Monthly Archives: November 2012

Evaluating Different Franchise Opportunities

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The most efficient way for any individual to make money would be to leverage his efforts through other people. Operating a business is an excellent way to generate hefty streams of income, as such entities efficiently utilize the law of leverage.

But considering how difficult the task of building any commercial enterprise to compete with other businesses is, franchise opportunities may perhaps be the only way for any businessman to last in any overly competitive environment.

Despite the sizeable advantage these franchised businesses can offer its owners, the process of selecting one can be quite daunting. To ensure a suitable match is found, the first step a future franchisee needs to take is to evaluate his own personal preferences.

The success of a business is largely dependent on its owner’s passion for the trade it engages – people obsessed over vehicles are likely to thrive within the automobile industry, while folks naturally inclined towards helping other individuals would be better off running healthcare franchises.

Another factor to contemplate over is the lifestyle change operating such a franchise will render, as some commercial establishments will require the owner’s presence more than others, while others may be more laidback.

Return on interest is definitely something that an individual should look into – a business that can make money in consistently large amounts would obviously be preferred over one that doesn’t.

After a future franchisee assesses himself, the next step is to carefully evaluate the different franchise opportunities which matches his criteria. Moreover, analyzing the franchisor infrastructure is crucial, as this is usually a massive determining factor for the success of all franchisees.

While assessing the franchisor system, keep in mind that the enormous organization seen today started off as a singular commercial establishment. Choosing to expand operations and generate larger streams of automated income through franchising will require skills beyond that possessed by average entrepreneurs.

Complying with legal requirements, recording operational approaches, creating marketing strategies, developing training systems, plus handling all other aspects of a business is tough, and even harder to teach to hundreds or thousands of others.

Franchise opportunities should have a tested and proven system which can easily be taught to interested franchisees. When adopted, this system will either make money for recruits, or gradually lead them to financial failure. So considering its importance, cautiously gauging their system, as well as verifying how well it works for current franchisees, is absolutely necessary for any anticipative businessman.

Searching For Franchise Opportunities At Expositions

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People who choose to buy a business, instead of going through the financially unhealthy way of learning how to start one that’ll last, are doing themselves huge favors. Building a successful commercial establishment from the ground up can be extremely difficult, especially since statistics show that most ventures fail within their first year of operation.

Franchise opportunities make things even easier, and statistically safer, for hopeful entrepreneurs to run establishments that can compete and make money. Coming across these types of businesses isn’t difficult, as they’re advertised practically everywhere.

That being said, franchise expositions are great places to find potential businesses to run. Different commercial brands are advertised at such events, and there are salesmen who’ll explain the advantages that come with each brand.

However, it’s important to keep in mind that the main purpose of salesmen is to sell their product, so many of these professionals will tend to be aggressive. There are times where folks fall victim to sweet sales pitches, and end up investing significant amounts of cash to buy a business they don’t like, or doesn’t make money.

To avoid this from happening, interested franchisees should always do ample research on different franchise opportunities before going to any exposition. This’ll give them a rough idea on what kinds of businesses they’d be interested in running, the amount of capital they’ll need to get started, and how competitive the industry is.

In addition, future entrepreneurs should also assess their current skillsets, and decide whether or not it’s suitable for competing within a particular industry. Moreover, they should have passion for the type of business they intend to run – these folks have to ensure they’ll still be happy operating within the same industry ten to twenty years from now.

Soon-to-be franchisees should also verify earning reports shown by franchisors – it’s easy for anyone to say they net $20,000 a month, and make verbal explanations to back up their claims. FTC requires franchisors to substantiate such statements through official written reports, so asking for these documents is highly recommended.

Once an individual has finally made up his mind to buy a business which operates under a certain industry, comparison shopping with five or more franchisors is recommended. The franchise opportunities offered by franchisors will be under different terms and conditions, and some have greater potential to make more than others. That being said, carefully researching about the backgrounds of each franchisor to root out the best one is strongly advised.

Looking To Buy A Business This Holiday Season?

