Franchise Business Tips and More | Free Resources for Businesses

When owning one franchise just isn't enough!

Posted by Matthew S on Wed, Jul 12, 2017 @ 12:07 PM

For many franchise business owners who love what they do and want to continue building their story of success - sometimes owning a single store just isn't enough! And while there are certainly important considerations to think about before embarking on a journey towards multi-unit franchise ownership (which you can read about here in our article, Tips on Becoming a Multi-Unit Franchisee), there's also a number of great benefits in owning more than one store too!

Profitability: Possibly one of the most attractive benefits of owning more than one store is the potential boost in profits through multi-unit development. For example, multiple ownership of stores might improve vendor discounts and savings through the sharing of resources between locations. Plus, when building a new location, a business owner will have the skills and knowledge they gained through opening a prior location, which could facilitate a more efficient (and potentially less costly) build-out. However, careful research of communities before building a new location must be done in order to understand when the break-even point for each store might be reached.

Working Smarter: As mentioned in the paragraph above, a business owner who already has opened and successfully run a store should understand what it takes to ensure business success. They're usually able to work smarter and with more efficiency! Plus, when opening multiple stores in a franchise model, you already have the advantage of understanding how the franchise system works - which means that opening a new store shoudn't take as much time as it might have back when your very first store was opened!

Geographic Advantages: With multiple units, not only could there be savings through marketing campaigns (as marketing could be just as effective with many stores in the same region, as opposed to just one), but a franchisee could also see benefits through staffing. For example, if a new store is opened, a business owner might want to shift several seasoned employees to the new location to help with training. Or, if one store finds that it needs additional help, employees could temporarily be moved from one location to the next. Additionally, some staff could be assigned to cover multiple locations as well. An employee who works 15 hours a week may agree to help out 20 hours a week in order to help with an extra store or two.

Increasing Brand Awareness: Through opening a new store in a new area, you're increasing the amount of recognition your brand has, and it potentially opens up the products and services your store offers to thousands of new customers. Also, a new store located within a community may be more effective in being involved as a positive presence in that community, such as participating in local events (parades, festivals or clubs). Having a trusted brand that is seen by customers as beneficial to the community may give your business an edge over a competitor!

Shear Madness Franchising franchises Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids salons. We have worked with multi-unit franchisees in providing excellent support and service (in order to encourage continual growth and franchise 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. Having a knowledgable support base who can help guide and advise you through your business journey is a significant advantage of franchise ownership!

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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, 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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Topics: franchise buyers, buying a franchise, Small Business Franchise Information, Business Tips, Free Resources for Businesses, business growth, evaluating a franchise, business ownership, multiunit franchise

2015 Shear Madness Summer Conference!

Posted by Matthew S on Thu, Aug 13, 2015 @ 10:08 AM

The Movement to the Madness Summer Conference was held this past July 28th through July 31st at the beautiful and historic Elms Resort and Spa in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. Exclusively for Shear Madness Franchise Partners, the Conference featured great speakers who taught attendees on how to take their business to the next level. New services and revenue streams were introduced, as well as new initiatives to grow and market their business in the community! Franchisees were also able to meet vendors one-on-one at a salon vendor show in order to view the latest merchandise for their location.

Movement to the Madness also featured franchisee success expert Lizette Pirtle, who helps provide franchisees with the foundation they need for successfully replicating the franchise system in which they invested. Her 25 years of franchise experience is expansive, covering daily operations, marketing, communications, support and training.

There were also plenty of opportunities for Franchisees to get to talk with each other, as well as relax and have fun. This included a Welcome cocktail reception held on the first evening, with a special dinner with vendors on the last night of the conference. In between, attendees could relax by the pool, get a massage at the spa or explore the expansive interior and exterior grounds of the historic Elms hotel.

Also, congratulations to all of our winners who were recognized at our 2015 Movement to the Madness Summer Conference! Erin Nanke of Des Moines - Franchisee of the Year; Michelle Vick of Albuquerque - Top Revenue Growth and Service Customers; and Brenda and Eduardo Morales of San Antonio - Top Increase in Retail Sales!

Janon Otto, CEO of Shear Madness Franchising LLC noted that, "Each day I come to the office, I am inspired by your efforts! Your belief in what we are doing and your willingness to accept the day to day challenges of business inspire me on a daily basis. We could not have asked for a better group of franchisees to grow with, and I am sincerely grateful to each and every one of you!"

