Network Brands franchise

One of the largest independent recruitment groups Pertemps fired the starting pistol on a new arm of the family business, Network Brand Partnerships.

Midlands based Network Brand Partnerships is a fully owned subsidiary of Pertemps Investments and has been formed to improve the standards of local recruitment across the main sectors within the UK and Europe.

Debbie Smith Managing Director of Network Brand Partnership said: “We are offering three very diverse recruitment business models covering Executive Search, Health Care and the High Street. We want to attract partners to run their own business in the sector that suits them. It is an exciting move forwards in a growing industry.”

Network Brand Partnerships completed the acquisition of C N A International in December 2008, adding the established 20 strong Executive Search franchise network to their Health Care and High Street focused partner networks.

“C N A International has an enviable reputation within the recruitment industry and an experienced and highly motivated team of executive search consultants,” said C N A’s founder and former chairman Albert Wilde.

“Since forming the company in 1995, we have expanded our operations into Europe and I’m confident that the resources and expertise that Network Brand Partnerships is able to offer will take C N A to the next stage, enabling robust expansion both in the UK and on the international scene,” continues Wilde.

C N A Executive Search form one of the three arms of the unique offering Network Brand Partnerships has formed to create the leading recruitment industry franchise opportunity. High quality search is a multi million pound industry. Continued growth is forecast due to continue to the acute worldwide shortage of proven top management talent.

The Health Care arm is an evolution of the established and successful Pertemps Healthcare, named ‘Network Health and Social Care’. The UK market is currently worth over £12 billion per annum and this can only increase as the Government encourage more and more people to receive care in their own homes. This coupled with an increasingly ageing population will result in a quick return on investment.

Tim Watts, Chairman of Pertemps Investments said: “I am delighted to welcome Network Brand Partnerships to the Pertemps Group, this new venture will ensure we continue to strengthen operations within the recruitment industry.

“With so many different sectors in the recruitment industry attracting such varied business owners the aim of Network Brand Partnerships three franchise offerings are simply to provide choice. Partners will benefit from one of the most technologically advanced back office teams in the UK as well as a support team led by some of the recruitment industry’s most respected and experienced Individuals.”

For further information the 3 recruitment franchise opportunities visit www.networkbrandpartnerships.co.uk

Legal issues in franchising

Choosing to buy a FRANCHISE rather than starting your own business can have a lot of advantages, and the franchisor running certain things can certainly simplify your operation. On the other hand, it can also be considerably more complicated in some ways, one of which is the tangle of legal issues that is particular to buying a franchise. Many sources strongly recommend that you acquire a franchise lawyer when you are thinking about buying a franchise to help you mine through these legal issues.
One of the most important documents you will have to figure out is the UFOC which the franchisor is required to create by the Federal Trade Commission. This UFOC discloses a number of things about the franchisor and the business they are selling you, including what they do, their business experience, the fees you can expect to pay, what kind of investment you will have to make, and whether or not they have been involved in any lawsuits. Reading this document can tell you a great deal about a franchisor, and understanding it will help you decide whether buying their franchise is right for you.
Another document that you need to pay close attention to and may need a lawyer to help you understand is the franchise/legal agreement, which will spell out your and the franchisor’s rights and obligations. This will tell you things like how long the franchise agreement is for, how you can use their trademark, and what can cause the agreement to be terminated.
As you are reviewing these documents, make sure to pay close attention to how much control the franchisor has over the operation of your business, which can certainly vary based on the industry and company. If you are unwilling to cede a lot of control, make sure to select a franchisor that fits that need, and make sure you understand what the franchisor is offering in their documents in terms of how much control they will have in managing your business, because if you run into conflicts with them about the operation of the business later, you want to be sure you knew what you were getting into.
You should be suspicious of any franchisor who does not want you to understand these legal documents. If they try to dissuade you from getting a franchise attorney or from reading them thoroughly, you might reconsider whether or not you want to do business with them. A good franchisor will have nothing to hide in these documents, and will want you to read and understand them completely.
Understanding the UFOC and franchise agreement of a franchisor is not enough, however. You will need to do a lot more research and homework before deciding to buy a franchise. Some other things you might do to help you figure out if you are getting a good franchise are to talk to current franchisees and to avoid anything that seems too good to be true. Being smart about buying your franchise can help you avoid big pitfalls, legal and otherwise.

Franchise Evaluation

When buying a franchise, one of the greatest tools you have at your disposal is the ability to contact current franchisees. Not contacting them and investigating their opinion of the franchisor thoroughly would be a big mistake. When you contact a current franchisee, you get the opinion and outlook of someone who is in the same position that you will be in, should you decide to accept the franchise agreement. For this reason, their advice and input is more valuable than any other you might get. If you have concerns about what the franchisor is like, whether or not their claims are true, how many hours you might work, or how the business is run, a current franchisee may be able to help you make a more informed decision about buying a franchise.
Often, the franchisor will introduce you to a few franchisees, and even take you on a tour to see their locations and to talk with them. These meetings can be helpful, but you have to do extra work to really get the most out of learning from current franchisees. It is a good idea to go back to those franchisees after the tour to ask them any questions you did not feel comfortable asking in front of the franchisor, or to get any answers they might not have wanted to disclose in front of the franchisor. However, keep in mind that even if you are alone with these franchisees, they may not give you a full picture of the franchise as a whole. Some franchisees are paid to solicit new ones, and if the franchisees you speak to were given money, they may not be entirely truthful.
Given this, you must search deeper into the network of current franchisees to get a true impression of the franchise as a whole. In the fdd, franchisors provides contact information for past, current, and future franchisees that you can interview on your own, who are less likely to have a biased opinion of the franchise. The more franchisees you interview, the better, to get the most complete picture. You can ask them things like whether or not they think the franchisor is honest, and what they think of the current FDD. You should also try to interview franchisees from a wide variety of locations, years of experience, and success levels so that you are not getting a biased sample of people either praising the franchisor or complaining about it.
When you interview current franchisees, keep in mind that some of the franchisees are going to be more successful than others. This can impact what they say to you about their opinion of the franchise as a whole. When you interview the less successful ones, try to ascertain whether or not the franchisor is to blame for their lack of success, for instance, if they are not flexible enough or are not offering enough support. Understanding why those franchisees are not successful can help you determine whether or not this franchise is the right one for you, and how to be successful if you do decide to buy it.

Steps to picking a franchise

If you’re thinking about going into business as a franchise, here are 6 steps to picking the right one for you!
1. Assessing your personality: Before you pick a franchise to go after, think carefully about the kind of business you want to run and how your personality fits into that. Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses as a business manager. Think about everything from your experience to your attitude about work. Then plan out what you want in a franchise based on your personality, from the hours of work to the possibility of relocation.
2. Researching the company: Spend a lot of time on this step, because it is very important. Find out about the profitability of companies you are interested in buying a franchise from. Research their financial details, and find out if they plan on and are able to expand more. Finally, think about what kind of demand is available for their products.
3. Questioning the franchisor: Once you have narrowed down which franchises you are most interested in pursuing, it’s time to get tough with them. Question the companies about how they run their franchises and what kind of policies they have. Find out about franchisees that have gone out of business or quit, and see if you can contact them to get a better picture of whether or not this is a company you will want to work with. Then, ask about current franchisees and call them up or visit them. Find out what they think of the company and how supportive the company is to its franchisees. They should also be able to tell you something about why they picked this company and if its image and quality is up to par.
4. Investigating profits: Find out what the profits are going to be like for the franchisors that you are most interested in. Some franchises are profitable right away. Others require more patience. Refer to your earlier assessment of your personality and attitude towards this aspect of the business before selecting a franchise.
5. Considering the market: Even if a franchise seems perfect for you, don’t jump on it without getting a good idea of what the market is like where you plan to set up shop. Many products are more or less successful depending on geographic location and demographics. You want to make sure there is a big base of customers where you start your franchise for your product, so conduct some market research. Find out if the culture and region you plan to start your business is interested in the products your franchise will sell.
Similar businesses in the area may tell you that you are in the right place for your customers. On the other hand, the market may be saturated and there may be too much competition in your location, or even overall. Find out if the industry the franchise you have selected is growing.
6. Understanding the contract: Before signing anything, make absolutely sure that you understand the franchise agreement contract. It is a very good idea to hire a franchise lawyer to help you make sure that you are getting everything you want from the franchisor, especially profits and your rights. The franchisor should also most likely be offering lots of training and support for you and your employees