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With the holiday seasons approaching, millions of joyful people are searching high and low for gifts to give their loved ones. At the same time, most are thinking about ways to improve their lifestyles by making habitual changes or taking on new jobs.

While the above methods may indeed render positive change, its impacts are minimal in comparison to those gunning to start or buy a business by the end of the year. Franchises for sale can give its owners an excellent opportunity to become their own bosses, as well as generate hefty and stable incomes that’ll provide them with the means to make drastic lifestyle changes.

The thought of transitioning from employee to bona fide entrepreneur may be overwhelming, but franchisors have surefire methods for making such transformations significantly easier, and even a more enjoyable process. Though risks are involved with any sort of commercial venture, the systematic approaches taken by franchisors greatly minimizes these dangers.

However, an individual who immediately goes online in search of franchises for sale without having a solid idea on what he really wants or needs, will usually end up being overwhelmed by a plethora of options presented by different websites.

With that in mind, anyone looking to buy a business is advised to create an imaginary list (although it’d better if it were written on paper) of criteria he or she may be looking for in their dream business.

The number one criterion for identifying a suitable match would be passion – if the entrepreneur engages a trade that he loves, the years he spends in business will a whole lot more gratifying experience. Moreover, industry competitiveness should also be thought over thoroughly as well.

Some industries are saturated with other businesses competing amongst each other. While fighting back is possible, challenging those who’ve been there longer, as well as those who constantly evolve plus expand operations, will unquestionably be tough.

Other important factors an individual looking to buy a business should consider include the following: level of investment required to acquire a certain franchise, estimated operational expenses, operating hours/days, number of employees needed, business location type (home-based or traditional brick-and-mortar) and the expected income streams from operations.

By creating a list comprised of all items listed above, hopeful businessmen can now look at the different franchises for sale, and select one that best matches their personal preferences.

The Big Salad Franchise

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When fast food chains first came out decades ago, they took the entire world by storm with the opening of thousands of franchises around the globe. Back then, they were one of the most profitable businesses amongst all industries, and have generated massive streams of income for franchisees.

While their branches continue to rake in money, it pales in comparison to what they did back in the day when consumers were kept in the dark regarding health risks inherent to their products. Now that practically everyone on the planet is aware of the dangers associated with eating burgers, fries and pizza, the demand for restaurants offering healthier alternatives is growing exponentially.

The Big Salad is one franchise that’s capitalizing on this massive opportunity to make money from millions of individuals looking to eat healthier. This type of business couldn’t have been established at a better time, since there are only a limited number of commercial diners selling these vegetables and other healthy edibles.

Current establishments which “specialize” in selling non-meat products observe low-standards when it comes to service and product quality. John A. Bornoty, the founder of this franchise, constantly complained how other businesses were inconsistent with maintaining fresh veggies, as well as the health hazards posed by the germ invested environments they kept.

Bornoty decided to capitalize on their sloppiness, as well as the demand of folks for better, healthier menus, by creating The Big Salad – a premier restaurant serving the freshest, veggie-based meals in the country. He also ensured that strict cleanliness standards were adopted, with dedicated salad chefs creating each item on the menu according to each customer’s likings.

Aside from the fact that all meals are packed with nutritional value, and are served in an incomparably clean setting, the sheer diversity of possible meal combinations makes the idea of eating at this establishment even better.

Consumers are free to choose from over thirty dressing types, twenty-eight vegetables toppings, eight dry toppings, as well as eight meat and seafood toppings. This gives customers over 17 million custom combinations to order from the establishment’s highly-qualified salad chefs.

Becoming a franchisee of The Big Salad is open to those with or without experience in the industry, as the franchisors have developed and perfected a system which caters for everyone. Total investment needed to shoulder franchise fees, as well as start-up capital, is reasonably priced somewhere in between $202,550 to $385,220 at the most.

Unlike other franchisors, the operational manual included shows a simplified, step-by-step process on everything a franchisee will need to know for running his outlet, including the following: daily check list for opening and closing, procedures for hiring/training employees, employee handbook plus guidelines, food rotation procedures, food preparations plus setup, payroll procedures, and more.

