Tweet

New Franchisee? How Franchising Lenders work in Canadian franchise finance

Guest post by: Stan Prokop

Article Overview: Franchise Financing Options In Canada Information on franchise finance in Canada . How a franchisee can obtain proper financing with the right assistance – info on who are, or is, the main franchising lenders in Canada .

New Franchisee? How Franchising Lenders work in Canadian franchise finance

Being the ' new person ' is not always beneficial, especially when it comes to a major life decision such as your new career as a franchisee in Canada. Not knowing about franchise finance or franchising lenders work is definitely a set back - so lets get you ' armed and ready ' with some solid info on financing your franchise .

First of all, here's the good news - financing a franchise in Canada is certainly possible - It's mostly done by a guy named BILL! And we're not kidding. More about him later.

In fact though, the franchise industry is currently viewed as quite healthy as lenders feel that the concept of proven business models and branding of your franchise are great steps to opening what ultimately is a ' start up ' business. Clearly we all agree a franchise ' start up ' is steps ahead of opening up your own business and ' taking a chance'.

So, can you get a ' standard' bank loan to complete your franchise finance? We don't want to be too sarcastic here, but the answer is, yes, if you have a million dollars net worth, pristine credit, and some outside collateral and guarantee ability. So what we are saying, putting that sarcasm aside, is that conventional lending doesn't really work if you're a new franchisee seeking an independent business opportunity financing.

So, that brings us to our friend BIll, remember we told you he finances most of the franchises in Canada. Clearly a popular guy, as he finances millions of dollars of franchises. Our clients want to immediately get to know this Bill guy. So, who is Bill?

Actually we have spelled his name wrong, its BIL, because that is the name of the government sponsored loan programme in Canada (in the U.S. it's called the SBA loan) that funds most franchisees in Canada.

How can one program be so popular? It's simply because it's well suited to what you are trying to accomplish. It provides great rates, terms and structures, limited personal guarantees, and requires what we in our firm call a reasonable or decent personal credit history. I.E. You don't need that million dollar net worth we spoke of earlier?

So how do you achieve franchise finance success with franchising lenders on the BIL loan? Again, pardon our humor, but investigate the Boy Scout motto - Be Prepared!

The essence of approval for your franchisee venture for franchising lenders under a BIL loan is a crisp business plan, a financial projection that makes sense, and various back up documents as required by the program. Naturally you also need assistance in determining who offers this loan program, how it can be sometime augmented with other financing, and it sure helps if you present it professionally and properly.

So, we always try to have a bottom line, and in this cases its pretty simple - investigate the BIL program, do your homework, identify key requirements, and, if you are challenged by any of the above seek a trusted, credible, and experienced Canadian business financing advisor who can help you achieve franchisee franchise finance success with the right franchising lenders for your BIL. And, by the way, congratulations on your new role as a Canadian entrepreneur!

Related Articles
  How To Qualify For Franchise Financing In Canada – A Franchising Finance Business Loan That Makes Sense!
  What Every Entrepreneur Should Know About How To Finance A Franchise In Canada – Financing Your Investment
  Lost ! Your Canadian Franchise Opportunities. Issues You Can’t Not Consider Re: Your Franchising Finance Loan
  Top tips for franchise success
  Financing A Franchise Business . Behaving Properly With Franchising Lenders In Canada!
  Canadian Franchisee Funding & Business Loans – In Over Your Head In Lenders & Finance ?
  Franchisee Profile Who should and should not buy a franchise
  Important Lessons On Financing A Franchise In Canada - Franchise Business Loan Success
  End Your Canadian Franchise Lending Worries – Financing & Funding Lenders & Solutions For You !
  Need Some Help ? How to Buy And Finance A Franchise - Canadian Franchising Funding & Lending For The Loan You Need
  Canadian Franchising Loans - 3 Issues in Buying A Franchise You Need To Address
  Creative Ways for Franchise Finance In Canada. From IT Franchises To Restaurant Franchising Here’s How !
  Why the Franchise Industry Continues to Thrive
  7 Guaranteed Ways To Fail In Canadian Franchise Loans. Franchisee Financing Done Right !
  Hotel Franchising
  Benefits of Franchising
  Who Else Wants A Franchise Financing Loan ? Franchisee Info On Canadian Franchising Loans
  Don’t Gamble On Franchise Funding Success . Finance Your Franchising Opportunity Properly!
  The Secret Of Matching The Right Financing To Your Loan For A Franchise – Business Loans For Franchises .. Done Right
  Canadian Lenders In Franchise Finance – Lending & Funding Options For Franchisee Financing

