Many Entrepreneurs Not Cut Out For Franchising, Says Joel Libava |  |
- Many Entrepreneurs Not Cut Out For Franchising, Says Joel Libava
- Timetastic Simplifies Taking Vacation Days
- Mark Adams of Verizon: WeCommerce Bartering and Networking
- Let Me Do All The Talking
- Go Daddy CEO Steps Down
| Many Entrepreneurs Not Cut Out For Franchising, Says Joel Libava Posted: 03 Aug 2012 01:00 PM PDT While many people evaluate buying a franchise when they’re looking to own a business, most people, in fact, are not cut out for franchising, according to Joel Libava (pictured below), who is known online under the name “The Franchise King.” Joel is a franchise expert, and he’s passionate about franchising.
He loves helping people find a sense of freedom and control through franchising. But not everyone is going to succeed in franchising, he says, due to two primary factors: 1. There is financial risk involved. Yes … even with a franchise there’s some risk. It’s true that franchising can help you piggyback on the success of an established brand. But buying a franchise from a well known brand doesn’t guarantee success. 2. Lots of people don't like rules, and the franchise business model is riddled with them. Rules are part of the reason that franchisees succeed. However, if you hate being told what to do, those rules will quickly become an irritant. Joel says:
Entrepreneurs Make Terrible Franchise Owners Joel, who is the franchise expert-in-residence here on Small Business Trends, and who writes on SBA.gov and is regularly seen on high profile business sites, says if someone is looking for a business to launch quickly and likes the idea of following a proven system, he or she should consider buying a franchise. But for those who have trouble following the rules, starting your own business from scratch might be a better option:
Writing the Book on Franchising Joel is so passionate about helping business owners navigate the world of franchising that he wrote a book on the subject: Become a Franchise Owner!: The Start-Up Guide to Lowering Risk, Making Money, and Owning What you Do. The book is aimed at helping people determine whether franchising is a good fit, and determining what sort of franchising is most appropriate (read a review here). Taking DIY Too Far He certainly has had his fair share of experiences on his path to becoming The Franchise King. One lesson he’s learned and is working to implement is leveraging the help of others. He, like so many of us, has done most of the things in his business, and is now learning to step back and hand the reins over to others who are better skilled in particular areas, like marketing. Joel is one of the judges volunteering his time and expertise for the Small Business Influencer Awards. Being an inside part of this award has shown him how many smart small business people are out there:
* * * * * Editor’s Note: This article is one of a series of interviews of key players in the Small Business Influencer Awards. From Small Business Trends |
| Timetastic Simplifies Taking Vacation Days Posted: 03 Aug 2012 11:00 AM PDT The process of taking time off is not only a pain for employees, but can also result in a lot of added work for employers who need to manage vacation days for multiple employees or departments. Now, a new app, Timetastic, aims to make it easier for employees to take time off and for employers to manage staff leave.
