Today’s blog post is especially geared towards readers in urban areas. The time is running to enroll in the SBA’s e200 program for 2010.
If you’re a small business owner or a franchisor launching an expanding concept out of an inner-city area, the SBA has bold initiative for you. Its Emerging 200 program is seeking out 200 entrepreneurs with businesses that are going places. They’ll provide you with 9 months of intense business training, with 100 hours of classroom time, plus intimate sessions with some of the best business minds out there.
E200 is ideally tailored to entrepreneurs who have built their business up from scratch and could use some expert educational time to help it realize its financial potential. The SBA are rolling out 12 new Native American-centred areas to coincide with the 10 inner city areas they are already targeting.
All in all, eE200 could make that difference between you and your competitors. Especially if you are imagining success with franchising, e200 is a very inviting program.
Small business success is a challenging endeavor, but you are not alone.
For every entrepreneur out there, there are hundreds of small business counselors out there in most big population areas offering advice and insight how to get your business of the ground.
We watched this video on CNN’s Money website and thought it discussed the issues that entrepreneurs face in a clear and concise. There’s also a cameo from Karen Mills, the head of the Small Business Administration.
There are some other small-biz related videos we’d like to recommend as well on that CNN site. As a whole, they make some good viewing for the long holiday weekend.
Everyone here at Franchise Direct would like to this opportunity to wish you and your family a happy and healthy Thanksgiving. We’ve had a lot to be thankful this year and we hope you have as well.
Enjoy the turkey and don’t eat too much it! Check in next week for the best franchise opportunities.
We’re firm believers that you can’t get enough good advice when you’re making the decision to buy a franchise. Many people have different perspectives on the best way to do it, and we’re happy to pass on the soundest wisdom so that you can take it all on board before making that big investment.
Don Saszkowski does a credible job keep on top of the most important issues in franchising over at About.com, and recently he invited Richard Parker, president of the Diomo Center to write a guest post with questions every entrepreneur should ask themselves before buying a franchise.
Here are some of the questions that we thought were the most illuminating:
On the franchise:
- Is your territory protected and for how long and what area?
- Are you required to meet certain annual sales figures and what happens if you don’t?
- Are there any family members working in the business? If so, how much are they paid (usually below market)? What additional expenses will you now incur to replace them?
- What is the failure rate in the system?
On the franchisor:
- Are they willing to finance the purchase?
- If you have to sign a new contract, you need to carefully analyze any issues that could impact your sales and/or profitability. If for example the royalty rate and marketing fund has increased, then you will make less profit. You have to then adjust the numbers the seller has given you to accommodates these ratios.
- Find out which are the best franchises in the system and call/visit with the owners. Ask them what they do best, the advice they would give you, and discuss the store you are considering but never disclose which one it is.
Ask yourself all of these questions. You’ll find more advice in Franchise Direct’s ‘ franchise buying guide.
Consider all of this before investing in a franchise and it’s likely you’ll be buying into a business you can trust.
While the reported calls for a small-business recovery plan were finally heeded last month by the Obama administration, in the aftermath, some financial analysts are asking this interesting question: who needs the federal government’s money anyway?
While the government stalled and stalled in getting relief to small businesses – they came nearly a year after the big Wall Street bailouts – the private sector has been noticeably more vigilant in the last few months in extending a lifeline to small businesses.
Entrepreneur’s Daily Dose blog have stirred this debate after it reported that Chase Bank have said they will loan a cool $4billion dollars to American small businesses. This will go alongside their 4 new small business credit cards which feature interest rates of up to 30%. Warren Buffet and Goldman Sachs have also invested $500million on Community Development Financial Institutions for small-business lending. We know Buffet values the franchising sector. His company Berkshire Hathaway own Dairy Queen, after all.
Now it is still increasingly difficult for small businesses to get money from banks. But there is certain irony here that some of the bailed-out financial institutions are coming to the aid of franchises and small-businesses. But I don’t think anyone is complaining. It is still difficult to access essential capital but it is exciting to see banks prioritizing small businesses.
As the success of franchising has shown over the years, true advances in the business world come from the private sector, not the public zone. There’s a lively debate taking place on the Daily Dose blog on whether franchises and small businesses really need the President’s small business relief. I don’t think anyone will say no to it, but the investment pledges of Chase and others should be celebrated as much, and possibly more than the promises of the federal government.
Loading ...
Your Request List