Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Find A Great Colorado Franchise Opportuniy

The Colorado franchise market place is growing rapidly with more and more people buying a franchise business. The people who invest in a Colorado franchise opportunity are more likely to succeed then those who choose to go it alone. Many millionaires have been created through the franchise industry alone.

After a lengthy study carried out over 7 years by the US Department of Commerce, it was revealed that over 90% of franchisees were still in business. Those who had decided to go it alone and start a business on their own, only 20% were still trading.

The Colorado franchise industry has finally shaken of its dubious reputation and people are moving towards franchise businesses in droves. This is probably due to the fact that a lot of high paid jobs in manufacturing industries are declining as more and more manufacturers are moving their plants overseas where they have access to a lower paid, highly skilled work force.

For businesses wanting to expand rapidly, franchising has many benefits. The franchisee helps fund the businesses expansion and has a major interest in making sure that the business is successful.

For franchisees the benefit is that they get access to a proven business model, full training and support. They also have access to higher funding from banks that realise that the risks are lower in funding a franchisee then somebody who is starting out on his own!

So how does one go about choosing the right Colorado franchise opportunity for them? Most people dream about being self employed but are scared to take the plunge. The best way to choose a franchise business is to start by analysing your self. What kind of person are you? Are you self motivated, do you like networking or do your skills lie in management?

If your forte is in managing other people then a business which involves a labour force might be right for you. If on the other hand you don’t like being tied down to one place then a franchise business that involves meeting and networking with local businesses would suit you better.

Are you a morning person or an evening person? Some Colorado franchise opportunities require a very early start like a coffee shop franchise. Other businesses involve working mostly in the evenings, like legal franchises that involve drawing up standard documents for the public. In this case most of your appointments will be in the evenings.

You must also be prepared to educate yourself in a field that you know nothing about. Most Denver franchises, I am sorry to say, involve a lot of training and are hard work. You will have to be prepared to put the effort in, especially in the initial stages, when you are starting up.

In the longer term you should have a successful business that allows you to employ staff who can take a lot of burden away from you.

Be Careful Buying a New Trendy Franchise Opportunity

Aritcle Source: Lance Winslow

Many Colorado franchise buyers want to get in on the ground floor of the hottest new franchise that is available. They see that the company is selling the franchises like hotcakes and they want to get in before the Colorado franchises are sold in their area where they live. But you must be very careful about buying franchises that are part of a Fad and not part of a long-term trend. Fads come and go, and if you sign a 10-year franchise agreement, and take out a ten-year lease, and all of a sudden no one is interested in buying that product anymore or having those services, you will be stuck holding the bag.

Not only that, but you won't be able to transfer your Colorado franchise opportunity or sell it to anyone else because no one will be interested in buying it. Yet, you will probably be stuck with paying the minimum royalties to your franchisor even if you are not making any money. Not to mention the fact that the landlord will expect your lease check for rental of the building each month regardless of the fact that you are not turning a profit.

Now this is not to say that a hot new Denver franchise may not actually be a good deal. Many are, and all large Colorado franchise chains that are quite successful were once one of the hot new franchises of their year. Of course, there were probably 3500 franchisors that are no longer with this, that were once one of hot new franchises also. In reality the failure rate of franchisors is 5 to 1 over the first five years. And if you are one of the franchisees of one of those systems, you will have spent quite a bit of money and capital getting your business up and running only to have the entire bottom drop out. Please consider all this.

Lance Winslow is a retired franchisor - Lance Winslow's Bio. Lance Winslow is formerly the CEO of WashGuys family of franchises for instance one of Lance Winslow's favorite companies on the team; http://www.windowwashguys.com/links.shtml.