Joel Libava's Blog: The Franchise King Blog, page 90

By: The Franchise King

You could be the guy

By: Mike Mccormack1

Great job, Joel! Looking forward to my free book! Lol!

By: The Twitter Small Biz Chat on Franchise Ownership

[...] Leave a Comment If you have any questions concerning the top things you should do before you Become A Franchise Owner! ………… Join Melinda Emerson, The @SmallBizLady on a live Tweetchat, [...]

Search This Franchise Business Directory For a Franchise to Buy

 

I'll admit it; I'm kind of partial to Franchise Direct. First off, they're a strategic partner of mine. Secondly, I really like their website, and always have. Plus, they do something that no other major franchise websites do; comprehensive reports.

 

 

These days, almost anyone can put together a franchise website. All you have to do is grab a free WordPress Theme, add some tile ads, and add some content. Heck, I own a couple of franchise websites. But, not like Franchise Direct's. 

 

In my franchise book, I advise my readers to spend a pretty fair amount of time exploring franchise websites; doing so is a great way to locate opportunities in franchise ownership that are available. But, I don't suggest that prospective franchise buyer's do so immediately.

 

 

Search For a Franchise Without Searching For a Franchise

 

That's the title of Chapter 6. When you read it, you'll understand. 

 

 

The Franchise Direct Franchisee Survey

 

 

As I said, Franchise Direct does things that other franchise websites don't. Read why they decided to do one focused on their website's visitors;

 

"The purpose of this survey was to gain insight into the types of people who look to franchising as a way to pursue their career goals. The information was compiled to help not only Franchise Direct, but others who work in the business of connecting franchisors and prospective franchisees."

 

Now, watch the video I shot for Franchise Direct, and see how you, (a prospective franchise owner) can benefit tremendously from this survey.

 

 

Did you know that I offer franchise advisory services? I can help you navigate through what's sometimes a maze. It's not that my industry is out there trying to confuse you when you're out looking for that perfect franchise. it's just that it's pretty challenging to figure out which ones, (out of the 3,000 franchise concepts that are available) to focus on.

 

If you'd like some unbiased* guidance on which ones you should focus on, contact me.

 

*If you work with me, I won't point you to any specific franchises; I don't get paid to be a broker for any franchisors-I'm not paid a commission. You pay me for my expertise, and to help you lower your risk in a big way.

 

"I know Joel both personally and professionally. He is highly focused on producing value for his clients and saving them what others might cost in mistakes and problems. Joel is truly experienced in what he offers and he's a pleasure to do business with as well." — Liz Strauss, Founder of SobCon

 

Franchising Statistics And an Introduction

"Statistics are no substitute for judgment."  – Henry Clay

 

According to a report put out by the International Franchise Association, franchising is huge.

 

As of 2005;

 

There were 909,253 franchised business establishments in the United States.

 

Franchised businesses provided more than 11 million jobs, or 8.1 percent of the national private-sector workforce.

 

Franchised businesses supplied an annual payroll of $278.6 billion, or 5.3 percent of all private-sector payrolls in the United States.

 

Franchised businesses produce goods and services worth $880.9 billion per year, or 4.4 percent of private-sector output in the United States.

 

Pretty darn powerful…those stats.

 

But, just because the world of franchising, (which I'm trying to change) is so powerful, and just because there are so many franchise businesses…

 

Doesn't mean that you should Become a Franchise Owner!, without at least getting a little introduction.

 

Right?

 

Here's an Introduction to Franchising.

 

 

You Want to Buy a Franchise Because…

 

You may have one reason, or you may have several reasons for wanting to invest in a franchise business.

 

Like;

 

 

You want to have more control in your life

 

You want a business of your own

 

You wish to follow someone else's proven business system

 

You want to get in business quickly

 

You don't want to be totally alone in your venture

 

You want to build some equity

 

 

If you carefully select, and properly research the franchise you end up purchasing, you'll have a real shot at business success.

 

Are you willing to learn how?

 

Will you put your trust in someone who's helped countless others, (just like you) separate the weeds from the flowers?

 

 

Because not all flowers are actually flowers.

 

Some of them are weeds.

 

 

Franchise Book Giveaway #1

 

If you're ready to start seriously looking into franchise ownership, I have something for you.

 

Would you like to learn how to carefully choose and properly research a franchise that's right for you?

 

I'll be your franchise guide; my book on franchising was written for anyone that's even thinking about being their own boss…

__________________________________________________________________________________

 

Would you like a Free Copy?

 

I have one book to giveaway right now!

