Understand the Pros and Cons of a Franchise

We will discuss how to find franchise opportunities, the pros and cons of a franchise, and the different types of franchise possibilities. Join me in completing the following learning objectives this week:  Identify franchises  Understand the pros and cons of a franchise  Find franchise opportunities In order to accomplish these objectives, we will engage in the following activities: Assignment 1: Class Discussion: Franchise Basics. Share your thoughts on this introductory topic. Example 1

I look at Eximius Mobile Services franchise. The franchise offer mobile maintenance and cleaning services in many domain including: car wash, lawn and mowing, home and office cleaning, dog washing, pool cleaning, exterior cleaning, and property maintenance. What surprises me is the number of service this franchise provides at a very low starting price. Their price are very low may be because it’s mobile service.

Franchising is a wonderful way to go into business. So many things have already been established for your benefit: branding, marketing, processes, products, systems, etc. If I have to consider franchise has my next career move then the franchise that might interest me would be in the education industry. It must be a reasonable price. The royalty fees must be low. In addition to that, I would conduct my own investigation on the franchise. I would look into their concept and how professional they materials are. How knowledgeable the staff is? Were they able to answer all my questions and concerns? And then, I would also get feedback from existing franchisees to get their opinion. This is very important to consider as part of the characteristics of the franchise because what you see from the company at this time may be an indication of the type of support you’d get as one of its franchisees.

Example 2

While looking through the franchises that my classmates posted, I found was a mobile services franchise. The large trend that I see happening with mostly food services is the trends in having the business “be on wheels”. It was interesting to me that this company offered numerous different types of franchises all by mobile services. I often times thought that anything on/in a truck was an independent service as opposed to something that a franchise opportunity. The unique ability to bring your service to the customer is something that I find very unique and interesting from a business standpoint. Different regulations must have to apply to these types of services offered which is what I find most interesting, because if you were to take your franchise to a different state or area would that be allowed? The sense of a nomad-type business as opposed to the traditional brick-and-mortar type of store, would the regulations still apply? Would it be dependent on the state of vehicle registration? The concept as a whole is very interesting to me.

Example 3 Franchises have always been interesting to me because, yes, they are less risky than starting your own business. Yet, the investment needed is high for many. For the Jimmy Johns Franchise the initial cost is $35,000 not including rent, remodel, furniture, initial inventory, etc. But for Jimmy Johns, at least in my area, Boise ID, has been doing very well and giving a good space and location it can do very well.

Given other franchises like a fitness center, Planet Fitness, there are also initial costs, equipment and space. With the low cost of their memberships I wonder where their break-even point is?

I personally am not sure I'd invest in a franchise because I do like the feeling of having started MY business, but it is tempting since it has a lot less risk to it.

Assignment 2 Franchise Wiki: Find a Franchise. Wikis provide us with an effective collaboration tool. This easy to use tool facilitates collaboration, information dissemination, and application of learning providing meaningful connections with the content and relating new knowledge with personal experience. Wikis provide us with a forum for more efficient collaboration. For an excellent illustration of the utility and function of wikis, view Wikis in Plain English by Common Craft. Find a franchise and post the name, industry, the link to the franchise information, and a description of the franchise. Describe why you think it is unique. Use the following links along with your own research: Franchise Opportunities: http://www.franchiseopportunities.com/ Franchise Gator: http://www.franchisegator.com/ Example 1 Franchise Name: BurgerFi Industry: High End Fast Food Franchise Information: http://burgerfi.com/franchising-summary.php After researching for a unique franchise, I came to settle on "BurgerFi". Much like many higher-end hamburger franchises that have gained significant popularity in the same way that Five Guys has almost led them to, I feel that BurgerFi has taken an opportunity to help themselves stand out of the crowd be being just distinctly differnet enough. One might notice first that they have positioned themselves as a very "green" business. Visiting the restaurant, most everything is branded with a eco-friendly message - from the napkins' disclosure of being recycled to the giant cieling fan showing how they can reduce their energy costs. Secondly, while the "gourmet burger" market is expanding, BurgerFi is enjoying rapid growth, and has some ideosyncrocies that make it unique. First, they offer beer and wine. Normally staffed with local craft beers. Also, they produce and sell their own "Frozen Custard", which is like a healther alternative to ice cream. Lastly, their burgers, hot dogs, and french fries/sides are made with less peanut oil, and with what they company claims to be "lighter" ingredients, which leads to a less of a "customer leaves with an upset stomach" type of attitude. The restaurants are also meticulously decorated with high end soda machines and old tube-style light bulbs for ambiance. What mainly attracted me to this franchise is not only the rapid growth, but the way that they have taken an industry that is seeing a market leader (Five Guys) thrive and worked to challenge that dominance while the leading company is still expanding. Personally, I have not seen that a lot of times - normally, a company will reach maturity before it faces significant competition. Example 2