Are you interested in learning more about one of the best kids salon franchise systems out there? As one of the fastest growing kids hair salons in the industry today, Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids is working hard to share our many great resources for small businesses and business tips so that our franchisees will have the tools to succeed! If you're interested in learning how to franchise, develop a small business plan, or become a successful owner of your own childrens salon franchise business, please click below or call 1-888-98 GONE MAD!

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Topics: kids salon franchise, salon franchise, Shear Madness Haircuts for kids, Free Resources for Businesses, business growth, franchisee support, summer conference

Creating an Atmosphere of FUN in your retail store!

Posted by Matthew S on Wed, Jun 10, 2015 @ 12:06 PM

funatmosphere Creating an atmosphere of fun in your business can go a long way in helping foster customer loyalty. And customer loyalty translates into increased sales - not only through repeat patrongage, but by your customers telling friends and family what a great experience they have at your business!

Developing a small business plan that encourages and stimulates growth in your business should be a top priority for every business owner. But in the hustle and bustle of day-to-day life, sometimes the little things can get overlooked. And it's the little things that can add up to either great or poor customer retention.

Following are some of our ideas on practical and creative ways a business owner / successful franchisee can maintain and stimulate customer growth and a fun atmosphere in their store!

Pay attention to the little things: Don't bring down the atmosphere of your store through having a dirty restroom, dusty products, messy displays or cluttered counterspaces. Make sure that the store is in good repair with doors that don't annoyingly squeak, ceilings free from water spots and cob-webs, and floors that are clean and easily navigated. Also, you'll want to make sure that items and/or services have easy-to-find prices available, as it can be frustrating for a customer who may want to purchase an item but not know how much it costs. Keep an eye out for damaged products or products with beat-up packaging, as you wouldn't want your customer to have the impression that you're trying to sell them something inferior!

Decorations: In our mass-produced world, sometimes customers will appreciate visiting a business that encourages creativity and keeps things lively and interesting through the placement of seasonal decorations, artwork and other subtle personal touches. Be sure you know who your target audience is, and utilize up-to-date decorations that showcase why your business is special!

Music: Music can add a fun atsmosphere to your store, but make sure it isn't so loud that customers may feel as if they have to plug their ears. Also make sure that whatever music you have playing in the background is appropriate for your audience, and doesn't contain anything that might offend.

Happy Employees: We've all been to stores where employees behave as if inconvenienced that you've bothered to ask them a question or go through their check-out line. Make sure to help employees understand the importance of greeting their customer when they enter the store, smiling and being courteous whenever working with a customer, and wishing them a good day when they leave. And while it's important for employees to be available for any help a customer might require, being too intrusive may be a turn-off for customers (example: hovering when a customer is shopping, or asking multiple times if they need help).

Appreciate your Customers: Everyone likes to be recognized and appreciated. For those customers who repeatedly do business at your store, you may want to send them a thank you note with coupon. Hosting a "Customer Appreciation Day" once a year might also be a great idea, with the providing of live music, a raffle, pet costume contest, art contest, games for kids, and more! Be creative, and have fun!

Here at Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids Franchising, we love to have FUN! We also love sharing our many great business tips and resources for small businesses so that our franchisees will have the tools to succeed! If you're interested in learning how to become a successful owner of your own franchise business, please click below!

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Topics: franchise, kids salon franchise, franchise opportunity, Business Tips, Free Resources for Businesses, successful franchisees, small business how-tos, growing a small business, creativity, business growth, atmosphere

Creating Awesome Marketing Content!

Posted by Matthew S on Thu, May 14, 2015 @ 15:05 PM

Creating In our earlier posts on Marketing a Children's Hair Salon and Increasing Job Satisfaction, we explored some of the ways that you can use creative marketing to help your business thrive. Now, we'd like to share some of our tips on cultivating happy customers by designing awesome marketing content for your business.

Chances are, if you've been in business for very long, or have worked for an employer for any length of time, you're probably pretty familiar with what marketing content is. But for those who might be a little new to the subject, it's really pretty simple. It's everything you would find useful in the promotion of your business - from e-blasts, e-newsletters (and traditional paper newsletters) to brochures, flyers, stickers, t-shirt designs, business cards and more.

To design interesting content we have found the following to be very helpful:

Beware of clip-art! Nothing screams unprofessional like a standard piece of clip-art. If you really want your flyer or brochure to shine, try downloading a professional illustration or photo from a stock photography site. You might have to pay a little for it, but it'll look much better than a piece of clip-art.

