VetFran(Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative), an International Franchise Association program is offering discounted franchise fees to veterans who are looking to transition into the world of franchised small businesses.
“The VetFran program is our way of saying thank you to veterans for their service,” said Matthew Shay, president of the IFA. “They deserve our help in pursuing the American dream of business ownership because without them to protect our nation, such opportunities would not exist.”
Is your franchise one of the more than 160 IFA member companies are participating in this program? If not, keep in mind that to date, 360 franchises have been sold through the program and an additional 126 are in various stages of negotiation. This could be the key to your next franchisee.
Online Directories are the perfect place for a small business to gain exposure to investors, partners and potential employees. But as always there “risks that can hurt the company’s reputation.”
Many online directories such as crunchbase.com and wikipedia are great platform for small business to get their message out but small businesses should check monthly to ensure the information is accurate.
An easy way is to set up alerts from the directory and additional alerts such as Google Alerts. Therefore every time something is added or removed from the listing the small business will receive an email.
Hurry and take advantage of all the free exposure and free advertising for your small business today!
Recession is the time of innovation but it is also hard to find funding during these times. But with a little research on the internet your small business can quality for grants from the city, county, state, and federal governments as well as private foundations and corporations.
- Figure out if you qualify for any special small business certifications, such as a minority-owned, disadvantaged, woman-owned or veteran-owned business. Federal and state governments sometimes give priority for grants to these types of business owners.
- Then look at your local government Web sites — for your city, county and state — and find the economic development agency or area equivalent.
- Next, sign up at grants.gov to receive information about specific kinds of federal grants.
Keep an open mind while doing your research. Who knows you might be one of the business owners who just might modify their business based on funding opportunities
The current financial conditions facing franchise owners can only be described as extremely difficult. Recent reports show that SBA loans for franchises are at a record default rates in 2008-2009. Compared to 2009 the default rates have gone up 43% and have cost the SBA over $93 million last year.
So, what can franchise business owners learn from the above statistics regarding recent SBA loan default rates? What should a franchisor do in this environment?
It is crucial for franchisors to maintain their current base of operators and expand their base cautiously. Nothing is more valuable to a franchisor than a demonstrable track record of success as evidenced by their customer base. A large number of failures and defaults does not inspire confidence in a potential franchise opportunity seeker. there are several things the franchisor can and should do. Speak to your customer base regularly and poll them on their market situations. Provide advise and counseling where appropriate and direct them to financial resources when needed. When selecting new franchise owners, have a higher standard, for financial and capital requirements, so they can withstand the market forces longer. Make sure to provide adequate training in operations so they are more successful in operating their business.
Recent Comments