Despite its recent foundation date back in 2008, franchisors were able to develop a system that allows franchise owners to monitor, and even run, the entire business from virtually any location. In the event something doesn’t go according to plan, members of the corporate office will immediately render support whenever necessary.

Using Twitter To Significantly Boost Business Revenue

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Learning how to start a business that gives impressive returns on interest is not an easy task, but can still be done. Purchasing a franchise for sale instead can save any individual from the daunting trial-and-error process involved with establishing and managing a commercial entity that can last the test of time.

Despite being given a major advantage by using a tried-and-tested system for financial success developed by skilled franchisors, franchisees still play huge roles in going beyond what’s taught to them, and implementing additional marketing strategies that’ll boost their own streams of income.

Twitter is one tool that can help any business increase revenue – millionaire entrepreneurs from fifty years ago would probably be billionaires if they could tap the power of this social media network. This micro-blogging site gives businessmen a cost-free method of building a strong customer base online, developing good relationships with consumers, and ultimately making money off of them.

There are three basic pointers that franchise owners should keep in mind when using this powerful tool to ensure sales go up. That being said, the first tip is: don’t be too pushy when promoting products or services.

Overselling, which is something that hosts at seminars on how to start a business warn against, should also be avoided in social media marketing as well. Followers of entrepreneurs already know what goods are available, as well as the company profile.

They don’t need to know something they’re already aware about, so repeatedly making tweets about the same merchandise, or how highly-qualified the company is, would be counterproductive. The better approach would be to make tweets about new merchandise or services (or advertisements on the owner’s intention to put up his own franchise for sale.) Alternatively, tweeting about the availability of special discounts during certain dates is also recommended.

Regularly making tweets about interesting facts regarding problems the target market may also be helpful – information, interesting news reports, or other sorts of info relevant to the market would keep them engaged, thereby increasing the likeliness of them seeing future tweets about product launches, sales, etc.

Lastly, responding immediately to any questions or concerns they may have is also important. Excellent customer service is one secret to the mystery around learning how to start a business that makes good money throughout many years of operation.

After acquiring any franchise for sale, making sure to utilize Twitter to keep constantly and effectively communicate with customers is undeniably important.

Five Franchise Marketing Techniques To Boost Sales

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While many businessmen depend on the traditional “word of mouth” marketing strategy, it can hardly be considered effective in today’s world, especially since the country hasn’t fully recovered from the economic beat down. Whether entrepreneurs run retailing businesses, automotive franchises, or whatever sort of commercial establishment, evolving marketing strategies is unquestionably a huge determinant for success.

That being said, the first promotional technique for generating larger streams of income (or surviving in a competitive industry) is networking. This is sort of a more advanced form of the word of mouth method, but it takes the relatively inferior tactic to a whole new level by utilizing technology.

Getting other people outside the organization to promote the business is an excellent method to attract more customers. This can be done through a variety of medians, such as in person, through emails, and social media networks.

Creating a network comprised of the right individuals (e.g. those who benefit/regularly use the products/services sold), and maintaining good relationships with them is a great way to build a loyal customer base.

By rendering these individuals topnotch customer service, as well as an array of all merchandise they need, they’ll naturally be inclined towards telling others about the outstanding experience they had while shopping at the establishment.

Second tactic is to engage internet marketing – retailing businesses, automotive franchises and all other commercial entities will benefit by using this strategy. Online campaigns can either be paid to draw in traffic, or developed through search engine optimization strategies to channel traffic through organic search results from Google and its counterparts.

Bottom line is that online advertising is a cost-efficient technique for reaching out to thousands across the area, let them know of the goods/services being sold by the business, which in turn will gradually lead to a notable spike in sales.

Third strategy involves exploiting the media – advertising by using flyers, posters, or even radio stations and television networks are effective for drawing local and national attention to any commercial establishment. Using these medians for promotion may be expensive, but they’re great for gaining much needed exposure to markets, and even boosting credibility.