How to motivate franchise employees

When you buy a franchise, if you haven’t already owned your own business before, you probably have to make the difficult transition from working for someone to having people working for you. Being an employee is very different from being the boss. You have to be a good and effective manager in order to gain the respect of the people working for you. It is not as difficult as it sounds, as long as you are willing to put in the effort to motivate your employees. Motivating your employees will be vital to your success. If the people who work for you want to be there, they will work harder and make your franchise even better. Here are some ways to motivate your franchise employees:
1. Praise them if they are doing a good job. This is the simplest thing and is very easy to implement. You should be able to tell who is working hard. If you recognize them for doing a good job, it will show them that you notice and care how hard they work. This will make them want to work harder. By contrast, if your employees are working hard and doing a great job and you never recognize their efforts, they are likely to stop trying so hard, and may even begin to dislike you.
2. Train your employees well, and keep them up-to-date with training. If you slack off on training your employees, they may feel like they are thrown out into the world without the ability to do their jobs effectively. If they feel poorly about how they are doing, are being yelled at by customers, or worst of all, if you blame them for doing a poor job because they aren’t trained well, they are going to feel resentful and upset that you aren’t giving them all the knowledge they need to do a good job. Keeping your employees trained will make them feel good about their job knowledge and will make your business better.
3. Let your employees know that they can advance. If your employees see working at your franchise as a dead-end job where they have no opportunities for promotions, they are not going to work as hard as you need them to. If they know that good employees are rewarded with advancement, they are more likely to be good employees.
4. Keep your work environment positive. If your work environment is clean, safe, and honest, your employees will feel better about working there. You do not want them to feel uncomfortable.
5. Be nice to your employees, if they are doing well, or even just because. You may want to organize a lunch or party for your employees, so they experience camaraderie with you and their fellow franchise employees. Happier employees work harder.
These are just a few possibilities. There are many effective ways to motivate your employees beyond this list. In fact, if you are a new franchise owner and were previously an employee yourself, you can probably think of several ways that you felt motivated at a previous job, and use those ideas as a manager.

How to be successful

franchise can be a good option if you are thinking about starting your own business. Franchises are considerably less likely to fail than independent businesses because they benefit from name recognition and a proven business model. But if you are thinking about buying a franchise, remember that it is not foolproof. There are things you will have to do to be a successful franchisee.
The most important step to being successful in buying a franchise happens before you even purchase the franchise. This stage involves a great deal of self-assessment. First, you need to figure out if buying any franchise is right for you at all. Franchises are less risky than independent businesses, but they also require you to follow rules and run your business within certain parameters. You will be your own boss, but you also have to answer to the franchisor, and follow their rules. Furthermore, do some self-assessment to figure out what kind of franchise you want. You need to pick a franchise concept that you can believe in. If you cannot commit to the product or service your franchise offers, you will not be as successful.
Once you have bought the franchise, there is more work to be done. Stay organized, keep within the parameters of the franchisor, and communicate with them if there are any problems. Remember, if you become a franchisee, you may have to deal with things like hiring and training employees, buying supplies, and working long hours. If you are not committed to doing these things when you purchase your franchise, you are unlikely to be as successful.
Even if you pick a franchise you really believe in, follow all the rules, and work hard, there are still some things that can cause a franchise to fail that would be completely out of your control. Even if your franchise is successful, if your franchisor runs into trouble, you could be in trouble too. Franchisors can have financial difficulty for a variety of reasons.
If the franchisor is relatively new to franchising their company and doesn’t have a track record of franchised businesses, they might have a flawed franchise structure. To avoid this affecting you, as a franchisee, look for franchisors that have been franchising for a long time or at least make sure that they have done sufficient testing so that you can be sure that their model is sound.
Another thing that could cause problems for your franchisor is poor performance on the part of other franchisees. Even if you are working hard and are successful at your franchise, your fellow franchisees may not be so lucky, or may not be doing a good job, which can put the franchisor in financial difficulty. A franchisor should have a rigorous selection process to avoid acquiring franchisees who are not very competent. If it seems too easy to sign up for a franchise with a company, consider avoiding that company – their other franchisees could be a big problem for them and for you.

Understanding Franchising

There are many benefits to starting a franchise as opposed to your own independent business. Some of those benefits include the proven business model, name recognition, and training and support that you will get from the franchisor. Another big benefit is that the franchisor will likely handle most of the marketing efforts on your behalf, though they usually require their franchisees to pay a fee for those marketing campaigns.
Since a good, well-funded marketing campaign is a benefit you should enjoy when choosing a franchise over an independent small business, you should consider what kind of marketing plan the franchisor has if you are thinking about buying a franchise, in addition to all of the other important costs and benefits specific to the individual franchise, like training, profits, and management. If you are strongly considering a specific franchise, and they either do not have a marketing plan or you don’t like or agree with their marketing plan, you may want to look elsewhere – lack of good marketing could be a deal breaker, since it can be vital to your success as a franchisee.
When you are examining the franchisor’s marketing plan, pay attention to what it offers and how much it will cost you in fees to the franchisor. A good marketing plan should cover things like print advertisements, TV advertisements, and direct mail to current and possible customers. Look for marketing in areas that you think will reach your target customers, and as many of them as possible, not just a few people. Make sure that you feel comfortable that the marketing plan the franchisor offers will be effective in helping you draw in customers, because it can strongly affect your chances of success as a franchisee, and, if you are paying fees to support this marketing plan, you want to make sure that it is better than you could do if you were paying for and managing your own marketing outreach.
Finally, you should find out if the franchisor is proactive and open to new ideas from franchisees in terms of marketing efforts. If you are completely happy with the plan the franchisor has set forth for marketing, this may not seem necessary, but a good franchisor should always be open to new ideas for future marketing, when things may change and there may be better ways to reach customers in the future, rather than recycling stale marketing plans 10 years from now.
The marketing plan of a franchisor is not always the most obvious place to look for problems when you are picking a franchise. However, you should place as much importance on examining a franchisor’s marketing plan, and attitude towards marketing in general, as on things like profits and costs. Good or bad marketing can make or break you as a franchisee, and a franchisor who is responsive to your needs and suggestions with regards to marketing will be much more pleasant to work with and will be more likely to create more success for both of you.

Things to know

The decision of buying a franchise is not an easy one to make and this article hopes to offer you some information that will make things just a little bit less confusing.
Before going into franchising make sure you do your homework. Carefully research the possibilities available to you and consider all the aspects of this situation which can be the ultimate turning point of your professional life. franchises
are all over the place now. They’re in your favorite supermarkets, restaurants and your regularly used means of transportation. They’ve shown a remarkable growth over the past few years with an annual rate of growth exceeding 50 %.
As a result, the competition amongst new franchisees is intensely fierce. You have to be unwavering in your decision before signing the franchising contract because it’s an uphill climb and you have to understand what you’re getting yourself into.
The choices are abundant and disparate ranging from foods to cosmetics. Make sure your choice is something that you’re even remotely experienced in so that your preexisting interest and acquired skills can give you an edge ahead of the competition.
Educate yourself by attending seminars and training courses. Get your hands on all he information you can obtain. There are details you must think through extensively such as franchise, promotion, location and training fees.
Before selecting a franchiser, learn about his or her company. Understand what type of support it offers and how its history holds up under scrutiny. Check the success rate of their franchisees past and present and read your contract carefully to understand your rights. Understand how earnings will be distributed and your share of them.
Keep in mind that success is not always guaranteed even when dealing with a very successful franchising company. Don’t expect to become a millionaire overnight either. Your franchising business may not be as successful as you desire until years of hard work have passed.
Carefully consider your costs and understand your financial obligations. Look at the best means to obtain loans and borrow money.
Be careful to stay within the boundaries of your contract. Guidelines are there for a reason and any breech may lead to the termination of your business agreement when you’re just getting started.Last but not least, don’t shy away from legal assistance and seek it before you put your signature on anything.

Spotting a dodgy franchise

If you have future plans for buying a franchise, there are a few things you must consider and be aware of, if you don’t want to see your business crashing down when it’s just barely getting off the ground.
The franchise is first and foremost an industry. That’s why it’s no surprise that like every industry, it has quite a number of crooks and thieves looking to cheat you out of your hard earned money.
However, while every industry comes complete with its con artists, it also comes with ways to combat them. The first way to avoid being conned is to identify the con artist, of course. There are a couple of simple things to look for by which you can spot a crook and his game a mile away.
When first buying a franchise, you’re likely to come across a listing of all the franchise owners available and listings are usually accompanied by exaggerations of the merits of said owners. Instead of looking at some numbers here and there, save yourself a lot of time and just request to talk to the owners directly to see what they’re really made of.
Let’s say you’ve narrowed it down to about three or four selections. That’s fine but if any of them are not in your region, pick up that phone and do your homework or even go down there and see what their headquarters looks like and how they’re maintaining it.
Additionally, keep in mind is that it’s not a necessarily good idea to target people who are friendly or on good terms with the company. Go for the ones that have had disputes with it instead. See what their stories are about even if they’re not necessarily pleasant and learn from their mistakes.
The Second thing to keep a watch out for is if the company asks you in any way for a non-refundable sum of money. No thinking is required after this incident, just walk away and move on to the next choice on your list. To put it bluntly, a company asking for non-refundable fees of any sort is always trying to con you and you can either heed the advice of those that have been previously conned or try it for yourself. Be warned however, that it isn’t much fun.

