Free Bright Idea 1: Instant Printshop Business

Source: http://copylandia.com/node/87

Copylandia has been the partner of more than a thousand successful printshops and copy centers across the nation, each of them using the tried and tested combination of equipment that the Copylandia Printshops have been using through the years.

A basic printshop set-up is composed of a Riso digital duplicator, a Develop copier, a Konica Minolta Magicolor multifunction printer, an Evolis card printer, an Eba papercutter, an Ibico ringbinder, an Ibico laminator and a personal computer.

A printshop business is easy to setup and manage. Monitoring is made easy because of built-in counters in the machine and the materials and paper used can easily be accounted for and matched with sales. Unlike, other businesses, the materials and supplies used in the printshops are durable and have long shelf lives. If the printshop has enough space, an internet business can conveniently complement the set-up.

A printshop setup investment can start from as low as P500,000, which if given the right location can easily be recovered within a year. You may call Copylandia should you want to explore the possibilities of a printshop business and to avail of an ongoing promo on a basic printshop package. You may also contact Solutions Consultant through mobile number 09154209153, 02-219-29-17 or e-mail at rbalayo_mla@copylandia.com.

Free Bight Idea 2: PHILIPPINE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY 2

Digital Publishing On-Demand

SOURCE: http://www.copylandia.com/Digital_Publishing_On_Demand

Develop Ineo Pro 1050

Get into the publishing business without the long, tedious and costly process! Forget traditional offset printing, digital publishing on-demand is now made possible with production copier models from Develop of Germany. Built for high volume production, the Ineo Pro 1050 has a rated capacity of 1,500,000 prints a month with the speed of 105 prints per minute at a very low running cost of only 20 centavos per copy.

Digital publishing of books, manuals, periodicals, journals can now be fast and easy! Print materials directly from the computer, have it digitally collated and produced one set at a time. For an order of 1,000 books, you can immediately print one or two pieces that your customer can pre-approve before proceeding to complete the job. Should your customer need an advance print of 50 books, confidently print and deliver them within the day, to his satisfaction and delight.

Develop Ineo+6501

For color publishing requirements, printing full-color covers and inserts for your publications, a complete range of full color copiers are readily available. Having problems with heavy full-color printing requirements? The Develop Ineo+6500 full color multifunction production machine is the right one for the job. With the speed of 65 offset quality prints per minute, and can print materials as big as 13”x19”, and up to 300 gsm paper, this multifunction machine is just perfect for book covers and yearbooks. The Ineo+6500 is indeed a breakthrough in production color printing, copying, scanning and is one of the best-selling production color copiers in the market today.

Horizon BQ270

Publishing doesn't stop at printing. Binders and paper cutters also play an essential role in digital publishing. For this purpose, the Horizon BQ-150, a tried and tested 'perfect binder' from Japan comes in handy, with its capacity to bind 150 books an hour. For higher production requirements and a more professional book finish, the Horizon BQ270 does the job right. And last in the process is the final trimming of

Horizon HT70

the published material that can be done using the Horizon PC-45SC Paper Cutter or the HT30 book trimmer, the perfect partner for the BQ270.

Copylandia offers a wide range of finishing products from Horizon, Ibico, and Eba to choose from depending on your finishing requirements.

You want to start a publishing business? Maybe we can be of service to you. Please call: 09154209153 or e-mail at: rbalayo_mla@copylandia.com for more help with this article.

Free Bright Idea 3: Philippine BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY

Instant Calling Card Printing

Source: www.copylandia.com

Develop Ineo+253

Despite advancements in technology, business cards or calling cards remain a staple in every business transaction. Cut a share from the printing profit and start your own calling card printing business.

Print and perfectly cut 100 pieces of calling cards in less than 3 minutes using two amazing technologies, the ineo multifunction color printer from Develop of Germany and a Horizon card slitter from Japan.

Horizon KK1-11

Companies can now do their own in-house printing of business cards, and enjoy all the benefits of true on-demand printing. No more costly over-printing and no need to wait for weeks, get them when you need them. Enjoy the flexibility of customizing business cards when you need it, how you want it.

Avail of the instant calling card package and get the card-slitter free when you purchase a Develop Ineo+253 multifunction color copier.

Please Contact: 09154209153 or send e-mail to rbalayo_mla@copylandia.com for more information. You may also visit, www.copylandia.com for the products offered as solutions for your printing to finishing requirements!