With these three marketing strategies, retailing businesses, automotive franchises, and all other commercial ventures can significantly generate larger streams of income. Consistently using these methods, whenever necessary, will also help stabilize revenue, thereby substantially increasing chances for the business’ survival in its industry.

Why Spring Is a Perfect Time for New Franchise Opportunities

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Spring marks a new season that is often characterized by good weather and the blooming of beautiful flowers everywhere. This is also the perfect time to get started on new franchise opportunities. After a long hibernation from the winter, entrepreneurs big and small will need to look out for new businesses to get started on. To buy a business for them is to look into something new, something exciting with lots of potential to make money. It’s like starting all over again and this time, with a fresh new idea.

With this fresh excitement and renewed spirit for business, entrepreneurs who plan to take on any of these franchise opportunities that match their interests need to put into consideration aspects such as their lead generation system, general sales process and marketing.

Lead generation is usually not given proper attention, but if you want to be successful long term, you ought to pay close attention to this because this will determine how many customers you can get and what kind of customers they are. Various types of lead generation techniques can find potential customers. Thus, you should target your lead generation to generate the kind of customers that will be interested in the product or service of the business you are running.

When it comes to advertising, you need to make sure that all the materials you send out accurately represent your product or service. The materials should not make false promises that your product or service won’t be able to deliver as they can damage the long term reputation of your brand. The goal in business is not only to sell products or services one time but to keep these customers buying and using your product or service over and over again. Therefore, if you set high expectations and they find out that your brand doesn’t really meet those expectations, you could generally lose thousands of customers in a snap. Any information on your website, brochures and other printed marketing materials needs to be given proper attention. The best thing to do is to hire a franchise consultant and a copywriter to help you out on these.

Not only should the printed materials be accurate in representing your brand but your sales employees need to do the same thing. You need to see to it that your sales staffs are well-trained to make sure they follow your processes accurately.

When you buy a business and delve on franchise opportunities, you need to make sure that you pay extra attention to points mentioned above to give your business a greater chance of being successful.

The Power of Excellent Customer Service

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Much like the admiration that ordinary individuals have for olympic athletes, retailing businesses and other companies from outside the US with excellent customer service have also earned a lot of admiration and respect after being highlighted at the recent international franchisees gathering during Crestcom International’s yearly convention.  Hal Krause founded Crestcom 25 years ago with a mission to provide the world with modern management training.  Franchisees conduct Crestcom’s video-based workshops on management skills in 25 languages over 50 countries.

Excellent Customer Service

During the convention, Crestcom shared a number of admirable customer service from around the world.  One such experience happened to Joerg Hasenclever, an international franchisee while he was staying at Vila Vita Rosepark Hotel in Germany for the training program on management skills.  Hasenclever was provided an MP3 player with his favorite music when he checked-in.  His car was also washed and cleaned when the seminar ended.

International franchisee Joachim Schulz also experienced a one-of-a-kind customer service when he went to pick up his brand-new Lexus RX.  The car came with a tiny ladder, which the salesperson explained was for Schulz’s elderly dog who can no longer jump up into the car.

Another franchisee of Crestcom, Gunter Lonneman had a remarkable experience when he had his kitchen remodeled.  The company not only did a great job but also took the service to a higher level.  The company sent two ladies to cook for the family and clean the kitchen after.  Unlike most retailing businesses, this particular kitchen retailer really spoils its clients.

The Kuala Lumpur-based AirAsia is another company that knows how to providefirst-rate customer service.  It was named as the World’s No.1 Low-Cost Airline during the World Airline Award 2012, its third award in a row.

Aside from its strict on-time departure and low fares, AirAsia operates using modern aircraft complete with the latest entertainment systems for its customers.  The company also offers outstanding web-based system on travel information.  For questions or flight bookings, customers can simply log on to its website and chat with its online avatar who is capable of talking in several languages.