Buying a Franchise

Initially, you may be fooled into believing that there’s nothing easier than purchasing a franchise. Well, that’s not entirely true. To begin with, it’s difficult for you to compare between the various franchising opportunities well enough to determine which is the most likely to turn in a profit. As a matter of fact, it’s nearly impossible to determine exactly how much you’ll make through franchising amidst all those industry regulations and lawsuits popping up here and there.
A good tool to use is a franchise guide, which is a listing of all available franchising opportunities. Also, you can always turn to the internet and search to see what’s there. First of all though, actually make up your mind about the kind of business you’d like to own and then start searching for available possibilities that cater to your desires.
You may then carefully assess your situation and decide whether you’d be better off owning a franchising or starting up your own independent business. Look at the advantages and disadvantages of both and make an informed decision. However, the general consensus is that franchising is easier despite things like ironclad contract clauses and royalties.
Robert Bond’s franchise listing book “Franchise Guide” is one of the better books on the subject and is probably available at your nearest bookstore or online. Make careful comparisons and don’t forget to research the companies you plan to contact carefully before giving them a call.

EXAMINE THE FRANCHISES HISTORY

A potential franchisee should always find out about the history of the franchisor in the territory that they are planning to open their store before entering into a franchising agreement with the company. If the franchisor has previously had a location in the territory that closed or failed for some reason, it will be important to take that into account. A failure by a previous franchisee does not mean that you will fail, but it should give you pause for a variety of reasons.
One thing to examine is whether or not the previous franchisee failed because of a local problem. Perhaps the area you are considering opening your franchise in is not as receptive to the products or services offered by the company as other areas due to regional or demographic differences. Or, perhaps, the local economy is more troubled than most, causing the franchisee to be unable to turn a profit. If you encounter either of these issues with the franchise location, you should seriously reconsider opening your franchise in that territory. You will also probably want to do more research on where and how the company’s stores are most successful before you enter into an agreement with them, as you now know that location can mean the difference between success and failure with their product or service.
Even if the failed franchise is entirely or mostly the fault of the previous franchisee, you still might run into problems ensuring the success of your endeavor. If the old franchisee has already closed their store, the image of the location going out of business has likely damaged the brand name locally, and customers will be discouraged. Furthermore, even if you are simply taking over the franchise from the current franchisee, you need to find out whether the franchisee failed because of poor customer service on the part of the management. Simply putting out a sign that says “under new management” will not be enough to win back all of those offended customers.
Once you have evaluated all of the potential problems that could result from purchasing a franchise in a territory where a previous franchisee has failed, if you still want to go ahead with the venture, you should consider asking the franchisor for special help to get your business off the ground, especially if the brand name may have been damaged locally. The franchisor may be willing to work with you to promote the new management and/or location with extra marketing dollars, which can be used for a variety of tactics to promote you and repair the name of the company. For instance, the franchisor could be willing to provide you with something like mailings and coupons to drive new customers to your store, and bring back the old ones. If done effectively, these marketing tactics can reintroduce the brand and repair the company’s standing locally, a big benefit for the franchisor. Of course, introducing you as new management and increasing your customer base should also boost your chances of success, even in a potentially undesirable location

Successful Franchises

With many individuals transitioning from corporate America to entrepreneurial ventures, it is no surprise that new franchised businesses are springing up everywhere. Many franchise owners are attracted to entrepreneurship because they like what the franchise business concept represents. They might choose a concept like Hand and Stone Massage Spa because of their own belief in wellness, or they may choose a concept like Happy Tails Dog Spa because of their affection for animals. But while they come to their role as a believer of the concept they buy into they do not necessarily have the skills they need to sell themselves and their services — the skills that are needed to keep the business alive.
As a former sales executive with a leading franchise company, I saw this phenomenon as an opportunity, and seized it. Now, my role as a franchise business coach enables me to offer the strength of my 16 years of sales experience to my clients.
In doing that work, I've recognized that small business owners, among them many franchisees, often do not possess the “selling gene” and are uncomfortable with marketing themselves and their services. The question for me was how to most quickly help franchise owners boost their sales acumen.
Answering this question led me to design a sales process that helps business owners to see clearly what they have to offer and to verbalize the problems that are solved by their product or service. It offers specific advice on how to handle initial inquiry calls and how to create a special connection on each and every one of those calls.
Eventually, that sales process evolved into a book written with franchise owners (franchisees) in mind and for sales professionals who are looking for a fresh approach to selling. Published in October 2007, Stop Selling...Start Clicking! 10 Bold Steps to Boost Your Business Through the Magic of Human Connection, offers a practical approach for negotiating the obstacles that inevitably come up during the sales process, and give franchisees what they need to bring the sale to a close..

The History of Franchising

While many people think about franchising as starting with McDonalds, the most popular single franchise chain in the world, franchising actually has a much longer history – the kinds of social structures that one can think of as being franchises can potentially be traced back hundreds and hundreds of years to early churches and religious / political institutions, and even companies such as the East India Company of Great Britain can be thought of as a kind of franchise. The franchise in the modern sense of stores such as McDonalds, however, can probably best be traced to breweries and taverns which were established in the United States in the 1800s. Here is an overview of some of the businesses which have developed the concept and the legal status of the franchise and have revolutionised the way that companies do business as a result.
England and Europe were the part of the world which first gave rise to what we would think about as franchises today. Breweries would create purchasing agreements with the taverns throughout Europe so that the taverns would only sell products from certain breweries and in exchange would receive preferential rates on their products. With the exception of the purchase agreement and the resulting financial assistance, there would be no continuing control between the breweries and the taverns. This kind of purchase agreement also existed between various retail stores and the companies which produced different kinds of products. A store would agree to only stock a particular brand of a certain product and would get a better price as a result.
Franchising would change to include the area of a “chain” element – the idea that all of the stores in a franchise would look and act the same way – for example when transportation was improved. The more mobile people were, the more of a call that there was for people to be able to enjoy the same products and consumer experience as they did at home in the places where they would visit.
There were a couple of chain stores before the birth of the modern highway system – the first restaurant chain that there is any record of in the entire world is the Harvey House restaurant chain, which was created by Englishman Frederick Henry Harvey in 1852. The Harvey House restaurants were created along a line of transportation – the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railroad. A partnership between Frederick Henry Harvey and the railroad allowed him to acquire discounts on railroad shipping of the goods needed for his restaurants – in exchange Frederick Henry Harvey set up his restaurants at the railway depots and provided the passengers on the trains with a consistent dining experience within the stations. Over several decades the Harvey House restaurant chain expanded until there were restaurants spaced along the railway every hundred miles.
Drive-in restaurants became popular with the rise of the automobile, and one of the earliest chains during this period was the A&W restaurant chain. Now known also solely for their root beer product line which is represented in stores across the United States, A&W was at one point a drive-in restaurant chain which offered sandwiches along with their famous root beer floats. Another franchise which remains today, but not in its original restaurant form, is White Castle – a well known hamburger chain. Many of the things which we take for granted about the restaurant industry were invented by White Castle. For example, White Castle was the first restaurant to provide its customers with packaging for take aways as well as napkins which were disposable and made from paper instead of cloth.
The first White Castle restaurant was founded in Wichita, Kansas in the year 1921. The Howard Johnson restaurant chain with its many flavours of ice cream would begin franchising in 1935. Franchising was on the rise along with the automobile and the growth of the transport system, and more and more restaurants were drawing up franchising agreements so that managers from other towns could create their own instances of the most popular regional attractions.
The 1930s, 1940s and 1950s saw the birth of many of the restaurant chains which have become the largest fast food / restaurant franchises today – these include Carvel, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Dairy Queen, Dunkin Donuts, Burger King, the International House of Pancake, and McDonald’s.
Of course, there was also franchise chains which were not restaurants – some of the earliest of these were related to automobiles, as you would expect. Instead of taking their chances at a service station run by locals which might not have the right parts or expertise to handle a car problem, drivers would prefer to stop at a location which had a consistent supply of tools, parts and service know-how – a place which would operate the same way on the outside and the inside as any of the other locations in the chain. Sales and service centre businesses which focused on mechanical goods were another kind of business which profited from the franchise – Singer Sewing Centers catered to people who wanted to buy or repair their Singer brand sewing machines, while the McCormack Harvesting Machine centres grew across the rural areas of the Midwest and gave farmers access to quality assistance with their harvesting / combine equipment.
Mass production was a big influence on the growth of the franchise industry – back in the days when products had to be created mostly on site; it was difficult for people to provide a consistent experience in restaurants or any other kind of business. The differing levels of skill as well as intrinsic differences in the ways that people would create the same product would lead to natural variations. When products were being created in centralized factories a level of quality control could be arranged and consistency could be easily achieved – improved transportation then made it possible for these identical products to be sent to distant locations and to provide people with the same kind of product wherever they lived.
One of the most influential companies in the rise of the franchise industry was Western Auto, which developed the franchisor / franchisee relationship to an extent which was previously unknown – while today it is common for the franchisor in the relationship to provide the franchisee with extended services such as training, help in site selections, merchandising and marketing / advertising assistance, these things were uncommon in the past and what was called franchising was actually quite similar to what is today simply called licensing.
There was a large increase in the franchise industry after the Second World War, which resulted in an explosion of all kinds of franchises (particularly restaurant chains). Families grew after the war, and with many families owning their first automobiles people would go on long vacations and would want to enjoy the same kind of food in different states. Hundreds and hundreds of franchise locations opened up at this time and franchisors during this period became more interested in selling large numbers of franchise agreements (and taking advantage of large franchise fees) than in making sure that the individual franchise businesses were successful.
These changes led to regulation – states started to enact laws which made it necessary for franchise companies to adhere to certain policies of disclosure. In today’s franchise market, for example, any franchise operating in the United States or in Canada has to have a disclosure document available to potential franchisees which contains information on business practices, profit and expense numbers and lots of other useful pieces of data which can help a person interested in starting a new business decide whether or not it has a good chance of being profitable. The goals of the franchise companies have also changed so that they spend more time providing advice and aid to their franchise locations and less time simply adding franchise locations.
The franchise business has certainly had a long and interesting history and has continued to grow in recent decades. Many of the most popular franchise chains have expanded from the United States into other westernized countries as well as various emergent markets around the world. We can only expect that the franchise business model will continue to be successful with the further increases in international opportunities for travel. If you are interested in learning more about franchises, a franchise fair would be a good place to go to learn about some of the opportunities which are available to investors Franchise owners are also good sources of information regarding the growth of their franchise business and problems or otherwise they may have encountered on the way. I wish you the best of luck learning more about the franchising business model and the kinds of franchises that may be of particular interest to you

