New York Franchise Exposition - 2017

The New York Franchise Exposition was completed this weekend at the Meadowlands expo center.  Overall, some great concepts, fantastic brands and another show that seems to be very well attended with people considering investment opportunities and new life decisions for starting a business of their own.  Franchise Marketing Systems exhibited at the show and Mr. Conner was provided the opportunity to present on a relevant topic for the show, "Knowing the Difference Between a Franchise and a Start-up Business."

Christopher Conner, President of Franchise Marketing Systems, presented on the topic to a group of 30 attendees on the relevant entrepreneur question for anyone considering a franchise investment.  The discussion started with an opening question to the group, "as you walk the floor, the question you should be asking yourself as you interview each franchisor is whether you can do this yourself and what value would the franchise offer to you that you couldn't do on your own?"  For anyone involved in franchise development, certainly this is a question that is broached frequently by potential buyers who are trying to determine what the value proposition of a franchise brand is and whether the fees are warranted.

Mr. Conner pointed out that someone who makes a good entrepreneur is not necessarily a good franchisee and vice versa.  Traits associated with entrepreneurs tend to be a higher degree of creativity, wanting to put your own stamp on things, ego-driven, difficulty following rules and a variety of other tendencies.  Whereas a solid franchise candidate will be someone who exhibits traits more closely aligned with a successful employee such as job continuity, good grades and a rule follower.  The discussion then took the discussion into a progression of steps that someone might take in considering a new business investment.  The first step in this process was to do an honest self-evaluation and decide what your personal value proposition is to the market.

The business review should start by researching markets and understanding where there is opportunity for growth.  Writing a simple business plan with a SWOT analysis and market comparison would then allow the investor to consider all options and understand where the business model fit into the market.  Once this plan was in place, capital requirements, market analysis and a business strategy would help clear the path for which business might make the most sense.

Should that strategy take you into franchising, the questions to ask a potential franchisor should be aimed at determining whether a franchisor is geared for "awarding" franchises or "selling" them.  The key to a positive franchisor-franchisee relationship as Mr. Conner stated started with the franchisor's focus and whether their passion was for the transaction or the success of the relationship.  The FDD offers significant insight into these questions and would provide the content needed for a potential franchisee to avoid costly mistakes and make better business decisions.

Christopher Conner wrapped the presentation with a series of comments focusing on a potential entrepreneur's understanding for how capital requirements worked and having a complete commitment to whatever business they chose to start working on.

For more information on Franchise Marketing Systems, visit the corporate site:
www.FranchiseMarketingSystems.com
  

Franchise Development - Launching Your Brand

Franchising is a high powered marketing and business development vehicle.  Brands that leverage franchising effectively are able to drive growth and brand equity at a pace unmatched with other business expansion vehicles.  When you franchise your business, it requires a deep understanding and solid approach to marketing and sales.  Not only the marketing and sales you do every day with your product or service, but now in selling and promoting your business and your brand.

Franchise Development starts with having a great business model in place and a clear process for marketing your business to consumers.  Be ready to present numbers and fact-based data which will present how you get customers, what the cost per conversion is and what proven methodology you've found to get the best bang for your marketing dollars.  Great examples of this could be found with proven franchise systems like Schooley-Mitchell (www.SchooleyMitchell.com), RMH Business Solutions (www.RMHBusiness.com) or LifeLine Repairs (www.LifeLineRepairs.com), these are all businesses that have defined, proven and tested their customer recruitment models and when a franchisee goes to market, they have a good plan in place to start their area and get their business up and running.

