April 2008 Archived Franchise Articles

A new generation of property investors is appearing in the UK, and rising to the forefront of that growing wave is a company called Platinum Property Partners, a business that has made quite a splash of late, being recently endorsed by BBC TV property presenters Martin Roberts and Sarah Walker.  Led by founders Steve Bolton and Nick Carlile, PPP is built on a system that the two entrepreneurs call “a very successful and profitable buy to let investment strategy” that manages to produce both regular profit and capital growth. 
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There was a time when it was commonplace for men to have a corporate business job and for their wives to stay at home and take care of the children. While that may still be seen as ”normal”, the push of women into the business world is a welcome and ever increasing change. With more and more women having continuous successful business opportunities, the role of their husbands is in some cases shifting to be a stay at home dad. While this is also a great opportunity, there is often a desire to generate additional income whilst staying at home and so there is a growing market for home based business that appeals to the stay at home dad and provides the flexibility to make his hours and work around school schedules. Here, briefly, are 10 great franchise options for the stay at home dad to run from the home office.
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As anyone with a sensible business mindset will agree, one of the most critical aspects to a successful business opportunity is having a good network of referrals and business contacts. In the business world it is partially what you know, but it’s also true that it’s who you know that really helps launch a successful business. One of the business franchises that is becoming a successful and profitable small business is networking and referral franchises that allow busy professionals to connect and make important businesses contacts. Business for Breakfast was spotlighted as one of those networking franchise opportunities that not only provides networking ability but also had a franchise owner available to share some insight into what Business for Breakfast does, and franchising in general.  Below are a few answers from a Business for Breakfast franchise owner who was asked about owning a home-based franchise.
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After 15 years as a primary school teacher, a Worcester woman has turned her mentoring skills to local businesses.
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Following a career in corporate banking spanning some 25 years, a Warwickshire woman is focusing her marketing skills on helping local businesses to take on the big brands by tapping into the power of the internet.
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National franchisor, ORCA Websites, has launched a UK-wide recruitment drive as it expands its operation.
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For people considering owning a franchise, the opportunity to work from home often features near the top of their wish list.
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Most franchises involve the franchisee purchasing a product from the franchise owner and selling it at a profit, according to a prescribed sales process.  The business becomes a means of earning a wage and can, in time, become a worthwhile asset in its own right.  But rarely does a franchise involve either the franchisee owning premises or the business having an in-built profit-escalator, generating outstanding capital growth in addition to regular cash profit from the outset.
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The shockwaves from the global credit crunch are continuing to ripple through the mortgage market and it seems that lenders are withdrawing and changing products on an almost daily basis.  And as we’ve become accustomed to mortgages running alongside the Bank of England base rate, the fact that the last two percentage cuts have made virtually no impact at all on our repayments has come as something of a shock.  The lack of correlation is because rates at which banks lend to each other have fallen out of line with the Bank of England Base Rate.
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TaxAssist Accountants has been short-listed for the 2008 British Franchisor of the Year Award by the British Franchise Association (BFA).
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The national finalists have now been announced for the Express Newspapers Brand Builder of the Year Awards 2008 and MOLLY MAID was one of three to get through to the final stage.  This award recognises franchisors that have added value to their brands over the past 12 months. Chief Executive of MOLLY MAID Pam Bader OBE says “We are continually focusing on adding value to the MOLLY MAID brand, and we are delighted that the BFA and Express Newspapers have acknowledged our achievements by placing us in the final three for this prestigious award.”
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UK Websaver – the loyalty card scheme which was one of the fastest growing franchises of 2007 – has signed up its 100th franchisee.
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There are many people who are looking to go into the small business or franchise industry to be in business for themselves but the thing that stands in their way is not having a clear picture or example of what owning and operating a business will be like. While everyone’s experience is uniquely suited to the individual, after all that is one of that main differences between a corporate job and a franchise, there is much to be said for the insight of a small business owner’s take on franchising. Below the answers to some helpful questions that franchise owner and consultant Nigel Mayne, who is the President of Matchpoint Franchise Consulting.
