Franchise Blog

Though it may come as something of a surprise, home repair businesses are often some of the most stable when the economy takes a dive, and the biggest reason for that is a relatively simple one. People are most likely to spend money on what means the most to them, and for most homeowners, the house is one of the things that is most important in life, because it’s the biggest investment the average person will ever make. Therefore, even in recession, people remain willing to spend the money it takes to keep their homes in good repair. For that reason, home repair businesses rarely see a large downturn, even when the rest of the economy is dropping off, like it is now. (more…)

So, you have been considering a business of your own and you are tired of working for someone else, or perhaps a company that does not fully appreciate your talents. Well, you are not alone, in fact, this is the number one reason people go into business for themselves. (more…)

If you are thinking about buying into a franchise system and have listed all the potential franchise business opportunities that suit your fancy then it is time for you to now do a little research. You must first educate yourself on the franchise business model and learn all you can about the franchisors that you are interested in, and that means you must do your due diligence. (more…)

If you are even remotely considering a small business of your own then you need to take a good hard look at franchising. The Franchising Model has huge advantages for first time business owners.

It’s important for you to fully understand franchising before you get too involved in choosing a franchise opportunity to buy. I often recommend a little reading material for those who find themselves getting serious about entering the sales process with a franchise company. (more…)

Despite what anyone says about the advantages of a small enterprise, no one can deny that size does matter and the “law of bigness” is alive and well, especially in the world of franchising. Small companies have a trouble competing with franchised outlets that are large with a strong brand name behind them. Still, that is only the half of it, you must also consider the economies of scale involved on the purchasing end. (more…)

Some folks go overboard when it comes to their views of the franchise model. Now, do not get me wrong, I too believe that the franchising model is perhaps the very best business model ever conceived, yet at the same time having participated a bit in the industry, I also realize that not every franchise company or franchising corporation is created equally. (more…)

No matter what type of business you choose to start or which business model you end up choosing, I wish you success and happiness. However, if I may be so bold, I’d like to suggest you take a look at the world of franchising and all it has to offer. You see, the franchising model has a lot to offer someone who wishes to own a business of their own to round out and complete their American Dream. (more…)

One of the main advantages of owning a franchised outlet as opposed to owning your own business is that you get training and on-going support from the corporate franchising company. So, it makes sense that franchisors, both big and small and their associations have touted the mantra; “You are in business for yourself, but not by yourself!” (more…)

Seventy-year-old Kelly White waited a long time before exploring the world of franchising. In fact, he came out of retirement at age 66 to open his HoneyBaked Ham store in Silverdale, Wash.

“Retirement was just too boring for us,” says White, referring to himself and his wife Sue. Together they manage the store and a staff of eight part-time and full-time employees. White’s hands-on style and love of running the business have served him well. That’s probably because he founded and operated his own construction company for 25 years, much of that while concurrently running an apple orchard.

When White got out of high school in the mid 1950s, he was immediately drafted into the Army. “In those days, if you didn’t have good grades and weren’t headed for college you were going into the service,” he says. He spent four years in the service, trained as a Russian linguist, and served overseas in Tokyo, Japan before leaving as an Army Lieutenant. “The pay was not there,” he says. “I was making $250 a month when I got out.”

White was born into a “construction family” and so after his time in the service he started his own company, building roads as the highway system was rapidly expanding across the U.S. At one point, his company employed more than 300 people. He made a good living. In 1997, White decided to shift gears and try his hand at retirement. Not satisfied, he considered “a retirement business.” He says he and Sue looked at several franchises before deciding upon HoneyBaked Ham. “We had always loved eating the hams and had given them as gifts to our employees over the years, so when we found out they were looking for a franchisee in our area it seemed like a perfect match.”

Their store opened in May of 2004. White says there have been challenges. “I had no retail or food experience, I just built roads and grew apples,” he says. But franchising offers a proven system and with a little hard work the White’s have made it successful. “I lacked any marketing experience but the franchise model really offers a lot of assistance with that.”

