Franchise Buster - Small Business and Franchise Opportunities

Small Business Opportunities

2009-04-06T21:29:00.002-05:00

As I mentioned in a previous post, it's a great time to look into a small business. The possibility of controlling your own future and determining your financial destiny, is an opportunity that many people are beginning to realize. I'd like to suggest that you check out our website if you're interested in a career in the insurance field. Farmers Insurance offers an excellent program for individuals who would like to open their own business with the full support of a well-known company.

Check out our website and talk to us about how we can help you reach your potential!

http://www.franchisebuster.com

It's a great time to start a small business

2009-03-15T18:14:00.003-05:00

You might not think that a new small business would be a good idea in an economy such as this. However, take a second to think about all the reasons why a small business makes sense.

1. You have the ability to control your job outlook, salary, and to a certain extent, whether or not your business will remain successful. If you are working in a traditional job, your boss or business owner determines whether or not you will remain in your position.

2. In this economy, whether or not you are performing work at an exceptional level, you are unlikely to receive a significant raise in the near future. If you maintain your own business, you decide how much you are worth. If you make more money you are free to reinvest that money back into the business, put it into a savings account, or give yourself a raise. As the boss, the decisions are entirely up to you.

3. An opportunity with an established company is often a way for you to receive the support of a large company while still maintaining a level of independence. For instance, a career with Farmers Insurance is a great way to combine outside support with personal control.

If you'd like more information about how to open your own business, please visit us at www.franchisebuster.com

Why Do Small Businesses Fail?

2009-02-03T21:36:00.002-06:00

Most people open a small business with the hope that it will eventually make them wealthy, provide freedom from a 9-5 job, and provide the opportunity for one’s children to take over the family business. Unfortunately, most small business owners soon realize that it’s not quite as easy as renting space, buying a sign to hang out front, and waiting for the profits to roll in. Owning a small business can often result in dramatic financial losses that can handicap an individual for many years. In order to ensure that you do not become one of the thousands of small business owners who’ve lost their business, follow these three simple guidelines.

1.Start a business that uses your existing skills

Think about the type of business that fits your existing set of skills and experiences. For instance, if you’ve spent the last 10 years working as a baker at a local restaurant you probably don’t want to think about opening a hardware store. Now, are there lifelong bakers who’ve opened successful hardware stores? I’m sure that there are. However, your rate of success is very likely going to be small.

2.Start small, grow slowly

One of the biggest mistakes that new small business owners make is the belief that they must incorporate all of their great ideas into the business from “day one”. Remember that you are in business for the long-haul and that you do not need to sink all of your financial capital into an expansive product line from the beginning. Think about how many of the existing automobile companies began. Do you think that they started business by releasing an entire product line at once? Of course they didn’t. Most of them started by offering one or two different vehicles and then expanded the product selection once the opportunity presented itself. There’s always plenty of time to grow!

3.Constantly examine your ideas and focus

Even the largest and most successful businesses must occasionally reexamine whether their current product focus and strategies are still working. The one constant in business is that the environment is always changing. Today’s “hot item” is tomorrow’s bargain bin special. Make sure that you always continue to seek out new ideas and monitor your competition to see what they’re up to. Make sure that your business remains flexible enough to always react to changing trends.

Using the steps listed above, you can ensure that you give your business the fighting chance it deserves. Obviously, there is no guarantee that you will be successful, but you can certainly tip the odds in your favor.

Should you start a small business in this economy?

2009-01-25T21:35:00.004-06:00

Many people are probably wondering whether it makes sense to start a new small business in the current economic environment. It is true that you must weigh your current situation and decide whether a small business still makes sense. If you are currently employed, take a look at your industry and your employer and decide whether you may be experiencing any hardships this year. I know that it's not easy to play the role of prognosticator when dealing with your current employment situation. However, it is important to remain neutral when deciding whether or not to take the plunge into small business ownership.

There are still plenty of great industries in which you can still make a very nice living with a small business. Think about some of the industries that are essentially "recession proof". These are industries that will always remain desirable, regardless of the economic climate. Health Care will always remain a need - people obviously cannot determine when they will become sick. Insurance will always remain in demand - most states usually mandate that individuals maintain certain types of insurance.

In conclusion, don't immediately put off the idea of owning a small business, just because times are difficult. You'll just need to spend a little more time researching which ideas are most feasible.

If you'd like to learn more about business opportunities available in your area, please visit www.franchisebuster.com for more information.

