Franchisors of home based and mobile businesses need to carefully watch their franchisees who innately try to hunt in their fellow franchisees territories. The most important advice a franchisor should give the franchised outlets in this case is to work it out themselves. A simple policy is best for example here is a possible excerpt from a franchise manual which lays out some basic understandings: "The franchisees should be able to work out any problems you may have among yourselves. If you do More..

Home Based Franchise; What About Future Expansion?

As a franchisor I am always asked by new and existing franchisees about future expansion. I find this to be a most wonderful question because I admire the strength of today's entrepreneur. With all and over regulation we still see hard chargers willing to battle the Tsunami of laws, rules and regulations as the debris rushes ashore. Indeed, with the Hurricane of lawyers presently in practice and Earthquake stampeding new attorneys getting out of law school, it is amazing the new warriors of free More..

Small Business Vendors; Getting the Best Service

If you are a small business you know that you must rely on your vendors to make sure you have everything your customers need. Lack of vendor support can lead to upset customers or even loss of your business. Be pleasant and courteous to all vendors and potential vendors. Try and treat vendors like your favorite customers treat you. Do you remember recently when you went out of your way for a customer, the whole time knowing you weren't going to make any extra money by doing so; yet you did, simp More..

Franchise Territories for Mobile Businesses; Why Limitations

In franchising an individual desirous of their own business will sign on with a franchising company and use their brand name, know how and expertise to make a living. The franchisor will generally assign an exclusive territory with limitations. In our franchise company we have mobile service units, which clean cars and we have to have territories to prevent in-fighting from franchisees which might inadvertently end up competing with one another. Let us first talk about boundaries. Let us talk a More..

Franchise Territories are Generally Delineated On a Map; Why?

If you own a mobile service or home based franchise your exclusive territory will be delineated on a map in the attachment of your franchise agreement. You will be assigned generally a single city, county or region and another franchisee or team member of the same system will not compete with your although may be right around the corner. You will only drive or be required to service clients as far as your exclusive territory boundaries. Unless of course there is no franchisee in the next city ov More..

Why Do Franchisors have Exclusive Territories

The reason we Franchisors call it an exclusive territory is because we will not sell that area again to another franchisee. That is your area to market and to conquer and to generally obtain as much market penetration as possible. If you are a home-based business or mobile franchise then this is a serious issue. You can put as many service units in your area can support and try to make the most reasonable profit you can per each service unit you put into your exclusive territory. Most franchisor More..

Cabinet Refacing Business Opportunities

With all the cabinet refacing business opportunities out there, you could have a home based business that grows in this expanding industry. You've wanted your own kitchen updated, or talked to friends and family who have put out thousands of dollars remodeling theirs. It is an industry that will expand continuously, as homes are getting older and people want a new modern look. This business allows you work out of your house, but clients will never step foot in your house. Although you will trav More..

Dispute Resolution; Competing With Other Franchisees

If you are in a franchise and have a territory dispute with another franchisee you need to prevent a lawsuit use dispute resolution techniques to resolve the dispute. Competing with other franchisees is a subject that franchisors would prefer not to need to talk about. This is a real problem for some types of franchises. For instance mobile service businesses and home based franchises. There is really no reason for you to sneak into fellow franchisees' territory to market or to do services. The More..

Environmental Pressure Washing in Pennsylvania

If you run a mobile car wash, mobile fleet washing company, mobile auto detailing business or a Pressure Washing firm in Pennsylvania there are things you should know. Pennsylvania is serious about cleaning the environment. http://www.gggc.state.pa.us They have a plan and a vision and they are dead serious about keeping their water ways clean after all the years of debris. http://www.gggc.state.pa.us/about/1998-1.pdf http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/subject/involved/water/stakhldr.htm And the More..

Excuses Franchisees Make; When They Violate Exclusive Territory Agreements

One of the biggest excuses franchisees of home based and serviced based franchises make when violating their exclusive franchise agreement with their franchisor and fellow franchisees is: My Family Works There. As a franchisor, I cannot believe how many times neighboring franchisees steal each others clientele or work outside their exclusive franchise area. This jeopardizes trust within the franchise system between franchisees and franchisors. Now granted in a mobile franchise business every on More..

