1.    You are not alone in starting, running and growing your new business. The franchisor, the company that you are joining forces with, is contractually bound to help you with these aspects of your new business. The franchisor has already gone through the learning curve of starting this business model, so that you don’t have to. This saves you time, money, and aggravation while avoiding the mistakes that are common when starting a business.

2.    With franchising you have existing franchisees to speak to about their experience before you join. With the proper guidance you can really leverage their overall experience and gain valuable insight before you join their system.

3.    You will also get tested and refined marketing plans, sales materials, and business planning assistance. You’ll be relying on the franchisor’s past mistakes, lessons learned, and their overall successes. Their failures and successes have been studied and processes have been put in place with these experiences in mind.

4.    Name recognition and a loyal customer base may also come with your new franchised business. Larger franchise systems often have millions of customers who already know what your products and services are. In many cases your local customers are already sold on what you have to offer and can’t wait to patronize your business.

5.    Since the franchisor negotiates on behalf of all the franchisees, you should expect to have reduced expenses on the products you offer. Simply put, the franchisor is in a great position to negotiate better terms and receive volume discounts than you could expect as an individual.

The benefits of franchising are numerous and I’m here to help you find the right franchise based on your needs. My services will never add a single expense to your franchise purchase and I often can save clients time, money, and aggravation.

Based on our initial consultation I’ve selected a few franchise opportunities to start our discussion.  Today’s goal, for me, is to present a couple of opportunities to you that get you started on your journey to business ownership.  Hopefully, we will select 2 or 3 franchisors who you are interested in learning more about; I will contact them on your behalf and have them contact you within the next few days. 

I look forward to using my years of experience to assist you in your search to find the right franchise opportunity.

Visit Our Website www.fmop.net

The positive impact from franchise businesses in 2012 is once again projected to be strong.  The International Franchise Association commissioned a study from HIS Global Insight to understand the state of franchising and project this new year. 

This study, which is done annually, has proven to be very accurate in the past.  the highlights from this year’s study project nearly 14,000 new franchised locations to open in 2012 with a net job increase of nearly 170,000.  That’s equal to a dozen jobs per franchise.  The economic output from franchises is also expected to grow by 5 percent.  As in 2011, franchises are expected to outperform the economy in general.

The report does highlight the difficulty in new franchisees receiving funds from traditional credit sources.  I personally think that will change in 2012.  I’m basing that opinion on the number of local bankers who have called me in the last few weeks reminding me of their services.

If you are interested in being part of this positive trend, call us at (913) 888-1400 to set up an appointment or stop by our location at 95^th & Quivira and we will start you on your journey to business ownership. 

www.fmop.net

1)      You have desire to control your own destiny.

2)      You are frustrated with how business operates.

3)      You want to get out of the “rat race” and accomplish something important.

4)      You are experiencing frustration with how big companies operate.

5)      You want to improve your current financial position.

6)      You want to have a valuable asset you can sell when you are ready to retire.

7)      You want to create opportunity for your family.

8)      You want to create employment opportunity for others.

9)      You want to capitalize on the improving economy.

10)   You want to control your own schedule.

11)   You have a desire to live your own lifestyle.

12)   You want to run your life and business with your own ethical values that your employer doesn’t share.

Return to FranchiseMart Website

One of the franchises we represent sent me an email with the following advice for me to pass along to my clients.

PREPARATION IS KEY

Startup advice for new entrepreneurs and young hopefuls to consider

FOR ASPIRING entre-preneurs, especially new college grads opting to be their own boss rather than report to one, the task of getting ready to launch a business can be overwhelming.  Consider these tips from entrepreneurs who learned how to position a new business, or franchise, for success from the start.

1.  Get Educated.  Prepare to take the entrepreneurial leap by learning about your future business.

2. Get “intrapreneurial.”  Thinking and acting like an entrepreneur while working for someone else, also known as intrapreneurship, can be another stepping stone to business ownership. 

3. Get comfortable with failure.  While you might not want to go out and get fired from your day job to light your entrepreneurial fire, the ability to seek patterns of failure can lead much more quickly to the path of success.

4. Get out there.  “You can’t run a business sitting behind your desk.  Get out into the world and start meeting people.”

5. Get fully committed.  Fear of starting a business can be your worst enemy, but don’t succumb to it.  The fear never totally goes away and you’ll have to get used to it.

