Profitability

When Hollywood directors cast a superstar they count on two things, box office draw and the professional actor's ability to act

Hot business opportunities come and go in franchising but one that's currently providing a sizzling opportunity is child services franchises, according to a new study by Franchise Business Review. The report examines a number of franchise models within the child services sector to assess the franchise investment opportunity. The businesses evaluated encompass many different offerings, including tutoring and education, sports and physical development, child care, retail/resale stores, and niche services like photography and event hosting.

Today Franchising.com sits down with Mark Davis, a franchisee for the past 18 months with LaVida Massage in Canton, Michigan. Davis discusses his transition from the grocery and supermarket business to his present life as a successful franchisee – now looking to open a second LaVida Massage center.

It's likely that more than a few people researching franchising are doing so for a completely different reason than those who have been downsized or simply want to own their own business. The backbone of the American economy has always been the hard-working small business men and women who produce great products and services while providing jobs and offering employees a way to support their families. But what happens when a small independent businessperson is approached by – or discovers that - a franchisor is interested in converting their mom and pop business into one of its own franchise units? Well, it's a scenario that seems to be playing out more and more in recent years. Like many other topics we have covered, there is no simple or definitive answer.

"If there's one thing the recent economy has taught, it's that it's more important than ever to pay attention to costs during tough times," says Neal Faulkner, a Boston-area Dunkin' Donuts franchisee with 17 locations open and two more on the way. "I say if you're still operating today the same way you were three years ago, you're either out of business or on your way there."

Multi-unit franchisee Todd Pulley knows all about measuring unit performance and profitability - even though he had no prior financial background before becoming a franchisee. Over the last 15 years though, he has developed and refined his own system for measuring his unit economics at his four PuroClean locations in New Jersey and Delaware. The effort is paying off.

Ben presented us with a situation common to many business owners who find out too late they are not in a position to exit on their terms. Ben had founded and built a very successful business supply business. He had customers across the country and was consistently earning solid profits under his management. He had decided he was ready to retire in the near term.

Most of the headlines in 2009 have carried a common theme with respect to business and retailers in particular: a struggling economy and record high unemployment. Although most employees, customers, and vendors are as honest as the day is long, others simply cannot resist the temptation to steal what they cannot afford--especially in difficult times.

Jake was visibly upset when he came to see us. He had been planning to retire in 3 years by age 55, based on the combined value of his personal investments and his company. This was now on hold for an indefinite period of time. Like many, he had suffered a significant hit in the 2008 through 2009 stock market declines. He wanted to visit about the benefits of a comprehensive wealth plan - something he hadn't taken the time to explore in the past.

Craig had a sales organization which he had built but had just recently suffered a serious setback when he came to us to talk about his Transition Growth Planning. He had helped develop three key employees whom he felt were primed and ready to eventually take over and purchase the business from him. Unfortunately, he had not yet communicated his vision for these employees to the employees themselves. Shortly before he met with us, these three key employees decided that their best future would be to develop a new business on their own. So they left Craig and took their book of business with them. Much of this business had been initially developed by Craig, who had been transitioning his contacts over to these three individuals.

Over the past several years, we have spoken with business owners around the country who had decided they had reached the point of being ready to leave their businesses. However, no one was stepping up to provide them the exit results they wanted. These owners had spent all of their time aggressively working in their business, but had spent little time aggressively working on how they would eventually exit their business. They found themselves late in the game with few options to achieve their exit objectives. Simply put, they were too late.

Franchise Update Media Group, the leading industry resource for franchise development, today announced that Area Developer Magazine has a new name: Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine, effective with the Issue III 2008 edition, which will be published at the end of the month.

The FTC's new Franchise Rule "permits a franchisor to provide information about the actual or potential financial performance of its franchise and/or franchisor-owned outlets." Does this mean it is game-on for providing financial performance representations (FPRs, formerly known as earnings claims)?

Franchise Update Media Group, the leading industry resource for franchise development, today announced that Area Developer Magazine has a new name: Multi-Unit Franchisee Magazine, effective with the Issue III 2008 edition, which will be published at the end of the month.

Franchisors are always looking for that magical ingredient to propel their business toward greater profitability. In 2005, many are finding magic in the Internet, as email, laptops, PDAs, SmartPhones, and other mobile communications devices become a regular part of both business and personal life.

Are you equipped to provide prospective franchisees with information on how to finance a franchise? Even better, are you able to offer them financing assistance? Most financing experts say that the best source of financing information remains the franchisor.