Franchising Pros and Cons

Last week's question from Anthony R. on how to choose the franchise that would best fulfill his life-long dream of owning his own business sparked a number of emails from other readers wanting to offer their two cents on the subject.

Some folks offered helpful insights and suggestions on how to pick a franchise and a few things to watch out for, while other emails came from current franchise owners asking me to help them sell their operations to Anthony R.

Hmm, sounds like it's time to update the old business card once again. Tim Knox: Franchise Broker At Large... Who knows, maybe I can franchise the concept.

Last week I promised we'd take a closer look at a few of the things you should look for when considering a franchise opportunity. Keep in mind that there are thousands of franchise opportunities that range from the low end opportunities available for a few thousand dollars to the high end franchises that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The difference in price is reflected in many ways: the viability of the opportunity, the level of training and support offered to the franchisee, the track record and financial stability of the franchisor, the success rate of the franchisees, and a dozen other factors.

All a lower end franchisor might offer is a training manual and the right to use their company name. Many also have very little interest in weeding out potential franchisees. The truth is many are in business just to collect franchise fees. They have little interest in whether or not a franchisee actually succeeds. If you have a pulse and a checkbook, you can become their franchisee. And your pulse does not have to be that strong.

The higher end franchisors have very strict franchisee requirements and will not allow just anyone to become a part of their franchise system. They also go to much greater lengths to ensure the success of their franchisees. They offer complete hand holding from start to finish and remain heavily involved in the business even after the doors open. Yes, you do pay dearly for their assistance, but as the old saying goes, you get what you pay for.

Here are a few things to look for in a franchise opportunity:

Turnkey operation This is the most appealing feature of many franchise systems. Many of the top franchisors will scout the best location for the business, build and equip the facility, hire and train employees, put you through an extensive management training system, then toss you the keys. Furthermore, they will work closely with you for the first few months to help make certain that you know what to do with the keys once they've been tossed to you.

The majority of franchises don't offer such complete turnkey packages, so be prepared to do much of the upfront work yourself. Often it is up to you to find a location, negotiate the lease, build out the space or erect a building, install the equipment, hire and train a staff etc.

Proven track record and management system As mentioned earlier, many of the lesser-known franchise systems offer you a training manual, maybe a training video, and a few hours of telephone support. Not the best way to learn how to run a business. A good franchisor will provide you with thorough management training, either at their facility or onsite at yours. Since one of the reasons for buying into a franchise system is to tap into their expertise and know-how, thorough training should be a foremost consideration.

Customers waiting for the door to open I don't have the statistics in my pocket to back this up, of course, but I'd bet the farm that every time a new McDonald's opens its door, it's a mere matter of minutes before the first Happy Meal is sold. Many franchisors spend hundreds of millions of dollars on national ad campaigns to promote brand awareness. This works great for the franchisee who can literally have customers waiting for the doors to open on the first day of business.

Always consider the downsides There are downsides to franchising. Foremost is the high cost of entry. The top franchise opportunities require considerable investment on the front end, usually more of an investment than if the entrepreneur started a similar venture on his own. You could open an independent hamburger fast food restaurant for a fraction of the McDonald's franchise fee, but you probably won't sell as many hamburgers. What you're buying from McDonald's is not just a fast food restaurant that sells hamburgers. What you're buying is a brand, a reputation, and a proven business system with ready to eat customers. Be prepared to pay a premium for it.

Another downside is that when you buy into a franchise system you often have to pay a percentage of your revenues back to the franchisor. You might also be required to buy supplies from the franchisor, including inventory, paperwork, software, computer systems, and anything else the franchisor decides that they should supply to you.

And there in lies the biggest downside of all. When you buy into a franchise system you don't control your business, the franchisor does. You have very little say-so in running the business. You must follow their processes and procedures without variation. And should you decide to get out of the business you may not even be allowed to sell the franchise to just anyone. The new owner would have to be approved by the franchisor before a deal could be made final.

The bottomline, Anthony, is to do your homework and make sure the franchise you choose fits your personality, your lifestyle, and your pocket book.

About The Author
Andrew Adams writes for http://www.magfranchise.org where you can find out more about franchising and other topics.

Forex Broker

Forex brokers are going to give you all types of information and advice about where you can invest and how you can invest with foreign companies. Forex systems are not available through all types of commercial investing companies but you can find a few Forex brokers in most all areas of the world. Forex brokers are found in large commercial investing firms, in most larger banks, and now with the help of the internet you can find many Forex brokers online. Use a Forex broker if you want to learn more about how to invest, where to invest, and how much money you need to invest in a Forex system right now.

Forex brokers are going to tell you what the minimums are. In some cases, you can invest as little as five dollars to open a Forex trading account. In some areas, and for some investment companies you must invest a minimum of $200 or even $500. It is important to remember that every investment firm is different, and will have set minimums for their business to take place.

