willingness to undertake challenges typically suited for much larger printing companies was recognized when they were once again awarded\u00a0\u2018Project of the Year\u2019<\/a>\u00a0for their work on the St. Jude Dream Chicago inaugural event at the famous Millennium Park\u2014making them the only studio to have received this honor twice. \u00a0\u00a0Energized by the community\u2019s support and recognition of their efforts, SpeedPro Chicago Loop hit 2022 with renewed vigor, and is pacing to finish the year +60% over their highest historical annual revenue.\u00a0\u00a0 The year was also marked by Eric\u2019s long-time friend and business partner, Rebecca Considine\u2019s election to the FAC, where she also sits as President.<\/p>\n

Owners Eric Lazar, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Rebecca Considine a former television sales executive and wife of a Chicago police officer, have assumed an innovative and risk-taking posture since day one.\u00a0 \u00a0They invested in a suite of equipment that only the most established and successful studios boasted, believing, \u2018if you build it, they will come\u2019. \u00a0\u00a0In the years following, they upgraded equipment, taking a first-mover approach within the franchise system and the print industry at large; purchasing the first\u00a0OCE Colorado 1650<\/a>\u00a0within the SpeedPro franchise system as well as taking delivery the first commercialized version of the EFI Pro 30H in the United States.\u00a0\u00a0 Their hard-hitting out-of-the-box mindset set the foundation for SpeedPro corporate\u2019s colorful rebranding a few years prior as well as established the standard for video, social media and email marketing.<\/p>\n

Eric and Rebecca embraced philanthropy and community service as a primary pillar for their existence.\u00a0\u00a0 They adopted a commitment to contribute 1% of proceeds to not-for-profits and charitable organizations through the donation of products, services and substantial discounts. \u00a0However, their goodwill resulted in contributions exceeding 3% of total revenue\u2014even in the years when they weren\u2019t profitable.\u00a0\u00a0 The two sit on multiple not-for-profit boards and leadership committees, to include,\u00a0Chicago Marine\u2019s Foundation<\/a>,\u00a0ProjectRelo,\u00a0Small Business Advocacy Council<\/a>, and\u00a0Media Advertising Club of Chicago<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0 They have previously held similar seats, volunteered efforts or mentored with Volunteers of America-Illinois, Lone Survivor Foundation, In My Brothers Shoes, Year-Up, Marine for Life and Chambers of Commerce.<\/p>\n

As an extension of their commitment to being good corporate citizens, Eric and Rebecca have worked tirelessly to assemble a team encompassing people who reflect the diversity of Chicago\u2019s community, believing than one can \u2018hire for character and train for skill\u2019.\u00a0 At present, the squad of six is 100% diverse, comprised of Service-Disabled Veterans, Women, African-American, Hispanic and LGBTQ.<\/p>\n

Among their more amazing accomplishments, Eric and Rebecca embraced a unique business networking structure and philosophy upon which they built their business, going on to teach and enable hundreds of others to implement for themselves.\u00a0\u00a0 The innovative approach to both networking and leadership has been featured in several podcasts (Sample Coverage:\u00a0PC1,\u00a0PC2<\/a>,\u00a0PC3<\/a>,\u00a0PC4<\/a>) \u00a0is credited for not merely exceeding revenue expectations, but for their stellar 5-star online reviews and that in all eight years of owning SpeedPro Chicago Loop, they have yet to make a single cold-call.\u00a0\u00a0 Remarkably, they added over 340 new customers since 2021 with more than half of those coming in 2022.<\/p>\n

Although their tenure in the printing business is still less than a decade long, Eric and Rebecca have established themselves as industry thought-leaders, frequently sought out, featured in and writing for trade publications on a wide range of topics. (Sample Content:\u00a0Article1<\/a>,\u00a0Article2<\/a>,\u00a0Article3<\/a>,\u00a0Article4<\/a>,\u00a0Article5<\/a>).\u00a0 In 2022, Eric was granted a full scholarship and graduated from the prestigious Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business program while Rebecca simultaneously received 2nd<\/sup>\u00a0Place amongst over one-thousand applicants for the highly competitive Founder\u2019s First accelerator, receiving a $5,000 grant and graduating from their intensive 14-week program.\u00a0 The team has been further recognized as \u20183-Best Sign Shop\u2019s in Chicago\u2019 every year since 2018.<\/p>\n

SpeedPro Chicago Loop exemplifies the ideal franchisee well beyond their revenue; they have earned the respect of their peers, not merely through their altruistic generosity of time in assuming leadership roles, but through their selfless sharing of creative and effective ideas, exploring and investing in new technologies, but most of all for the indelible impact they have on the people they employ and the community in which they serve.\u00a0\u00a0 Indeed, SpeedPro Chicago Loop reflects great credit upon themselves and exceed the highest standards of our organization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SpeedPro Chicago Loop is proud to have been nominated by our corporate offices for the International Franchise Association’s (IFA), ‘2023 Franchisee of the Year’.\u00a0 \u00a0This is the gracious submission which was made on our behalf. ______ Launched in 2015, SpeedPro Chicago Loop (SPCL) is a certified Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Business.\u00a0\u00a0 From the beginning, and for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15517","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-trade-show"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n2023 IFA Franchisee of the Year Nominee | SpeedPro Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"SpeedPro Chicago Loop is honored as a 2023 IFA Franchisee of the Year nominee. 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