The Importance of Online Interactions with Your Customers

Have you ever wondered when you tried to search for your company’s website on famous search engines like Yahoo! Search and Google Search and you found some other links not related with your official URL? Some of them maybe familiar to you if you joined with some organization where in you pay them to be a member for Thousands of Pesos and in return they include your company’s information to their website. However, you noticed other sites where in you are not familiar with, but features your company’s information and give comments whether your product or service is good or not. Of course you will be happy if the reactions are in favour with you company’s goals, but what if you’ve read the other way around? What will you do?

Please take note that customers have many different ways on expressing their complaints or favorable feedbacks based on what they experienced with your product or service. It is good that you indicated a customer service hotline or number or e-mail in your packaging but did you know that the number of customers’ feedbacks that you have not received is roughly more than double than the number of these feedbacks you received over your hotline or e-mails? The Internet so far is one of the major tools customers are using to express their sentiments if they are not satisfied of your product or service but may voluntarily make an article concerning their delightful experience if they are happy with it. Some employees may write their own experience with the company they work with. Loyal employees may write positive comments, while there are dangers that they will express there sentiments out over the web if they feel they are maltreated by the company. And, before you know it, everybody else is writing the same against or in favor of your business.

These are just some of the many reasons why a certain company should take focus on online communication or mediums where in you can address the concerns of your customers—both external (buyers) and internal (your employees themselves). Other than your official website, you may participate or even ask somebody to write an article for you over the net. The person will be the one to maintain the site to have good reader traffic in order to increase awareness of your product and services offered. He will even summarize both the negative and positive feedbacks of the readers and submit it to you. You may reply on giving answers to these summarized feedbacks and the author or writer will post it back to his site for the purpose of interaction with the customers.

You already have you official website so why not just stick to it?

Well, while it is good to have an official website, you should know very well that Internet Surfers will consider it BORING if your site is not maintained or updated frequently. More worse is that they have no means of posting their comments or feedbacks directly with your website or so to speak, a means of interacting with your company other than e-mail and hotlines. Maybe they will visit it ones or twice or thrice; but if they found the same content from the first up to the third visit, do you think they will revisit your webpage again for the fourth time? I don’t think so, unless they forgot to take note what they need to get from your site. If you really want to maximize your official website, make it interactive and update it most often.

“But, the cost of maintaining a website by updating it frequently and making it more interactive is too much for me. I need to hire an I.T. professional for these and this will be very expensive for a starting entrepreneur like me. Are there any alternatives to reinforce my site?”

Of course there are alternatives!

Blogging as One of the Alternatives
Blog or Web log is one of the hottest phenomenons occurring on the Internet today. As a proof, Technorati.com, a blog search engine was tracking over 20 million blogs as of late quarter of 2005 and CEO Dave Sifry noted that 70, 000 blogs were created every day (Blogging for Business by Shel Holtz and Ted Demopoulos, 2006). The Blogosphere, a term for a blog community, is one of the online interactive medium that any ordinary internet surfer who can publish or post his or her own views, principles, comments, knowledge, company or product reviews, and more! Before you know it, you have encountered it in the past and may have got hooked on to it especially for some interesting topic.

So, how much would it cost?

Other than your internet connection and time, this is free if you will be posting your own articles and sign up for some famous blog providers. But if you cannot afford to write articles for your own, you may want to let others post your article or make a review of your product or service and they will be the one to post it to their own blogs. Some bloggers will charge you for a fee but this is much cheaper than hiring a writer for a press release or posting your ad to newspapers. Other bloggers will just ask for a donation from you and you will decide how much you will give to them. Of course when it says a donation, you have no obligation to pay. However, the reason for some bloggers to ask for it is to have means of supporting or maintaining his blog site in the long run. This is much cheaper than hiring for an IT professional to maintain your own website.

Rewarding Freelance Writers Who Featured Your Company Whereabouts
Try to visit and interact to those unfamiliar links that featured your company’s valuable information for the benefit of your target customers, give them simple rewards either money or in kind and you will expect more articles featuring the whereabouts of your company. Of course this is not a guarantee but if you will do it more often, then expect for a positive interaction with them. What more, is that, they will be the one to defend some of the minor flaws of your company.

I believe that these two alternatives can reinforce your website in a much time efficient and cost effective manner while building up credibility with your Internet savvy customers. This is one way of promoting your product or service in a non traditional method of marketing and business development. For a related article about the web please click here.

