Introducing Franchise Direct’s new Starting A Franchising video, an innovative look at owning a franchised business.
Not only does this brand-new video provide a real insight into three innovative business concepts, but it is one of the most informative explanations of franchising you’ll find online.
Host Catherine Dyer takes viewers on a tour of a number of of growing franchises in this video. Franchise Direct has produced a number of excellent franchise videos in depth, but the ‘Starting A Franchising’ video is a really excellent resource on the industry.
The video begins with a detailed discussion on franchising with the president of the IFA, Stephen J. Caldeira. In his two-year stint as the head of franchising’s largest advocacy body, Caldiera has watched over the continued expansion of the industry. “There’s a reason why franchising has grown by over 40% in the last ten years,” he says. “It’s because it works. For any aspiring entrepreneur looking at franchising, there’s a long history of success.”
But this video is more than a basic franchise tutorial. Dyer also speaks with real-life franchisees and franchisors. She visits the offices of three up-and-coming franchise brands: Alloy Wheel Repair Specialists, JAN-PRO and CareMinders. You get to meet Jake Hendricks, an Alloy Wheel Repair Specialists franchisee who purchased his franchise after deciding to go out on his own in business. You’re also introduced to Brad Rush, president of Jan-Pro of Atlanta, who explains what it’s like to own a commercial cleaning franchise, as well as Gary Kneller, president of CareMinders Home Care, who discusses the booming home-care industry.
This video takes you deeper into franchising than the vast majority of text articles on the industry that you’ll find online. You’ll get statistics on three blue-chip franchise sectors, insight into three innovative franchise brands and learn exactly what it takes to own run your franchised business. This video is a must-watch for any entrepreneur. It makes the route to franchising as Direct as possible.
Americans love their things, but after the Great Recession of 2008, there’s a growing sense that consumers are holding onto their goods for longer. And that means more potential profits for those working in franchising, particularly in the automotive and the home services sectors.
The growing shift towards longevity in consumer demand was profiled in the New York Times recently in a fascinating article. The uncertain economic times have made Americans thriftier. There’s no doubt about that. And whether it repairing a pair of ripped jeans or taking the car into the shop for a big repair job, people, generally-speaking, want more life out of the things they buy.
Now, look, there’s not a whole of science to this story. It’s a feature story based on one reporter’s hunches and instincts. That said, I think there’s a kernel of truth at the heart of this story that we’ve been seeing trickling down to the franchise sector. We know, for instance, that automotive aftermarket has been booming in recent years as people look for more life in their car. We’re starting to see a noticeable improvement in the home services franchise sector. The problems with the banking industry have made moving house quite difficult for many people and they’re choosing to remodel their kitchens, say, rather than purchase new ones.
The story quotes an academic who says that this trend in American shopping won’t last forever, but in the mean time, this story offers further proof that a franchise that specializes in repairs or remodeling has a strong chance of success.
Automotive franchises have been on our minds a lot these days.
This is partly due to the fact that new automotive franchises have joined the Franchise Direct directory, companies like Creative Colors International. The months after the recession were, in a counter-intuitive way, a great time for automotive franchises, as our Automotive Report detailed. Essentially, drivers were holding onto their cars longer and thus became more reliant on automotive franchises. But where does the future of the industry lie?
We got a sense of one new direction for automotive franchises after reading a recent article in Fast Company magazine. The story was a profile of Interstate Batteries. The company has strong roots with NASCAR and auto racing. But they now find themselves at the forefront of the rechargeable car battery industry. With the green revolution roaring into gear, rechargeable batteries are likely to play an essential role in keeping cars on the road. Interstate may be the retail vehicle that can drive this $50 billion industry forward.
But it’s not just renewable car batteries that Interstate expect to sell. It’s “every battery for every need” as their slogan state. Fast Company report that they intend to be the “Radio Shack of renewables”. CEO Carlos Sepulveda told the magazine that his company will be able to supply rechargeable batteries for nearly any need.
“If it’s solar panels, we can have relationships with manufacturers for parts, for warranties, and for servicing,” he told them. “We can do the same thing for hybrid vehicles.”
Inevitably other businesses will follow suit and inevitably some entrepreneur will look to franchise this exciting green market. For automotive franchises, this might mean having one foot in the green industry, while having another in the battery market.
So readers, are you ready for the next genre of franchise: the battery franchise?
Wall Street firms may be enjoying strong profits at the moment, but financial experts continue to fear a dreaded ‘double-dip’ recession. As anxiety about the economy grows, it’s informative to get a look at how franchises are faring in the real economy.
Buffalo, New York is about real as America gets. It’s a blue-collar town looking for ways to emerge out of America’s industrial past. According to the Buffalo News, the local economy around the Niagara region may be stuttering, but franchises continue to invest in the area.
Among the expanding companies is AAMCO, which plans to open four additional auto service centers in the area in the next three to five years. Snap Fitness wants to grow from its six area locations to about 20. Pump It Up, which hosts children’s parties and other events, wants to open its first area location, and Cartridge World plans to add several more stores.
What a fascinating development. As the story acknowledges, Buffalo’s traditional means of economic growth is slow but steady. The franchise expansion bucks this trend completely.
The story also offers an introduction to the franchise industry, which would be helpful for people to the trade. For those of us who follow franchising closely, we can assume that similar growth is taking place in towns and small cities across America.
The bad news from Detroit was once constant. But thanks to Washington’s help, it seems that the US automotive industry will at worst keep its head above water, and most likely, grow.
It’s still a good time to be investing in the automotive franchise market, as our automotive franchise report spelled out. It’s also interesting to see what some franchises are doing to attract a wider market. US Today recently profiled Rent-A-Wreck’s brand restructuring. Once the go-to destination for Americans looking for cheap cars to rent, the company is trying to put some polish on its image, and consumers can now rent some of the best cars in the country there.
Rent-A-Wreck, which is now trying to compete with the likes of Avis and Hertz, has shifted its advertising targets away from the phonebook and towards the internet. After some reluctance from franchisees, the plan seems to making some headway.
Larry Kirmsee, a Rent-A-Wreck franchisee since 1979 and a self-described “car guy,” says he thought he knew about everything he needed to know about the rental business, and that included avoiding the Web.
“Our business has always been about the phone book,” he says. “If you were at the front page of the phone book, you were getting most of the calls.”
Now he’s embraced the Web.
“I actually think we could do more,” he says.
One interesting debate the franchise faces regards its name. Should a car rental franchise that no longer rents wrecks be called Rent-A-Wreck?
Everyone seems to think so. This franchise may be targeting a wealthier clientele and a more diverse market, but there’s nothing like a clever name.
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