Should I Buy a Franchise?

In some ways, franchise owners have the best of both worlds. They have the freedom, authority, and sense of accomplishment that comes with owning their own businesses with a support system from other franchise owners from the same company and a starting point—they aren’t building it from scratch.  There are a few good reasons to own a franchise, as well as some risks involved. If you’re considering buying a franchise, these points may help you tip the scale to see if it is right for you.

If you want to work for yourself and avoid the tough job market, buying a franchise can help you do that. However, you will have to deal with the corporate headquarters’ regulations and restriction. A really headstrong owner may want to incorporate unique ideas that are not part of the business model and will get rejected.  People who are excited about hard work will enjoy owning a franchise. The less well-known the brand is in the area, the more work you will have to do to increase its popularity. You need to be willing to put time and energy into the business while following the franchisor’s system to the letter. If you are considering owning multiple small businesses or you want to be a business owner with a lower risk, buying a franchise is a good place to start. The business model is tried and true and the corporate leaders will offer training and support you won’t get with a business completely your own.

Now let’s look at the reasons buying a franchise may not be a good idea. First of all, it is expensive. If you don’t have wealth built up or stellar credit so you can get a business loan, buying a franchise is next to impossible. Even with a loan, you may find you need more money than you thought at the beginning. That could mean taking out another loan or borrowing against your home. Franchise costs can range from $15,000 to up to $2 million depending on the complexity and total size of the franchisor.  Secondly, the risk is smaller, but still there. If your franchise doesn’t succeed and you need to close before the end of your contract, you can end up paying fees in the tens of thousands of dollars for breaking the contract.

After considering all these factors and more that apply to your individual situation, buying a franchise can be an adventure or a disaster. It’s important to do your research, make an informed decision, and decide when the time is right to buy a franchise.

Don’t Make Them Tell You a Thousand Times

It’s safe to say we’ve all been in a customer service situation where we wondered if our issue was ever going to get resolved. You may have had multiple concerns simultaneously or simply had to explain your concern one way and then explain it again…and again.

Recently, I was listening to a phone conversation my dad was having about a customer service issue in which he had one simple request and one simple question. They were not unreasonable and certainly sounded like things the company should have dealt with and taken care of on a daily basis. Despite his patience, I listened to him repeat the same two statements at least five times in the same phone call. He was transferred from person to person, each time having to start over and express in detail why he was calling and what he needed. He was on the phone for almost 45 minutes. I started thinking: There has to be a more efficient way of resolving this issue. Why isn’t he off the phone yet? My dad concluded the conversation fairly confident the problem would not happen again, but not 100% sure.

So why did it take the company so many tries to fulfill a simple request? Of course, not every associate will know how to handle every situation, but there should be a streamlined system in place to get customers to the right person in a matter of minutes. This company’s customer service procedures were clearly disorganized—make sure yours won’t be with a few easy tips.

First, associates need to be prepared for various customer service scenarios. My dad was very polite, but not everyone will be. Employees need to learn how to listen to the problem, remain calm, acknowledge the mistake, and if needed, ask for help. If they take every disgruntled attitude personally, they will never survive in their position. If the first person didn’t know what to do, he should have known who to put on the line to take care of the issue and that should have been the end of it. Second, policies and procedures for daily operations and simple requests should not only be taught in training to each employee, but also available in writing for quick learning on the fly. When ideas for improvement come about, they should be implemented as soon as possible.  Finally, no matter what the problem is, don’t make the customer repeat themselves a thousand times to explain the problem to several different people. If you are the first person they contact, listen carefully and take notes if needed so that if someone else (or more than one person) needs to step in, you can be the one to reiterate their request, not them. At the very least, you can tell them you will call them back within the hour if more time is needed to resolve the problem. This will save the company and the customer time and hopefully, keep them from getting frustrated. Make it happen.

© 2014 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

 

 

Stay in Your Running Shoes: Go the Extra Mile for Customers

The saying may be cliché, but actually “going the extra mile” for a customer in any industry remains important and a key aspect for making your company memorable.  I’m sure you’ve got some ideas in your bag already, but if you’re looking to add more or gain some insight, here are five things you can do to truly let your customers know you care about their needs. So lace up your running shoes and take in these tips.

