Top Franchises

Once into franchise you should learn to navigate between the complexities of love, money, relationships and contracts if it is a family franchise. For example the Chemels who run a franchise for iSold, maintain the spice in their marriage and business with their lovingly unconventional dialogue exchanges while at work and it works. Richard Chemel’s friendly banter with his equally sarcastic wife and business partner Helene draw the customers to laid back family atmosphere in the store. As a result they forced to stop by regularly to say hi or to snatch a cookie affectionately brought by Helene’s father. The business is booming for the Chemels with a customer return rate of more than 50%. The 2007 gross sales is projected to hit at least $500,000. According to James Olan Hutcheson, the President and founder of Regeneration Partners, a Dallas-based consulting group is devoted exclusively to working with family-owned and family-managed companies. More than 75 percent of all firms in the U.S. are family-owned and family-controlled. But there is also a growing recognition of the complexity behind running a family business. In family franchises challenges are a part of life, but you have to work out solutions to them only not to survive but also to see that the business flourishes. Running a franchise with family members can be great. In such a case the stress that the business creates easily flows down to the members lessening its intensity and it is always easier to solve problems with your loved ones around and ready to help.

Business opportunities are structured much less than franchises. A business opportunity in essence is any package of goods or services that enables a purchaser to begin his business but a franchise is just the opposite of it. A franchise never leaves anything on the potentially weak and inexperienced shoulders of the franchisee, rather it does everything possible to establish and introduce the franchisee into the market. In case of a business opportunity you don’t have the seller’s trademark to back your brand or sales. Though less expensive with no on-going royalties it never is able to give you an idea about the geographic market and its operations. In case of franchise they are simply placed on your table without any real effort on your part. No business opportunity ventures have any continuing supportive relationship between the buyer and the seller, with the initial package sold buyers are left all alone. With all these differences and advantages pointed out now its on your part to choose which one you actually want to join.

A franchise can add oomph to an already thriving moving industry. Since 1990, Rick and Chip Dircks have been in the business of moving people and their belongings. With the launch of Dirck Moving Services they had plans of expanding geographically. Sixteen years later, the business still hasn’t moved beyond

Phoenix

but it has become the most diversified moving company in the state and all credit goes to the brothers for having added the RE/MAX franchise to their business. Adding Real Estate to their list of services has made them a leader in the market and the company is now simply called Dircks. They thought of this change when they noticed that corporations were increasingly using third party relocation services to workout the logistics during the moves and not directly with the moving companies. As a result to determine their presence in the market they launched their own in-house relocation firm and later realized it would be more effective under a national brand. So in November 2005 they purchased a RE/MAX franchise, which offered moving assistance in addition to real estate. According to Rick it gave them a lot more resources. The decision was a wise one and   they are expecting the real estate portion to bring in 10% of their projected 2006 retained revenue, which is just under $14 million.

Can a franchise really hold the key to your dreams? Just meet these people who took a chance on franchising and their lives changed forever. These personalities are unique of their type, they took up aims and were able to find success even when faced with adversities and they managed to dodge the ball completely. What was their trump card was a franchise.

                 Ythan Lax, after having devoted 18 years in various marketing and PRO jobs finally got laid off in 2002. Now he had the daunting task of finding another job. But the job market for his industry was at an all time low. He continuously faced dead end interviews but failed to search out any solution. He attempted to start his own business but his patience beginning to take a turn as the searching seemed never ending and the only back up was his wife’s teaching job. Suddenly at the edge of all odds his sister suggested him to buy a franchise from The Little Gym, which focused on developing children’s motor skills. He considered it even though he knew very little about franchising. Armed with an endless list of questions, he and his wife, Beth, 37, met with the franchiser, spoke with several other franchisees and researched the business before making the ultimate decision. The investment would include all their life savings and put their house against a loan. But when they gambled it all and purchased the Perinton Territory, New York, in March 2004, the only question that remained was whether Lax would enjoy working with kids. Believe it or not he didn’t only like it, it just changed the course of his life and secured his financial conditions literally.

Once upon a time franchising seemed to be refuge for all those who were unskilled and wanted to buy a career. But now it has become a heaven for skilled individuals. Even executives are making their way into franchising as they are disillusioned by the rat race or have been laid off. Entrepreneurship is an enticing option that allows you to control your own career and income potential. Craig Slavin who is the founder of the Franchise Architects, explains that the ability to leverage resources with the great resources of the franchiser is what precisely franchising does! You have to make an idea of the buying power, the advertising, and how to operate accordingly. Meanwhile some sophisticated business people are also relishing the idea of building and managing their own empires. Franchising has now become a common thing among white-collar professionals for whom it is a part of their investment portfolio alongside the traditional stocks and bonds. According to Slavin they are building wealth through owning multiple brands.

Corporate executives are jumping into franchise ownership and are experiencing a whole new side of business. If you are already an executive and is tempted to leap from that position to one of a franchise but are confused whether your pocketbook can handle it; you may seek some expert’s advice on financing your franchise. While you were climbing the corporate ladder you must have put in a lot of time and toil to achieve the success. Then you may have felt that there must be something else for you and so decided to buy a franchise. Your corporate world experience will be of help for you even in this new arena. But the transition from executive to franchise may entail a lot more than you can actually think. Anyways there is nothing to get afraid of, all your knowledge and experience as an executive will count and help in transforming you into a franchisee. You can hear it from some executive-turned-franchisees who reveal what their previous lives prepared for them and what they had to learn along the way through there great adventure in franchising. William Kosti who was working as the Director of Business Development for a consulting company got his first taste of El Taco Tote Real Mexican Grill while on a business trip to

El Paso

,

Texas

. He thought the food was excellent and at the back of his mind he was thinking the franchise to his home in

