Franchise owenrs: Speak up!

[modestmoose]

Mandor
Excellent post, thanks!

[scotchnrocks]

RE: sandwich type franchises. Why do people do these franchise style instead of just opening their own shop, like James's Dank Subs? Sandwiches are so easy to make that it seems if you can get a good recipe going (at home before you go into business) you could build a solid reputation over time and not have to deal with all this franchise nonsense such as having to buy their ingredients, pay fees, etc. It seems like all the franchise wants to do is screw you out of money anyway.

I understand that with a franchise you go into the market with instant brand recognition, but how important is that really? I know the area I work in very well. If a new subshop opens that isn't a franchise I will stop by and give them a try, if they're good I eat there more and spread the word. It may take some time to get your name out, but you're in the red anyway with a franchise your first few years right? Is there something else I'm not considering?

[Mandor_TFL]

TV ads are priceless, the amount of information given from the combined knowledge of your other local franchisees. Bargaining power gained from negotiating with your food distribuitor will drop food cost by 5-10%. General support. Easy to borrow food when you run out of something. Countless other things.


The brand name is huge. Domino's pizza by most people's standards is not that great. But in nearly every market they will have double the sales of a Mom and Pop who tries to deliver as well.


Mom and Pop style shops are great if you just want to be your own boss. But they are much more difficult to setup to run without your constant intervention. And expansion is more difficult as every new market has no idea who you are.

- Mandor_TFL

[gummy d]

I know nothing of franchises. However, i have been in the bar buisness for over 12 years. Find a state like nc with cheap liquor licenses and open a dive bar or private club.
Selling liquor is where the money is at. Of course, if you have a drinking problem or like to drink a lot this is probably a bad idea. If you have any interest pm me and i'd be glad to impart what i know to ya. gluck.

[Allinlife]

mandor I have a question- what kind of education did you get? Because I'm currently in a commerce program it feels like its pure BS/super boring/dry. I feel like I should be able to run buisness without learning all this bs, University feels like they prepare you so you can start off in the firms.

[Mandor_TFL]

History major. Yeah you probably learn some tax stuff or accounting i assume. But nothing about running a business requires more than high school lvl of math education. Learn how to run a business by someone who is good at it.

- Mandor

[spex x]

[ QUOTE ]
History major. Yeah you probably learn some tax stuff or accounting i assume. But nothing about running a business requires more than high school lvl of math education. Learn how to run a business by someone who is good at it.

- Mandor

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm under the impression that a 'business' degree from a university is really more like corporate middle management training. I didn't major in business. I've never heard any entrepreneur say that their 'business' degree gave them any advantage in owning their own business. And what I can say for sure is that no matter how many degrees you have, you never really feel ready to open your own place. Its no less scary for the MBA than for the high school drop out.

[elus2]

spex,

my major was a multidisciplinary degree in math/business/comp sci/stats/econ and i've had gigs doing IT consulting plus some small business startups (less than $500k sales per year). introductory courses in microeconomics, accounting, finance helped when it came time to start crunching numbers. i took a few courses in systems design and operations management that helped when it came time to creating a framework to use in order to make 'optimal' business decisions. finally, the project management related courses just gave me experience in meeting deadlines, setting the scope for projects and a few other invaluable skills. nothing beats real world experience though but the things i learned helped fast track many tasks that i needed to complete.

[spex x]

[ QUOTE ]
spex,

my major was a multidisciplinary degree in math/business/comp sci/stats/econ and i've had gigs doing IT consulting plus some small business startups (less than $500k sales per year). introductory courses in microeconomics, accounting, finance helped when it came time to start crunching numbers. i took a few courses in systems design and operations management that helped when it came time to creating a framework to use in order to make 'optimal' business decisions. finally, the project management related courses just gave me experience in meeting deadlines, setting the scope for projects and a few other invaluable skills. nothing beats real world experience though but the things i learned helped fast track many tasks that i needed to complete.

[/ QUOTE ]

Alright, so it helped you and that is good. But IMO its by no means necessary to have a business education in order to be a successful entrepreneur. IMO you can learn a lot on the fly, and very very many of the most successful entrepreneurs don't have a formal business education. I'm under the impression that business educations do not focus on startups. They focus on running businesses once they are already established. So once you are off the ground having the business degree might help more. But I don't know, running a business isn't rocket science.

[fish2plus2]

i dont get how people claim you have to live there for 6months and then its profitable. what changes after those 6mos that you no longer have to babysit it?