E-book Category: Home Business
E-book Title: Franchise Insiders
Author: Stephen Simpson
Book Description: Franchising is a great way to get yourself into business for the first time, but please be aware there are also many downsides to consider
I want to discuss some of these with you...
Dear Fellow Entrepreneur,
If you are comtemplating buying a franchise for the first time, then I am sure that you will already be starting to realize just what a daunting process it is. After all, you are contemplating making a significant investment in what will turn out to be a life altering change in direction. I am sure that you would want to do all that you can to ensure that this is a successful investment and to make sure that you fulfill your dream of independence and ultimately be in control of your own destiny.
Franchising at it's best is an excellent way of getting into business for yourself, but not by yourself, but beware it is also full of traps!
Here's just some of the simple things that can (and do) go wrong right from the outset:
- The banks don't offer you financing
- The franchisor rejects your application
- You find you don't have an exclusive territory after all
And this really is just the tip of the iceberg.....!
To be honest there is loads of information about franchising available on the internet but most of it is provided by the franchise associations and councils who's members are made up of and funded by.............yes , you guessed it, the franchisors!
Now they don't want to offend their members by giving away too much information, and they especially don't want to give you any guidance on some of the more difficult questions you should be asking your potential franchisor.
You could of course just go to a franchise consultant who will be more than happy to help you out.........at a wallet breaking hourly rate of course!
This is where I come in, I am not affilated to any franchise association or council and am more than happy to let you know how it really is, warts and all! I don't recommend one franchise system over another as I believe that would be unethical. But what I can do is provide you with an insiders view of the industry and provide some real guidance on all aspects of franchising.
I have see loads of franchisees who have found out the hard way that they had bought into a business that was just not for them. A franchise is a long term commitment and if you aren't happy, tough! The only way out is to sell up and hopefully recover the majority of your initial investment. Don't make that mistake as it can literally cost you thousands of dollars to get out of the long term, legally binding contract that the franchise agreement locks you in to!
But What Do I Know!
Well, my name is Stephen Simpson and I have been heavily involved in the franchise industry for the last eleven years and have in the past operated as a multiple retail franchise owner for one of the largest franchise systems in the world. I started with one and built that into three locations, all within 5 years! I was also voted "Franchisee of The Year 1999" by my fellow franchisees. But along the way I have made many, many mistakes, some more costly than others! I still have the scars (and the grey hair) to prove it! The purpose of this report wasto give others thinking about franchising for the first time a good understanding about what they are getting in to, and to provide some real life examples of some of the situations they will face. You could of course just do it the hard way like me, but it will take you eleven years to get this level of knowledge! Believe me, it is much easier to just take my advice and read the report, I can honestly say I wish this advice had been available to me when I was starting out.
And in case you are thinking this will just be advice based on my experience as a franchisee, I should point out that for the last six years I have also owned and operated a large regional master license where I have been heavily involved in selling franchises and providing support to franchisees on the ground. I have therefore experienced things from both a franchisee and franchisor viewpoint, and I want to share this unique experince with you so that you can avoid some of the common pitfalls that many new franchisees fall in to.
In addition to my franchising experience I also have a Masters Degree in Business Administration (MBA) from one of Europes leading business schools, so I can assure you that the information contained in this report is both relevant and of significant value for anyone considering investing in a franchise for the first time.
In the main report I get right into the detail of what you should expect and I have listed some of the topics covered below. - Introduction to the fundementals of franchising
- Assessing if franchising is right for you
- Meeting and assessing the franchisor
- The initial interview with the franchisor
- Exclusive territories
- The fees you will be expected to pay
- Financing the franchise
- What the banks look for
- Ongoing support expectations
- What happens when things go wrong
- And much more...
I have spent months putting down the knowledge that I have into a concise, easy to read report that really gives you the "feel" of what it is like to be a franchisee AND what demands your franchisor is going to be placing on you!
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