Note: If you are interested about this article and would like to begin posting your company’s articles or press releases, please contact the author. You may get the author’s contact information by clicking here.

Yahoo! Answers Series 2: Would companies pay me to wear their logos as product placement tattoos?

I included this 2nd Yahoo! Answers because I found him/her equipped with bright ideas and needs to clarify things out before proceeding to his/her next plan. I guess this is one way to reinforce some of the ideas I posted here for those who want to be a risk taker but should calculate the risk itself.

Username, 'Best Answer'of famous Yahoo! Answers asked the following:
"Would companies pay me to wear their logos as product placement tattoos?"

Here is my reply to him/her:

This is a bright idea!

But of course you have to contact them first and ask for a formal letter which states that they are allowing you to use their logos before using it as product placement tatoos.
Why?
They may charge you of illegally using their logos if they are protected with the Intellectual Property rights. And they will be the one to charge you instead.

By the way if your are an entrepreneur and want some free bight ideas you may visit my blogsite: http://freebrightideas.blogspot.com to read some tips about business and other stuffs.

Hope this will help.

Warm regards,

Just an info: http://freebrightideas.blogspot.com is not a spam. This is a blog created by me to help Internet readers.

Thanks!

While all of us are thinking of some bright ideas for our business to begin with, it is advisable to ask first before jumpng to another level.
There is no harm to ask someone about what you are planning to do. However, you should take note also the credibility of the person whom you asked an opinion so that you can avoid any pitfalls along the way if possible.

Yahoo! Answers Series 1: WHAT TO DO WITH $10, 0000 CASH?

This article is a little bit informal compared with my previous posted articles.

Well to begin the story with, I'm starting to answer some questions from Yahoo! Answers and came across with the question of Username 525 B. The query is actually simple:

"What to do with $10,000 cash ?
I have $10,000 cash ready to use it to make some profit back. Either buying stuff to resell or maybe play some stocks.. I'm not sure. Any suggestions ? This $10,000 is ready to take risks. Please list some ideas and what will you do if you was in my position.

Thanks"

To be transparent, here are the answers of others:

From dean_dann: "you can donate the money to me... lol.."
From Black Sonic: "enjoy yourself wit it buy some new koo stuff"
From Fx Funds: "Invest in FX Funds Group if you would like to make 2 - 15% per month. Search for myfxfunds in google search engine for more information."
From Space Invader 101:"You'll probably break even doing the Ebay thing. I'd go for stocks. Maybe invest in some investment books and buy some software to give you more of an advantage."

FROM ME (Site Hunter):

"Hi there,

Like to inform you that if this $10,000 is your hard earned money, and I have it in your position, I cannot afford to take great risks. If I really want my money to grow or invest upon, I would rather see it growing rather than slipping out of my hands either slowly or in an instant just because I am ready to take the risk. Hope this will not offend you.

So, what will I do with it?

If I were you, I will spread my money into 2 portfolios. I will open a savings account and deposit them all for the mean time. Then I will contact some of the reputable MUTUAL FUNDS in my country and Open a balanced fund at the very minimum amount let say, $,2000. Then month after month, I will deposit another round of $2,000. making my savings account into the minimum amount required by the bank so that I will not be closed.

If I will be earning another $10,000 in the next few months, I will add it up to my Mutual Fund while opening a time deposit account to a reputable bank.

Opening a time deposit and a mutual fund is a way of minimizing my risk of losing the money that I have plus the concept of savings first before expenses. I did not say that there is no risk by doing but rather I minimize the risk by spreading my money into different portfolios.

Third option that I will do is, I will buy a commercial paper (could not think of the right term as of now) from the government like t-bills or t-bonds. This way I am assure of the returns though it is not quite high compared with the potential of receiving high returns from mutual funds in the long run.

By the way I will be publishing some articles about Personal Finance tips soon in my blogsite: http://freebrightideas.blogspot.com
Hope you can find some time to visit it and will assure you of some other specific tips.

Hope this would help.

Warm regards,

Just an info: http://freebrightideas.blogspot.com is blog created by me and not a spam. Thanks! Source(s): www.colaycofoundation.com
www.mutualfund.com.ph "

I think I will be sharing some Personal Finance Tips in my future articles. Please subscribe to this blog so you can keep track of it.

I’m Applying as Franchisee; What Will I Do?

