Franchise and Small Business Startup News
If you’re an emerging franchise, making the leap from an owned-and-operated business to the franching model, you’ve got a tough task. Your first few sales are based on the promise of your concept, not a track record in serving franchisees. Fortunately, many prospective franchisees are looking for ground-floor opportunity, and may be emotionally drawn to your brand story. But the sales...
The next generation of business owners is likely to be younger than you might think. According to the largest study of prospect franchise buyers to date, more than half of those interested in buying a business are under the age of 50. Baby Boomers and older are still a force to be reckoned with, and 34% of franchise prospects are age 52 to 71. Generation X, from ages 37 to 51, led the pack with...
Franchising tells the story of American business, an ever-changing kaleidoscope of brands both new and familiar, capturing the changing mood of consumers and small business investors alike. Entrepreneur magazine captures it all in its annual Franchise 500 list, which was published again this week. At the top of the list is McDonald’s and a dozen other familiar names that populate so many...
Individual franchise units are often owned by the local investors who run the business and reap the rewards of their efforts. But who owns the franchising system that local owners are licensing? Increasingly, private equity funds are investing in franchisors, drawn by the predictability of a proven business model, and the “skin in the game” model of local ownership. Forbes recently...
Franchisors, there’s a huge mismatch in your new-unit sales funnel – 67% of all franchise inquiries are sent outsite of business hours, times that don’t lend themselves to an immediate phone conversation. And that problem gets tougher for national franchisors, when you consider the vast expanse of the 50 states and 6 main time zones across the U.S. According to the largest and most current...
A strong economy continues to fuel record levels of optimism among small business owners, according to the latest survey by the National Federation of Independent Businesses, with high demand for hiring stated as the No. 1 concern. The NFIB Small Business Optimism index came in at 104.4 in December, virtually unchanged at -0.4 less than November’s record high. “Optimism among small business...
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