March 12, 2015 - In This Issue:

Watch this video to see the exciting trends in the franchise industry for 2015!
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Featured Franchise Concept

Here is a home-service franchise that grew by leaps and bounds last year. A whopping 84% of franchisees had their best year ever in 2014!

Are you a people person? Do you value outstanding customer service? Do you want to have few or no employees? Do you love to help? Do you want to have a flexible schedule?

If you want to be a part of this growing franchise, contact Anna Wilds today to find out more about this exciting home-service opportunity!

Career Coach Corner
Executive Career Coach, Resume Writer & Branding Strategist Louise Garver shares some insights into the 2015 Forecast of Top Executive Jobs:

For many of you in parts of the country that have been hard hit by the extreme weather, I'm sure you are ready for spring and putting this winter behind you. Perhaps that's how you feel about your present position. If so, you will be among the majority who will be looking for a new challenge. Executive recruiters surveyed expect to see an 80+% increase in the number of executive jobs opening up this year.

  

CTPartners CEO Brian Sullivan comments in the 2015 Forecast of Top Executive Jobs, "We are seeing a proliferation of executive-level roles borne out of the global influence of big data. Businesses are looking for leaders who can not only understand the massive amounts of information available to them but also identify the threats and opportunities that come as a result of this evolving landscape. As such, analytical roles such as head of personalization and head of people analytics, alongside risk and cybersecurity positions, are the new 'in-demand' roles that will be key to maintaining a company's competitive advantage in 2015."

 

If you would like to read the entire report, and find out more about the popular executive job titles for 2015, click here.

 

Louise Garver
Executive Career Coach
Resume Writer & Branding Strategist
Career Directions Intl, LLC
louise@careerdirectionsllc.com
(937) 429-1332
Motivational Quotes

"You can't build a reputation on what you are going to do." -Henry Ford

 

"Opportunity does not knock, it presents itself when you beat down the door." -Kyle Chandler

 

"I've found that luck is quite predictable. If you want more luck, take more chances. Be more active. Show up more often." -Brian Tracy

Who wants to make the change from employee to entrepreneur in 2015?
You already know someone who has thought about owning a business, or who has questions about franchising. Do a good turn and share my contact information with them: anna@franlocators.com or phone at 762-233-7227.

 
Connect - Innovate - Evolve


 

The International Franchise Association Convention theme of Connect-Innovate-Evolve encompassed the hot topic of applying rapidly changing technology into franchised businesses. An area of focus I found particularly interesting was how potential buyers gather information about franchises. It's no surprise that franchise buyers gather information from and do more research online and on their smartphones than ever before.

 

An important point to emphasize is that the availability of information online is naturally not all someone needs to decide which, if any, business is right for them. That approach is a bit like reading 27 resumes and then deciding who to partner with in a business venture involving a six figure total investment. Obviously the franchise discovery process involves more than just fact gathering, and that's where our entrepreneurship consulting services are helpful to people in career transition.

 

The highlight of the IFA Convention for me was receiving the Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) designation. Globally just over 1,000 people have this. Following the CFE pinning ceremony, the League of Nations of Franchises was recognized. It was a special moment to witness the 49 different countries recognized on stage (be sure to watch this month's video). American franchises are in tremendous demand globally! If you are ready to have your own business right here in your own backyard, pick up the phone and call me to get started. 

 

Yours in franchising,    

 

Anna Wilds 

Certified Franchise Executive

Entrepreneurship Consultant 

Honor Roll Franchise Consultant

anna@franlocators.com 

www.franlocators.com

(706) 736-0579 

Associate - Career Thought Leaders Consortium

 

     

Financing Corner

2015's 401k Contribution Limits

By Bill Seagraves, CatchFire Funding

If you're thinking about buying a franchise with your retirement dollars, you may be wondering, "How is CatchFire Funding's self-directed 401k plan different than the plan that I am already participating in?"

 

Our self-directed 401k program is almost identical to the plan you're already enrolled in. In fact, it follows the same laws as the retirement plans that are used by large corporations. Just like an employer-sponsored plan, you have the option to invest in mutual funds, purchase company stock, or if you want, purchase stock from other companies on the open stock market.

 

If you're hooked on having a 401k retirement plan, you don't have to give that up when you use your retirement savings to fund your franchise. Our program allows you, and your eligible employees to make the SAME types of investments with your retirement dollars.

 

How much can I contribute to my 401k annually?

 

Now that you know that our 401k plan functions the same as most plans that you're already familiar with, the next question is, "How much can I contribute to my 401k each year?"

As they pertain to contributions, there are two annual limits that apply:

  1. The limit on employee elective deferrals, and
  2. The overall limit on contributions to a participant's plan account, including all employer contributions, employee elective deferrals, and forfeiture allocations.

 

2015 401k and Profit-Sharing Limits

 

The maximum amount that you can contribute changes every year. On Oct. 23, 2014, the IRS announced cost-of-living adjustments affecting the contribution limits for retirement plans for 2015.

 

Many pension plan limitations changed in 2015 due to the increase in the cost-of-living index. This is how much you can contribute to your 401k in 2015:

  • For the current tax year (2015), you can personally make a maximum deferral contribution of $18,000.
  • If you choose to have your company make additional employer contributions, then the IRS allows you to save a maximum of $53,000 per tax year.

If the 401k plan permits, at the end of the calendar year, plan participants ages 50 and up are allowed to make "catch-up" contributions of $6,000. In this scenario, you do not have to be "behind" in your plan contributions to qualify for additional elective deferrals.

 

Overall Limit on Contributions

 

You are limited by the total annual contributions that you make to all of your accounts in plans that are maintained by one employer. The annual limit applies to the total of:

  • The elective deferrals
  • Employer-matched contributions
  • Employer nonelective contributions
  • Allocations of forfeitures

The annual contributions paid to a participant's account cannot exceed the lesser of:

  • 100% of the participant's earnings, or
  • $53,000 ($59,000 including catch-up contributions) for 2015

Note: There are smaller, separate limits for SIMPLE 401k plans.

 

Now that the Treasury Department has adjusted the figures for retirement account savings in 2015, you can take full advantage of the changes and maximize your contributions through a self-directed 401k.

If you're interested in exploring the advantages of CatchFire Funding's self-directed 401k program, feel free to reach out to me. I'm here to help!

 

Bill Seagraves

President & Founder

CatchFire Funding 
bill@catchfirefunding.com 

(877) 702-2040

Franchise Locators, Inc.
762.233.7227
www.franlocators.com
anna@franlocators.com


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