North Texas

. There the closest Mexican food he would get was the TexMex. When Kosti was laid off in 2003 at the age of 44 he opened an El Taco Tote franchise in the

Dallas

/

Fort Worth

area. His corporate background proved beneficial, he had all the knowledge to develop a business plan, to forecast the sales, create a startup budget, secure funds for operation before and during the period; even when he was working on getting financing from banks and SBA lenders, his corporate background seemed to put bankers at ease. One of Kosti’s most important advantages was his understanding of how vital information is to a successful operation. He set up an effective marketing plan to create a brand name in the market and also consumer awareness. He also realized that many of his employees would be earning hourly wages in an industry with high turnover, but he also knew he couldn’t let that compromise the quality, cleanliness or the superior customer service. So he thought of empowering managers to oversee operations and employees. Soon Kosti got feedback that helped him to retool the schedule so that it’s more efficient and instantly in on any problem that needs attention.

For the potential franchisees it is necessary to determine whether a brand name franchise is the key to success? Orion proves that even the smallest name brands can compete well with players of a big name. While you were hanging out in a mall food court or a small counter did the name ever matter to you? Probably it didn’t matter whether it was the part of a national chain with mare than 1500 franchises or were they simply brands like Hot Stuff Pizza, Smash Hit Subs or Cinnamon Street Bakery. Even with such small names the Orion Food Systems Inc. seems to dominate the ‘small name’ business world. Franchisees who want to co-brand with huge and established names (like the McDonald’s) will have to make sure they get the agreement right. Then they will also have to deal with Subway and Chick-fil A. But if this looks a little scratchy then the other option may be that they join Orion and get all those brands through one company which makes it much more easier from the design and layout stand point. With major franchisers you have to use their equipment, you cannot mix and match with other brands but in the second option though you seem two brands in the front in the backroom you are sharing freezer space and other equipments; so you are not duplicating efforts in terms of equipments. That is a big advantage over the McDonalds of the world. The theory for them is that s long as you taste like a national brand consumers accept you as a national brand. Initially they may come in find it weird but once they have tasted the food and experienced the great service, as they look through the menu board system and the promotional materials it soon becomes the brand of their choice.

Before entering the franchise business you should know exactly how to behave and how to condition yourself in relation to the dealings with the franchiser. In the franchising arena ‘proactive’ is a word, which is embraced by many franchisees that proudly consider themselves as active participants in the system. They desire to play a deciding role in the business proceedings rather than just sit and receive the news and decisions. Some of such playmakers have made the headlines recently, they are varied in their causes for which they are fighting as franchises themselves. These days most of the franchisees share one characteristic and that is determination and there has been an overall rise in the proactive ness of the franchisees. As a result it is just a much higher level than olden days. Business people are becoming more sophisticated and now there is not that much of a knowledge difference between the franchiser and the franchisee the scales are just starting to equalize. When you use the word ‘proactive’ that has to be proved in a very exceptional way while communicating to the franchiser especially on new concepts. In certain situations communications don’t go well, hence franchisee associations as the franchisee thinks that the franchiser is not listening to him. The franchisees in the trenches as soon as the get a new idea of serving the customers better and make more profits, they implement that and let their colleagues know about it. Even the franchiser needs to know that is when the problems really get solved.

While in the initial days of your franchise you can try to learn a lot from the franchising legends who have built some of the biggest brands of today. Fred DeLuca, John Hewitt and Frank Carney are some names that have built brands like the Jackson Hewitt Tax Services or the Subway or the Pizza Hut. They spend decades building these brands which most of us have personally come into contact with. These franchising legends are hugely busy they still don’t mind sharing with potential entrepreneurs an insight into their franchisee success to let the coming generations know exactly what should they expect from the franchise industry. When it comes to franchising there is no better expert than Frank Carney, he knows franchising from both sides as a franchiser and as a franchisee. In 1958 he and his brother co-founded Pizza Hut, which grew so successfully that it attracted the attention of PepsiCo, which bought the company in 1977. In 1994 Carney returned and became a Papa John’s pizza franchisee. Presently he owns 116 stores in 5 different markets. According to Carney when you keep working you are sure to find a problem, if you know how to fix the problem then you have a good chance of surviving. If you don’t enjoy the job then probably wont be there for very long. According to Carney franchising has changed a lot since 1959, then there were not so many rules as there are now involved in the business of franchising. It has a different way of looking now, nowadays the franchisees don’t have the freedom to test, so it takes a lot longer as only the company people can do it right. For him keeping a more close relationship with the franchisee on the part of the franchiser is something desirable and fruitful. From what it is now, the atmosphere can be a little more permissive obviously not a risk running way which goes against the laws and regulations.

If you have finally made the decision to buy a franchise then it is almost like settling down with that special someone. After you have completed reviewing the multitude of franchise options available you must have singled out one, so now it is time begin the courtship with that special one, the franchiser. Good franchise companies will never simply hand over the keys to your once you have deposited the franchise fees, they will consider a number of factors and try to know your background. During the investigation process you may get annoyed with the barrage of questions but upholding standards for their franchisees not only ensures the quality and excellence associated with their image but also with you as you join the family. Emerging successfully from your franchiser evaluation requires a good understanding of what they are looking for, and ten to prove that you have got those qualities. Running your own franchise is like being an entrepreneur in regard to working for yourself. Most franchisers seek system focused people rather than true entrepreneurs, they don’t want someone who will try to come in and innovate as that produces chaos. In terms of experience franchisers prefer management backgrounds. They don’t seek out candidates with specific skills related to industry. While every franchise has their own standards they also consider the universal factors of attitude and personality. A firm sense of what you want to achieve may be an impressing factor to franchisers. Many prospective franchisees don’t understand marketplace financing; now that is something you have to buck up get rid off.