Beware of using multiple colors, or large blocks of color! Sometimes in the hopes of making something look eye-catching, the use of multiple clashing colors will be used excessively - or a marketing piece will have a solid color background with a more vibrant color used for the text. This can not only make your piece difficult to read, but can quickly drain the ink in your printer! Instead, try to use white backgrounds with black text. Keep colorful elements to a minimum, unless it's a photo or nice piece of artwork that pertains to your message.

Beware of using specialty fonts! Sometimes in an attempt to make a flyer look "fun", the use of crazy fonts will be used in excess. Perhaps you've even seen some flyers out there that have large blocks of text in hard-to-read swirling fonts. Fun fonts should only be used rarely, with important information placed in easy-to-read fonts like "Times", "Optima" or "Helvetica". Also be sure to keep in mind that if your content is for the internet or email, fonts should be compressed into your design by using a jpeg (if possible). Otherwise, the font might be automatically changed to a basic font, and your entire design is ruined.

Don't use too much artwork! Sometimes a marketing piece can have so much artwork on it that any text information gets lost. Try to keep art elements small or use white space around text to draw attention to it.

Working with Photos: Photos are a powerful tool to help a customer connect with whatever service you might be offering. For example, if it's a toy store, photos of kids shopping with parents for cool toys can be a way to show your customer that this is an experience they might have if they shop at your store. However, be sure to use up-to-date photos that clearly target the customers you are wanting to reach. If your business caters to teenagers, and you use photos of retired people, you might not get the results you're looking for!

Working with Designers: Sometimes you may want to hire a professional graphic designer to create a piece for you. If this is the case, be sure you have a good idea about what you want. Send the designer pictures of similar pieces that you like so they have an idea what you might be thinking. The more information you provide a graphic designer, the more likely your piece will turn out the way you want. Also, don't be afraid to let the graphic designer suggest a more effective way to present the information. They have not only been trained on how to communicate through visuals, but usually are very experienced on what works and what doesn't. Use their expertise and talent to help you create something great!

In all fairness, even with the above tips - it can still be pretty tough to develop materials that look appealing and cause your customers to be excited about your brand. Not everyone has this particular skill-set. You also might not have the right equipment or computer software to develop your materials. This is why at Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids (a hair salon franchise for kids), we employ a graphic artist and social media manager. We develop great looking marketing materials for our corporate office, as well as each of our franchises. This not only helps our brand look professional, but it also helps our franchisees effectively market their business and encourage customer growth!

As Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids is one of the fastest growing kids hair salons in the industry today, we're always working hard to share our many great resources on marketing strategies, business growth, small business marketing and other great business tips so that our franchisees will have the tools to succeed! If you are interested in our other free resources for businesses, or would like to learn more about how to become a successful owner of your own franchise business, please click below or call 1-888-98 GONE MAD!

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Topics: kids salons, Business Tips, Free Resources for Businesses, small business how-tos, marketing strategies, creativity, business growth

Marketing a Children's Hair Salon!

Posted by Matthew S on Tue, May 5, 2015 @ 12:05 PM

In the exciting world of Children's Hair Salons, building brand awareness can be an exciting challenge and another way to run a smarter business. Not only is it important to use clever eye-catching marketing techniques in the community (such as what we discussed in our article Gorilla Marketing Strategies and Erin Nanke's Marketing in Des Moines), but it's also important to engage your customers through having an online presence by developing - and maintaining - a website and social media content.

For example, the Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids website ranks near the top for childrens salons, the salon business and kids spa locations. We consistently receive between 35,000 to 60,000 visitors per month. Our Facebook site currently has over 30,000 "Likes", and has been a great way to interact with our customers through fun contests, receiving positive feedback, and listening / responding to customer concerns. Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+ have also been great ways to reach out to our customers by providing fun content for them to access each day. We do this through the careful understanding that although simply having an online presence has certainly been important for our business, utilizing the internet to reinforce the FUN that Shear Madness represents has been a vital ingredient for success!

Great design also configures into this equation too - especially given the short-attention span that people have in the age of the internet. While it's true you can't always judge a book by it's cover, people will quickly pass a business by if the business looks unprofessional, uninteresting, or just plain boring - especially in the children's market! Without nicely designed ads, signs, posters, web banners, meme graphics and more that clearly communicate your brand, customers will unfortunately find their interest drawn by other businesses who do. So be sure to take time to invest in great graphic design that communicates what you do, applies a consistent message (so your audience will visually recognize who you are), and provides a way for your customers to feel the FUN when they see your materials!

