Franchise Information, advice and news.

Embarking on a new business venture can be daunting for even the most experienced entrepreneurs, but franchising is increasingly becoming an option for "first-timers" in the business world, meaning there are a fair number of people attempting to take on their own enterprise with minimal experience.

Franchising in the US is an $800 billion business, mainly because the industry has a high success rate compared to independently created businesses, with a huge scope for investment. Almost any product or service can be bought through a franchised business, allowing the industry to get a foothold in almost every sector.

Therefore, anybody hoping to get into franchising and make a living from their enterprise needs to negotiate several initial steps.

Firstly, and most importantly, researching your targeted market or potential markets is vital. If you are unsure where to begin, try looking on the internet at various industry sectors, such as estate agencies, catering and restaurants, fitness centres and laundries. Of course, you should also consider your most valuable asset, yourself, and focus on your own strengths, experience and expertise.

Reviewing franchiser's financial documents, talking to existing franchisees and researching specific products and business models are all considered imperative when starting your franchise.

Secondly, and often the most problematic, is the financing of your project. Estimates show you could easily spend around $200,000 on developing your franchise system, with additional costs, such as advertising, running as high as $50,000 on top of that.

However, on the other end of the scale, franchises can cost as little as $50,000 to start off, especially home-based options and smaller business categories.

Nevertheless, a financially sound business is a successful one, and researching your funding is just as important as your market. Borrowing over conventional bank loans, guaranteed loans, home equity loans and various other terms of credit are all widely used, although any potential franchisee needs to ask themselves various questions before committing to a deal.

Once you've settled on a franchise and managed to fund it, it's down to the actual business of running your new enterprise. If it is home-based there is minimal set up, but for store-located businesses securing a trading premises is the next hurdle.

Again, research is key, and a well-located base is vital for the success of many firms such as restaurants.

Following the inception of your business in its new home, hiring staff and training is the next step before and during the initial phases of your franchise's trading. This may be based on your franchise concept, but the ability not only to hire and pick the correct staff for the job, but also train them adequately for their roles in the business, is another important factor behind a successful enterprise.

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