In RQM, repetitiveness is important and its means remaining persistent and consistent with the marketing message whether it’s two units or 200 units.

Alignment is a continual process, not a once a year affair.

Engaging franchisees is obviously important to every franchise system’s success, and the most critical medium to achieving that engagement is live interaction and face-to-face connection.

One of the reasons antitrust law is such a headache to comply with is because what is or is not permissible has changed over time.

A highly successful, energized group of franchisees is critical to the success and growth of any brand. When franchisees are seeing their desired results through the help of an active and engaged franchise support system, their success becomes contagious and begins to create “brand evangelists” to further drive growth in the brand. These brand evangelists promote your brand for you–they assist in selling franchises, driving increases in system-wide sales and in decreasing store closings and transfers. Their attitude becomes infectious, thereby spreading their success throughout the entire system. But this brand enthusiasm is not created overnight.  It is  developed and nurtured only by providing ongoing, effective franchisee support. The following are the five key components of a first-class franchise support system:

As competition for new franchisees becomes heated, advertising and promotional materials directed to prospective franchisees is likely to get more creative.

When an individual buys a franchise, he or she purchases the years of experience and the proven operating system of the franchisor. One franchisee expressed it this way, “What I have learned from the franchisor was worth ten times what I paid for the franchise.” In any new business, much time and money are spent in trial and error, but a proven franchise may eliminate many of those start-up problems, allowing one to open a franchise with little or no previous experience in a given industry.

All franchise systems face significant challenges at one time or another. How those challenges are managed and even used to strengthen the franchise system separates the great franchisors from the rest of the crowd.   

There are a variety of loan programs available through the SBA including specific ones for veterans, disaster recovery, etc. The primary one for small business owners is the 7(a) program, which is more generally focused on helping small businesses start and grow. 

When considering finance options for a franchise opportunity, the best strategy is to take a personal inventory of your resources first, before deciding on one path or another.  There are many creative options and strategies to utilize.