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While there are many things that a franchisee can do to prepare to begin their own franchise, such as study a comprehensive business model, develop a specific plan and set of steps and actions to prepare for success, nothing is quite so helpful as having direct access to the information obtained by actual franchise owner’s experiences. Here a Pauline May Franchise owner shares the specific aspects of owning a franchise and what she learned in respect to owning a franchise, surprises, challenges, and words of wisdom for future franchise owners.
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Many people who are looking for a franchise or business opportunity to change their life and their career are excited about the prospect of working from home and being their own boss. Their most common hesitation to actually taking the step to begin to run their own business is a lack of clarity. Most employees who want to make the jump to becoming employers understand the process, understand a business plan and a business model, but the biggest hesitation is knowing what it would actually be like to run their own business. Huge questions surround the franchise business, especially a small business that is a work at home model. One helpful way to benefit future franchise owners is to provide them with some insight into a franchise owners experiences and surprises that they encountered in their first year of franchising. The following are paraphrased responses to questions asked in an interview with a Homefinder UK Ltd franchise business.
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MOLLY MAID UK recently held their latest National Conference at The Abbey Hotel in Great Malvern, a historic hotel providing amazing views of the Malvern Hills and the Vale of Evesham.
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MOLLY MAID UKrecently held their latest National Conference at The Abbey Hotel in Great Malvern, a historic hotel providing amazing views of the Malvern Hills and the Vale of Evesham.
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MOLLY MAID UK recently held their latest National Conference at The Abbey Hotel in Great Malvern, a historic hotel providing amazing views of the Malvern Hills and the Vale of Evesham.
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MOLLY MAID UK recently held the latest National Conference at The Abbey Hotel in Great Malvern, a historic hotel providing amazing views of the Malvern Hills and the Vale of Evesham. “This beautiful and historic venue gave the perfect backdrop to our latest conference where we had the pleasure of bringing our Franchise Owners together to learn from each other and help improve their business” said Pam Bader OBE, Chief Executive of MOLLY MAID and past Chairman of the BFA.
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MOLLY MAID recently announced its annual worldwide turnover had topped the £100 million level.  The company with the iconic pink and blue brand cleaned over 1.8 million homes in 2007 generating annual consumer turnover of £111 million pounds.  With house prices in the UK topping the £200,000 level, many families need both partners working and this has lead to an increasing number of women going out to work full time pushing demand for professional help in maintaining the home.
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It’s that time of year again. National Pet Month runs from 5th April to 5th May and everyone and anyone involved - pet people, pet projects and pet care - should take this opportunity to join in the fun. As one of those professionals who work with animals Oscar totally understands the true meaning of owning a pet and through preventative healthcare, grooming and feeding the company offers a complete pet care service direct to your door.
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By Simon Rickett, co-founder and director of UK Websaver and Activ Web Design
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Whether or not you have any previous experience in the franchise world is not necessarily an indicator of whether or not you would be a successful franchise owner. Many franchise owners actually find it difficult to begin a new franchise in a different area or niche market due to the specific talents and abilities that they have crafted, which lead to success in one particular area but doesn’t necessarily translate across the board. Franchises are not plug-and-play formulas that are simple get-rich-quick type of businesses. Each franchise or business for sale is going to cater to a specific need and therefore require a unique set of talents, knowledge, and work style. Therefore there is a need for franchise owners to emerge out of the crown and step up into the driver’s seat that don’t necessarily view themselves as business owners or franchisees. If you have a specific area of expertise you might be more qualified than you think to run a franchise that is specifically regulated to that area.
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As one gets closer and closer to making a decision to purchase a franchise or start their own small business, there begins to be an uneasiness that comes with not knowing what it will actually look like in day-to-day operations once the business is up and running. While you can begin to see the things that will need to be done overall according to your business plan, your work load, your tasks and assignments that are required to meet the needs of your franchisor, there is always that question when starting the first day of self-employment when no one is there to tell you what to do of; what do I do now? Planning for that can help make sure that the progress you have made in researching, purchasing, training, and marketing for your franchise doesn’t come to a screeching halt when it’s time to actually run and operate that franchise. Believe it or not, sometimes there is a feeling of disappointment and depression associated with the actual running of a new franchise if a plan hasn’t been made for what will happen after the franchise opens.
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