Franchising for the Semi-Retired

One of the primary advantages which the elderly or semi retired may have over the young is the advantage of money – the elderly or semi retired may have savings which can be used to start a new business. Money is a frequent stumbling block for the young, who have not yet had the time needed to save up for the initial investment money to start a business. Even with a bank loan, it may not be possible to put together enough money to get business started and then grow to the point where it is capable of being self-sufficient.
The elderly or semi retired have an advantage here as they are more likely to have some kind of retirement fund put together – something which they can use to get their company rolling and take care of any unforeseen expenses which may arise during the opening months. If there is more money available to the new franchise company, then there is a greater likelihood that it will have the time that it needs to reach a profitable status and start bringing in money.
Another one of the advantages that the elderly or semi retired may enjoy when putting together a franchise business is the greater amount of experience which they have. An elderly or semi retired person is likely to have years of experience in either one or several different fields. All of this industry and business experience is a great advantage when it comes to starting a franchise – the elderly or semi retired people who are starting franchises may have a better sense of the potential problems that a new business can face as well as the risks which are involved. This makes them more effective business owners and helps them to form businesses which can reach their full potential.
Finally, the last of the major advantages that the elderly or semi retired are likely to have when they put together a franchise business is the advantage of greater connections – people who have lived longer and who have more industry experience also have the benefit of knowing a lot more people. In many cases the people you know are as important or even more important than what you know – with the right connections it is true that you can do almost anything and if you have important industry connections who can get you the right assistance and the best prices then you have a much better chance of being successful when you enter the industry as a small business owner using a franchise business.
These are just a few of the many advantages that the elderly or semi retired may find that they can use when they become franchisees – there are a lot more ways in which the elderly or semi retired may be able to take advantage of their status for greater success in business, and there is no reason why the elderly or semi retired cannot enjoy the same level of success in business and in the franchise industry as their younger counterparts.
What kinds of franchises are the best choices for the elderly or semi retired? It is unlikely that the elderly or semi retired will want to enter some of the kinds of franchises which are more popular among the young – for example the elderly or semi retired are not too likely to want to start their own fast food franchise, although in some cases they may! When the elderly or semi retired start their own franchise businesses they usually look for business opportunities using the specific skills which they have.
A business to business consulting franchise is just one of the great choices which are available to the elderly or semi retired – given the characteristics which this demographic has when it comes to the franchise industry – i.e. they are generally well experienced in an industry and possess powerful contacts, the elderly or semi retired can be a success in a business to business consultancy because they can share the advantage of their experience as well as the contacts which help the businesses that they work with to find their own way within the industry.
In many cases, a business to business consultancy franchise is a great way for retired professionals to take advantage of everything they leave their industry with. This step is a natural one as people move from working directly in the industry to working on the sidelines – still staying involved with the business they know and which has made them their living but now working in a different capacity which allows them to relax more and not spend all of their time at work. The work performed by a business to business consultant is less stressful and less time consuming in general and is a good way for the elderly or semi retired professional to relax into a retirement job.
Other kinds of businesses in the franchise market which are based around the needs of the elderly or semi retired demographic are those which allow people to stay at home while they are engaged in their business. Stay at home franchise businesses are an ever increasing part of the franchise market. The ability to sell all manner of products to people via mail order with advertising on a web site over the internet has greatly increased the number of work at home franchises. Using a franchise to put together a work at home business is a good way for the entrepreneurial elderly or semi retired person to know that the business plan they are working from is one which has been responsible for proven successes and results. This is a lot easier than flying blind with a plan which has not been proven and may not have the potential for success.
The elderly or semi retired may then run a stay at home business which allows them to work at their own pace – instead of spending a lot of time on trying to expand and build the business quickly, they can relax a bit more and enjoy the benefits of their retirement, working when they have time and limiting the number of orders that they take. This is one of the possible benefits of working online which makes it an easier option for a lot of elderly or semi retired people. There are lots of products which can be sold online – and these include anything which an elderly or semi retired person can make and send through the mail.
Of course, there is no reason why an elderly or semi retired person cannot enjoy success in the vast majority of the fields where people normally act in the franchise market. An elderly or semi retired person who wants to be a franchisee has so many advantages in this process that they are more likely to succeed and more likely to be accepted into a franchise programme due to their increased experience, and increased financial security. Truly, there has never been a better time for people who are elderly or semi retired to get involved in the franchise industry and start looking for ways that they can use the franchise market to be their own boss.
If you are elderly or semi retired and you have been looking for options in the franchise industry, I hope that this article has opened your eyes to a few of the possibilities – this should only be the start for you, however, as you evaluate the skills and abilities which you have accumulated over a lifetime of experience. When you put together an accurate accounting of the things which you can bring to the table you will be able to look through the types of business franchises which are available and pick the kind best suited to you. I wish you good luck in finding a business franchise which is friendly to the elderly or semi retired and which works for you and your specific needs

