Archive for October, 2009
Senior Care Franchise Opportunities Are Hot!
Owning a franchising business can offer you brand awareness trustworthiness and consistency that can take years to build up for any new business. It can be one of the easiest and most successful methods of entering the business world however dont think of it as an easy ride. A franchise takes a lot of hard work and dedication to make it a success and you have to find the right kind of franchise opportunity for you.
Many new businesses fail in the first few years due to a lack of commitment dedication or knowledge this figure is much lower for franchises with over 90 of them showing a profit within the first 3 years. The difference with a franchise business is that most of the problems have already been ironed out. Franchises are tried and tested by many others before you and have developed a system that if you follow it to the letter should be successful.
Risks normally associated with starting a new business are not as great with a franchise as it is already established and the business plan approved. Getting the right mix of marketing techniques pricing strategies and a quality product or service are the main problem areas for any new business; as you are buying into a franchise all these have already undergone rigorous testing and the resulting system is achievable.
There are hundreds of different types of franchise opportunities from advertising and computers to fitness restaurants and home based franchises choosing one that will suit you depends on your lifestyle and the areas you are interested in. New franchises offering excellent potential for growth are either a senior care franchise or senior assisted living services.
Nearly every country is experiencing a rapidly ageing population who are living longer due to better health care and the baby boomer generation reaching retirement age in the next decade. It is forecast that the older generation will double over the next 25 years and a market is opening up for professionals to care for them. This has created a market for products and services specifically for the elderly.
The majority of people who would be interested in running a senior care or assisted living franchise are generally in that line of work already nurses health care workers or care assistants. It isnt necessary to have a medical background or previous experience in the care field as long as you manage the facility by employing trained and qualified staff a legal requirement when working with vulnerable people.
The health care sector is set to take over as one of the largest workforces over the next few decades and senior care franchises are seen as an emerging business opportunity that will grow with it. The advantage of these kinds of franchises is that the initial investment is modest when compared to other commercial franchises and is not subject to economic fluctuations. There is a lot of support offered by professionals to help you build your business making this one of the best franchise opportunities available today.
The rewards you get from this kind of work are unlike any other kind of franchise both personally and professionally. Professionally you will be managing your own business but personally you will be making a difference in people’s lives. If you are interested in senior care franchise opportunities and home health care then carry out some research online and request information about senior care franchises and senior assisted living services before deciding on which business is right for you.
About the writer: Michiel Van Kets provides article services for Ray Haiber a professional Arizona business broker and franchise consultant with over 10 years of experience providing franchise opportunities throughout the USA. For further information on internet restaurants and home based franchises for sale visit the website.
Selling A Restaurant-the Process
Selling a restaurant takes a lot of work and more often than not the seller has to be very careful to list in such a way as not to alert employees. The best advice for a person looking to sell a restaurant business is to seek the professional help that can make the process a lot easier. In the meantime here are some great tips for selling that will make life a little simpler for everyone involved in the process.
You need to have a strong focus on the basics that will be appealing to the buyer. Make sure the bookkeeping is clean. A set of financials that is organized and understandable is critical to any restaurant sale. It is tough to sell a restaurant that is not profitable. Make sure the inventory levels and costs such as labor food and beverage are all in order. Your location is important as well. Examine whether your present lease or terms of the real estate give the buyer enough profit at months end. If everything is in order it makes it easier to negotiate the desired selling price for a restaurant when the time comes.
Be objective is the restaurant and street appeal up to speed? Do you have adequate staffing and parking? Covering all the bases is critical; otherwise it may appear to the buyer they are being sold a job. In short look at the whole process of selling a restaurant from the buyers point of view.
Get the Appraisal Done
The appraisal will help determine a restaurants true cash flow and determine what is a fair amount for the selling price for a restaurant. Totaling of the assets should include goodwill and any future business potential. Comparable sales for either singles restaurants or chains with multiple locations can be analyzed for seller or buyer. Everyone has a different perspective of what a property is worthand it is usually the tax assessor that comes in at the high end of the scale.
