Tag Archives: business

The Franchise Business is Alive & Strong

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New franchise opportunities are coming to the market regularly and the franchise industry is getting stronger and stronger. Franchise exhibitions are attracting many new exhibitors. Potential franchisees are coming in their droves to look at the many new & old opportunities that are eager to take their cash.

The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and kicking. People from all walks of life and different educational backgrounds are now thinking about going into business. More women are now looking to buy a franchise than ever before. Older people are joining the queue looking for part-time & full-time business opportunities for later life.

The banks and lending institutions are competing strongly to lend money competitively to new franchisees. It has never been a better time to buy a franchise. In some cases, the franchisors are even stepping in to provide guarantees to lenders to enable the franchisee to buy their franchise and set up the business.

Buying a franchise is much safer compared to starting a business on your own. Survey after survey carried out by official franchise organizations and lenders prove that people buying a franchise business are much more likely to still be trading profitably than people who choose to go into business on their own steam.

For those who are considering buying a franchise business, it is imperative that the right questions be asked to the franchisor.

How long has the franchisor been trading?
Are you a member of any approved organization?
What skills are required to operate the business?
How long will it take to recuperate capital invested?
How much turnover will I need to do to breakeven?
Who are your main competitors?
Is the market for your products growing, at a standstill or declining?
Will there be any unexpected fees?
Is there any ongoing training & support?
Which territories are available?
Do I have an exclusive territory?
What assurance do I have that my territory will be protected?
Are there any ongoing fees?
How long is the training?
How many franchisees do they have?
Can I contact all or some of your franchisees?
How many are trading successfully?
How many franchisees have failed in the past?
Why did they fail?
How are disputes handled?
How is marketing done?
What will be my contribution?
What is the procedure in selling the business?
What are the fees involved in selling the franchise?

Bear in mind that a good franchise opportunity will only work if you are prepared for the hard work involved in running a business. It is absolutely vital to find a business that will stimulate you for years to come. Far too many people choose an opportunity primarily based on profitability, rather than choosing the right business for them.

The franchise agreement is the cornerstone of your business and, as such, demands close scrutiny. Legal advice should always be sought to ensure that it is evenly balanced. Some franchise agreements that I have seen are far too one-sided and give more protection to the franchisor than the franchisee.

A final word of caution, even the best franchise will struggle in the wrong territory and marketplace. Always get independent advice from professionals to determine if your ideal franchise opportunity will work in your area.

David Schwartz of Franchise Clique Announces New Daniel Island Headquarters to Accommodate Increased Growth

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Charleston, SC (May 31, 2018)— Franchise Clique, LLC, a leading franchise recruitment and lead generation company serving the franchise industry, today announced it has moved into new corporate offices at 133 River Landing Drive in Daniel Island’s growing business district to accommodate rapid company growth.

Franchise Clique was founded in 2009 in Charleston, South Carolina. The company offers lead generation and business development services for franchises and businesses of all kinds. It is privately held and boasts that its leadership team has decades of combined experience in lead generation.

Franchise Clique, LLC New Corporate Headquarters

“Going into our tenth year this is a monumental time for Franchise Clique and is the start to large company improvements that have the staff and customers eager to benefit from the unique opportunities this expansion provides,” said Franchise Clique Chief Executive Officer David Schwartz. “Franchise Clique’s new office space provides an updated and healthier work environment for existing and incoming employees while also leaving room for even greater company growth in the future.”

The new space reflects Franchise Clique’s proactive company goals that are meant to bring customers top-notch service while maintaining a high level of efficiency.  The new location is near Daniel Island’s public dock and walking/biking trails which are walking distance from multiple restaurants and shops.  The new office provides each employee with a personal office space which is a drastic improvement from the cubicle-style space from before.

The Healthy Psychology of Franchise Relationships

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Franchising World Magazine recently wrote a piece on the healthy psychology of franchise relationships. The author Greg Nathan focused specifically on the how franchisees and franchisors feel about being legally and commercially connected, “It incorporates trust, commitment and the informal expectations people have of each other. We would call this the “psychological contract.” Nathan expresses that this psychological aspect of the franchise relationship can be a potent source of competitive advantage by those who recognize its power, as well as a source of misery for those who deliberately or inadvertently ignore it.

Nathan says that in order to achieve a healthy franchise relationship, there must be high levels of franchisee advocacy, commitment and engagement.

