Franchise Survey; Are Your Franchisees Happy?

Most all businesses do customer service surveys to make sure all their customers are happy and sometimes they send them in the mail and sometimes you can fill them out at the counter and drop them in the mail. Customer surveys give important feedback to the business owner or corporation on ways they can improve their services and products.

In the franchising industry it is equally important to make sure all your vendor partners, franchisees and team of consultants are happy with how things are going. For the franchisor, the franchisees are their customer. It is important to do franchisee surveys to make sure you are on the right track. Having been the franchisor founder of my own franchising company I cannot tell you how valuable such in formal surveys were to me.

However, since I was the founder there were certain things that franchisees would not tell me and this is why you need an outside consultant to help you do surveys with your franchisees. You need to know in advance if problems are developing and you need the feedback to keep the team happy so they can stay efficient and win in the marketplace.

Additionally, with new software available in you can probably do this online and have the information back to you in real time. There are many companies that do this for the franchising industry. Perhaps you'll consider all this in 2006.

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How to Franchise - Franchise Funding

Franchising can be a wonderful way to grow a business. With the right systems, marketing, training and timing a large organization can be defined and built in a short period of time. Very quickly the U.S. landscape has become a haven for franchise companies. A part of franchising that makes it so effective is how it indirectly provides funding for a growing brand and business.

When a franchise is granted to a new franchisee, that franchise buyer makes an investment into the growing company. That investment if used wisely provides the next marketing and growth dollars needed to find the following two or three franchisees...and so on the process goes. The franchisee is in essence making and investment into the company without being given equity in the overall company management. This allows the original business owner to maintain control of the system and keep only one "chef in the kitchen".

Franchise funding is essentially the growth of the system that funds itself. Franchising literally fuels its own growth. At the same time, the franchise revenue that is created, through franchise fees paid up front and royalties paid on the back end, also funds the infrastructure of the new franchise organization. At certain points in development the franchisor should invest in training facilities, new staff to support the franchisees, advertising cooperatives, technology initiatives, supplier arrangements and other strategic moves. All of this should be funded by the growth in new revenue from franchising.

That all pertains to once the system gets started, but how do franchise companies get funded to get into the business? Franchising plays on multiples and leveraging. A good system for delivery of a product or service that is in a good market are the core elements, but if we can find ways to leverage that and create multiples, now we are talking growth. When the value of franchising is maximized, the potential is limitless. Venture Capital groups, private investors, Private Equity Groups and other investment alternatives are realistic options for exciting new franchise systems. The reason investors like franchising is that the franchise model creates multiples and can produce enormous returns for an investor. So putting together the model, business plan, projections and painting a clear picture of the franchise model is the first step, then getting it in front of the right audience is the next. Franchise endeavors get funding all the time, the plan must look and communicate the right things though.

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Working For a Franchise - Employee Relationships Understood

Because of their unique nature, employees and owners working within a franchise are more likely to have strained or alienated relationships that employees and owners working in a traditional business setting. Without a doubt, franchising presents excellent opportunities for profit making and career advancement, but it can often feel that the bond between co-workers is not as strong within a franchise and personal well-being and productivity suffer as a result.

Employees and owners of franchises need not be told corrosive affects of a sick work environment, all too many deal with such environments on a daily basis, but few within the franchise system have offered solutions and analysis of this malady. While there is certainly no one, single right way to conduct yourself in the work place, there are methods that can help identify different 'characters' that workers within the franchise tend to play.

Often referred to as 'employee paradigms' these two general, broad categories of worker - the achiever and the buddy- can help to illustrate the positives and negatives of two contrasting styles of work. There are certainly more character types to be dissected within the franchise dynamic, but these two will serve to set the stage for understanding franchise relationships.

The Achiever: Simply put, the achiever is the employee who treats their job as a life or death situation and who will stop at nothing to make sure that everyone else at work realizes how seriously they consider their employment. The achiever's behavior and demonstrative attitude can take many, often contradictory forms such passive aggressiveness, assertiveness, and ill-humor, but the underlying thread in the achiever's behavior is that they are driven by a need to succeed and be recognized.

Without delving too far into the psychology of the achiever type, it is important to understand that if you find yourself working alongside an achiever, though their behavior may at times be off-putting, their goals and projects are most likely driven by an inborn desire to succeed (and perhaps a fear of failure as well) and as such, a few well placed compliments will do wonders for this co-workers self-confidence and opinion of you. Likewise, in your interaction with the achiever, you should not attempt to become too 'chummy' or unprofessional as they might be taken aback by your seeming lack of respect for their dedication.