A franchise I selected to write a Wiki about is 9Round Kickboxing Circuit Fitness. This is an athletic club in the fitness/health industry that has a core focus on giving participants boxing and kickboxing type fitness at an affordable rate for the person on the go! 9Round is unique because of its offer to it’s clients of its core values and it’s promises that get people fit:

TIME. We're a circuit workout that only takes 30 minutes! There are no class times so clients can come in at their convenience and start their workout. EXCITEMENT. There's nothing worse than a boring workout! Each of our 9 stations is different, challenging and fun. Clients never get bored, because the workout is different every time.

EFFECTIVENESS. Clients work their entire body in 30 minutes. Not one minute is wasted as they build lean muscle and get the cardio they need so they see their endurance and strength improve quickly which keeps them wanting more!

MOTIVATION. There is always a trainer ready at 9Round and we train every client, every time! This is the key to our success.” (The 9Round™ Kickboxing Circuit Fitness Franchise, 2014)

While other gyms offer kickboxing this gives the participants the feel of being in a gym that has a core focus on the task at hand – unlike many other large gyms that have multiple focuses. The feeling of authenticity is something that people will keep going back for, because the franchise claims to maintain it’s “Philly Style” in all of it’s gyms. 9Rounds has multiple locations throughout all of North America and along with their fitness regimen they offer health and nutrition advice at all of the facilities. This provides participants with a guide as opposed to most gives that have users making up their own daily workout. References: The 9Round™ Kickboxing Circuit Fitness Franchise (2014). Retrieved 4/2/2014 from http://www.franchiseopportunities.com/Zor_915982/9Round_Kickboxing_Circuit_Fit n.htm Example 3

I found what I believe is a very unique franchise through www.franchiseopportunities.com. My goal is to eventually own my own kennel for boarding, grooming, selling, and training dogs so I clicked on the pet industries to find a specific franchise to look at. The franchise is Eximius Mobile Services. This one franchise offers seven different franchises within it. Under Eximius Mobile Services, you can choose from a car detailing franchise, a lawn mowing franchise, a home and office cleaning franchise, a dog washing franchise, a pool cleaning franchise, an exterior cleaning franchise, or a property maintenance franchise. Each of these franchises are mobile. The advantages offered are the ability to be your own boss, choose your hours, and be provided with the training and materials necessary. While other franchises offer the same advantages, this one seemed to be at a low cost. The lowest cost starts at just $5,950. Some of the other franchises in the pet industry have starting rates at $100,000 to $200,000 (Franchise Opportunities 2014). The website itself, offers more information on each of the seven franchise opportunities. The dog washing franchise, for example, discusses the opportunity of the business, the skills needed, the required investment, and what Eximius offers. They offer a variety of marketing support as well as the training and equipment needed (Eximius Mobile Services 2014).

Eximius Mobile Services. (2014). Dog Washing Franchise. Retrieved from: http://www.eximiusmobileservices.com/dog-washing-franchise-for-sale/ Franchise Opportunities. (2014). Eximius Mobile Services. Retrieved from: http://www.franchiseopportunities.com/Zor_1068136/Eximius_Mobile_Services.htm

Example 4

@Work is an employment based franchise that provides companies in Corporate America knowledge age talent, top-talent, careers from varying sectors.

For example, @Work places, engineers, HR Professionals, IT Specialists, full time, part time, temp to hire, etc. I chose this organization for several reasons. It is unique in that it does not carry the description of the typical employment placement company. Second, according to Entrepreneur Magazine, "The typical investment for senior care is less than $100,000, and most are grossing $1 million or more in a year or two," ... "They are intensely profitable. But you have to do lots of marketing" (Daley, 2013). This industry of providing a service is growing imensely which is the other reason why I selected @WorkPersonnel.

For more information about their complete franchise package, take a look at the company's website: http://www.atworkpersonnel.com/client/client.shtm

References:

Daley, J. (7 October, 2013). An Investigative Report on Franchise Profits. Retrieved from http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/228698