the addition of fran's former colleague don oakes to the conversation set the ball in motion. >> don and i are both originally from maine. born and raised here. he's thrifty like i am and he's very, very level headed and easy to talk to. and i left that meeting saying there's a guy i can learn from and work with. >> beth made it clear she wasn't looking for investors, but she was looking for partners and that she needed band width and she needed people who could work in the business. >> before any formal agreement was signed beth fran and don got to work. >> even though we went through some heavy, heavy negotiating, once emotionally we all knew we wanted to work to the don and fran crucially had a lot to share with my business. >> the hope was that their involvement would ensure smoother transition. >> the most important thing i needed to do was learn the business. so i was looking at it from the outside in. and now to be able to sit in on the inside. >> after eight months of wrangling the deal was done. both sides had to look beyond the negotiations because they knew their skills co

don oaks set the ball in motion. >> we are both from maine, born and raised here.se thrifty, level headed, and i left saying there's a guy to learn from and work with. >> beth was not looking for investors, but partners and needed bandwidth and people who could work in the business. >> before any formal agreement was signed they got to work. >> we went through heavy, heavy negotiating, and the deal could have broke at any point, but once we knew we wanted to work together, don and fran had a lot to share with my business. >> the hope was that their involvement ensured a smoother that's session. >> most important thing to do is learn the business. i was looking at it from the outside in and now to be able to sit in on the inside. >> after eight months the deal was done. both sides had to look beyond the negotiations because they knew their skills complimented each other. >> if not for beth and my commitment to this, it would have fallen apart. >> we quickly became adept of saying, you know, i don't have to win every single appointment. working together and growing t

she found the perfect match in don oaks and fran phillip.n to a new business owner, it would be one thing i've learned is my philosophy is real simple american express open forum is an on-line community, that helps our members connect and share ideas to make smart business decisions. if you mess up, fess up. be your partners best partner. we built it for our members, but it's open for everyone. there's not one way to do something. no details too small. american express open forum. this is what membership is. this is what membership does. we're in seattle to see which 100 calorie black cherry greek yogurt tastes best. definitely that one. that one's delicious. it's yoplait! what? i love yoplait! the other one is chobani. really. i like this one better. yoplait wins again! take the taste-off for yourself. >>> i want to tell you a story about a girl named jillian lynn. at a young age, jillian was considered hopeless in school. her teachers called her parents said they thought she had a learning disorder. now if this were today, they would have

don thompson. s "sunday morning" visited him at corporate headquartered oak brook, illinois, just last year. >> wee 35,000 restaurants. we're a big target. if you attack mcdonald's, you'll get press. >> reporter: but it's the bottom line at the world's biggest restaurant chain that's been under heaviest attack. after 14 straight months of flat or declining sales in the u.s. and five straight quarters of negative growth, the board abruptly announced last night that its 51-year-old c.e.o. will retire. sara senatore is an analyst with bernstein. >> mcdonald's, i think was trying to be all things to all people and it started to become kind of nothing to anybody. >> reporter: as mcdonald's has faced mounting health concerns about its menu, so-called fast casual chains like chipotle, five guys and paneara, have been gaining ground. when "consumer reports" ranked fast food hamburgers last summer mcdonald's came in dead last. mcdonald's has countered, producing videos called, "our food, your questions." >> it's all beef and there's no pink slime? >> nope, none at all. >> reporter: rebutting internet rumor

oaks section. she was an 11-year veteran of the department. >>> the prosecution is expected to rest its case today against former philadelphia sportscaster don thompson. he's accused of selling fake sports trips to benefit charities and then pocketing close to $300,000. >>> in montgomery county court, a judge will sentence a former defense attorney who pleaded guilty to selling precipitation drugs. gregory noonan admitted to selling 200 painkillers to an undercover officer and faces up to 47 years in prison. >>> well, morning commuters in two states could notice an unwanted change. >> why some of you will be paying more and others won't have a place to park. >>> plus the high-tech operation that put a stolen pet back in the arms of his owner. >>> watch out for icing conditions this morning. shouldn't see them in southville, that's just plain rain coming down, but there are colder spots in the morning commute. we're going to see some slippery and sliding conditions. right now it is 35 degrees at 4:36 here at nbc 10. ring ring! ring ring! progresso! wow soup people, i can't believe i'm eating bacon and rich creamy cheese before my sister's wed