Category Archives: Franchising 101

How-to articles on the basics of franchise ownership.

How to Utilize Social Media to Market Your Franchise

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Though every franchise business is different, every successful franchise has one thing in common: an effective and pervasive marketing strategy.

And while much can be said for classic marketing materials (from billboards to print ads to television commercials), social media has begun to transform the entire face of franchise marketing. From Twitter to Facebook to Tumblr to Vine, social media has created a universal and easily accessible platform upon which committed franchise businesses can both broaden their reach and establish their brands.

 

Here are three ways that your business can utilize social media to market your franchise brand:

1. Match your franchise to the network: Start by learning all you can about each social media platform to help you decide which specific networks will benefit your business the most. Then, choose only three. It may be tempting to incorporate them all, but when it comes to social media, your goal should always be to do fewer better.

2.  Establish a presence: Once you’ve selected your platforms, work on establishing a presence. Make sure that when you start posting or tweeting, you do it regularly: create a schedule and stay consistent. Consider who your audience is, what your brand is built upon, and aim to engage.

3. Never forget your brand: Any franchise consulting professional will tell you: always stay true to your brand. While some of your franchise locations may have different social media teams, make sure that every profile – from Google+ to Instagram – is representative of your brand as a whole. Above all, ensure that every post, tweet, and picture portrays your business in a positive, appropriate, and kind light.

 

When you make the decision to incorporate social media into your franchise marketing plan, you’re taking a definitive step toward developing and fostering an impressive online presence – one which will help you successfully establish your brand. Learn how to create a successful marketing plan alongside a dependable franchise consulting firm today! 

 

Virtual Expo Asks the Tough Question: Is Business Ownership Right for You?

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North America’s Leading Career and Franchise Business Coaching Company, The Entrepreneur’s Source®, Fuels Dreams of Business Ownership with “Start a Business Weekend” Virtual Franchise Expo July 25-27

The nation’s leading career and franchise business coaching network, The Entrepreneur’s Source® is hosting its virtual Start a Business Weekend® expo July 25-27, 2013 from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. EDT. The virtual expo offers current and aspiring entrepreneurs the opportunity to explore business opportunities and gain advice from experts – all from the comfort of their home or office.

The Start a Business Weekend expo allows attendees to “walk” into a digital Exhibit Hall and visit the booths of more than 90 of the nation’s hottest franchise concepts. Participants can chat live with representatives about a variety of different franchise brands, learn how to finance their new business, attend keynote presentations, and download informational resources. Business coaches from The Entrepreneur’s Source will be available to help would-be entrepreneurs determine if business ownership is right for them. After attending a Start a Business Weekend expo, 95 percent of participants end up discovering options they admittedly would have never looked at on their own or would have previously dismissed.

 

“Many people would love to start their own business, especially with the job market moving towards part-time work. The problem is, many people don’t know where to start or are unsure of the skills needed to run a business,” said Brian Miller, COO of The Entrepreneur’s Source. “Our free Start a Business Weekend expo asks the hard hitting question: is business ownership right for you? By the end of the three day event, participants will have that question answered and the tools and guidance necessary to start their entrepreneurial journey.”

 

The Entrepreneur’s Source has more than 30 years of experience in helping make franchisors and their franchisees more profitable. With more than 230 offices in the United States, Canada and the UK, the company presents prospective franchisees with new business opportunities that complement their goals, needs and expectations, while delivering franchisors the right individuals to grow their concepts. Additionally, the company also offers business-coaching services to help franchisees advance, improve efficiency and increase the return on the investment made on their franchise business.

 

Registration for the SABW Expo is currently open, with no registration fee, at www.StartABusinessWeekend.com. For more information about The Entrepreneur’s Source and business coaching support, visit http://www.entrepreneurssource.com/.

 

About The Entrepreneur’s Source
The Entrepreneur’s Source is North America’s leading career and franchise Business Coaching Company dedicated to the entrepreneur, with more than 230 offices in the United States, Canada, and the UK. Dominating the $1.5 billion dollar Business Coaching/Consulting franchise market in North America, the company offers a full range of services to individuals seeking alternate career options and to franchise businesses looking to increase performance. For more information about The Entrepreneur’s Source, please visit http://www.EntrepreneursSource.com/. 