Like many who spend time in the service, White says it helped him “grow up” and mature and he knows the experience has benefited him throughout his life.

He says he is very customer driven and focused on providing a good experience for all of his customers. “And we try to instill this attitude in all of our employees,” he says. Typically, White’s employees are teenagers and he often gives them their very first job experience. “We do a lot of training and we do have turnover, but we’ve had some good kids,” he says.

As for day-to-day business, Kelly handles paying the bills, payroll, marketing, purchasing, and even delivers all of the catering orders. He says “Sue handles the cafe and the front and back of the house.”

The couple must be doing something right, the franchise office has recognized their store as franchisee of the year.

That’s quite a benchmark for a “retirement business.”

When Scott Engstler and his wife, Valerie, decided they wanted to have a business of their own, they knew how perilous a start-up could be. “That’s a risky prospect and can be very costly,” says Engstler. So it was a natural progression that led them to franchising – and ultimately Money Mailer.

“We used FranChoice to help us figure out exactly what franchise would be the right fit for us,” he says. After establishing the Engstler’s profile and criteria, the couple used the information to help them decide on Money Mailer. They opened up shop in February of ‘07 serving the territory of southern Florida that includes Sunrise, Plantation, and Ft. Lauderdale. They haven’t looked back.

“The great thing about franchising is that the model is already in place and the brand and name recognition is there,” says Engstler.

Prior to franchising, Engstler spent six years on active duty in the Army (’95-’01 in the 13 Bravo Field Artillery) and then spent time with the Florida National Guard (’01-’05). Since then, he has had a career in law enforcement that he continues to be involved with. “That’s where my wife has been so helpful,” he says. “She handles a lot of sales for us.” He says Valerie is a respiratory therapist but they hope soon, their Money Mailer will be so busy that she’ll begin working for their business fulltime.

The business has been doing well for the Engstlers. They’ve recently added Destin, Davie, and Cooper City to their territory. “I know that in business, you get out of it what you put into it.” They’re putting a lot into it right now. Engstler says he works his day job and then handles some sales and all the operations and financial responsibilities for the Money Mailer after 5:00 and in the evenings. “If we grow anymore, we’ll probably have to add staff,” he says. “But right now it’s just the two of us.”

The military background has served Engstler well. He says that by spending time as a supervisor (E-6) he learned how important it is to be able to work with people. “Working, talking, managing people are essential skills in any business,” he says.

As you might expect with only two employees, Scott and Valerie, the Engstler’s management style is very hands on. “We know everything that goes on here because we’re the ones doing everything,” he says.

He says Money Mailer has been a great fit and that he gets a charge out of helping local businesses in his area with their marketing needs. “There’s nothing more rewarding than hearing ‘thank you’ from a customer.”

The Engstler’s have two children (ages 2 and 4) and they love to spend time together fishing, boating, and hanging out at the park or beach.

Engstler wants to continue growing the business “with every mailing we do.” He says they’re always on the lookout for new customers – he uses a telemarketer to help drum up business. In the meantime, “We’re looking to add to our customer base and avoid standing still.”

It is a quiet Saturday morning. If you are the average American, the downturn in the economy has started you to think about how it will impact your career and the opportunities for your children as they enter the workforce. Articles about Enron and Tyco and Global Crossing and other corporate scandals abound and some of the most respected brand names internationally are talking about layoffs and bankruptcy.

Surfing the web you read stories about entrepreneurship and wealth creation by individuals who grabbed a piece of the “Great American Dream” of individual business ownership. But you don’t know where to start to look for your opportunity. One-way may be to simply open up your own independent business – but even here you don’t know where to begin. The simplest way may be to join a growing franchise or business opportunity network. But you don’t know which one is right for you. You are not even sure of the differences between a biz-op and a franchise and you are not certain you really need to care. (more…)

One of the big no-no’s of franchising is allowing a franchise sales person to make verbal promises or give earnings claims of potential profitability that are not verifiable or in the franchisor’s disclosure documents. This is very serious and more than one franchisor has had their pants sued off for allowing this practice. Indeed, franchisees should be very leery of a franchise salesperson that makes such statements, if they cannot be found in the official disclosure documents.