 Follow up, and follow up some more. The little things really do matter in small business, so no matter if the correspondence is regarding a major crisis or a simple compliment, return phone calls and emails promptly, always. If something they request seems unclear or you haven’t heard back in a while, send them a follow up message or give them a call. It is better to over-follow up and then give them space than to not follow up and risk wasting everyone’s time.

Every so often, provide your customers (especially regular ones) with a promotional gift like a mug, letter opener, mouse pad, or something else small that has your logo and contact information on it. (Pens are very common, but why not think outside the box a little?) Customized promotional products are easy to obtain and purchase. Another thing to do is to provide a venue for giving feedback. It can be as simple as a comments form on your site for testimonials and questions or you can do this on social media pages with status updates. Simply asking for feedback on your emails or stationary can work too.

This next one is especially important: under-promise and over-deliver. This helps you develop a reliable reputation and will ensure you don’t make promises you can’t keep.  It’s a good idea to frequently assess your customer base and get reacquainted with who is a new customer and who is no longer a customer. For those in the second category, send out some type of inquiry about why. Finally, if your business is one where people come into a physical location, greet them within 30 seconds. Even if you’re busy, a simple “Hello” will acknowledge them and you can continue talking to them when you are finished with the task at hand. Make it happen!

© 2013 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

Be Flexible with Lunch

Some positions have scheduled breaks for whatever reason, so you have no choice about when you take your lunch or where. But if you’re fortunate enough to work in an environment where you can choose when you take your lunch break, be flexible with it. Here’s why.

Say you work 9am to 5:30pm and you prefer to take your lunch every day at 12:30. There’s nothing wrong with that—most people benefit from a routine. However, if you are working on an important task at 12:15 and you think it might take you a half hour or forty five minutes to finish it, consider completing the work and then taking your lunch at 12:45 or 1:00. Don’t always stop what you’re doing to take your lunch break at exactly the same time. You should put your responsibilities before your appetite and be willing to have your lunch a little later than usual to get something important done. This shows flexibility and commitment. Always stopping the middle of something to take a break sends the message that the work is inconvenient to you and should be done in your timeframe, not the company’s. That doesn’t mean you have to wait two hours to eat because a frustrating task is taking longer than you expected. In that case, a break may help your concentration. But every now and then, switch it up when it will be efficient for your workload.

Another way to be flexible with lunch is not always eating at your desk by yourself. Say yes to an invitation to grab sandwiches with a coworker (or better yet, a supervisor), sit next to someone in the lunch room, or offer to buy someone else lunch every now and then. Participate in company-wide picnics and free social lunches. It will show everyone you are a team player and value the company of those you work with. Make it happen!

© 2013 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

Writing Effective Business Contracts

 As small business owner, you will have to write several contracts over the course of your career. Depending on the nature of your business, you may have contractors that do freelance work for the company or work to support the company, such as renovation. Even regular full and part time employees may need to have a contract. Keep in mind these things when writing or re-writing different types of contracts.

Create a contract for any type of business agreement. Use simple language that is professional, but easy for anyone to understand. If the language is too full of jargon, people likely won’t read the contract completely which can cause problems down the road. Always specify payment agreements, whether its salary you are paying to an employee or a set fee on a per-project basis. If you hire on a temp-to-hire basis, make the terms clear that the position may or may not become permanent and when it will end if it is temporary. Explain how you will distribute funds (weekly, monthly, etc). Always include your contact information so there is no excuse for someone not to contact you with questions or problems. You should state all the services you expect to be provided and in the case of construction or installation services, who is responsible repairing any damages that may occur. Remember that state laws vary and be sure to research any that apply to your company. Include a mediation clause in case of a dispute, define acceptable termination terms, and remember that an oral contract can be binding as well. Finally, in all contracts, detail is very important. State explicit examples and specific conditions as often as you can.

You may be wondering if an employee handbook is a contract. Well, yes and no. As a whole, it is not considered a legal contract; however, there may be parts of the handbook that contain legal issues that are outlined in a manner that constitutes a contract. If you don’t have one, there are reasons that it’s a good idea to implement one. You can cover all your policies on attendance, dress code, vacations and leaves. It can serve as a legal defense for the employer in situations where an employee feels they have been wrongly terminated. You can address what corrective actions you will take, how an employee should handle a complaint, terms for offering raises, and safety policies as they apply. In some cases, such as businesses with ten or fewer employees, an offer letter and confidentiality agreement may suffice.

