Reviewing the franchise agreement forms that you sign with a franchise owner makes sense because you might want to cut them a better deal or cut them out.

September 5, 2011 by  
Filed under Franchise Articles

The franchise agreement forms that you send out to a prospective franchise owner are not “till death do us part.”  While you are selling that franchise to a small business owner and it is he or she who will run their operation, the rights to that franchise are still with the franchising company. That is why the language that you put into the franchise agreement forms should include some escape clauses so that if the franchise owner makes a mess of things, you have a way out.

Franchising your company  is a big step and there are steps you can take to make sure the partners you bring onto your roster of players as franchise owners are up to snuff.  The various franchise agreement forms shift some of the burden of proof that they can carry their weight in the franchise relationship to those starry eyed new franchise owners.  By making it a serious requirement that the franchise owner provide proof that when it comes to running a small business, they know their stuff, you avoid handing over that valuable franchise to someone who is going to run it into the ground.

There are variables in the franchise agreement forms that you can tweak based on how well this new franchise applicant gives you the warm fuzzies that they will do well.  If you have secret doubts that a particular franchise applicant might be a dud, you can hike up the initial franchise fees within the franchise agreement forms.  That way you build in some insurance in case you have to go in and clean up some messes.

You can also adjust the term of the franchise agreement forms so that an iffy franchise comes up for renewal faster than might be standard. If you set that renewal to come up in a year and make that the law of the land in the franchise agreement forms, then you have a legal way to cut and run if they do badly.  But if they turn out to be all star business managers and their franchise is knocking down serious money, you can make adjustments when you renew the franchise agreement forms.

Making some changes when franchise agreement forms are renewed gives you a window to turn a good franchise owner into a great one.

All franchise agreement forms spell out so anyone can get it that the franchise will expire at some moment in the future.  While the idea of renewing the franchise agreement seems on the surface to be at time when either franchisor or franchisee can run for the hills if they need to, it is also a chance to kick a very successful franchise owner into high gear.

If you have a franchise owner who is kicking backside and taking names when it come to profits, you can sweeten the pot in the franchise agreement forms to make his or her next tour of duty even more of a profit machine. You may wish to sweeten the pot with a nice looking franchise royalty arrangement that lets the franchise owner keep more gold in his or her bank account if they break a few sales barriers.  Or you can offer that knock-your-socks-off franchise owner a way to build an empire through a master franchise agreement.

These changes are all perfectly legal within franchise law and they are what capitalism is all about. When you can capitalize on your all stars and cycle out the dead weight leveraging those franchise agreement forms term limits, that is just smart business that will result in a dynamite team of franchise owner that you will profit from big time year after year after year.

The format of franchise agreement will take some getting used to but by understanding it advance, you will fly through the process of buying your own franchise small business

August 31, 2011 by  
Filed under Franchise Articles

When you are new to the process, the format of franchise agreement will seem very odd to you. The franchise agreement is a unique animal that will not read like the newspaper or even a business memo that you ever saw in your life.  That is why it is smart to take some time to understand the format of franchise agreement before the moment of truth arrives and you are ready to click your pen and sign your life away investing in a new franchise opportunity.

You should remind yourself that the franchising company does not mean to make the franchising documents cryptic or hard to understand.  Much about the format of franchise agreement is simply the nature of the beast and it is you who is getting used to this new way to conducting a business discussion.  There will be new terminology that makes up the format of franchise agreement and you will be expected to have already become a native in the world of franchising long before the final franchising documents are signed and it is time to roll up your sleeve and get to work building a world class franchise outlet for the company whose name is now outside your building.

One way to get that feeling of disorientation that could happen when you start to look at the format of franchise agreement for the first time is to look at it well in advance of any formal steps that will happen when you and the franchise get serous about working together. There are plenty of ways to get that orientation on the fly.  You can download templates that will show you the format of franchise agreement as well as the contents and how you should go about slicing and dicing that tricky document when the next one you see has your name on it.

Don’t let the legal language that is part of the format of franchise agreement throw you.

