Archive for April, 2010

Business ownership specialist arrives; helps aspiring entrepreneurs in local area Those who want to start a business now have a local contact. FranNet, who matches aspiring entrepreneurs to franchise businesses, has arrived in Alabama to help prospective business owners in the local area find the key to success. According to Jerry Bird, owner of the [...]

Don’t forget to use any and all professional advisors to help you during this process. Franchise Consultants, Accountants, financial planners, SBA and SCORE advisors, are all good resources.   If all has gone well so far, you are finishing up your franchisee research.  Plan a trip to visit the franchisor’s headquarters.  Many franchisors will require this [...]

I would recommend that you think of the other franchisees as your best opportunity to insure that you are making a good decision.  You should contact a minimum of 8-10 of the franchisees the very first week you are doing research, and talk to them.  Have a series of questions ready to ask them.  You [...]

Once you have filled out the franchisor’s questionnaire, the next step is normally for you to be given the legal disclosure document called the Franchise Disclosure Document (Also known as the FDD or disclosure document). If you meet the franchisor face to face, and you discuss the sale /or purchase of a franchise, you must, [...]

Have a discussion with the franchisor.  Begin to get a sense of who they are, and what they do.  Be very careful to see if the franchisor is trying to see who you are too.  If they are not interested in you, and whether you fit their opportunity, they are not the kind of franchisor [...]

Start with the sales literature.  Read the brochure that all franchises have.  If there is a video, make sure you see that too.  Try to get a copy of both and show them to other family members.  You will want their opinion, and their support, and the more they know, the less likely they will [...]

Having researched various franchise concepts and satisfied your criteria, you now focus on the issue of the specific franchises you are interested in, and how YOU will fit in. These are the research steps you will want to do to accomplish this: 1)      Review the franchisor’s basic brochure and video. 2)      Create a list of [...]

Ready to look at specific franchises to see how they and you fit together? Knowing who you are and what you want to achieve in business will help you to identify businesses that match up with your goals and strategies.  Once you have identified a few of those businesses you are now faced with the [...]

Some people establish life objectives easily, but struggle to do the same for their businesses. Companies need to act SMART, in every decision, especially those that lead or impact business direction. There are a lot of approaches to define organizational and employee objectives, but I recommend that you Be SMART. Consider the following criteria: Specific:   Ask [...]

Social media isn’t just for the kids anymore – Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn are just some of the ways to get your brand in front of potential and dedicated clients, as well as maintain a presence in many places at once. This week, we’ll talk about what these social media sites are and how these [...]