News
07/26/2013 - Avoiding Franchise Funding Mistakes – The Top-5 Pitfalls
A potential franchisee seriously interested in becoming an entrepreneur will take several demonstrative steps throughout the ownership process. Some important milestones, such as reviewing your Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD), we’ve covered before. This week, we intend to focus on a topic with an equal level of importance—that being the financing options available to the franchisee. [...]
07/26/2013 - Match Your Talent with a Franchise Opportunity
As we’ve discussed in this column before, finding just the right franchise opportunity to fit your profile is the single-most important decision you will make in the entire process. This blog is designed to provide the potential franchisee with a few helpful hints on matching your talents with a franchise opportunity. For those looking to [...]
07/26/2013 - Top 8 Franchising Do’s and Don’ts
People love lists. In the journalistic world of blogging, a phrase has been coined to describe a type of form writing which utilizes lists in a thematic structure—it’s called a “listicle”, the fused root of the words “list” and “article”. One of the more popular sites on the Internet using listicles to make broader points [...]
07/26/2013 - Franchising Continues Impressive Growth in 2013
Looking into the purchase of your own personal franchise continues to be both a good and safe bet as we travel further into the 2013 calendar year. While the economic recovery continues—albeit at a much slower pace than needed or anticipated—there is still much uncertainty in the air. Leading to this general feeling of unease [...]
07/26/2013 - Veterans, Looking For Franchise Opportunities? FranNet Can Help
We’re heading to Detroit next week to help thousands of veterans at Hiring Fair and Open House FranNet loves our nation’s veterans and wants to help them build careers that match their talents and character. Franchising is, in many ways, a perfect fit. Franchise businesses thrive with owners who are driven, passionate, self-starting and motivated [...]
07/26/2013 - FranNet Franchise Review: Jim Gleason of Indianapolis
Senior care and tutoring franchises are booming, says FranNet franchise consultant Jim Gleason, 62, worked in sales, alcohol and drug counseling and career consulting before joining FranNet five years ago. The Indianapolis-based business covers almost the entire state of Indiana, save the Gary area near Chicago and the area just across the Ohio River [...]
07/26/2013 - The Three Big Ways Franchise Buying Has Changed Since 1987
Internet, diversity, FranNet-style franchise matchmaking has transformed the industry In 1987, when Howard Bassuk founded FranNet in Carlsbad, Calif., this was how you let a franchisor know you wanted information about a franchise opportunity: You ran across the franchise in a magazine, at a trade show or while scarfing down a sandwich at one [...]
07/26/2013 - Why Home Health Care Franchises Are In Great Demand North of Border, Too
Seniors may make up 25% of Canadian population by 2036, highlighting need for home health care franchises The Baby Boomer generation has reached retirement age, and the franchise industry throughout North America is rising to meet the challenge of a flood of seniors who live longer than ever and want to stay in their [...]
07/26/2013 - How Thawing Credit Markets Are Opening Franchise Business Opportunities
Small bank approval rate has jumped 5 points, big bank rate 2 points Since the near-collapse of the world economy four years ago, tight credit markets have stunted small business growth by shutting entrepreneurs off from startup capital. But they’re beginning to loosen. The Biz2Credit Small Business Lending Index, a monthly analysis of 1,000 [...]
07/26/2013 - Four Lessons You’ll Learn Quickly About Starting a Business While Keeping Your “Day Job”
It’s the ideal situation: keep your current job while you start a business on the side, commonly known as an absentee business. Lots of people look for this scenario but don’t realize what this actually entails until they start looking for this type of business. Before you get started, here are four upfront lessons you’ll [...]
07/26/2013 - FranNet Makes Inc. Magazine List of Fastest-Growing Businesses — Again
FranNet helps match professionals with the right franchise opportunities We’re excited that for the third consecutive year, FranNet has made Inc. magazine’s exclusive list of the nation’s fastest-growing privately held companies! It’s great news for us. The annual ‘Inc. 5000’ list ranks companies on their three-year growth rates; ours was 49 percent from 2009-11. Making [...]