One reason that the format of franchise agreement is awkward to the average Joe or Jane is that the franchising company has to let the lawyers in the room when the franchise documents are prepared.  The entire franchising process is heavily regulated from the handshake to the final agreement process and even past that too.  Before we scream conspiracy theory about the evil interference of government, keep in mind that most of that oversight is for the benefit of the franchise buyer and that the franchising industry has exploded since the feds got their fingers in the middle of it with so much franchise law.  So having that much regulation may not be such a bad thing.

But all that regulation makes for some very strange language in the franchising documents which makes the format of franchise agreement very weird to the regular person. It might be smart to get your own set of franchise legal wizards in on the act when you start looking at the format of franchise agreement for the document that will become your marriage license in this new love affair with the franchising company.

You will be able to see the actual format of franchise agreement for the paperwork that you will sign at least a week before the date of the big step to take ownership over your own franchise comes along.  Jump all over the sample format of franchise agreement that they send to you and have your overpaid franchise lawyers jump all over it too.  If you do that, you will be able to waltz into the meeting to sign on as a new franchise owner knowing that you did your part to make sure you know what is what and that this is a sweet deal for you and for the franchising company.  If you did your homework well in reviewing the format of franchise agreement, you may be in for a very profitable new franchise experience indeed.

Take some time with a franchise agreement PDF so that you are up to speed on the steps leading up to buying your own franchise.

August 26, 2011 by  
Filed under Franchise Articles

A franchise agreement PDF is a way for you to look ahead in time to that moment when you say “I do” to the marriage between you and the company you are buying a franchise from. Buying a franchise is not the same as buying a can of tuna fish from your local grocery store.  It is a process that can take weeks if not months of reviewing documents, negotiating the terms of the franchise agreement,  and getting preliminary preparations on your end done so that when you do sign that document, you are ready to hit the ground running to get your exciting new franchise small business off the launch pad.

Anytime you start out on a great adventure, having a roadmap of what to expect is a great start. By getting your hands on a franchise agreement PDF, that can serve as the road map to the future that you need. It is not to difficult to find examples of a franchise agreement PDF online that will show you what kinds of things you will be agreeing to when you make that deal to buy a new franchise to launch your empire.  They are accessible online to download in franchise agreement PDF format and they are an excellent template to give you the inside track on what you are getting yourself into.

Along with the preparations you do before that final day that you buy that franchise, you will get a franchise agreement PDF from the franchising company about a week before the actual legal document shows up for you to sign.  You should be aware that any franchise agreement PDF that you get as a template for what these documents look like will be general in nature.  The franchise agreement PDF and the final document you get from the franchising company will be customized to the specific line of business you and the franchising company are in as well as with specific tweaks based on how that franchising company works and any changes that you may have worked out with your new business partner.

Studying a franchise agreement PDF far in advance of buying a franchise is preparation, not cheating.

By the time that first draft of the actual franchise agreement PDF is sent to you, you should be well educated in what each franchising document is telling you so there are no surprises when you pay your franchise fees and it is time to open the doors of your new franchise outlet. That is why looking at templates of the various franchise documents should be considered to be part of “franchising 101” for you.

This kind of preparation by examining templates of the major franchising documents is not cheating.  If anything, the franchising company is looking for people who are industrious enough to hunt up a franchise agreement PDF so you are well prepared for the big task of building a wildly successful franchise for yourself and for them.

Don’t be afraid to download templates of the other important franchise documents to learn all you can from them. The franchise disclosure document  is a major publication that will come to you big enough to choke a horse so learning how to slice and dice it ahead of time will cut down on the fear and trembling you will go through when it shows up on your doorstep. Just chock up to preparation time this step of accessing a franchise agreement PDF. It is all just living up to that age old motto of the Boy Scouts of “be prepared” when it comes to getting ready for this huge step in your career of buying a franchise small business.

 

The store operations manual that you provide to each franchise owner can be a way for you to be part of that store even when you are not there.

