Posted on: 27-01-09 16:12:51
I am just doing research now b4 getting into Franchise / business.
I shall appreciate your replies to my questions which will be valuable for all.
If you can advise me which in your opinion is the better option for an investment of 125 K to 200 K. My investment will be 125 K and i will approach bank for balance 75 K.
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If in your search you did not hit the term "Location, location, location" any where, then 'you haven't started nothing'. Hence the survey and the report which will carry a lot of weight in determining how successful the business will be. That does not mean you will not flourish in another location. But that will be the start of another trend.
For you to succeed you have to start with the facts that 'all human beings are born with a weaknesses' and you exploit it to the maximum. So choose a line that you know where in the people will hunger to get in, stand in line to get served and avail your products and/or services. Your skills will have to take over from here in display, attractiveness and service and they purchase the products that you sell and reach the teller at the end. Here is where you exploit it to the maximum and provide excellent service and make them feel supreme and they want to come back for more.
A day has 24 hours and each minute counts and the location at which you are starting your business plays an important role in determining your success. And it depends upon your utilization of not only the the area, your expenses incurred in maintaining it and the amount of money that you can extract out of that location through the employment of personnel to make it a successful business, but also your ability to plan all of these things in a proper and timely fashion.
Now getting back to the list, the Postal system will not be a good start. Also it is not available to all. There might be other regions where you can make inquiries to find the availability. The restaurant business are operational between 10 am to 1 am in the morning. They have slightly extended the hours and proper search will be worth your worth the troubles. That is the one that will leave you with a rest period of sorts when you close it at the end of the day. Dollar stores are popping up every where and are getting closed as fast as they open. I have no clue as to the phenomenon. The UPS, FEDEx, Sure Print, Staples, Copy Cat, Mail Boxes, Print three etc., will be slowing down fast and a delay in purchasing will be well worth the wait. That does not mean there will not be any business at at a few good locations, but will have to weather the storm.
That leaves you with two of the other choices and one seems to be as good or as bad as the next. Now what suits you to be the best, with the available funding at your end may not be enough for a start at a high end career, and as I said before might just keep you afloat for a start. That does not mean that people are not getting into one. Each and every day they are opening up a new place or a kitchen. Don't forget that the minute you start looking for borrowing funds from a bank, the term 'unencumbered funds' goes out through the window and the ones that want to lend to you surely know where they are going to end up, if it ever falters and you with your business plan end up in the junk heap.
The calculations that you are making are made without a sound knowledge of the current and existing conditions in any of the businesses in the business world and I can see people correcting you at each step and find it will be well worth getting into a seminar run by any one doing the franchise or walking into a location and delving deeper into their day to day business, provided they are willing to sit with you and walk you through their operations. That might get you to know each and every expense and what they are based upon. Just to give you an example, to have sign saying"Watering Hole" at a certain level of a sign board in a plaza will cost you $800 per month and illuminating the sign will cost you further $200 and the city will charge you $350 per month for that. You will have to pay the parking lot and other common expenses, City Taxes on top of it and $100 per month to clean the glass panes outside the location and you clean the insides.
Even working three different shifts at a location for a month and seeing what all has to be done and at what time of the day and the costs associated with it will be eye openers for a start. The monthly mortgage for a corner lot Roadie will run you into $25000/ per month. Just imagine the quantity of the products that you will have to sell just to break even.
I am not posting all of this here which could be misconstrued as a discouragement with your plans. And there are humble beginnings everywhere which has taken off into franchises all over the world, hence the link to you with the places in good standing. Striving to get one should be the aim and running it methodically should be the next goal and being called a person with the know how should be the ultimate pinnacle of the career.
'Here we have a nice saying. which is "GET CRACKING". And I wish you all the success you deserve. Nice to be of a little help to you.
Freddie.
Quote:
Originally posted by ftfl
I am just doing research now b4 getting into Franchise / business.
I shall appreciate your replies to my questions which will be valuable for all.
If you can advise me which in your opinion is the better option for an investment of 125 K to 200 K. My investment will be 125 K and i will approach bank for balance 75 K.
____________________________________________________________
If in your search you did not hit the term "Location, location, location" any where, then 'you haven't started nothing'. Hence the survey and the report which will carry a lot of weight in determining how successful the business will be. That does not mean you will not flourish in another location. But that will be the start of another trend.
For you to succeed you have to start with the facts that 'all human beings are born with a weaknesses' and you exploit it to the maximum. So choose a line that you know where in the people will hunger to get in, stand in line to get served and avail your products and/or services. Your skills will have to take over from here in display, attractiveness and service and they purchase the products that you sell and reach the teller at the end. Here is where you exploit it to the maximum and provide excellent service and make them feel supreme and they want to come back for more.
A day has 24 hours and each minute counts and the location at which you are starting your business plays an important role in determining your success. And it depends upon your utilization of not only the the area, your expenses incurred in maintaining it and the amount of money that you can extract out of that location through the employment of personnel to make it a successful business, but also your ability to plan all of these things in a proper and timely fashion.
