When you are getting ready to open your new business finding the right location is your first major decision, and one that you need to get right.  You probably have heard the saying location, location, location, that may be even more true when finding a location for your new business. We are going to focus on retail and service businesses and three things you need to do to find your ideal location 

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There are lots of moving parts to a franchise, including your franchisor's opening assistance, training and ongoing support. All of the aforementioned are important to your success as a franchisee, and the best way to measure these are to talk to current franchisees.  Read More

I was floored recently when I talked to a friend of mine about the franchise she bought. You see this wasn't what  I would call your "typical" franchisee. Jane (as I will call her for the sake of this blog) has been in the franchise consulting business for 25 years. She has trained and taught both franchisees and franchisors about what to look for in a franchise, how to run a successful franchise business and what makes franchisees successful. 

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I recently attended a webinar with one of the largest franchising financing lenders in the United States. I would like to explain all the graphs that they showed us but the bottom line was this: all the signs point to the next recession hitting sometime in the next 24 months. 

• Credit Card debt and margin buying of stocks are back to record levels.
• The small business optimism indicator  is at record levels (this is a contrarian indicator). 
• Retail rents are at extreme levels causing over building, even though demand is decreasing  for retail space! 

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There has possibly never been a better time to start a franchise business, ever. Not only is the franchising model proven, but with a pro-business administration in Washington, the regulatory, and tax environment, along with consumer spending power has never been better! Please don't take my comments as a political endorsement of any politician or political party. I simply think that the facts stand on their own.

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