August 22, 2011 by  
Filed under Franchise Articles

The store operations manual that you give to each store manager is much more than just a formality that you have to do as part of the package of franchise documents that you put together.  You already know that if you want franchise operations to function in an orderly way, a well developed store operations manual is a must.  But there are good reasons to go above and beyond the minimum requirements of a store operations manual and make it a document that virtually jumps off the shelf of the franchises in your empire to become part of daily life in those stores.

What makes a great store operations manual is about a lot more than page after page of instructions on how the franchise owner can make sure that franchise live within the structure of your company franchising guidelines.  Yes the rules of the game for being a great franchise of your company must be in there along with long and complicated rules of the road about how to stay within franchise law according to the franchise documents that got the whole shooting match up and running.

The real juicy stuff of that store operations manual are the hidden gems of wisdom you know about what it takes to make that store take off like a rocket to make tons of money.  Don’t let that store operations manual become such a dry and boring set of rules that you leave out the hot tips on how to handle problems and insider clues on how to give that franchise outlet a swift kick in the pants to get out of a sales slump and back into the massive profits mode that everybody wants.

That store operations manual touches every employee in your vast franchise empire.

It is easy to feel out of touch with the vast network of franchises that make up your far flung empire. The job of building a top notch chain of knock-your-socks-off franchise outlets does not end when the franchise agreements are signed and you have collected your franchise fees.  The more you do all you can to stay in touch and involved with your franchise owners and the many employees of each franchise outlet, the more success they will enjoy and the stronger the loyalty they will feel which will pay off when the time comes for those franchise agreements to be renewed.

The store operations manual is not just a set of rules that are only for the franchise owner and manager. It can be a bible for how to run that franchise that can help management and employees alike.  You can include vital instructions in the store operations manual that employees of each franchise can use to understand their jobs better, to resolve conflicts and get a vision for becoming very productive members of that store’s sales team.

One great way to make sure that the store operations manual gets used frequently is to write it yourself. Do all you can make that store operations manual the type of document that “connects” with the human beings who are part of that franchise operation.  Don’t be afraid to use a bit of humor and let your own personality shine through even in a stodgy old franchise document like the store operations manual.

If you do that, the store operations manual will not waste away gathering dust on the shelf in the store manager’s office. If anything, the biggest problem you may have with your store operations manual is that franchise owners keep asking for replacement copies because theirs just keeps getting worn out from overuse. That is a good problem to have.

The hotel operations manual is a unique document because it is the key to assuring that consistency in looks, service, products and performance is the same from franchise to franchise

August 18, 2011 by  
Filed under Franchise Articles

It is smart to create a great hotel operations manual because it is a dynamite way to enforce consistency in your franchises.  When you franchise your company,  that is a great way to grow your empire in a big hurry and to take the winning formula for making piles of money and spreading it like wildfire across the land. The key to that explosion of success and wealth is tied up in making sure every one of your franchises lives up to the name you plaster on the building. The hotel operations manual is a great way to achieve that compliance to franchise standards.

You cannot be in every location in your far flung franchising empire every day.  But making sure that every one of your hotels lives up to the corporate name, logo, reputation and advertising is absolutely essential to the success of your business.  That is why a franchise operations manual  will become your way of extending your management fingers into each franchise to make sure that franchise lives up to expectations.

You may think that the franchise owner will resent how specific the hotel operations manual is about the operations of every facet of the operation of that hotel.  The opposite is usually the case.  A hotel franchise owner knows he or she is buying into a very successful name in the hotel industry and the one thing they want to know is how to turn this opportunity into their golden ticket to success in running a hotel.

You didn’t come by your initial success in running a very profitable hotel overnight.  But by buying a franchise of your hotel, the franchise owner “inherits” the good name of your hotel which can turn into instant success because of the trust the public has in your corporate logo. So they need that hotel operations manual to tell them how to hit that high mark of success that you are giving them with their franchise ownership.  The more detailed and specific the hotel operations manual is, the better things will run for everyone.

That hotel operations manual can virtually clone your years of hotel experience.