Mobile Car and Truck Washing Vehicle Placement

To maximum potential profits and dollars in a mobile washing business it pays to set up in your mind in advance the best and most strategic place to park, before stopping to wash. You will obviously want to park your rig in a location that allows you to do as many cars as possible without moving the vehicle. For instance; let us say that your hose for water is one hundred plus feet but your vacuum hose is only forty feet, so if you have four cars in close proximity and one is a vacuum, park clos More..

Pressure Washer Companies and Steam Cleaner Maintenance

If you run a pressure washing business it is a must that you understand and take care of your equipment. It is your livelihood. Proper maintenance is a must. If your equipment does not work; you make no money. Your steam cleaner machine is really called a hot water-pressure washer. There is a difference although the public is unaware of this fact. Even the phone book will list it as a steam cleaner. Equipment is listed under 'steam cleaning equipment' and hot water pressure washing will be list More..

Routine Maintenance of High Pressure Hot Water Motors

If you run a pressure washer business you need complete uptime on your equipment, break downs can be costly if your billing rates are $100 to $150.00 per hour. If you are bidding by the job there are times when it is absolutely a great profession to be in. That is if your equipment is working properly. Here are some preventative maintenance for your high-pressure hot water skid unit. Air Cleaner: To clean air cleaner, spray WD-40 on it and beat it against a wall. Beat it two to three times bef More..

Comparing Boston Area for a mobile car wash business

The Boston suburbs seem to be rich with possible locations to wash cars and a mobile car wash would be well served in that market. The customers have good jobs, high paying salaries and indeed demand such personal car washing services. They desire these services at home and at work. The economy is strong and many high paying jobs exist there. Housing and growth in the real estate of single family dwellings is still up sharply in the subs: http://realestate.boston.com/communities/profiles/2002/m More..

Boston Market; Mobile Auto Detailing

Boston itself covers 50 square miles of concrete and traffic, well city limits actually exactly 46 square miles, the entire metro area can be and is often over stated at 1100 square miles, but more realistically about 380 in our humble opinion. And you know some of that is water. And MASS is called MASS because of the number of communities and cities, similar to all the PA cities, townships, communities and three houses on a rural road deserves a new name game? In case you think I am kidding che More..

Boston Suburban areas a good choice to run a business

BioTechs even with the latest news had shed over 1000 jobs two years ago, as it was reported by The Financial Times, WSJ, and Bloomberg that only 17 of the nearly 1300 BioTech firms were actually profitable. In 2002 the number of jobs were in the 30,000 range in Biotech. 600 layoffs came from Millennium Pharmaceuticals. And the VCs are were barely interested as they hardly even look at tech deals with all of them netting less than 3 Million in venture capital for computer software and less than More..

Pressure Washing Business; Steam Cleaner Fuel Maintenance

It is essential that you fully understand how the fuel system works on your hot water pressure washer or steam cleaner. If you mess it up it could catch on fire and if you are not right there to put it out, you could potentially lose your machine. This type of equipment has been known to explode and Hydrotek out of California actually has a CD Rom video of a machine exploding when a fuel leak is ignited just to show operators what could happen. We recommend the Hydrotek Hot Water Pressure Washer More..

Setting Up as an Electronic Repair Authorized Service Center

If you plan to upgrade your workshop into an Authorized Service Center, this should guarantee plenty of work and a secure future. Setting up from scratch as an Authorized Service Center is not an easy job. Your workshop need to meet the manufacturers' requirement first before they can appoint your company as an Authorized Service Center. ? Good track record - Manufacturer expect a company to have a good track record in the trade and have been around for a long time. ? Accessibility - Easy for More..

How to Find Success in the Import Export Business

Take advantage of world politics today and start your own import export business. Are you organized, efficient, and ready to make your future in an opportunity all your own? Import Export Business Opportunities are expanding and there is room for you! In the early nineteen eighties, one of the most popular things in Soviet Russia was American made blue jeans. Exporters made money hand over fist selling American made products to the East. Now, twenty years later, we have seen the fall of communi More..

Dont Wait - Sell The Future Now!

Just as you are about to say "good-bye" to your hair stylist, you get the question, "shall we make our next appointment?" Most businesses sell products or services that are cyclical in their "need" curve. In other words, the client has need of your product at regular intervals of time. Examples are a veterinarian (varying amounts of time between "needs"), a tax accountant (at least annually, often monthly or quarterly), or a house painter (five to ten years). The customer, once finished with th More..

