If you are like me, you think of franchises in terms of fast food places like Subway and pizza places that you eat in during your busy life. I've learned that there is a franchise for just about everything that you use in your life, you just need to understand what fits your business experience, personal goals, and financial status. To help you with your evaluation I would highly recommend using a service such as www.frannet.com, which by the way is a franchise that provides a free service to prospective buyers. The process takes you through a personal profile exercise that narrows the universe down to a few that match your criteria so you can investigate them thoroughly. One word of caution, the owner of the Frannet franchise gets paid by the franchisor when they connect and sell you a franchise...they will only show you franchises they have a relationship with so investigate others on your own at websites like www.franchise.com.
There are several advantages to purchasing a franchise that you should be aware of:
1) Proven business processes
2) Proven Marketing and Advertising Materials
3) Overall business playbook (business model)
4) Brand recognition and advertising assistance
One thing you should be aware of, if you think you can do it better than they do or have done, you either shouldn't consider their franchise or maybe you're not a good fit for a franchise at all...be honest with yourself, it gets expensive.
Next time I'll tell you about the franchise that we bought and the mistakes we made! We knew that we should have stopped the process before we spent anymore money but went ahead anyway....don't make the same mistake we did!
Monday, January 26, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Enough background, let's move forward!
Sorry for the delay in getting my next post up but what I haven't told you is that I'm in the middle of getting another start-up off the ground!
My current start-up is a company called CoGoJets.com. If any of you actually followed the Senate hearings with the Auto Makers, you heard the question asked, "Why didn't you at least Jetpool to Washington?". We thought that was a great question given that we had just launched the first Jetpooling community and have a patent pending on the business process!
The Jetpooling concept like carpooling, is very simple to understand. You build a community of like minded travelers who would like to share the costs of private jet travel on a prorate basis. Our website allows members to post the flights they would like to take so that other members can see and join them in order to share the cost.
You maybe wondering how in the world did you come across this idea and why was this better than the other options you were considering...here is the answer!
There are always several options for you to consider when you finally make the decision to leave corporate America and work for yourself. Here are a few that we will discuss:
1) Buy a franchise
2) Buy an existing business
3) I have a great idea, let's start it from scratch
4) Partners or no partners, that is the question!
5) Join an existing business owner who wants to retire in a couple of years
All of these options are viable depending on your personality, goals, and financial strength. I have done or been a part of each of these transactions/decisions in my career and will share my insights with you over the next few posts. Stay tuned and ask your friends or partners to follow along with you.
My current start-up is a company called CoGoJets.com. If any of you actually followed the Senate hearings with the Auto Makers, you heard the question asked, "Why didn't you at least Jetpool to Washington?". We thought that was a great question given that we had just launched the first Jetpooling community and have a patent pending on the business process!
The Jetpooling concept like carpooling, is very simple to understand. You build a community of like minded travelers who would like to share the costs of private jet travel on a prorate basis. Our website allows members to post the flights they would like to take so that other members can see and join them in order to share the cost.
You maybe wondering how in the world did you come across this idea and why was this better than the other options you were considering...here is the answer!
There are always several options for you to consider when you finally make the decision to leave corporate America and work for yourself. Here are a few that we will discuss:
1) Buy a franchise
2) Buy an existing business
3) I have a great idea, let's start it from scratch
4) Partners or no partners, that is the question!
5) Join an existing business owner who wants to retire in a couple of years
All of these options are viable depending on your personality, goals, and financial strength. I have done or been a part of each of these transactions/decisions in my career and will share my insights with you over the next few posts. Stay tuned and ask your friends or partners to follow along with you.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Your personality and work ethic, was it learned?
If you are like me, there is or was something going on in your personal or work life that is causing you to re-evaluate your current position, company or career path. There have been times that I felt I needed to make career change for a myriad of reasons; dead end job, politics, lay-offs, relationships, acquisitions, boredom, or just the lifelong call of entrepreneurship. There were also times that I felt I couldn't make changes because of the income risk, financial commitments or a new family that would be affected by change.
As I reflect back over my life and career, I believe that what has guided me through my career to date was learned from early influences such as my father and his brothers who owned a successful gas station business for several years. Growing up outside of a small farming community in central Nebraska, I learned my work ethic early on through chores and working for my Dad's business...for pennies an hour. It was my job to pump gasoline, sweep floors and dust oil cans in my father’s stations because I wasn't tall enough to check oil or wash windshields of our customer’s cars. I'll never forget my Uncle yelling that there was a car coming even if it had their turn signal on 2 blocks away, there was no opportunity to slack off when Uncle Maynard was working. To this day I still believe we had the cleanest oils cans in North America!