Oh yeah? So, you decided to explore your entrepreneurial spirit by going into Franchise but you don’t have any idea on how and where to start with. What will you do? In my article, Common Mistakes Committed by Franchisees that Lead to Failure published on April 20, 2009, we discussed some factors that lead to failure of doing business in the franchise industry. Now I believe that giving also some tips on the pre-operational activities on applying as Franchisee should reinforce my previous article. By the way, if you have not yet read the article that I mentioned, please click here so you’ll have an idea.

Here are the six (6) guidelines before completely going into Franchise:

Guideline Number 1. You should have enough capital.
Companies offering a franchise of their product or services are usually capital intensive though there companies who starts for as low as P5,000.00 up to Million of Pesos. For some companies who established their brand well, stay in the their respective industry for quite sometime, and has proven standard operating procedures that are efficient and profitable, merely offer their Franchise from P100, 000.00 and up to Million of Pesos depending on the size of their capital to operate the business, costs of equipment and utensils, area of the location, use of their trademark or brand, trainings and site assessment, initial inventory of stocks, and more. The cost of paying these is called Franchise Fee. While the supports, service and materials mentioned that get in exchange for a Franchise Fee is a Franchise Package. You should be ready also to deposit a Security Bond or Security Deposit depending on the requirement of the company that you are applying with. Do not expect that the amount will earn an interest. Another major cost that you will be incurring is the Royalty Fee where in most companies are charging roughly from 3 % up to 10% of your sales. Other companies do not have this fee but they require you to purchase all stocks from their Commissary or a combination of both.

Guideline Number 2. The business you are applying with, should much with your expertise, hobbies, or simply what you really wanted.
Well, I am not really saying that you should follow this because you can eventually learn the whole operation though you have no strong start up knowledge about the business. What I would like to emphasize is that the more the business is aligned with your area of discipline or hobby or expertise, the more it is likely to avoid failure.

Guideline Number 3. You should choose the right location for your franchise.
Some Franchisors have their own location to be offered to the franchise applicants and already site evaluated by their own team. They are just waiting for the right franchisee to exploit the area. To be sure however, you should pay a visit for the offered location and assess it for your self. Please read the article that I composed entitled 7 Guidelines On How To Assess Potential Location For Your Business for more details.
Other companies let you look your own location and they will be the one to assess it whether or not it is viable. Some good companies, share with you the result of the assessment, either negative or positive, give a recommendation but you will be the one to decide if you will pursue or not if you knew the area very well.

Guideline Number 4. You should shop around, talk to the franchisor and clear your concerns out.
Do not just jump into franchise with the company who offers too good to be true promises and fast ROI, or just because you have seen them on TV. Remember the qualities of a superior company wherein they have superior product and services and they are working out as customer oriented and most of all quality oriented establishment. You should shop around and find out the background of the company and how strong they are. Always clear up questions on your mind about their business. Ask for the operational supports the company can give you while you are running the business. Usually you will not be meeting the General Manager or the President of the company instead, the Franchise Manager or Franchise Officer will be the one to handle your concerns. You may attend activities such as Franchise Expo and Shows to have an initial knowledge on the offered services of your prospect Franchisor. This is one way to save time and money because you can meet them in just one place for a day visit.

Guideline Number 5. Choose the right internal business partner.
If you will be running your Franchise with a relative or a friend for example, you should take note on hat you have agreed upon and make a formal agreement to be signed by both parties. This is to make sure that whatever happens with your business, both of you will be responsible for it. It is also a way to be more committed in running the business and one will not leave the other just in case negative circumstances are inevitable.

Guideline Number 6. Find a way to learn the basics of the Accounting Principles.
This is strongly recommended because from the day you start inquiring the costs of Franchise and how long you can get the return of your investment, inventory of stocks and raw materials up to preparing your Profit and Loss analysis is where the knowledge on Accounting Principles applies. You can learn it by surfing the web, or look for a reliable source like books written by reliable authors and or even ask CPA Professionals. Sometimes asking for a simple advice from Professionals is free.

I believe these 6 guidelines will help you improve your start up plans if you really want to follow the path of Franchising. Along the way you will encounter pitfalls but do not give up easily. You can ask privileges and requests from your franchisors whenever you will encounter these circumstances, after all, you are considered as BUSINESS PARTNER by your Franchisor and YOU are their VALUED CUSTOMER as well.

Publish Your Blogs from Microsoft Office Word 2007

I am using Microsoft Office Word 2007 for quite some time now. I noticed before that every time I open the 'New' menu to start a new blank document, there are always two options: Blank Document and New Blog Post. I usually use the Blank Document and never ever touched the New Blog Post not until I started Blogging.