 

The Entrepreneur’s Source and Start a Business Weekend are trademarks of TES Franchising, LLC.  All rights reserved.

Giving You the Business Premieres Tonight

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Premiering Thursday, April 25 at 10:00 p.m. EST on the Food Network is a show that not only highlights the good work of employees, it rewards them in a big, big way.

 

Each episode of Giving You the Business follows four top-performing employees from a single franchise as they face the frustrations and difficult daily situations often faced by franchise unit managers. The employees are unaware their choices and behaviors are under scrutiny and review by the CEO of each franchise.

 

Based on their actions and decision-making skills, one winner will be announced per episode. Each winner will be awarded their own franchise.

 

On the first episode, four franchisees from Famous Famiglia will be put to the test in the franchise’s Manhattan location, which is no doubt the franchise’s busiest.

 

In addition to restaurant franchise Famous Famiglia, upcoming episodes of Giving You the Business will include 16 Handles, Freshii, Jersey Mike’s Subs, La Prep, Muscle Maker Grill, Saladworks, Topper’s Pizza and Wok Box.

 

The host of the show, Walter Bond, a former NBA athlete who played for the Dallas Mavericks, is sure to bring his years on the basketball court and franchise world to the show.

Check out the trailer below. What do you think? Will you watch the show?

The Top Four Restaurant and Food Franchises For 2013

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The United States has maintained its status as the leader in franchising since the 1930s, when restaurants and other establishments used franchising as a means of expansion during the Great Depression. In the years since, restaurant franchises and food franchises have consistently ranked amongst the top-performing franchises in the industry.

 

In the past five years, food and restaurant franchises have appeared consistently in Entrepreneur magazine’s list of top new franchises, especially the most recent list released.

 

In 2013, Entrepreneur listed four restaurant franchises in its top ten: Kona Ice, Menchie’s, Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt and Smashburger Franchising LLC.

 

Kona Ice

 

Kona Ice, a shaved ice truck franchise, serves up shaved ice anywhere customers require refreshment. Kona Ice partners with various community groups, like schools, teams, and youth groups for fundraising events. In addition to trucks, Kona Ice franchisees may operate ice carts, kiosks or trailers. There are currently 279 Kona Ice units in operation in the U.S.

 

Franchises similar to Kona Ice: Hokulia Shave Ice

 

Menchie’s

best frozen yogurt franchise menchie's

When it comes to restaurant franchises, the frozen yogurt craze has yet to cool down. Menchie’s, a self-serve frozen yogurt franchise, serves over 100 flavors, including low-carb, low-sugar, gluten-free, dairy-free and kosher options offered on a rotating basis. Franchising since 2009, Menchie’s has 220 units in operation in the U.S., 26 in Canada and 10 outside of the U.S. and Canada.

 

Franchises similar to Menchie’s:  Farr’s Fresh, 32 Degrees a Yogurt Bar, All American Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt , Fro.Zen.Yo, Fuzzy Peach, Marble Slab, TCBY, Sub Zero, Yogli Mogli, Yogen Fruz, Yogurtland, YoGo Factory, Yumz, You Say When, Zoyo Neighborhood Yogurt

 

Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt

best frozen yogurt franchise

The success of Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt has been undeniable since it began franchising in 2009. Just two years after its first store opened, the self-serve frozen yogurt franchise grew its number of units in operation from 1 to 116, a 99 percent increase. Today, the franchise operates 170 units in the U.S. and two outside of the U.S. and Canada.

 

Franchises similar to Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt: Menchie’s, Farr’s Fresh, 32 Degrees a Yogurt Bar, All American Ice Cream & Frozen Yogurt , Fro.Zen.Yo, Fuzzy Peach, Marble Slab, TCBY, Sub Zero, Yogli Mogli, Yogen Fruz, Yogurtland, YoGo Factory, Yumz, You Say When, Zoyo Neighborhood Yogurt

 

 

Smashburger

restaurant franchises for sale

After two decades in the restaurant industry working for big name franchises like Pizza Hut, Quiznos, Long John Silver’s and McDonalds, Smashburger creator Tom Ryan struck out on his own. Named for the way its burgers are prepared (by smashing the burger meat onto the grill), restaurant franchise Smashburger offers its customers a variety of bun and topping choices, allowing each individual the chance to customize his or her burger experience. Hot dogs, shakes, sides, chicken and veggie burgers are also available at Smashburger franchises. Today, the burger franchise operates 91 units within the U.S. and is seeking franchisees in the U.S., Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Central America, Europe, Middle East, Mexico and South America.

