Franchising. Is There Something Better?

Franchising. Is There Something Better?
Just as network marketing or multi-level marketing is the
"new" business model, so franchising took the world by
storm in the fifties and sixties. In fact it was even
outlawed in some countries, would you believe.

It is, of course, a traditional business simply backed and
sometimes even controlled by a parent company that in most
cases offers advertising support (not always, be careful)
and a business plan that should include a daily schedule or
process of operation that works successfully elsewhere.
This is perhaps the only advantage. If you're store number
120, you want to know that of the other 119, even if 5 have
failed, the other 114 are successful, and why. You should
have the parent company not only show you why, but more
importantly how.

But, here, the advantages stop. Like any traditional
business, you will still have all the disadvantages. The
parent company might train your staff, but there is still
the risk of them stealing and giving you daily hassles, as
staff do in any business. Your parent company might have a
good system for stock control, but stock will be stock and
it will go missing. And then there is the issue of rent.
Before the parent company will sign you on and take the
bulk of your money, they want to know that you have a lease
signed and ready, preferably for a number of years. They
don't want to blow the trumpets about your new store only
to have you close down or kicked out after a few months. A
lease means being tied to someone legally for that period.
Let's say you pull out, or become, sadly number 6. You owe
the letting agent rent for the full period.

Franchises can range from as little as a few thousand
dollars, but a good store will probably cost you $150 000,
sometimes with stock. Let's say you have this money and
believe in the product, you still have the difficulty
deciding whether you want to be involved 14 hours a day, or
whether you want to appoint someone else as a manager. Each
option has a serious disadvantage. If you're opting out of
your present employment and want something to keep you
busy, and 12 hours a day is no problem, you will probably
succeed. If not, then the manager option will bring its own
problems, as you can imagine. Why would anyone else work as
hard as you? Do you know that you can trust them? Can you
walk away from the business for three months, go on
vacation and find it doing better when you come back? If
not, you're still in for at least a few hours a day, and
then the money you dreamed of earning is now diluted by the
manager's salary. If he or she is bad at their job, they'll
cost you; if they're really good why should they stick
around? They probably have their own plans, and your
business is free university for them, while they're being
paid!

Even a really cheap, small franchise costs money ' let's
say around $15 000. Why put up with all the disadvantages
when you can start something from home for far less and
build it up over time. There are thousands of good
affiliate or network marketing businesses that can be
started for far less than even $2000, and with a few hours
a week, you can build it up a momentum that allows you to
resign for your full-time job.

Try to choose one with little or no stock, as few employees
as possible; preferably just you and a family member,
perhaps. Make sure the product has an international
flavour, that it is reasonably priced and that it is based
in an industry that is growing: travel, health for
instance. A few hours research on the internet will unearth
many. Make sure the company has been around for some time,
that the claims of the other affiliates are not too wild:
watch out for pictures of sports cars, mansion and pictures
of bank statements. Rather side with those that say it is
going to be hard work and will cost you a little in the
beginning, at least for advertising.

I'd rather invest $1000 in something I can build slowly
without any of the disadvantages of franchising mentioned
above, than part with $150 000, and on top of that a 3 year
lease agreement up front, only to find these disadvantages
simply overwhelm me.

A viable home business does work. And added to this is the
usual affiliate marketing pay plan that allows for residual
income. This simply means that you can get paid over and
over again for work done in the past. For example when you
assist someone else to join the business and they make
sales, or find prospects, you earn from their efforts, for
as long as they are alive and working the business. Now
that's exciting. And with this, it is possible to go on
vacation for three months (after building the business, of
course) and come back to find your team having grown as
much as your bank balance.

Franchising? There are some advantages. But why pay someone
else for an idea when in almost all networking marketing
business models, they will give it to you free? Go find one
now.

----------------------------------------------------
Michael Klerck is a writer and winner of the Mondi Paper
Magazine Writer's Award for work in Men's Health. He is
also an avid promoter of the best luxury resorts membership
in the world today. Visit his site:
http://luxuryresortsVIP.biz and see the excellent movie.

Performing Like You Have Never Performed Before

Performing Like You Have Never Performed Before
Imagine effortlessly keeping all your resolutions; sticking
to all the things you promised to yourself; getting
yourself to do all those things you've never been able to
get yourself to do. Wouldn't you perform like you never
performed before?

It need not be tough to get yourself to do the things you
know you should do. Actually the tougher it is, the less
likely you are to succeed. Peak performance feels
effortless.

For instance; after a hard game of racquet ball, I often
will sit with my partner, breathing hard, dripping wet,
thoroughly exhausted. Our favorite joke is, "If somebody
paid me to work this hard, I'd quit." Yet, there we are,
paying for the privilege. Between games, I enjoy recalling
exciting plays, such as smashing by partner's return ball
so low to the floor that he can't reach it in time. I will
eagerly look forward to the next game and enjoy buying a
new racket or a pair of shoes occasionally.

I realized that it is how you feel about an activity that
counts, whether you mentally associate it as work or play,
obligation or privilege, misery or fun.

The Magic of Fun

I can't say that actually playing racquetball was
effortless, but it felt that way. I was able to put every
ounce of my energy into the game. I was eager to play,
eager to do my best, eager to win; no reluctance, lethargy
of any kind. That's the magic of fun.

It's what we all knew in kindergarten--until adults trained
it out of us. If something was important, we had to get
serious.

We don't have to keep believing that anymore. The more
important a project, the more fun we can have doing it.

I remember a class I attended for teaching therapist
techniques for helping patients. We did a lot of actual
work on each other. One would volunteer to work on solving
his problem, and a colleague would volunteer to treat him.
This was serious stuff. We were engaged in removing serious
blocks to our happiness.

Everyone performed much better without any strain or pain
because, just before we started, a fellow student, named
Jeff, would announce in stentorian tones, "Grim up
everybody." We laughed and the atmosphere became playful.
Many major breakthroughs were made at those sessions

Four Steps to outperforming yourself:

1. You will outperform yourself if you make pleasurable
whatever you need to do. It may feel counter-intuitive, but
the more serious the issue, the more playful should be your
approach.

2. Simply deciding to make everything more fun will go a
long way towards boosting your performance. Practicing this
attitude until it becomes a habit. You will find success in
places you never expected.

3. Dwell on all the pleasure and funny situations of the
day. A good time to do this is at night before falling
asleep. Do this instead of dwelling on painful problems.
Especially powerful is to find ways to lovingly laugh at
your self.

4. Learn and use the powerful programming techniques taught
in the writings of Richard Bandler, John Grinder, Tony
Robbins and I. My book explains positive self-motivation.
These methods teach you how to set up simple signals that
will automatically put you in the right frame of
mind--instantly.

Summary Put in simplest possible way, positive
self-motivation is about achieving peak performance by
enjoying what you do. It's being pulled to succeed instead
of having to push yourself.

Once you understand how to motivate yourself with pleasure,
you no longer need to use pain based strategies such as
struggle, self-discipline and other pain based strategies.

Bring a playful attitude to everything you do and you will
perform like you never performed before.

Wishing you ultimate happiness and success,

----------------------------------------------------
Stan Mann, C.P.C. supports business owners, top executives
and commission salespeople to substantially grow their
business and have a balanced life. He is a Certified
Professional Coach. For additional articles and resources
please visit http://www.stanmann.com I deliver customized
coaching programs to help you become the leader of a highly
successful and highly satisfying business.