When you begin to draft your hotel operations manual, you already are in possession of a huge bank vault of great stuff to put in there. In fact, if you already have a hotel operations manual that served you well before you ever gave a waking thought to franchising a hotel chain, that can serve as a perfect template for a hotel operations manual for every one of your franchises to swear by.

You bring to the table an impressive wealth of information about how a great hotel runs.  You have an instinct for turning hotels into huge profit making empires and that is why you are ready to spread that magic formula for success to your franchise owners. Naturally you will put together orientation materials and training classes or videos so that you can mold every new franchise owner into a virtual spitting image of yourself in terms of hotel management.

So keep on your to do list to transcribe into a neatly laid out hotel operations manual every detail of that orientations and training material to become a permanent on site resource that can help your hotel franchise buyers to overcome problems, recruit great help and build a massive and loyal customer base so every one of your franchises realizes just as much explosive success as you expect.

 

: You can use the uniform franchise offering circular template to find out which potential franchise buyers are serious about the relationship.

August 14, 2011 by  
Filed under Franchise Articles

The uniform franchise offering circular template is a document that will take raw recruit franchise buyers and turn them into franchising experts. Another term for the uniform franchise offering circular template is the franchise disclosure document.  That is an on target name for it because disclosure is the name of the game at this early stage of the franchising process.

It is easy to be alarmed at the sheer bulk that the uniform franchise offering circular template will reach. It is wise not to try to cut corners on this crucial step in turning your franchise relationship with that buyer into a reality.  Until the uniform franchise offering circular template is delivered, the discussions with the potential franchise buyer are little more than a flirtation.  The moment you deliver the uniform franchise offering circular template, things start to get serious.

There is no reason to make the uniform franchise offering circular template a walk in the park for your future franchise buyers to handle.

The franchise relationship is not for sissies.  When you and that new franchise owner sit down to sign that franchise agreement, some serious money and commitment of time, energy and resources go on the line. If you are willing to let your hard earned good name of your company go flying out the door to franchise owners, you want to be sure they have the stuff to make that franchise work.

The least that new franchise owner can do is to wade through that long and involved uniform franchise offering circular template. It is not busy work because that one document represents the A-Z guide to just about everything the franchise owner must know before making a commitment to take on the big job of building and running one of your franchises.  All totaled, there are 23 different categories of disclosure information that spell out in detail to the franchise owner anything they could care to know and then some about your company, the history of your success before and after launching and what they will be required to do every step of the way.

If anything, it is in the best interest of your grand plans for a franchising empire to pack as much information into the uniform franchise offering circular template as you can.  Naturally you should write this monster document in understandable language that anyone can understand. In fact, you are required by franchise law to make it a document that you don’t have to have a PHD in law to grasp.

But that doesn’t mean you dumb it down.  So what if it is a challenge to get through the uniform franchise offering circular template for your company? It won’t be the last challenge your franchise owners will face. This is a good way to sift out the ones who can’t cut the mustard before legally binding documents get sealed in stone.

 

 

 

The heads of agreement template is an outstanding tool to use if it looks like you might lose a franchise buyer because of the conventional franchise documents.

August 10, 2011 by  
Filed under Franchise Articles

The heads of agreement template gives you yet one more way to get around problems that can come up during franchise negotiations. The steps you go through when franchising a company are pretty straight forward. But each step of the way, the franchise applicant and you must agree to the terms laid out in the franchise documents.  Most of the time, it is not difficult to get an agreement on how the terms of the franchise relationship will work.  But there are times when it takes an extra effort.

You do invest time and energy into the preparations to bring a new franchise owner into your empire. If talks break down as you inch closer and closer to signing of franchise agreements,  you may not want to throw all of that hard work into the trash. A good franchise owner can be a gold mine to your plans to expand your business rapidly.  So it is worth it to invest in a workaround when it might be the structure of the standard franchise documents is getting underfoot.