The team of psychologists at the Franchise Relationships Institute has been studying the factors that drive advocacy, commitment and engagement for more than 20 years. Nathan’s article includes the entire seven principles (which we encourage you to check out here), but we have chosen three of our favorites:

  1. Leadership messages should be focused on promoting optimism. The franchisor has an important role to provide franchisees with a sense of confidence in the future. Optimism drives positive attitudes, and in return, positive behaviors. Despite businesses facing significant marketplace or commercial challenges, many have managed to maintain healthy franchise relations because franchisees have confidence that their franchisor is taking them to a better place.
  2. The way in which changes are introduced is extremely important. A poorly managed introduction of new initiatives is said to be a common source of franchisee dissatisfaction. The loss that comes with change, financially, or with identity, status, certainty, convenience or relationships. Communication is key during these times of change, and will impact franchisee commitment to change.
  3. It is important to encourage connection and pride. A sense of belonging is a string that extends through seven of the principles that the Franchise Relationships Institute offers – not surprising given that the simple need to belong is a powerful human instinct. Having a sense of connection to the brand and culture, networking with other franchisees, and interacting with customers and staff is powerful for the business. The way group meetings and conferences are structured is important as they should maximize small group interaction, allowing people to get to know one another.

FranServe: Get To Know The Fast-Growing Firm

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FranServe is currently one of the largest and fastest growing franchise marketing, consulting and development firms in the franchising industry. With over 250 active affiliated consultants located throughout the US, Canada and Internationally, FranServe’s consultants are discussing franchise opportunities with thousands of potential franchise buyers each month. FranServe boasts a corporate team of industry experts with over 100 years of combined experience in the franchise industry.

FranServe’s Mission
FranServe seeks to “help others achieve their dreams of business ownership through franchising. [Their] professional consultants work with prospects every day that are in the market for a career change and who desire business ownership opportunities. They assist clients in identifying and exploring ideal franchise opportunities that meet each candidate’s professional and personal goals as well as helping them access the capital to own and operate that franchise.”

FranServe consultants are among the best in the industry. All FranServe consultants receive extensive training and support. With a wide range of marketing strategies, FranServe provides consultants with prospective franchise buyers to determine financial qualifications, strengths, goals, market demographics, desired lifestyle and more to help identify and explore potential franchise opportunities.

Interested in learning more? Check out http://franserve.com/

Franchise Profile: OxyMagic Carpet Cleaning

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OxyMagic carpet cleaners provide excellent carpet cleaning services.  Each carpet cleaning franchise is individually owned and operated by people that are passionate about clean carpets.  Throughout the lifetime of your carpet, the fibers are subjected to the day to day under-foot grind of typical household spills, dirt, children, pets and after a while it can all take its toll. OxyMagic uses the power of oxygen to clean a wider spectrum of soils that other cleaners may not get out. With the OxyMagic system, average dry time is reduced to 30 to 90 minutes, which eliminates the chance for old stains to return and for mold and mildew to form.

OxyMagic’s NaturesWay® cleaning solution and process provides a healthier home environment from common household contaminates. OxyMagic feels that its responsibility is to the environment, and to its customers. The company’s first  thought is to safe guard the environment while maintaining the highest quality of cleaning for our customer’s carpets, rugs, and upholstery. The company only uses safe solutions and strives to maintain a reasonable price for a superior service to its customers.

OxyMagic is also dedicated to its Franchise owners and are looking to expand within the franchising industry.

Franchise Opportunity
You now have the opportunity to own your own business in an affordable franchise featuring this EXCLUSIVE carpet cleaning system. If you’ve ever thought about owning an affordable franchise with the backing of a long-standing nationwide company there will never be a better time than RIGHT NOW!   Because of our exclusive Oxygenated Carpet Cleaning System…

You can own…
Your own Oxymagic Franchise and have a protected market to grow a database of good profitable repeat customers. By using OxyMagic’s “working on your business model” you will find out how easy it is to have one, two or even three carpet techs working for you everyday while you enjoy the financial freedom to live your dreams.

Which Means…
You own a rewarding business and not a job. This also means that you can get in on the Oxymagic ground floor opportunity.
• See for yourself the power behind our marketing niche and unique selling proposition to your potential clients.
• See for yourself the income building potential of repeatable residential cash business.
• Get fully trained on our unique Oxygenated Extraction Carpet Cleaning System.
• Leave with a vast wealth of knowledge and proven model to build your own Oxymagic business in your city.

Interested in learning more? Check them out over on our site here!

Franchise Profile: Baskin Robbins

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Are you looking for a cool franchising opportunity?

Named “#1 Ice Cream & Frozen Treat Franchise” by Entrepreneur Magazine, Baskin-Robbins is the world’s largest chain of ice cream shops. Baskin Robbins has developed over the years to  offer ice cream and frozen desserts with creative cones, unique cakes, specialty desserts, frozen beverages and take-home treats. They also offer BRight Choices®, a line of better-for-you options including fat-free, dairy-free, no sugar added and light ice creams.

