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.

Collecting customer feedback is an important way to gauge whether the efforts you are putting into growing your small business are really meeting the needs and expectations of your customers. Following are some different ways that customer feedback might be gained, as well as some helpful tips and useful questions you might want to ask.

Ok, so here’s the deal, according to a recent article I read, a new franchise starts in the United States about every 8 minutes. There are several things that bother me about this trend. Number 1 is that many new concepts have no history of operating successfully, so how does a business know that their systems works and can be taught easily to franchisees? Furthermore, without going through all kinds of economic environments and all the various issues that a business can face over a long period of changing business climates, how do you know if the concept will stand the test of time? One of the biggest advantages that I see of buying into a franchise is the “benchmarking” that they are able to do for a franchisee to make sure they are on pace to succeed - and those metrics only come from watching a business over a long period of time. If a franchise can’t show you a track record of success, don’t risk trying to create one for them! 

Professionals who have spent numerous years working in the corporate world sometimes will find that they’re ready for a new challenge. After researching their options, many of these career shifters are choosing franchising. Why? Well, usually it boils down to people simply wanting to be their own boss, and being able to more capably utilize their unique skill-set to build wealth. They also realize that starting a business from the ground up is hard!  Investing in something that has most the kinks already worked out is a real advantage.  And even though running a franchise business offers many advantages over simply starting a business on your own, there’s still some unique challenges that potential franchisees might want to consider. Following is a list of some of those challenges an individual might want to think about before making the leap to owning their very own franchise business!

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!