Starting a franchise - any experience?

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LoneWolf

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Good day,

I'm doing some market research for starting a franchise business and i would like to ask if anyone on these forums have got experience, know of someone who has, or also wants to start a business in the franchise sector. general advice, tips and tricks, what to look out for, any municipal issues et al.

please feel free to PM me as well. im starting this thread with the hope that we can help each other and share advice.

thanks.
 
The benefit of buying a franchise is that it is (suposedly) a proven concept and all the market research, permits, legal requirements, suppliers, pricing ect required to start a business is supplied, it is a turn key operation. Make sure you buy from a reputable company, speak to multiple other franchises and get your own attorney to look over the contract. If in doubt hire a independent business consultant to investigate on your behalf, considering the cost of a decent franchise in today's market it will be well worth it to ensure a smooth ride.
 
Id love to know how all these wimpy ect get started,

I suppose you need to have quite a bit of cash in the bank to get it off the ground....

then the situation becomes more involved....
 
Thanks purpleheart for the info. good inputs so far.

it is a reputable franchise, growing quite good. its all about location...

no its not a cash converters lol

speaking about wimpy etc, our Spur where i live sold for R17mil. thats not bad for a restaurant.... owner retired.
 
i already have a PTY (ltd) so most of the difficult paperwork and jazz should be sorted. how does BEE partners affect opening of a franchise?

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The biggest mistake I've seen franchise owners make is to not be involved in the day to day operation of the place. They think they'll buy a franchise and hire a manager and then money will roll in.

Be involved, try to be there 80% of the time, keep the quality of your product on par with customer service, you will thrive. I've seen many Steers (as an example, Spurs as well) be run into the ground because of absent owners, on the opposite end of the coin, owners who are involved with their customers and visible to staff all the time tend to have a better quality *everything* and people go there out of loyalty and the fact they can depend on consistently getting what they pay for and value for money.
 
LoneWolf said:
i already have a PTY so most of the difficult paperwork and jazz should be sorted. how does BEE partners affect opening of a franchise?
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Unless you are looking for specific funding that would be made available because of BEE partners, the intended partner has expertise or is making an investment I don't see the benefit. Only consider a partner if they bring a significant and measurable benefit or you will be in a situation where you have to carry them and while you are in the process of establishing the business it could make or break you.

You might have a couple more hurdles concerning administration because even once you have a PTY the nessasary permits, labour law, suppliers and finanicials can all get very tricky but being a franchise you should recieve guidance through the process.

Exciting times for you, good luck. Just remember to never get so attached to the idea you can't be objective being a entrepreneur is not only about owning a business you can be proud of its about making a profit or it will all fall apart.
 
eg2505 said:
Id love to know how all these wimpy ect get started,

I suppose you need to have quite a bit of cash in the bank to get it off the ground....

then the situation becomes more involved....
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For MCD last I checked you need at least R3bar unencumbered cash - then you still need to go the states for training.... It is expensive..
 
wow great advice from all, thank you very much. the plan is to be hand on. leaving employer, so i will always be involved with the business. got extensive experience in the admin and training field so getting people trained wont be a issue. only issue is good workers, are they willing to go the extra mile etc. looking after the people and paying them decently is obviously the way to go. happy people make for good business.
 
LoneWolf said:
only issue is good workers, are they willing to go the extra mile etc. looking after the people and paying them decently is obviously the way to go. happy people make for good business.
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THAT is always the issue. My advice: Hire for attitude; train for skills.

And there is the problem is SA from my point of view: The attitude of the lower income groups is usually: You owe me, 'cause I'm .....
 
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