Writing contracts is not to be taken lightly. They can make the difference between liability and exemption. Take care to write them correctly. Make it happen!

© 2012 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

When to Talk Salary with Potential Employers

As a small business owner, the extensive hiring process begins with posting a job opening, then reading through several cover letters and resumes, setting up and going through interviews, and finally selecting the perfect candidate. This can be a lengthy and draining part of your job and throughout this time, the position’s salary is always on your mind. It’s likely to come up several times before the position is filled. So you may be wondering: When is the best time to reveal the salary? Should you list it in the job posting? Wait until the face-to-face interview? Or until a job offer is made? Should you have one set number or should you choose a range of hourly or yearly rates?  This all depends on your type of business and the position itself, but here is research had to say.

If you post the salary in the job posting, people may be willing to settle for a lower salary if they believe it is the right job for them. But some applicants won’t want to waste time applying for a job with too low pay. If it’s below what they’re looking for, they would want to leave when a better paying offer comes along, so why bother applying? On the other hand, people with less experience than you need will see a high salary rate and apply for the job anyway, just in case you will choose them. They may exaggerate their skill set and you could end up with someone who isn’t qualified. Some employers ask for salary requirements on the application to reduce the number of candidates by finding out the applicant’s expectations and experience. But asking for salary history may scare away applicants because they will feel you will offer them the lowest amount possible based on their previous positions. (There is a big difference between salary requirements and salary history). If you don’t post the salary this early on, it will give you more flexibility in the range of candidates. You will also avoid showing up in salary survey websites and being compared to your competitors.  When the salary isn’t revealed in the posting, some applicants have no problem sending a resume to that company, while others feel they don’t want to waste time filling out long applications and assessments if the salary turns out to be too low.

Also remember that if you post the salary in the job listing, the previous person who held that position may feel cheated if you post a higher salary for the same work they did. You may be upgrading this position to be more advanced, but they won’t know that, and when they find out about this, it could negatively affect your company.

Revealing the salary in the interview has advantages and disadvantages. It might be good to do t the experience level of the candidate is too high for the amount you can offer and you want to find out if they are willing to accept a lower amount.. You may decide you want to tell each candidate what the salary will be to gage their reactions, consider their negotiations, and further narrow down the pool of candidates. But you may also decide to let only the candidate you are sure you will hire know the salary so you can adjust it according to their skill set.

Waiting until a job offer has been made to reveal the salary is a risk that may or not be worth it. If the person chosen negotiates with you, you can decide to adjust the salary accordingly, and most applicants won’t do this until they have received a firm offer. However, keep in mind that just because their past salary was a certain amount doesn’t mean they are looking for a range anywhere near that-- especially true of recent college graduates. They invested a great deal of money in their education, so they should receive some of that investment back for their hard work. (They need to pay off that investment after all). You should also account for geographic areas and be open to a few different options.

Ultimately, it’s up to you to decide when and how to reveal salaries for open positions. But you should have insight into the topic to help you make better informed decisions. Make it happen!

Choosing the Location for Your Business

                You’ve probably heard the expression sometime in your life-location, location, location. When is that more true than when choosing where to place your business? The choice of location for your business can make the difference between high sales and no sales. Taking the time to carefully choose the physical place for your business can make a huge difference.

Think about the people that live around the place your business will be. Are there a lot of young couples, retired people or middle-aged people with kids? Does your type of business depend on one of those groups more than the others or are you looking for a combination of all of them? Is the area heavily populated or more spread out? What are the income levels like in the neighborhood? If the products and services you offer are more of a luxury, you may want to think about placing yourself either downtown or in high income suburb. Sometimes, it’s favorable to match the location to the theme. For example, if you have a restaurant with fresh seafood, locating near a body of water or marina makes sense. It’s also a good idea to look at the crime rates in the neighborhood because you want your business to be safe from burglary and vandalism.

