Four Basic Steps to Evaluating a Franchise System

Written by Jim Otto

New businesses are formed every day.  And businesses close their doors every day as well!  The chances of starting a blockbuster business on your own are small.  This is why the whole idea of buying a franchise business is a popular one!  Those businesses should have a track record of being successful, and should have systems in place that you can replicate. 

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Franchise Warning! Are You Getting Sold or Recruited?

Written by Jim Otto

Candidates often ask me why we pay for all their expenses when they come to Discovery Day to see our award winning children’s salons. Well, first of all that isn't quite accurate, as we do ask our best candidates to buy their own plane tickets (that way they have a little “skin in the game”). But other than that it’s pretty much on us. Now don’t get me wrong, there is some qualification that goes on and candidates that come into see us take our free no-obligation webinar, and have sent us some financial information that we check out. We don’t feel like it would be a prudent use of company funds for us to treat candidates to a  hotel on Kansas City’s Country Club Plaza district if they weren’t financially qualified to join our system. But for those that meet our qualifications, we do feel like Discovery Day is an important part of the process.

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In Business, One is the Loneliest Number!

Written by Jim Otto

When starting a new business by yourself, sometimes it might seem like doing your own research and going at it alone is the most attractive option. But ultimately, this might not be a good idea. Not only could you possibly be doing the wrong research and making investments that might not be financially profitable over the long run, but you just might not have all the necessary information at your fingertips that can help ensure business success! You've probably heard the phrase, “You don’t know what you don’t know”. Well, once when I was out of work I went to a job fair for a major pharmaceutical company. There were perhaps around 200 people in the room, and the meeting started off something like this, “all of you who have experience in the pharmaceutical industry get on this side of the room, and everyone else stay where you are.” Needless to say, I never interviewed that day. You see, that company knew there was no substitute for experience, no substitute for having "been there, done that”, and no substitute for having to start all over training someone to learn the pharmaceutical industry.

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The Big Red Flag of Franchising!

Written by Jim Otto

People are requesting information about our franchise on a daily basis. The two most often asked questions I get are, “how much does it cost?” and “how much can I make?” These are questions that most interested franchise buyers have the right to know. If I may, I'd like to offer prospective buyers a question that would answer the other two and save everyone a lot of due diligence and research. You see, I think the most important question that franchise buyers should ask is, “How many of your locations have closed?”

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What a Franchise Buyer Wants?  What do they Need? We Asked - The Top 8 Answers Below!

Written by Jim Otto

What are prospective franchise buyers looking for when it comes to buying into a franchise system? We opened this question up to some of our Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids franchisees, and this is some of the feedback we received. We hope it helps you as much as it did us!

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