Well probably, I am one of the late bloomers of the many hottest trends in the Internet, that is, BLOGGINGThis feature of MS Word 2007 actually makes your time more efficient especially for those who want to compose articles for their blog but has no Internet connection yet. Or they want to compose their articles first and publish it later.

Just a little information to worldwide readers is that the Philippines is still evolving on using the Internet from a schools, or Internet cafes or shop into a more home based Internet connection. Nevertheless, the passion for Filipinos to surf the cyberspace is overwhelming!

Here are the simple instructions on how to publish you blog from MS Word 2007:

Step 1. Make sure first that you have an internet connection. Open the MS Word Icon in your computer. If this is your first time to open MS Word, the blank document has a title, 'Document 1 – Microsoft Word'.

Step 2. In the Document 1 Click the Microsoft Logo on the upper left corner facing your computer. Then, Click New. A box will open and there will be two default choices: Blank Document and New Blog Post under the Blank and Recent Menu.

Step 3. Choose New Blog Post. A prompt box will appear and will remind you that you should register your blog account to start publishing your blog. There will be two choices, Register now or Register Later. Choose Register now. In this case, it is assumed that you have an internet connection. If you have no internet connection, click Register Later and you will proceed to a blank Blog post draft.

Step 4. If you clicked The Register Now button then another prompt box will appear. This time there will be a drop down list box of blogs supported by MS Word. Find the blog that you are using. If your blog is not listed, you may click others but as of now, let us assume that our blog is listed there. As for me, I chose Blogger.

Step 5. Click Next button. Another box will appear and will ask you to input your username and password of your Blog. Enter the requested information. You may opt to check the 'Remember my Password Check box so you will undergo to this wizard if you will revisit the New Blog Post.

Step 6. Click OK. MS Word will contact your blog provider you have chosen. Make sure that you have an internet connection.

Step 7. Before connection, there will be a prompt message that warns you that others may see the information while sending it over the Internet. Just click Yes, No if you want to cancel it.

Step 8. There will a prompt message that your registration is successful. Just click ok and bingo! You can start composing your blog.

Step 9. After composing, just click the Publish menu and MS Word will send this to your Blog Provider.

Step 10. Check your Blog and see if the post has been published.

Note: This article is a personal discovery of the author to share it to the readers voluntarily. Microsoft Office Word 2007 itself has a Help button and you may find a more specific instruction about publishing a blog post.

If you already have a domain name for your business, have it registered right away!

Dear Entrepreneurs!

This topic is for entrepreneurs who already established their business for quite some time, and are ready to inform the world or even locally that their business exists. This is also for business persons who want to be more professional in advertising and promoting their company, products and services offered, sales and marketing tools, etc.

Truly, the internet is a one of the most useful tools that man has ever created. Entrepreneurs must of course have to work their way up on establishing good website in promoting their business.

People nowadays tend to rely on search engine to research what ever information they would like to know and yes! looking for new products and services is one of the major information, people are searching over the internet.

So how can you get started of posting your products and services over the internet? How can you make your e-mail more personalized and more professional in nature? How can you post your business information on the web to be searched by your target customers or even non customers? Or simply, how can you make your own website over the internet?

I found a site which I believe will be helpful for aspiring entrepreneurs and business persons as well. Hope this will be of help for you. This is about the registering a domain name, what is really a domain name all about, and an introduction to a PH domain.

1. What is a domain name?
A domain name locates an organization or other entity on the Internet. It is the name by which you or your business will be known on the World Wide Web. It must be a unique name to set it apart from all other domain names on the web, so that those who want to find you don't get connected to someone else by mistake. Domain names are also called "domains" for short.

2. Why do I need a domain?
You need a domain so that people who use the Internet can find your site on the World Wide Web. Even if you don't have a website up yet, it is often a good idea to register your domain to avoid someone else getting and using the name that you want.

Having your own domain also lets you have a personalized email address, such as your-name@your-domain.ph. A personalized email address is easier to remember and more professional.





3. What are the advantages of registering a domain?
Having a domain lets Internet users find your site quickly and easily.

* You can use your domain to get an easy-to-remember e-mail address (ex. sales@your-company.ph, or your-first-name@your-last-name.ph).
* Owning a domain name signals you are in step with new technology, and lends you prestige and credibility. It is essential when you advertise yourself on web.
* Your company names and brands should be on web as domain names, to advertise them, protect them from competitive attack and avoid unauthorized use.

