Business in a box | Franchises

Business in a box | Franchises

One very basic question applies to all Franchises of whatever flavour, size or type. It all comes from this.........

"Is the money you are spending to get a ready made business as much or even more than it would cost you to set it up anyway?".

You might be surprised how often the question is ignored and how often the calculation is a close run thing. There may be other reasons for using a franchise but – buyer beware! The considerations for buying a Franchise are not that different to setting up a new business. In some cases the promised delivery of leads, dedicated areas, training and all the incentives that make it look worthwhile are just not there in sufficient quantities, once you have paid over the money.

To read the LinkedIn article by Bob Shepherd in full,  just click here -  Simple really.

What First, What Next?

What to do first, what to do next? Starting your own business is fun, worrying, exciting and full of query. 

Most people start their business with a good idea of what they are going to do. Very often though they have not thought quite how they are actually going do it. Surely everyone will see how valuable a service or how good a product this is? We'll open our doors on the Monday and be flying by the end of the week!

The reality is very different of course. The statistics show that most businesses will fail in the first year and a few more stubborn individuals in the second and third years. Nonsense of course, because those figures include the wacky ones, the lazy ones, and a collection of no-hopers. If you took a measure of the good business ideas that are delivered with real intent, adequate planning, good support and sensible resources for what they are doing, the success rates are very different.

Bob Shepherd Associates will get you there sensibly, quickly, practically and with good practical guidance on what is feasible and what should be scheduled for next year. It will save you loads of time and money, not to mention your overall nervous condition. 

We have many stories, examples and testimonials from others who also think we can do it! 

Attitudes To Networking

The jury is out on all networking. Not that you should not do networking. It is an essential ingredient of any small business marketing. What is in question, is the style of some of the events.
In our area we have many networking events and many groups. Trying to differentiate between them is not easy. There are usually good things to be said about any one of them and of course the value for one small business will be different to another.
The worth of a networking group depends on the type of business you have, but also the personality of the networker. I have heard very recently people decry a particular event because there are too many one man bands there or too many start ups.
I have to say that it is obvious some people just don't get it. They will be the ones who leave the event as soon as they can as if they have something more important to do. They are the ones who try to oversell themselves. They are also the ones who expect to measure each event by the perceived outcome statistics.
There are formal events and informal events. Some have a lot of structure and some do not. Then there are morning ones and evening ones; sit down ones and stand up ones.
Ultimately the opportunity to do some business and grow your influence is the reason for doing any networking. How clinical and perhaps cynical you are about it is up to you, but I think you get more out of it in many ways by contributing and enjoying the conversations you are having.
At Bob Shepherd Associates we talk to new businesses about networking and its part in the marketing and positioning of the business. Coaching individuals in getting their presentation right , their 'elevator pitch' or their 1 minute introduction is part of the preparation for turning up at a networking event with some idea and some plan for making a success of  it.