The Buddy: Traditionally considered to be on the opposite end of the franchise employee spectrum, the buddy is an employee who, for one reason or another, puts their work within the franchise as a secondary goal to that of making friends and becoming popular.

The buddy is often great fun to be around and can really lighten up the work place if kept in check, but if poorly managed or, worse, if managing, the buddy can become a plague on the office, draining productivity and causing irritation wherever they go. Buddies are best dealt with in short spurts, if you feel that you cannot talk to a buddy without going back to your work in a bad mood simply find reasons to stay away from them- your work will profit as a result.

One can reduce these two general categories into further specialized character types, but in terms of franchise success and profitability, the achiever and the buddy tend to be the two signature personalities that reoccur most frequently. Above all, with all character types, remember to be understanding, compassionate, and adaptable.

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Discount Party Store Review

The Discount Party Store Review, we take a deeper look at a franchise opportunity that capitalizes on the party business year around. Their specialty is on special occasions, seasonal events, private celebrations, birthdays, anniversaries and many other special events. The price of their merchandise is very competitive. The average store size is between 2,000 to 3,000 square feet. Discount Party Store has developers that team up with their franchisees which gives franchisees the ability to buy all the current merchandise at very low prices.

Discount Party Store Franchise opportunity is set up at a 60% profit margin so that the franchisees have the possibility to get a 100% return on their investment within the first 12 months. Their corporate pledge is to exceed the expectations of their clients while providing superior value and long-term support while maintaining the highest ethical standards.

Discount Party Store Developers are associated with one of the largest retail business opportunities developers in the United States. They provide expert advice on business locations, negotiations on leases, merchandising, customer service and training. They have a history with offering up-to-date information on suppliers and equipment. They have relationships around the country with many property owners, landlords and leasing agents that will assist all of their clients.

Discount Party Store Developers are always looking for creative ways to help their clients open new franchises. They offer professional advise to assist you with your financial profile. Since most of their franchisees require a loan to open up their businesses, the developers assist you in the various financing that is available through your local bank. Their process focuses on the easiest and fastest way of receiving approvals on any financing. One of their recommendations is to use the equity in your home as collateral for any loan balance.

Once your store is opened, they supply you with a trainer from the corporate office. They offer classroom training as well which is conducted at the corporate office and supply you with an operations manual and other materials that you can take home to your business location to use as reference. The corporation's goal is to have your store succeed, so included in the training is a continual review of your business at the end of your first 30 days to insure you are on the right course.

Discount Party Store buys merchandise at a tremendous discount which allows store owners 20%-25% extra discount off the cost of merchandise. For example: if a store owner buys $300,000 in merchandise each year they would save $60,000. This savings goes into the bottom-line which allows the owner to profit just in buying discounts.

A Discount Party Store franchise starts at $65,900 and they require a $1,500 deposit that is refundable to get your franchise started. Discount Party Store Franchises are a long-term commitment that pays off provided that you have a great location, company support, and are able to develop a strong customer base. In this Discount Party Store review we advise that any prospective client should do their own due diligence before investing in this legitimate business opportunity.

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Franchise Vs Independent Business - Which One Will Win You Over?

A study by the International Franchise Association Education Foundation and PricewaterhouseCoopers acknowledges that franchising is a formidable challenger in the fight for attention from small business entrepreneurs. The 2001 study concluded that franchises accounted for 9.5% of the US private-sector economy. That means more than 18 million people are employed in the states, either directly or indirectly, by franchise investments and account for nearly 14% of private-sector employment.

The statistics are impressive - but is a franchise the type of business you want to tackle? Consider these facts before you decide whether to by an independent small business instead.

There are generally two types of franchises: business format and product-distribution. Restaurants, convenience stores, automobile services and tax-preparation services comprise business format franchises. Product-distribution franchises include vehicle dealerships, gas stations and beverage bottling and distribution companies. The combined total number of both types of franchises in the US was already approaching 800,000 in 2001 when the IFAEF/PricewaterhouseCoopers study was conducted.. Most people readily think of a fast-food restaurant chain when asked to name a franchise. But a simple Internet search will quickly compile countless franchise opportunities in automotive, fitness, cleaning and maintenance, spas, heath and senior care, retail and pet care, to name only a few. The vast selection of franchises available today gives the investor a number of choices and enables them to purchase according to their own interests and personality.

