By examining the postal operations manual, we can learn a thing or two about how to run a large organization with many small regional offices

The postal operations manual may seem like an odd place to look as a prototype of a great operations guide but it makes sense to look again.  Let’s put aside the jokes the perceptions of “going postal” for a moment and step back and see what this organization has accomplished.  Running almost entirely on the cost of those little stamps you buy, this vast international organization handles a volcano eruption of physical mail each day.  For the most part you never hear of any problems and that is because of a well prepared and enforced postal operations manual.

Most of us think of the post office in terms of the local office we use and the carrier who brings the mail. That is why when you are pondering how a very large franchise operation might run, the postal operations manual could be a classic in how to franchise a business.

Each post office can be seen as a franchise of a much larger organization. And yet from office to office and city to city, there is a uniformity of service and in how postal workers look and perform. That is the result of good management from the top right down to the those humble carriers who avoid your dog each week.  And it is the result of that postal operations manual that could easily be adapted to transform into a franchise operating manual with very few modifications.

Good ideas are in the postal operations manual but its not the perfect franchising template.

Discipline and well defined expectations are part of why the postal operations manual is such a great management tool.  Both of those high minded values would fit in your franchising organization as well.  If you are preparing a franchise operating manual for your business, spell out the expectations in clear English along with the expectation that a strong sense of discipline will be used at the franchise level to enforce uniformity in how your franchises are perceived by the public.

Franchise managers are capable of having that kind of discipline. Franchise managers are often successful small business people with plenty of drive, business savvy and discipline that they bring to you when they filled out that franchise application and paid to own a franchise of your business.  So don’t be afraid to present them with a document that has the same high standards of the postal operations manual.  They can take it.

However, there is some wiggle room in making your franchise operations manual unique.  The commission of the postal service as reflected in the postal operations manual is not the same as the objective of a business franchise operations.  You are out to make money and lots of it.  You are out to take over a market from stiff competition and one way to do that is to foster a corporate culture of innovation mixed with compliance.

These may not be strong values you see in the postal operations manual. If you can take a look at that document, you will see an excellent template for running a huge multi-national franchise operation.  Learn well those lessons from the postal operations manual.  But do not let that template take away the sense of cooperative management, entrepreneurship and innovation that you want in your franchise managers.  After all, nobody is going to “go postal” in your franchise chain. Instead they should pour that energy into making piles and piles of money for you and for their franchise as well.

By utilizing franchise templates, you already have the format and needed content for many of the franchise documents that will make your success possible.

The use of franchise templates is not cheating when you want to get the momentum going fast on franchising your business. The decision to launch out into unknown territory and explore the potential of franchising takes some guts on your part. It would be easy to sit on your duff and be satisfied that your business is thriving and that your business model seems to be making a real dent in your market niche.

To take that innovative business model and kick it to the next level does take the courage that risk takers have. Some risk takers make it big and become very wealthy and others crash and burn. By mining all the help you can get, such as franchise templates, you are tipping the scales of success in your favor.

When you finally cross that line and make that mental jump to “go for it” and put together franchises of your successful business, one of the first steps can also be the one that stops you in your tracks.  Franchising is a legal step that involves the development of a number of documents to be exchanged with potential franchise buyers.

Here is where franchise templates can get you over the hump and help you prepare those documents. Using a franchise template is not cutting corners. It is simply tapping the skills and hard work of others to capture the format and potential content areas of your franchise documents in those franchise templates. Then your experience and wisdom kicks in to turn those franchise templates into unique documents that will make your franchising effort a tremendous success.

A few tips on what to cover in your franchise documents can get you moving quickly on finding franchise partners to invest in your business.

Among the various franchise documents that franchise templates will help you develop are franchise disclosure documents, franchise agreements and your franchise operations manual. Just knowing how others have laid out those documents is a huge help. So along with franchise templates, take a look at a few example franchise agreements that successful franchises have used. Learn what areas of disclosure to cover so that you do not leave anything out.

Your potential franchise buyers need to know what they can expect when they are a full fledged and productive member of your business family. They should understand from your franchise documents the details of the franchise arrangement like the term of the franchise and the financial commitments they must make both up front and on an ongoing month to month. If you can help your future franchise buyers to understand the kind of financing they will need to invest in your franchise and to set up shop to run a money making operation, that alone is worth the help of franchise templates to turn your new franchise owners into money making machines fast.