Next, Franchise Development is all about a marketing and sales mechanism for promoting your brand and business to new potential franchisees and business investors. This requires a franchise marketing budget, a clear plan for how you will present the business model, what the value proposition to the investor might be and a franchise marketing system that will hit the market with a pop.  Some of the best new franchise launches that we've been a part of include companies such as Mosquito Terminators (www.MosquitoTerminators.com), Creamistry (www.Creamistry.com) and Flower Tent (www.FlowerTent.com).  Each of these brands approached the market differently, but all had significant growth and strong results from their franchise marketing efforts.  Mosquito Terminators focused entirely on internet lead generation primarily through portals and online lead gen platforms.  The brand sold 180 franchises in the first two years of marketing and had what anyone would call a fantastic launch.  Creamistry launched their franchise brand with a really significant showing at the Anaheim, California show with a replica ice cream shop as a booth and a prime placement at the IFA convention.  This show alone helped the brand sell the first 20 franchises and today, the system has sold over 300 units after only three years of franchising.  Flower Tent focused their marketing efforts locally and organically by leveraging suppliers, existing franchisees and current relationships the system was able to promote internally and get established quickly.  Today, after five years of franchising, the Flower Tent brand has in excess of 120 franchises.

Whatever your brand or your approach to the market, you need to have a good plan in place for both your consumer marketing and your franchise marketing system.  The budget needs to be there, the plan for execution needs to be in place and your willingness to keep yourself accountable needs to be intact.  Franchising works, it just takes execution to get the system moving.

For more information on how to franchise your business, visit the Franchise Marketing Systems Site:
www.FranchiseMarketingSystems.com 

Chris Conner - Franchise Marketing Systems Shows

Franchise Marketing Systems exhibits at franchise shows on a regular basis in order to support new franchise development efforts and also to market to potential business owners looking to franchise a brand out into new markets.  This coming year is no different, a significant push is being made to target high growth markets and work diligently to focus on areas where potential franchise business opportunities exist for clients and for new franchise brands.

September 24th and 25th is the first time that Franchise Marketing Systems has sponsored an entire exhibition and will be holding what is called the Franchise Pavilion as a way to increase exposure for new franchise brands and offer an aggressive booth program for new franchisors where franchise marketing budgets are lean.

Through 2016, Franchise Marketing Systems will be exhibiting at 6 Tradeshows in Minneapolis, Fort Lauderdale, Orlando, Atlanta (x2) and Raleigh North Carolina.  The 2017 Tradeshow circuit for Franchise Marketing Systems is even more aggressive with 36 shows on the schedule including several Canadian markets (Montreal, Toronto, Halifax, Calgary and Edmonton).

At most of these shows, Christopher Conner, Franchise Marketing Systems President, will be presenting on either How to Franchise Your Business or how to make the transition from employee to business owner.  The shows offer free workshops to attendees on business topics and franchising allowing visitors to benefit from meeting the franchise brands that exhibit at the shows in addition to leveraging franchise industry professional's insight and experience.

The franchise shows will be staffed by several of Franchise Marketing Systems team members and generally a handful of FMS clients will be exhibiting at the shows as well.  Mr. Conner will typically be at all of the shows and works closely with clients to make sure that the exhibition runs smoothly.  Franchise shows will vary in size and cost, all depending on where the show is located and who is putting on the show.  Some shows are industry specific as well and will only make sense for certain franchise categories (restaurant shows for example).

If you are considering marketing your franchise brand or would like to investigate franchising, Franchise shows make a great venue for either.  There are very few ways to get in front of as many people in one place as you can at a show.  Franchise shows create an exceptional place to meet a large group of people in the industry, get to ask questions and really dig into the franchise business as a whole.

Here is a list of shows that Franchise Marketing Systems will be exhibiting at the balance of 2016 and the majority of 2017 - https://www.franchisemarketingsystems.com/contact_franchise_consultants/franchise-development-events/ 

Franchise Marketing Systems is always able to get free passes for guests to the shows, if you are in a market close to a show or would like to travel to come see us, email Chris Conner at Chris.Conner@FMSFranchise.com.  

Mobile Services Franchise Growth

The Beginner’s Guide to The Mobile Franchise Business

Over the last few decades, the global business sector has seen a rise in the mobile business and franchise enterprises. Almost every industry has embraced the two concepts that give high efficiency and better return on investment. From medical services to shoeshine businesses, snacks delivery businesses and online shopping, consumers can get what they need right at the door. On the other hand, the ability to localize supply for essential commodities plays a significant part towards enhancing availability. 

