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Buying a Franchise

The process of buying a franchise is a very long process that should be pursued very carefully. There are many factors to consider, and many steps to take during the franchise-buying process.

The Basics of Franchising

Franchises Spotlight10

McDonald's Happy Meals Leave Some Unhappy

Friday April 22, 2011

Who could object to something called a Happy Meal? The Center for Science in the Public Interest does.  In December 2010, it filed a lawsuit against the McDonald's franchise, claiming that the McDonald's Happy Meals, small boxed-up meals for children with themed toys inside, are a lure to get them to eat unhealthy food.
 
The CSPI, a consumer-advocacy group based in Washington, D.C., is concerned over the meals, usually a hamburger (or cheeseburger), fries and a soft drink from the Coca-Cola family of products, having high contents of sugar, fat and salt.  This, they believe, will lead kids to think such meals are what they should regularly eat, leading to poor diets and such diets' resulting health problems.
 
This suit comes on the heels of actions in the San Francisco Bay Area that also seek to curtail unhealthy food consumption in children.  The City of San Francisco and the County of Santa Clara banned promotional toys serves with meals that don't meet those jurisdictions' already-passed nutritional standards.
 
McDonald's is countering with a public statement saying that, in the portions sold, the meals contain amounts of sugar, fat and salt that are within proper boundaries for children.  McDonald's also cites continuous customer surveys approving of the Happy Meals.  Considering the vast fortune the McDonald's corporation can call upon, they seem likely either to win the suit, or to reach a settlement that both they and the CSPI can live with, possibly a new kid's-health-friendlier version of the Happy Meal.

Wendy’s New Fries Commercial

Tuesday April 12, 2011

Wendy's broke one of the cardinal rules of business, and life: "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." But too many of their customers haven't liked the way their French fries have been "fixed." Indicative of this is the responses on Facebook with page titles like "Wendy's new fries SUCK!"; "Screw the new Wendy's fries! Bring back the old ones"; "Protest the new Wendy's fries" and "Wendy's new French fries are gross." There's even one titled "Wendy's Old Fries." 

Has Wendy's gotten the message? Have they gotten the right one? The right one would seem to be, "Change back to the old fries." Instead, they are acting as though the message they need to send back is, "We choose to defend our new fries."
 
The Wendy's new fries commercial shows people taste-testing the Wendy's new fries on city streets and liking them - a lot.  Wendy's also saw the Facebook pages and decided that two sides could play that game: A page titled "Wendy's New Fresh-Cut Fries with Sea Salt" has quickly gained 471 "fans," over 100 more than the leading anti-new-fries page.
 
I've tried the new Wendy's fries.  I have no problem with them.  I think it may be less of a case of "They're bad" and more of a case of "I liked the old ones and I don't like change." Perhaps there would have been an equal response if the company had left the fries alone and, instead, changed the "Wendy" logo.  After all, when Burger King went from a man in a king costume with artificially-red hair and beard to a man in a king costume with a mask, even BK loyalists thought the new mascot was creepy, and that ad campaign was junked.
 
So it may be that, once this new ad campaign fully sinks in, and Wendy's fans see other people liking the new fries, they may change their minds, and go back to their old standby.  After all, the base of a hamburger chain is hamburgers, and Wendy's hasn't changed those at all.

Wendy's New Fries - Love 'Em or Hate 'Em - CLICK HERE TO ADD YOUR COMMENTS

Today's Free Seminars at the International Franchise Expo

Saturday April 2, 2011

There are many great seminars for franchise seekers and franchisors to take advantage of at today's IFE show. Below is a list of free seminars that would be great for any franchise seeker to attend: 

Specialty Seminar: Opportunities in Franchising for Minorities, Women and Veterans Part 1
10:00 AM - 11:30 AM
Moderated by: Miriam Brewer, Director, Education and Diversity, IFA Educational

Franchising Opportunities in Vietnam
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Presented by: Brent E. Omdahl, Commercial Officer, U.S. Commercial Service

Specialty Seminar: Opportunities in Franchising for Minorities, Women and Veterans Part 2
12:00 PM - 1:30 PM
Moderated by: Miriam Brewer, Director, Education and Diversity, IFA Educational Foundation
Panelist: Nate Greenberg, President and COO, Siegel Financial Group; Lonnie Helgerson, President, Veteran Franchise Centers

Demystifying the Franchise Process: Avoiding the 7 Deadly Mistakes that Most New Business Owners Make
1:00 PM - 2:00 PM
Presented by: Carl L. Gould, President, 7 Stage Turnaround Process

How to Finance Your Franchise
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Presented by: Doug Smith, Business Development Manager, Guidant Financial Group

How to Buy a HOT Franchise and Not Get BURNED!
4:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Presented by: John P. Hayes, PhD

Franchises for Baby Boomers

Tuesday March 22, 2011

Late in life, actor-director Dennis Hopper, an icon of the 1960s counterculture so celebrated by Baby Boomers, did a commercial for the investment firm Ameriprise Financial, in which he advised the Boomers, the oldest of whom were by then approaching retirement, "Dreams are powerful.  Dreams are what make you say, 'When I'm 64, I want to start a new business.'"
 
Turning the title for the Beatles' song "When I'm Sixty-Four" on its head is hardly an irrational idea.  In 1935, when 65 was set as the age at which Social Security kicks in, the average American's life expectancy was 67.  Today, it's 78, and 70 is no longer considered elderly.  In addition, a person born after 1940 has no memory of the Great Depression, and while the last 40 years, which would be within this hypothetical person's working life, have seen several nasty recessions including the one recently ended, few Americans alive today have any memories of being desperately poor, or of suddenly going from middle class to the kind of outright poverty seen in the 1930s.
 
The stereotype of the older American being bored with retirement and going back to work as a cook at a fast-food restaurant is being replaced by the senior citizen buying and running individual franchises in food and other service industries.  Most of these people have grown up in what economist John Kenneth Galbraith called "The Affluent Society," and are used to having enough money to invest in a new business, or at least to being able to get a loan to make up the difference.  As children of the affluent 1950s, young people in the establishment-challenging 1960s, and go-getting Yuppies in the high-flying 1980s and 1990s, they know what they want, have a good idea of how to get it, and are ready to strike back at obstacles ready to knock them down.
 
In another of his Ameriprise Financial commercials, Hopper said, "You, my friend, you need a plan." In other words, the people he was addressing were those who already had the money made and saved up, and just needed something to do with it, with their houses likely paid off and their children finished with college and into the world of business themselves.  Some will prefer the traditional route, to retire and go on permanent vacation with their spouses.  Many choose to "unretire," embracing the challenge of starting again, knowing that age and wisdom, and the backing of their franchise's company, will help the avoid the mistakes made by younger investors, as they once were.

If you are considering buying a franchise I suggest you read the articles in my "What Kind of Franchise Should I Buy?" section of About.com

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