Business Savvy » Franchises

The Secret to Success in a Slow Economy

Jennifer — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 14:36:03 +0000

Invest in an Industry that’s Seeing Growth

(ARA) – “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.” In the first few lines of “A Tale of Two Cities,” Charles Dickens was referring to conditions in the years leading up to the French Revolution; but he could just as easily have been writing about society today.

While we live in one of the most prosperous countries in the world, many Americans have in some way been negatively affected by problems with the current economy. The credit crunch has persisted despite aggressive Federal Reserve interest rate cuts; retail sales are down; thousands are concerned about losing their homes due to the sub prime mortgage crisis; and gas is so expensive, a lot of people have been forced to park their cars for the foreseeable future.

As if those problems weren’t bad enough, many Americans go from day to day fearing they may lose their jobs. For Shawn Crawford, 38, of Brownsburg, Ind., a suburb of Indianapolis, you could say the writing was on the wall. He used to be the director of operations for a physician group that operated 30 doctor’s offices across the state of Indiana.

“I was responsible for set up, business development and customer service,” he says. “At first I found the job very rewarding, but once the economy started to get bad and the rapid expansion stopped, it reached a point where I feared my own job was about to be eliminated.”

Instead of waiting around to see what would happen, Crawford decided to follow his dream to start his own business. In July of 2006, he quit his job with the physician’s group and became a consultant; but spent every spare moment researching business opportunities.

“I wanted to do something that would capitalize on my experience and help people at the same time,” he says. “I figured people want to look good, feel good and be healthy, so why not open a gym?” But when he started looking into the costs involved in such a venture he became discouraged, that is until he came across some research that showed huge growth potential in health and fitness franchising. According to the International Health and Racket Sport Club Association, while the average growth rate for fast food franchises stands at 20 percent, the fitness sector’s five-year growth has been an impressive 144 percent.

There are a lot of health and fitness franchises out there, but the one Crawford decided to go with was Snap Fitness, a Minnesota-based fast-growing franchisor of compact, state-of-the-art 24/7 fitness centers in Canada and the United States. “The thing I liked best about Snap initially was their business model was pretty much turn-key,” says Crawford. “Unlike a traditional business start-up which would have required a lot of research, development and capital investment on my part, they did all the work for me.”

After he paid his franchise fee and found the perfect location, Snap Fitness provided the blueprint he needed to follow to get his business up and running. He was assigned a project manager who helped him every step of the way.

“The process was laid out and very easy to follow,” explains Crawford. “Snap provided everything I needed to get started – plans for the club design, access to vendors who would sell me the right equipment at a deep discount, all the tools I needed to set up my company Web site and the marketing materials I needed to get the word out.”

Snap also provided the financing, and today handles billing, security and other operational and marketing support for Crawford’s club, which opened for business in October of 2007 and now has about 900 members.

When people ask him for advice about franchising, Crawford advises them to do some investigative work. Talk to a business broker, pick up and read copies of Entrepreneur and the Wall Street Journal, and when they’re ready to proceed contact a franchisor like Snap Fitness directly. Most franchisor Web sites provide rich information about the business model, financial requirements and much more, and they grant access to executives and franchisees during your discovery process.

“We understand what a big decision opening a franchise can be, and that’s why I personally meet weekly with prospective franchisees to answer questions and help them make a decision that’s right for them,” says Snap Fitness CEO Peter Taunton.

“I followed the plan Snap gave me, and I’m quite pleased with my financial success, says Crawford, who is set to open his second Snap Fitness club sometime in April of 2008.

To learn more about this business opportunity, log on to www.SnapFitness.com and click on the link that says “Franchise Opportunities.”

Courtesy of ARAcontent

EDITOR’S NOTE:

If you would like help localizing this story, contact Snap Fitness’ marketing communications director Patrick Strait at 952-426-7173 or via e-mail at pstrait@snapfitness.com.

Avoid These Mistakes Before Signing Up for a Franchise

Jennifer — Wed, 04 Jul 2007 09:47:47 +0000

It takes a lot of courage and sometimes a lot of faith to decide to take the route of working for yourself. Franchises are some of the surest ways to achieve financial success. Question is, which one is the right one?