Along with the financial future this new world of franchising will bring, your future franchisers need to know the rules of how your business operates. They want to know what they must do to be in line with franchise laws and with the operating procedures expected by the organization so they can salute the flag and make their franchise look, smell and act like every other franchise in the chain.

There is great news for you in this area of franchise templates.  There are a number of resources where you can download example franchise templates to get you moving quickly. Don’t hesitate to download various kinds and mix and match what works for you. The only rule you should live by when using franchise templates is that you should see them as a jumping off place to take the baton and run with it.  Make them your own and customize them to your industry, your markets, your customer base and how you do business. If you do that, franchise templates can be just what it takes to help you go for zero to 60 in short order in getting your franchising business on the fast track to lots of success.

While the franchise application form is the starting place for a small business person who may want to buy a franchise, it should only be a small part of the larger process.

It makes sense that you will have a franchise application form that becomes part of the package of forms that will be used to take a potential new franchise owner through the process of qualifying to own a piece of your business. On the surface, it might seem that the franchise application form has a very basic function. It would seem that it is similar to an application for employment that you are using to start evaluating whether an applicant will qualify to buy a franchise from you.  However, there may be another way to view the franchise application form differently that has an eye on the goal of making big money for your business through franchising.

Let’s step back and look at this thing called the franchise application form a different way.  When you decided to franchise your company, that decision was made with the goal of making a ton of money by expanding your business rapidly letting franchisers buy into the organization.  It is a sweet deal. You are able to open dozens, maybe hundreds of new outlets and let the franchise buyer to all the hard work selling your products while you sit back and let the cash roll in. And if that wasn’t sweet enough, you sell the franchise buyer the franchise in the first place for a nice chuck of change so they are giving you money for the right to make you more money.

Taken in that light, the franchise owner is not your employee at all.  He or she is a customer who is buying your product which in this case is a franchise of your business. Instead of seeing the franchise application form as a way to eliminate unqualified employees, see it as the first welcome mat to a new franchise buyer and one that ushers them into the process with warmth, humor and above all, plenty of franchise information.

When a franchise application form is not a franchise application form.

When you use the franchise application form like this, you can gather some basic facts about the franchise buyer but you do not design the form to make the potential franchise buyer feel judged at all. The language and feel of the franchise application form is designed to virtually read like a brochure to sell the idea of buying a franchise from you.

Keep in mind that there are plenty of other franchise documents that are going to be presented to the potential franchise owner.  They will be looking at sample franchise agreements, franchise disclosure documents and franchise operations manuals as well. Instead of putting so much emphasis on information gathering in the franchise application form, get enough information to make contact to sweetheart that potential franchise buyer in grand style.  Then you can use a series of interviews and franchise orientation meetings to gently coax the qualifying information from the potential franchise buyer.

Do not worry as much about disqualifying franchise buyers using a franchise application form early in the relationship.  Instead, put the emphasis on qualifying and bringing into the family as many potential investors as possible.  The process of working through the interviews and other franchise documents will flush out the bad eggs if you put your tests in the process so the buyers do not even know they are being evaluated.  Meanwhile, many more potential franchise buyers will make it through the screening process and be eager to give you their money to buy a franchise from you because you did not make the mistake of alienating them with a hostile or tedious franchise application form.

 

A Subway franchise agreement has become one of the popular routes for a small business person to get moving in franchising and for good reasons.

Not everybody would want to invest in a Subway franchise agreement but it is clear that many thousands of smart entrepreneurs have made that leap. The appeal of getting into business with Subway is not hard to figure out. For one thing, they are one of the most well known restaurants in the country. In the fresh sandwich niche, it could be said pretty much without fear of contradiction that Subway dominates that market. So if you want to get into business with as solid winner, seeking a Subway franchise agreement is a smart maneuver on your part.

Those that do win a Subway franchise agreement also get excited about the appeal of serving fresh food in the fast food marketplace.  The way Subways are laid out, customers can often get a nutritious meal as fast or faster than they could get it at one of the big fast food chains like McDonalds or Wendy’s. The food you serve is healthy and fresh.  The success of those cute Jared commercials for Subway put the emphasis on how healthy and wholesome the food is at this restaurant. That is the kind of thing that appeals to anyone who wants a franchise in the restaurant category.

