Security

Just to let you know where I'm coming from when I talk about the five biggest mistakes I see franchisors making in today's tough economic times, I've been plying my trade for more than 20 years now, and well over 50 percent of my clients have been among the nation's foremost franchise organizations. I've been in the trenches with them during all kinds of economic scenarios--inflation, recession, expansion, steady-as-she-goes, and a couple of booms and busts. That said, here's my take on the missteps I see in today's marketplace:
1. Thinking you can cut costs and/or services out of your model to increase or maintain profits. Yes, there probably is fat that can be trimmed and we need to look at every line item expense, but what we cannot do is compromise the customer experience...

There may be some lag time, but experts note that every recession since the 1950s--with its rising unemployment and weakened economy--has been tied to an increase in crime, most notably property crimes and robbery.

Making matters worse, many law enforcement agencies are feeling pinched as cities and towns cut back on municipal services. Factor in reduced government revenues from slow retail sales and a decline in property tax revenues, and this may be "the perfect storm" for a rise in retail crime. So what are the types of crime-related problems a small business operator is likely to experience?

I have a suggestion that will raise your odds of winning--and it won't cost you any money. To clarify what I mean by improving your probability of winning, let me contrast that with an example of winning by chance.

The game Battleship was first popularized in the United States as a board game in 1931. It was also published by Milton Bradley as Broadsides, the Game of Naval Strategy. To win the game, you have to sink the other player's ships before he sinks yours. To start the game, each player secretly arranges a number of ships on his side of the game board. The players then take turns "shooting" at each other's ships. Today, we play Battleship on home video game consoles and mobile phones too.

But despite the updates in gaming technology, what hasn't changed is this: Battleship is a guessing game...