However, the franchise business is not without challenges, and like any new business opportunity, there is a need to look deeper into the following issues:

The geographical region

It is the most critical of all factors, as new businesses ought to define their territory, and delve into the factors that might spur the operations or derail them. There is no blueprint on how businesses should operate, as each system is likely to work in a unique way to attract clients and promote continuity. Most systems may annex the map into the contract with others making a detailed description of the region. With most of the mobile franchises being service based, issues such a relocation of loyal clients, acquisitions in different territories and advertising limits are likely to cause a hitch in the business model.

Transport facilities

The mobile franchise cannot wish away the need for an active transportation system and services. It helps bring closer products and service to the people. Most industries require the enterprises to keep their vehicles current and upgraded which means they have to replace at given intervals to maintain the professional look of the company. It calls for potential investors to look at the vehicle age requirements, as it is likely to impose significant costs during the upgrade.

Recruitment process

A vast majority of the franchise system is owner operated and family run businesses. In such instances, employees can only work directly with the proprietor of the enterprise. In other models, the company can allow the owner to employ staff and give them transport facilities to cover an extended territory. The ability to recruit staff is vital for businesses that offer services for long periods of time such as shuttle services. If the franchise territory warrants multiple operators to serve a growing demand and the system is owner operated, the company can slice the area and recruit more franchisees to maximize the sales. It is vital to understand whether the companies allow them to hire extra labor to serve the growing demand.

Potential to go get the business

Unlimited upside is one of the strong suits of this particular franchise niche, a good operator is not captive to their location like they would be with a fixed location franchise model.  The ability to go out in the field and find the work when and where they choose makes the mobile franchise concept have a strong potential for growth, even in a single unit franchise territory.  

In our time working with franchise systems and developing franchise brands, the mobile market has been one of the strongest and most innovative, it continues to bring new ideas to the franchise market every month it seems.  

For more information on how to franchise your mobile services Franchise, contact us:

Christopher Conner - Chris.Conner@FMSFranchise.com 

Entrepreneurs Vs. Franchise Owners

Every day people invest in franchises and make decisions to buy franchised businesses.  Even more people make the decision to start their own business every day of every week.  It's a never-ending cycle of optimistic, creative and visionary people making the decision to set out on their own and take control of their own future.  So why is that people choose to invest in a franchise vs. starting their own business?  The two categories are actually very different from one another, even though both are in effective entrepreneurs.

1. Franchisees are entrepreneurs with a safety net.  They like and appreciate the security of not having to figure things out on their own and be able to benefit from a blueprint for success in the business they have started.  Franchising generally has a higher success rate and offers franchisees better odds of making it in their new business model.  In return, franchisees pay a franchise fee and a royalty on the revenues they generate from the franchised business.

2. Entrepreneur business owners have a strong ability to accept and embrace risk.  A true entrepreneur makes quick decisions, always sees the upside and has a strong vision for what they aim to accomplish.  Entrepreneurs break rules and set their own standards for life and business, where typically franchising would be difficult for them to accept the structure and rules inherent in a franchise system.

3. Franchisees enjoy and thrive in a rule-driven environment and like the idea of being providing a road map.  Franchisees generally make good employees, they are strong performers in a process-driven environment and are ok following someone else's lead.  Many times franchisees are not ideal marketers and sales people, they buy a franchise in order to be provided with a franchise marketing system that offers lead generation, branding and a proven business development model.

4. Entrepreneurs generally make great sales people and don't think twice about whether they can sell what they do.  There is no concern for "if",  just maybe how much they will sell of what they do.  And in most cases, sales ability is paramount in any new business start up as to whether the business has the ability to survive the start up phase.

5. Professional franchise investors look for scale.  They like to see that a model allows for absentee ownership and for a single franchise owner to own 2, 3, 50 units of a franchise system.  Good systems and structures from a franchise model can allow for this and in extreme cases, franchises have built up hundreds or thousands of units within a franchise network.

6. Entrepreneurs have big egos and like to see their names in bright lights.  Many times ego is what makes an entrepreneur successful, their excitement about leaving a legacy and putting their name on the map is what drives the success in the new business.  Franchising doesn't allow for this and as a franchisee you need to fall under the brand and the overall system requirements.