This not to say that investing in a franchise agreement from Subway is the least expensive way to go. Because Subway is one of the most sought after franchises to be part of, the franchise fees may take your breath away. On top of paying pretty steep franchising fees and royalties, you will have the expenses of leasing a space and stocking inventory, training employees and fixing up your store. Those costs can really start to mount up.  But when you do prove credit worthy of a Subway franchise agreement, the company will do all it can to help you get a cost/benefit evaluation done so you can get the financing to get your restaurant franchise up and running.

Investing in a Subway franchise agreement brings with it unparalleled support.

The costs of getting involved with a Subway franchise agreement may seem ridiculously high for a new franchise owner who is still feeling his or her way in the world of franchising.  But you can just put that thought aside because Subway is the kind of organization that takes the fear and loathing out of investing in a Subway franchise agreement.

Subway could give lessons to other big companies on how to spoil their franchise investors. From the minute you call a Subway franchise office and express interest in a Subway franchise agreement, they do all they can to make it easy for you. The company is right there every step of the way to explain the process and to help you with literature and seminars to explain where you are in the process and what the next step is.  They even help you sort out the maze of crazy documents you must become a wizard at including their franchise operating manual and other disclosure documents.  Subway makes sure those documents are written in real human being English, not a bunch of lawyer mumbo jumbo.

Getting a Subway franchise agreement is not a dangerous jungle adventure.  Every business venture has risks but Subway takes a lot of the terror out of the process. They make sure you enjoy the ride so that when you open your own Subway restaurant, you are ready to make big money. So when you go into a Subway and you notice the manager and staff have big smiles on their faces, that is because the people behind that Subway franchise agreement put those smiles there and that is why this franchise chain is such a huge success.

Creation of that franchise agreement draft is step one of the adventure of preparing to turn your business into a profitable franchise chain.

When you start the process of preparing a franchise agreement draft, you know you are on the way toward the very profitable step of franchising your business.  It is a savvy business move because when you reach that point that your current business is successful, the natural next step is to expand that business.  Franchising a business is a great way to expand quickly because you shift much of the grunt work of growing the business to eager franchisees and you charge them for the privilege to boot.

When you start thinking about going the franchising route, it is easy to want to jump to the part where you bring in excited investors who love your business model and are eager to take out their checkbooks and buy into your business.  Before you jump to that stage, you have some homework to do including the development of franchising documents. So the faster you conquer what it takes to hammer out a franchise agreement draft, the faster you can get to the big money making stage where the fun begins.

There are a number of franchising documents that you will need to prepare before you begin to get out there and start fishing for great franchise owners.  The franchising world is heavily regulated by the Federal Trade Commission so that franchise agreement draft must live up to the standards that the FTC has in place to make sure the entire franchising transaction stays honest and that nobody takes anybody for a ride.

The process of preparing a franchise agreement draft will facilitate some decision making and preparation that has to happen before any franchises are sold to anyone.  Better to take a few days, weeks or months in getting organized and getting all of your franchise documents together than to discover that you are coming up short once discussions start with real living prospective franchise owners.

Disclosure is a big part of the game.

It is during that preparation phase when your franchise agreement draft is still in the revisions stage that you will hammer out the terms of your franchise including the fees that you will charge, how you will handle distribution of merchandise, advertising and the dozens of other terms of the franchise relationship that will dictate how the machinery of your new business model will work to make you and your franchise investors happy and wealthy.

Along with stepping through he business terms, developing a franchise agreement draft will also help you design the other documents that will be needed when you go into business with the many franchisors who will be beating your door down to invest in your business.  Some of those documents include the franchise disclosure documents and your franchise operations manual.

Not only does the FTC insist that all of your documentation fulfill a high level of disclosure to your future franchise investors, it is smart to let them know every detail of what they are getting themselves for when they become part of your organization as franchise owners.  When you have disclosed every aspect of what it means to run a business that lives up to your requirements, that will bode well for a very successful partnership. And when you are happy and your franchise owners are happy because your franchise agreement draft and the other disclosure documents are complete and correct, that means a very prosperous future for your business this year and for many years to come.