So while marketing and design can be a lot of fun, and generate a lot of excitement for your brand, it sometimes doesn't come cheap. Nor is it something that takes only a couple hours here and there in order to be successful. However, here at Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids, we understand how important it is! Because of this, we work hard in providing many great resources and materials to help our franchise owners succeed in the marketing and development of their business. For example, we have numerous photographs and art assets easily available to our franchisees through dropbox for the creation of flyers, e-mails and more. We also provide graphic design and marketing services for franchisees who may need a little more in-depth assistance with newspaper ads, signs, or marketing through social media avenues. Whatever the case may be, you can bet that by being partnered with our great team - you'll not only have a friend in the business, but a true advantage as well!

Interested in learning more about one of the best kids salon franchise systems out there? As one of the fastest growing kids hair salons in the industry today, we're working hard to share our many great resources and business experiences so that our franchisees will have the tools to succeed! If you're interested in learning how to become a successful owner of your own childrens salon franchise business, please click below or call 1-888-98 GONE MAD!

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Topics: franchise, kids salon franchise, kids salons, franchise opportunity, the salon business, Small Business Franchise Information, Business Tips, Free Resources for Businesses, growing a small business, marketing strategies

7 Tips to Cultivate Happy Customers

Posted by Matthew S on Wed, Apr 15, 2015 @ 16:04 PM

happycustomers Most businesses will spend a lot of time and energy working to acquire new customers and build up various products and services, while at the same time possibly causing their current customers to feel a little left out. In our fast paced world, it can be an easy thing to do. But it can also be a costly thing to do as well! Following are seven tips on how you can be sure you're cultivating happy customers, saving time and money - and growing new customers too!

Happy Employees: It's important to hire employees who genuinely care about the customers you are providing a service for. As an example, consider a salon franchise that works primarily with children. Employees should either have a successful background working with kids - or have a manner that children and parents will be comfortable with. You may also want to see how a potential employee responds by immersing them in the culture of your business for a short period of time before hiring.

Employee Education: Business owners may wish to develop team goals or principals that your employees are mindful of while working and interacting with customers and each other. These principles also may help guide employees to be more comfortable making decisions on their own. For example, Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids has their own "Top 10 Madtastic Goals" that are vibrantly displayed in all of our salons.

Employee Confidence: Help employees understand that one of the most important factors in the operation of the business is customer service. Employees SERVE the customer, and are working hard to help customers have a great experience that they'll want to be sure to return for in the future.

Listening to your Customer: Your business will want to make sure that it's listening and responding to your customers through traditional customer interaction (phone calls and conversations inside your store), as well as the internet (customer reviews and internet sites that mention your business) and social media (facebook, google+, twitter, blog posts and more). In all interactions, be sure to be friendly, patient and show genuine attentiveness to what they might be needing.

Ask Questions: Ask the appropriate questions in response to a customer need so that you can understand exactly how to help (and avoid frustration). Consider asking the "Five Ws" - or those questions that help in basic information gathering. Who is it about? What happened? When did it take place? Where did it take place? Why did it happen? Also pay attention to body language (verbal and nonverbal communication)!

Customer Education: Create content that helps educate your customers in a creative and fun way. Remember that educational content doesn't have to be bland and boring. It can be fun and exciting, such as contests on social media, comic books describing a process, crazy how-to videos, and more. The more your customers love your content, the more you're helping educate and market your brand to your customer - and helping draw new customers in!

Following Up with your Customer: Make sure you've done all that you can in order to help a customer leave your business happy. If you promise to do something for a customer, don't take too long to fulfill your committment, or worse - forget! And although it may seem obvious, make sure you're thinking of your customer as a real person just like you, and not just a number.

So at the end of the day, by making sure that current customers are happy, you'll not only foster trust and loyalty towards your business, but also bring in new customers through your current customers sharing the great experience your business has provided!

Through years of working in the children's salon industry, Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids Franchising, LLC has learned a lot about how to deliver great experiences for our customers. We work hard to share our many great resources and business experiences so that our franchisees will have the tools to succeed! If you're interested in learning how to become a successful owner of your own franchise, please click below!

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Topics: kids salon franchise, salon franchise, Small Business Franchise Information, Business Tips, Free Resources for Businesses, growing a small business, marketing strategies, employee

Educational Apps and Television for Kids!