On occasion my dad would take me on sales calls where he sold specialty tires to hay mills and manufacturing companies in central Nebraska. We would travel to small towns and visit companies that manufactured locally but sold their equipment globally, it was there that I learned how to speak to people ran or owed businesses, ask questions about the health of their business and industry, and what it meant to give and keep my word to clients. These were great days that afforded me an opportunity to grow as an individual, and provided a welcome break from dusting the oil cans!
Although I didn't understand it at the time, these lessons became major influences in my career path decisions over the last 25 years. Some of the important characteristics in evaluating my new opportunities are, operating in a team environment where I can learn from and teach others, teams working hard towards common goals, and an opportunity to serve people through personal commitments to quality products and services. There are other characteristics and traits that I learned about myself along way as well...have you taken the time to reflect back on your childhood? Do you understand the influences that shaped your personality and work habits? Take the time to understand what type of environment you thrive in before you make any decisions about starting or investing in a business, it will play a major role in your happiness and the success of your new business.
As I reflect back over my life and career, I believe that what has guided me through my career to date was learned from early influences such as my father and his brothers who owned a successful gas station business for several years. Growing up outside of a small farming community in central Nebraska, I learned my work ethic early on through chores and working for my Dad's business...for pennies an hour. It was my job to pump gasoline, sweep floors and dust oil cans in my father’s stations because I wasn't tall enough to check oil or wash windshields of our customer’s cars. I'll never forget my Uncle yelling that there was a car coming even if it had their turn signal on 2 blocks away, there was no opportunity to slack off when Uncle Maynard was working. To this day I still believe we had the cleanest oils cans in North America!
On occasion my dad would take me on sales calls where he sold specialty tires to hay mills and manufacturing companies in central Nebraska. We would travel to small towns and visit companies that manufactured locally but sold their equipment globally, it was there that I learned how to speak to people ran or owed businesses, ask questions about the health of their business and industry, and what it meant to give and keep my word to clients. These were great days that afforded me an opportunity to grow as an individual, and provided a welcome break from dusting the oil cans!
Although I didn't understand it at the time, these lessons became major influences in my career path decisions over the last 25 years. Some of the important characteristics in evaluating my new opportunities are, operating in a team environment where I can learn from and teach others, teams working hard towards common goals, and an opportunity to serve people through personal commitments to quality products and services. There are other characteristics and traits that I learned about myself along way as well...have you taken the time to reflect back on your childhood? Do you understand the influences that shaped your personality and work habits? Take the time to understand what type of environment you thrive in before you make any decisions about starting or investing in a business, it will play a major role in your happiness and the success of your new business.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Welcome Business Start-up Wisdom!
After spending my career trying to find the right opportunity in the business world I finally realized that I have something to offer back to many who will follow blindly down the same path...my wisdom!
In my career travels I have taken the path through large companies such as GE and Lockheed, small companies that were privately held and family owned as well as starting businesses from the scratch and buying franchises. Each stop had it's own set of challenges, opportunities, and rewards that should be understood before you choose your path.
It is my sincere hope that through this medium I can answer your questions, give you some insight and impart some of the wisdom I've gained through others as well as my own successes and failures. Let the questions begin, remember that risk is always part of your decision and you need to honestly appraise your tolerance before you move forward....but moving forward is required to improve your current situation, change your environment, be in charge, find the right position, etc. Many of us are haunted by these issues or goals but the time or opportunities will never be perfect until you engage and make them so.
In my career travels I have taken the path through large companies such as GE and Lockheed, small companies that were privately held and family owned as well as starting businesses from the scratch and buying franchises. Each stop had it's own set of challenges, opportunities, and rewards that should be understood before you choose your path.
It is my sincere hope that through this medium I can answer your questions, give you some insight and impart some of the wisdom I've gained through others as well as my own successes and failures. Let the questions begin, remember that risk is always part of your decision and you need to honestly appraise your tolerance before you move forward....but moving forward is required to improve your current situation, change your environment, be in charge, find the right position, etc. Many of us are haunted by these issues or goals but the time or opportunities will never be perfect until you engage and make them so.
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