This is where the heads of agreement template kicks in. It is a tool that is not just used in franchise negotiations. The heads of agreement template has helped business people hash out all kinds of agreements and high powered deals. So there is no reason that this useful tool cannot also help you settle the points of argument between you and the future franchise owner to get that franchise outlet up and running quickly.

Using the heads of agreement template as a tool means you are in control of the tool.

When you first begin to look over a heads of agreement template, the complexity of it can send you running out of the room.  Keep in mind that every aspect of the heads of agreement template is there for you to use if it makes sense in light of what you are trying to pull off with your franchise owner.  But also keep in mind that the language of the heads of agreement should be language that regular humans who are not law experts can understand.  At the same time, the heads of agreement template is just as legally binding as the franchise agreement. Whether you use it as a replacement for the franchise agreement or a supplement, when you and the franchise owner sign on the dotted line, the heads of agreement template becomes the law of the land.

If your franchise owner has been banging around the business world for a while, they know the power of the heads of agreement template.  So if the talks between you and that franchise owner are going on the rocks, you could jump start that relationship big time by switching to the heads of agreement template and hash out your differences under that format.

Franchise licensing is essential to winning a franchise and it could be just the right structure you need to start your own business.

August 6, 2011 by  
Filed under Franchise Articles

Franchise licensing is the legal tool to make sure that the franchising process is handled correctly. One of the big motivations for franchising a small business is that entrepreneurial streak that many of us have to own and run your own business. There is nothing wrong with that inner drive to want to get away from being a servant to “the man” and run the show for yourself.  Franchise licensing is what spells out the rules of the road for using the franchising route to achieve your dream of running your own money making operation.

The one drawback to starting your own small business from the ground up is a drawback that those franchise licensing documents can help to take care of.  The drawback is that there is almost too much freedom and lack of structure when you start your own small business. It helps to have some structure so you know what to do next and how to live up to expectations and you have a road map to what to do next.

The value of going with a franchising solution even with the overhead of franchise licensing is the structure the program that you get from the franchising company. That structure is highly regulated and the franchising company will put that road map in front of you that you pretty much are forced to follow because the franchise licensing arrangement are not just a bunch of pretty ideas. They represent franchise law that neither you nor the franchising company can get frisky with that.

Holding the franchise company to live up to their end of the franchise licensing agreements.

You are a smart one to jump back and think about the good as well as the scary part that franchise licensing will bring to your world when you sign those franchise agreements.  Anyone who launches out without thinking hard and long about franchise licensing and what it means should find the door locked when it is time to sign those agreements and enter into that binding relationship with a franchising company.

At the same time, keep in mind that those franchise licensing rules and regulations go two ways. Sure they hold your nose to the grindstone to create a knock-your-socks-off great franchise for the franchising company.  But those franchise licensing details also hold the franchising company to a standard so they have to pony up as part of the relationship too.

You can dig out the details of exactly who does what, when and how in the franchising relationship in the franchise disclosure documents that you will get early in the cycle of developing your love affair with the franchising company.  Be sure you become an insatiable reader and that you understand everything in those documents as well as in all other literature you get from the franchising company.

By understanding how you have to salute the flag according to franchising agreements and how the franchising company must bring some serious stuff to the table too, you will be able to work as a full partner in the building of your new business.  That means serious success and serious money for you and the company whose sign is on the door and in that way, everybody wins.

When the bulky franchising documents start coming your way, instead of feeling intimidated, look on this phase as part of your basic training in becoming a franchise owner.

August 3, 2011 by  
Filed under Franchise Articles

When the many franchising documents that you must review begin to flood your mailbox, don’t give in to the impulse to hide under the bed.  First of all, the franchising company is not trying to scare you out of your wits with those huge franchising documents full of legal statements of everything from the money you have to pay to how hard you are going to have to work. In fact, the franchising company has to send you all of that franchise information because if they don’t, they are going to be in hot water with franchise law.

When you sit down to sort out the massive amount of detail that comes flying at you in those franchising documents, the divide and conquer method is a smart plan. A good example is the franchise disclosure document which may be so bulky that you have to carry it in two hands for fear of dropping it and breaking a toe.  It is huge for good reasons. By law the franchising company has to disclose every tiny detail about themselves and about what will happen every step of the way on your grand adventure into buying a franchise from them.