Posted by Matthew S on Fri, Apr 3, 2015 @ 13:04 PM

EducationalApps At Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids, delivering a great experience for kids is our specialty. Whether it's helping them (and their parents) feel great by getting a fantastic haircut, hosting an awesome party, or providing the very best in hair products, hair related accessories, toys and more, we love being able to share a little happiness with the world through what we do best!

Kids today have a lot of options when it comes to entertainment. And with televisions and video game stations in our hair salons to help provide positive distractions for kids while their hair is being cut, we know a thing or two about great games and television shows. And best of all, we understand how important it is for kids to have fun - but also be able to find positive and educational content to help encourage and motivate.

Below is a list of some great apps and fun television shows we've come across.

Educational Apps for Kids

Toca Hair Salon 2: (Available on iOS, Google Play, Kindle Fire and Windows Phone). Have you ever wanted to run your own Hair Salon? In this fun game, which has a unique style that is sure to be a hit with kids and parents alike, you'll use your fingers to comb, color, shave and blow-dry lifelike hair on a number of cute characters.

Endless Alphabet: (Available on iOS, Google Play, Amazon App Store and Windows Phone). Endless Alphabet is a great interactive app that helps facilitate reading success! Children will enjoy learning the alphabet and building up their vocabulary with lovable monsters. Words that are taught through the app also feature interactive puzzles and talking letters with animations that help illustrate the definition.

Daniel Tiger's Grr-ific Feelings: (Available on iOS, Google Play, Amazon, Nook and Windows Store). Daniel Tiger from the well known PBS Kids series helps kids learn about their feelings through fun games and songs. Children are sure to enjoy the photo booth, drawing easel, 18 sing-along songs, and the Trolley game (where over a dozen mini games can be found)!

Duolingo: (Available on iOS, Android, Windows Store). This app is a great way to learn different languages for both kids and adults! By earning points for correct answers to fun games, you'll enjoy seeing your progress as you level up and learn! And it's FREE!

TeachMe: (Available on iOS). This series of educational apps help kids learn through age-appropriate learning categories. With fun graphics and reward-based activities, TeachMe has received a lot of praise from teachers and parents.

Cookie Doodle: (Available on iOS and Windows Store). Does your child enjoy making cookies? If so, they'll really have a great time with this app! By using their finger to roll the dough, they'll also cut out shapes, and sprinkle frosting and other fun toppings - and then get to "eat" it! Best of all, there's no mess!

Great Television for Kids

How It's Made: This half hour documentary television show gives an exciting look into how everyday items (engines, musical instruments, sporting equipment) are made. This is a fun show to sit down to as a family, and is sure to help kids think more about the world around them. It also helps teach about design, manufacturing, and more!

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh: A beloved classic, this movie is broken into four animated stories - which is ideal in case your children would like to take a break. With fun songs, beautiful animation, and masterful storytelling, you're sure to find something special with these magical Winnie the Pooh Adventures.

Mighty Machines: If your kids love machines, then they are sure to have a great time learning about airplanes, diggers, trains, fire engines and more through this fun television program. The show is unique as it uses voice actors to make the machines talk to the viewers in order to describe how they work and what's going on.

The Big Adventure Series: With more than 16 videos, the Big Adventure Series allows kids to go behind the scenes to learn about submarines, space shuttles, national parks and more. Enjoyable and educational for kids, this series is also a lot of fun for adults too!

Here at Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids Franchising, we work hard to share our many great resources and business experiences so that our franchisees will have the tools to succeed! If you're interested in learning how to become a successful owner of your own franchise business, please click below!

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Topics: franchise, kids salon franchise, salon franchise, kids salons, franchise opportunity, Shear Madness Haircuts for kids, children, Free Resources for Businesses, kids, salon, Best Kid Apps

7 Tips for Successful Blogging

Posted by Matthew S on Tue, Mar 17, 2015 @ 14:03 PM

Business Tips: Successful Blogging Writing and maintaining a blog may take a little extra time out of your day, but it’s also a low cost means to advertise, educate and facilitate trust with existing and potential customers! Each and every post that is written gets published as its own indexed page on your web site. The more pages you have, the more opportunities you have to get found online! But, it’s also important to understand that even if you take the time to create a blog – it may not create the response you’re hoping for. What you are offering through a blog must be compelling, look professional and be well written, or people will quickly move on to greener pastures.

