Franchising TNT

Most people are familiar with franchising. For the benefit of those who are not, according to http://wikipedia.com franchising is the system of doing business wherein a franchisor licenses trademarks of a product and tested methods of doing business to a franchisee to receive payment like a percentage from gross per sales or gross profits as well as the annual fees agreed upon, as compensation for the trade secrets shared as part of the franchising agreement. Sometimes legal contracts may vary as to the terms of franchise and may not fit the definition above. Sometimes, the methods on how to do the business may not be part of the franchise or other benefits that other franchising companies give may not be available to others.

The most common franchising companies known to the public would be chain of food stores like McDonald’s which nowadays offer some franchising strategies to reach a wider consumer market. McDonald’s has become a household name since it was able to reach a wider consumer market that is not only limited to the United States and the Americas but to the rest of the world. The success behind McDonald’s becoming a household name and the one of the most known trademarks around the world is due to the system of franchising. Aside from the buildings that McDonald’s rent to the franchisee, it also has a stake on the sales of the franchise and the cost of the supplies charged to the franchisee. To help out in the quality of products and services offered in each food chain, McDonald’s sends a member from the franchisee to their Hamburger University in Oak Brook, Illinois. This is one support benefit that the franchisee would get once they franchise a restaurant for McDonald’s.

Like any business, there are advantages and disadvantages that franchising offer to anyone who wish to venture into it.

Advantages

Popular labels are widely known and are likely to sell. Popular trademarks like McDonald’s are likely to sell than a new restaurant that has not reached a market such as McDonald’s. It is selling a well known product to a consumer market which knows the product being sold.

No need to develop a new product that has not been well researched. Venturing into franchising would allow the franchisee to have access to information that the franchisor have about an existing product and put up a business in a shorter period of time.

Trainings and seminars would be provided to the franchisee about the product. It would be easier to operate and manage the business since there are available trainings and other support methods for the franchisee.

Disadvantages

High standards held by the franchisor raise costs of maintenance in the franchise. Since the standards of the franchisor would definitely be high, sometimes the cost of maintaining a franchise can escalate. Unless the materials used would be second rate and low in cost.

Development of new products might still need to be passed for approval to the franchisor. If the franchisee would like to add a product which they think would be saleable in their market range, the new product has to be approved first by the franchisor and this may take time and it would likely be rejected if it does not meet standards of the trademark.

Profit is limited since the franchisor has stake, most of the time, on the profits of the franchise. Not only does the franchisee have little control of the franchise due to many stakes that the franchisor has on the franchise, the profit of the franchise would also be split between the two. Therefore, there is a limit to how much the franchise would earn.

Even if there are several disadvantages in franchising, still there are advantages. If you think you could handle this kind of business, all I can say is, business is gambling. In any industry there are players and you might be lucky that you would be on top once and sometimes at the bottom. Get to know the game play and start playing to win the game.

What are the advantages of franchise businesses? According to many business experts, franchise businesses had gained a lot of popularity in the Philippines today. The reason why is because of a number of new franchise businesses available today which aims to give the same opportunity that wealthier Filipinos have had with franchise businesses to the less wealthy Filipinos.

Small Franchise Businesses
The growth of food-cart and food-stall businesses is not only because of its affordability, but also because of the many franchising enterprises in the Philippines that offer lesser expensive Franchising business Philippines deals to Filipinos. So what are the differences between starting ones own small business from acquiring a franchise?

Less Effort in Marketing and in Profiteering
One reason that makes franchise businesses more popular compared to starting a business from scratch is that franchises allow its franchisees to use their successful business-model for their own gain. This makes it easier for franchisees to gain as much income as other businesses have had in years, which would normally take a lot of time and effort for a start-up business.

Simpler Business to Handle
Another advantage of franchising is that it allows people to start their business with everything they needed, from the marketing paraphernalia they needed to make their business known, to the equipment, uniform, and stock to be used for their business. This is much simpler compared to starting a business from the ground which will require their owners to look for a reliable supplier which will give them the stock they needed as well as their equipment.

Benefits of Smaller Franchise Businesses
The popularity of franchise business in the Philippines was due to the rapid growth of food-cart and food-stall businesses. This is because of the kinds of benefits that these businesses can offer to its residents that made these types of housings even more popular and in-demand in the market.

Lesser Expensive Franchise Cost
One reason why franchise business had gained a lot of popularity and demand in the market is because of its lesser expensive franchise cost. Compared to larger franchise businesses, such as convenient stores and fast-food restaurants, food-cart and food-stall businesses are far more affordable, in terms of franchise cost as well as the cost for its construction.

Far Simpler Business
Unlike larger franchise businesses, food-cart and food-stall businesses dont require any experience to manage and to make it grow. Unlike larger franchise businesses, these small businesses normally dont require their franchisees to have worked in a managerial position for years, or have acquired an MBA to acquire a franchise deal.

Over the past years, franchising has become one of the fastest routes to business success in the Philippines. Both local and foreign brand names find themselves in a tight competition to gain a sizeable margin of the Philippine market. The franchising industry has also contributed significantly to the growth of the economy in the Philippines.