There’s never going to be the perfect moment to start a business.  But there are moments you know you are fully committed.

 source Sharkey’s Cuts for Kids

First let me present the back story that was always told before the riddle was presented:

                A prison warden summoned a prisoner and pointed at a painting behind his desk and told the prisoner that he would pardon him if he could solve this riddle:

                “Brothers and sisters I have none, but this man’s father is my father’s son.”  Who is in the painting?

Hint: disregard the fact that a warden doesn’t have the power to pardon a prisoner.  Presumably, the prisoner didn’t know this basic fact – and I’m not sure if my family did either.  

Don’t let finding the perfect franchise opportunity become like trying to solve a difficult riddle, which is really pretty straight forward.  Come to FranchiseMart of Overland Park and let us help you choose the right opportunity from over 200 different franchises business.

You know the answer must be yes, or else why would I title this blog post “The Four Elements of a Franchise.”  Those four elements are:

1)      Brand

Brand – the name and marketing approach associated with the services delivered.

       2) Operating System

Operating System – a repeatable system that can produce excellent results every time for (hopefully) every franchisee. 

3)      Support System

Support System – helps the franchisee get better and better at delivering the service in a memorable experience and helps a Franchisee improve their performance.  In my 26 years in franchising this is the area I’ve seen the most improvement.  Most of this improvement is because of advances in technology.

4)      Franchisee  

Franchisee – the talents and experience delivered to the franchise.

All four of these elements need to be strong for a franchise investment to successful.  I know it’s a worn out metaphor, but think of each of the four elements as the legs of a table, remove any one of the legs and the table tips over.  You might get it to stand, but you won’t be able to use the whole table without a lot of extra effort. 

It’s just as important that when you pick out your own franchise, you chose one that is a fit for you.  I often have people come into The Mart, who tell me “I don’t care what kind of franchise I get, I just want the one I can make the most money with.”  Element 4, the franchisee, makes such a difference in the ultimate success of a franchise that I say the most important first step is to insure you are considering a business that utilizes your strengths.  As a personal example, food franchises can be very successful, but for me one would be a disaster because, I fear I wouldn’t keep the restaurant up to appearance standards.  I know that’s too much information so I’ll end this post with a request for you to come in to The Mart and let me help you build the perfect business model. 

Brad

Admittedly, before I started writing this piece I didn’t know much about climbing Everest, and I still don’t.  The analogy of climbing Everest with a guide and without a guide and going into business with a franchise and without a franchise is just too perfect for me to pass up.

It’s estimated that the cost of climbing Everest can range between $70,000 and $100,000.  Over half of that expense is the guide (Sherpa), the rest is gear, permits, flights, food and of course the all important digital camera to take a photo when you get to the top. 

There is no requirement to use a Sherpa.  As recently as 5 years ago, an experienced British climber hired a budget trekking company based in Kathmandu, and paid them a little less than $8,000 for permits, food and a small base camp on the north side of the mountain.  Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, this climber didn’t make it.  Tragically, he died on the Northeast Ridge.  Climbing Everest with a Sherpa is difficult; going it alone is even more difficult. 

I know this is an extreme analogy, but the statistics do back me up.  Four out of five, business people who open a business without the help of a franchise are out of business within five years.  That number is flipped when a franchise is involved; four out of five franchise businesses are stilling in business five years after opening. 

If you’d like the perfect franchise Sherpa for you, give me a call at (913) 888-1400.

Franchising is the most popular mode of self employment because it’s a safe and an affordable alternative to the corporate life.  A franchise owner doesn’t worry about downsizing, rightsizing or outsourcing. 

The three most important attributes of a good franchisee are:

1. The ability to follow a system.  In its simplest terms a franchise can be boiled down to a system of doing business.  The good franchisor has developed a system based on previous successes and failures and will continually adapt their franchise to the changing market.
2. The ability to work hard.  Owning a business is a lot of hard work, it’s a lot of fun, but it’s hard work.  People who buy a franchise to avoid hard work often fail.  A franchise lays the path of success in front of you, but you still have to climb the mountain.   
3. The ability to pick the right franchise opportunity.  Every one of the most successful franchises in the world has had franchisees fail.  Some of them have failed because they couldn’t follow a system, some failed because they wouldn’t work hard and some failed because they simply didn’t do their research before opening their business and the went into the wrong opportunity.

Call me to set up an appointment and I’ll happy to start you on your journey. 

Brad Johnson

(913) 888-1400

 9.  Conveniently located at 11528 W. 95^th Street, Overland Park – across from the Oak Park Mall.

 8.  Meet and interact with industry leading franchisors.

 7.  See over 200 Franchise Opportunities under one roof.

6.  Learn the steps of buying a franchise.

5.  Learn about financing assistance.

 4.  Find a Franchise that’s matched to you.

 3.  There are 3 ways to register, call (913) 888-1400, go on-line to  http://www.franchisemart-overlandpark.com/free-seminar.htm , or stop by FranchiseMart in person.   