If you’re interested in learning how to use blogs as an important marketing resource, check out some of the following helpful tips we’ve learned while maintaining our own blog.

Understand your audience: Who is your ideal customer? If you discuss problems and present solutions for your ideal customer, it’s likely they will be interested in coming back to read and learn more. Think about how you might use blog content to facilitate positive relationships and generate trust with your customers!

Keep a blog post to one topic: Just like when people jump from topic to topic in daily conversation, it can also be frustrating for a reader if written content meanders about and doesn’t stick to the point. Consider how newspaper or magazine articles are written, and look at how other popular writers in your industry are generating effective content.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): For each blog post, you’ll want to look at using keywords in the title. Keywords are words or phrases that are commonly searched for on search engines such as Google. But remember! Only use keywords that are relevant to your blog post! Customers will become frustrated if they find your post through a search keyword, and discover that it’s not about the subject they are looking for! You’ll also want to look at creating a meta description for your blog post. A meta description is a short summary that search engines will use when displaying search results. Many blog sites should have capabilities to input meta descriptions and keywords.

Write Compelling Blog Titles: When writing an effective title for your blog, use words that convey an action, such as “How to…” or “Explore”. Be mindful of effective keywords (SEO), being clear and concise (try to keep titles short and to the point), intriguing (such as: “Learn more about…”), and definitive (such as: “The Ultimate Guide to…” or “10 reasons why…”)

Attractive Blog Posts: Not everyone is a designer, but attempt to make your blog post pleasing to look at. Use easy to read fonts, a consistent font and font sizing from post to post, and refrain from using font colors that are hard to read (black is best, but occasionally dark colors for standout text may be useful). Use quality images, subheads, and bulleted lists for additional viewing impact.

Proof Read! When you’re finished writing your blog post, be sure to read through it at least once to look for any spelling errors, bad grammar and poor sentence structure. You may also want someone else to read it too. Nothing will kill a message like bad grammar, misspelled words, or hard to understand sentences.

Utilize a Call to Action: It’s a good idea to end each blog post with a Call to Action – something that prompts the reader to click on a link to download a free resource, fill out a form for more information, or follow a link to another relevant topic or product. If customers like what they read, and are convinced of the value your post is trying to convey, they may want an opportunity to learn or do more. An effective Call to Action that is relevant to the post helps them do just that!

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Topics: the salon business, Business Tips, Free Resources for Businesses, successful franchisees, small business how-tos, marketing strategies, SEO, blogging, kids hair blog

The Easy Way to write a Small Business Plan for a Bank Loan

Posted by Janon Otto on Fri, Feb 20, 2015 @ 10:02 AM

Writing a business plan for a small business can be a daunting task - just the sound of it makes it sound BIG! So here are some down-to-earth tips to make the process easy!

small business business plan

It's important to understand that when developing a plan, there are plans for internal use, those for investors, those for bankers, etc. Be sure you know who your plan is going to be for. In this article we are going to focus on the one written to obtain financing.

If you are applying for a loan for a small franchise business, this process will be a bit easier as much of the information for three of your four sections the franchisor can help you with. The bank will also know that you are applying for financing for a business that others have been successful in, and that you'll receive guidance and training for your business. However, they will still want to know about you and why you personally would be a good fit for this business.

But remember, do NOT go for Length! Even though a plan that is pages and pages long may look impressive on the outside, to a banker with limited time it is NOT impressive! They want to know "just the facts". So keep your plan to around 10 pages.

They will evaluate you based on several criteria and those are what they want to know about. As financing has become more and more difficult to obtain, selling yourself and your plan is required.

Section 1: This section is all about discussing the business that you want to start or get financing for. You may find it helpful to do a small SWAT analysis on your business (S-strengths, W-weaknesses, O-opportunities, T-threats of your business idea) - this will help you complete this section. You'll also want to be sure to properly answer the following questions:

What is the purpose of this business?
What problem does it solve?
What industry will it belong to and how much business does that industry capture?
Why are you different from what is out there?
What is your competition?
What research have you done that makes you believe that your business will succeed? (demographics, etc.)

Section 2: This section is all about you or your staff. In it, you'll discuss who the key people are that will be involved in your business. Be sure to sell yourself first (if you are going to be the main employee), then list the others involved and their relevant information.

Who are you and your people?
What relevant experience and education do they have that would make them competant and able to help you run this business?
What is their job responsibility in your business?

