Franchise
Finder Newsletter Sept/Oct |
Welcome
to our First Newsletter |
Welcome
to the first Franchise Finder newsletter! I hope
that everyone who has browsed the website has
found it informative and user-friendly. The website
is doing really well, with a lot of enquiries
coming through. We have had over 845 unique visitors
to the website thus far, with 1171 visits in total
and 5392 page views. The website is new so we
only expect the website traffic to grow even further.
There are so many franchise opportunites to choose
from and therefore one of our aims in this newsletter
is to try and help you decide which franchise
is "right" for you. We have included
a list of questions
that you should ask yourself and the franchisor
before entering into a serious agreement. The
questions that you ask yourself are intended to
paint a clearer picture of what type of franchise
you are looking for. The answers given by franchisors
should help you decide whether the franchise is
worth going for.
In the last part of this newsletter, we have a
Q&A
segment with some of the franchisors
and they have produced some interesting and insightful
answers!
We also want to hear all your news, whether you
are a franchisee, franchisor, entrepreneur or
a franchising consultant, we want to hear everything!
You may have just launched a new franchise, expanded,
bought a franchise, received an award or created
a new concept, whatever it is, we are interested
in including it in our newsletter. |
|
News |
Exciting
News from our Franchisors |
| Computers
4 Kids: New Product – Automated Online Assessments
and SMS notification
Computers 4 Kids announced a new addition
to its C4K Online Management System (COMS) this week
– Automated Online Assessments. This will allow
learners to easily log in online (an off-line version
will also be available) and complete an assessment
covering a specific lesson that an Educator has chosen
to assess. Once completed, the learner will receive
an immediate result and the Educator will be presented
with learner results in a table format highlighting
all the skills assessed. The data can then be manipulated
to create reports, skills lists and class lists. This
presents a huge time saver for Computers 4 Kids Educators
and further demonstrates COMS ability to provide an
effective LMS. The add-on feature is the SMS result
which the parent receives once the learner has completed
the assessment! The class teacher / ICT Teacher /
HOD also receives an SMS with the class average once
all learners have completed the assessment. Watch
this space for the demo link!
Congratulations!
The
2006 Franchisee of the Year for Computers for Kids
was awarded to Annemi Labuscagne (Eastern Cape) and
Andrew Fourie (Northern Suburbs) at the awards dinner
held in Cape Town on 13 July 2006. Well done and congratulations
to both of you on your hard work, dedication and enthusiasm!
Global Wrapps
Global Wrapps is opening two more stores this year
in Sunnighill & Alberton. We
still have opportunities available in Centurion and
Cape Gate (Cape Town).
Premises
to Rent
We are looking for new tenants for a custom built
Kentucky Shop in Ficksburg that has grown too small
for the existing tenants, Kentucky. Any other franchises
would have to make changes to the interiors or we
could do them for a tenant. Shop
is 200mts sq and Rent
is negotiable. Contact
Verney Halse on 083 263 5776, Tel & Fax 051 93
3106
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It's
all about asking the right questions... |
Questions
to ask yourself before deciding on a franchise |
Are
you trying to decide on what kind of Franchise to buy?
There are various points that one needs to consider
before making any kind of decision. The questions below
are designed to help you distinguish which factors/qualities
are important to you in running a business and therefore
will help you in making a franchise choice.
1.
Do
I want a home based business? |
| 2.
Where will the franchise be located
if it's not a home-based business? Do I want the
franchise to be located in the city or the suburbs?
|
| 3.
Do
I want to work five days a week? Six or seven?
How many hours per day? |
| 4.
Is there a specific industry I want to work in? |
| 5.
Do I want a product or service franchise? |
|
6. Do I want a new or an established system? |
| 7.
Do I want a large or small franchise system? |
| 8.
What kind of attitude do I want from the franchisor?
|
|
9. How important is name recognition? On a regional
or national basis? |
| 10.
Will I be happy with one or two franchised units
or do I want to own multiple units or develop
an entire area? |
| 11.
How much can I realistically invest in a franchise
(money that does not have to be borrowed or raised
elsewhere)? |
| 12.
How much should the total investment be? |
| 13.
Do I need to find a franchisor that offers a low-interest
financing program or has an established third
party financing relationship? |
|
Questions
to ask the Franchisor before purchasing a franchise
|
| 1.
How long has the franchise been going? |
| 2.
Does it have a good reputation? |
|
3. Is there a specific target market? |
| 4.
Does the franchise have long-term market potential
ie. is it based on a fad or a sound concept? |
| 5.
Do I need experience to run this type of franchise? |
|
6. Is it well branded?
|
| 7.
Does the franchise have a good marketing strategy? |
| 8.
Does the franchise have an Operations Manual for
franchisees? |
|
9. What degree of autonomy does the franchisor
allow the franchisee in terms of decision-making? |
| 10.
Does the franchisor consult the franchisees with
regards to “big” decisions? |
| 11.
What are the estimated profit margins for this
type of franchise? |
| 12.
Is training conducted before opening the franchise?
How long is the training period? |
| 13.
Is training ongoing? And if so, how often? |
| 14.
What level of support is available on start-up
and in the months following the start-up? |
| 15.
Are there any extra administrative activities
that need to be carried out once the franchise
is up and running, such as monthly progress reports? |
| 16.
