Archive for the ‘On Franchising’ Category

Franchises aiming for global expansion could mean two things: It is either they are booming or they are looking for overseas market, due to stagnant or declining local market.

Krispy Kreme irony

Let us start with McDonald’s as an example.

We all know that McDonald’s franchise units are present in many parts of the world (#1 in 2009 top 100 global franchise lists.) They have achieved what Subway and 7-Eleven can’t. Despite challenges McDonald’s face in the countries they existed, such as a victim of terrorist attack (for being an ‘American’ business) and protests from many parts of the…

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Paul Segreto, one of the authoritative voices in franchising, tipped me with his experience as a franchisee, teaching us how to deal with our struggling financial units.

We are business owners, not ostriches

Paul commented on Franchise Note’s Do You Think Franchising is Easy? Think Again sharing his story as a franchisee.

Paul’s story is evolving around his mistakes dealing with his struggling franchise units. At that time, he did what many of us did (and do) – Sticking our head in the sand, running away from problems by deeming our franchise units as failures too early;…

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Social media can help new franchisors to create the buzz necessary for the launch of their franchising concepts… and for attracting franchisee candidates.

New franchise launch 2.0

I have just written an article on my other business blog, Noobpreneur.com, about social media ROI. To my surprise, 5 minutes after I posted the article, I received 2 comments. Both of them manage social media activities for small business clients, and one of them is actually helping with the social media of a newly-launched franchise, Naples Tomato – a popular local restaurant in Naples, Florida (read the press release.)…

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Franchising leads to many paths

Provided you buy a franchise that allows you to be an absentee owner, being a franchisee can present you with more business opportunities.

Franchisees are comprised of entrepreneurs, professionals, retirees and many other backgrounds – This wealth of background can add diversity, leading to a stronger franchise, benefiting both franchisor and franchisee.

A chance to network and partner with fellow franchisees

In my case, being a franchisee opens up more windows of opportunities – Building a good relationship with fellow franchisees can bring you more business to your other businesses, even partnering to launch a…

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Copyshop franchise – in fragments

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…

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Franchising in social media

Franchises are getting along well with social media. Although I cannot present you with analytical data and stats, I can see that franchises are taking benefit from the social media, in term of brand awareness and franchise information (including promos, events, polls, etc.) Eventually, all of those will be translated into more customers and revenue.

With various strategies, plans and purposes, it’s enlightening to learn and observe what franchising people are doing in major social media. Let’s do our brief exploration in three social media behemoths – Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

Franchising on Facebook

Facebook offers

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McDonalds franchise units, Orlando

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…

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7-Eleven as Kwik-E-Mart

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…

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Top 10 franchise twitterers

Do you tweet? I suppose you should.

No matter how many people are giving bad reputation to Twitter, we have to admit that it is the fastest growing of all social media and one of the most popular ones in the world.

The idea that Twitter invent – Typing something in 140 characters or less turns out to be very addictive (and lucrative.) And yes, Twitter users are no longer answer the question “What are you doing?” alone – Many use Twitter as marketing tool, as well as creating a community to support their businesses. …

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PostNet store, South Africa

Will branding by a franchise company help an independent business reach new heights? Could be, provided you partner with the right franchise company.

What is this all about?

Basically, the idea is for your existing business to be transformed with franchising concepts – Management restructuring, business process and system refining, and re-branding.

Your business premise is re-designed and re-purposed in a way that is most effective (according to the franchise company you partner with.) Your staffs will wear (different) uniforms, and their performance will be measured with different set of rules. In your case as the…

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