(Add to Favorites | View All Articles | Resource Directory)
|
|
|
Franchise Companies Come and Go
Each day we hear of companies entering the franchising industry. This is good news for America, right? Well, yes and know. Yes, because franchising is the closest thing to the spirit of free enterprise as any other method of doing business and because franchising offers small business people advantages that they would not normally have in pursuing their American Dream. However it is unfortunate but true that the average Franchisor failure rate is 5:1 in five years. Meaning they are gone out of business in that short amount of time. This is horrific news really. Why is this? Well most often it is due to over regulation, junk lawsuits, under capitalization or greed. Having played in the franchising industry I have seen it all. Recently I had, had enough of the crap of beating my head against the wall, sure the money is excellent if you have a good concept and we certainly do; www.CarWashGuys.com ; but we found it was easier to make more money and keep more by not growing thru franchising. In franchising you can grow faster, in a 4-year period we went from 4 states to operations and franchised outlets in over 23 states. My point is that there are just too many lawyers and regulations for one to actually believe that anyone in government actually believes in free enterprise, to think they do is a bogus notion indeed. In our company we are not currently offering franchises to the public. Our focus is to set up company owned units across the US and eventually the world and since I have retired the team will have to do it on their own, sure a few phone calls here and there for moral support or advice, but it just is not worth dealing with that level of bureaucracy and over lititigiousness. We may franchise in other countries but the United States being regulated by the Federal Trade Commission has their heads up their asses and it makes no sense in America anymore. Generally this business decision was made due to many following factors, some of which are listed below: Sarbaines Oxley Law and Accounting Reporting Cost Increases, Over Regulation in Franchising and Litigation, Multiple State Franchise Registration Laws Out of Sync, Disclosure Laws Hurting Company Proprietary Information, Required Disclosures which Might Help International Terrorists, Disclosure Laws, which Require the Giving Out of Personal Information About Franchisees. Litigiousness of Franchising and Absence of Tort Reforms in the US and Canada, Higher Profit Margins for the Company Running Our Own Units, More Efficiency to Corral Our Competition, More Latitude to Take on New National Account Business, Better Service Standards for Current and Future Car Wash Customers, More Control of Business Model and Less Red Tape We have chosen a new strategy along the lines of a Starbucks, Home Depot, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Federal Express type scenario where we can exert more control and less red tape to insure higher standards and smoother business operations. Regretfully this does impact the small business community, franchise model and those who dream of owning their own franchise business. Over regulation usually does hurt the little guys and stifle competition and creates barriers to entry. We are not the only franchisor who feels this way and if the failure rates for franchisors in our country are 5:1 it would behoove new entrants to the franchising industry to think long and hard before getting into the franchise game. If you do not have a million dollars going in, you should not go. If you have not proven your concept in many markets over various business cycles forget it. Additionally you may want to look at alternatives to franchising, because with all this over regulation you are not going to have any fun doing it. Think on this. "Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs
MORE RESOURCES: News provided by Yahoo! News and Google News Wilmington council considers small biz help along with ballpark - WWAY NewsChannel 3 New bills aim to strengthen small biz contracting - FCW.com Small-biz advocacy group pushes health insurance co-op idea in Springfield - Crain's Chicago Business (blog) M&T lauded with small biz awards - Bizjournals.com (blog) Velazquez on "Small Business Administration Information Technology" Wednesday: Small Biz Fair, Free Facial and Community Yoga - Patch.com Head of U.S. Small Business Administration in Jacksonville talks microlending 5 tax tips for small biz - El Paso Inc. |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Hispanic Small Business Advantage One thing I have noticed in my travels to different markets is that Hispanic Small Business Owners have a very distinct advantage. They are friendly and very involved in their communities. Family Business and Conflicts What is a Family Business? A family business is basically any business in which the majority of the ownership or control lies within a family. Involvement of members of family in a business can bring with it its own complexities because the line between the business system is sometimes separated by a thin line from the family system. The Care and Feeding of Your Small Business While I was hard at work last week, an everyday drama was playing out in a hospital room in the next town. My niece was working on presenting me with a new great nephew. The birth of the Virtual Assistant phenomenon and why you should use one Outsourcing is the strategic use of outside resources to perform activities traditionally handled by internal staff and resources. Small business owners can outsource non-core functions to specialized and efficient service providers. Why are Reverse Mergers Often the Victims of Short Sellers? There is a great deal of abuse going on in the OTC Bulletin Board Market and a lot of money is being made as result of it. Regulators are trying to deal with the problem but are unable to put a halt to it, unless they take drastic steps which will be detrimental to the small and micro-cap market. Australian Workplace Agreements - How They Work For You The employer / employee relations environment has been constantly evolving during the last 25 years. In Australia, as in many western nations, the balance between employers and employees has shifted back and forwards usually in response to supply and demand. Essex Accountant: Accountancy Firm MVP for Your UK Business? Most business owners know when they need an accountant, but they do not realize how important the task is or how much their results can vary. No other job position outside of your own is going to affect your bottom line like an accountant and contrary to common belief, the job is not just about crunching numbers. Equipment Maintenance Manual for Mobile Cleaning Business Outline Service Cleaning Businesses must maintain their equipment in order to insure it is ready to go when the company vehicles reach their customer. It does not matter how many service vehicles or employees you have, a manual can save you both time and money. The Business Autopsy: A Fact Of Life Last week we discussed the importance of performing an autopsy on a dead business. No, I haven't been watching too many of those wonderfully graphic, TV forensic investigation shows. Boat Hull Cleaning Procedures for Owners and Detailers For really tough boat hull cleaning you will need to break out the acid. Muratic acid is the best for this. Drivng Home the Point - An Outsourcing Story in China A few years ago, I visited Beijing for the first time. At Beijing airport, I got into a taxi and paid 450 yuan (about US$54) to get to the city. Important tips to keep your small business' computers running When working properly, computers enable small businesses to make big business profits; however, get booted off your computer and you're suddenly starving. In most instances, computers usually act up due to lack of care by its owners. Franchising in The Middle East There Will Bring Significant Opportunity for US Based Franchisors As stability emerges in the Middle East there will be significant opportunity for the Franchising Community. Arab Franchising appears to be of interest for those seeking economic growth in much of that region of the World. Using Technology to Manage Customer Loyalty Don't let your customer satisfaction research initiative collect dust on a shelf. Integrate technology with research to optimize the use of customer information. Solving the Late Paying Customer Blues Nothing can drive a business down faster than customers who don't pay their bills as agreed. When you sell to customers on credit you are making an agreement with them. Determine what kind of clients you wish to attract "I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody."--Bill CosbyHave you ever had clients that were more trouble than they were worth? Maybe they were always late to pay, or didn't do what they said they'd do. Truck Wash Business Case Study Often smart entrepreneurs look for out of the way businesses, things out of the mainstream but businesses, which have a good customer base and steady incomes. This is an extremely interesting story. Marketing - The Way To Make What Youre Really Worth You only have so much time in a day right?So wouldn't it make sense to focus as much of your time as possible on the things that produce the highest payoff.I don't know about you but most small business owners are do-it-yourself types and get sucked into doing the littlest silly work faster than you can say "Oh look, the copier is jammed again. Small Business Essentials: Start Here Thinking of starting a business on line? If so there are two things you absolutely must commit to before ever opening shop on the web. Any one who refuses to realistically consider these two factors should not be in business. Money Series 1: Who Takes Your Money Your business is making profits, but where is the cash? It seems that someone has taken away your money. Your bank account is still the same, and your personal wealth is still the same.
|
| Home | Site Map | Privacy Statement | More Articles |
| © 2006 |