4. Who should register a domain name?
Anyone who wants to establish a presence on the Internet should register a domain name. Businesses who have spent time and money building up a brand should also register their brands to prevent unauthorized use.

5. How do I choose a domain name that's right for me?
When selecting a domain name, keep in mind that:

* The domain name should indicate your website/business/something about you. Many domain names follow the basic format of "your-name.ph" or "business-name.com.ph".
* At the very least, the domain name should reflect the product, service or point-of-view offered - by your website (ex. aquariums.com.ph or anarchist.ph).

The name should be short, catchy and easy to remember. Long domain names often have less recall and are more difficult to type - this may result in less people visiting your site.

6. How do I get a PH domain?

Please click the banner so you can check if your chosen domain name is available and register it right away!





Still has a second thought? There' s no harm in trying and having further queries about .PH. please click this banner:



Source: Click here

Featured Company: Waffle Time, Inc. -Company Information

For those of you that wanted to go into franchising, you may want to check this company out. Please take note that this announcement is voluntarily made by the author and the company mentioned here is not involved whatsoever with this blog.

The sole purpose of this post is to inform readers about this company. This not an official recommendation or endorsement. More companies will be featured here in the near future.

Official website:
www.waffletime.com

About Waffle Time:
Waffle Time Inc. is the first and original purveyor of quality waffles in a cart, with a vast selection of delicious and exciting flavors to choose from.

It began in 1998 and has grown to be one of the most successfull food kiosks around the country and is still expanding to serve more Filipinos.

In Waffle Time our vision is to serve the best waffles in the world across all races beyond all borders. Awarded as the Most Promising Filipino Franchise of the Year 2006, Waffle Time continues to prove that we are committed to delighting our customers with our high standard of service, cleanliness and quality of products.

History:
Waffle Time started on September of 1998 in the province of Iloilo, Philippines as a simple business venture. The first outlet was in The Atrium Mall, Gen. Luna St., Iloilo City. On June 2002, Waffle Time started to penetrate the Metro Manila market. Afterwhich, we opened outlets in Cebu, Cagayan De Oro, Davao, and Dagupan.

Waffle Time opened its door to franchising on March 2004. After then Waffle Time Outlets mushroomed all over the Philippine Islands. This proves on our popularity and acceptance by our customers of all ages. And will still be opening more outlets as we continue to deliver delicious, nutritious and reasonbly-priced waffles to everyone.

Misson:
• To establish a strong "Waffle Time" brand image.
• To develop a creative & assertive human resource.
• To continuously re-invent waffle
• To delight customers
• To achieve high level of efficiency

Outlets:
MRT Stations, LRT Stations, SM Supermalls, Robinsons Malls, Universities, Waltermart, Ever, Starmalls, Shangri-la.

Franchise Information:
Package Cost :
P 250,000.00 (net of taxes)

Security Deposit :
P 50,000.00 - refundable upon expiration of the franchise agreement with no interest.

Monthly Service Fee :
5 % of the outlet's monthly gross sales

Renewal Fee : P 50,000.00
Franchise Duration :
Three (3) years Package Inclusion:
• Use of the Waffle Time Trade Name Marks
• Business Operations System
• Mobilization Set-up
• Cart and Signage
• Equipment and Small wares
• Marketing Support
• Operational and Technical Support

For more information, please call +(63)(2)550-6569, +(63)(2)550-9912 or mobile phone no +(63)920-962-2389. Look for Ms. Catherine Joy T. Palencia.

Downloads:

• Franchise package PDF Format

• Application Form


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Friendly reminder: Always secure a domain name for your business...Click here:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Common Mistakes Committed by Franchisees that Lead to Failure

Franchising is one of the strategies for an Entrepreneur to consider if he or she is starting up a business. But if you have lack of knowledge about this, you may end up caught in the trap of failure. In this article we will be pointing out nine (9) common mistakes committed by franchisees that lead to failure. These are the following:

Mistake number 1. They have chosen the wrong Franchisor. There are hundreds or even thousands of businesses that are now offering franchising as means of expansion strategy. Even newly established businesses jumped into this method just to be aggressive enough and build the brand for a short period of time. The real reason on going into franchise is that if a certain company decides to offer franchise to the public it should build a reputation and brand image first. Also, it should prove that this brand can survive for a long period of time. Most important is that it furnished an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) that is proven to be effective. Any franchisee who has chosen franchisors that did not meet the criteria mentioned is most likely to fall down.

