LPCW Offerring Franchises!

A Franchise that Celebrates Children and the Arts!

Filling the Gap
Early exposure to dance and theatre can have lasting benefits, including acquiring social and physical skills that will help children throughout their lives. Yet, dance professional Daune Pitman noticed two disturbing trends in dance classes for young children: either the little ones were being taught strict ballet, which was beyond their physical capabilities, or the classes were treated as playtime.
Seeking to establish a meaningful program, Daune developed Little People’s Creative Workshop (LPCW). LPCW classes are age-appropriate and taught by trained professionals. They are largely held in daycare centers and preschools, which puts them within reach of children who may not otherwise be able to take them.
Established in 1991, Little People’s Creative Workshop is now the largest organization teaching dance to children in the U.S. We’re augmenting our steady growth with expansion, via franchising. Our turnkey franchise program provides all you need to establish and grow a home-based business with multiple growth avenues!

How to Franchise Your Business?

How to Franchise Your Business?
Tom DuFore, Executive Vice President at Francorp
Francorp – 1000 Words
10/22/2008
Revised/Edited on 3/6/2009
How to franchise? This is a question that is often asked by many small businesses of all kinds throughout the world. When looking into how to franchise a business there are a number of factors that need to be considered prior to franchising. First we need to further understand what a franchise is and then if our business has the ability to franchise. If after your franchise analysis you determine that your company is capable to franchise then the next steps are to decide whether or not to move forward with franchising and then how do you do it. Let’s take each of these one at a time.
What is a franchise
Franchising is governed by the Federal Trade Commission and according to the FTC Rule 436 a franchise is, “A method of doing business by which a franchisee is granted the right to engage in the business of offering, selling or distributing goods or services under a marketing plan or system prescribed in substantial part by a franchisor and which is substantially associated with the franchisor’s trademark, name, logo or advertising.”
Basically this means that if someone pays you a fee, upfront and/or ongoing for the use of your business name and your business system you most likely fall into the category of being a franchise. If that is the case you will need to comply with the federal franchise law which states you need to have a Uniform Franchise Disclosure Document in place. Please note that there are 23 states that require some form of additional franchise compliance beyond just the federal franchise regulations.
Are You Franchiseable?
To asses if your company can be franchised in the first place there are five criteria to use as general guidelines in assessing the feasibility of your business as a franchise. As always, these criteria are not perfect and may not always be accurate, but they are typically on point. As we always recommend you would do yourself a favor by speaking with a franchise consultant and other professionals regarding this issue. The five criteria are:
1. Do you provide a decent product or service to your customers?
2. Do you have a great system in place to run your operation by? This means the operations, marketing, management, etc.
3. Can you teach someone in a relatively short amount of time, say 1-4 months, how to run the business? Obviously the timeframes will vary based on the complexity of the business model, but the main focus is if you can teach someone.
4. Does your business have a market nationally? Even if you don’t go nationally or intend to do so today, you very well may change your mind five years from now.
5. Can you provide a 15% return on your franchisees initial cash investment and provide them the ability take a manager’s salary if they are an owner/operator?
Do You Want to Franchise?
One of the most important steps components to the entire process is to take a look at you in the mirror and ask, “What do I want to be when I grow up?” What is your is your dream, your aspiration, as a business person? Do you want to be an owner/operator running your one or two unit business for the rest of your life? Or, do you want to become the CEO of a regional, national, or international company? The decision isn’t always easy, nor is it to be taken lightly. This is why seeking proper guidance from a franchise consultant could prove to be useful.
Remember that getting into the franchise industry is a completely new business. You are no longer selling burgers, selling insurance, or competing with 10 other local companies for the same customer that is going to spend maybe $30 or $40. Your customer in the franchising business is going to quit their job, pay around $500,000 for a franchise (including a franchise fee, working capital, equipment, leasehold improvements, etc), and run a franchise. You no longer are in need of having hundreds of customers walk in your operation every day, week, or month. You now need to find just one, two, or three people to buy your franchise each month.
How to Franchise Your Business
So we are finally here, the point of no return. You have concluded from the previous topics that franchising is for your company and it is something that you want to do. Well, in order to franchise your company you are going to need to have a lot of pieces in place in order to make it work. These pieces include a well written franchise business plan, thorough research, legal documents to comply with the franchise laws, an operations manual, a thorough franchise marketing plan, a franchise brochure, and you will need to know how to market, sell, and grow a franchise company. Each and every one of these components is vital and important for you to have done by experts in the franchise field. Subcontracting this out to the lowest bidder or to other folks that outsource the project does not work well in setting up your franchise program the right way. You will want to work with experts that have a turn-key franchise program and that have a track record of success. Just like your franchisees will want to see that you have a good operation, you should look for the same from the franchise people you work with.
One of the most common mistakes business owners make when looking into how to franchise is contacting their local business attorney to have them draft the Uniform Franchise Disclosure Document. While your business lawyer has been good to you, chances are that they do not specialize in franchise law. The other problem this creates is that you will receive a questionnaire from your lawyer asking you what your franchise fee should be, your royalty, territory issues, demographics, initial training, ongoing support, which of franchise structures do you intend to offer, and so on. The point is that legal documents merely DEFINE your franchise program and do not DRIVE it. The business decisions that are made in the franchise business plan are the keys to your success. It is here that the future success of your franchise program can be made or broken. Having great advice at this stage of the game is critical to making your franchise work. This is an area that we at Francorp focus on intently and is one of the main reasons why an average client of ours will sell 33 franchises in their first 3 years of operation as a franchise company.
There are many ways to get the work done that is needed to get into the franchising business, however, this is something that has to be done right the first time! If you make a bad judgment call on your royalty or territory size, your franchise program could very quickly be in jeopardy. This is a brand new business you are looking into and you owe it to yourself to research and find out as much as you can prior to moving forward with franchising. Take the time to make a decision from an informed perspective and be sure to truthfully answer the question, “What do I want to be when I grow up?”
For more information on how to franchise your business you can download a free book called, “Franchising Your Business,” by Don Boroian and Patrick Callaway at www.francorp.com.


