A great franchise business plan has many uses. Perhaps you will need financing from a bank.
Perhaps you will want to convince a reluctant landlord that you are
qualified, and very capable of of making the business a success.
Perhaps you will need to lease equipment, and need the franchise
business plan to get a better rate.
These are all very valid reasons.
For those seeking SBA financing for their franchise, be sure to check out the companies that have been certified by SBA in advance. There are lots to choose
from. When I checked recently, I discovered more than a hundred,
with tires and pizza and printers and more. Getting loans to finance any of the pre-certified franchise opportunities makes life a lot easier.
Find the whole list on the SBA
Franchise Registry site.
After that, follow the general guidelines in the web site for creating
your franchise business plan.
THE STRONGEST ADVANTAGE TO YOUR FRANCHISE
BUSINESS PLAN
The franchisor will likely offer scads of
marketing information, statistics on average return per square foot,
product costs as percentage of sales, and lots of stuff that most of us
have never heard of. Take it all. Digest every single bit that
you can. When you walk in to see your banker, you will then be very
prepared to discuss this business intelligently.
THE BEST WAY TO SUCCEED IN YOUR FRANCHISE
BUSINESS PROPOSAL
As with all businesses, go as far as you
can. If you can get architectural drawings for your specific site to
put into your franchise business plan, great. If not, use the
generic ones. Either way, make use of the thousands upon thousands
of dollars the franchisor has already spent in marketing development.
And one real tip for franchisees:
Apprentice yourself out to a non-competing location. Learn
absolutely everything you can about the business before you commit.
You're going to be with these folks a long time, so make it a good match.
TOP MARKETING AND DEMOGRAPHIC STATS
BizMiner is your top source for local demographics and
industry trends, even better than what you get from the franchise company.
In BizMiner, search for the industry that you will be in.
There are two standard reports for each industry: Industry
Financials and Marketing Research. Get them both. The time and
effort that they will save far surpass the modest cost.
DEFINING YOUR MARKET
Most franchise businesses are locally based -- the corner donut shop,
the local printer. That may well be the case in your situation.
If it is, look to several sources for demographic information to tie down
your potential market:
COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENTS. Most have volumes of information
on who is building where, what is happening, where new road are being
built. It is often information overload. Finding a helpful
person in the Department who can guide you through the morass, and maybe
clue you into things that haven't been announced yet, is absolutely
invaluable.
SHOPPING CENTER MANAGEMENT. They will give you lots of
information too. But their information is geared to selling you on
going into their mall. Get the story, but be a bit leery of using
this information in your franchise business plan.
CENSUS REPORTS. These are accurate, but may be dated.
BIZMINER. May be your best source. BizMiner doesn't have
reports for all areas, but if your area is one of the included ones, do
use it.
MAKING YOUR FRANCHISE BUSINESS PLAN STAND OUT
You've got a real advantage going into a banker with a franchise
business proposal: Most franchises succeed. And bankers know
that. Franchisors don't want failure. It's bad for business.
So go in with the full support of the franchise behind you.
- Use their logo.
- Promote their product.
- Detail everything that the franchisor has done to help you
identify your location and your specific business, and there's
probably a lot.
- Show advertising drafts with their logo prominent.
- Include the franchise application as an attachment. They
probably asked you for your life history. Fine. Let the
banker know you've been investigated already.
Getting approved by the franchisor is often the hard part. Once
you've got that in hand, go into your bank with full confidence of
success.
TO GET YOU ON YOUR WAY EVEN FASTER ...
 |
Get a real head start with your 7-Step Business
Plan for Franchises. The templates are in MS Word and Excel,
two programs you already know, so it couldn't be easier.
Give yourself every advantage in your negotiations.
Click on the book cover
for more information |
