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Educating Tomorrow's Franchisees
November, 2012
Author Image Greetings!

Welcome back to the Educated Franchisee Newsletter.

 

I would like to start out with a question - 'Does your car drive straight?' That's right. If you are driving down a straight highway and you take your hands off the wheel, does your car drive straight? I would venture a guess that the answer is 'No'. Eventually your car will veer off the road and end up in a ditch. It really does not matter how perfectly balanced and aligned your car is. Even a Mercedes, Lexis or Cadilac will, in relatively short order, veer off the road and end up in the ditch.  

 

We all know that the only way to get from point A to point B in a car is to keep you hands on the wheel and constantly adjust the direction of the car. So, are car's faulty? Is a car that will not go straight a failure? Of course not. We know that we need to 'drive' a car in order to safely arrive at our destination.

 

Why is this important? Because driving a car is a metaphor for business ownership. There are no perfect businesses. Even if it is an exceptional opportunity with every advantage going for it - all businesses require drivers. If you take your hands off the wheel to too long, the business will begin to move toward the ditch. Does this mean that the business is a bad business? No. It simply means that we, the driver, must take responsibility for the overall success of the venture.

 

Businesses are clearly vehicles that can transport us toward our destination; however, it does not happen by itself. We, the driver, are a critical part of the success equation.   Don't look for the perfect business - it does not exist. Look for a business that you can successfully drive! That is the key.

 

Finally, I would like to send my best wishes to all of our friends on the east coast who were affected by Sandy. As a Florida resident living on a barrier island, I understand what you are going through and pray for a speedy recovery. It does not matter how good a driver you are, Mother Nature trumps everything.

 

 

Respectfully, 

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Rick Bisio
Apple Image How to Prepare for changes in the Tax code.

With year-end tax season in full swing, a cloud of uncertainty hovers over businesses. Forecasting what 2013 will bring in terms of tax rates and legislation is difficult because of the impending presidential election and the unknowns about whether the Bush-era tax cuts will be extended.

 

What will happen to tax rates in 2013? How could estate planning be affected? Is now the time for your business to buy equipment?

 

"This year, the traditional planning techniques of deferring income and accelerating deductions may not be appropriate, depending on what happens with tax rates," says Michael R. Viens, director, Tax Strategies, at Kreischer Miller, Horsham, Pa.

 

Viens recommends businesses plan early but hold off on executing any specific plan until the post-election dust settles and Congress gives some indication of its direction concerning late 2012 or early 2013 tax legislation.

 

Smart Business spoke with Viens about how businesses can best prepare and position their organizations to be flexible in light of the uncertain political and economic climate. ... 

    

 Go to Smart Business, Click Here
Apple Image More Minorities Become Franchise Operators

 

Peter J. Berberena yearned to have his own business since he was a teenager waiting tables at a Denny's restaurant in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. He just didn't know that it would be selling cell-phone cases with the imprimatur of Hello Kitty or Justin Bieber.

Berberena is part of a growing number of minority entrepreneurs who see the franchise model as a way to build family wealth. While an overall census of black, Hispanic, and Asian-American franchisees is not available, anecdotal data from two industry organizations suggest these types of enterprises are on an uptick.

 

A 2007 report by the International Franchise Association's Educational Foundation found that minority ownership increased 1.2 percentage points to 20.5 percent between 2000 and 2007. ...

   

Go to The Next America, Click Here

 

Apple Image Small Business Lending Increases At Wells Fargo

Optimism may be holding steady at recession levels, according to recent reports, but that hasn't stopped small business lending.

For the second year in a row, Wells Fargo (WFC) has approved more than $1 billion in SBA 7(a) loans. The bank's record $1.24 billion in deals were done via 3,176 loans throughout the 2012 fiscal year, from October 2011 through Sept. 30, 2012.

 

Dave Rader, head of Wells Fargo's SBA Lending Division, said that customers seem optimistic and willing to take on risks after years of a slow moving economy.

 

"We are still seeing optimism out there, despite what you read in the headlines," Rader said. "We are seeing individual entrepreneurs feeling confident about their businesses, and good opportunities ... They're very savvy, buying partners, expanding their businesses. They maximize opportunities when they see them."

  
Apple Image
Franchise Index Sees Biggest Gain Since 2008 

The Franchise Business Index increased by 2.2 percent from September 2011 to September 2012, marking the industry's best year-over-year gain since the Great Recession began in December 2007.

The index showed a 0.5 percent increase from August to September, the second consecutive monthly increase following declines in June and July.

 

A drop in the unemployment rate, coupled with a slow but steady improvement in small-business credit conditions, contributed to the gains.

 

Go to Phoenix Business Journal, Click Here 

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Author - Rick Bisio
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