Currently in beta testing, Timetastic gives companies the ability to manage time off online or via mobile devices. Employees can check their calendar and request time off, and the boss is given the ability to authorize time off simply via email. Everything is recorded instantly, so there is less opportunity for lost communication or error. Upon signing up, users can view a calendar and select how many days off each employee can request. Then employers can invite their employees, who can select the days they'd like to request off, specify the type of leave, and submit it to their boss for approval. Managers or small business owners can then view a simple wall chart or calendar showing which employees have vacation time and when, so they can avoid clashes between team members. For small companies without an HR department or with limited HR resources, a simple system like Timetastic could help to reduce paperwork, spreadsheets, and confusion surrounding something as simple as an employee's request for a day off. Employees don't need to be in the office to request vacation days, and managers can approve their leave remotely as well. Timetastic is produced by English-based company Mediaburst, and is currently in its final testing stages. The web app is free for beta users. Once the application goes live, Timetastic will be free for a company's first three employees, with an added monthly fee for each additional employee. Timetastic is also building apps for iPhone, Android, and Windows Phone platforms. From Small Business Trends |
| Mark Adams of Verizon: WeCommerce Bartering and Networking Posted: 03 Aug 2012 08:00 AM PDT When birds of a feather flock together, they become stronger as their numbers grow. Networking, bartering and grouping together with like minded individuals provides opportunities for all involved. Tune in as Mark Adams, Director of Marketing for Verizon, joins Brent Leary to discuss this concept and Verizon’s WeCommerce solution. * * * * *
Mark Adams: I joined Verizon in 1995, came from MCI and I currently head up the National Small Business Marketing team. We are responsible for all of the online and off line marketing associated with channels and also our social media strategy within the telecom group. I've been spear heading strategic online partnerships and really trying to support a distinctive ecommerce marketing presence. Which is why we have developed WeCommerce.com. Small Business Trends: What is WeCommerce? Mark Adams: In a nutshell, it's a Match.com for business. We are trying to help businesses find each other and create new opportunities and respond to proposals and really help them generate more revenues, more customers for the businesses that they currently own. They can post any needs, offers that they have, and can also search available listings. Basically, it is a way Verizon supports this community of small businesses, trying to help them get together and create new businesses, new customers and new revenues for their business. Small Business Trends: Was this something small businesses were asking Verizon for? Mark Adams: I think what we have found is they were struggling on how to use social media platforms. How they could get their business out there to the vast number of customers that they were looking for. It was a really tough for them to network and find each other. So WeCommerce is really about giving them a very specialized community where they can go create a profile in as little as ten minutes and then make connections and market themselves to like-minded businesses. If you are a wedding planner and you just got an opportunity to do the wedding of the year, you need to get a caterer; you need to get a venue; and you really want this business. But you just don't have those assets within your small business. You can go to WeCommerce, look for florists, event planners, anything within the WeCommerce platform, and actually create a proposal that you can go and present to somebody and say, “Hi. I am a wedding planner and I am going to do your wedding. This is how it is going to come off.” So it really is expanding your company to address some of the bigger opportunities that you may be unable to do today on your own. Small Business Trends: What role does Facebook play in WeCommerce? Mark Adams: WeCommerce originally was a community on Facebook, on a Facebook App, that really wanted to take all of the businesses that were there and help them find each other on this particular platform. While we started on Facebook we are going to be launching a site in the very near future. That way, any small business, even those that don't have a Facebook user profile, can actually join WeCommerce. We are in beta mode right now just testing it out, getting good feedback from customers that have joined us so far. But we are going to launch a site. Again anybody can check it out and it is free. That is the other thing. Some of the other sites that are similar, like Elance, and some of the other potential bartering sites, they charge a fee. We are free and literally in less than 10 minutes with no cost to the small business owner you can join WeCommerce and start getting new business, new ideas, new connections and new partnerships for your small business. Small Business Trends: Are there any other differences between what other sites do and what WeCommerce does? Mark Adams: Elance, just as an example, is a site for freelance jobs or temp jobs. We are not potentially in the employment business with WeCommerce. Really what they are using WeCommerce for is to partner with each other. So if you are a graphics design company and I am a bakery, I will potentially design your website and you will provide goods at the launch of my company or something like that. Again, the nice thing about it from a WeCommerce perspective about being free, is they can publish their current offers on there. They can use this website to market their services as well, and they can potentially join forces to make a greater purchase power. Let's say you have a stationary provider and an office supplier and both of you need paper. Maybe you can combine resources in that way and get more of a volume discount, just as an example. It is a really good opportunity for them to connect with businesses both nationally and locally. Because sometimes you are going after national type business as well. Then, of course, we as a company use it as an opportunity to promote our products and services to these customers. Small Business Trends: Have you received any feedback from the small business community about how it has been working for them? Mark Adams: The one thing that we learned early on is the profile process was taking a little too much time so we have streamlined that. We also made some additions to help businesses find each other a little easier. Basically, they give great, positive feedback and help us improve this site. We are going to make sure we keep this advisory board and continue getting feedback from the customers continually so we can improve the site. People also wanted to make referrals and one of the things we just added in terms of the new functionally was Yelp ratings. If a business had tremendous Yelp ratings, that gives them a sense of confidence. If the customers are happy with what you deliver then your partnership is going to deliver. This interview is part of our One on One series of conversations with some of the most thought-provoking entrepreneurs, authors and experts in business today. This interview has been edited for publication. To hear audio of the full interview, click the right arrow on the gray player below. You can also see more interviews in our interview series.