In fact, the prospective franchise might even wish to consider skipping that franchise business opportunity all together and moving onto the next best franchise they might consider. Not long ago a franchise arbitrator awarded a franchisee 5 times the franchisor’s net worth and 3 times its earnings during its 5-year history. Needless to say this mistake by a franchisor’s sales man cost the company everything, and it will pay off part of the judgment and then file for bankruptcy.

Worst, there is no possible way in this present economy to make up the difference, so the franchisor is history along with the entire franchise chain, all because the sales guy made a verbal like promise, this one on the last line at the bottom of an email during the sales process.

The extremely business savvy franchise buyers that invested in the franchise business opportunity may or may not have known at the time that this two line sentence at the bottom of the email would later sink the franchisor and make them a good chunk of change for their original investment. So, this ought to be a lesson to all franchisors and franchisees, beware of verbal or email promises that cannot be substantiated during the sales process. Think on this.

At a glance, it seems that our community is working harder and longer than ever. As the national economy is slowing and unemployment is predicted to rise accordingly, it seems only natural that workers put their noses to the grindstone in an attempt to move up the ladder, or even just to make ends meet.

Whilst this is certainly the case for a majority of the population, for the remaining group there can be noticed a significant shift in their intention and chosen direction when it comes to making decisions about their working life. More and more people, females in particular, are choosing flexibility and family commitments over climbing the corporate ladder and earning the big bucks.

Currently, one of the most common options that people are turning to as a way to have more control over when, where and how much they work, is franchising. Once only associated with large multi-national businesses such as McDonald’s and Starbucks, the franchising sector in Australia continues to grow steadily and can be anything from a cleaning business, to mortgage brokers and supermarkets. This growth is attributed to two major factors, one being that a greater number of successful business owners are looking to expand their empire and do so by creating and selling franchises. The second reason compliments the first, as people chose to prioritise what is important to them and what best suits their desired lifestyle, they are consequently choosing to purchase these newly created franchises.

Owning a franchise allows business owners to have control over a range of aspects that would be unlikely to be up for negotiation in a regularly employed position. By owning a franchise, business owners are able to set their own work hours, perhaps molding it around picking up the kids from school, playing tennis with friends at 11am on a Wednesday or any other commitments that may exist. They are able to work from home or a selected convenient location, as well as having the satisfaction of reaping the direct benefits of their hard work.

Franchising contributes large amounts to Australia’s economic landscape through not only creating a wealth of new business owners and providing them with a platform in which to learn and grow as business people and as human beings, but also provides job opportunities and valuable products and services to the community.

By purchasing a franchise, the franchisee is provided with a support framework from the franchisor. This can be anywhere from regular training, to marketing support and networking opportunities, all of which directly benefit the franchisee’s business as well as contributing towards the good name and future success of the company as a whole.

A recent Potential Franchisee Survey, conducted by Mortgage Choice, shows that for those considering purchasing a franchise, the most appealing factors were all related to the fact that what they are buying into is already established. In most cases, there is an established recognition of the business brand within the community. Purchasing a franchise also ensures that there is an established business model along with other necessary tools such as suppliers and access to support networks via the franchisor and other franchisees. Potential franchisees like the fact that there is a better likelihood of success when compared to starting a small business from scratch. It also opens the door for increased exposure through advertising and media as the combined resources of a franchise can access much more that a single small business owner.

Obviously, purchasing a franchise is not necessarily the right fit for everyone, however many of those that have made the choice would swear that it has made a drastic change in their lives and they will never look back. As with every important business decision it is strongly recommended that you seek professional independent advice before taking any action, as failure to do so could be damaging down the track.