Your franchising company will provide a sample franchise contract well in advance so you know what you are signing when you enter into that binding relationship.

A sample franchise contract is part of the process of learning every detail about the franchise relationship before you sign those papers and make that partnership take off.  Any good franchising company will flood you with every imaginable document so you will come to the table a fully informed partner.  They know that the more you know about the benefits and the demands of franchising, the more you will make your franchise take off and make a pile of money for them and for you.

The sample franchise contract that you get from the franchising company is just one of the documents that is important for you to know like the back of your hand.  Along with the franchise agreements and the franchise operating manual, you will get more information about the nitty-gritty of running a franchise than you may have ever imagined was out there.

However, you do not have to wait until the franchise company is ready to send you a sample franchise contract as that step usually happens just before franchise agreements are signed and you are officially part of that company’s family of franchise members.  There are plenty of places online where you can find sample franchise contracts and other franchise documents.  The good of using these resources is you can start the process of becoming a serious expert in franchising even before you pick out which company will be the one you want to sell you a franchise.

Look for the danger signs like fixed costs despite profits in the sample franchise contract you get from the franchising company.

It is important to keep in mind that the primary source of franchise information once you begin negotiating that new franchise adventure will be the company that is selling you their franchise. They don’t do this just because they are really sweet people.  They must provide you with every possible kind of disclosure information before the transaction takes place as part of franchise law.  However, once you get that sample franchise contract in your eager hands, consider the source.  Since all of the binding franchise agreements that you will sign originate with the other party, it makes sense they will be written more to protect their interests than yours.

One example of a financial plan that is common in a sample franchise contract is where the fees you pay to the franchising company are fixed.  If the amount you pay to the franchisee is not a percentage of profits, you could end up paying high fees while you are still building the business.  It would also lower the incentives to the franchisee to link arms with you and make you profitable.

This is just one example of why it is smart to have any sample franchise contract that you get reviewed by some legal geniuses that work for you.  By using a lawyer who knows his stuff about franchising, he will know the ropes of modifying that sample franchise document so that your interests are protected too.  It is not out of line for you to negotiate for the best franchise agreements for your interests. Don’t be afraid to have that sample franchise contract looked at and to ask for changes so that you can get a sweet franchising deal that makes you rich and keeps the franchising company smiling too.  That is how it should be.

Examine the franchise contract example that you get from the franchisee carefully so you can be certain that you agree with every line of it before buying into that franchise.

In the last weeks before final papers are signed, the franchising company will send a franchise contract example to you as part of disclosure.  To the prospective franchise buyer, these franchise disclosure documents are not optional to how the tricky negotiations to buy that franchise roll out. So when that franchise contract example shows up, pay attention to it because you will find there a laundry list of what the franchising company expects of every small business owner who wants to hang that franchise corporate logo outside their business.

When a company sells franchises to grow fast, there is a huge priority on making absolutely certain that every franchise they sell looks, smells and operates exactly the same as every other franchise. The franchise contract example is their way of sending up that flare to you that if you sink your teeth into running one of their franchise operations, you will pony up whatever it takes to live up to that uniform image of the brand.  By sending you a franchise contract example, they are laying down the rules of the game. You need to know the lay of the land because if you don’t play by their rules, the results spelled out in the franchise contract example can be pretty harsh.

If you have been curious what you are getting yourself into, the arrival of that franchise contract example is there to answer that question.  Give this document some serious and concentrated attention.  When the final version of that same document shows up with the option to sign on the dotted line, it is assumed you know every paragraph in line backwards and forwards because you have studied and agree with everything in that franchise contract example.

The franchise contract example is the prototype of a franchise agreement that is more binding than the marriage contract so take it seriously.

If you do not agree with everything in the franchise contract example, now is the time to bring that up, not after the franchise agreements have been signed.  This is also the time to get your legal eagles on the case to look that franchise contract example over in detail to make sure your interests are well protected and that you are not agreeing so something that is outrageous.  So do not be shy about getting some high powered franchise lawyers in on the game so they can watch your back long before the time to write that check and buy that franchise comes along.