Reasons to Invest

  • Simplistic operations with convenient operating hours
  • Multiple revenue streams – in-store, take home, cakes and beverages
  • 95% brand awareness with a multi-million dollar national advertising program
  • Flexible real estate options
  • First-rate product innovation and new product pipeline
  • World-class training and support

Baskin Robbins can be opened in a traditional storefront with a floor plan usually between 800-1,500 square feet, or in non-traditional venues such as gas and convenient stores, universities, airports, mall food courts, and stadiums. To learn more about Baskin Robbins and available franchising opportunities, check out Baskin Robbins over on Franchise Clique.

CarePatrol Franchising System Grows

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CarePatrol, the pioneer of the senior living placement industry, recently bought their competitor, Assisted Transition. CarePatrol, founded in 1995 by a social worker after observing the personal trauma experienced by a family whose loved one had been placed in the wrong type of assisted living facility, today helps families make safe choices for their loved ones across the United States.

The recent deal will give CarePatrol approximately 150 franchises by the end of the year, after converting about 60 into the CarePatrol system. CEO Chuck Bongiovanni is excited for this purchase and transition for the company. With his social worker background, he prides himself in using the social work model to clients at CarePatrol. Client phone calls are answered by Master’s level social workers, rather than “the typical call center employees.”

Franchisees must receive their national certification as a certified senior advisor to maintain their franchise license. The purchase makes CarePatrol 10 times larger than their nearest competitor in the assisted living placement industry.

Want to learn more about CarePatrol? Learn more over on our site!

Guest Blog: Top 3 Franchises of 2014

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Upside Group Consulting is this week’s featured blog post! Upside Group provides step-by-step coaching and consulting to franchisors seeking to increase franchise units sold by developing a solid branding platform. This week, as our guest bloggers, they talk about their top 3 franchise picks for 2014.

The Top 3 Franchises of 2014

From fitness to frozen yogurt, the franchise industry has always reflected the ever-popular trends that permeate the business world. And while some concepts seem to last longer than others, it should come as no surprise that it can be hard for many business owners to decipher which trend is lasting versus which is simply fleeting.

While unfortunately, there’s no foolproof plan, there is a way to test the franchise waters: by looking to this year’s most successful franchises businesses. Selected from the Entrepreneur 2014 Franchise 500, here is a list of three of the year’s top franchises – and just what exactly you can learn from them:

1. Anytime Fitness: Anytime Fitness combines access with affordability to appeal to both customers and employees alike. From New Year’s resolutions to a multitude of 24-hour locations, gyms like Anytime Fitness successfully capitalize on the growing trends of health and convenience.

2. Hampton Hotels: Coming in at number two, Hampton Hotels places an impressive emphasis on fostering a franchisee support system. With ongoing support offered through use of newsletters, meetings, and security procedures, in addition to a multitude of marketing support, Hampton Hotels works hard in every aspect of its business plan to promote franchisee success.

3. Subway: Since 1965, the successful sandwich shop has transformed itself into a powerhouse thanks to an emphasis on solid marketing. By taking advantage of a wide variety of different tactics – from spokespeople to healthy living initiatives – Subway combines the ease and convenience of a fast food establishment with the attractiveness of an on-the-go lifestyle.

Whether your franchise has been growing steadily for years or you’re just beginning to consider the idea of expanding, by looking to this year’s top franchise businesses, you can take away a series of important lessons that can help you find success – from management to marketing.

Learn more from 2014’s top three franchises by contacting an experienced franchise consultant at Upside Group today.

Setting New Year Resolutions For Your Business

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I read a great article last week on Forbes, here. It got me thinking… we often set personal goals for the new year (which is great – January is a good time to reflect on the year’s past and prepare and set goals for the year to come,) but not so often, perhaps, do we set goals for our businesses.

The author in the Forbes article, Drew, mentions great overarching goals like following a content marketing plan, utilizing apps that can make life easier, and showing customer appreciation. The ways you go about fulfilling your goals is obviously entirely up to you. I have found in my personal experience with New Year’s resolutions that it is easier to break goals down into more detailed “mini-goals”, so to speak.

For example, if your business goal is “to have a greater social media presence in 2014”, it may be easier to make your resolution something a bit more tangible – “We will post 200 Facebook statuses this year” or tweets, or Instagram pictures, or blog posts or… you get the point. Having a more specific goal, in this case a specific number you will reach, will probably help you better keep track of that progress and feel success at the end of this year when you reach your goal.