 

 

Just answer this question;

 

If money was no object, what franchise would you buy…and why?

 

I'll put a piece of paper with your name on it in my #Crown, and randomly pick a winner!

 

 

The contest starts now, and will run until 3:00 PM Midnight, tonight-December 5th, 2011.

 

I'd love to send you my new franchise book!

 

 

The Book Launches Monday

 

The official launch of Become a Franchise Owner! happens on The Small Business Advocate Radio Program at 7:25 AM, Monday…

 

I've been a guest on Jim Blasingame's business show 25 times since 2006, and when we were talking about my book earlier this year, here's what Jim said;

 

"Joel, you're launching your new franchise book on my show. Period. You have to!"

 

But, when Jim said that, it actually sounded more like this;

 

 

I'm very grateful for Jim's offer, and I'm excited to launch my book on his show, which by the way, is the longest-running business radio talk show in the history of talk radio….

 

Please join me at 8:00 am (ET) this Monday.

 

"The content and advice is excellent, and for the right person will make all the difference in his or her life. Great job after a ton of work that I am sure you put into the book." —  Charles Internacola, Franchise Attorney

 

 

 

 

 

Franchise Buyers: Ask THIS Question

 




My editor at Wiley Publishing came up with the number 40. She came up with this seemingly random number after reading through several of my blog posts that I've written over the past 6 years or so on franchise due diligence.

 

I've provided 40 questions for you to ask current and former franchisees that are second to none in my franchise book.

 

Let's focus on one that's really, really, important;

 

Were you able to open your franchise business in a reasonable amount of time?

 

1. Were you going to ask that question?

 

2. Do you think that it's an important one to ask?

_______________________________________________________________________________________

 

If you weren't going to ask that question, I hope that you will now. Here's why;

 

You need to plan ahead.

 

Let's say that it took you 75 days to find and research the franchise you just purchased. Let's also say that it's a business that requires a leased commercial space. (Which you'll have to locate-with help from the franchisor, of course.)

 

In addition to your location-hunting duties, you'll probably be finalizing your small business loan, and working on your business entity. You're going to be doing some serious multi-tasking. (But you're up for it, because you read my book, which goes into this in detail.)

 

All in all, it may end up taking you 3-4 months until you're actually in business. Stop. I want to be clear; I'm talking about 75 days plus 3-4 more months.  That means that if you started your search for that perfect franchise in January, you may not be up and running until June. Or, July.

 

It can take quite a while (sometimes) to find a prime location that's, A. affordable and B. perfect.

 

Or, it could happen a lot faster than that.

 

There's really only one way to find out, though.

 

Right?

 

There Aren't Any Envelope-Stuffing Franchises For Sale

And, I'm very happy about that.

 

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC), has just amended their Business Opportunity Rule. This massive document now includes…you guessed it, those ridiculous envelope-stuffing business opportunity companies.

 

Business Opportunities are quite different from Franchise Business Opportunities. Read about the differences, and then stop back.

 

According to the FTC (from information that was gathered by reading thousands of comments about the proposed changes to The Rule), "Business opportunities and business format franchises are distinct business arrangements that pose very different regulatory challenges."

 

Really?

 

Yes…really!

 

From the FTC;

 

To account for these differences, to avoid unnecessary compliance burdens, and to ensure that consumers are best protected against deceptive practices in the sale of business opportunities, the Commission has amended the interim Rule to:

 

(1) expand its scope to cover many business opportunities that were not covered under the interim Business Opportunity Rule

 

 

(2) streamline pre-sale disclosures

 

 

(3) prohibit various specific misrepresentations and other misleading practices often engaged in by fraudulent business opportunity sellers

 

 

(4) require that for offers conducted in Spanish or other languages besides English, that the disclosures be provided in the same language as the offer is made.

 

The final Rule includes an expansive definition of "business opportunity" aimed at extending the scope of the Rule to certain business opportunities – namely work-at home opportunities such as envelope-stuffing, product assembly, and medical billing –that often were not covered by the interim Business Opportunity Rule. The Commission's law enforcement experience and complaint data show that these types of business opportunities are sources of prevalent and persistent complaints.

 

I can't image why.

 

Here's my rule;

 

If an opportunity is presented to you, and the total investment of that opportunity is $145, it's not a real franchise business offering.

 

So, as you're exploring your options, and looking for that perfect franchise business, don't fall for something that's a low-cost non-franchise opportunity.

 

Here's a link to the entire Business Opportunity Rule from the FTC.

 

Grab a cup of coffee. You're going to need it.