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Small offices have unique needs, and thatincludes document shredding. Designed with the smaller business inmind, the Dahle 20314 is a cross-cut shredder that offers Level 3security and brings you into compliance with federal regulations. The As we all know to live in this world we have to perform some activity by which we can earn money. There are many activities by which we can earn money and meet the standards to live in this society. And from one of them is franchise.  Franc

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Tired of readingabout companies and thinking, "I have a better franchise concept than thatcompany"? - Maybe you, too, should consider franchising.Why Franchise?In general, companies decide to begin franchising for one of threereasons: lack of money, people, or timeThe primary barrier to expansion that today's entrepreneur faces is lackof capital. Franchising allows companies to expand without the risk of debt orthe cost of equity. Since franchisees provide the initial investment at theunit level, franchising allows for expansion with minimal capital investment onthe part of the franchisor. In addition, since it's the franchisee, and not thefranchisor, who signs the lease and commits to various service contracts,franchising allows for expansion with virtually no contingent liability, thusgreatly reducing a franchisor's risk.The second barrier to expansion is finding and retaining good unitmanagers. All too often, a business owner spends months looking for andtraining a new manager only to see that manager leave or worse yet, get hiredaway by a competitor.Franchising allows entrepreneurs to overcome many of these problems bysubstituting a motivated franchisee for a unit manager. Interestingly enough,since the franchisee has both an investment in the unit and a stake in theprofits, unit performance will often improve. And since a franchisor's incomeis based on the franchisee's gross sales-and not profitability-monitoringunit-level expenses becomes significantly less cumbersome.Finally, opening another location takes time. Hunt for sites. Negotiateleases. Arrange for design and build-out. Secure financing. Hire and trainstaff. Purchase equipment and inventory. The end result is that the number ofunits you can open in any given period of time is limited by the amount of timeit takes to do it properly.For companies with too little time (or too little staff), franchising isoften the fastest way to grow. That's because it's the franchisee who performsmost of these growth tasks. The franchisor provides the guidance, of course,but the franchisee does the legwork. Thus franchising not only allows thefranchisor financial leverage, but it allows him to leverage his resources aswell.Is Your Business"Franchisable"?Franchising is a relatively flexible format, and just about any type ofbusiness can be franchised provided it meets some basic characteristics:It needs to be credible. Does your company have experienced management? A track-record over time? Is the concept proven? Have you achieved good local press or public acclaim? It needs to be unique. Is your business adequately differentiated from its competitors? Is it marketable as a business opportunity? Does it have a sustainable competitive advantage? It needs to be teachable. Are the systems in place? Are operating procedures documented? Could someone learn to operate your business in three months or less? It needs to provide an adequate return. I don't mean just profitability. If a business can't generate a 15 to 20 percent return on investment after deducting a royalty (typically between 4 and 8 percent), it's going to have difficulty keeping franchisees happy.If your business meets these criteria, then it may be a good candidatefor franchising.When a company makes a decision to franchise, it must first develop asound plan for expansion. This plan must take into consideration the numerous issuesconfronting a new franchisor: speed of growth, territorial development, supportservices, staffing and fee structure, to name just a few of the most importantissues. Larger companies need to address more complex issues such as channelconflict, anti-trust issues, and resource allocation. And obviously, yourentire plan needs to be subjected to rigorous financial analysis and scrutinyto fine-tune your strategy for growth.Once your plan is in place, you'll need the proper legal documentation.At a minimum, you'll need a franchise agreement as there are literally hundredsof different business issues that must be addressed and the decisions maderegarding these issues will ultimately dictate your success as a franchisee.Quality control for a new franchisor involves the development of highlydeveloped systems. Generally, this translates into the development of anoperations manual that must contain not only the systems used by the business,but also the checklists, policies, procedures and tactics that will allow thesesystems to be uniformly enforced. Moreover, operations manuals must be carefulto avoid the creation of an agency and must also address issues that couldcreate claims of negligence if you're to maintain an effective shield againstconsumer liability.Finally, as a new franchisor, you must develop the ability to market andsell franchises. That requires knowledge of how to attract prospective buyersand the necessary materials (brochures, mini-brochures, videotapes, DVDs, andso on) that will help make the sale. Moreover, since the franchise salesprocess is highly regulated, you'll need to be educated in proper sales,disclosure and compliance techniques.Every new franchisor quickly learns that when they turn to franchisingthey've entered a completely different business. Regardless of how you makemoney as a franchisor, you'll have two roles: selling franchises and servicingfranchisees. And of the two, ensuring the success of your franchisees is themost important.Properly structured, franchising can allow small companies to moreeffectively compete with much larger competitors. It can also allow largercompanies to gain the advantages of highly motivated unit management whilereducing overhead. As such, franchising is an option that more and morecompanies should explore.The key to success in franchising is successfulfranchisees. Without successful franchisees, no franchise system will last. Butif you can put the interests of your franchisee first, those same franchiseesmight help you become the next McDonald's.