There are some essential elements in making sure you choose the right franchise and in avoiding common pitfalls. One of these is you and your personality. Your strong points and weak ones can make or break the franchise you choose. Especially since when you first start, you are the main role in everything that needs to get done. Therefore you should choose one based on you and your strengths, one that maximizes your strengths and plays down your weaknesses or even altogether avoids them. As well as strengths and weaknesses it is important to find a franchise that is based on something you like. Find a franchise that is tailored for you, don’t tailor yourself for the business. This will keep you fresh and excited to be there, therefore minimizing the risk of failure.

Another common pitfall is having unrealistic expectations regarding the profitability of the franchise. One thing to do to minimize this is researching other franchises in similar areas and their profitability. Most people who start a franchise don’t end up filthy rich, but are usually fairly comfortable. Remembering this from the start will help you avoid setting yourself up for failure. Set up a realistic financial plan for the immediate future. Include all your current needs as well as some that may come up with the start of the new franchise. This may include employee’s wages, money to cover bills until profits are sufficient and any other similar such expenses. This will help you see a realistic goal that shouldn’t be that hard to reach. This also will allow you to feel more accomplishment when you are able to reach these goals and are still left with a profit.

Research, research, research is the key to finding just the right franchise for you. This makes time but is a very important step in avoiding the pitfall of a failed franchise. There is a huge benefit in calling up franchisees and asking questions regarding their experiences. You must remember to be open minded in this process though as not everyone has followed these steps in finding just the right franchise and avoiding common mistakes. Common questions to ask include things such as how much and what kind of support do they get? How was the location of their franchise chosen? By themselves or by someone else, if it was do they agree with the location and the rent? Is product supply consistent in quality and in general? Ask questions about marketing, how well and what is being done. Don’t forget to ask about product development and turnover. All of these are very important questions in your research of any franchise. Knowing the answers to these is invaluable in avoiding many common mistakes in purchasing a franchise.

Another good idea is finding a lawyer, one that specializes in franchise law. Having someone who really knows their stuff regarding such matters can really help in avoiding pitfalls. Of course, make sure your accountant is also a specialist in franchise accounting. It cannot be emphasized enough how valuable having those who are specialized help you out and therefore avoid many common mistakes.

A few other helpful reminders would be to remember to read over and know the whole disclosure agreement. This will help you avoid a miscommunication between you and the franchiser regarding your obligations. Another thing that goes along with this is not being afraid to ask questions regarding the agreement and any legal documents. This is the point where an experienced lawyer comes in real handy.

Something else helpful is verifying everything, whether with notes or asking politely to tape record all conversations. This will cover you in any legal complications that are always apt to rising in business situations.

Two more very important things to remember are researching the market in advance, if there is no market in your area for the product all other precautions are for naught. Also making sure you have enough capital to finance your venture, otherwise your sunk before you set sail.

Starting a franchise can be daunting enough without all these careful considerations to make in advance. However, you can save yourself many troubles if you take the time and the effort to consider everything before getting started.

Benefits of Having your Own Franchise Business

Jennifer — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 09:49:43 +0000

There are many advantages of having your own franchise. This is an independent operation under the same name of a large corporation, yet is one that uses the same practices for success as does the parent corporation.

When you purchase a franchise of a business, you will have all the supplies that make that business successful available to you. For instance, you could profit from advertisements, which you do not have to plan or create.

For instance, if you are an owner of a location of a well-known fast food restaurant, you will reap the benefits of television ads that the parent corporation which bears your business name. When customers view ads of a popular restaurant they will be learning about you. Likewise, a franchise in Wisconsin, for example, could benefit from a corporate advertising campaign that originated in California.

The more well known a franchise name is, then the better success you will have of making money through that business. This is especially true if you have what you need to be successful to run that business. You would not be able to exist on national or international promotions alone. You will need to advertise locally as well. This will be easier, however, if you own a franchise.

If you are a franchise owner, you will be allowed to use the name of the original corporation and take it on as your own. This is a benefit to you because you will not have to create a new name. The name will be chosen for you. This is a great asset to you, especially if the franchise you choose to be a part of has a sparkling reputation.

The only disadvantage of owning a franchise is that the startup costs may be higher than if you start a business from the ground up. However, you are more likely to generate higher sales in a short period of time because people will have already heard of you before you owned the business. Many people have made millions using someone else’s name, and using it legally.

If you do not have the funds to invest in a business franchise, you can find many financing options open to you. Some of these options would include commercial loans. Some people have received commercial loans for hundreds-even millions of dollars.

If you have excellent or perfect credit, your chances of receiving funding to invest in a franchise is high. You also will usually receive lower lending interest rates as well. Not only that, but they know you will pay them back. This will further help your reputation.