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| Posted: 03 Aug 2012 05:00 AM PDT
This is a pretty good joke. Not great, not bad, but pretty good. You’ve got your standard phrase with a funny scene and sort of a “well, of course” gag. And it sells, which in the end is really what you’re looking for. But it’s also one of those cartoons where I like to imagine the scene immediately after the scene we’re presented. Think about it. A room full of people who are apparently waiting to hear what this guy has to say, and then he walks in with a ventriloquist dummy. Does he give a funny presentation? Does he do it straight? Does he acknowledge the oddness of what’s happening, or does he present this as perfectly normal? And as much as you’d think I should know what happens (I created it after all), I don’t. But I’d really like to find out. From Small Business Trends |
| Posted: 03 Aug 2012 02:30 AM PDT Every Internet entrepreneur knows the importance of good Internet hosting, and the misery that can ensue when hosting problems occur. Heck, just look at our recent coverage of the problems experienced by Famous Bloggers founder Hesham Zebida when he briefly lost two of his domains for several days last week. It’s important to know as much as you can about your hosting company before making the decision where to host your Website. Be sure you are getting the services you need. ChangesMusical CEOs. Once a darling of the Internet entrepreneurial community, Go Daddy has experienced some shakeups in management recently. The company announced that CEO Warren Adelman had stepped down after just 8 months on the job, and will be replaced by Scott Wagner of KKR Capstone, a major investor in the company. TechCrunch No accounting for taste. Earlier last month, Go Daddy seemed to be bolstering its offerings to its small business clientele, acquiring automated accounting application company Outright with plans to add financial management features to its Web hosting and domain name registration services. PC World The Future of HostingEase of operation. Before his departure, former Go Daddy CEO Adelman talked about the reasons for the Outright acquisition. Go Daddy makes domain name signup and hosting simple, while Outright focuses on making it easy to combine data from e-commerce sites like eBay, Etsy, and Amazon, invoicing Web sites like Freshbooks and Harvest, and receipts sites like Shoeboxed. Both are hyper focused on supporting online small business. eCommerce Bytes One stop shop. The ultimate aim for Go Daddy, said Adelman recently, is to move from a simple Web hosting and domain registration company to a sort of one stop shop for entrepreneurs seeking to create an online business. That shop offers Web marketing tools, e-commerce functions, SEO and social media marketing assistance, accounting, and more. Tech Biz Dangerous domain. But no matter how much effort might be placed behind making hosting a safe and easy process, business owners must always remember that the security of their site is their own responsibility. Here blogger Tuan Do makes some suggestions for protecting your online security without leaving everything up to your Web hosting company. TechWalls Other Hosting OptionsMore than a Website. Of course, hosting possibilities go far beyond simply getting a Website online in this era of cloud computing. Microsoft, for example, has introduced a version of its Windows Azure cloud platform, which allows the company’s partners to offer business customers an infrastructure-as-a-service experience including deployment of many different applications. Gigaom A gracious host. Meanwhile Dell has partnered with hosting automation software Parallels to provide its business users with a hosted Microsoft Office 365 offering. The Dell announcement means that business customers of the computer company will be able to use features like email, shared calendars, document creating and editing tools, instant messaging, Web conferencing, and internal team Websites through computers, tablets, smartphones. Web Host Industry Review From Small Business Trends |
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