What are your business goals in 2014? Share them in the comments below!

Being Mobile-Friendly and Why It’s Important

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Mobile communication is now an imperative part of a business’s marketing strategy. People are using smart phones and other mobile devices now more than ever. They are using their mobile technology to find shops, restaurants, and services in their area, and it’s important that when they search, they find your business.

If your website is not mobile-friendly, it will most likely lose you business. Anyone searching your business from their smart phone wants to quickly and conveniently access your contact information, purchase your products, or both. If the customer can’t find information, or the layout of your site isn’t compatible with his or her technology, they may become frustrated and bring their business elsewhere.

Additionally, your emails and newsletters must also be mobile-friendly. If people are reading your communications on-the-go, they want to be able to read the email free of excessive scrolling, pinching, and squinting at their touch-screen device. An annoying-to-read email will quickly be sent to the trash bin, or worse, unsubscribed from.

By creating a shorter, more condensed version of your website for mobile-users, you keep current customers happy and new customers coming. You can find more information about making a mobile friendly site in Franchising World’s current online magazine, found here.

How can you increase your revenue by $8,000 a year?

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Surprisingly, the answer may be your business on Yelp. Yelp is an online urban guide and business review site, headquartered in San Francisco. And it is shown to increase the revenue of the average business by $8,000 a year. Millions of American consumers look to Yelp for recommendations from fellow consumers. And with a smart phone, this information is accessible at the tip of the fingers. The website and mobile app have consumers everywhere turning to customer reviews before trying a new restaurant, cleaning service, hotel, coffee shop, or drugstore.

According to a 2012 study at Berkeley, a half-star improvement in a restaurant’s Yelp rating caused the restaurant to sell out 49 percent more frequently. That’s huge! And it shows how seriously customers today are taking the positive and negative experiences they have at an establishment. Now a description of a delicious meal, along with a photo, can be shared with interested parties almost instantly, but then again, so can a negative experience. It makes me question whether consumer review sites like Yelp are putting more pressure on business owners than in the past.

At one time, a bad meal or terrible service meant a bad tip. Today, it could mean the entire experience posted to Yelp. A new study by Merchant Warehouse confirms the importance of review sites, showing that 93 percent of consumers who consumers who research local businesses on review sites make purchases from those businesses. Again, huge.

Is your business on Yelp? Do you frequently review places where you’ve been a patron? Leave your comments below!

Franchise Profile: Bin There, Dump That

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Start your own business with North America’s only ‘Residential Friendly Dumpster Service’! Bin There Dump That is a specialist in the field of bin rental and dumpster rental. Whether it be renovation projects or just cleaning out junk or rubbish from around the house or office, Bin There Dump That provides a reliable bin rental service.

Contractors, remodelers, renovators, roofers, restoration services or property managers use the company’s clean and efficient services on an on-going repeated basis. Homeowners are fans, too. The kids move out, it’s time for a spring cleanup, a storm creates debris or do-it-yourself’ers  are working on a basement, kitchen or other home project.

If this resonates with you, you may have found the perfect franchise to explore. At Bin There Dump That we believe that people do business with people they like.  As you investigate our franchise business opportunity we hope you connect with us on a personal level.  What may surprise you is that we won’t try to sell you on our deal.  We strive to award our franchise to qualified candidates that will represent our brand with integrity and passion.

A Message from Bin There Dump That:

What may inspire you to learn more is our focus on education.  The more you learn about franchising, the more success you’ll achieve running your BTDT franchise.  Our guided educational approach allows you to dispel the fear of the unknown, turn assumptions into questions and therefore, uncover the real facts and truths about our franchise offering.

Are you a fit?   

During our 45 years of awarding franchise businesses & franchise opportunities, we have found several factors that identify what makes a great franchise operator.  There are three qualities and attributes common to all top performing franchisees.  They are;

  1. Fire in the belly- a drive to succeed, to win, to be rewarded for your direct effort  – balanced with a willingness to accept responsibility for your actions.
  2. The ability to follow a system and execute the proven business model – This is tempered by being a decision maker with the will to take action when required.  Think of implementation first, innovation second.
  3. Appropriate capital – Building a great business takes time, so having a realistic financial expectation is essential.  Having a solid net worth, balance sheet and above average credit score is required.

The most successful Bin There Dump That franchise operators love to meet people, talk about their businesses, join community events and are comfortable walking in the door of a Chamber of Commerce mixer or the office of a general contractor.

If this sounds like it could be you, you can head on over to our website to read more here: http://www.franchiseclique.com/franchise/Bin-There-Dump-That