There are a lot of details buried in the franchise contract example that should give you a very clear vision of the future once you own and operate a profitable franchise small business.  That future will include keeping that franchise name squeaky clean and living up to the financial obligations of running that franchise so it lives up to corporate standards. It is true that being a franchise owner is not the same as working for that company but it is the next best thing.  You are expected to keep your facility clean and in good repair. By signing that final franchise agreement, you are saying loudly to the franchise company that you will live up to every tiny detail in the franchise operations manual. So be sure you get a crack at reviewing that document in intense detail as well.

There are a lot of documents involved in buying a franchise so you can become a very successful franchise owner.  But there is plenty of disclosure given about what those documents mean and the franchise contract example is one of those crucial disclosure pieces of literature.  Sure, the fun of running a franchise is in operating an exciting business and finding ways to store all of the big profits you will make.  Look on this review of the franchise contract example as part of paying your dues so you can have that fun once your franchise doors are open.  That will make this tricky process of looking at, tweaking and signing franchise agreements a lot easier to put up with.

 

 

A McDonald’s franchise agreement may be the gold standard in franchise opportunities because the chances for making big money are so great.

For a franchise opportunity, the McDonald’s franchise agreement is one that dominates the fast food landscape. So the idea of getting a McDonald’s franchise agreement and becoming part of one of the most successful chains in the world is appealing to say the least.

Even if you are not out to land your own McDonald’s to own and manage, the McDonald’s franchise agreement is a model that sets the standard for all of the franchising industry.  With thousands of successful franchises, the McDonald’s operating manual is one that is well thought out with contents to cover every possible franchise issue that has come up in the operation of such huge franchise network.

Part of the appeal of winning a McDonald’s franchise agreement is the knock-your-socks-off name recognition of the McDonalds brand.  That means that once you open your own McDonalds will inherit an amazing customer base that will flood your fast food store from the minute you open the doors on the first day.  The profits that a very busy McDonalds can generate are nothing short of astounding. Any small business person who is temped about that kind of big money operation would look at the possibility of owning a McDonald’s franchise agreement as a dream come true.

It pays to consider the investment before jumping into a McDonald’s franchise agreement.

With any business opportunity, there are costs that balance out the big time profits to be had. That is certainly true of a McDonalds franchise agreement.  A franchise agreement with McDonalds is going to come with a pretty hefty price tag.  The costs of buying any franchise is going to based on the existing success and appeal of the franchise chain. And since McDonalds is one of the most successful franchise chains of all time, the costs of getting into a McDonalds franchise agreement and then starting up operations is going to be out of this world compared to many other smaller franchises for sell on the market.

The work of running a fast food chain and living up to your McDonald’s franchise agreement are demanding. Most franchise owners and managers find themselves working virtually day in and day out to maintain those standards not only to satisfy the franchisee but to keep the customers rolling in. McDonald’s customers are notoriously spoiled by clean restaurants, McDonalds that are consistently stocked and ready to serve those familiar menu items hot and tasting exactly the way they expect them to taste no matter which McDonalds franchise they are in.

That is a high standard to hit.  In addition, because it takes such an army of low cost workers to keep a McDonalds running like a top around the clock, to staff a McDonalds is going to mean high turn over and some serious management challenges.  These are some of the issues that any small business owner who is the proud holder of a McDonalds franchise agreement will have as part of his life every week.

None of these issues should be s show stopper from keeping you from being the owner of a McDonalds franchise agreement. But as is true of any big business move, knowing what you are getting yourself into is the first big step on that road to success and wealth owning your own McDonalds franchise.

 

You can develop your small business operations manual to assure that the experience you develop in running your business becomes part of that document.

It is easy to overlook that a small business operations manual is just as important to a small business starting out as to a larger business with a ton of offices and all kinds of employees. As the owner and manager of a small business, your quest in life is to standardize how your business and the employees of that business deal with various aspects of what goes on each day.  If your small business is a franchise of larger organization, living inside of the restrictions of a franchise agreements just goes with the territory.

But whether you are part of a franchise or not, there are some big time values to drafting a small business operations manual as early as you can find time to do it. In fact, if you have an early draft of your small business operations manual already in place when you begin to staff up with new employees and that procedures guide is the law of the land the first day you open the doors to customers, you are way ahead of the game.