07/26/2013 - 5 Questions to Ask Before You Buy a Franchise Business
Some good questions candidates should ask before they buy a franchise business When entrepreneurs begin talking with franchise systems, they tend to ask pretty standard questions: How much money can I make? How much will I have to spend? How big can I get? Is the franchise territory exclusive? They’re sort of the first-floor questions, [...]
07/26/2013 - How To Keep Business Franchise Opportunities From Floundering
Five helpful tips for franchisees to avoid the business-killing mistake We’ve shown how franchise businesses fare better than typical small businesses. It’s proven statistically and backed up by plain common sense — business owners who operate under a known brand and with an established business model have a big advantage over owners who have [...]
07/26/2013 - FranNet Franchise Review: Mike Welch of FranNet of Minnesota
Franchises that meet perennial needs are best bets for entrepreneurs, consultant says Mike Welch is the FranNet consultant for the state of Minnesota, based in Maple Grove. Welch, 36, has found considerable success as a franchising consultant and in the franchising field in general, where he’s held three of the industry’s main jobs: franchise owner, [...]
07/26/2013 - Positives and Negatives of Campaigns
FranNet Awaits Election With mere days remaining before the 2012 presidential election, we thought it was important to take a look at what franchising means for the economy and jobs, one of the most talked about topics on the campaign trails. Franchises are a very powerful part of small business across the country, and small [...]
07/26/2013 - The FranNet Executive Round Table
As experts at matching clients to the best franchise that fits their needs, FranNet’s consultants are at the top of their game. From time to time, the FranNet Blog will sit down with several FranNet consultants to gauge their thoughts and opinions on some of the issues facing franchising. The Executive Round Table is an [...]
07/26/2013 - Franchising a Strong Job Creator despite Tough Economy
The economy may have officially hit broken record status; every report or news story on the topic continues to state that it’s sluggish and isn’t picking up momentum anytime soon. However, what’s the same old news for everyone else means big business for the franchise industry and related companies. Coming on the heels of the news that FranNet, a franchise broker that matches people to the best franchise opportunities, made a gross revenue of 44 percent above its earnings for 2011, we sat down with the company’s Director of Marketing, John Blair, to learn more about why a sour economy means sweet success for FranNet.
07/26/2013 - Franchising in an Affordable Way
As we begin 2013, all eyes continue to be on the nation’s economic recovery—with which we have been engaged in a struggle for better stability over the past four years. Several economists and financial sources cite that, while things have steadily (albeit slowly) improved, America may be in the midst of a “new normal” in [...]
07/26/2013 - Five Industries Set to Perform in All Economic Environments
With the national economy seemingly headed slowly out of a paralyzing recession over the past four years, it’s safe to say that many people have become ‘hyper-aware’ of their current employment and financial environments. Those investigating franchising ownership has increased significantly due to this heightened state of awareness for many reasons. Proven business models, forecasted [...]
07/26/2013 - Don’t Quit Your Day Job
Without a doubt, everyone at one time or another has heard the phrase, “Don’t quit your day job.” Usually, it’s heard after repeating a particularly bad pun — or maybe even after a poor attempt at cooking a meal seen on a celebrity chef show. However, this phrase has a literal meaning in the world [...]
07/26/2013 - Flawed Thinking Keeping You Out of Business for Yourself?
The very idea of owning a franchise or starting a new business of your own is a popular dream. The next time you’re in a crowded setting—perhaps a park packed with people on a sunny day–try to imagine how many of those present actually harbor a secret desire to take charge of their own destiny. [...]
07/26/2013 - Three Ways to Business Ownership Freedom
It’s no secret that thousands of intelligent employees harbor a desire to eventually go into business for themselves. They do this for many personal reasons, not the least of which is the belief that they can be successful at the helm of their own organization. Perhaps you’ve been in a particular field long enough to [...]
