Posts Tagged ‘buying a franchise’

Now that the economic downturn seems to have passed by and left business on sturdier ground once more, it is the time for new investments, new ventures, and new opportunities. One way in which to get on board with the current atmosphere of growth is by opening a franchise, and there any many types to choose from. Another big question is of course where to start up, and the emerald isle may be the place to try for some Irish luck.

Ireland has been hit hard in the crisis, and received financial aid from the rest of Europe along with Portugal, Spain and Greece. With predictions looking gloomy, most investors and business hopefuls are likely to stay clear of such a shaky prospect.…

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If you are thinking about investing in a franchise, there are many things to take into consideration before diving in head-first. Doing your homework is essential–if you buy into the right one, you may find yourself running a very successful and profitable business. On the other hand, a hasty investment made without proper consultation and research could end up leaving you in a financial hole you can’t climb out of. Here are several things you should consider before making the decision to buy into a franchise.

Franchise Options

There are many different franchises for investors to consider–from hotels and restaurants to cleaning businesses and car washes, the possibilities are numerous.…

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Not all can be franchisees – there are certain personality traits and circumstances that can hinder you from being a successful franchisee.

Are you a franchisee material? Here are 100 questions to ask or answer to ultimately help you determine whether you have all the potential to be a great franchisee or not, excerpted from Franchise Bible:

1. Have you and your spouse and knowledgeable family members discussed the idea of buying a franchise?

2. Are you in complete agreement?

3. Do you have the financial resources required to buy a franchise? If not, where are you going to get the capital?

4. Are you and your spouse ready to make the necessary sacrifices in the way of money and time in order to operate a franchise?…

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“Franchise opportunities – easy to run, no experience required!”

In this article I want to be totally honest with you: Whenever you encounter such offer, not only in franchising but in any business opportunities, my only suggestion for you would be to stay away, even run away from them.

Franchises are mistakenly touted to be businesses that are easy to run – thanks to the proven franchise system in place. This is misleading and could lose franchisees money eventually.

Here’s the cold, hard truth: Despite the proven system in place, new franchise units are essentially business startups – meaning, you need to take time to learn the system, ‘feel’ the competition, and get everything to run in order before you make something out of the system.…

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Finally, the search is over – you have done your homework and have found your dream franchise and you just know it has a bright future. The next step would be: buy the franchise; the big question: how will you finance the purchase?

Unfortunately, franchises are stereotypically known as businesses requiring quite an amount of investment and cash – something that not many of us have. Don’t lose hope, though – as an entrepreneur and business owner, you must acquire the all-important skill: the ability to leverage other people’s money (OPM) for your business purchase. Let us explore what options you have to fund your purchase (a hint: mix-and-match will do good):

Your own money

If you are blessed with a business capital of your own, be sure about one thing: what you see is NOT the whole picture.…

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If you consider yourself not having a knack in starting out business or buying a new franchise unit, you might want to consider buy a franchise resale.

A franchise resale is essentially an established franchise unit that already has built a credible track record in the marketplace and community. The number one benefit of buying a franchise resale is that you will get not only a proven franchise system, but also a franchise unit that has an established financials, business operation and customer base.

Despite the huge benefit, you must heed the inherited issues that may become potential problems later on, such as:

Franchising and franchise agreement

One major difference between buying a franchise resale and buying a traditional business is the agreement.…

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Choosing and buying a franchise is easy. The tough part is finding the right reason why you want to buy one. Learn from my mistakes.

I remember all the excitement that comes with the process of finding the right franchise to buy. Visiting franchise expos, talking with franchise owners, visiting franchisees’ stores, getting pitched by franchises’ marketing team… and so on.

All seem wonderful. All seem promising. All seem sure-fire.

I decided to pick one of the many. A business service center, the national leader and among the top in the franchising industry. Not only one, I decided to open in another location for the same franchise.…

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Due diligence is the keyword to ensure that everything you have planned in buying a franchise will not go in vain. Proper franchise opportunity analysis can only do you good.

Due diligence is resource-intensive. Doing it requires you to put on your business analyst hat, as well as your skepticism hat.

Unfortunately, choosing NOT to do the business due diligence will bring you problems and perils later on.

A price to pay for not doing business due diligence: I lost my franchise units

You don’t need to prove anything, as I have already proved that not doing my due diligence properly before buying businesses cost me not only one, but two franchise units.…

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I like browsing for small business-related news, partly because I have interest in the topic, and partly because I run and manage two small business-related blogs – Noobpreneur.com and FranchiseNote.com.

While browsing for franchising news, two articles have caught my attention – The Boston Globe‘s and The Tennessean‘s.

Actually, those two articles have caught my attention because there are some issues bugged me reading those two, leading to one question: Do people really think franchising is as easy as 1-2-3?

I was in franchising as a franchisee since 4 years ago, back in 2005. From my experience, buying a franchise with a mindset that is ‘choked’ with something like “franchising is easy” and “just follow the guides, and you’ll be fine” leading me into a miserable out of business that took more faith and courage than money to overcome.…

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Franchising is more appealing to entrepreneurs than ever – Many thanks to the recession. People are ‘forced’ to take entrepreneurship route due to downsizing and troubled personal finance. As people need a hand in guiding them in the new frontier, franchising comes to the rescue, offering proven system, strong brand name and support/help along the way.

I’ve just read an article from the NYDailyNews.com that, in essence, echoes to what I believe all this time – Franchising as the legitimate business model in the midst of economic uncertainty.

The article, titled In weak economy, having your own biz, but not being on your own, has appeal, presenting three case studies of successful NY-based franchisees in different industries that thrive in today’s weak economy.…

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