Workshop -- “Franchising – An Alternative to Starting from Scratch”
When: June 16, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Where: SCORE Atlanta, 233 Peachtree Street, Ste. 1900
Details: Online at tinyurl.com/cydufq or call, 404 331 0121

“I am now in a much better position to make an informed decision about my next course of action,” Bernie Kranz said about SCORE’s franchising workshop and follow-up business mentoring. “I also met with a SCORE counselor after the SCORE workshop.”

By: Jerry Chautin, SCORE business columnist/SCOREing small-business success

Unlike some of the other workshop attendees, Atlanta-based Kranz is thinking about franchising his concept as a franchisor. The franchising model can be a less expensive and more controlled way for him to expand his business.

At the same workshop, other attendees are more interested in becoming franchisees, owner-operators of a proven business system because it can mitigate some of the risk. “I am a proponent of having both perspectives,” Kranz says.

Layoffs, severance pay and the lack of viable salaried options are turning discouraged employees into entrepreneurs. They are thinking about buying a franchise because it can be less risky than starting a business without a proven formula.

In between go-it-alone-entrepreneurship and seeking employment, a large number of former workers are starting up franchises. They prefer franchising because it follows a definable operating system. “Employment used to be considered safe and business ownership risky. Today, the opposite is true,” says Dr. Robert Yancy, the workshop leader for SCORE Atlanta’s “Franchising – An alternative to starting a business from scratch.”

He has been educating university students and running his own businesses for 40 years. And as a franchising expert he brings a unique perspective to helping his workshop attendees understand how to choose the one that’s best for them. “Statistics confirm that franchises provide excellent survivability,” Yancy says.

Notably, choosing the one that is best for you takes knowledge and research. And getting past the hype of advertised features and benefits requires you to investigate how well franchise owners are doing in real life.

In order to minimize the risk, “interview six to eight existing franchise owners,” says Leslie Kuban, consultant and owner of FranNet of Atlanta, a franchise brokerage firm. “All franchise systems will have very successful, moderately successful, and not-so successful franchise owners. Talk with a few (unit owners) in all three camps and then determine who you are most like.”

Meanwhile, Warner Robbins-resident Gail Heaberg attended SCORE’s franchising workshop to further her goals for the nonprofit company she founded. “Research Matchmaker (is) an online search engine to enable communities to describe their organization (and) contact information,” she says. “RM is designed for expansion to other states and nations.” She says that franchising could be a good way to expand because each unit “will need a core organization for implementation.”

In summary, the franchising workshop is suitable for anyone who wants to start a new business or rapidly expand an existing business concept. And in this economic downturn, the workshop is popular with unemployed workers or those who are dissatisfied with working for someone else.

To read more information about franchising, check out the National Franchise Association at franchise.org. Also look at the Federal Trade Commission’s questions and answers at tinyurl.com/c5csry.

But for a higher-level interactive experience, and to get your personal questions answered, attend Dr. Robert Yancy’s workshop at the downtown Atlanta SCORE office on June 6.