You need to know what kind of traffic the location will generate, if you will be easily accessible by car and on foot. It is better to be visible from major roads and highways.. Will your building have a parking lot or street parking? Is it on a bus route? Research has shown that the most successful businesses place themselves in the center of their customer base. If you are as close to your biggest competitor as possible, it will give you the chance to prove to customers that you are a step ahead.

The building itself, of course, has quite a few factors to consider. Is the lease negotiable? Will the size and layout of the building accommodate what you need to do? Are there any repairs to be made? Are the lighting, heating, and cooling systems up to the standards you need? Will there be a bathroom available for your customers? Finally, is the setup for communications such as the phone and internet workable for what you’ll be doing?

Some people may consider the best location for their business to be their home. If you have a mail based business, this could be a good option. If you do choose to stay in your home, be sure you can focus in your casual environment and be flexible around your family. This may mean starting early, taking a long break, and picking up again to work later in the night. Don’t hide the fact that your business is based from home because chances are if it’s working for you, it’s working for your customers. Whether you are choosing a location for your new business or moving your existing business to another location, take your time. Make it happen!

© 2012 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

Business Meeting Etiquette

            No matter the type of office environment you work in—formal dress or casual, customer or data orientated, there are certain unwritten rules for etiquette and behavior on a daily basis. When you’re in a business meeting however, those standards are raised slightly, more so if it is a meeting with people outside of your workplace than if it’s a meeting among staff members. Here are some things people tend to overlook.

For a meeting with a client, you may want to consider dressing up a little more than you usually do. If your workplace dress code is casual, think about wearing khakis and a polo shirt or for women, a satin blouse. Wear loafers or black sneakers or dressy flats. You never know how dressed up the other company’s people will be—they could be in business suits--so making that extra effort shows your professionalism and respect for their business. You are recognizing the significance of the time they took to meet with you. If your company’s dress code is already very professional, take extra care to be sure your hairstyle is polished, your makeup and accessories are not too over the top, and that your shoes are free of scuff marks. Guys, make sure your collar is neat, your tie is straight, and your fingernails are clean. Little details can go a long way, especially with a person you are meeting for the first time.

Show up on time. If the meeting is in your building, stop what you are working on and get situated in the conference room at least five minutes before the scheduled start time. If you have to leave the office, make sure you have clear directions and account for traffic and parking time. Bring a pen and notebook (or laptop) with you in case you need to take notes. If you are in charge of presenting, test your equipment and open your files ahead of time to ensure everything will work correctly.

Don’t chew gum or eat food or candy during the meeting—it can wait. Drinks are ok as long as you’re careful and quiet with them. (However, if food is served at the meeting, then by all means, feel free to partake). Use the restroom before hand and silence your cell phone. Introduce yourself when the opportunity comes and make eye contact with the person in charge of the meeting. Smile and be cheerful and interested (even if you’re really not). Ask questions and address concerns without interrupting anyone. Be sure to tell them it was nice to meet them before you leave. Keeping all these things in mind may not seem like a big deal, but it can make a huge difference. Make it happen!

© 2012 eMarketing 4 Business LLC

Pick Up the Phone!

What is one of the first things you do when want to schedule an appointment somewhere or set up a meeting with a client? You call them! But have you ever called a business and the phone just kept ringing and ringing? Sometimes there may a prompt to leave a voicemail, but then it goes unreturned or the phone rings 15 times and you just give up. No one likes when this happens to them, so don’t do it to other people. Answer your phone!

Of course, that may not always be possible when you’re in the middle of a meeting or out of the building. But when you’re sitting at your desk typing an email or taking inventory in your stockroom and the phone rings, stop what you’re doing and answer it. Email is chosen as the primary method of contact far too often—people still value direct interaction and often this is a faster and more thorough way to accomplish business. Ignoring phone calls can make people frustrated with you and assume you don’t care to get back to them. It can also lead to missed business opportunities, with customers and with other businesses. Besides, what if that phone call was about a customer wanting to change their appointment? Or what if a supplier had a question about your order, but since you didn’t answer, they just made an assumption and went with it? You wouldn’t want to be unprepared or end up with 50 black polo shirts when you needed 50 white ones.

Breaking the habit of ignoring phone calls will save you time, face, and headache. Do the best you can to pick up the phone as much as possible and return calls as soon as possible. Make it happen.


© 2012 eMarketing 4 Business LLC