07/26/2013 - Why an FDD Should Be Your Guiding Beacon
With over 3,000 choices of franchise concepts in the marketplace today, your options for owning your own business are limitless. But not all franchises are created equally. So, how will you be able to gain the necessary piece of mind that the opportunity you intend to pursue is legitimate? Say hello to the Franchise Disclosure [...]
07/26/2013 - From Coffee Table to Board Room: Two Great Books to Read
Throughout the course of the past few months, we at FranNet set out to provide some excellent topics for our blogs designed to speak directly to those considering a possible future as a small business or franchise owner. We’ve covered some vital subjects such as the three ways to own a business and touched upon [...]
07/26/2013 - What Did the Civil War Teach Us About Business?
In the second year of the Civil War, Union troops were destined to learn a tragic and valuable lesson about the lack of a well thought out exit strategy from battle. It was December of 1862 and Federal troops had taken up positions in the town of Fredericksburg, Virginia—determined to cross the Rappahannock River and [...]
07/08/2013 - How FranNet Works As An Engine For Business Franchises
Business franchises are great for economy, solid bet for entrepreneurs The franchise world is still abuzz over the news FranNet broke a few weeks ago: that entrepreneurs who use FranNet as their “franchise matchmaker” succeed at a rate 42 percent higher than those who start small businesses from scratch. It’s powerful evidence to support our [...]
06/16/2013 - What Are the Best Cities To Start a Business?
Kiplinger report cites infrastructure improvements, diversification as driving forces What are the best American cities to start a business? According to a recent report by the financial business publication Kiplinger, it’s a diverse group of urban areas that have fared relatively well in the recent recession by building their business infrastructure and taking steps to [...]
06/11/2013 - Franchising Giant Jim Amos Recognizes FranNet Survey Results
Tasti-D-Lite, Planet Smoothie CEO cites 42% franchising advantage over startups Our recent survey results on how successful business owners who have used FranNet are compared to regular startups is getting a lot of great attention from such luminaries of the franchising world as Jim Amos. Amos is the CEO of Tasti-D-Lite and Planet Smoothie who [...]
05/30/2013 - Recovering Economy Begins To Ease Impediments To Starting a Franchise Business
Starting a franchise business, difficult during the recession, gets easier with loosened lending The first few months of 2012 have brought some encouraging news for potential franchise owners hamstrung during the recession by a clenched-fist credit market. Since the collapse of the housing market and near-collapse of the world economy in the fall of 2008, [...]
07/05/2012 - More Options for America’s Entrepreneurs from FranNet and Knowledge Institute
In an effort to arm America’s entrepreneurs with more options, FranNet and Knowledge Institute are joining forces to educate individuals about the resources they require to start, grow and succeed in business. FranNet will serve as the exclusive franchise educational resource for the Knowledge Institute’s Entrepreneurial Education Network and its outreach of more than 25,000 federal, state and local business development offices across the country.
06/20/2012 - Family Ties, Chance to Help Rebuild New Orleans Spur Business Opportunity
As did everyone in the region, Ted Fireman saw the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina up close and personal as he had family and friends in the area. Now he’s combining a vision to help the rebirth of the region with a business opportunity that he hopes will fuel a new generation of business enterprise.
06/12/2012 - FranNet Names Jack Armstrong Chief Executive and Chairman of the Board
FranNet, North America’s most respected leader in matching budding entrepreneurs with franchise businesses, named Jack Armstrong chief executive officer and chairman of the board today. The company also announced that Blair Nicol has been elevated to vice-chairman of the board after previously serving as a member.
03/13/2012 - Surge in Franchising a Hot Topic
FranNet blog post featured on Business Reel Our blog last week about the promising future of franchising despite a recession proves to be a topic people are talking about. Last week, Business Reel featured our post about IFA’s economic outlook for 2012 which showed a tremendous spike in franchising growth patterns. To see the placement, [...]
