North Star At Home Based Business

The No. 1 reason for home based franchise business failure is not having enough capitalization to launch and manage your operation. By Shelly Sun

If you’re thinking about franchising, it’s important that you have enough capital to launch and enough capital to sustain the operation until recurring royalties can cover your overhead.

Many franchisors wrongly assume that the amount they collect from selling franchises in initial franchise fees will cover overhead. But often the franchise-fee revenue does not fund the necessary infrastructure, leaving the emerging franchisor scrambling. If you’re not sitting on a cash war chest of $500,000, you may run out of cash.

When I was launching my health-care staffing franchise, BrightStar Care, in 2005, we estimated we needed to invest $300,000. I contributed $100,000 of our own money and accessed $200,000 in debt financing. We were about 18 months in when the Continue Reading »

With unemployment rates remaining high, many young professionals are striking out on their own. By Kim Ann Zimmermann

While these youthful entrepreneurs all have their own reasons for starting up a business  — they found no jobs in their field after graduating from college, they found a job but their corporation later downsized, or they simply wanted to set their own work agenda — many have turned to owning a franchise.

Because they don’t have decades of business experience under their belts, they say becoming a franchisee can provide them with the backup they need while they make the most of their energy and enthusiasm.

“You have the brand name behind you, but you bring your own professionalism and commitment to excellence to the business, and by doing the job right you ensure that there is a job waiting for you the next day,” said Mark Jones, 24, who switched career tracks from schoolteacher to franchisee.

Dilley owns a Continue Reading »

The franchise industry has a new “friend” – Facebook. By Dinah Wisenberg Brin

The social-networking giant recently became a member of the International Franchise Association and plans to take part in the big trade group’s annual meeting in February, 2012.

“Joining the IFA is part of Facebook’s continued commitment to helping local entrepreneurs build their businesses, deliver value to their customers and create new jobs in their communities,” Joel Kaplan, Facebook’s vice president of U.S. public policy, said in a statement.

As part of the new alliance, Facebook will join the IFA’s technology committee, according to Matthew Haller, an IFA spokesman. The IFA will dedicate a page on its website to information on Facebook tools and get franchisors to the right team at Facebook if they have questions, he said.

Facebook already provides features to Continue Reading »

Wondering if you should look into owning a franchise business?  Here are 7 reasons that should prove to you why franchising is an awesome investment. By Chad Gordon

1.  Quickest Way to Own a Business
Other business ventures take a lot of planning, preparation, and time until you can fully implement your operations. But with franchising, you can have your own business in just a couple of months. You won’t even have to exert too much effort because everything is already laid out for you.

2.   Less Costly than a New Business
It takes a lot of investment capital to open up a reputable business, but there are many franchise opportunities out there that you can become involved with for a whole lot less. All costs are fair and accurate when you buy a franchise so you won’t be wasting any money on unnecessary expenses that you could find yourself spending with a new business. 

3.   Exclusive Location
You’re entitled to run your operation in an Continue Reading »

If you’re shopping for a franchise business opportunity, you may be invited to take a personality assessment. By Julie Bennett

I’d make a lousy franchisee–and I have the personality profile to prove it. I’d always been skeptical of personality tests, and so I was delighted when Accord Management Systems of Westlake, Calif., offered to let me and a friend of my choice take one to test it out.

Accord, which works with several large franchise systems, developed a profile of an ideal franchisee. Traits include:

• Higher-than-average dominance
• High energy and drive
• Focused on results
• Logical
• Tough, but fair
• Somewhat sociable
• Risk-taker
• Ambitious
• Assertive
• Collaborative

All the things, apparently, I’m not. Bill Wagner, Accord’s president, tried to be gentle when he told me Continue Reading »

An at home based business that has demonstrated it has successfully overcome the normal trials and errors most businesses face and is thriving today can be translated into a home based franchise business! And by the ability to duplicate its winning strategy, it can now be replicated in different areas around the country. A franchise is simple in its format as its principles and management techniques are clearly demonstrated through its operations guide.

Franchises come with a price, so right form the beginning there is an initial start up cost involved, which will then enable you to run your home based small business under the name of the brand you have purchased for your franchise fee. You will then be privy to a range of confidential information that will help you understand and use the franchise business model effectively.

Aside from the initial franchise cost, there usually are monthly management fees that are required in order for you to have constant and on-going support from the franchisor. This means that you will have access to a full training program from the outset as the franchisor will Continue Reading »

Value, affordability and service! That’s the winning combination for success in this year’s Franchise 500. By Tracy Stapp 

Entrepreneur‘s 32nd Annual Franchise 500® is full of shake-ups and surprises. For starters, more than 10 percent of the top 500 franchises are companies that have never ranked before; some are relatively new to the scene, while others have been working their way up for years. Evolving industries led us to make some changes to our categories, such as the addition of “Apparel & Accessories” under Retail and the transformation of previous years’ “Pub-Style Restaurants” category into “Sports Bars.” And then, of course, there’s our new No. 1: Hampton Hotels.

But the overall message of this year’s ranking remains the same: It’s all about the economy.

More important, it’s all about how consumers and entrepreneurs alike perceive the economy. Some experts may insist that the recession ended more than a year ago, but the recession mentality is still holding strong–which means that Continue Reading »

You will increase your risk of failure if you don’t do your homework properly! By Gwen Moran  

1. Relying too much on your gut. Yes, you should heed your instincts, but the failure to do a thorough and clear-eyed investigation is the single biggest error in judgment that prospective at home based franchise business owners can make, according to consultant Mark Siebert. Making an emotional decision means you don’t fully understand what you’re getting into. “You’d be amazed,” he says, “at the number of people who don’t even read the disclosure document.”

2. Failing to make the necessary calls. Franchisors must provide you with a list of prospective franchisees. Siebert says it’s critical to call at least two dozen of them, especially those in the area you intend to open your top home based business. Franchisees are remarkably open, he says, and you will learn a great deal about the true experience of Continue Reading »

As a professional franchise business opportunity consultant, I am often asked what types of franchise opportunities are the most profitable to start and own. From my experience there are a few common factors or characteristics that give some franchise home based small business models a definite edge or advantage when it comes to the ability to consistently produce high profit margins.

Some of these advantageous characteristics include having low overhead expenses, limited competition, and not offering a commodity type product or low barrier services. Below are a few home based franchise business opportunity categories that share some of these characteristics and are generally regarded as having the right stuff to be very profitable. 

Top Home Based Business Franchises:

Some of the most highly profitable small businesses I have ever worked with as a professional business broker were home based. In my opinion the benefit of not having the expense of a monthly lease payment cannot be overstated in terms of Continue Reading »

Franchise business consultants make it easier to navigate the thousands of franchised concepts and hundreds of franchise portals available on the market.

Why Use a Franchise Consultant? 

While using a franchise consultant is a growing trend in amongst prospective franchisees, many individuals do not take advantage of these services; in fact, most people are simply unaware the service is even available. Among those who do, some may feel they’ve already decided what concept is best suited for them. However, one of the primary advantages of a franchise consultant is his or her ability to direct you to franchises you might never have considered. 

Many consultants have franchise industry experience or are former franchisees themselves. They have been down the road before and can offer insightful advice to help you avoid making the same mistakes they may have previously made as a business owner. 

A common mistake made by franchise seekers is to Continue Reading »