Section 3: Here is where you ask for the amount of money that you would like to receive. Make sure and ask for what you will need - including working capital.

What are your plans for the money?
Detail out what it will be spent for and how you determined what those amounts are.

Section 4: In this section describe how you intend to pay off the loan you are asking for.

Estimate your revenues and be sure to let them know how you came up with your figures. With a Kids Salon Franchise you would estimate the number of haircuts per month, the price of those and the revenue from other services (with reasonable expecations to start slower and grow over time).
Estimate your expenses as best as you can. Here you should also let them know where you got your figures. Make sure and group expenditures into easily understandible categories. For example, talk about your Fixed and Variable Expenses. Fixed are those costs that will not change no matter how much business you do (rent, some salaries, equipment payments, phone, etc.). Variable expenses will change as your business changes (inventory costs, labor, possibly utilities).

If you have pictures or other items that would make this presentation more interesting, by all means add them - but do NOT overdo it! Only add photos if they help educate the banker on what they will be loaning money for. Do not just add pictures for fluff.

If you are beginning a small business franchise, then the franchisor can help you with items 2, 3 & 4. The information in the franchisors item 7 will assist you with section 3. The information in the franchisors FDD item 19 can assist greatly with section 4. If you are starting a business from scratch, a great resource to walk you through the business plan process is SCORE.

Maybe a franchise could help you in jump starting a new small business! Download our free whitepaper to learn the four considerations when buying a franchise.

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Topics: franchise, kids salon franchise, salon franchise, kids salons, franchise opportunity, Shear Madness Haircuts for kids, the salon business, Small Business Franchise Information, how to begin a business, Free Resources for Businesses, small business how-tos

Career Change Advice: Buy a Business or Franchise?

Posted by Matthew S on Tue, Jan 13, 2015 @ 13:01 PM

careerchange Buying any business or franchise can be an exciting and rewarding adventure, but success won’t come overnight! You’ll likely spend a great deal of time, energy and financial resources in order to help ensure the success of your business. And in a way, because you’re making such an important investment, you’ll find yourself putting a little bit of “you” into your business too. Therefore, it’s good to take a step back before starting the whole process and ask yourself the following: Does the franchise you are considering really fit with who you are as a person?

Following are several tips to keep in mind when investigating a franchise.

Personality – Does the franchise you are considering fit with your personality? Do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert? Do you enjoy leading, or would you rather be behind the scenes? Are you outgoing, funny, regimented, or reserved? Because there are so many different kinds of franchises that provide a large variety of services, you’ll want to look at areas that suit your personality. For example, many people who choose Shear Madness Haircuts for Kids are generally a more outgoing personality type who enjoys the fun atmosphere our stores have. They also enjoy working with kids, and like the thought of being able to provide a service that seeks to bring a little more happiness into the world!

Lifestyle – Many people consider investing into a franchise system because of the unique challenges and opportunities that running your own business represents. But it’s important to remember that the kind of lifestyle you have (or appreciate) is an important factor in considering a franchise opportunity. Forcing yourself into a system that isn’t really “you”, can quickly lead to feeling burned out and unhappy. For example, if you enjoy getting up early and going to bed early, certain types of franchise systems that are open late hours (or 24 hours) may not be ideal for you. Or maybe you don’t really like the thought of having to wear a suit everyday, or prefer more low-key environments over fast-paced high energy work spaces. All of these are important lifestyle preferences to take into consideration.

Skills – Think of looking for the right franchise as looking for the right job. If you have 10 years of experience working as a chef, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea to look for a job as an architect. You simply wouldn’t have the right skills to effectively do the job. Or, if you’re someone who really doesn’t have a lot of experience in managing people, a job that requires management of entry-level staff may not be a good fit. Similarly, when making a decision on a franchise, don’t be afraid to perform an honest look at what your skills are. You can do this through looking at your resume and seeing what you’ve demonstrated an excellence for over the course of your work history. Or you may additionally want to consider what you may enjoy doing in your free time as well. Either way, in order to help ensure success as a future franchise owner, be sure to focus on what your talents and abilities are!

Tools for Assessment - If you would like a little help in figuring out who you are and what really motivates you to get through each day, you might want to the following online resources. The Keirsey Personality Sorter is an online personality assessment that can be done for free at http://www.keirsey.com/ (more detailed reports are available for a fee). iPersonic Career Test also has an online personality test available at http://www.ipersonic.com/career/ that may help you more clearly define your work values.