The risks of franchising

Franchising is a great way for many companies to expand. When you franchise you are able to take advantage of both the skills and the financial assistance of investors which grow your business at a phenomenal rate compared to what you could achieve from the profits from your existing business locations. There are, however, a great number of risk factors which must be carefully considered if you are to reap the benefits of franchising your business. Here are some of those risk factors and what you can do in order to identify them ahead of time and avoid letting them turn your attempt at franchising into a failure.
In general terms, we can divide the risk factors which are involved in forming a franchise into two groups – internal and external. The internal factors are those which have to do with whether or not you and the company that you are forming will have the time and the resources needed to form a successful franchise business. Forming a franchise business is not a simple extension of the business that you already have – it is in fact very different, requiring the formation of an entirely new company and the hiring of a staff dedicated to the various aspects of the franchise process. The external factors which determine the amount of risk inherent in the formation of your franchise have to do with the current state of the franchise market and whether or not the market can sustain the kind of business that you want to franchise.
Starting with the internal risk factors of starting a franchise, one of the biggest risks is that you will run out of money while developing the franchise business and not be able to run it to the point that it becomes a financial success. As with the company that you have already developed, you are going to need a lot of money for the start-up process – hiring the personnel that you need to staff your franchising office and all of the various fees which will be associated with creating the new company and installing it in its offices – all of this will cost money, and it is likely to cost more money than you spent on the creation of your first business location.
If you are able to afford all of this out of your own savings, then fine. However, most people find that they need to take out another bank loan in order to successfully create their franchise company. You are going to need to show that the franchise plan which you have developed is capable of being a financial success, and you will have to be able to do so to the extent that you can convince a bank. This means that you need to do your research in advance, be aware of all of the other risk factors, and show the bank that not only do you understand the variety of risk factors which are involved, but that you are more than prepared to adequately deal with them and make the franchise business into an outstanding success.
What are some of the other risk factors involved in franchising your business? One is that you may not have the right level of business know-how in order to create a franchise. When you made your existing business you probably based it on skills which you already had from some sector of industry – when you create a franchise company you are going to want to point out all of the business experience that you have had, but maybe the business experience that you have at this point is not enough to deal with a franchise company – you may want to bring in additional consultants. You are definitely going to need the help of specialist franchise legal counsel and you may want extensive business consulting to make sure that your plans are well constructed – share all of the results of your consultations with the bank when you apply for your loan and have the details ready with your business plan.
The more expertise that you are able to show having signed off on the plan, the better – you will be able to have the confidence which comes with knowing that people who are well versed in the industry believe in your abilities and the ideas that you have set forth. Not only will this make it easier for you to get the financial backing which you need, but the consultants that you listen to will be able to help you identify all of the external risk factors which may lead to problems with your business later on. What are some of these external risk factors?
It may be that your business model, while it was well suited for the area in which you started, is not particularly well suited for expansion beyond the local market. If you are running a food franchise, for example, it may be that tastes are different beyond the area where you were originally successful – the success that you had there might not translate when people in a different area fail to appreciate the tastes that you are providing. The best way for you to make sure that these concerns are not a big enough problem for you to forget about expanding into a franchise is to perform extensive market research.
See whether the products and services that you are providing through your business will fill a demand in markets beyond your own – hire a market research company to test your products with people across the country and see whether or not they are as good candidates for a franchise business on the national market. The answers that you receive may surprise you – you may find that a product which was not particularly successful in your home market is a much greater success when translated to the national market. , The identity of your brand doing business on a national scale may shift subtly over the years and you may find that your success is of a different nature than you had originally anticipated.
Another set of external risks has to do with the logistics of your business and how you are going to provide the supplies and equipment that your franchisees need to get their franchise locations running – you need to have the right business contacts which will allow you to consistently supply your franchisees. Any hiccups in the logistical train will make it less likely that the individual franchisees will be successful – you need to minimize all of the potential risk factors for the franchisees in order to minimize the potential risk factors for yourself, and this means having suppliers who you can rely on so that the franchisees will be able to rely on you as a supplier. If the supplier that you are counting on as your primary source of goods has a problem getting you the materials you need at the prices you need what will you do? Do you have a backup supplier waiting in the wings that you will be able to rely upon in case of trouble?
You will also find that a potential risk factor is the visibility of your brand and the degree to which investors in the franchise market will be interested in taking on your brand and working for your franchise. A certain level of success is critical before you go into the franchise market – you want people to recognize your brand the second that they see it. If people see your franchise at a franchise fair are they going to know what kind of place it is and remember it from the advertising? Are they going to already know that it exists, and therefore be that much more likely to consider it as the franchise opportunity that they have been waiting for? The marketing that you have done to promote the successes of your company are going to be vital in getting franchisees interested in working under your banner, so see to it that the base business is a success before you even try to make the jump into franchising it.
These are just a taste of the various risk factors which are involved in creating a successful franchise. You are going to need a full legal department for the new franchise company and you are going to want to get all of the best counsel and consulting that your money can buy. Building a franchise out of your business is a big move and will completely change the character of the business activities that you are involved in from this point on – however, if you do all of the research that you need and collect all of the relevant information on the risk factors, you can minimize them and maximize your chances that the franchise you create from your business will be the next great success story in the franchise market

Advertising your new franchise

The newspaper is one of the first ways that a lot of people try when they want to have a successful franchise business – lots of people read the newspaper, although the numbers have changed over the years. More than that, the demographics of who reads the newspaper has changed drastically – while in the past you could expect people from their twenties and up to read the paper consistently and respond to print ads within, today the readership of newspapers has skewed to the older crowd as a result of the rise in the number of young people who go to the internet for their information. People also tend to skip over advertisements that they see in the newspaper unless they are full page ads which are generally well illustrated, flashy and cost a lot of money to run as a result.
Before you make arrangements for a newspaper advertisement you should get some figures from the paper on its readership and what kind of demographics and numbers they can provide you for your advertising pound. Compare that against the kind of customers who are interested in coming to your store, and if you find that there is significant overlap then a newspaper ad might be a good way for you to get more people to come in. Usually to get a strong response from the newspaper advertisement, however, you are going to want to run some kind of promotion or put some kind of coupon in – people generally expect to be able to get some kind of discount from the paper and by giving them this you add to the incentive for them to come to your store (and hopefully, come back).
Similar to newspaper ads but easier to direct towards specific demographics and towards a younger crowds, magazines also tend to be more expensive for running ads. The good news is that not only do a lot more young people read magazines, but with magazines you can get a lot better response to your ad by putting it in a magazine which goes out to the kind of people who are interested in topics related to whatever you are selling through your franchise business. If you are running a restaurant then you will want to stick to local magazines but if you have a business which runs over mail order or through the internet then you may find it a profitable move to run an ad in a magazine with a wider distribution for a specific demo.
Circulars, which are handed out to people walking down the street or even to people passing on the road in their cars, are one of the oldest forms of advertising and a good way to start getting the word out about a local restaurant or store. If you are in a location which is easy to access but not that easy to see you may find that circulars are a good way to make people aware of your business. Without the benefit of a large number of walk-in customers, this relatively inexpensive form of advertising is a way that you can get the attention of people in town and you can direct them to you by getting their attention in the kind of place where you would want to position your store if you had the choice. Being one of the least expensive forms of advertising that you can possibly choose from, circulars and flyers are also one of the most popular and the most widely used. While a large number of people may just glance at the flyer that is all that you need to make an impression.
With a radio spot you are making a move which says that you have a successful established business with the money that it takes to pay for a somewhat more expensive form of advertising. Franchise businesses which want to make a strong impression on the community can go with a radio spot to improve the sense that people have of their local standing. The downsides of a radio spot are the cost and the amount of time and effort that you will be putting into creating the spot – technical recording requirements will probably necessitate going to a studio / paying for studio time and the use of their recording engineers, and possibly hiring professional voice actors to get an ad which sounds great and which won’t grate on people’s nerves as they drive to work and back or sit next to the radio.
The television ad is seen as the kind of ads – it is both the most expensive advertisement for you to run and the one which is the most demanding in terms of the time and money that it takes to create. You will have to script your ad, record it with the help of a recording crew (or on your own, if you want to go the truly independent and low-cost route), and then take the recorded materials to a video editing facility where you and the video engineers there will use their machines to edit your advertisement together into something which looks as professional as possible. Paying for a marketing agency to come up with a video ad for you is probably beyond your financial reach, although if your business is very successful already you may be able to do it – your franchise company may also be able to help you in the respect by combining a commercial that they have contracted with a quick information add-on about your local franchise installment.
You also should not forget the role of the internet in advertising franchise businesses today. If your franchise business can sell over the net and through mail order then the internet should be one of the primary parts of your marketing scheme. If you are running a local business it is still a great idea to make sure that your business is well listed in the sites which feature information on local attractions and companies. Make sure that the contact information, address information and everything else about your company’s description is right on the www sites it is listed on by doing Google searches for your company. In some cases you may want to pay for such things as banner ads in the sites of the local papers (which may get a younger readership than the print versions) and even Google Adwords impressions if you have a web site.
Finally, remember that the franchise company is involved with building the brand and they want you to succeed – as a result, they are likely to have some of the best ideas on how to market your franchise location. Knowing which kinds of advertising have worked for their franchise in the past they will be able to direct you towards the deals which make the most sense. In general whenever you have a choice you should try and defer to the wisdom of the franchise company, which wants you to succeed / has your best interests in mind and has the sheer weight of experience to get the job done. In some cases they may cooperate directly with you in negotiating advertising deals or arranging expensive regional advertising which includes the information on how to contact and reach your business. The prices that you pay for advertising will be less as a result and you will get the benefits of exposure for only a fraction of the cost.
Think about all of these advertising possibilities and you will be able to come up with an advertising plan for your new franchise business which makes sense given your unique combination of location, business type and clientele. A good amount of research as well as common sense will guide you in the right direction and you will be able to find the help that you need to succeed as a franchise business. Good luck making it big with your new franchise and finding the advertising sources that you need to bring more and more people in and create a runaway financial success!

