Source Book Publications, in partnership with FranFIND and IFCN (the International Franchise Consultants Network), will publish Bond’s International Franchise Guide in March, 2008. The International Franchising Program is a focused, multi-faceted effort to attract, educate and recruit potential international franchisees in and between US and European markets. The program is limited to 250 franchise systems seeking additional international exposure. These systems will be represented at 20+ international franchise shows and major franchise events. Click here for the shows targeted for 2008. The International Guide will be provided free of charge to show attendees. International franchise attorneys, consultants and service providers will also be represented.

Annual membership of $1,500 includes a detailed profile in publish Bond’s International Franchise Guide and on www.FranchisingEU.com. There is no more cost-effective way to reach this target market.

Through participation in the program, franchisors gain great international branding, tremendous exposure, positive publicity, an effective vehicle for generating qualified leads and, ultimately, new franchise partners within the international community.

Details on the program can be found at http://www.franchisingeu.com/files/International_Brochure.pdf.

If you would like to find out more about the program, please call Matt Nebel at (800) 841-0873.

ATTENTION FRANCHISORS!

Source Book Publications Is Now Compiling the 2008 Edition of "How Much Can I Make?"

As you may be aware, Source Book Publications publishes an annual earnings claims compilation titled “How Much Can I Make?” The 6th annual edition should be available in January 2008. It will include roughly 120 earnings claims statements in their entirety, as well as a detailed profile (go to www.worldfranchising.com to see a sample profile) of those companies included. The publication serves as an invaluable tool for prospective franchisees, thus gaining their trust and, in most cases, a sincere interest to learn more. Inclusion in “How Much Can I Make?” is therefore an invaluable opportunity that most franchisors should take full advantage of.

First of all, if you are one of those rare franchisors that publish an earnings claims statement, we salute you. Unfortunately, the ability to promote the fact that you provide this critical information is severely limited. “How Much Can I Make?” is clearly the easiest method of letting prospective franchisees know that you are proud enough of your system to trust their judgment based on fact rather than false expectations.

If you would like to be considered for inclusion in the 2008 “How Much Can I Make?” publication and have not already sent us your Earnings Claims Statement, please email your complete Item 19 / Earnings Claim Statement to [email protected]. If you could forward the Item 19 in a Word format, that would be optimal. To the extent that we end up using your Item 19 in the book, we will mail you a complimentary copy of the book upon publication.

The Lead Generation Reporter ™ Web Traffic Rankings Report has been modified to clearly reflect the following:

1) Lead Generation Site Ranking According to Average Number of Hits Per Site Per Month, i.e. "General Popularity"

2) NEW! Lead Generation Site Ranking According to Average Number of Links Directing to Each Site, i.e., "Link Popularity"

You can download a sample Web Traffic Rankings Report here.

To learn more about the monthly Lead Generation Reporter ™, please click here.

Source Book Publications has long argued (with very modest success) that all franchisors should be required to submit an earnings claim statement (Item 19) in their UFOC. Given that submission of an Item 19 is entirely voluntary, only 20% of franchisors choose to do so. The reasons for non-submission range from the ludicrous to vaguely plausible.

To us, it seems entirely one-sided to ask a prospective franchisee to invest in excess of $200,000 (on average) to “buy” a franchise without providing him or her with a clear understanding what he or she might earn from the investment. Although there are numerous variables that preclude franchisors from coming up with an exact projection of future Net Operating Income, the franchisors clearly have the ability to determine the historical sales and related expenses for operating units currently within their system. At a minimum, they can work backwards from royalty payments to come up with a gross sales figure. To the extent that they closely monitor and support their franchisees, they should have a good sense of average operating costs as well. Given this information and the latitude they have to provide as much detail as they see fit, they can break out summary operating data for those franchisees or company-owned units that have been around for say 5 years, 10 years, etc.

Our sense is that the FTC will ultimately acknowledge the need for a mandatory Item 19. Given the difficulty from industry to industry to provide a workable template for the submission of information, the FTC will continue to allow franchisors to provide as much or as little information as they deem necessary. Those franchisors that do in fact provide real, in-depth information will clearly enjoy a competitive advantage over those that do not. At any rate, those franchisors that go to the trouble of including an Item 19, even if only cursory, should be acknowledged and applauded.

As an on-going feature of future newsletters, World Franchising will publish an exemplary Item 19 each month. This month, we honor Domino's Pizza for the exceptional detail that they provide in their Item 19. My guess is that the rapid growth and success of their system has a great deal to do with the forthrightness with which they celebrate the success of their existing franchisees. To view their Item 19, please click here.

Those companies who feel they provide exceptional disclosure in their Item 19s are free to submit their Item 19 electronically for consideration in subsequent newsletters.

(800) 841-0873; (510) 839-5471; Fax (510) 839-2104; www.worldfranchising.com