Much is to be learned from these companies when it comes to their quality products and superb customer service.  Individuals who have plans of franchising a business and looking for a franchise for sale should study how these companies operate.  Just like these companies, a franchise for sale must also be able to offer successful products and exceptional customer service.

Improve Customer Loyalty through NPS

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If you want to know how to start a business and make money the right way, then understanding customer loyalty is essential.  The opinion of the customer is the most important factor that determines the decline or success of a franchise.  In general, franchisors who appreciate and understand the importance of loyalty from customers are able to make money and flourish in their business.

Franchise organizations that provide quality customer service and generate recommendations from customers get bigger return.  How a franchise organization delivers service to its customers greatly affects the company’s reputation, renewals, repurchase, and referrals.  Both the competitive market and today’s online word-of-mouth promotion intensifies the effect of customer loyalty on a franchise system’s financial performance.

The widely adopted NPS or Net Promoter Score is the basis of ranking customer loyalty at present.  Franchisors however must be able to understand and analyze their customer feedbacks and utilize them to improve the effectiveness of their organization instead of just knowing the number.

The franchise system has intricate structures and franchise locations are endless, making it difficult to address, understand, and measure feedback on customer loyalty.  But software approaches capable of delivering NPS are very useful as such software can turn the packaged NPS solutions commodity into a full system that can provide actions and insights to achieve success.

Promoters are individuals who recommend services and products either online or in person.  They are able to create stronger value not only on their purchase behavior but on their effect to others as well.  While those who have negative opinions are detractors that need to be addressed immediately as problems arise.  Closing the distance with the detractors will not only lessen negative business impression but fast attention given to them can also promote loyalty and turn detractors into promoters.  Results are attained by mobilizing promoters and recovering detractors, enabling franchisors to increase profits.

Segment reporting and alert management enable franchises to extend a specific action to enhance franchise operations.  NPS Go for example, provides routing alerts and insights to the right people in the franchise organization, which helps improve customer experience, thus achieving a good investment return.

Home page reports and dashboards that are role-based can also aid employees in supervising and addressing loyalty of customer by unit.  This allows franchises to implement the best strategies to enhance customer experience.

How to Achieve System Growth and Satisfied Franchises

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Building franchise satisfaction can help achieve quicker system development at a lower cost that can attract more buyers through customer referrals and franchise owner.  The idea may be simple but not that easy to implement.  Buying a franchise for sale and starting a franchise in a haste can lead to failure.

The following are some helpful tips to avoid failure and achieve growth development when you buy a business franchise:

  • When it comes to franchise partners, practicing mutual respect and building strong relationship with them is essential.  You should supervise your operations department, training, and customer service to make sure that they are working with the owner and not the opposite.  You should keep them satisfied and happy by showing them you care.  These will help your decision to buy a business franchise become successful.
  • Identify and outline booming owners.  You will be able to develop your organization by having franchises with good performance and minimize choices of poor candidate at the same time.  Utilizing smarter qualification and tool options will result to big payoffs that will benefit you and your partners in your business franchise.
  • You should create exit program for unhappy and unsatisied franchisees who keep on struggling in running your business.  Work with your franchisees to help them in selling their operation.  Making proactive moves can increase opportunities of solving tough situations and can also prevent conflicts due to lack of action.
  • You should understand the cycle that your franchisee experiences.  Educate your staff on how to achieve effective management through productive and responsive ways that will let your owners stay in synch with the procedure and policies of your system.
  • Create a specific brand culture for all the levels in the organization, starting from the CEO to your employees and the customers.  This will let your business stay ahead of your rivals.
  • Openly acknowledge and compensate your franchisees for their achievements and contributions through personal correspondence, newsletters, meetings, and conventions.  Special appreciation coming from the head when you strive hard daily matters a lot.
  • Ask for your performance rating in commitment, products, and support service from your franchisees to help them attain their personal and professional aims.  Periodic polling and surveys will hone your franchise programs and enhance your relationship with your revenue-making franchise partners.
  • When these things are applied on a franchise for sale, system growth and satisfied franchises can be expected.