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Is Franchising the Future for your Business?

By Tony Fitzpatrick

Have you considered franchising as a way of expanding your business? Perhaps you should!

Franchising is a fantastic business. It’s great for you, the Franchisor, because you can expand your business without big bank borrowings to fund expansion or having to give away chunks of equity in your company. Instead, your Franchisees pay you for the privilege of operating your business under your umbrella.

It is a sophisticated way of attracting both capital and people—ambitious, energetic, entrepreneurs who add creativity to the business and help to expand your network while creating a profitable career for themselves.

It’s wonderful for the Franchisee, too. It gives him the opportunity he would not otherwise have of becoming self-employed, being his own boss, working what hours that suits him, and paying himself what he’s worth.

Franchising offers the Franchisor an opportunity to expand relatively quickly and at a greatly reduced cost.

By franchising, the Franchisor is passing on to the Franchisee all the capital costs associated with setting up or expanding a business including, for example, costs of sourcing, buying, and fitting out premises and finding and training staff.

The more Franchisees there are in the network the greater the purchasing power that will be available —a benefit that can be enjoyed by everyone.

The advantage for the Franchisee is that he’s buying into a system, as in S.Y.S.T.E.M which stands for Save Yourself Time, Energy and Money. The Franchisor has done the hard work, meaning the lead-in time to establish a successful business can be greatly reduced. Ongoing support and advice and the benefit of the Franchisor’s know-how and experience will always be available to him.

A franchise that is well-managed and properly supported and controlled, and which has a Franchisor and Franchisee who are both committed to working together for the mutual benefit of the franchise system, can be a very rewarding business venture.

About the author: Tony Fitzpatrick is managing partner with www.franchiseyourbusiness.ie who provide a complete consultancy service to both start up and established franchisors in Ireland and the UK. He is a Board member of the Irish Franchise Association. Contact Tony at info@franchiseyourbusiness.ie or 0872449186.

Taking a business to the world from two islands in the Pacific Ocean can seem an enormous task and the road a long one. Now Xero have users in over 100 countries and Xero has been named fastest growing exporter in the Deloitte Fast 50 Index.

The annual index ranks New Zealand businesses according to their revenue growth over the past three years and sets the benchmark for high growth. As well as taking the export award, Xero was ranked 4th out of 50, on revenue growth of 873 percent. We’d also like to congratulate another Wellington company, online electricity retailer Powershop, which took the number one spot.

Together the 2011 group of Deloitte Fast 50 businesses grew the New Zealand economy by $594 million over the past three years and created 1502 jobs.

As Deloitte say

“These businesses have created dynamic cultural environments through the use of technology and communications tools which are not only meeting people’s needs around work-life balance, but also building workplaces which foster creativity and innovative thinking.”

I have this little test I do with Small Business Owners.

First of all I review with them the last 3 years accounts. Then I ask them to answer the following questions.

1. What ideas do you have to grow sales or wealth

2. What ideas do you have to increase profit

3. What ideas do you have to improve cashflow

4. What ideas do you have to protect your assets

5. What ideas do you have to exit or sell this business

6. What ideas do you have to minimise tax bills

7. What ideas do you have to be able to financially retire

Most small business owners have difficulty dealing with the questions and clearly have no firm business plan.

You must work out, with crystal clarity, where you want to be. Work out what you want from your business and what you want for yourself.