Recently, CNBC did a story on the “Most Promising Franchise Opportunities.” available. Here are the rankings:

1. Senior Care
2. Employment Services
3. Restoration Services
4. Business Coaching
5. Frozen Yogurt
6. Education Services
7. Fitness
8. Hair Salons
9. Maid & Personal Services
10. Fast Food
11. Pet Services

There are many opportunities within these industry segments. Some opportunities, however, are clearly better than others. With over 3,000 franchise opportunities available, I have developed a short list of favorites based on CNBC’s article. For my money, these are some of the best franchise opportunities available…base on a number of factors.

“My Favorite” Senior Care Franchise:

Franchise 500 member
Reasonable investment
Master franchise possibilities
Good margins and financials
Support and training
Industry growth is impressive
Semi-passive (if desired)

“My Favorite” Employment Services Franchise:

Franchise 500 member
Reasonable investment
Good margins and financials
Support and training
Growing industry

“My Favorite” Restoration Services Franchise:

Top 50 franchise satisfaction award
Reasonable investment
Good margins and financials
Franchise 500 member

“My Favorite” Frozen Yogurt Franchise:

Efficient business model
Master franchise possibilities
Good margins and financials
Great franchisor management team
Semi-passive (if desired)

“My Favorite” Pet Franchise:

Dog industry is growing
Good business model
Strong company history
Franchise 500 member
Strong and supportive franchisor

“My Favorite” Business Services Franchise:

Great business model
Mature industry with lots of customers
Master franchise possibilities
Low investment
Diverse products and services under 1 roof
Semi-passive (if desired)

Owning a franchise is about being in business for yourself, not by yourself. If this is the dream you are chasing, seriously consider what I believe to be some of the best franchise opportunities available. Remember that franchises offer protected territory. Your territory might be available today and gone tomorrow.

Go from having little control over your life to the kind of control that can really make a difference. What are you waiting for?

Scott Hill writes regularly for BobandScott.com. He is a franchise consultant and small business adviser. His franchise consultation is a free, no obligation service designed to help you  find out if franchising is right for you. He can be reached at 615.669.0688. The website is http://www.williamandhill.com

Recently, I heard there is an Illinois business law that says you cannot have similar businesses within 4,000 feet of one another.

As with anything, there are always 2 sides this issue. One one hand, I see how the state of Illinois wants to provide business owners with some level of competitive protection. If a business owner can get a business license in the state of Illinois for, say a check cashing business, then no one within a mile can have a competing business. As a businessman, that sounds like a sweet deal. The business value must be great if the business owner wants to sell right? If no one else can get a business there, the value goes up. Location, Location, Location!

On the other hand, don’t we live in a capitalist society where free enterprise carries the day? How can customers in a one mile radius expect good service if the business has a monopoly? What incentive does the business owner have to provide good service and competitive prices if there is no other business holding them accountable?

While I’m not sure of the exact specifics of this law (for example, there must be an exception for food businesses), I know franchisors are frustrated with the state of Illinois law.

In talking to several franchisors, they won’t get registered in the state because it’s so hard to get a business license for a franchisee.

If anyone knows more information about this law, I’d love to hear about it.

7 Reasons To Buy A Franchise

Buying a franchise, for many, represents fulfilling the american dream. Instead of working for someone else, you,re in business for yourself in many ways. Here are 7 reasons why buying a franchise can be good for you too.

1. Likelihood of success – studies say franchised businesses have a much greater likelihood of success. The business has figured things out and created a system that can withstand the pressures of the business world.
2. Brand – as a franchisee, you’ll benefit from the brand recognition created by the franchisor and the other franchisees.
3. Training & Support – the franchisor has developed a system. This system is designed to have most everything worked out. Because the franchisor has been through most every situation possible, they can support you through your efforts to create a successful business.
4. Financing – banks and lending institutions are very aware of the success rates of franchises. For this reason, they are more likely to finance you than if you were starting a business from scratch.
5. Turn- Key Business – As said earlier, when you purchase a franchise, everything you’ll need to get your business opened is in place. You won’t have to worry about many of the things start up businesses worry about.
6. Marketing – You’ll get the leverage of all the other franchisees by pooling your marketing dollars into a larger more widely spread campaign.
7. Territory – Most franchisors give you an exclusive territory. You’ll be the only business within a certain area or by population range.

Franchising may be perfect for you but you’ll never know until you investigate all the possibilities. Find out for yourself if there is an business that fits your interests and skills. It could be your path to living the American dream. Good Luck.

Scott offers a risk free, no obligation consulting service designed to help you find out if franchising is right for you. http://www.franchiseopportunities500.com 

Master Franchise / Area Developer

Franchisor
There are several ways to be involved in franchising. First, as a small business owner, you can take your business and become a franchisor. In this case, you are taking your business and creating a business system or method of doing business that can be replicated over and over again.