03/13/2012 - New Bill Offers Steep Tax Breaks for Veterans to Open a Franchise
Possible assistance for veterans who are seeking to start their own business.
03/13/2012 - FranNet’s Todd Bingham Featured in Entrepreneur
People like Todd Bingham at FranNet have watched the trends and have a good read on where certain companies are heading. Bingham recently offered his expertise in the Entrepreneur. Read more in the article below.
03/13/2012 - Is Absentee Ownership of Franchises the New Franchising Trend?
In franchising, trends are coalescing to form what could be the next large-scale movement in the industry: absentee ownership of franchises. Or, as franchise owners themselves call it, “manager-run franchises.”
03/13/2012 - FranNet’s Gary Prenevost Featured in Financial Post
FranNet’s Gary Prenevost offers advice on franchising a business model successfully.
03/13/2012 - Families turn to franchises to start their own family business legacy
We recently profiled four families who started businesses with FranNet’s help and are now creating their own financial successes: A father-son team that runs a child education franchise in Nashville; a son whose parents helped him open a custom T-shirt franchise in Marietta, Ga.; a husband-wife team that owns a T-shirt franchise in Snellville, Ga.; and a corporate retiree who now owns a leather and upholstery repair shop with his son in Milledgeville, Ga.
03/13/2012 - FranNet To Help Disabled Veterans Through Wounded Warrior Project
If you’re a veteran injured in the Iraq or Afghanistan wars and looking for job opportunities, FranNet is prepared to help you out.
03/13/2012 - Roanoke Times Story Features FranNet Franchisee Rosen
Franchising offers first-time business owners guidance, support and a proven business model.
03/13/2012 - What Is the Best Franchise Consultant Network for Franchise Expansion?
This year, the International Franchise Association is predicting that entrepreneurs will open more than 14,000 new franchise businesses, and franchise consultants will contribute a large number of these.
03/13/2012 - IFA Conventioneers Optimistic About Franchising in 2012
This year’s IFA Conference was the highest attended in history. There are still some grim economic realities and the economy still has a long way to go, but it is clear that the franchise industry is expecting to see growth across all sectors in 2012.
03/13/2012 - An Inteview with FranNet Franchise Matchmaker, Chris Coleman
Chris Phillips can’t imagine working for someone else ever again. The former banker now runs a personal electronics repair business in St. Louis, and it was FranNet consultant Chris Coleman who helped make it possible.
03/13/2012 - An Interview With FranNet Consultant Michael Sipe
Michael Sipe, an investment banker, entrepreneur and business consultant, worked with FranNet consultants on small business development projects in California and the Pacific Northwest for 20 years. In July, he decided to become a FranNet consultant himself, purchasing the FranNet territory covering Idaho, central and eastern Oregon and eastern Washington state
03/13/2012 - FranNet Contributes To Hopeful 2012 Franchising Forecast
“We’re seeing franchising opportunities open up that would have been unimaginable a few years ago,” Bailey says. “With the economic climate and the projected growth in the industry, there’s never been a better time to explore franchise opportunities.”
03/13/2012 - Are U.S. Workers Ditching Jobs For Franchise Opportunities?
With national unemployment still hovering around 9 percent and “job creation” the term on every politician’s lips, you’d think employed North Americans would be happy to just have jobs—and you’d be wrong.
03/13/2012 - A New Years Resolution: Never Again Click “Reply All”!
I hate when people “Reply All” to an e-mail, especially to a large group. Until recently, I could be proud that I hadn’t done this. However, I did exactly that a few weeks ago. I replied to everyone in a large mailing list, purely by accident. At FranNet, we have a group for everyone in [...]
03/13/2012 - A Closer Look At Growth Trends in Franchising
The recent Franchise Business Economic Outlook for 2012, prepared for the International Franchise Association by IHS Global Insight, pinpoints in their projections where they expect the growth to occur—and the franchise experts at FranNet, the international network of franchise consultants, are well-positioned to analyze what the numbers mean.