What is Franchising

Franchising is a way to distribute the services and goods of a company. There are franchises all over the United States and the world. Most of the stores that you see are franchises. McDonald's, Burger King, K-mart are all franchises. A franchise means that the person or persons who own the business are allowing people to sell the services or goods of the franchisor. They are also permitted to use the name of the business for as long as they are the franchisee.
There are different types of relationships in franchising. They are as follows:
Manufacturer/Retailer - This is a relationship where the franchisee is a retailer and it sells the product that the franchisor has directly to the customer. A good example of this is a car dealership that sells new vehicles.
Manufacturer/Wholesaler - The franchisee is permitted to manufacture and distribute the product of the franchisor. An example of this would be places that sell bottled sodas.
Wholesaler/Retailer - The retailer, who is the franchisee, goes to a wholesaler who is the franchisor, and buys products from them for sale in retail. Sometimes there's a cooperative of a large number of the franchisee retailers, and they form a wholesaling company that they have to buy their products from. Some examples of this would be stores that sell automotive products and hardware products.
Retailer/Retailer - This is when the franchisor markets a product or a service, using a standardized system and common name, through a huge network of its franchisees. This is the format that is the most traditional for a franchise.
The two categories that are listed first in the above examples are usually referred to as trade name and product franchises. These categories include the arrangements that allow the franchisees to distribute the product of a manufacturer in a specific location or in a territory that is specified. This usually comes with the use of the trademark or identifying name of the manufacturer, as long as the franchisee pays royalties and/or fees.
However, when you are talking about a business format franchise, you will find that it differs from trade name and product franchises with the use of a format, or a system that is comprehensive and used for the conduct of the business. This includes things like management system, image and appearance, the planning of the business, and the quality of the goods being offered. Consistency, uniformity, and standardization across every aspect of the business are the hallmarks of the franchise known as the business format franchise.
One thing that we can all relate to is something like the fast food restaurants that are scattered around the world. They are a good example of a franchise. Someone wants to buy a fast food restaurant. There's one that is opening up in the area they live in, so they go for training, they talk to the person who is selling the franchise, they talk to a venture capitalist, and they eventually get to buy the franchise
So when you buy a franchise, like a fast food restaurant, you are buying not only the building, but you are buying the rights to distribute the products that the fast food restaurant sells.
A common mistake that people make about franchises, is that you work for yourself when you own a franchise. In a sense, this is true, but it doesn't mean that you don't answer to anyone simply because you are the owner of that store. You find that you still have bosses - they aren't there every day like a normal boss would be, but they are there all the same.
One thing about franchisors is that they want to see results. Anything that you do reflects on the company. For example, it wasn't too long ago that a fast food restaurant had a problem with rats in the restaurant. Not all of the restaurants had this problem, but all of them were affected because people thought that if one of them had it there was a good chance that others might allow the same thing to happen.
Franchising is not without its risks. You have employees that you have to look after, that can get injured on the job, or harassed by other coworkers. You have customers who may be purchasing food from you, and if there's a problem then you have to deal with it because you are the person that sold them the food. Even if you had nothing to do with it, you are responsible because you sold the product. Then there's always the chance of fires and storm damage to a store, and theft. There are many things in a franchise that can affect how much money you make and how well you will do. Some of them are things that you can control, others are out of your control, but all of them will affect you, whether it's in a good way or a bad way.
That's not to say that franchising isn't a good thing, and something that people shouldn't do. Without franchising we wouldn't have half of the stores that we have available today in the world. There wouldn't be McDonald's everywhere, or WaWa's. You'd have to go hundreds of miles just to find one of them. And forget buying a car because all of the car dealerships would be gone too. Most of the businesses, if they aren't a franchise directly, are affected by a franchise.
Franchises also create a lot of jobs, which helps the economy. When you think about it, what's the first thing that happens when a new store opens up? They need employees, so there you have how franchising affects the economy and gives people the chance to work.
One thing to remember is that franchising is not for everyone. It can make you a lot of money, but it can also be frustrating and difficult if you aren't prepared for it. One of the most frustrating parts of the franchising business takes place even before you become a franchisee. It can take a long time to get someone that will invest in your business, and you may find that you receive many rejections before you finally find someone who believes in you.
Being the owner of a franchise isn't easy – you have to attend meetings and sometimes you have to go all over the world in order to attend seminars that the parent company sets up. You may not have a boss that is hanging over your shoulder all the time, but you have corporate management and they are watching to make certain that you are making them money.
In addition to the start up costs, you will find yourself having to pay fees and royalties just so that you are able to use the products name and the logos. And if you find yourself in a bad franchise, it can be very hard to get out of. You need to read over your agreement to make certain that you understand everything before you sign anything.
What is franchising? Well, it's a business relationship that is necessary both for the economy and for the convenience of the people who live in an area. It can be a great business venture if you are aware of what is involved, but it can also be something that brings a lot of frustration and headaches.
If you are considering going into franchising, do your homework and research the subject well before you make a decision. Know what is involved so that you don't have any surprises. It's a good idea to attend seminars that are about franchising. You can use the Internet to talk to people who are franchisees, and you'll find plenty of people who are willing to give you advice. There are message boards and email groups that you can join that are filled with franchisees and franchisors. Make use of the power of the Internet and find out everything you can about becoming a franchisee. You'll find franchisors and franchisees from all over the world who can give you a personal perspective before you make any commitments or decisions.

Preparation for Franchising

Your business plan is one of the most important documents that you have. When you begin researching your business and planning what to do, writing it all out in the form of a business plan helps you to organize your thinking and make the path to your goals concrete. As you begin to move towards those goals, a business plan can remind you of things that you researched and keep you on the right track. Your business plan is also important to anyone with whom you want to create a business relationship; for example, a business plan is a necessity when you are applying for a loan. A business plan demonstrates to the supplier of the loan that you are a responsible party, that you have done all the necessary research and that you have the resources you need to make your business successful. A business plan also allows the agent of a potential lender to defend the value of providing your business loan to their own bosses and to other potential lenders in the event that they decide to sell the loan. As most businesses require some form of outside funding to get started, a business plan is an absolute requirement for most, and for start-ups it represents the core of your new business.
The first stage in preparation of a business plan is research. Market research and analyses will enable you to identify potential business opportunities specific to you. During the initial research phase, you can determine what kind of resources you will need, what sort of equipment or technology your business will depend on, and what characteristics define the most successful businesses existing in the field. You can use this information to put together a strong strategic plan; start out with a general framework, then develop the details with the assistance of professional advisors in the industry or software tools that can help you lay out the costs and profit-making potential. Determine whether the business plan that you are writing is meant primarily for in-house use or for being shown to investors / lenders. It may be worthwhile to have multiple drafts of the business plan for varying purposes. Start thinking about who you will need to show your plan to, and the specific needs that the recipients of the business plan will have, so that you can tailor the business plan to their requirements.
The actual writing of the business plan can be done personally or with the assistance of specialized software or business advisors. Many people choose to entrust the writing of a business plan to a specialist who has written successful plans before and who has a track record of writing plans which secure solid loans. If you choose to write the business plan on your own you must systematically determine what issues and topics are most important, plan out the lengths of the various sections and whether they will require any kind of appendices, attachments or graphics to demonstrate the information, and write out work programs and how the business will respond to various conditions that are likely to occur. A business plan should logically explain the responsibilities of everyone involved in the business. It should also contain the necessary financial projections: the amount of money which will be needed to get the company started, the sources from which funding may be acquired, and a timeline towards profitability with goal points and specific measures on how they will be reached.
Once you finish putting together the first draft of your business plan you should take a step back and try to have a sense of whether there is anything missing. Get an overview of the plan and try to write the most important elements of your business plan in a detached summary. Take your business plan to advisors and get their opinions on how to make improvements for readability or overall quality. An experienced advisor may be able to recognize areas in which your business plan is deficient and point you in the direction of research that could make the difference between success and failure. After making sure that your plan has everything that it basically needs, you should continue drafting it for better flow and readability. Fine tune the business plan and spell check it. Make sure that the graphics and addendums contain all the information that is needed and conveys it in a way that is easily understandable to the target audience. Consider all of the aspects of the business plan's presentation - see that the business plan is well bound and organized, that it clearly identifies the funding needs of the business and what that money will be used for, that it has answers to all of the key questions that potential lenders and other business partners will have, and that it will provoke the response that you are looking for.
After you have presented your business plan to potential investors, convinced people that you have what it takes to run the business (and that you have done all of the necessary research), and secured the monetary resources that you need, you enter the next phase - running your business. The important thing to remember now is to stick to the plan! Now is the time to take advantage of the goal points which you laid out while you were focused on research. If you choose to deviate from the methods which you detailed in the business plan for achieving your goals, how and why are you doing so? Are any changes that you make the result of new and unexpected conditions in the market? If your business plan's primary focus was on convincing investors to provide funding for your company, you may need to write a new business plan better adapted to the personal use of yourself and anyone else involved in charting the course of your business. Don't be afraid to ask for advice at this stage - new companies and many industries don't last very long, and you should always be open to advice from people who are experienced and have worked with established companies in your business sector.
If the business plan which you prepared does not deal with the issues that arise after you get started, feel free to make adaptations. Just make sure that any changes and additions to the plan are well considered, that you get the best advice possible before making a correction, and that you do not change it just for the sake of change or without thinking about the potential consequences. Any business plan is likely to require alterations and additions at some point; be sure that you put the same kind of care into market research and analyses now as you did in the early phases of planning before the business had started. Remember that those that fail to plan, plan to fail.
Many businesses with simple plans in markets that do not change very quickly review their business plan annually. Reviews on an annual basis let you make sure that you are achieving your short and long term financial goals and show you whether your methods are connecting with the market effectively. If there is a significant shift in your market or a change in the fortunes of your business over a short period it may be a good time to review your business plan, again with the assistance of local advisors and organizations which help small businesses (such as the Small Business Administration) to see what kind of changes would be best for adapting to the new conditions.
Whenever you encounter a change in your business plan, such as when you need a new loan for some kind of expansion or further development of the business, consider having it reviewed by professionals. Make sure that it continues to reflect the updated realities of the situation, and be willing to rewrite it for the needs of whoever you are going to be showing it to. Often the process of rewriting will help you to better understand your own goals and the steps which you need to take in order to achieve them. By always being ready to update your business plan and keep it in sync with the needs of your business and your business partners, you can demonstrate to everyone that you are on top of the situation and that you understand everything that your company needs in order to be successful. This will inspire confidence in yourself as well as the people who you need to work with. By putting together the strongest possible business plan with the most help and advice possible, you can increase the odds that you will be able to form strong partnerships and that your business will be able to maintain its success over the long run.