Fees through a Forex broker will be based on the amount of the transaction and the type of transaction that you are completing. Moving from fund to fund or from Forex account to another Forex account you will incur the largest types of fees, but be sure to read the fine print on the Forex broker site where you intend to do business to be sure. Forex brokers make their money on the fees they bill when helping clients move money, and put money into investments.

A Forex broker should be a person you can trust, understand, and that you feel is honest with you. A Forex broker is one that you should not receive phone calls from, urging you to put large amounts of money into an account, right now. A Forex broker will present you with information about an investment, and then allow you time to make up your own mind if you are interested in the investment or not. A pushy broker is one that could be trying to earn a commission or could be trying to scam you. Again, your Forex broker is a broker you should feel comfortable in dealing with on a daily or weekly basis, but for many people, you may only talk to your Forex broker once a month or even less than that.

Investing money is a big decision. When deciding what broker Forex advice to take, or where to seek broker Forex advice you can use the links on these pages, or you can use your local yellow pages to find a possible Forex broker in your town or city. Not many Forex brokers are located in small towns or cities but in larger areas where the population is larger and more people have a need for such Forex and investing information.

About The Author
Kenneth Langlet is an independent writer and owner of the website http://www.brokers-and-traders.com/ where you can get more information about Forex broker.

How to Start a Retail Supermarket

Everyone needs food in order to survive. And while many people have had to turn to restaurants and fast food in order to get food on the run, the retail supermarket industry is still thriving. People like to eat and they need to eat. However, getting into the retail supermarket business can be difficult, so here are some basic tips to get you started.

First of all, learn about the customers that you want to provide foods to. Are they looking for low prices or are they looking for a certain type of food – i.e. organic or local produce? Determining the kinds of customers you will cater to can help to limit the capital that you have to spend up front as well as the costs for buying products that you might not need. If you already have a location or area in mind, you might want to send out simple surveys to see what people are looking for and where they might like to see it. Include a discount coupon or some other freebie in order to get surveys returned to you – people like to be compensated for their time and their opinion.

Once you’ve determined the kind of supermarket that your customers want, you can begin to look at possible locations. People don’t like to drive too far for their food, so keeping stories in central locations is best, though you also don’t want to be somewhere that might cause traffic to become troublesome for locals as well. Look in the area to see where other popular retailers are. You might find that you can set up shop adjacent to them and help both locations out. If you have larger grocery chains in the vicinity, it can help to find a location that is at a distance so that locals can make their own choice, but that said, you will have to create some sort of incentive for them to choose you.

What’s the incentive for your customers? If you’re providing a particular product to your customers, that can be all the incentive that they need – in the beginning. Organic foods, for example, are a quite lucrative right now as people are more concerned about their health and eating right. However, these foods can be expensive to purchase, so you will want to research cheaper suppliers and farmers.

It can help to research and observe successful supermarkets in your area to see how they are creating profits for themselves. Look to see what kind of variety they offer, if they rotate their products or maintain the same items throughout the year. You may want to do everything completely differently as well, but it never hurts to see what’s working for someone else. You could also talk to other customers to see what else they’d like to see at popular stores in order to bring in their business to your own establishment.

Starting a retail supermarket requires capital to buy the space, products, and the employees to get everything running. But if you’ve secured your market and your products, you’re nearly ready to start cashing in on your ideas.

Copyright 2006 Jorge Olson

About The Author
Jorge Olson is a Business Consultant Entrepreneur. Visit his website for information on how to buy at the best Wholesale Prices for your Retail or Wholesale Business, or even how to go into business. Find free information at http://www.WholesaleTeacher.com.

Tips for Launching Your Own Business

This November marks my two-year anniversary of starting my own human resources consulting business. As I look back on the years, I am amazed at what I accomplished and learned. If you are thinking about starting a business, read on!

I always dreamed about having my own business, talked to friends about it, and imagined how it might be. But it was only after two people in my life gave me a push, that I started doing instead of dreaming. First, my former boss said to me, when we were both thinking about moving on, "I never looked for a job, I always went out and created my own." Given her advice, I hired a business coach to help me map out my next career steps. My coach saw my entrepreneurial spirit and encouraged me to start a business. So I moved from dreaming to doing.

The first few months of my business I spent setting up a legal structure, registering the business name, implementing an easy accounting system, setting up a business checking account, establishing a line of credit and obtaining business insurance. Each item was time consuming but not difficult. The more difficult work was writing my business plan and marketing plan. I talked to professional colleagues and volunteers at the Small Business Administration and SCORE, and read books on marketing. The process was slow because I was learning along the way, but I now use both business and marketing plans as daily road maps to guide my actions. One of the easier and fun parts of the first few months – for me, was working with a designer to create a logo, business cards, stationery, brochure and Web site.