Since a franchiser has already laid a business foundation, your company could be leaps and bounds ahead of another small business had you started from scratch. This does eliminate a certain amount of risk and gives you a proven business model to work with. Customer brand recognition is a huge benefit of buying a franchise business. As a franchisee, you will also profit from aggressive regional or national marketing campaigns the franchise pays for, helping you grow as it attracts customers to your products and services. Most franchises build in a certain about of training with the purchase, which can give even a novice an efficient way to learn the basics of the business. Companies feel compelled to equip their franchisees with training and on-going support. Plain and simple: if you are successful, they will be successful. Experts suggest that entrepreneurs who opt for a franchise get business funding much more easily since financial institutions generally see franchises as more credible and less risky to invest in than independently-owned businesses.

Yet buying a franchise - and its reputation - can cost big. You not only buy the company's equipment and products, you're also paying for the company name and reputation. In addition to your initial franchise fees, a portion of your monthly revenues will go back to the company. Be prepared to give up control of many aspects of your business, as well. An independently-owned business will allow you much more freedom to operate day-to-day trade as you wish. If you want more management freedom, you might be better suited to an independent business. Your best bet is to explore DealBacker.com before investing in either type of business. The site connects buyers and sellers for opportunities in businesses for sale, franchises and partnerships, giving you a realistic over-view of what each type of business can offer you.

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Bicycle Store Sales Are Up - Considering Bike Store Franchises

With higher fuel prices we are starting to see a heck of a lot less traffic. This is very good for our lungs and the planet claim environmentalists and no matter what you think about Global Warming, it makes sense not to pollute the air. Many folks are deciding to ride bikes to save fuel and save money and why not you can also help your waistline, stay in-shape and perhaps save money on health care too!

But did you know that bicycle sales are up some 300%? This is even higher than scooter sales at the motorcycle dealerships. Interestingly enough, I am not surprised bicycle sales are up that much, in fact, I was a recent customer buying a new bicycle for all the same reasons above. Yes, like many consumers, I am voting with my dollar against high-gasoline costs and our nation's addiction to Middle Eastern Foreign Oil.

Okay, so how does this information or obvious news help you? Well, think about it for a second, if cycling is the new "in thing" and you are in the market for a franchise; why not consider a bicycle store franchise? That's right sell bicycles to all the consumers who want to save money? Make money by saving people money, sounds like a win/win situation.

Of course, you must do your due diligence before you buy any franchise offering, and you need to understand the terms, the royalty payments and the purchase requirements that are required to maintain your franchise; namely how many bicycles do you have to buy to hold your franchise agreement or dealership contract in affect?

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List of Hotel Franchises

More than fifty percent of travelers who stay at hotels book their vacations using the internet. People are more likely to take more trips in the next coming years than ever before. This is where the ever-popular list of hotel franchises comes in handy. From hotels.com to orbits, familiar traveling sites are the wave of the future, riding in their wake hotel franchises. As long as people continue to travel and go on vacation, they will always need to stay in hotels. Hence, hotel franchises will continue to be a hot item in the franchising world.

From beach resorts to hotel businesses, they all offer something for the potential buyer. While hotel businesses have the advantage of a brand-name and awesome support, beach resorts have the added bonus of being able to live on the same property as your business. Each one has its advantages, and it is certainly up to the potential buyer which way they wish to go.

Every good franchiser needs a list of hotel franchises in their repertoire. Growing by the day, the hotel business is booming, and hotels are rapidly becoming the way to go. So whether you're compiling a list of hotel franchises or looking to grow a very profitable business out of a franchise, these businesses have it all.

Microtel Inns and Suites offer a fast-growing hotel franchise with all-new, modern construction, as well as having a reputation for satisfaction from customers world-wide. Microtel's awesome track record of development success, good operating performance and strong growth in the hotel business market sets them apart from the competition, a good choice for any hotel franchiser.

Specializing in Property, Yachting and Business Opportunities, Villa Marine Lifestyles is another way to go, just a bit off from the norm. This hotel franchise business has a little bit of a twist, and is not your common, run-of-the-mill hotel chain. Villa Marine Lifestyles is a web-based business you can operate from anywhere in the world, as long as you have an internet connection.

Featuring customized vacation plans and value for clients, e-tickets is one franchise that can't be beat. Specializing in a variety of travel destinations requiring specific know-how, you can choose between skiing, golf, honeymoons, cruises and much more. This one's a good one for anybody wanting to work in the customized field of hotel business.

Founded in 1940, Choice Hotels has a minimum franchising fee of ten thousand dollars, but it's more than worth it. With training, financing and support available, Choice Hotels has more than fifty years experience bringing all this plus a whole lot more to its franchisees.

Would you like to live at a ski or beach resort and run a successful business? With Skyrun Vacation Rentals and Property Management Franchises, it's not only possible, it's probable! Vacation rentals at beach and ski vacation resorts are a thing of the future, putting together ski and beach vacations and vacation rentals.

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