Mistake number 2. The business is no match with their dream business and expertise. Though the franchisee is free to choose on what company or business he will likely to franchise with, one can also lead to failure if he realized that the business entered is no match with his dream business and expertise. They become confused all along and eventually lost their interest to continue operating their franchise.

Mistake number 3. They are aggressive at first but become passive all along the way. There many reasons why this has to happen. Factors involved maybe, from the very start, projected sales was not met, sales is going down as time goes by, the cost on operating is increasing while sales has no improvement and the like.

Mistake number 4. They did not follow the Company's SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). If the franchisee has chosen a company with proven effective SOPs but did not follow what has been taught to them, then there is great probability that the franchise will fail.

Mistake number 5. They violated the contract or franchise agreement. Actually, not following the SOP is just part of violating the franchise agreement. Direct violation of the franchise agreement or contract leads to termination of the franchise operation. Remember franchising is a privilege given to the franchise applicant to use all valuable procedure on running the business operations including using the company's trademark or brand.

Mistake number 6. They have chosen the wrong business partner to operate their franchise. Internally, some franchisees chose their franchise partner first before actually applying for a franchise. Sometime failure in establishing good relationship including professionalism with the partners results to downfall of the business.

Mistake number 7. They did not monitor their franchise operation as 'hands on' Entrepreneur. Theft and pilferage maybe committed by front liners or employees at the maximum level if they see that their boss is not monitoring them. Frequent monitoring of the business and making the employees aware that you know all strategies, procedures and skills on running the franchise may lessen the chance or even eliminate pilferage committed by employees.

Mistake number 8. They violated the General Accounting Principles. This has been committed mostly by neophyte entrepreneurs where in they have no idea that the business should be considered as separate entity and there are personal expenses that should not be included in the statement of accounts. Example, the expense on gasoline or fuel for their luxury cars should not be deducted from sales of the franchise especially if this is for personal used.

Mistake number 9. They simply abandon their existing franchise in exchange for having a much bigger business. Some franchisees who have the capacity to apply for a franchise to other companies tend to abandon their smaller franchise business and prioritize their bigger project. In this case, they ended up not to renew the franchise though it generates positive income. Maybe such franchisee lacks time management or has no other partner who can operate the existing franchise.

Now we know some reasons why the Franchise may not be successful. In my next article I will be providing some tips on how to succeed in Franchise so please subscribe to this blog or visit www.freebrightideas.blogspot.com most often.

Is Marketing Equals Advertising and Selling?

The answer is "No". Why?

A book of a Filipino author of Marketing in the Philippines, Mr. Josiah Go, wrote his book entitled, Fundamentals of Marketing in the Philippine Settings caught my attention when I was reading some Marketing books in a famous bookstore inside the mall.

In the first few pages of the book, he defined marketing as 'what is not'. He simply gave examples of the misconceptions of associating marketing with terms such as selling and advertising. He said that one of the most common misconceptions is associating marketing as selling. He quickly explained that while selling is an important activity of marketing and is a central function in daily business operations, marketing is not selling.

Furthermore, another misconception of some businesses is to have a notion of marketing equals advertising so companies with this kind of understanding spend their huge advertising budget. He said that a related pitfall is for misinformed executive to jump into mass media advertising without an understanding of the pre-requisite as well as constraints of mass media advertising.

The truth is that, selling and advertising is just part of the many functions of marketing.

So what's the use of this information to the readers? If you are a master in Marketing, you probably know the difference and will not bother about this anymore or will just read it to refresh what you already knew. I can say that starting entrepreneurs must need to distinguish marketing from selling and advertising because they cannot afford to spend big amount of money by pursuing misunderstood concept that may lead to opportunity loss or incurring unnecessary costs.

Source: Fundamentals of Marketing in the Philippine Settings, Mr. Josiah Go, author, Phil copyright May 2001.

7 Guidelines On How To Assess Potential Location For Your Business

In this article, I will be sharing some tips on how could someone assess a potential location or in other words, a site evaluation. This is because in the 4Ps (or5Ps) of Marketing, Placement or simply the Place where you want your business to operate must be accessible to your target customers. An entrepreneur, whose business is in a photocopying industry, would choose a location near Colleges and Universities rather than just catering an Elementary and Secondary schools. Of course the location he has chosen will be much better if he can cater all school levels in just one place!