Perhaps the hardest part about putting together a small business operations manual is knowing where to start.  You actually have a fairly precise idea of how you want your business to run that you have never written down.  It is buried in your own body of experience combined with your own philosophy about how you want your business to relate to customers, to suppliers and how you want your employees to conduct themselves each day.  All you are doing when you begin to hammer out a small business operations manual is to take that significant repository of wisdom that is in your head and turning it into a document that will serve to standardize how things will be handled day in and day out in your own small business.

Getting started is half the battle in drafting your small business operations manual.

The biggest obstacle to drafting your own small business operations manual is getting started.  Sometimes all it takes to kick start the process is a structure or a format to give you a direction to go to start writing your own guide to how you want your business to operate.  The good news is that it is not difficult to find an excellent operations manual template that will provide that structure for you. By downloading a format to use as your jumping off place, you can be writing your small business operations manual in no time flat.

Once you begin to uncork the treasure trove of ideas you have inside your brain for how you want things to happen around your office and how you want to see your customers handled, it will be amazing how quickly that small business operations manual begins to take shape. An important ethic to keep in mind as you organize your first draft is to just get it all down on paper. You can refine it and edit it after you have your thoughts out of your head where they can stand on their own and be examined by others.

The second big tip to keep in mind as this first draft begins to shape up on paper is that your small business operations manual will always be a work in progress.  As you launch your growing business, you should always be ready to revise and update your small business operations manual.

In that way, anytime you resolve an issue, find a better way of doing things or learn about a new and exciting way to make your business hum, that can become part of your small business operations manual and be captured forever for everybody to benefit from. That is a small business operations manual that grows with you and with your business until before long, it is big business operations manual to serve that very successful and prosperous business of yours.

The step by step process setting up a franchise is well known so the faster you get moving on the process, the quicker you will be the proud owner of your own franchise business.

Setting up a franchise is something that has been done many thousands of times with great success in huge variety of businesses niches.  Now that you are setting out to become a huge success as a franchisor, you are smart to find out how to start and the step by step work to be done to buy a franchise of a successful business. There is no question that the more franchise information you have, the more successful you will be.  So leave no stone unturned to transform yourself into a franchising expert and the result will be plenty of success as you get moving setting up a franchise of your own.

For very obvious reasons, the first step of setting up a franchise is to decide what kind of business you want to run. There are thousands of franchises to invest in so make sure the one you sink your teeth into is a business niche you like and that you know about already. That will put your success on the fast track.

Step two for setting up a franchise is to learn all you can about the hoops you have to jump through to make that franchise your own.  You can get franchising information from the company offering franchisees for sale and learn how big a pot of money you need to make that franchise your own.  You can do your homework on financing and about the steps ahead and the documents you must review and sign before you are able to finally finish setting up a franchise of your own.

Getting into the nitty-gritty of setting up a franchise

Once you have learned every tiny detail you can unearth about what goes into setting up a franchise, it is time to get out there and make it happen.  The more you can meet with delegates from the franchising company to learn their requirements for setting up a franchise, the better.  You will also be booking meetings with your financial backers and, if you are a savvy business person, set up some serious backup support such a franchise lawyer and consultants who know about setting up a franchise and will be there to watch your back.

The process of setting up a franchise takes some time to make sure every detail is attended to before you sign those final franchise agreements and take the keys to your business to open the door to an eager public. You will need to understand where the products come from, the process of communications between you and the franchisee and how to resolve problems when they come up because, let’s face it, problems come up.

Almost certainly the franchisee will have some franchise training for you. Get yourself to that training with bells on and eat it up because you want to know everything possible about setting up a franchise before you sink your hard earned or hard borrowed money into that business. You will also be given some in-depth information about how to deal with every detail of setting up a franchise such as franchise operations manual.

Give these documents your very best attention as well because what is in them will save your skin plenty of times as you learn the ropes of running your own franchise business. You will be glad you put plenty of hard work into setting up a franchise well in advance because once you are open for business and you start to see profits start to fill up your bank account, your pride and sense of confidence will grow by leaps and bounds. That will make all the hard work that went into setting up a franchise entire worth the effort.

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