What you need to buy a franchise

Buying a franchise is one of the most popular routes to starting your own business; right from the start, you get the advantage of a name and brand identity which people trust, as well as support from the franchisor for logistics, training, business methods and advertising. Many people start their first business as a franchise and it is possible to get started without a great deal of preliminary business training or experience. However, there are a number of personal characteristics which are important for potential franchisees in determining whether their attempts to start a successful franchise business will result in success or failure. Franchise companies look at the following personal traits as being the most important when they invest in you to represent their brand for a long lasting business relationship.
The most important personal trait that you can have as a business owner is a positive attitude. You have to be focused and concentrate on getting good results. When you run into challenges, will you be able to determine the correct action to overcome them? When you make mistakes, will you be able to recognize them and learn from them instead of becoming frustrated? The ability to keep your eyes on the prize and not let setbacks prevent you from giving the business your all is important for all people who want to succeed in business. Think of it from the franchisor's perspective: when you look for someone who is going to represent the face of your business to the world, would you choose someone with somewhat more education but a poor attitude, or someone who is fresh but eager to learn and capable of adapting to and overcoming any problems that may arise? Having a positive attitude is the single most useful trait that a potential franchisee can have, so make sure that your heart is in the business and convey your can-do spirit when communicating with the franchisor.
Another vital characteristic of one's personality for franchisees is being able to work with the franchisor. Franchise owners need to demonstrate a spirit of cooperation; this is the whole point of choosing to go with a franchise business. A franchise system works because each franchisee follows the same business model and operating processes as the franchisees in other areas. When franchise owners do this, the franchisors are able to assist and supply them most effectively, and the customers at each local franchise location are assured of getting the most consistent service. Franchisors provide a system which franchise owners can follow, including a wide array of contracts and training materials for managers and employees that can get you up and running in no time. Franchisors also cooperate on an ongoing basis with their franchisees to develop regional promotions. They can also provide special support and counsel to help franchisees adapt to the demands of their local area and adjust their business plan when common challenges are encountered. A franchisee that is able to ask for help from the franchisor when needed and respond flexibly to a situation is one which is more likely to succeed in the long run. Therefore franchisors look for people to represent their business who realize that there is a lot that others can teach them and that it takes a group effort to be successful.
Franchise owners also need to display good communication skills. People skills are a must for any kind of business owner; this ties in as well with cooperating effectively with the franchisor, and with having a positive overall attitude towards the business. As a successful owner of a franchise, you will need to be able to relate well not only with the people working for the franchisor, but also with the employees and the customers at your own place of business. Strong employee relations will go a long way towards determining your success. A positive attitude at the top is often reflected in better attitudes among the employees, and better attitudes among the employees means that your customers will receive a higher quality of service and be more satisfied. This in turn, means that you will be able to encourage repeat business, which is vital to making your local franchise location successful. By treating your employees well, you can also reduce the amount of employee turnover and save money and time that would otherwise be spent on finding and training new employees. In addition, when dealing with customers, be sure that you make it clear that their satisfaction is important to you. Remember that the customer is always right!
While many people enter into a franchise agreement as their first business, there are exceptions such as people who manage multiple franchise locations or come from a background of running other types of business. While having previous business experience or training is not essential to becoming a successful franchisee and is generally not given the same kind of weight as personal characteristics, it is still valuable and may make a difference in the selection process. More important than any specific training is your personal account of the jobs that you have had, the businesses that you have run, your various life experiences reflecting the way that you have adapted to changing situations and your ability to deal with the challenges that arise as a part of work and life. Someone who has consistently demonstrated an ability to make good decisions (or to learn from one's mistakes) in the face of adversity, particularly in a business context, will have an advantage when running a franchise business. Make sure when you are making your case to start a new franchise location that you give the franchisor a sense of how your life has prepared you to handle the details, great and small, of running your own business. An additional note: franchisors are generally less interested in applicants having experience within the industry of the franchise that they are running. This is because it is easier to train people with less experience. They may have other positive character traits, such as a willingness to learn, than people who have had previous training that may conflict with the franchisor's training and who may not be interested in unlearning previous habits. Still, it is possible for applicants with same industry experience to be successful, and some employees of a franchise rise to become managers by taking management training courses which provide an ongoing career path within the franchise structure.
Finally, franchisors want to make sure that you have the resources needed to get your franchise started. In addition to a stable life which allows you the time you need to handle a growing business, you must be able to afford the costs of starting the business. This requires being able to demonstrate with your bank that you have enough start-up capital. In some cases, you may need to obtain a business loan or some kind of outside funding to begin running your business. If you cannot yet collect enough money to start a franchise, don't be hasty! It is better to wait until you have the resources necessary to pursue your business goals without risking your quality of life, or getting to the point where you are unable to make adjustments or necessary purchases for your growing franchise because you have run out of money. Make sure that you have everything you need in place before you enter the franchising process so you can do whatever is necessary as the business moves towards being in profit.
If you have the traits listed above, you are well on your way towards becoming a successful franchisee. Remember: to be a good franchise owner one must have
a positive attitude,
be good at working with the franchisor and asking for help and advice whenever needed,
show strong personal communication skills with employees and customers to ensure the highest level of customer service and satisfaction,
demonstrate the ability to flexibly overcome various obstacles throughout life using one's previous life and / or business experience,
and finally have enough of a budget (which may include outside funding, business loans, etc.) to take care of any expenses that will or may be required as the franchise gets onto its feet without risking the state of one's own personal finances.
As you can see, the most important thing in determining one's success as a franchise owner is one's own personality, and not necessarily previous experience. Many new owners of franchises are young and do not have extensive experience in the industry of which the franchise is a part, in fact this may be a downside in making an application. The most important things by far are a positive, outgoing attitude and an eagerness to learn. Make sure that you reflect these kinds of personal traits when you apply to run a franchise business in your area, and you will maximize your chances of entering into a strong ongoing business relationship and being one of the franchises that succeeds.

