I still don’t have the necessary skills and experience in putting my own business but I am very much willing to learn. In order to learn I read business books and magazine in order to learn but that will not give me skills and experience. However, because I read I learned how will I gain skills and experience in business and that is by venturing into franchising.
If you don’t know what franchising is let me quote one of the definitions I get from the Internet.
A form of business organization in which a firm which already has a successful product or service (the franchisor) enters into a continuing contractual relationship with other businesses (franchisees) operating under the franchisor’s trade name and usually with the franchisor’s guidance, in exchange for a fee.
This content can be found on the following page:
http://www.investorwords.com/2078/franchise.html
If you are like me who concerns himself about safety, you might have asked: “how safe is franchising?” While there is no guarantee that venturing int franchising will make one successful in business but I think franchising is the safest investment one can make to succed in business venture. However, there is also no guarantee that you will succeed as a franchisee.
There are a number of ways you can help yourself in making the best decision when it comes to investing in any franchising venture. Let me list some of the tips what can one do to make franchise venture safer.
1. Franchiser Growth. Steady growth growth year after year shows that franchisers management team has been implementing a well developed strategic growth plan.
Ask yourself: How quick is the franchiser growing in terms of expansion and geographical coverage?
a. Expansion. How many franchises have been opened for the past five years?
b. Geographical coverage. Is the franchisor growing locally, regionally, nationally, or internationally?
2. Franchisor Financials. The franhisor financial statement should be provided to you when you receive your franchise agreement. With this you might be needing the help of an accountant to find out the finacial stability of the franchisor.
3. Fees. Some of the franchise-related fees are initial franchise fee, royalties, and advertising fund. These fees should be examined when comparing similar franchising opportunities.