As signs continue to emerge that the global economy has overcome the worst of the recession, it’s interesting to see the topic of franchising making more and more headlines. We’ve always felt that franchising is the real economic stimulus plan and as the economy seems to be beginning the long journey back to stability, it seems that entrepreneurs are ready to take risks again and are seriously considering franchising.Monday’s Wall Street Journal features a Q&A interview with Britt Schroeter, who runs Dream Maker & Associates LLC and has worked as an executive in franchise systems like Kiddie Academy International Inc. and Decorating Den Systems Inc. Ms Schroeter was asked to give advice to people considering franchising and had this to say about why now is a great time to consider franchising:
There’s been a thinning of the forest. Competitors who are undercapitalized may be going away. People with good credit are getting excellent interest rates now on loans. Cash is starting to flow at a brisker pace. The Small Business Administration will now guarantee up to 90% of each loan
Meanwhile, the Sun Journal of New Bern, North Carolina has a good piece on franchising, quoting IFA figures stating that “400,000 franchised businesses now employ nearly 10 million people”. The story interviews Jack Tetreault, who is a counselor with L-A Score, who talks about how franchising is thriving in his local community.
In our community we have seen the successful expansion of fast food franchises such as Dunkin' Donuts, Tim Hortons and Subway Sandwiches, along with the already-established McDonald's and Burger King.
As these stories show, franchising continues to thrive on the street level and we believe franchising will be something that we'll be reading a lot more of in the coming weeks and months.