Archive for the ‘Buy a Franchise’ Category

The trivial part in spotting the right franchise opportunity is looking for proofs on all of the franchisor’s claims, regarding franchise operations – the staffing, office/store management, and design/display, to name a few.

There are many ways to do so, but I personally like to visit the franchisor’s own units, to observe and take note the pluses and minuses I found. Visiting franchisees’ store or office is also a good, similar, idea – However, in order to find proofs to what was pitched in the franchise marketing materials (and the UFOC), the franchisor’s own unit is a great starting point.

You might asked, “What if …

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Franchising has expanded and extended, in such a way that it is now beyond physical boundaries, including geographical boundaries.

Internet franchises are those that pioneering a way to break the online and off line business barrier by offering Internet-based and -related opportunities.

What are Internet franchises?

Internet franchises are those that offer opportunities in Internet industry, including but not limited to Internet service providers, Internet marketing services, Internet consultancies, Internet cafe, web design, Internet marketing and many more.

Due to the nature of the Internet, Internet franchises are closely related to home-based and computer franchise opportunities, as many – if not most – Internet …

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Visiting franchise expos, I generally pitched with the following, “We have expanded well from X to Y franchise units in 3 years into franchising.”

While expansion, for me, is one of the key indicators of the franchises’ potential, it is often misleading franchisee candidates into thinking that rapid expansion means strong franchise company with great potential.

Quick expansion means more emphasise on quantity and less on quality

Expansion is great, but you must understand that franchises that put expansion into the top priority in their business plan present franchisors and franchisees with a double-edged sword.

In one side, being expansionist presents the franchisor and the …

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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 …

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Before you sign any agreements with a franchisor, you should know the potential risks entering franchising. You should not expect your franchisor would want to reveal anything more than what is inside the UFOC (the franchise offering.)

You will almost certain to hear good words and upsides of the franchise opportunities you are interested in. However, I believe that things that are not revealed in any information regarding a certain franchise opportunity are the best guide before you do anything involving money and investment.

One of the best sources to know what you could potentially face as a franchisee is franchisees’ complaints.

Franchisees’ complaints…

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New franchises – especially those offering new and in-trend concepts – are always interesting and will likely to attract fans and enthusiasts into franchisees.

New franchises play an important role in franchising: New franchises breathe fresh air to the franchising world, adding value to the wealth of opportunities in franchising worldwide.

Full of potential, new franchises will likely to attract adventurous franchisee candidates to invest in a franchise unit and join the band wagon of ‘the next big thing’ – Some of the new franchises do become the next big thing, indeed.

However, anything that bears the word ‘new’ in the description will always present …

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You have done your due diligence well – You have searched and evaluated dozens of franchise opportunities you are interested in, and you have finally picked the one suit you best. And your hard work proves right – Your franchise unit is profitable and growing well.

The idea of multi-unit franchise ownership – owning more than one franchise units of the same franchise company – is suddenly pop out of your head.

On paper, the idea looks good: If you own a franchise unit, owning two of the same franchise is double the fun, right? Maybe. Maybe not.

The opportunities of multi-unit franchising

Being in …

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I have just read an article from The New York Times that covers the questions you should ask to yourself and a franchisor before deciding on buying the franchise of your dream.

The article opens up some facts that, to tell you the truth, somewhat against franchising, in a sense that you should take great(er) care to invest your money in a franchise opportunities, as many facts and pitches made by the franchise companies are misleading to the ‘untrained eyes.’

I enjoy reading and benefit greatly from the article and would like to share the 9 questions to ask with you.

9 questions you should …

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Buying a franchise is not buying an established business. The fact is this: buying a franchise is ‘renting’ a proven system and established brand image – You can never, ever own the system and brand name (unless you own the franchise company.)

Apart from the system and branding, the new franchise unit itself is, in fact, a business startup.

Surprisingly, many franchisee candidates believe that buying a franchise is buying an established business that guarantees them a certain amount of income and a certain Return-on-Investment (ROI.)

First of all, nobody can guarantee you any results. Financial claims are based on averages, projections and/or estimates …

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Franchising has been booming in the past decades, worldwide. No longer in the US, the rest of the world’s entrepreneurs have realised that franchising offers enormous potential.

Franchise Direct has ranked the world’s best franchises for 2009.

It is interesting to learn that from the top 100 list only 15 of them are non-US franchise companies – The US, indeed, still hold the status quo as the origin of some of the best franchises and brand names in the world.

Without further ado, here is the list:

Top 100 Global Franchises for 2009

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