Posted on October 13th, 2008 by Blair
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. Read more »
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Posted on October 10th, 2008 by Blair
Buying a franchise can be considerably less risky than starting your own business from scratch. For this reason, it can be a good opportunity for entrepreneurs who are inexperienced or simply averse to risk. Many new franchise opportunities crop up every year, and the choices can be overwhelming for someone who is just starting to think about purchasing a franchise. Here are some ways you can narrow down those choices to select the best possible franchise for your needs, skills, and location. Read more »
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Posted on October 10th, 2008 by Blair
If you’re considering a franchise opportunity and you have been doing your homework, you probably want to know how much money you can make at a franchise. Many potential franchisees like yourself have been doing more and more research before buying a franchise, and want as much information as possible. Likewise, franchisors have begun to provide more and more information about earnings potential to possible franchisees.
In the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), a section called Item 19 is the key to trying to understand the potential profitability of a franchise if you are thinking about buying one. The Item 19 section contains data about earnings and costs of current franchisees, which you can use to try to get an understanding of your potential profits as a franchisee. Of course, Item 19s are also loaded with disclaimers. Franchisors are nervous about you taking their findings too literally and then getting upset if you do not profit as much as some of their current franchisees. Read more »
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Posted on October 9th, 2008 by Blair
A 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. Read more »
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Posted on October 9th, 2008 by Blair
Making a major financial decision of any sort requires thorough investigation of the costs and benefits. Buying a franchise is one such major decision that you might be trying to think through if you want to start your own business. You might know that a franchise, like any new business, may take a while to become profitable or even break even. However, if you are thinking seriously about buying a franchise, you need to know what kind of profitability you can expect from it in the future, even if it is not going to be profitable in the short-term. Here are some factors you can estimate to try to figure out whether or not a franchise opportunity will be profitable: Read more »
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Posted on October 9th, 2008 by Blair
You may be interested in starting your own business, and buying a franchise is a great way to do it. But perhaps, for one reason or another, you are hoping to do this job part-time. Maybe you have a family that you need to take care of. Or maybe you want to be able to work at home, and you need a little extra income but not a whole salary. Franchising takes a lot of the risk out of starting your own business, part-time or otherwise. But can you do it part-time? Of course you can. There are several part-time franchise opportunities. But take a close look at these opportunities and think about them carefully, just as you would if you were buying a full-time franchise. And make sure they are as part-time as they seem.
Do your research. Some franchisors will advertise part-time franchising with huge benefits and profits. This is probably not legitimate. Be realistic about what kind of money you can make with part-time franchising, and look into franchisors that are realistic too. Read more »
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Posted on October 9th, 2008 by Blair
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: Read more »
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Posted on October 9th, 2008 by Blair
Once you have taken the leap and bought a franchise, you may be wondering how you can make that franchise as successful as possible. This will require a lot of hard work on your part. One of the most important things that you can do as a franchisee is be meticulously organized. If you fail to stay organized while running your own business, franchise or otherwise, you will probably find yourself in a great deal of mess. Staying organized not only helps you keep track of important things, it helps you have the most information possible, so that you can change aspects of your business as necessary to be more successful. Here are some facets of your franchise you will want to keep organized: Read more »
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Posted on October 9th, 2008 by Blair
If you are interested owning your own business you have probably heard about the possibility of buying a franchise. Of course, there are many advantages to buying a franchise rather than starting up your own business. With a franchise, you get the benefits of an established business model and a name brand. This might be appealing to you. But you might also be concerned about the difficulty of starting your own business, and the possibility of failure. If being a franchisee appeals to you, you probably don’t like risky ventures. Buying an existing franchise can be even more appealing and offer even less risk than buying a new one.
The main advantage of buying an existing franchise, though, is that you will save a lot of time and effort. The previous franchisee has already put in all of the effort needed to build the location, buy supplies, hire employees, and more. You will just be able to start running the business without having to deal with all of that hassle. Read more »
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Posted on October 9th, 2008 by Blair
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. Read more »
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