There is so much that goes into finding the right franchise for you. After all, it is going to be your baby and you want it to succeed. Still, there are a few things you need to consider heavily when looking into a franchise.
You have done your research and decided that buying into a franchise system is the right course of action for you and your family. Franchising is a proven business model that offers the chance to be in business for yourself - but not by yourself! But before you sign on the dotted line, let me offer you a final check list of things that may make or break your franchise:* Strong Demographics - It sounds almost elementary, but make sure there are enough customers in your protected territory. Depending on what franchise system it is that you own, it takes a lot of customers to make a profitable location.* Recurring Revenue - Don't try and reinvent the wheel, or be talked into something that is not proven. Look at the top franchises over a long period of time. They almost all have one thing in common: customers that come back again and again. Franchises that have a high Customer Long Term Value (also referred to as CLV) have sustainable business models.* Competition - Make sure that you are bringing a new and exciting franchise business into your market. Creating the pre-opening buzz will get you off to a strong start. If there are already lots of businesses doing what you are doing in your market, then you're banking on the fact that your franchise differentiates itself enough to steal loyal customers from those other businesses. And that may be harder then you think!
- * High ASI Ratio - Simply put, you want to own a franchise with a high Average Sales to Investment Ratio. The higher this ratio, the higher the return on sales. Look for a ratio of at least 2 to 1. So if Your build out cost is $200K, then this would be $400K in revenue.
- * High ROI - You will want a good return on investment. If you can determine what the average Net Income is then divide that by the your investment ($50,000 Net Income/ $200,000 Cost) - this gives you a return on investment (ROI) - if this is really high, it may be that although you may have a low ASI ration - the investment is still worth it. And Vice Verso - if the ASI is high - looking at the ROI is important as this could still be low even with a high ASI. Normally higher return on investment means that you will need to be more involved with your business. So when evaluating your ROI make sure and take into consideration the amount of work you the owner will have to do.
If you have a passion for business, franchising is an exciting way to create income and accumulate wealth for yourself and your family. Additionally, if your franchise has these four business metrics you should be well on your way to owning a successful business!
Your Future is Bright!
Shear Madness Franchising franchises our award-winning Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids salons (FranCompare™ Best in Child Hair Care 2018). We have worked with franchise stores in providing franchisee support (in order to encourage continual growth and business success), and have sometimes seen the unexpected happen! When it does, we help by identifying and helping with challenges that might arise for franchisees. Additionally, we work to present options that can help prevent these events as well. As many franchise owners may not have opened a business before, having someone who can advise them is a significant advantage of franchise ownership!
Are you interested in learning how YOU can join the Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids family and run your own successful small business? We are one of the fastest growing kids hair salons in the industry today! If you would like to learn more about this franchise opportunity or small business marketing, great marketing strategies, resources for small businesses, franchise success, how to grow your small business or how to become a successful owner of your own kids hair salon franchise business, please click below or call 1-888-98 GONE MAD
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I know this sounds counter intuitive to every thing that you have heard about building franchise systems. Last week I wrote about my neighbor who had grown his two franchise systems to over 700 units. But there are times to step back and NOT grow your franchise business, here are the 5 top reasons
Many of you may have seen a show on TV called Shark Tank. If you haven't, entrepreneurs attempt to convince 6 highly successful business people as to why they should invest their money in the next great business idea. Most businesses start this way and unfortunately it's probably one of the biggest reasons for business failure! 
Of all the reasons to choose a franchise versus going it alone, ramp-up time is one of the most import. I get called from time to time and the conversation typically goes something like this, "Hey, I found you guys online. I have a GREAT children's salon and I really think you guys might be interested in buying it!" I will tell you from experience the two phrases, "great business" and "I want to sell it" don't really go together. Typically when I am presented with the numbers, there's one thing that stands out: the business took a long time to ramp-up, which caused the business owner to burn through a lot of his working capital. In a well run franchise system your ramp-up time should be greatly accelerated for the following reasons:
Shear Madness Franchising
Shear Madness Franchising
Many of you may never have seen this before, but the Social Security Administration used to send you in the mail what your monthly Social Security benefit would be at retirement (this info can now be accessed online on their website). What always stuck out to me was a statement on the front page, " Social security should not be your only source of retirement income, you will need to have other sources of income at retirement". 
Shear Madness Franchising
