Best Way To Search For Franchises Video

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Best Way To Search For Franchises

Beth Haselhorst: Is there a franchise business out there for everyone? Does your number of franchises in the United States and around the world today suggest that there is likely a franchise for the majority of interest of prospects but it’s the diversity of investment levels, concepts and brands. It can be a dizzying prospect to search for a franchise small business opportunity. Our guest has some practical advise on the best ways to conduct your search for a franchise opportunity. Franchise expert, Dick Rennick is an award winning founder of a 360 unit franchise system and a former chairman of the international franchise association. Dick I recognized as on of the leading experts in franchising. Dick, welcome to sbtv.com. Dick Rennick: Thank you for having me. Beth Haselhorst: Let’s go ahead and start with the best ways for someone to search for a franchise of small business. Dick Rennick: Well, after looking to buy a franchise, they need to go to www.franchise.org. There’s about 1800 different franchise concepts that they can review. That’s one of the ways they can do it. They can also go to franchise trade shows. We have three of them a year. There’s one in Los Angeles, its usually on October and there is one in Washington D.C. in late spring, early summer and one in Miami, Florida, just right after the Washington D.C. show. And you can find out at franchise.org or they can go to my website and I’m going to list it on there as well. Beth Haselhorst: So what did—what kind of information that people get at this access? Dick Rennick: Well, they get to walk around and compare franchise brands. They get to—if they’re looking for a food brand, there’s other food brands there. They can compare there from brand to brand. If they’re looking for a service brand that maybe NAWBO, they can check those out against others and they could find something that’s going to fit what it is they’re looking for. Beth Haselhorst: What kinds of questions should people be asking when they’re meeting with this franchisors at the expos? Dick Rennick: Probably you need to ask them how old they are? Are they new to franchising? How many franchises do they have? They need to find out if there’s franchises in the area where you want to be? Are they going to be the only one in the territory that they’re looking to purchase. They need to get as much information from that trade show as they possibly can. They need to share information on them with the people at the trade show o that they can have for the communication with them when they go home and they need to o their diligence. Now along the path, the company offering the franchise opportunity to be awarded to a franchise prospect is that they’re going to want to gather information on you, the person that’s looking to purchase the franchise. So be prepared to get a several page application that they're going to want to make sure that you have a financial means in which to purchase the franchise. Your going to have no litigation against you that you have a committed bankrupts used in the past and those kinds of things. So they’re going to do their diligence on you because they’re building a brand and they want to make sure that they have as many good apples in that brand as they possibly can. Beth Haselhorst: You have to be a best fit on both side? Dick Rennick: Exactly! Beth Haselhorst: Now, do I need to be an expert in the industry in the franchise that I’m thinking about buying? Dick Rennick: Absolutely not. As a matter of fact, that has sometimes been very detrimental. We have the same called, its better to work on your business than in your business. Your job as a franchise owner is to operate and manage the business for growth and in the beginning, certainly your going to work in the business because you want to understand the intrinsics of the business. Your going to want to understand if your selling fast food as an example. You want to understand how that’s done so that you can train other people to do that. If your doing a service franchise, like carpet cleaning or a home décor and those kinds of things. There’s over a 125 different industries within the franchise community that offers franchises out there and so we want to get you trained in it but we want you to work on the business we want you to grow. We want you to add other locations. We want you to continue to grow and enhance that brand because its your retirement. Beth Haselhorst: So if my interest is really in doing the hand on part of that business, but it may be not be the potentially not the best fit for me? Dick Rennick: Well, if you’re a husband and wife team, many franchises of husband and wife teams or partnerships. One of them may work on the business and other one in the business. In most service businesses that are male oriented. Let’s take a handyman type franchise or a plumbing type franchise or a house painting or electrical type franchise. Those are more male intensive that work in the business where the wife or the spouse may wined up being the one that works on the business or the husband is in the business taking care of all the intrinsic pursuing to that franchise. Beth Haselhorst: And do I need to love numbers? Do I need to love accounting? Do I need to love finance to really be successful as a business owner? Dick Rennick: Well, you don’t need to love it but you certainly have to understand how to read a PNL statement and so one of the first things that we always suggest to franchise, to new franchise buyers is that you need to get a good accounting for a firm to work with and usually, the franchise or already ahs a software that you use. They may use quick book, quick books pro, enterprise solutions, the pitch trim and there’s all kinds of accounting stuff was out there. And most franchise depending upon the franchise system, already have some kind of software and that software will help you put in all the numbers and then those numbers go to a CPA or an accountant or a bookkeeper of some kind that will be able to kick out a mathly or quarterly PNL. The thing that I think that franchisees need is somebody that can set and explain to them in writing a two or three page 6:20 o what is going on in their business. Understand that their cost are rising for gasoline because they’re driving a lot of service vehicles or there are electrical powers on because they’re running the air conditioner to a lower temperature or wherever it maybe, the average franchise owner may not see that but an accountant or a bookkeeper or in a house bookkeeper needs to give you that information in writing so that you can compare a month to month, year after year after year and you can say, well, looks like February is the best month to go in vacation. We’re going to be going for the month of February and oh, by the way, in August, there’s two weeks in August that business really isn’t good. So you need to be able to track those TPI’s key point indicators to make sure that you know what’ going on and most people are not financially literate. Don’t be afraid to ask. Beth Haselhorst: Great advise. All right, well thank you Dick very much for joining us today. I appreciate it. I did want to ask one more question there. So there’s so many websites out there about franchising. What’s your favorite franchising website? Dick Rennick: Well, mine is franchise.org. There is so much information that you can gather from the international franchises associations website. They have direct links with other groups and companies out there that belonged to the IFA. They’ve got links to franchise returning, they’ve got links to franchise accountants, franchise consultants, I mean you name it. They link up people all the time. That one is probably the most thorough. There are other people out there that also have information available but the IFA is probably the most thorough. Beth Haselhorst: All right, thanks again for your time, Dick. Look for other segments on franchising and small business from Dick here on sbtv.com. You can also learn more about Dick and his company by going to www.teamrennick.com. This is sbtv.com. small business I our only business.