 

Franchises similar to Smashburger: Johnny Rockets, BGR The Burger Joint, Cheeseburger Bobby’s, Jake’s Wayback Burgers, Mooyah Burgers, Steak and Shake, Thumbs Up Diner

Will Obamacare Benefit Healthcare Franchises?

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The majority of the franchise industry disapproves of the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act. Many franchises have voiced their concerns that the healthcare reforms will cripple the franchising industry’s future growth and discourage franchisees from expanding.

 

But what about healthcare franchises and senior care franchises? Will they actually benefit from the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act?

 

In light of President Obama’s healthcare overhaul the growth of the healthcare industry as a whole is expected to slow. Many Americans live paycheck to paycheck and remain hesitant to spend– even on healthcare.

 

Despite the anticipated sluggish progress of the healthcare industry, those businesses and franchises associated with or that accept Medicaid or Medicare will benefit in some  way from the Affordable Care and Patient Protection Act:

  • Primary care providers, physicians who serve as a patient’s main source of non-emergency healthcare, are expected to get a 73 percent raise if they are Medicaid doctors. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that Medicaid will gain 7 million new enrollees in 2014.
  • Employers already take 7.65 percent of workers’ wages to support the elderly and disabled, 1.45 percent of which will go toward Medicare hospital bills.
  • Two new Medicare tax increases will fund the senior healthcare program. Those making $200,000 as a single filer (or $250,000 joint filers) will each pay 0.9 percent more for the Medicare hospital tax.

 

Long term care insurance gives seniors control of their assets and a choice as to how and where they receive senior care services. This insurance covers hospice care, nursing facilities and adult care facilities. Some policies cover health care services, respite care and adult day care services.

Medicare does not pay for all senior care and usually only provides limited coverage for services provided in nursing facilities and home care settings. Assisted living is not covered by Medicare. Medicare will only pay for extended home health care services if a stringent set of conditions is met. The extent of Medicaid’s coverage is limited and similar to that of Medicare.

Questions to Ask Before Buying a Franchise – Location, Location, Location

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There’s an old adage that in real estate there are three supremely important factors: location, location, location. The same holds true for franchises. A prime location will have high visibility, easy access, lots of customer traffic and minimal nearby competition.

One question it’s easy to overlook, though, is how many franchises the business already has in your area. In the Starbucks boom, the number of new franchises became so high so quickly that in some areas the market became oversaturated, forcing a company-wide strategic shift and the closure of many franchises.

The same thing can happen on a smaller level if you’re not careful about where you open your franchise. Check with your business’s corporate offices to find how many other franchises they have in your city and where they are located. Make sure you’re in compliance with any corporate restrictions on the minimum distance between franchises or on how many franchises can operate within a given area. Research the locations of your top competitors. Find an area that is relatively underserved in your industry so that you can carve a distinct niche in your city’s market share.

Once you’ve found the top few options for where to locate your franchise, investigate the visibility, accessibility and foot traffic of each site. The best locations are the ones where customers are already coming for a non-competing reason, such as in malls, near tourist attractions or convenient to heavily populated office space. Your signage should be easy to see from a distance, and the store should have convenient parking and easy access for customers on foot.

Franchising and Social Media

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The goal of social media shouldn’t be just to increase profits. The goal of social media should be to further create brand awareness and draw attention to your product. In terms of a franchise, it should be used to further craft a particular brand, thereby creating further awareness to a particular brand while conveying a positive image. And with that we have one of the more recent trends in social media: franchising.

Specifically, franchise social media is using things like Facebook, Twitter and FourSquare within the means of a franchise’s goals. What does this mean? Well, unlike your personal Facebook or Twitter account, which you use to sound off on your rants, thoughts, feelings – whatever – franchising with social media requires a bit more structure. Determine what your company’s goal is, what message you want to convey in your social media posts and then craft a strategy where you execute these goals.