Making the right Decision on Franchise

In order to find the best possible franchise for both your life and your local environment, a lot of research is necessary – you need to work out whether or not the franchise is offering something which is desired by the local market, and whether or not you yourself have the requisite amount of skills and money to run the franchise. Some of these things you find out when the time arrives, but you should research and plan to the fullest extent – remember that people who fail to plan, plan to fail. There are many sources of information which you, as a potential franchisee, can take advantage of – from information which is provided by the franchisor companies by law, to information that you can get from the government and on the World Wide Web. A review of the appropriate sources will help you to ensure that the franchise you choose is one that is ready to take on the market!
The first thing that you need to think about is what particular type of franchise you are interested in running. You probably already have some idea what kind of business would be best for your first franchise based on the skills and experience that you already have. For example, people who have worked in restaurants in the past, often decide that they will go into the restaurant business as the owner and manager of their own franchise restaurant. This gives them the business assistance, marketing assistance and the advantage of a familiar name making it much easier for them to handle their first entry into the business arena.
Knowing what kind of company you want to run, you can then research the kinds of specific franchise companies which are most successful within your area of interest. When you have a list of franchise companies that you might be interested in, apply to them for information – they will generally send you information brochures on how to apply for a franchise agreement and what kind of experience you can expect running one of their stores. You can also get a sense of the numbers – the kinds of profits you may realise, although this may be an early estimate based on the average experience of people countrywide. Everyone has a different experience running their franchise, but you will be able to take advantage of the franchise company’s data and their experience marketing the brand and managing the stores.
You should continue to research the companies that you are interested in at the library and on the World Wide Web to find all the latest articles about the state of the parent company, whether it is making or losing money at this point, whether it is mostly opening or closing stores, and so on. If there have been recent legal problems involving the company, problems which have led to lawsuits, bankruptcies or any other kinds of problems, then you may want to keep that in mind as you consider entering into business with them. Remember that if there is court cases involving the company that you are thinking about you can always get copies of the relevant legal files by contacting the courts and judges involved.
The franchise agreement that you receive should then contain various standard provisions – usually there will be stipulations on the specific way that you can run the business – the franchise company will be able to more or less dictate the location of the new business, and the agreement that you make with the franchise company may even be directly tied to a specific lease. The other side to this equation is that you will be taking advantage of the experience of the franchisor company in finding the best possible location. The reason that the franchise company demands certain requirements is that it wants the business to succeed and therefore wants to take advantage of the results of extensive research it has done into what kinds of locations are best suited to new businesses of its type.
You should take your time looking over the franchise agreement. Investigate the profit projections that the franchise company has put together for the area, list all the costs the franchise company thinks that you will have to be prepared for, and see if there is any way for you to save money on the lease agreement – the one part of starting a franchise that most people who start doing business wish that they had gone back and spent more time working on. The lease is a fixed cost that stays with you as the business goes on and any discounts that you are able to arrange at this stage will result in long term savings! If you have to make repairs on a location or if anything that you are doing in terms of renovations will increase its value then you should be able to negotiate a lower lease price as a result.
In addition to all of the research that you have done up to this point, you should also schedule meetings if you can with local franchise business owners – most of the time you will be able to ask the people who own a local franchise business about the experiences they had, and they will be more than happy to provide you with some general figures on what they think the local market will provide for a new franchise business. It may be hard for you to get specific numbers on how the businesses of the people you are interviewing have done – after all, they are likely to see you as a potential competitor in the future if you are successful! However, you can make inquiries on general statements such as whether or not you think that a typical business can make a certain amount of money in the local area over a given period.
Also, if you have a spouse then a critical part of your research will be talking with your significant other so that both of you are comfortable with the amount of time and effort that it will take to form a successful business. If the business succeeds, how will that change the conditions of your life together? You need to think about the personal aspect that running the business will have on your relationship and on your life – whether or not you will want to put in all of that effort over the first couple of months, and whether or not you will want to continue working on the business in the future months if it is successful.
While there are many challenges that you will face as the owner of your own business, the rewards from owning your own franchise business are many. As long as you have done enough research on your franchise business you will be able to enjoy the benefits while avoiding most of the problems that can crop up. With enough money and a good sense of the issues that can arise and how to deal with them, your chances of success will be greatly enhanced. Good luck finding the best possible franchise for you and for your area and I hope that you are able to do all of the research that it takes to run a franchise business successfully in today’s market!

Franchise Opportunities

There is a huge world of franchise opportunities out there for people who want to own their own business, but who also want to take advantage of a familiar name or a business process which has been proven to be profitable. What are some of the kinds of franchises that you can take advantage of, and what kind of opportunities and benefits do they provide for people who are looking for a good way to improve their financial status?
Some of the most popular forms of franchises are those which are based around either food or the retail industry. Some of the earliest franchises were restaurants – A&W restaurants were very popular in the history of the United States when the use of cars became almost universal among the American population., and White Castle restaurants were one of the food franchises which introduced many of the features that would later become considered standard – features such as disposable packaging and paper napkins. Other kinds of popular franchises in the early days were based around mechanical products such as Singer sewing machines and involved setting up stores which were authorized to sell official products and to act as the official repair agents for said products.
If you have experience in a service industry or in the retail industry, a franchise business may be the best way for you to take the skills that you have already learned and put them to good use in a business which you can own yourself – as a successful business owner you can make several times more money than you did in the past; you can also enjoy the status and the freedom that comes with being a manager of a business instead of an employee. While there are certain rules that you will be expected to abide by as the owner of a franchise business, the plus side is that many of the decisions which would require extensive research on your part to make correctly have been taken care of for you with a franchise business. When you run a franchise location you can rely on the expertise of a company which has lots of experience helping people like you make a franchise location into a local success.
Franchise opportunities are appealing because they allow you to make more money, enjoy greater freedom, with less business experience than you would expect – although any related business experience is beneficial. In many cases all you need is the ability to understand and implement the franchise manual and training materials, as well as an aptitude for hard work and a willingness to learn. If you can demonstrate these abilities to the franchise company then they are likely to accept your application for a franchise and to help you every step of the way!
For someone who has the right amount of time and energy, a franchise business represents one of the greatest business opportunities that the market can offer. It is true that any new business will require dedication, yet think about it – you are probably already familiar with working long hours at your job. Wouldn’t it be better to spend those long hours working on something which has the potential to bring you back thousands of pounds more than you would ever make working as someone else’s employee? Why spend all those hours of your life making someone else rich when you can improve your own life and become a success?
If you are interested in looking for advantageous franchise opportunities then there are plenty of places where you can begin your search. A franchise fair is a regional gathering where various franchises will demonstrate the benefits of the specific franchise opportunities which they have to offer. Materials on the franchises will be available and you will be able to speak directly with representatives of the franchise to get details on what they look for in an applicant. They will also tell you what kind of profits you can expect, what kind of initial investment is necessary, what kind of time frame the business is based on , how long you can expect to wait before the business makes its initial profit and is self financing and so on. All of these are important things to know and you can find out all about them at a franchise fair.
You can also research the kinds of franchises that you are interested in online – many of the most successful businesses which run franchise programmes have application request forms on their web sites. You can receive the government required information forms that a franchise company must provide to their potential franchisees and you can search for news articles about the companies in which you have an interest to see what kind of public works and possible legal imbroglios they have recently been involved in. Finding out as much as possible about the franchise companies that you are interested in investing in is a big part of identifying the best franchise opportunities.
The right amount of time spent researching your franchise opportunities will pay big dividends as you locate companies which are expanding and which have the right resources for potential franchisee investors. There are forums on the World Wide Web where you can discuss the relative merits of franchise opportunities with other franchisees and learn about which franchise companies give their investors the support that they need and what kinds of issues can arise for people who go down the route of owning and running their own franchise location. You can also learn about new franchise opportunities which you didn’t even know were there – companies which are expanding now but may not have moved into your local area yet, and which the local market may have a niche for, a niche that you can fill!
Many people begin their search for franchise opportunities by simply thinking about the franchise businesses they know. For example, if you are interested in starting a fast food restaurant franchise you would probably think about McDonald’s, Burger King, KFC and the other large scale restaurant chains. However, as you continue to do more research you are likely to find that there are lots of smaller restaurant chains which offer you the opportunity to run your own franchise for a lower fee and which can provide the same level of profits. There are always a range of franchises in any given industry – some which are currently the most well known and which charge the highest franchise fees, and those which are expanding and offer you many of the same things for a smaller cost. Whichever one is the best franchise opportunity for you will depend on how much weight you give to the name and how much you value the price and the services offered.
With so many franchise opportunities out there, you would think that the market would be completely saturated by now, but this is not the case – there are still lots of opportunities for people just like you to create great new franchise locations where you live. The more research that you do into the issue, the more franchises you are likely to find that are looking for investors and franchisees that are willing to put in the time and effort to run their own business in your area today. These franchisees are advertising at fairs, on the internet and in various franchise publications to try and find the right applicants that will help their franchise chain to expand into new territories; if you are the right applicant to own your own new franchise business then you can bring about the realisation of a great franchise opportunity for both yourself and the franchise company.
The things that we have talked about in this article should begin to give you a sense of the possibilities which are out there – by keeping an open mind and searching for new franchise opportunities you can start to learn more. The franchise running process is a learning process; from the beginning of your research into potential franchise opportunities to the point where you send in an application and try for a business loan based on your plan, all the way to the point where you finally find success with a profitable business, and onwards – you will always be learning as you run your own franchise business. I hope that you find great success in the world of franchise business and that you are able to show that you have what it takes to take advantage of the world of franchise opportunities that are out there for everyone who is willing to put in the energy and dedication!