Franchising can be viewed from two perspectives: the franchisee and the franchisor. For the franchisee, a franchise is like a business wrapped in a package, with all the goods, services and operating manual in it, ready for roll out and operation. Counting on the elements of a well-established brand name and a tried-and-tested system of running the business, the franchisee receives many benefits, including access to information and technology that comes with the business, training and tech support of all aspects of the system, and the fact that a name that has already built its reputation for a number of years is a lesser risk than building a name from ground zero.

Franchising, from the franchisor’s point of view, has a different meaning. It presents an opportunity for business expansion; something that would have been difficult is done by them. Franchising for them is convincing the buyer (the franchisee), that their business is a good buy and worth investing in. Having a franchisee ran an outlet of their business means they can extend their products and services to more people in a wider coverage.

Buying and selling a franchise business in the Philippines is governed by the Philippine Franchise Association. This body gives guidelines and policies to regulate and promote fair practices on franchise activities by both local and foreign brand names. It is also tasked at providing assistance to franchise holders and buyers like financial programs, seminar workshops and information dissemination.

So much does a franchise cost in the Philippines? That would depend on a number of things, like the type of product or services offered, the size and location of the intended franchise outlet, layout / design of the outlet, beginning stock inventory, facilities and equipments needed along with its operating and maintenance cost, insurance and other pertinent expenses. Other equally important matters to consider include the franchise fee, training programs that the franchisor would be providing, royalty fees, feasibility studies to be conducted, marketing campaigns and advertisements.

Franchise for food cart businesses are generally cheaper to acquire, and prospective buyers can start owning these for as low as fifteen thousand pesos to an average cost of one hundred thousand pesos, depending on the type of food being sold and the size of the cart. A water refilling systems cost around two hundred to five hundred thousand pesos to operate. Other bigger franchise, like gasoline stations and food manufacturing and retail business, can go as high as five to ten million pesos, but the returns are well worth the investment.

Franchising can allow your business to grow at rapid pace, and gain a presence in new markets. Although there are disadvantages to franchising your business, and although it will not suit all business models, franchising is often an under-used tool among business owners that are looking to scale their operation. Following are six reasons why you should consider franchising your business.

Turbo Charge Your Business Growth

One of the greatest benefits to franchising is getting things done fast, and with less labour costs. Youll be able to focus on recruiting franchisees, and then they will focus on growing your business in their region. You can even sell franchisees for an entire country or continent, and allow the franchisee to take your business to the next level.

Reduce Gearing As You Grow

You will increase your capital base from franchising fees as your business grows. A business will traditionally borrow money, and increase their gearing as they grow into new markets. With a franchising model, youll be able to see your sales grow, your market reach grow, and youll also be able to see your balance sheet strengthening at the same time.

Prevent Equity Dilution

When you grow your business it can be tempting to give away equity to fuel growth. Although in many ways this can work out well, it does mean that in the end youre left with a smaller share of the pie. When you grow your business through franchising, youll be able to grow with low levels of debt and without diluting your equity position either.

Galvanize Your Business Against Cannibalisation

When you make money from each franchise that is sold, and you also make money in management fees (usually calculated as a percentage of revenue) cannibalisation ceases to be a problem for the franchiser unless this is something that worries franchisees. The reason: as you take on more franchisees, you make more money from licensing; and although more franchisees may damage a franchisees profitability, it will not damage total revenue, and therefore you will continue to prosper even if your franchisees struggle.

Limit Losses

During a bad year, its possible to make less money, but its not possible to lose money through franchisees losing money. That risk is assumed by them. You will charge management fees as a percentage of revenue, and as revenue cannot be a negative number, you will always earn an amount in management fees from this. In the long term the profitability of franchisees is of paramount importance, but its good to know that you will be stronger than your competitors during more difficult trading periods.

Work With A Network Of Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs are naturally more motivated than employees; they have a profit incentive. You will be able to benefit from this through having each and every franchise managed by a business person with a strong incentive for their franchise to do well.

A KFC franchise is just part of the umbrella of the Yum Brands empire. Yum Brands is the largest restaurant franchise system in the world. KFC franchises are located in over 80 countries worldwide and have sister franchises like Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silvers and A&W.

There are quite a few advantages of being part of the Yum Brands family however, owning a KFC franchise may not be right for you.

First and foremost, any potential franchisee must be prepared to own more than one franchise. Therefore, if you want to open a KFC, you’re also most likely going to need to open another franchise in the same location. That’s why you see so many groups of fast food stores in the same location. A good idea would be to consider owning multiple franchises on multiple sites.

Yum Brands has quite a reputation for having ambitious business owners as their franchise owners. To be considered on their “good list”, you’re going to have to own at least three KFC franchises. In fact, ambitious franchise owners will get help from Yum Brands on building up their franchises.

The upfront cost to get into a KFC franchise is why so many people do not qualify for this particular franchise. Go ahead and plan on spending 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 to start up your KFC franchise and partner brand franchise. Furthermore, your net worth has to be above 1 million and you have to have liquid assets of at least $360,000. On top of that, you must have experience in the food service industry or least your partner must have that experience.

Plan on spending at least a year going through the whole process from start to finish. If you qualify based on their requirements, you will meet with the Yum Brands leadership to see if the relationship would be a good one for both parties involved. Then there would be the work finding a site and all that other fun stuff.

Bottom line is owning a KFC franchise can be very profitable and a very solid investment even if you can qualify for the high demands of buying a KFC franchise.