The Small Business Owner

2008-10-27T21:53:00.003-05:00

What is it about the small business owner that makes him or her different from other people. Is the small business owner smarter than everyone else? It's possible, although I've met quite a few business owners that could barely form a sentence, and yet did very well in business. Is the small business owner a natural salesperson? I've found that many people in the field of business are not necessarily great at selling a particular product or service.

So, if it isn't necessarily a great sales mentality or intelligence that makes a small business owner unique from his fellow men and women, what is it that sets them apart from the herd?

The one trait that I've found all small business owners possess, and this may not be surprising for some of you, is confidence. Business owners must be supremely confident in their ideas, themselves, and in all facets of their daily lives. Now, confidence is distinctly different from cockiness. Confidence is the ability to hire good people and provide them with the tools for success. Cockiness is the belief that nobody can every be as good as yourself - and this person is doomed to fail in business. No person can be all things...

So, what do you think is the most important personality trait in a business owner?
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If you'd like to find out what other business owners are talking about, please visit FranchiseBuster.com

Franchise Benefits - Part 2

2008-10-26T20:49:00.002-05:00

In my last blog post I discussed one of the biggest benefits to a franchise - consistency of expectation. Because a franchise is by definition part of a larger organization, it is possible to standardize products and processes.

Another advantage to a franchise operation is the pooling of resources for a common good. If you own a small business that is not part of a franchise, you are entirely responsible for your own advertising costs. However, as a franchisee, you will often pay a monthly fee to the owning company for purposes of nationwide and regional advertising. Think for a second about all of the commercials you see in a given day. How many of them are for a business that currently offers a franchise opportunity?

It would be incredibly expensive for an individual franchise to purchase national advertising time during a prime-time show or sporting event. However, when the resources of thousands of franchisees are pooled, it is possible to expand the effectiveness of these advertising dollars. Instead of spending 100% percent of the required cash for an advertisement, a franchisee will pay a small percentage of the cost but will receive 100% of the benefits.
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There are many other benefits to a franchise opportunity. If you'd like more information, please visit Franchise Buster.com.

Franchise Benefits

2008-10-23T19:21:00.002-05:00

Many people that decide to open their own business are not at all familiar with the process. Opening a franchise can be a great small business option because a franchisee is provided with many of the tools in the format of corporate training and instructional materials and support. Ongoing marketing assistance and financial planning assistance are another two advantages of a franchise operation.

Think of how many franchise locations you pass by on your way to work. Even if you live in a fairly small town, I imagine that you probably pass between 5-10 different locations. Restaurants, car repair shops, grocery stores, banks, etc. All of these business opportunities lend themselves to the franchise concept.

Perhaps the biggest advantage to the franchise concept is name recognition. It's difficult to put a price on this advantage, but it is the main reason why franchise corporations charge a significant price to be part of their organization. Think of it this way - if you're in an unfamiliar town and need to find a place to eat, are you going to choose Joe's House of Grub or McDonald's? Joe might make a mighty fine hamburger, but you're probably going to choose McDonald's because you know exactly what you're going to get. A Big Mac in St. Louis tastes the same as a Big Mac in Sioux Falls. This familiarity is a tremendous advantage to the franchisee.

That's all for now...

Stay tuned to learn more about some of the other advantages to franchising.
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To learn more about franchise and small business opportunities, please visit Franchise Buster

What Is a Franchise?

2008-10-16T06:21:00.002-05:00

What is a franchise? It's a question that I've heard from a lot of folks over the past few years. While most people have heard the term, it's not always clear what the term relates to. Some might be familiar with the more famous examples of a franchised business through the success of various fast food establishments - McDonald's, Subway, Burger King, etc. These examples are helpful in beginning to describe the essential elements of a franchise.

In its most basic sense, a franchise is a business or opportunity offered by a central company that maintains certain standards and requirements for continued operation. A franchise operation often requires the payment of a "franchise fee" and requires that its owners maintain certain standards for advertising, facility maintenance, and overall operation.

Next time, we'll talk about a few of the advantages to selecting a franchise operation...
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To learn more about franchise and small business opportunities, please visit Franchise Buster

Welcome to the new Franchise Buster blog!

2008-10-01T19:54:00.002-05:00

Welcome to the inaugural post of the new Franchise Buster blog. Throughout the next days and months we'll be discussing many topics related to advertising, small business, franchises, and many other issues of an interesting and informative nature.

We hope that you'll return often to learn more about who we are and what we do.

If you'd like to learn more about starting your own franchise or would like to contact us personally, please feel free to visit www.FranchiseBuster.com

Thanks!