For 32 years, Francorp has been the industry leader in the franchise development and consulting industry. We have a unique approach that remains unmatched by any other firm in the world. We have assembled a team of experts whose talents are coordinated seamlessly to create customized materials that fit the specific needs of our clients. Successful systems create successful franchises, and our unique proven method maximizes your chances of success and minimizes costly mistakes. Francorp will handle your program development through your strategic planning, franchise agreement, franchise offering circular, state registrations and filing, marketing plan, internet marketing, operations manual, sales training and management training, all under one roof.

How To Franchise a Sales Organization

How to Franchise a Sales Organization.
Franchising is a unique entity. It is regarded as an industry, but is defined as a method of distribution. Most of franchising is associated with food oriented businesses, you know, the ones that line every street corner and you probably bought lunch from the other day. But franchising as permeated all industries today, we now see franchise companies in all industries that are successfully duplicating themselves across the country and around the world. Franchising is a dynamic, aggressive way to grow a business, there is no question about that. But what is the process? How do you franchise a business that typically is not associated with franchising?
In this article I will discuss How to Franchise a Sales organization and the process involved. Francorp is the world’s largest and most experienced franchise development and consulting firm. The company has franchised over 2,000 different businesses in it’s 33 year history. So needless to say I hear from plenty of business owners, many of which have products or services that they wish to sell more of to a larger customer base. Franchising can be a way to do this effectively and control the quality and effectiveness of the sales team. When discussing How to Franchise a Sales Team it is important to understand that franchising is a controlled mode of growth. The franchisor can control the quality, consistency and overall brand image of the company if a franchise system is managed correctly.
So, How to Franchise a Sales Team begins with setting the system. As a sales oriented franchisor your most valued asset is the sales system. The process you use to sell the product or service. That needs to be clearly defined, documented and tested. Once that system is in place, the marketing process makes sense, scripts have been put together, sales call procedures have been mapped, technology has been identified and all of the above is on paper and ready to go, then the franchise is ready. A Franchise system is only as strong as the system that is replicated through it. So if you’ve ever heard of the saying, “Garbage in, Garbage out, or GIGO”, that would apply here when considering How to Franchise a sales territory.
An interesting misconception about franchising is that the success depends on the quality of the product or service more than the surrounding business model. In fact, most franchise systems don’t have overly astounding products to offer, but the good ones always have great business models and ways of doing business. The product obviously should be a good one, but what will make a Sales Oriented franchise successful is the process to market the offer and close the deal.
The key for How to Franchise a sales business to think about how to replicate the sale, the pitch, the marketing, the lead generation all the way to the payment. That is where the secret lies. Many great sales organizations have been built through franchise systems, it is worth investigating if you are looking to sell something across larger territories or areas.

How to Franchise in the Middle East

Franchise demand in UAE to expand
Armina Ligaya

Last Updated: March 02. 2009 10:12PM UAE / March 2. 2009 6:12PM GMT
Customers line up at Popeye's, a fast food outlets. Experts say franchising is likely to expand this year as people seek alternative forms of income. Jaime Puebla / The National
DUBAI // The franchising industry in the UAE will continue to grow in the coming year as regional investors shift away from property and financial markets, and out-of-work executives seek new forms of employment, industry insiders say.