Define and Target the Buying Market
You should endeavor to find qualified buyers that are capable of acquiring your restaurant. The technique involves first identifyingand then screening to verify financial strength and business experience. Business buyers are an excellent place to mine for prospects. A second great source for selling a restaurant will be the people that have available funds to invest. The aging population is a great place to put out the feelers. These potential buyers are like diamondsthey may be hard to find but the effort is well worth it when looking to sell a restaurant business.
Employees can be a surprising source however a drawback is that many employees may not have the capital necessary and the owner may have to carry more paper than they are comfortable with. While employees can be a risky bet competitors and direct supplies are even riskier. It is vastly unlikely that they will end up going through with the deal or place a fair market price on the table. It is more than likely they will be windowshopping and gathering competitive information on your restaurant.
Discrete Advertising
You will no doubt have privy to a lot of information concerning the many facets of how to sell a restaurant. It will pay big dividends to advertise your business correctly and making the sale known prematurely can end up poisoning your efforts. There are many places to list your restaurant business for sale both on the internet. The challenge will be to run an ad that will create interest without tipping off who you are. Confidentiality is importantbut you also want to avoid the image of having the business look shopworn. This can happen if the restaurant has been advertised over a lengthy period. Besides if you choose to work with an advertising venue whose forte is selling a restaurant guide and listing your businessyou will want to be head and shoulders above other restaurants thrown in the mix.
Qualifying the Buyer
It is important to have a system in place that can qualify a buyer when selling a restaurant or multiple unit chain. Many owners prefer not to contact the buyer directly. A reliable second party can gather all the necessary information including financial ability motivation and overall interest level before any of the details about your restaurant business are given away.
Closing the Deal
It is not bad advice to seek an attorney out who specializes in restaurants. He or she can eliminate the red tape which can cause the sale to fall through at the last minute. All the legalities can be addressedand this will benefit both buyer and seller.
Financing the Sale
There are a lot of choices to look at besides outright selling your restaurant. You may want to consider leasing the business restructuring the debt expansion capital equipment leasing and even interested investors that include family members or friends. Whatever the route you choose to take; proper planning will keep you competitive throughout the venture.
About the writer: Bill Henthorn formerly was principal broker and owner of a resort / commercial real estate brokerage in Honolulu which specialized in representing sellers in transactions up to 50MM.He currently serves as the marketing director of http://www.acquireo.com
Secret Shopper Success
A part time or full time career as a secret shopper can be lucrative and fun. You set your own schedule and you get paid to do something that you already do. Plus the job itself isn’t hard all you have to do is showup at your secret shopper assignment and pay attention to details inside an outside of the store. And you don’t even have to memorize all of the details you can write them down. After you do that you just have to send a report detailing all that you observed back to the secret shopping company that you took your assignment from and wait to collect your check.
So why aren’t more people secret shopping the answer to that is simple. They don’t know how. Like everything else in life a person at least needs an example of how to do something correctly before they themselves can do it efficiently. If your never taught what to look for when you walk inside of a store on a secret shopper assignment then how do you know what write down on your notepad? Sure the company will tell you what they want but they usually only give out brief descriptions. Because they know that if you mess up and miss a detail they can take the rest of your valuable report and use it to improve and make there business more profitable without paying you a dime.
Then there’s the question of where to get secret shopper jobs from. You can find multiple websites with people advertising/selling supposed list of hundreds of legitimate secret shopping companies but the truth of the matter is. There aren’t many real secret shopper companies out there. Most of the shopping companies that you will find on those sign up sites are outdated or only offer three to five shopping assignments. And there’s only so many times you can walk in a store with the same clerk or cashier working there and play the incognito role.
What you need is a guide to becoming a secret shopper. Something that will show you the ins and outs of the secret shopping business so that you can start getting your piece of the pie. And you also need a list of legitimate high paying constantly updated companies. That way you don’t have to search around wasting your time and money. In my book “How To Become A Mystery Shopper Guide” I give you all of that and more. And I even show you how to write a good mystery shopper report so that you don’t waste your time “working” for nothing.
For more information visit http://www.howtobecomeamysteryshopperguide.com/
About the writer: I enjoy writing and building businesses.
