Rotary learns the ins and outs of franchising

There is much risk in starting your own business, which probably explains why so many gravitate to the world of franchises.
“With a franchise, you own the business, but you’re not in business by yourself,” said Roy Holleman Tuesday as he spoke to the Rotary Club of Crowley. “Like with (my franchises), when they’re having a problem, I’ll go in and help them solve it.
“It’s a great way to do business.”
Holleman, of FranOwner, is a franchise consultant and broker. He brings 30 years of business start-up experience and became certified in franchising after being approached for information by many via The Enterprise Center of Louisiana — ECOL — a business incubator that’s been in operation for 15 years, helping the Acadiana business community to grow.
“At the incubator, people would come ask me about franchising and I couldn’t find anyone in the state who had good knowledge,” said Holleman. “So, I decided I would get certified in it.”
Franchising is hardly an uncommon aspect of business — one trip around town should tell anyone that. In fact, that trip uptown would also probably begin to really quantify the opening layers of franchising. For example, food is, not surprisingly, the top franchise category. Just a stone’s throw from Interstate 10 here there is a Popeye’s, a Burger King and a Taco Bell.
The misnomer is, of course, that food is the only real franchises. There are many, many more categories. That trip downtown, once more, should allude to that: fitness centers, insurance companies, grocery stores, the possibilities are just about endless.
Nationwide, senior care follows next, but in Louisiana regulations have prohibited the full growth of that industry, it seems.
“Louisiana is the only state that requires a feasibility study be conducted to open a senior services franchise,” said Holleman.
Franchises can be single unit franchises, multiple units and area franchise developers, also known as master franchises.
Typically, under a single unit franchise system, the owner of a franchise is an “owner operator” — the owner is also the primary operator or manager at the store level. These franchises are rarely offered by established franchise brands.
Multiple unit franchises see the owner purchase the rights to develop and own multiple units in an exclusive territory. The owner will typically work less in the daily operation, instead focusing on managing multiple locations. The size of the territory offered is dictated by the franchise and some can be surprisingly small.
Area development franchise owners are those who purchase the rights to develop and own an exclusive area of development territory — typically a major market or region — and then sells portions of the territory to new sub-franchisees.
The reasons to become a franchise owner are seemingly endless, too, lower risk, established brand, etc. But with all of that comes, of course, a lot of work and certain guidelines from the franchise itself.
The process to become a franchise owner, though, is extensive. In fact, FranOwner has about a 20-point process which includes a franchise disclosure document.
That document does a lot and leads to a 14-day cooling off period and much more. During that time, would-be owners are encouraged to reach out to other owners of the franchise in other locations and learn all they can about what challenges may lie ahead.
From there, the work continues for the would-be franchisee. But, it appears that it’s worth it. Statistics show that about 50 percent of all retail purchases in the U.S. come from a franchise. They also show that franchises account for more than 14 million jobs across the country — a number that isn’t surprising considering that one in 12 businesses that open are franchises and that every 8 minutes, another franchise opens.
For more information about opening a franchise, visit http://franowner.com/.
A special presentation was also made to Rotarian Alice Whiting during the meeting.
Whiting became a member of the Crowley club on Nov. 1, 1993, and was the first female to do so. Rotary International celebrates the women of their club during the month of April, a movement that began in 1950.