Concrete Cleaning Discussed at World of Concrete Expo 03

If you are in the pressure washing business and are serious about what you clean on the ground floor, I suggest you attend the WOC. The WOC is the World of Concrete Expo in Las Vegas, which is held once per year. Each year it grows and is now one of the largest trade shows in Las Vegas. We spent two days walking the halls, meeting vendors, potential customers and learning about new materials, cleaners and equipment. The first year we attended the show was the World of Concrete Expo 03' from 02- More..

Reclaim Equipment Detailing Industry and NPDES, EPA, Storm Water Rules

It behooves every professional mobile auto detailer to stay up with the reclaim equipment necessary to comply with the NPDES, EPA and storm water rules. Every company has a responsibility to not pollute the water supplies. If you are an auto detailer perhaps I might be able to assist you in complying without breaking your bank. There are inexpensive ways to keep your waste wash water out of the storm drains. The Detail Guys, my company, has been forced to upgrade our units to comply with the la More..

Small Businesses You Can Start in Automotive

There are many choices when thinking about a small business involving your favorite hobby, cars. What about a Mobile detailing franchise? Yes they too are available. As a matter of fact there are many such choices and each is a little different let me explain. The Detail Guys had a portable turnkey franchise with portable detailing trailers and or truck mounted units. Their web site is www.detailguys.com. They are a franchise and there is on-going support but also ongoing fees and payments call More..

Business Debt Collection Letter Writing Secrets

Debt collection letters--an overview "Debt collection letter" in the singular may be an oxymoron, since unfortunately, one is rarely enough. You should have a series of letters to send to deadbeat clients, each one becoming a little more insistent. Here are some ideas for a five-letter series. Don't make your first letter look like a collection letter at all. Make it a friendly note. You're more likely to get money from someone who thinks of you as a partner than a dun. If that first letter d More..

Detailing Business Options

So you want to get into the auto detailing business and are not sure what options are right for you? It is a difficult choice indeed and there are so many options. Let me tell you a few having been in the industry some 27-years, we have seen a lot of businesses come and go and we have seen what works. If you have space and a large shop with Ziebart, Detail Plus or a Detail Guys Super Center or an independent shop with sufficient parking you may really want to be considering the trucking industr More..

Professional Car Care Businesses You Can Start

If you are in the professional car care business you may be looking to expand your business, for that no one can blame you. But which add on service makes the most sense? You will have to make an honest assessment of your current clientele and decide that for your self. If you own a fixed site detail shop, a car wash or a mobile automotive appearance business there are many options to look at. Maybe you do not wish to add services right now? You will want to add services later, simply out of cus More..

Small Business CRM Is Here To Stay

If you ask most small business owners what priority CRM has in their short-term business plans, chances are you'll get more than one blank stare. The fact is that most small business owners don't even know what CRM is not to mention how significantly it can benefit their growing company. This prevailing ignorance of small business CRM (customer relationship management) usually stems from just a few basic causes. Excuses not to invest in small business CRM The first and most common reason for di More..

How to Avoid the Most Common Reasons for Small Business Failure

The life cycle of the typical small business is short and painful. It starts out with a dream and ends with a whimper. And in between, a struggle of Herculean proportions is played out as the owner tries to figure out why the business isn't succeeding. Depending on which survey you read, up to 80% of small businesses fail. Most fail within the first five years and those who survive the first five are often losing money. Pursuing a career in small business ownership seems like a fool's footpath More..

Real World Accounting for Small Business Owners

If you're like me, you love accounting. It's so fascinating and such an ingenious system. Don't you just think that Double Entry Accounting is the most beautiful creation of all humankind? Okay, let's get real. You probably think accounting is boring and best left to pencil pushing geeks (like me!). I mean?BOOORRRRING! Total Snooze-fest! Well, my friend, I'm about to introduce you to Real World Accounting for Regular People. But, be careful, it just may change the way you look at accounting FO More..

Top 10 Record Keeping Mistakes Business Owners Make (and How To Avoid Them)

If you interviewed business owners of failed businesses, a majority will tell you that they didn't understand or feel comfortable dealing with the "book work". Your ability to understand and perform day to day accounting tasks in your small business is a critical success factor. Here are some tips to help you avoid the most common mistakes business owners make. Top 10 Record Keeping Mistakes Business Owners Make 1. Not having a record keeping system set up (the shoebox approach) 2. Procrastin More..