 2.  Your host, Brad Johnson has over 25 years of franchising experience.

 1.  A tasty and delicious light supper served.

Franchise consultants make it easier to navigate the thousands of franchised concepts and hundreds of franchise portals available on the market.

Why use a consultant?

While using a franchise consultant is a growing trend in amongst prospective franchisees, many individuals do not take advantage of these services; in fact, most people are simply unaware the service is even available. Among those who do, some may feel they’ve already decided what concept is best suited for them. However, one of the primary advantages of a franchise consultant is his or her ability to direct you to franchises you might never have considered.

Many consultants have franchise industry experience or are former franchisees themselves. They have been down the road before and can offer insightful advice to help you avoid making the same mistakes they may have previously made as a business owner.

A common mistake made by franchise seekers is to focus on the product or service of the franchise instead of the business model and its characteristics. For example, you might think your neighborhood would be well served by a deli serving great panini sandwiches. While that may be true, the demand for these products won’t matter if the start up investment is beyond your reach or you are not comfortable working the long hours often demanded of a food-service franchisee. Simply put your personal shopping preferences and tastes don’t always guide you to the right franchise system to join.

Personal likes and dislikes can also be misleading. For example, just because you like kids, it doesn’t mean a child-care franchise is the right choice for you. A good franchise consultant will look not only for the best or most lucrative opportunity available, but the one that best suits you and your experience.

The first steps

When you first contact a franchise consultant, see if you are able to forge some type of connection with the person and determine if you want to develop a professional relationship with him or her. Do you think you can benefit from their insight and advice? Will you benefit from their strengths and experience in franchising?

Also consider that there is a huge amount of information and franchise options that you’ll need to review. Having a consultant working with you during this stage can save you time, money, and aggravation.

Beginning the franchise search

As you start working with the franchise consultant, the first step is to provide information about your background and experience. This is often done via an online questionnaire. Don’t be surprised by financial questions, which will typically inquire about the value of your house, balance on your mortgage and other confidential data. The franchise consultant needs to have an understanding of your finances to make sure you are only introduced to franchises you can afford.

Next comes the consultation, which is the most important part of the information-gathering phase. An in-depth discussion will allow you and the consultant explore your areas of interest and past work experience. If you have a spouse, encourage them to participate in this meeting, which is best when held face-to-face. This is a chance for them to learn more about your goals, and an opportunity for you to learn more about franchising and whether or not you have realistic expectations.

After the meeting, the franchise consultant will evaluate the information you’ve provided and research franchises opportunities that best fit your goals and skill set. After checking for market availability, the consultant will typically introduce you to franchise concepts that make sense for you to consider. While it may be tempting to zero in on a particular franchise, it is important to investigate more than one. This approach will allow you to perform a compare-contrast analysis to find your best franchise match.

Narrowing your options

Your consultant will then coach you through the due diligence phase of the investigation, which typically takes three to four weeks, if not longer. By introducing you only to quality opportunities that match your lifestyle and goals, a consultant can save you a great deal of time. Investigating franchises takes a lot of effort; many franchise seekers run out of steam when the demands of life start to take priority over the due diligence required to make an informed decision. Using a consultant increases the likelihood you will stay focused and ultimately decide on the best opportunity.

During the due diligence phase, most of your contact will be with the franchisor’s development representatives, whose purpose is to educate you about the details of their franchise opportunity to determine if there is a mutual interest. (Remember, this has to be a good fit for the franchisor, too.) During this period, your consultant will continue to serve as an advisor and coach, making sure you are learning about the concepts and making decisions that will ultimately lead you to the franchise that is the best match for you.

Once you have narrowed your search and completed your investigation it’s decision time. To many first time franchise owners this may be similar to jumping off the high dive for the first time. Your franchise consultant that has been with you through the process will provide encouragement so you can make that life-changing decision.

Tips on Working with Franchise Consultants

Your franchise consultant is your advisor and coach, not your boss. You should never feel pressured by this person.

A relationship with a consultant is a two-way street. Be professional by returning calls and living up to your commitments. You will get the most of out of your experience by making a serious effort.

If you are interested in working with us at FranchiseMart, please call (913) 888-1400 or visit our website to set an appointment.  Thanks, we look forward to helping you on the journey of a lifetime.