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Beth Haselhorst: Is there a franchise business out there for everyone? Does your number of franchises in the United States and around the world today suggest that there is likely a franchise for the majority of interest of prospects but it’s the diversity of investment levels, concepts and brands. It can be a dizzying prospect to search for a franchise small business opportunity. Our guest has some practical advise on the best ways to conduct your search for a franchise opportunity. Franchise expert, Dick Rennick is an award winning founder of a 360 unit franchise system and a former chairman of the international franchise association. Dick I recognized as on of the leading experts in franchising. Dick, welcome to sbtv.com.

Dick Rennick: Thank you for having me.

Beth Haselhorst: Let’s go ahead and start with the best ways for someone to search for a franchise of small business.

Dick Rennick: Well, after looking to buy a franchise, they need to go to www.franchise.org. There’s about 1800 different franchise concepts that they can review. That’s one of the ways they can do it. They can also go to franchise trade shows. We have three of them a year. There’s one in Los Angeles, its usually on October and there is one in Washington D.C. in late spring, early summer and one in Miami, Florida, just right after the Washington D.C. show. And you can find out at franchise.org or they can go to my website and I’m going to list it on there as well.

Beth Haselhorst: So what did—what kind of information that people get at this access?

Dick Rennick: Well, they get to walk around and compare franchise brands. They get to—if they’re looking for a food brand, there’s other food brands there. They can compare there from brand to brand. If they’re looking for a service brand that maybe NAWBO, they can check those out against others and they could find something that’s going to fit what it is they’re looking for.

Beth Haselhorst: What kinds of questions should people be asking when they’re meeting with this franchisors at the expos?

Dick Rennick: Probably you need to ask them how old they are? Are they new to franchising? How many franchises do they have? They need to find out if there’s franchises in the area where you want to be? Are they going to be the only one in the territory that they’re looking to purchase. They need to get as much information from that trade show as they possibly can. They need to share information on them with the people at the trade show o that they can have for the communication with them when they go home and they need to o their diligence.

