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What about a Franchise

Written by: Alvah Parker

Article Overview: I recently had an opportunity to chat with Michael Harrington, owner of The Entrepreneur’s Source in Beverly. He is in the business of helping people to identify and research franchise business opportunities that match their goals and needs.

What about a Franchise

I recently had an opportunity to chat with Michael Harrington, owner of The Entrepreneur’s Source in Beverly. He is in the business of helping people to identify and research franchise business opportunities that match their goals and needs.

In recent past issues of this newsletter I’ve been exploring ways to start a business, places to find funding and ways to market your business. While talking to Michael it occurred to me that I had never discussed franchising and it is in fact an alternate way to get into business for yourself.

Michael’s story is interesting and pretty typical of the people he sees. He was in the restaurant business for many years and was very successful at it. He knew however that it was not what he wanted to be doing for the rest of his life-it was not his passion. Because of that he began to explore the opportunities that were available to him.

At some point during his exploration he decided he wanted to own a franchise. With a franchise you buy the right to sell a product or service according to guidelines given to you by the franchisor. This usually involves investing in a proven business system, and then receiving training and ongoing support by the franchise company. You could almost think of franchising as half way between working totally independently and working for someone else.

Michael decided to seek help and information from The Entrepreneur’s Source, the franchise he ultimately bought. They helped him to determine if he had the right temperament, work habits, behavioral style, and risk tolerance to be in business for himself. They then worked with him to evaluate the various franchises until Michael found the one that was right for him. Michael enjoyed the education and guidance The Entrepreneur’s Source provided him and decided he would like to do the same for others.

The total investment cost for a franchise is usually from $25,000 and up. Most franchise fees range from $20,000 to $45,000. This initial fee is to acquire a franchise, be granted a territory, be trained, and then have ongoing access to the name, systems, and trademarks of the company. Franchises can be as simple as businesses that can be run out of your home, or can also involve additional investments in equipment, supplies, inventory, vehicles and buildings.

Michael says that a franchise gives a person the opportunity to invest and participate in a proven business system and to “be in business for himself, but not by himself.” Another benefit is that the franchisee does not have to have experience in the industry represented by the franchise. The franchiser provides the training and ongoing support to help the franchisee achieve success. There are over 5000 franchises across the world, involving hundreds of different businesses and concepts.

Since there are hundreds of franchises available and lots of information to gather, The Entrepreneurs Source helps the client to explore the opportunities in a systematic way and get all their questions answered. The franchisors pay the majority of Michael’s fees. Initially Michael will schedule several no-cost meetings to get to know the client and to determine if they might be a good fit for business ownership. Once he and the client agree to work together, his clients pay a modest fee to cover the expense of the some of the customized assessment tools that The Entrepreneur’s Source uses to develop client profiles. Even though Harrington works with many franchisors, his primary concern is to identify options that best fit the profile of his client.

Michael pointed out that it is more important that the business owner have a passion for business than for the products or service of that business. It is the job of the business owner to run the business and that may or may not mean actually working in the business. In his book The E-Myth Revisited Michael Gerber talks about business owners working on the business as well as in the business. It is a lesson all business owners need to understand.

Take Action
1. Read the book Free Agent Nation and take the online Free Agent Aptitude test. The book gives you a code to use for the test.
2. What kind of business interests you? Do some exploring of businesses in existence that excites you? Talk to the owners.
3. Read the E-myth Revisited. Would your business benefit by your spending more time working on it? If your answer is yes, make a list of the steps you need to take to make the adjustment. What will the impact be?
4. Interested in franchising? Contact Michael Harrington The Entrepreneur’s Source 866-834-0003 or . Mike works with clients over the telephone and also at his office in the Cummings Center in Beverly, Massachusetts.

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  Did you know: NIIT Franchise was present in Malaysia in 1997?
  Master Franchises Explained

Article Tags: behavioral style, franchise business opportunities, franchises, risk tolerance, territory, work habits



Related Forum Posts
Re: Enticing Franchises - Top 9 List - All Franchise listed above are in millions of dollars. Do you have the list of Franchise in thousands
Re: Info for would be franchisers... - [quote="Sebastien":1d29sdv1]Like Franchise Times, Franchise Update is a very practical magazine. There is no blah blah, just straight facts that anyone in the franchise community can relate to. I just want to mention that all these magazines are NOT franchisee oriented. I mean these magazines are for franchise professionals. If you're looking to buy a franchise, you won't find much information in there. To answer your question, getting published in Franchise Times was fairly easy. I don't want to brag too much but I think I am known in the franchise industry. I was the marketing guy at Franchise.com for a few years before joining my new company, the World Franchising Network. So people know me and I have a very good relationship with Nancy Weingartner, the Managing Editor at Franchise Times. I was talking with her at the last Franchise Expo South in Miami and she mentioned she'd like me to be profiled. I was like "ok, sure!". I like this franchise executive profile thing in Franchise Times as it is rarely BS. People are usually really natural in there.[/quote:1d29sdv1] Thanks for the follow up Sebastien! And I can't say that I'm surprised that networking with the right people and managing your relationships with them properly are the keys to being published. I guess the old adage holds true of "it's not who you know, but who knows you" that's important.
how much for a franchise fee? - Dear Colleague There is no easy answer to this question. Things to consider: [list=] The sizeof the Franchise Clent base Expected Turnover Intellectual Property costs (recoup) Number of Franchises Number of employees Original Set up costs Franchise admin costs An example: A franchise that I was involved in setting was to a simple "lawn mowing/home repair" franchise. The Franchise included national/local advertising - preparation of client lists - general admin - central accounting etc The Franchise involved 300-500 clients - and an annual turnover of about $300,000 . The annual franchise fee was $30,000. Hope that this gives you some idea Take care Ian[/list]
Re: Franchise Surveys - Another good tool to researching a franchise is to speak with their existing franchisees. This contact information is included in most Franchise Disclosure Documents. In order to get a Franchise Disclosure Document or FDD as it is often referred to, you will have to complete a basic franchise application. The franchisor will then usually provide you with the FDD at that time. Included in that book of information is a list of the existing franchisees, the contract, the investment information etc... This information is required by Federal Law to be disclosed to your prior to making a purchase. So be sure to do your research and start with the Franchise Documents to get the initial information.
Re: Info for would be franchisers... - [quote="Sebastien":2gam0klq][quote="BuzzAroundBooks":2gam0klq]Like Franchise Times, Franchise Update is a very practical magazine. There is no blah blah, just straight facts that anyone in the franchise community can relate to.[/quote:2gam0klq][/quote:2gam0klq] That is really what I look for in any industry publication. We lead busy lives and when people fill their magazines with fluff, not only does it benefit no one, but it makes us truly appreciate those that don't. Thanks!


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