I also started networking - an activity that never ceases. There are many organizations to join. The trick is figuring out which ones to choose. I finally decided on being involved with a half a dozen organizations, which can either bring me business or help me learn more about building my business or both.

One of the activities I worked on for months was my "elevator pitch," which is answering the question, "What do you do?" so the listener understands and is interested. Now when people ask, I say, "I have a human resources consulting firm. We help organizations choose and grow talented people. And we help individuals choose and grow great careers."

I also spent a lot of time creating processes to make my business run like a well-oiled machine. I have processes for making sales calls, following up, writing proposals and evaluating the results of the work I do.

In addition, two wonderful students contacted me this year, both of whom wanted to work with me as interns to learn my business and to help them with their careers. Having two interns adds supervisory and coaching time, but their ideas and enthusiasm has paid off. In fact, my business tag line, Know-how. Right now, came out of a meeting in which the three of us reviewed my marketing plan.

At a networking meeting, a colleague suggested that I consider joining the Women’s Business Development Center. After looking into it, I had my business certified as a women’s business enterprise. In addition to meeting other women business owners, I gained access to a member directory of businesses that are interested in doing business with women business owners.

For me, the biggest risk of starting my own business was financial. I went from a steady paycheck to a roller coaster ride of payments. Before starting my business, I sat down with my family and asked for their support to ride out the slow months. My husband and youngest child were supportive; my teenager who loves new clothes and CDs, etc, needed convincing. But since my teenager is just a few years away from college and making her own career decisions, I see my move as a way to show her how to live your dreams.

The rewards are significant. I am passionate about what I do. For all every business decision, I get to decide. My newfound freedom has unleashed my creative talents. And there is new meaning in what I do. My advice after my first year: If you are passionate about a business idea, knuckle down and go for it!

About The Author

Judith Lindenberger MBA has a distinguished career in human resources consulting and is recognized for her innovation and excellence. The Lindenberger Group, LLC provides results-oriented human resources consulting, organization development, customized training workshops and personal career training to help individuals and organizations improve their productivity and performance. The Lindenberger Group is a two-time recipient of The Athena Award for Excellence in Mentoring. Contact them at 609.730.1049 or info@lindenbergergroup.com or www.lindenbergergroup.com

Blogs that Pay

Making money with a blog is possible if you know how to attract the attention of prospects. It’s simply a matter of letting your customers know what you’re all about.

There are many ways that you can make money with a blog if you are interested. The following are some useful tips that you can keep in mind if you want to monetize a blog:

Sell advertising – This is the best way to make money with a blog. You can go about selling ads in two different ways. If you have a distinguished blog and it is set up in a popular niche you can sell ad space yourself. However, if you are not as fortunate, and are yet to have a successful blog, you can always rely on services such as AdSense or BlogAds. These services will help you monetize a blog through their pay-per-click program.

Affiliate programs – affiliate programs will help making money with a blog an easier process. By enabling your blog to link your readers to relevant online sites that provide services and products that may interest them, you can attract more attention.

Two of the best online companies you can affiliate with are Amazon.com and eBay. Remember, every time a reader clicks the affiliate link on your page and purchases a product from the merchant site, you receive a percentage of this profit, and a satisfied customer.

Market your products - Consider marketing your blog with the services or products you are selling. Of course, the point of your blog shouldn’t be to sell your stuff, but it never hurts to remind or offer prospects what you have for sale, and hear their opinions.

Grow your relationship with your customers – A blog is a great way to not only attract new customers, but also encourage repeat clients. Be an active part of your blog and use it to communicate with your existing and potential customers. Keep them up to date about your business. Tell them everything there is to know about your products and let them know that you care what they think.

You can make money with a blog where customers feel valued and can make there opinions count.

Making money with a blog is possible if you aren’t afraid to market your business. When it comes to your business website, you will want to do everything in your power to monetize as much as you can.

About The Author

Itay Paz is the founder of Internet Marketing Hype, an online newsletter that discusses the insights and excitement of today's internet marketing including: affiliate marketing, advertising, conferences, seminars, workshops, ebooks and other information products. Itay Paz is now sharing his knowledge with other Internet Marketers through his new Internet Marketing Hype Ezine. Itay’s online magazine will provide you with exceptional insights of Internet Marketing in a simple and easy way. Sign up for Itay Paz’s Internet Marketing Hype Ezine by visiting his website at http://www.internetmarketinghype.com.

Franchising

If you are interested in starting a new business you might consider that of a franchise because of the perceived notion that it is a sure success. However, this is not always the case and before starting a franchise you should educate yourself on a significant amount of information in order to ensure you make the best, and ultimately most profitable, decision possible.

