When I am traveling, I use the time–like I suspect most people do as well–to catch-up on my reading. Coming back from the IFA Convention in Orlando allowed me to read the February issue of Entrepreneur Magazine. Many of you know that Entrepreneur is a favorite of mine because it provides a fair and balanced look at franchising.

I was particularly excited about Entrepreneur’s profile of the Professional Athletes Franchise Initiative (PAFI) in the February issue. Now, in full disclosure, Fox Rothschild is a charter member of PAFI. We have joined with PAFI because we believe in its goal of becoming a bridge between professional athletes looking for post-career entrepreneurial opportunities and the franchising community.

As the article explains, PAFI does not sugarcoat franchising; indeed, it strives to demonstrate through seminars and franchise boot camps that becoming a successful franchise owner takes dedication, perseverance and plain old hard work. These are of course character traits that professional athletes have already demonstrated they have in spades. Especially in a time where the growth of many franchise systems is limited by lack of credit, franchisors are rightly excited by the prospect of partnering with dedicated individuals who often have access to significant pools of investment cash.