This is not light reading. But you should gather your courage and face your fears when it comes to reading that disclosure document or the many other kinds of franchising documents that will come your way.  Overwhelmingly franchising documents must be prepared with you in mind.  That means two things that should cheer you up.  First it means that when you sink your teeth into franchising documents, you will find that franchise law is on your side.  So while those franchising documents are massive, they are your best friends in getting ready for buying that franchise.

On the job training in franchising document form.

The second happy news is that it is the law that franchising documents should be written so you can understand them.  They are not going to be a bunch of legal gibberish that only an overpaid lawyer will understand. They will make sense to you once you get a cup of coffee and sit down to take it all in.  So take your time and dive in head first.  You may like what you find.

Look on the time you have to invest in reading those big franchising documents as a type of on the job training. If you ever thought that it would be great if you could break into the franchising company’s offices and read their secrets, put away your burglars mask and flashlight.  It is all there in those franchising documents and it is being given to you without cost and without you having to break the law.

Even though franchising documents are intended to be understandable to the average Joe or Jane who is interested in buying a franchise, do not be afraid to have your own franchise lawyer look them over.  You have that right and a franchise lawyer who has your back may find areas for you to question before you plop down your hard earned money to buy that franchise. So be nosey and insist that you understand everything in those franchise documents and that it all is what you like. If you do that, you will sail into that franchise relationship ready to take on this big adventure and turn it into a massive success that will fulfill you dreams and make that franchising company pretty happy as well.

 

 

Franchise regulations are inescapable as they are part of every aspect of the franchising process but you can use that to your advantage.

July 30, 2011 by  
Filed under Franchise Articles

There is no getting around franchise regulations when you get started on your plan to franchise your company.  It seems that lawmakers and politicians have worked weekends to come up with franchise regulations that can get their noses into just about every aspect of the franchising process from the opening phone call to the celebration cocktail party when the deal is done.

It isn’t like there was not already a lot of hard work to be done to get your company gets ready to launch into the huge change that will come when you begin to sell franchises of your successful business.  Of course, you already knew that much of the process of bringing new raw recruit franchise owners on board was going to mean some communications would have to happen.  Franchise regulations are just there to make sure that for every franchise arrangement, those documents that get presented to the franchise applicants are standardized and that there are no details left out of any of them.

Franchise regulations kick in from the earliest stages of setting up a franchise arrangement.  Franchise regulations get almost ridiculously detailed about what will go into your franchise disclosure documents,  your franchise agreements and your franchise operations manuals.  It is easy to get a little ticked off about how much franchise regulations hog the center stage for a project that should belong to you.  But instead of seeing franchise regulations as a big pain in the neck, look on them as an opportunity.

Putting some spin on franchise regulations

Franchise regulations are far more interested in protecting the new franchise owner than in being a tool to make the franchising company feel happy inside. In a way, you can see why this makes sense in that the rookie franchise investor could be open to a scam or two if they are not dealing with a good clean franchisor like you.  So use that bias toward the franchisee in the franchise regulations to your advantage.

Pile up plenty of good old marketing language in the cover letters to your cover letters for franchise documents making sure the franchisee is informed loudly that these complicated documents are that way because franchise regulations are there to protect the little guy. That spin is not there to fool anyone. Instead it is there to make sure you use those scary and intimidating documents as tools to assure the timid future franchise owner that franchise regulators are their best friend and that you are too.

Also do not try to keep the franchisee from using a franchise lawyer to make sure the franchise documents live up to every comma and semicolon of franchise regulations. If anything encourage them to retain their own franchise lawyers.  By sending that message that “we are in this together”, you use franchise regulations to cement that love affair with your future franchise owner. It is a love affair that will result in lots of success and piles of money in your bank account and for the franchise owner too.  So spin away because it is good for everyone involved in this big adventure of franchising your business.

 

 

« Previous PageNext Page »