IF you simply buy a franchise because you like the food or product, then you could be setting yourself up for a variety of problems because you did not research the important information. Some of the basic things you should learn about before deciding to buy a franchise are what franchises are available in your area, what is the market demand for franchises, as well as a detailed comparison of all of the franchises you decide pass your first round of questions.

First of all, there are thousands of companies that sell franchises, so you need to narrow down the list a bit. The first thing you need to do is find what franchises are currently available in your proposed market. Hopefully, you will have considered a market or markets that are in need of a specific type of franchise and you will begin looking for these. The reason it is important to focus on the market and the franchise is because success of the franchise rests in the hands of the market.

Market saturation could be a huge problem for you if you open a cheeseburger franchises and there are already eight other similar franchises. In this instant, do not focus on what the market already has, but on what the market does not have. This is the type of franchise you want to buy because you will have a monopoly for the time being or at least until another competing business or franchise is opened.

However, when you are forming this list you need not decide on one right away. In fact, it is a better idea if you narrow the list down to the top five franchises that you think you fit best in your proposed market. Then, do some really detailed comparisons of advertising expenses, proposed profit and loss, training, financial status, financing, and all the other important aspects that apply to your opening a franchise. Then, pick the franchise that best meets your needs when it comes to buying a franchise.

Finally, make sure you conduct detailed research before deciding on a franchise because it costs a lot of money to start and their are certainly better franchises than others. Give yourself the best opportunity at success and do your homework. It will pay off in the future.

About The Author

Robert Michael is a writer for Firm Franchise which is an excellent place to find franchise links, resources and articles. For more information go to: http://www.firmfranchise.com

Entrepreneurs Get Better with Age

QUESTION:
I’m thinking about starting a business after I retire next month. I’ll be 65. Am I too old to start a business? -- Milton A.

ANSWER:
Milton, congratulations on your pending retirement. I find it admirable that after many years of hard work you are thinking about starting a business. While most men your age would be content to sit on the porch and watch the world go by, you are considering a ride on the entrepreneurial roller coaster. You’re certainly tall enough to ride this ride, but are you too old?

Here’s my standard answer: It depends. It depends on your health, your energy, your drive, your goals, and of course, your finances. If all those are in good shape and you have your spouse’s approval (that’s a biggie), then there is absolutely no reason why you should not start a business at your age.

In fact, the numbers are actually in your favor. According to recent studies 22 percent of men and 14 percent of women over 65 are self-employed. That’s compared to just 7 percent for other age groups.

According to a Vanderbilt University study the number of entrepreneurs age 45 to 64 will grow by 15 million by 2006. That’s compared to a 4 million decline for entrepreneurs age 25 to 44.

A 1998 survey of baby boomers conducted by the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) revealed that 80 percent of respondants planned to work beyond retirement age, and 17 percent of those planned to launch new businesses.

The study noted, "Self-employment among American workers increases with age, with the most dramatic jump occurring at age 65."

Older entrepreneurs may also find starting a business easier than their younger counterparts because older entrepreneurs tend to have more experience to draw from and more assets with which to finance a business.

Further evidence comes from a report released by Barclays Bank entitled Third Age Entrepreneurs – Profiting From Experience. The report shows that older entrepreneurs are responsible for 50 percent more business start-ups than 10 years ago. This amounts to around 60,000 business start-ups last year alone.

The survey also showed that today’s third age entrepreneurs (as the report calls entrepreneurs over the age of 50) don’t mind putting in the hours required to build their business. Nearly 49 percent work an average of 36 hours or more a week.

Third agers also rated holidays, lack of stress and a balance between work and home life more important than their younger counterparts.

The report further showed that only 27 percent run the business as the only source of household income, with 51 percent supplementing their pension.

Other key findings showed that third age start-ups account for 15 percent of all new businesses, and third age entrepreneurs are three times more likely to be male than female.

There is a downside (isn’t there always?). Many businesses fail within the first few years and older entrepreneurs may be less able to handle the financial loss than younger entrepreneurs. It’s one thing to lose everything at 25, but it’s a much bigger deal to be financially ruined at 65.

So my advice, Milton, is that if your health and finances allow (and the Mrs. gives the green light) by all means start your business.

Climb on the entrepreneurial roller coaster and hang on tight.

You get the senior discount, by the way.

Just try not to lose your lunch when things get bumpy and you’ll probably do just fine.

About The Author

Small Business Q&A is written by veteran entrepreneur and syndicated columnist, Tim Knox.

Tim's latest books include "Small Business Success Secrets" and "The 30 Day Blueprint For Success!"

Related Links:
www.smallbusinessqa.com
www.dropshipwholesale.net
http://www.30dayblueprint.com
http://www.timknox.com