Now along the path, the company offering the franchise opportunity to be awarded to a franchise prospect is that they’re going to want to gather information on you, the person that’s looking to purchase the franchise. So be prepared to get a several page application that they're going to want to make sure that you have a financial means in which to purchase the franchise. Your going to have no litigation against you that you have a committed bankrupts used in the past and those kinds of things.

So they’re going to do their diligence on you because they’re building a brand and they want to make sure that they have as many good apples in that brand as they possibly can.

Beth Haselhorst: You have to be a best fit on both side?

Dick Rennick: Exactly!

Beth Haselhorst: Now, do I need to be an expert in the industry in the franchise that I’m thinking about buying?

Dick Rennick: Absolutely not. As a matter of fact, that has sometimes been very detrimental. We have the same called, its better to work on your business than in your business. Your job as a franchise owner is to operate and manage the business for growth and in the beginning, certainly your going to work in the business because you want to understand the intrinsics of the business. Your going to want to understand if your selling fast food as an example. You want to understand how that’s done so that you can train other people to do that.

If your doing a service franchise, like carpet cleaning or a home décor and those kinds of things. There’s over a 125 different industries within the franchise community that offers franchises out there and so we want to get you trained in it but we want you to work on the business we want you to grow. We want you to add other locations. We want you to continue to grow and enhance that brand because its your retirement.

Beth Haselhorst: So if my interest is really in doing the hand on part of that business, but it may be not be the potentially not the best fit for me?

Dick Rennick: Well, if you’re a husband and wife team, many franchises of husband and wife teams or partnerships. One of them may work on the business and other one in the business.

In most service businesses that are male oriented. Let’s take a handyman type franchise or a plumbing type franchise or a house painting or electrical type franchise. Those are more male intensive that work in the business where the wife or the spouse may wined up being the one that works on the business or the husband is in the business taking care of all the intrinsic pursuing to that franchise.

Beth Haselhorst: And do I need to love numbers? Do I need to love accounting? Do I need to love finance to really be successful as a business owner?

Dick Rennick: Well, you don’t need to love it but you certainly have to understand how to read a PNL statement and so one of the first things that we always suggest to franchise, to new franchise buyers is that you need to get a good accounting for a firm to work with and usually, the franchise or already ahs a software that you use. They may use quick book, quick books pro, enterprise solutions, the pitch trim and there’s all kinds of accounting stuff was out there. And most franchise depending upon the franchise system, already have some kind of software and that software will help you put in all the numbers and then those numbers go to a CPA or an accountant or a bookkeeper of some kind that will be able to kick out a mathly or quarterly PNL.

The thing that I think that franchisees need is somebody that can set and explain to them in writing a two or three page 6:20 o what is going on in their business. Understand that their cost are rising for gasoline because they’re driving a lot of service vehicles or there are electrical powers on because they’re running the air conditioner to a lower temperature or wherever it maybe, the average franchise owner may not see that but an accountant or a bookkeeper or in a house bookkeeper needs to give you that information in writing so that you can compare a month to month, year after year after year and you can say, well, looks like February is the best month to go in vacation.

We’re going to be going for the month of February and oh, by the way, in August, there’s two weeks in August that business really isn’t good. So you need to be able to track those TPI’s key point indicators to make sure that you know what’ going on and most people are not financially literate. Don’t be afraid to ask.

Beth Haselhorst: Great advise. All right, well thank you Dick very much for joining us today. I appreciate it. I did want to ask one more question there. So there’s so many websites out there about franchising. What’s your favorite franchising website?

Dick Rennick: Well, mine is franchise.org. There is so much information that you can gather from the international franchises associations website. They have direct links with other groups and companies out there that belonged to the IFA. They’ve got links to franchise returning, they’ve got links to franchise accountants, franchise consultants, I mean you name it. They link up people all the time. That one is probably the most thorough. There are other people out there that also have information available but the IFA is probably the most thorough.

Beth Haselhorst: All right, thanks again for your time, Dick. Look for other segments on franchising and small business from Dick here on sbtv.com. You can also learn more about Dick and his company by going to www.teamrennick.com. This is sbtv.com. small business I our only business.

Transcription by: Scribe4you Transcription Services