Encouraging Your Customers to Pay On Time

Nothing can drive a business down faster than customers who don't pay their bills as agreed. When you sell to customers on credit you are making an agreement with them. You will provide them with goods or services in exchange for their payment within the terms you agree upon. Period. What I'm seeing more and more of is businesses using their suppliers as banks. Taking 60-90 days or more to pay a bill is becoming more and more common. I've seen some business owners shrug their shoulders and just More..

Cost Effective Franchise Regulations, Come again

The Franchise Group at the Federal Trade Commission in all their ego and glory has proclaimed that franchise disclosure laws are "Cost Effective." I hate to break it to the FTC, but your comments and court are completely naked. The folks at the FTC are wearing no clothes. In a recent franchise report put out by the commission they actually had the tenacity to say that these rules and regulations in the franchise law are cost effective. What on God's Earth are they talking about? How can the FTC More..

FTC Franchise Rule if Enacted will Trigger Hardship for Private Sector

The FTC Franchise Rule maybe changed, as the Federal trade Commission has put out a report to the franchising industry as to upgrade the rule. If enacted will it will trigger hardship for private sector and cost many trees their lives; Paperwork. If this rule is passed; tree MUST die because everyone will have to their already 200 plus page franchise disclosure documents. Franchise companies will have to add clauses that state; even though we offered you a franchise with the delivering of offer More..

Electronic Franchise Disclosure and E-Signature Future for Investors

It has been discussed allowing Franchising companies to electronically disclose franchise documents to the public and prospective franchisees. If the Federal Trade Commission wants to make UFOC information available electronically through email to catch up with the newest technologies then it will get complaints and make up another rule saying no unsolicited UFOC maybe sent through email. This is because the documents have gotten so large they amount to what would be considered an email bomb. T More..

Over Disclosure Hurts Businesses

Many investors and business ethics professionals are calling for more transparency and regulators are calling for more disclosure. Yet in the franchising industry this can spell disaster indeed. Often Competitors seeking information about companies will collect these documents and use it to the disadvantage of franchising companies. In my company we have done extremely well on the Internet in attracting people who want their car washed, we are well spidered on the search engines for key words, More..

Franchising Industry Burdened in Over Regulation

There were only an estimated 1800 active franchisors in this country at the end of 2002, that number down from 6000 in a single decade. It is not hard from this effort to increase regulations to see why. I believe the Federal Trade Commission's franchising expenditures should be cut by the same rate of decline after all they caused it. Why is the Federal Trade Commission favoring one business model over another, actually the franchising model lowers prices to consumers through economies of scale More..

Competition in the Market Place and Over Disclosure Regulatory Burden

The Federal Trade Commission is assisting competitor to cheat and encouraging this unethical behavior thru their disclosure rule on franchisors. Competition in the market place is far more competitive and the stakes are high enough that Over Disclosure Regulatory Rules cause competition to take the advantage and cheat. And before you say I am off base on these comments, let me tell you that 20% of every single inquiry to buy our franchise comes from a competitor. That's right 20%. So with 70% m More..

432 Page Franchise Report by the FTC

The Federal Trade Commission is upgrading the franchise law and they have made a report. Recently I have been reviewing the FTC's franchise rule report page by page. I have was shocked to learn that after commenting on the first two paragraphs in the first page of information directly following the table of contents, it took me 19 pages. I see now the reason for the 432-page report on franchising; the FTC has put forth a 432-page report and used the mass data approach to BS and Baffle potential More..

Franchise Companies Come and Go

Each day we hear of companies entering the franchising industry. This is good news for America, right? Well, yes and know. Yes, because franchising is the closest thing to the spirit of free enterprise as any other method of doing business and because franchising offers small business people advantages that they would not normally have in pursuing their American Dream. However it is unfortunate but true that the average Franchisor failure rate is 5:1 in five years. Meaning they are gone out of b More..

Pressure Washing Business and Post Fire Cleanups

Many have not experienced a fire up close. One year about 15 years ago I almost lost my house as did our neighbors to a wild fire. It moved so fast and the sky so black, with cinders everywhere and soot like a nuclear fallout horror movie. Luckily our neighborhood was spared except for a couple of homes. The fire fighters did a good job that day, others living further down the path of the fire and lower in the canyons did not fair so well, a few people even lost their lives. From that day on, I More..

