Strategic Planning Information

Expanding your business in a franchise system


If you are a successful franchise of a large franchise brand or chain, chances are you will wish to expand. The most important thing to do is make sure you are on the most positive terms with your franchisor. You should tell your franchisor at the earliest point of your plan to expand. It is important that you ask the franchisor for help when you are expanding. Growing your business is not an easy task. It requires systematic checks of your business. The kind of checks your car does electronically such as sensors telling you:

Your alternator is charging

Your battery is good

Your seat belt is on

You have gas in your tank

Oil pressure

You are not overheating

Your speed is ok

Your RPM's are appropriate for the gear you are in

As long as the little warning lights are good, everything is ok. Right. Wrong. As you know, those are important indicators. However, what about the warning buzzer that says; Your door is ajar. Your door really isn't a jar. It's a door, not a jar. This sounds funny but think about it. There are warning lights in a car but they may mean more than they say or they may be a false alarm.

For instance, when you turn on your engine all the lights are on. Most modern cars display malfunctioning lights at least once during their life. These lights are great for idiots, as a matter of fact they are often called idiot lights, but they are bad for do-it-yourself mechanics. Some cars display lights automatically at a certain number of miles. The check engine light goes on. The dealership is the only one who can reset the lights. If you are a do-it-yourselfer and have maintained the car yourself, the light still goes on and stays on. Later, when something does go wrong, the do-it-yourselfer doesn't know because the light has always been on. Whoops.

Like a car, franchisors have built safety switches into there business models. They have out all the mistakes for you before they happen. These set of idiots lights will help you, but make sure you are interpreting them correctly. An erroneous reading of a warning light will create unnecessary hardship for you as a franchisee. An example of an erroneous reading would be:

Your sales are up 50% and you just signed a huge one year contract. You should expand because you are doing 1.5 times what a normal franchise does right.

Most would say yes, business is up, new contracts coming in, you are good as gold. On the surface this may look good. But any good franchisor will tell you this is a typical sign of a cash flow issue. Sales are up, but how are receivables? One year contract is good, but are they also net 90 days? If you do not have proper cash flow funding you could wind up waiting for a check in the mail the day the bank comes in and wants to repo your entire store? This is why you need to talk with your franchisor and have a game plan, pay attention and use their expert advice? After all that is why you bought a franchise in the first place. Think about it.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs


MORE RESOURCES:

Orchestra to get $4.5 million
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William Penn will provide the full $528000 cost of the orchestra's strategic-planning process, now under way and expected to conclude around year's end. ...
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Shaw to name new president today
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McClaurin is "very, very strong" in strategic planning and strategic vision, said Robert J. Jones, senior vice president for system academic administration ...

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After Street won, Lindsay began working in the Mayor's Office of Strategic Planning in 2004 as a special assistant to Planning Commission Executive Director ...

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"It's a strategic planning session with the grassroots," TP organizer Sally Zelikovsky tells us. Yes, that's THE Sally Zelikovsky from Marin who Karl Rove ...

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GKV lands Saint Agnes Hospital account
Baltimore Business Journal
The Baltimore marketing firm will work with the hospital on strategic planning, brand development and communication strategies for the hospital's new ...

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Hospital District to initiate strategic planning
Reno Gazette Journal
Future strategic planning meetings may include Renown (Reno) staff, Lyon County Human Services, the Silver Springs Advisory Board, the Silver Springs Youth ...

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Director Of Development Wants State Funding For Removal Of Surplus Units
Jamestown Post Journal
Some members of the Strategic Planning and Partnerships Commission hope to improve the focus of state and ...



Gardner Denver, Inc. Announces Corporate Headquarters Relocation
MarketWatch (press release)
"As part of our strategic planning process, senior management evaluates the requirements necessary to achieve the Company's long-term growth objectives," ...

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Town officials get input they sought for strategic planning
The Coloradoan
Establishing a business retention and expansion program has emerged as the top ...

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ARM Unveils Cortex-A15 MPCore Processor to Dramatically Accelerate ...
MarketWatch (press release)
... to more consumers, enabling our vision of an all-connected world," said Edgar Auslander, senior vice president, strategic planning at ST-Ericsson. ...

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