If you are going to buy a franchise business opportunity, then you need to do a little extra work while looking over the franchise disclosure documents and I’d like to specifically discuss the section that addresses restrictions of ownership in ancillary companies, suppliers of the franchisor and ownership of the competitors of the franchising company. You’d be surprised how competitors of a franchisor will try to get a spouse or family member or even a close associate to buy a franchise just to learn the secrets and inner workings of the franchisor’s system.

It happens all the time, such is one of the realities of business. Corporate Espionage is alive and well in the franchising sector, and when a franchisor is growing fast and winning market share, well, let’s just say it scares the bejesus out of the competition, as well it should. I seriously doubt there is a single franchisor in existence worth their salt that has not had a competitor attempt to shop them or pretend to be a franchise buyer in order to receive information or get a copy of the Franchisor’s FDD or UFOC.

This is one reason that franchising companies make it known to franchise buyers of their franchise opportunities that they will not allow anyone to buy into their franchise that has a stake in a competitive business. And they also are careful not to allow vendors to buy-in, as often they also sell to the competition, besides other franchisees will complain if one franchisee is involved as vendor and money is funneled towards that vendor.

When you see this clause in your franchisor’s disclosure documents, remember that these notations are there for a reason. Anyone who violates these stipulations can find themselves terminated for cause and a lawsuit pending with damages to be assessed. Courts will generally find in favor of a franchisor in this case, when someone has misrepresented themselves to steal proprietary information. Please make a note of this.

Perhaps the biggest question that folks ask after any major election is will the new President be good for their industry, their business, or our economy in general. And there is good reason for this, as many folks’ livelihood is at stake.

No one that has a good paying job, a family, a house and a couple of cars want to get a pink slip or be laid-off from work and with the US economy in recession, perhaps President Obama’s victory has some people wondering.

In the franchising industry, it’s no different, President Obama will definitely matter for both franchisors and franchisees. For franchisors there will be higher costs perhaps more taxes and more regulations. For franchisees some of these regulations may help them as investors in franchise business opportunities, making sure there are adequate transparency rules, accountability and consumer investment protections.

Senator Barrack Obama while running for President promised to look out for the little guy, and to take care of small businesses, in fact, he said on his website that he believed small businesses were the backbone of our economy, something that most politicians say. He also claimed that the economy was his top priority and a strong economy is very good for franchising and the many franchisees that have bought into the franchise opportunities.

But, did you know that franchising companies enjoy their biggest spurt and growth periods during down times? It’s true, and it is because unemployment is high, lay-off numbers increase and there is a steady pool of new franchise buyers to choose from, allowing franchising companies to pick the cream of the crop. So, think on all this and then make your own decision.

Many entrepreneurs do not make such great franchisees, no it’s not that they don’t know how to run a business, it’s because their mentality is based on complete trust in self and self-reliance almost to the point others might think too risky or even dangerous.

Often, when franchisors get a superstar entrepreneur as a franchisee, they either use them to help with innovations in their business model or they completely clash with them and consider them a rogue franchisee, and even try to figure out ways to terminate them from the franchise contract prior to the end of the franchise term.

This is why I always ask franchise buyers to consider their personality type and make sure they will feel comfortable working within a structured franchise system. It’s certainly not for everyone. Those who have run successful small businesses in the past or even grew up with parents that owned their own small business may be the wrong folks to go and invest in a franchise business opportunity.

Now please realize, I am in no way trashing the franchise business model, in fact, I believe it is probably the best business model ever created and it has so many advantages that I surely could not list them all here. So, if you were to ask me if franchised businesses are too structured and controlled, I would have to truthfully answer that it depends on the franchisee or potential franchise investor that is considering on investing in a franchise business opportunity of their own. So, please think on this, make sure it’s right for you before you buy.