Make Your Business More Profitable

More sales and more profit. Isn't that what you want from your business? It's not hard to achieve if you follow these 4 simple tips. 1. Keep Adding More New Markets Every new market you open captures a new layer of sales ...and makes your business more secure. The more markets you serve the less dependent you are on the sales from any one market. Tip: You can quickly add several profitable new markets to your business by sub-dividing your present market into several narrowly defined niche mar More..

Why The Carwash Industry is Stagnant; What You Can Do to Change Your Field

Many years ago, I had warned the carwash industry of problems brewing in customer dissatisfaction as we continued to grow our car wash company into a National Franchise Chain. I warned of environmental controls, speed of wash, water usage, quality of labor, price points, car wash fundraisers, car damage, up selling and hot wax. At that time I was called everything under the Sun by operators who did not wish to change. Today, just over a five years later those changes are coming about. The ICA, More..

Politics, Environmental Rules, and Mobile Car Washes

During the California Recall Election, I was very interested. Without getting into the political scene at all; my entire company, The Car Wash Guys, and all our staff and franchisees were closely watching The California Recall and Election. Why you say? Why would a National Car Wash Franchising Company care much? Well we have some friends of past days who were very much involved there. See some of these articles and find out how we were assisted in our early company years by Mr. Tom McClintock ( More..

Cleaning Grain Silos, Towers, Containers, and Combines

If you run a pressure washing company in a rural market you will need to learn how to wash agricultural industry equipment and infrastructure. In our company The Tractor Wash Guys, we We have several years of experience washing combines. Phil Hasenhoehrl, a wheat farmer in Lewiston Idaho, was raised in the farming business. His family has been farmers for over 100 years. In addition to farming, Phil has worked with us and helped us in learning how best to develop this market sector. He was befor More..

Franchise Buyers Lying On Forms

The Federal Trade Commission which governs the franchise industry thru the franchise rule, which enforces Franchise Disclosure laws seems to think that consumers need to be protected even when they lie. Often The FTC takes complaints from consumers who claim they had been ripped off or lied to from someone selling a Biz-OP or some corporation, which sells franchises. The Federal Trade Commission will not admit that at least two-thirds of the incoming complaints are made in falsehood by consumers More..

Bogus Investor and Consumer Complaints and Consumer Misrepresentation

Like most regulatory bodies in the United States, the Federal Trade Commission gets investor and consumer complaints. But how much of these are actually real? These agencies then act on such complaints and increase regulations. Let's look at the Franchising industry for example. The complaints of fraud are non-existent for the most part in franchising, yet the FTC franchise group is dead set on making more regulations which in turn stifle the industry. I recently talked to an NASD regulator who More..

Franchise Buyers from Hell

I ran a franchise company for many years, a car wash franchise, and we use to get the most ridiculous franchise buyers who thought they wanted a franchise. It seems we had to deal with these Kookoo birds because they have consumer rights and the Federal Trade Commission, which looks over franchising goes out of their way to let these consumers get away with these tall tales. We had a potential franchise buyer wish to buy a franchise in Peachtree, GA. He filled out our form and said he would see More..

The Misconceptions of the Value Of Disclosures in Franchising

Disclosure laws in franchising are suppose to help the consumer. They don't. The FTC, which over sees franchising has in fact created a rule, which makes 5 lb. Disclosure documents for franchise buyers, which is so huge that no one ever reads it. I know when I personally meet a franchise buyer whose application form is approved and hand them a UFOC, Uniform Franchise Offering Circular with attachments and watch their jaw drop and then their hand drop when they clutch it in their hands (due to th More..

Starting a New Business in a Small Town

Q. I am a former pastor who left the ministry after sixteen years to spend more time with my family. We moved to a very small town (less than ten thousand people) and I want to start an internet cafÃƒÂ© business and also offer PC repair. How can I investigate and then promote this business? A. In a big city, you'll make decisions by numbers and neighborhoods. In a small town, you schmooze! On the surface, everyone will be friendly, optimistic and positive. Your challenge: Get below the surfac More..

Trailblazer Interview with Diane J. Levin, Partnering Solutions

Today is a Red Letter Day! It's special because today is the first edition of the Trailblazer Interviews. You'll meet some of the most fascinating, talented folks in the ADR world who I call Trailblazers. These women and men have taken mediation and other ADR tools in directions no one ever thought about before. They've enhanced the profession, and our world, with their ground-breaking work. The Trailblazer Interview Series is my way to do a double mitzvah: honor them and bring their wisdom to More..

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