Evaluating a franchise or new business start up takes time and effort, it is critical to make sure that you know your own skill sets and personality as to which model is right for you.  For more information on buying a franchise or starting your own business, contact us:
info@FranchiseMarketingSystems.com
  

The Franchise Courier Launched

The Franchise Courier was Just Launched and went live this week:
www.TheFranchiseCourier.com

The Franchise Courier is a great source for information on the industry, small business trends, new franchise ideas and overall franchise information.  The site is designed be easy to navigate, provide a simple format for entrepreneurs to share information and open information on the franchise world through an informative portal.

Franchise Courier's concept is to be an open forum, leveraging franchise and small business professionals input, experience and ideas.  The site opens input from anyone willing to share their experience, ideas or background through the platform.

The Franchise Courier will cover legal aspects of business and franchising, strategic, operations, marketing and much more.  These current articles will provide some insight into the nature of the content:

How to evaluate potential franchisees when marketing your franchise brand: http://thefranchisecourier.com/how-to-evaluate-potential-franchisees/

Exciting Innovations in Franchising:
http://thefranchisecourier.com/the-franchise-way-an-entrepreneurs-standpoint/

Leveraging Franchise PR to Market your Brand and Sell your Franchise:
http://thefranchisecourier.com/combining-pr-content-marketing-to-drive-franchise-lead-generation/

You can count on continued content on the site and a regular addition each week from a new perspective in the business community.

If you or someone you know would like to submit content for publishing, just fill out the form below:
http://thefranchisecourier.com/contact-us/ 

Franchise Vs. Small Business Start Up

My family and I took a dare last weekend on Friday night.  We wanted to get carry out and take dinner home with us to eat outside on our patio.  It was a very nice day and we didn't feel like spending too much on dinner, but wanted something fun anyway.  We reviewed the options we could think of that might fit the bill for a place to pick up dinner and couldn't think of any places that were on the way home from work and would be convenient.  As I sat on the phone with my wife, we wracked our brains thinking of ideas, finally it hit us, Chicken Shack.  The place that was next to our grocery store and had stared us in the face every time we entered and left the parking lot.

This was a big risk, not only had we never been, but clearly the place was a mom and pop and didn't have any brand association with a larger franchise, so who knew what we might get should we be daring enough to go to the chicken restaurant.  With sweaty palms and constant doubt, our family ate Chicken Shack that evening for dinner and enjoyed the meal immensely, it was a successful decision to start the weekend.

Many times, this same story plays out, only the end result is that the consumer chooses to go elsewhere and the no-name brand doesn't even get the opportunity to please a customer.  Even as a franchise consultant, I find myself amazed at how powerful a brand can be and perceptible we are as consumers to the power of branding.  We as humans want to trust in something, we have this never ending desire to know what we are getting into and what to expect.  Brands do this for us, they speak to us and communicate to our inner fears and anxieties that come with every purchasing decision.  Odds are the same chicken truck drives down the road and drops off chicken at all the restaurants on that street, but the franchises have a brand that has communicated to me and every other consumer that you can trust them more than the Chicken Shack.

This is what makes franchising so effective.  The same small business owner now has the opportunity to leverage a larger group and the economies of scale that come with being part of a larger organization while still retaining 100% ownership of their business and having the potential build a valuable asset within the organization.  Franchising takes many of the worst parts of entrepreneurialism and offers valid solutions to these problems that small business owners have.  Good franchise systems will offer franchisees the ability to leverage branding through national advertising campaigns, cooperative marketing campaigns, local ad strategies and consistent branding/messaging.  Successful franchise brands will offer franchisees the ability to leverage buying power and the economies of scale that come with a larger network of businesses ordering and managing expenses as a unit, while still keeping the integrity of individually owned and operated businesses intact.

Franchising is the vehicle that allows businesses to communicate to customers and scale through larger mediums than an individual store could ever justify.  Franchising is the tool that business owners can use to maximize profitability and lower risk. For more information on how franchising could impact your business model, contact Chris Conner:  Chris.Conner@FMSFranchise.com