You can also find lenders who will still work with you if you have less than perfect credit as well. These lenders will look for evident that your financial situation is in a better state than before you blew your credit. If it is there is a good chance that they will accept you. You can also find non-profit and government grants to start your business if it meets certain criteria as well.

If you are ready to realize the dream of owning your own business, you may want to consider all the above-mentioned benefits of purchasing a franchise. Many times, you can even make money immediately when you invest in one. The reason why is because you do not need to invent a new product or service in order to run it You will just be selling an existing one that people will want anyway.

If you already own a franchise, especially if you just purchased one, you may want to connect with other successful business owners in your field. This type of networking will help increase your overall chance of success. You need this networking, because the success of your business is not automatically guaranteed. You need to still work at it, even though the name is a familiar name.

Another option for those who are interested in purchasing a franchise is to buy a smaller growing business franchise rather than a large corporate franchise. These smaller businesses may not receive as much revenue, but there is greater chance of growth within the company as it establishes and expands. This is something to consider, because you could find a niche market with little or no customer competition, or a market without a backlog of franchise owners.

Those who want to learn more about the success of each franchise they would consider purchasing they may want to view present and past stock reports and company annual reviews. The more a person does to analyze a company before making an investment in that particular name the better.

If you want to learn more about the benefits of owning a franchise, you will want to read more articles such as this or contact a professional. You can even contact an expert online who specializes in helping people who want to invest in a franchise.

Franchise Fun: Tips for Choosing the Right One for You

Jennifer — Thu, 21 Jun 2007 21:08:20 +0000

Franchises are a great opportunity for those who do not want to start a business from scratch. Purchasing a franchise erases the need for you to establish a brand or a reputation. Instead, you can spend your time and energy promoting an existing product or service. All it takes is finding the franchising package that is right for you.

In order to choose a franchise it helps if you have an interest in the products or services provided by the parent company of that franchise. If you are not sure of all the aspects of a particular company you may want to research it further before making your choice. Likewise, you may need to learn about a company’s products or services before purchasing a franchise from it. If you have done some research and still cannot decide on a business opportunity you may want to consider other reasons for purchasing a business franchise.

One reason many people will purchase a franchise of an existing company is because they offer quite a bit of money making potential, and a steady income. Others will treat franchising as a form of investing, or to help create more jobs in a particular location. No matter what your reason is for becoming an extension of an existing business you will find franchising to be a rewarding opportunity. You should watch out for some things, however. For example, you may run across “business opportunities” that are really nothing more than expensive scams.

Many investors, especially on line investors will make the mistake of not researching a business proposal presented to them. Later on they will find that they have spent hundreds-if not thousands or millions-of dollars on products and services, or companies that don’t even exist. Often these fly-by-night operations will present to you a website that looks legitimate and then they take your money and discontinue that site. Then, they will start up a whole new site.

If you are considering purchasing a franchise, or “membership” of a business in order to obtain the license to promote it, you will want to check that particular company out first. One of the most well known organizations that help people research businesses is the Better Business Bureau. You also have other e-commerce bureaus that you can check out. You can find these by searching with “e-commerce bureaus” or similar phrase on the Internet.

Another aspect of choosing the right franchise for you is to make sure you pick a business that is marketable in your area. If you do not choose a business that you can promote locally, you will need to be open to travel, or even to move to a new location. The easiest way to learn about the market of the area in which you live is to view statistics from local governing bodies or the local chamber of commerce. Not only that, but you can look in your local phone directory or contact a non-profit business organization. Many websites dedicated to helping those who want to start their own business are available on the Internet as well.

If you have done a fair amount of research and still have no idea what kind of existing business you want to become licensed to promote you may want to contact a franchise broker. They may be able to advise you in ways that you never thought you could imagine. For example, you may be introduced to lesser-known financial opportunities of rapidly growing institutions.

One other aspect of choosing a business opportunity is to purchase the rights to a company name you respect, and whose business practices are ethical. You would not want to get yourself caught up in a legal battle, even if you did nothing wrong, just because you ended up choosing the wrong company. You would want to choose a company with a track record of as many satisfied customers as possible. Not only that, but you should morally agree with the content of each product or service. You do not want to sell something you wouldn’t agree with, no matter how much money you could make (for example, you may not want to sell adult movies).

You can find more information about choosing the right business opportunity for you if you read other articles such as these. Many home business websites also offer forums in which you can answer your questions as well.