Personal Business Guide

Archive for February, 2012

3 Things You Should Know Before Buying a Business Franchise

February 12th, 2012

3 Things You Should Know Before Buying a Business Franchise photo Business franchise refers to the arrangement entered upon by the owner of a certain business with another party who is interested in running same business under its name. In the agreement, the real business owner allows the use of his registered trademark in exchange for some payment.

Business franchising is a strategy a lot of first-time businessmen take because there is lesser risk surrounding the setup. And more often than not, the franchise package includes everything you’ll need in launching the business. The business owner provides for raw materials, supplies, equipments, and all promotional materials. And because the business already exists, it becomes easier for the franchisee to build up its customer base.

However, there are some things you should consider before you invest your hard-earned cash on business franchises:

1. A percentage of your profit is paid to the franchisor.
You will be forever under the franchisee agreement for as long as you are using the name of their business. Part of the agreement is to pay the business owner royalties and other related fees. There’s no way to go around it.

2. You are allowed to seek support from the franchise owners.
Most business owners are more than willing to provide trainings to their franchisees to minimize errors while operating the business. It is your right as a franchisee to request for meetings with the bosses so they can help you out in certain things you are not very familiar with.

3. The business owner may restrict your choice of territory, suppliers, and employment policy.
Business owners want to have full control of each franchisee’s operation and quality of products. Therefore, franchise owners don’t really have much freedom when it comes to where they can get raw materials, equipments, and supplies for their business. This also means that it can be a little hard to reduce overhead costs.

These are the things that you should consider before you plunge into the franchise market. Try to determine if business franchising is for you. If ever it is, make sure you go with the company that’s tried and tested over the years.

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Posted in Franchise

Foreclosure Help: Your Best Friend in Tough Times

February 10th, 2012

Foreclosure Help: Your Best Friend in Tough Times photo Being stuck in a foreclosure situation is a real pain in the you know what! Every year thousands of people and homeowners fall into this trap where they hide behind closed doors hoping that the debt collectors would just go away. The truth is you can indeed make them go away- but only if you take decisive action as early as possible.

In fact, it’s a major tragedy that many folks ultimately foreclose on their homes which could have prevented if they owned up to the situation and followed through with some basic actions. Many of them simply sit on their hands and hope for a miracle. Although that might work in some cases, you still ought to give it a good ol college try- because at this point you’ve got nothing to lose for trying.

The very first thing that anyone facing this difficult situation should do is contact their loaning bank or credit union to see what can be done. Here’s a big secret for you, your debtors actually want to help you! They have a lot of things swimming on their minds as it is and it’s a huge hassle for them if you go into foreclosure- they’d much rather get you out of it. It’s simply good business sense.

In many cases, especially if you catch onto the early stages of this process, your lending institution representative will offer help so that you can avoid foreclosure- by a long shot. Until this first step is done, do not work with private individuals claiming to be investors who want to get the property off your hands. Not all of these guys are scam artists, but if you do decide to work on selling off your home or negotiate a deal with a third party, it’s advisable to have a knowledgeable real estate attorney with you during discussions.