03/13/2012 - Banker Transitions to T-shirt Printing Franchise Through FranNet
A man with a entrepreneurial spirit, Gene Rogero was looking for something outside the banking world where he had spent 25 years.
03/13/2012 - Belmont University Promotes Franchising as Corporate Alternative with FranNet Consultant Dan Aronoff
Students at Nashville’s Belmont University are getting a hands-on look at franchising, a business model experts regard as an important alternative to large corporations.
03/13/2012 - ‘Franchise Matchmaker’? What’s That?
FranNet’s job is to take stock of clients’ interests, life goals, desires and skills and find franchise companies that match them.
03/13/2012 - Jerry Bird Shares Experience with Knoxville News-Sentinel
In a down economy, starting your own business is a smart way to go and most of the time franchising is the answer. That’s why the Moores purchased ten locations of the Five Guys burger franchise as soon as it became available. Interviewed by the Knoxville News Sentinel, the father-son duo talked about why they jumped on board.
03/13/2012 - FranNet 2012 Trend Predictions: Franchise Industry Will Continue to Grow
FranNet, a national franchise consulting firm, has worked in the last three years with a growing number of potential entrepreneurs who either lost their corporate jobs or chose to leave them.
03/13/2012 - Palo Alto Online Reports on Franchise Growth
While other girls were playing with their Barbies, at 6, Lisa Anter was charging 10 cents a cup at her lemonade stand at a lake near her Montreal, Canada, home.
03/13/2012 - How Obama, Gen Y Fund Are Teaming Up to Help Young Entrepreneurs
What’s truly encouraging is that the administration expressly connected the plan to young entrepreneurs, recognizing that small business ownership can be a much better option for a bright young person than a corporate job—as long as the young person has a fighting chance to manage his or her student debt load.
03/13/2012 - FranNet in The Mainstreet Business Journal
Franchise matchmakers are consultants who link clients seeking franchise opportunities with the right franchises. Often, clients are former corporate employees or executives who lost their jobs in downsizing; others are retirees who want a more dependable source of retirement income; still others are recent college graduates who are having trouble finding traditional work in the recession.
03/13/2012 - Why Do Franchise Brokers Have the Upper Hand in Today’s Economy?
Is it any wonder that American workers by the thousands are flocking to franchise brokers to guide them into new careers in franchise ownership?
01/14/2012 - An Interview with FranNet Consultant Vic Scimo
Scimo bought his Los Angeles area FranNet franchise in 2000 and has never looked back. “I found my calling,” Scimo says. “It’s great to help others succeed with franchising business models that are structured for success.”
01/14/2012 - The Best States for Entrepreneurship
Franchising is booming in the tough economy and in some states, new startups are more attractive than ever. Michael Sipe of Bend, Ore., a franchise owner for FranNet, the network of small business consultants that helps guide clients to fulfilling careers in franchise ownership, is seeing an increase in corporate workers opting for franchise ownership.
01/14/2012 - Franchising: A Job-Creation Machine
Sound statistics underlie our optimism. Recently, the International Franchise Association released an extensive Economic Impact Report that, using 2007 U.S. Census data on franchise businesses, carefully measures franchising’s economic impact in the United States.
01/14/2012 - FranNet Consultant Offers Insight to The Entrepreneur
And while few people are trading up to larger homes these days, the economy hasn’t stopped them from packing up or changing addresses – a boon for moving and storage franchises.
01/14/2012 - Toronto Star Features FranNet Canada Twice on Same Day
We were pretty excited to open up the Toronto Star, Canada’s highest-circulation newspaper, on Saturday to see FranNet featured in not one but two articles!
01/14/2012 - FranNet Success Story: Anatomy of a Career Switch at 60
Mid-career and late-career professionals over 50 are loaded to the hilt with skills and talents. They need or want a new arena for them. Sound familiar?