Franchisee
The second way you can be involved in franchising is as a franchisee. In this case, you buy/purchase one or more franchise agreements and run a single location or multiple locations. On the front end, you’ll pay a franchise fee plus the additional costs of getting your franchise location open. You also pay a monthly royalty fee to the franchisor and potentially other fees as well.

Master Franchise / Area Developer
The third way you can be involved in franchising combines aspects of the above two.  As an master franchise or area developer, you actually purchase an exclusive territory where you control what happens in your territory. For a fee, you and the franchisor, define the territory, agree on how many locations you’ll be responsible for getting open and the time schedule or roll-out schedule for these openings, etc. You’ll also have the adding responsibility of managing the territory. There are some very exciting attributes of being a master franchise or area developer. Here are some of them:

• When you assist the franchisor with the sale of a franchise, you’ll receive part of the franchise fee.
• As a master franchise, you’ll get a percentage of the monthly royalties paid by all the franchisees in your territory.
• You may participate in the real estate income generated by franchisee locations.
• You’ll have the prestige of owning an exclusive territory with a popular franchise based business.
• Your customers will be your franchisees which means you won’t have to worry about hundreds of clients. Your franchisees are your clients.
• In many cases, you can start a master franchise / area developer business from your home or using very little overhead/office space.
• You can build your territory much faster typically than a normal business because you’re leveraging the efforts of your franchisee partners.
• You can open your own franchise locations at a much reduced rate, if desired. Note: The master franchise agreement may state you have to open at least one location.
• You have much more freedom than the average business owner.
• The success rate for franchised businesses and master franchises are staggeringly high.
• Eventually, you can turn the management over to someone else and become a very passive owner.

Master franchising /area developing can be a very exciting business opportunity. As with anything, be careful and research the opportunity carefully before you decide to jump in.

Scott offers a risk free, no obligation consulting service designed to help you find out if franchising is right for you. http://www.franchiseopportunities500.com 

BrightStar Healthcare

BrightStar Healthcare is an exciting franchise opportunity for those who want to specialize in staffing services to hospitals, nursing homes, schools, as well as to private individual clients. So far, BrightStar has over 100 franchise locations and is growing. Soon, they will expand into Canada and other countries.

Statistics say Americans 65 and older will grow dramatically over the next 20 years which will increase the demand for home health services and all types of care for seniors. As the baby boomer generation ages, nurses are increasing in demand as well. BrightStar is the only national franchise of its kind and serves both corporate and private clients. Many of BrightStars competition serves one or the other.

Other exciting facts about BrightStar Healthcare:

• Reasonable franchise investment
• Average number of employees: under 2
• Business to business AND business to consumer
• 5 income streams
• National contracts can drive business at local offices
• Proprietary systems including web-based software programs
• Strong Item 19 representations

Scott offers a risk free, no obligation consulting service designed to help you find out if franchising is right for you.
http://www.franchiseopportunities500.com 

4 Questions You Should Ask Every Franchisee

When you’re looking at franchise opportunities, you’ll go through a process. First, you’ll figure out what kind of franchise your skills and interests are right for. Second, you’ll talk to the franchise companies about becoming a franchisee. Third, the franchisor will send you a FDD that will have a bunch of information about its business. Then, you’ll do your research. During this part of the process, you’ll call franchisees to find out what they think about the franchise itself. When you do this, you’ll want to ask them questions about the franchise. If you can only ask four, make sure you ask these 4 questions:

1. Are you happy?
2. Are you making money?
3. If you had it to do over again, would you?
4. Is the franchise company living up to the spirit of the agreement?

Scott Hill
FranchiseOpportunities500.com
Scott offers a risk free, no obligation consulting service designed to help you find out if franchising is right for you. It’s really that simple.

Be Your Own Boss…Sort of!

For us, being your own boss is a double sided coin. On one side, to be your own boss means independence, greater flexibility,  income potential, etc. For others, being your own boss means you have to do all the work and work that you might not be all that good at. Are you good or bad at managing people? Do you enjoy marketing and sales?

Starting your own business is tough. Statistics say a large percentage of small business startups fail. It’s probably, in large part, due to some of the above reasons. While you get to be your own boss, you end up getting consumed by aspects of the roll that don’t suit you, you don’t like, or where you have little experience.

Franchising, on the other hand, allows you to be your own boss but not by yourself. Sure, you don’t have complete control over what you do. For example, you can’t create a marketing plan and just go with it. Or, you can’t just open a second store without getting approval. But, you do have most of the control. Day-to-day, you’re definitely in-charge. There are certainly pluses and minuses to both owning your own business and becoming a franchisee.

So, if you want to be your own boss but not be by yourself and left to do aspects of the roll you may not enjoy, then franchising MIGHT be a good idea. Good luck in you efforts to be your own boss!

Scott Hill
FranchiseOpportunities500.com
Scott offers a risk free, no obligation consulting service designed to help you find out if franchising is right for you. It’s really that simple.