The following are the seven (7) guidelines I would recommend to those who are looking for, or assessing a location:

Guideline Number 1. IDENTIFY YOUR TARGET CUSTOMER
Who are the users and buyers of your product or service? This question can be a good guide on pondering what or who are your customers that will be buying your product and service. Try to identify as specific as possible from age bracket, gender, income bracket, or even with their buying behavior depending on the type of product and service that you will be offering to them. Example, if you are into an internet cafe business, and will be offering, an internet service, computer rentals and pc gaming you may identify your target customers as Students (Secondary and Tertiary), Professionals (yuppies) when it comes to community status, or from 15 to 30 years old, when it comes to age brackets. As I have said earlier, you can still breakdown this into several brackets depending on the product or service that you will be offering.

Guideline Number 2. OBSERVE and CONDUCT A HEADCOUNT
If you have already a target location, visit that place and observe if your target customer is within the vicinity. Do your target customers exist there? How many are they? Is the foot traffic overwhelming or very few? These questions should be answered by properly monitoring the location. You should conduct a head count for 5 minutes preferably 5 times in a day. Perhaps, a 'push button counter' device is needed for doing this activity. It is also recommended to choose at least 2 peak days and 2 off peak or lean days in one week to repeat the head counting. This will give you a strong grasp on the behavior of your target customers. Weather condition should also be noted down during the head counting as this is a determining factor on the success or failure of achieving target sales in a day or a week.

Guideline Number 3. LIST DOWN NEARBY ESTABLISHMENTS IN RELATION TO YOUR TARGET CUSTOMER
Nearby schools, offices, buildings, hospitals, malls, amusement parks, parking area of public utility transport, gymnasiums, and other establishments must be list down wherein your target customers frequently come and go. This can be you hint on how they behave and why they are there in the vicinity. These establishments can also be considered as potential target for your extended services in the future.

Guideline Number 4. DO NOT FORGET YOUR COMPETITORS
Always make sure to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of your competitors may it be direct or indirect and even those businesses that can be a good source as alternatives in lieu of you product and services offered. Widen your scope so that you will have enough knowledge of your competitors in the vicinity. Think of ways on how to be more aggressive in doing business operations and become better over them.

Guideline Number 5. FOR THE LOCATION ITSELF: DETERMINE ALL EXPENSES TO BE PAID
If you found your target location or site potential or become a good source of income for your business, do not forget to inquire all expenses to be paid like utilities expense, rentals, taxes, etc. It is a good thing if you own the location but if you are planning to rent, then better determine and include it in your computations for your statement of accounts.

Guideline Number 6. FOR THE LOCATION ITSELF: CUSTOMER SAFETY FIRST!
Well, this is an add on but if you consider the security of the customer first and ensuring your location as free of danger environment, then it will be a plus or even great for the customers.

Guideline Number 7. EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED
Somehow the result of your assessment for the target location will end up not aligning to your expected result. But could you imagine of the worse thing to happen if you will not follow these guidelines? Well as entrepreneurs, we are more risk takers. But if there is a chance to calculate the risk we will be facing, why not have a calculated risk first rather than jumping immediately into the trap of failure?

Note:
This article has been provided by the author based on his actual experience while working in a food cart company. The author is willing to help for any request of site evaluation or assessment especially for starting up entrepreneurs who need to have a more comprehensive site or location review.

Welcome to the Free Bright Ideas Blog!

The Free Bright Ideas Blog is all about posting valuable information ranging from personal finance, business development, entrepreneurship, current events, the economy, and even tips on working smarter and cyberspace latest trends. Life blog might be inserted from time to time but the author assures that the readers may get lessons from it.

The Free Bright Ideas Blog aims to provide readers, 'co-bloggers', advertisers, and other ordinary internet surfers get valuable and reliable information that should meet their information needs, wants, and expectations. Readers should visit often freebrightideas.blogspot.com to keep track of the latest news that interest them.

In the future, the content of this blog will become flexible as per the comments of the valued readers. After all, the author created this blog, not for his own self satisfaction but for meeting the needs, wants, and expectations of the readers or simply just answering questions that bother them.

The author will only publish information that he believes reliable and true but will also be adding references to the information to give credit and respect the original source of information.

The author hopes that readers will keep on coming back to this blog. After all, information to be provided here is FREE!


Warm regards,

Renante Balayo
Author
freebrightideas.blogspot.com