What exactly is included in the start-up costs? |
|
17. What are the estimated ongoing costs? |
|
18. Are there royalty fees? If so, how much and
how does this work? |
|
19. What are the advantages of this type of franchise? |
|
20. What are the disadvantages of this type of
franchise? |
|
Q
& A with Franchisors |
We
put forward a few questions to franchisors |
 |
When
and how did you start your business?
May 2004 business was started in my house with
no money. My concept is so unique I could start
without any capital.
What
made you decide to franchise your business?
Was the only way to expand without the need for
huge capital layout. Like to share my success
with everyone and to grow quickly was to go the
franchise route.
What
was the most difficult part of franchising your
business?
Nothing was difficult. Maybe to get the right
franchise agreement.
Did
a business consultant help you through the process
of franchising your business?
Not really, however did reading and talk to someone
that have been in the business and he gave me
great tips
What are your opinions on franchising?
The best way to go and expand.
What
are the 3 most important qualities that you look
for in a potential franchisee?
Hardwork, Commitment and believe in the concept.
Where
do you see your franchise in 5 years time?
The biggest sport newspaper and website in the
world.
|
 |
When
and how did you start your business?
Global Wrapps was established by Fournews Developments
(News Café, Fusion Foods) in 1998. Due
to the huge success of the News Café brand,
Global Wrapps was not given the management and
financial resources to ensure its long-term success
and was shelved in 2000 after opening only three
stores.
The emergence and development
of Global Wrapps was keenly observed by Nick
Nicolau, then director and founding member of
the Ocean Basket Group. He had witnessed the
growth and rapid development of this concept
in the USA and believed that the same success
could be achieved in SA. However, at the time
his obligations to Ocean Basket prevented him
from any involvement with Global Wrapps.
In the second half of 2001 Nick
sold his interest in the Ocean Basket Group
to explore other opportunities in the food sector.
He concluded a cooperation agreement with Fournews
Developments in January 2002 that saw his company
acquiring all the rights including full control
over the growth and development of Global Wrapps.
The agreement places Global Wrapps in the unique
position that it is still able to benefit from
all the resources and experience of the hugely
successful Fournews Developments Group.
What made you decide
to franchise your business?
Franchising is the quickest way to gain market
share and exposure for the brand. And as I believe
that GW will become a global brand I needed
to achieve as maximum growth possible.
What was the most difficult
part of franchising your business?
Matching a suitable franchisee with a viable
site.
Did a business consultant
help you through the process of franchising
your business?
No
What are your opinions
on franchising?
Franchising has huge benefits for both the Franchisee
and Franchisor however franchisees need to be
certain that the franchisor is ethical, competent
and has a support structure that will continue
to operate the franchise even if the original
founder is no longer around.
What are the 3 most
important qualities that you look for in a potential
franchisee?
Integrity, realistic expectations, dedication.
Where do you see your
franchise in 5 years time?
We aim to be the dominant Wrapp & Smoothie
segments of the market as well been the leading
brand offering a healthier quick food option
|
 |
When
and how did you start your business?
Fifteen years ago.
What made you decide
to franchise your business?
The growing demand from family and friends to
have one of their own stores.
Did a business consultant
help you through the process of franchising
your business?
No
What are your opinions
on franchising?
There is a reason that the major franchises
are so successful. The team “behind the
scenes” that negotiate prices, lease etc…
What
are the 3 most important qualities that you look
for in a potential franchisee?
Experience, Work ethic, People skills Where
do you see your franchise in 5 years time?
The biggest Italian Family Restaurant chain
in Africa. |
 |
When
and how did you start your business?
In 1994 after we saw there was a need for an
ICT curriculum for schools.
What made you decide to franchise your
business?
As we require a strict measure of standards
to be evident in the school environment we thought
that franchising would be the ideal route to
follow.
What was the most difficult part of
franchising your business?
Finding the right franchisees with
the right qualities
Did a business consultant help you through
the process of franchising your business?
No. All done in-house.
What are your opinions on franchising?
It is an excellent model to use if you require
standards to be met within your business.
What are the 3 most important qualities
that you look for in a potential franchisee?
Reliability, passion and professionalism
Where do you see your franchise in 5
years time?
We are aiming to have a franchise presence in
most African countries
|
 |
When
and how did you start your business?
The business started in 1992 by Richard C Erasmus
when he had to look after a huge area of lawn,
when he decided that there must be an easier way
of doing things.
What made you decide to franchise your
business? There were a lot of people
age 50 plus that started losing their jobs and
we thought that 50 + still got a lot to offer
so we decided that we can help people to still
get a income and to keep their pension for when
they really need it.
What was the most difficult part of franchising
your business?
Getting past legislation, you actually have to
study for 3 years to do what we are doing but
we got past that, now you do our 2 week course
and then you get registered, the other obstacle
was to get finance for those who didn't have a
income anymore.
Did a business consultant help you through
the process of franchising your business?
No, but after running about 2 years we got approached
by Franchising plus who helped us a lot with franchise
training.
What are your opinions on franchising?
There's a lot of work to be done and teething
problems but once you get past them, and when
you get your after sales department right, then
you will reap the benefits.
What are the 3 most important qualities
that you look for in a potential franchisee?
Outdoors type person, Good communicators, Team
players
Where do you see your franchise in 5 years
time?
As a household name.
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Next
month:
|
- New
Franchise Ideas
- Marketing
your Franchise Online - Part 1: E-newsletters
- Q&A
with The Tax Shop, Biltong Paradise and Green
Leaf
|
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