01/14/2012 - Chicago Area Publication Highlights Franchised Business Growth in Slow Economy
We at FranNet know new franchised businesses create local jobs but also like to see local media outlets recognize it.
01/14/2012 - FranNet Ranked 12th on Business First’s Fast 50 List of Fastest Growing Companies
“In a down economy, franchise opportunities are some of the best business opportunities available for skilled professionals who have lost their jobs or decided to leave corporate America,” said FranNet President and COO Jania Bailey. “FranNet has been able to grow quickly over the last three years because it meets a need in the marketplace for good, viable, long-term business options.”
01/14/2012 - Mike Welch Featured in All Business Magazine
In an article by Sara Wilson for Allbusiness.com posted on Oct. 27, an interesting discovery was made: having a college degree does not necessarily guarantee success in the franchise industry.
01/14/2012 - FranNet Helps Ex-Corporate Exec Realize Entrepreneurial Dream
FranNet helps former corporate employees make the transition to business ownership through franchising. Many of our clients were forced out of their corporate jobs and turned to franchising because it was their best option.
01/14/2012 - An Interview with FranNet Consultant Mike Welch
Mike Welch doesn’t mind talking about his “failure” as a traditional small business owner because it eventually led him to seek the structure and success of franchising.
01/14/2012 - FranNet: Social Media Help the New, Practical Entrepreneur
FranNet, a North American network of franchise consultants, maintains a strong presence on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and other social media outlets, encouraging its team of more than 75 franchise owners in the United States and Canada to maximize their impact via social media as well.
12/22/2011 - Choosing to be Just Another Cog in the Corporate Wheel Again? Don’t Forget About Linkedin, Your Re
Have you noticed? When someone gets a job, many times they abandon their Linkedin profile. On occasion, I help people with their resumes, and every time I ask for a current resume to see what I have to work with, it’s never updated after they got their last job. It’s like they dropped off the [...]
12/22/2011 - Choosing to be Just Another Cog in the Corporate Wheel Again? Don’t Forget About Linkedin, Your Re
Have you noticed? When someone gets a job, many times they abandon their Linkedin profile. On occasion, I help people with their resumes, and every time I ask for a current resume to see what I have to work with, it’s never updated after they got their last job. It’s like they dropped off the [...]
12/22/2011 - An Interview with FranNet Consultant Stacy Swift
Swift felt instantly at home at FranNet because it was a place she could apply her accumulated knowledge and help others succeed at the same time.
12/22/2011 - FranNet Expands in San Francisco Bay Area
FranNet, a national network of consultants that works with displaced corporate employees, is expanding operations in the San Francisco Bay Area and has added Mary Eastwood to its staff.
12/22/2011 - FranNet Makes INC Magazine’s List of Top 10 Franchises
FranNet, a national network of franchise consultants, has made the list of “Top 10 Franchises” in the 2011 INC 500, Inc. magazine’s annual list of the fastest-growing privately held American companies.
12/22/2011 - Are You Business-Ready, or Simply Business-Curious?
As a franchise consultant at FranNet Colorado, I visit with a lot of people who say they are ready for business ownership, but after I ask a few questions, I can easily determine if they are actually business-ready or simply business-curious.
There is a big difference between these two types of people. There’s a change in [...]
12/20/2011 - Choosing to be Just Another Cog in the Corporate Wheel Again? Don’t Forget About Linkedin, Your Re
Have you noticed? When someone gets a job, many times they abandon their Linkedin profile. On occasion, I help people with their resumes, and every time I ask for a current resume to see what I have to work with, it’s never updated after they got their last job. It’s like they dropped off the [...]
- Lane Fisher Joins the FranNet Board of Directors
“Pennsylvania Superlawyer” Elected to First Term. Prominent franchise attorney Lane Fisher has joined the FranNet Board of Directors. His term began on January 1, 2012.
