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Small Business Information
Over Disclosure Hurts Businesses
Many investors and business ethics professionals are calling for more transparency and regulators are calling for more disclosure. Yet in the franchising industry this can spell disaster indeed. Often Competitors seeking information about companies will collect these documents and use it to the disadvantage of franchising companies.
Franchising Industry Burdened in Over Regulation
There were only an estimated 1800 active franchisors in this country at the end of 2002, that number down from 6000 in a single decade. It is not hard from this effort to increase regulations to see why. I believe the Federal Trade Commission?s franchising expenditures should be cut by the same rate of decline after all they caused it. Why is the Federal Trade Commission favoring one business model over another, actually the franchising model lowers prices to consumers through economies of scale, efficiency of operations and competition. Any and all increased regulation over the franchising business model is a clear sign that the Federal Trade Commission is titling the field for the larger corporate box store and by doing so is hurting our country, decreasing competition in the market place and decreases choices for forward advancement of every citizen who wants to have a fulfilled life and a meaningful job. Shame on you, FTC; what an insidious consequence of this rule-making group at the Federal Trade Commission? Such a small group gets to decide the fate of hundreds of thousands of American workers and the destiny?s of thousands of America?s future bright star entrepreneurs and innovators. If this whole process is not evil, then I cannot even imagine what is?
Competition in the Market Place and Over Disclosure Regulatory Burden
The Federal Trade Commission is assisting competitor to cheat and encouraging this unethical behavior thru their disclosure rule on franchisors. Competition in the market place is far more competitive and the stakes are high enough that Over Disclosure Regulatory Rules cause competition to take the advantage and cheat. And before you say I am off base on these comments, let me tell you that 20% of every single inquiry to buy our franchise comes from a competitor. That?s right 20%.
432 Page Franchise Report by the FTC
The Federal Trade Commission is upgrading the franchise law and they have made a report. Recently I have been reviewing the FTC?s franchise rule report page by page. I have was shocked to learn that after commenting on the first two paragraphs in the first page of information directly following the table of contents, it took me 19 pages. I see now the reason for the 432-page report on franchising; the FTC has put forth a 432-page report and used the mass data approach to BS and Baffle potential commenters. It appears to be working. No one wants to bother to read and understand it all. However one franchisor, one entrepreneur sees this for what it is worth. So on to the next paragraph we go, I wonder how many pages it will take to comment on the next line of malarkey?
Franchise Companies Come and Go
Each day we hear of companies entering the franchising industry. This is good news for America, right? Well, yes and know. Yes, because franchising is the closest thing to the spirit of free enterprise as any other method of doing business and because franchising offers small business people advantages that they would not normally have in pursuing their American Dream. However it is unfortunate but true that the average Franchisor failure rate is 5:1 in five years. Meaning they are gone out of business in that short amount of time. This is horrific news really. Why is this? Well most often it is due to over regulation, junk lawsuits, under capitalization or greed. Having played in the franchising industry I have seen it all.
Pressure Washing Business and Post Fire Cleanups
Many have not experienced a fire up close. One year about 15 years ago I almost lost my house as did our neighbors to a wild fire. It moved so fast and the sky so black, with cinders everywhere and soot like a nuclear fallout horror movie. Luckily our neighborhood was spared except for a couple of homes. The fire fighters did a good job that day, others living further down the path of the fire and lower in the canyons did not fair so well, a few people even lost their lives. From that day on, I take fires seriously and you should too.
Make Your Business More Profitable
More sales and more profit. Isn't that what you want from your business? It's not hard to achieve if you follow these 4 simple tips.
Why The Carwash Industry is Stagnant; What You Can Do to Change Your Field
Many years ago, I had warned the carwash industry of problems brewing in customer dissatisfaction as we continued to grow our car wash company into a National Franchise Chain. I warned of environmental controls, speed of wash, water usage, quality of labor, price points, car wash fundraisers, car damage, up selling and hot wax. At that time I was called everything under the Sun by operators who did not wish to change.
Politics, Environmental Rules, and Mobile Car Washes
During the California Recall Election, I was very interested. Without getting into the political scene at all; my entire company, The Car Wash Guys, and all our staff and franchisees were closely watching The California Recall and Election. Why you say? Why would a National Car Wash Franchising Company care much? Well we have some friends of past days who were very much involved there. See some of these articles and find out how we were assisted in our early company years by Mr. Tom McClintock (Rep) of California who was running a very close third in the election with the fastest moving up numbers in the polls. We all wondered would it be The Terminator just like in the movies? Arnold Schwarznegger, who promises to terminate bureaucracy or will it be Mr. Tom McClintock? We did not believe that California will choose more of the same regime or elect Mr. Bustamonte. Tom McClintock's assistance to our company when we were the smallest of small businesses helped us from bureaucracy and un-ethical competition. To this day he continues his ideals and does not waiver on issues.
Cleaning Grain Silos, Towers, Containers, and Combines
If you run a pressure washing company in a rural market you will need to learn how to wash agricultural industry equipment and infrastructure. In our company The Tractor Wash Guys, we We have several years of experience washing combines. Phil Hasenhoehrl, a wheat farmer in Lewiston Idaho, was raised in the farming business. His family has been farmers for over 100 years. In addition to farming, Phil has worked with us and helped us in learning how best to develop this market sector. He was before joining our team a farmer. He owns a $250,000 John Deere combine that he maintains himself.
Franchise Buyers Lying On Forms
The Federal Trade Commission which governs the franchise industry thru the franchise rule, which enforces Franchise Disclosure laws seems to think that consumers need to be protected even when they lie. Often The FTC takes complaints from consumers who claim they had been ripped off or lied to from someone selling a Biz-OP or some corporation, which sells franchises. The Federal Trade Commission will not admit that at least two-thirds of the incoming complaints are made in falsehood by consumers; as a participant in the industry I can safely say that much misrepresentation comes from the buyers side and not from the sellers.
Bogus Investor and Consumer Complaints and Consumer Misrepresentation
Like most regulatory bodies in the United States, the Federal Trade Commission gets investor and consumer complaints. But how much of these are actually real? These agencies then act on such complaints and increase regulations. Let?s look at the Franchising industry for example. The complaints of fraud are non-existent for the most part in franchising, yet the FTC franchise group is dead set on making more regulations which in turn stifle the industry.
Franchise Buyers from Hell
I ran a franchise company for many years, a car wash franchise, and we use to get the most ridiculous franchise buyers who thought they wanted a franchise. It seems we had to deal with these Kookoo birds because they have consumer rights and the Federal Trade Commission, which looks over franchising goes out of their way to let these consumers get away with these tall tales.
The Misconceptions of the Value Of Disclosures in Franchising
Disclosure laws in franchising are suppose to help the consumer. They don?t. The FTC, which over sees franchising has in fact created a rule, which makes 5 lb. Disclosure documents for franchise buyers, which is so huge that no one ever reads it. I know when I personally meet a franchise buyer whose application form is approved and hand them a UFOC, Uniform Franchise Offering Circular with attachments and watch their jaw drop and then their hand drop when they clutch it in their hands (due to the weight of the 155 to 200 pages), I see a blank look. I apologize every time for my unreasonable government and the US legal system for the rules.
Starting a New Business in a Small Town
Q. I am a former pastor who left the ministry after sixteen years to spend more time with my family. We moved to a very small town (less than ten thousand people) and I want to start an internet café business and also offer PC repair. How can I investigate and then promote this business?
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