Now getting back to the list, the Postal system will not be a good start. Also it is not available to all. There might be other regions where you can make inquiries to find the availability. The restaurant business are operational between 10 am to 1 am in the morning. They have slightly extended the hours and proper search will be worth your worth the troubles. That is the one that will leave you with a rest period of sorts when you close it at the end of the day. Dollar stores are popping up every where and are getting closed as fast as they open. I have no clue as to the phenomenon. The UPS, FEDEx, Sure Print, Staples, Copy Cat, Mail Boxes, Print three etc., will be slowing down fast and a delay in purchasing will be well worth the wait. That does not mean there will not be any business at at a few good locations, but will have to weather the storm.
That leaves you with two of the other choices and one seems to be as good or as bad as the next. Now what suits you to be the best, with the available funding at your end may not be enough for a start at a high end career, and as I said before might just keep you afloat for a start. That does not mean that people are not getting into one. Each and every day they are opening up a new place or a kitchen. Don't forget that the minute you start looking for borrowing funds from a bank, the term 'unencumbered funds' goes out through the window and the ones that want to lend to you surely know where they are going to end up, if it ever falters and you with your business plan end up in the junk heap.
The calculations that you are making are made without a sound knowledge of the current and existing conditions in any of the businesses in the business world and I can see people correcting you at each step and find it will be well worth getting into a seminar run by any one doing the franchise or walking into a location and delving deeper into their day to day business, provided they are willing to sit with you and walk you through their operations. That might get you to know each and every expense and what they are based upon. Just to give you an example, to have sign saying"Watering Hole" at a certain level of a sign board in a plaza will cost you $800 per month and illuminating the sign will cost you further $200 and the city will charge you $350 per month for that. You will have to pay the parking lot and other common expenses, City Taxes on top of it and $100 per month to clean the glass panes outside the location and you clean the insides.
Even working three different shifts at a location for a month and seeing what all has to be done and at what time of the day and the costs associated with it will be eye openers for a start. The monthly mortgage for a corner lot Roadie will run you into $25000/ per month. Just imagine the quantity of the products that you will have to sell just to break even.
I am not posting all of this here which could be misconstrued as a discouragement with your plans. And there are humble beginnings everywhere which has taken off into franchises all over the world, hence the link to you with the places in good standing. Striving to get one should be the aim and running it methodically should be the next goal and being called a person with the know how should be the ultimate pinnacle of the career.
'Here we have a nice saying. which is "GET CRACKING". And I wish you all the success you deserve. Nice to be of a little help to you.
Freddie.
Wonderful Post Freddie.
Though i knew few of things what you explained, this is really an eye opener.
This is why i started researching in many possible ways.
I shall take your advice regarding survey through independant body. It did not click in my mind really. And i would ask you if you can advise me who the best for conducting independent survey.
LOCATION : I am thinking of Brampton to Missisauga areas. This is my priority but can be changed depending on survey. / Research.
The Business house ; My firrst preference is Coffee House, second Restaurant, Ethnic.
Can you compare what can be the gross returns on sales for a Coffee house Vs Restaurant.
Coffee House ; I am thinking of Starbucks, Country style, Second cup.
Thanks in advance.
I would urge you to go through the link that I provided to you in the first post. You will get to see all or most of the Franchises in that list. Look at a few of them and make up a list that you feel comfortable with. Then study the facts provided there in. If you see any where in the list 'CORPORATE UNITS', in the company profile, that means that they own the units themselves. If they say franchises in their profiles, that means you have a fair chance of getting one. You will have to expect that there will be a waiting list and people who have experience in that field, either working for them in their own group, or a Blue eyed boy that they have selected and comes in recommended. Just for that one reason they would prefer them over you. But who knows if they are looking for others or not.
That is where you get some help from a Lawyer who handles just the franchises. They would have gotten a survey done for their clients recently or some times in the past and would have a few of the facts available to them. One thing you have to watch is that they will be biased in their opinions, because they favour a few of the franchises. That is one place where you will see the knee bone connected to the thigh bone and so on....
Most of the facts and figures are confidential matter. Even the highest of all of the Corporate Officials will not be permitted access to them. Anyone who knows the facts will only be able to interpret the same to the best of their ability and give an overall picture of one of their units. That Unit could be either operational one or the one that they intend to open. The Franchiser does the initial survey and your lawyer will get the second one done for you or will accept the one done by the seller. Asking some other individual for guidance will be like the blind leading the blind. What you see getting posted here is the knowledge of the industry. What will suit you the best is what you have to decide and follow to it if your nose leads you to it.
In this regard you can even seek the help of an accountant with analytical skills. They can even tell you by the purchase of the stores and the inventory outstanding at the end of the year, how many units of dogs or the burgers that got sold at that unit or how many fries went out through the checkout. This is just to give you an example how they go about it. My help to you stops RIGHT HERE.
You are on your own and this is where I leave you. My usefulness to you in the future, if you will ever need, is in your selling me your product out of your line and me purchasing your product and tasting it or putting it to use.
Here is a link to follow and also the old one.
http://www.heydary.com/
http://www.cfa.ca/FranchiseDetail.aspx?item=McDonald%27s+Restaurants+of+Canada+Limited
Give us a call when you finalize and start some thing on your own. Make us your first Patron.
Good Luck.
Freddie.