“The potential for growth is there,” said Matthew Shay, president and chief executive of the International Franchise Association, on the sidelines of the Franchise Middle East Exhibition in Dubai. “From what we’re hearing from our members, [the UAE] is still a positive climate.”

The US market, valued at US$1 trillion (Dh3.67tn), was forecasted to see declines of 1 to 2 per cent in 2009, according to a study conducted by the IFA and Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Mr Shay said.

However, he expects the UAE market to have a brighter outlook due to relatively easier access to credit and its role as the gateway to the region. Mr Shay estimates the UAE franchising industry, valued at about $30 billion, will grow between 5 and 8 per cent.

“This is one of those places that you can’t skip; you have to do business here,” he said.

Local investors are also looking to get into the franchising game as the traditional investment avenues such as property and the financial markets are less stable, said Imad Charafeddine, managing partner of the UAE branch of Francorp, a franchise consultant.

He said franchise inquiries have increased by 20 per cent in the past two months.

It is a similar pattern at the Kuwait-based Middle East Franchising consultancy, which has seen a 25 per cent jump in inquiries, according to its deputy chief executive, Barrak Al Homaisi.

“A lot of people who have lost their jobs and have a good amount of savings are looking to start their own business,” he said.

Mr Shay said typically in economic downturns, as unemployment rates go up, more people look to start their own business, and franchises are an easy option. However, he said recent studies in the US show access to financing will drop by 30 per cent in the next year.

“This [crisis] is an opportunity for franchises, but the rub is lack of access to credit.”

Mr Charafeddine said this is less of a problem in the UAE because Emiratis can secure funds from Government agencies and expatriates with a business background can still be granted start-up funds.

In the past five years, the UAE industry has grown by about 25 per cent to roughly 400 franchising systems, said Sary Hamway, the Dubai-based chief executive of FranExcel, a franchise consultancy that organised the World Franchise Forum alongside FME.

Franchise inquiries have gone up, he said, but investors were more hesitant to buy.

“It will continue to grow,” he said. “Retail franchises are good because it is medium-risk, and medium investment.”

Darren Smith, manager of retail and marketing support with Emarat’s coffee chain Bakeria, said the tightening credit markets have also helped to bring down the cost of rent. Outside of the major city centres, some rents have gone down from Dh350 a square foot to Dh150, he said.

“Now, suddenly, you’re hearing a word you haven’t heard before from landlords: negotiate.”

Global brands are now clamouring to enter the region to access the strong demand for international food brands, said Steve Rothenstein, the international operations manager for tasti D-lite, a US chain of low-fat yogurt stores.

“In the UAE, the people like their food brands from around the world,” he said. “It’s a great area to do business — friendly, ease of entry, and they know what they’re doing here in terms of infrastructure.”

Francorp to Present at the New York Restaurant Show on How to Franchise

Francorp International Consulting firm to present on franchising and how to franchise at the New York International Foodservice Show. Francorp works closely with the New York Foodservice show to educate and assist restaurant owners and business owners in the evaluation of franchising as an expansion option.

Several Francorp clients and former clients will also be taking part in the show including Uno Chicago Grill, Buffalo Wild Wings and McDonald's . Francorp Executive Vice President Thomas DuFore will be handling the workshops and presentations during the week in New York.

Francorp is headquartered in Chicago, IL but operates out of 22 offices globally and does work for franchise companies in over 40 countries around the world.

Below are the details and featured events during the show. For more information on Francorp and Francorp's development work visit the corporate site, www.francorp.com.

Intl. Foodservice Show of NY opens today
01 Mar 2009
The International Restaurant & Foodservice Show of New York starts today at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City. The show runs March 1-3 and features National Restaurant Association chairman Michael Kaufman as the keynote speaker. Kaufman's address, America's Restaurants - Serving our Nation, will be held at 1 p.m.

Educational sessions for the day include:
"Menu Targeting Trends: See what Generation Y and the Millenials are Eating Before they Hit Your Market," presented by Rob Harison, a chef with Princeton University Dining Services - 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
"Fast Casual - Changing the Way America Eats," a panel discussion hosted by Linda Duke, CEO of Duke Marketing. Panelists include Paul Barron, publisher of Fast Casual magazine; Ed Frechette, senior vice president of Au Bon Pain; Louis Basille, CEO of Wildflower Bread Company; and James Strobino, SVP, new concept development, Uno Chicago Grill - 2:30 p.m. - 4 p.m.
"6 Reasons Why You Should Franchise Your Restaurant," presented by Tom Dufore, executive vice president, Francorp - 3:30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Co-located with this year's event is the New York Pizza Showcase. The showcase features performances by the U.S. Pizza Team and the Hall of Fame Award presentation. Dom DeMarco of Di Fara's Pizza and chef Santo Bruno of Marsal & Sons are recipients of this year's awards.

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