Article Tags: canadian franchise, financing options, franchise finance, franchisee, franchising lenders



Related Forum Posts
Re: Fed rate cuts . . . - Prime may be down but the Lender's tightened up, so the rate going down really doesn't help the avarage Joe or the fair credit borrower. Seems that pro-franchise Lenders all over the country all raised their standards. Where I used to be able to get someone franchise financing with a credit score of 650 and minimum collateral (30- 40%) with little management experience or no direct industry experience; the Lender's now want credit of 670+ and 50 - 70% in collateral on a minimal level (depending upon the lender and the franchise) and they are all requiring stronger & related experience (industry experience preferred). New franchises to the franchising industry are very hard to get financing for, unless you are a really strong borrower with strong related experience. If you are opening a restaurant franchise, the lenders want to see you have restaurant and management experience. Lenders also want to see a long track record with a franchise and they want to see 75+ units up and running successfully before they put down their guard. These are truely tough lending times and i don't really think the lower rate helps the avarage person.
Re: Kevin's Case Study #6 - Marketing an information resource? - Hi Sebastien, I'm wondering about two things: 1) What is your current revenue model? 2) Why would franchise owners choose to sign up with you over the lead generation companies? Is there some kind of quality control certification that you could award them to say that they are a World Franchising certified franchise? I'm not clear on what benefits a company seeking to franchise would really get from your site beyond the lead generation component.
Using your home for collateral is one thing, but... - Putting up your home for collateral is one thing, but utilizing the equity in it to finance a business is a whole other ball game and could be damaging in the long run. Do you know that if you completely finance your business with home equity instead of a busienss loan you will not be able to obtain a working capital loan later down the road? should you run into some financial troubles or wish to expand or remodel with working capital loan, you won't be able to get it if you finaced by personal means. It's always best to build a track record with a lender for future use and it's always better to be in business debt rather than personal debt. I always say: "You wouldn't hire a Plumber to do the Electrical in your home, so why would you finance a business using your home equity? Equity loans are for your home, business loans are for your business. You may however, utilize some of the equity in your home for loan down payment (depending upon your qualifications) and we can help determine whether that would be more helpful or damaging to your loan by pre-qualifying you for free. when using your home for collateral, it doesn't necessarily mean you will lose your home (in the event you cannot pay your loan payments). Lenders are always willing to work with you once you have a loan with them and they have already taken on the risk. they typically only utilize what they lien if nothing else can be resoloved (so it's basically a last resort) to go after what they lien.
Re: Franchise India 2010 - Biggest Business Event is Back - Hi There, That sounds like it could be an awesome trade fair. We have a similar annual franchise event here in the UK which is usually in Birmingham. Franchising was hugely popular in the 80’s and 90’s and with the worldwide financial situation being as it is then perhaps there will renewed interest from people wanting to work for themselves. If you go yourself then perhaps you could come back and tell us how it went, regards, Mal.
Re: Introducing a US franshise to a Canadian market - When franchisors begin to expand outside of the United States, Canada is one of the first areas they consider because: 1. Similar culture 2. Same language in most of country 3. Some provinces require registration, but it is not considered too difficult. 4. An economy that generally mirrors that of the United States (may be different currently) The main cost for a franchisor would be contracting a Canadian franchise attorney to convert their legal documents to meet Canadian law, then reprinting their marketing material. If a person sees a franchise they like, that is not currently in Canada, they might approach the franchisor and ask about becoming an area developer for the franchisor. I don't think that most franchisors would not sell a master franchise in Canada, in which the franchisee takes over the entire country, because Canada is such an opportune areaa, but by becoming an area developer the new franchisee could have the right to develop/sell several franchises in a given area.


Share this article with your friends. Fund someone's dream.

Leave a comment below or share on the left and you'll help support entrepreneurs in Africa through our partnership with Kiva. Over $50,000 raised and counting - Please keep sharing! Learn more.

Newsletter

Get advice & tips from famous business
owners, new articles by entrepreneur
experts, my latest website updates, &
special sneak peaks at what's to come!

Name:
Email:

Popular Articles

Why Your Own Internet Marketing Website Is A Must

Sales Courage and Resilience

What Makes an Extraordinary Business Consultant?

Suggestions

Email us your ideas on how to make our
website more valuable! Thank you Sharon
from Toronto Salsa Lessons / Classes for
your suggestions to make the newsletter
look like the website and profile younger
entrepreneurs like Jennifer Lopez.