Just think, if you’re a potential franchise owner, do you want to wait for paperwork in the mail to come about the benefits of joining the franchise? Or would you rather just log online and see other franchise owners just like you, not to mention franchising and social media allows companies to be much more transparent. Interacting on social media allows potential franchise owners the chance to see how a certain company promotes itself, which is much more than a brochure or piece of pamphlet could do. And do you really think you wouldn’t be able to tell over a Facebook or Twitter account is someone was unhappy with the service or quality of a product that you’re interested in investing in?

Social media has allowed companies to become much more transparent, which could be the biggest selling tool above anything else.

Marijuana Vending Machine

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There’s no end to all the crazy things people are sticking in vending machines these days. And this story is a testament to that. According to a TV station in New Zealand, a popular nightclub called the Daktory, is now selling 1 gram bags of cannibis out of a vending machine. Even though in America you can get live bait, a cupcake and maybe a pair of shoes, this is really raising the bar of oddities in vending. But this also seems to be quite lucrative of the vending business opportunities, says a local TV station.

Source: minyanville.com

However, we now understand that at least 4 patrons of the machine have been arrested and the machine has been confiscated off the site of the Daktory. Though the grams sold for only $16.20 each, there was said to be hundreds of dollars sold in a given night. Is this the oddest thing you’ve heard of being sold in a vending machine? Let us know!

What Will They Think of Next?

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Did you think that cupcakes were the only weird thing found in vending machines? Well, think again. A British company has recently sold rights to two American women to own and operate a new vending machine in America according to the Washington Post. This vending machine distributes ballet flats for women who are fed up with their 6″ heels. You can find the vending machine, called Rollasole, outside of nightclubs in Vegas and L.A.

The two American girls found that they had been beaten to the punch with this shoe vending business opportunity, but found that they could buy the rights to operate Rollasoles in America. So that’s exactly what they did. Ashley Ross and Lindsay Klimitz are now making women’s feet happy out west. I hope they will be a great success, as the flats are not only cute, but affordable, at $20 a pop.

The New American Vending Machine

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Vending machines have been a staple in the American landscape for years. But now it seems that they’re getting a little revamp from the country’s entrpreneurs. Taking cues from other parts of the world (in Japan, everything from soup to beer to iPads are in vending machines), business owners are looking to add unconventional things to vending machines. In this post from the Wall Street Journal, a man in Pennsylvania shops at a vending machine for his live bait. It saves him a lot of time and the bait is always in good condition.

Pennsylvania man with his live bait from a vending machine.

This kind of innovation may be just what the vending franchise industry needs. With dwindling numbers, it’s the perfect time to reinvent what goes in the machines and what customers expect from them.

Papa Murphy’s Gets Coveted #27 Ranking

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Papa Murphy’s is used to getting accolades. For the last few years, the business has been booming and growing exponentially. This year, it has snagged its all-time high of #27 on Entrepreneur Magazine’s “500 Franchise” List. Just four years ago, this restaurant franchise hadn’t cracked the top 50! They’ve also managed to open over 200 new stores in the United States since 2008, which has been during the height of the Recession.

We’re happy to see the success of Papa Murphy’s franchise because we believe their business plan is the real deal. With decreased costs from other pizza chains, it is able to offer delicious and affordable food without all the overhead. It’s also great for the consumer because it’s the carry-out convenience that they’re looking for. Papa Murphy’s also stands out in other ways. Their franchise is committed to helping out franchisees during every phase of ownership–with week-long training, co-op advertising, meetings and a toll-free line available to their franchisees at all times.

Dante’s Pizza Vending Kiosk

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This vending franchise has coined itself “recession-proof” and “gimmick-free,” but what does it do? Well, Dante’s is a low investment vending franchise provides low cost Italian food in a vending machine. That’s right, you can get pizza from a vending machine. All your customers need to do is slip their money in and choose their product. The machine will then simply grab the item and drop it down for them.

Products include pretzel bread sandwiches, mini pizzas and Blue Bunny ice cream.

For just a few hours a week (restocking), you can make some side income with your Dante’s Pizza Kiosk. And if it’s working well, there are always options to expand your vending franchise and put more Dante’s in more locations for a great revenue stream. Some places that Dante’s recommends for their machines are: skating rinks, parks, college, hotels, family fun centers, arenas, bowling alleys and large offices.

You can get started on your vending franchise business by requesting more information on FranchiseClique.com.