YOU CAN GET THERE FROM HERE!

As you look forward and plan to be in business for yourself in the near future, it may seem almost impossible that all the necessary steps can be completed in 90 days.

If you are ready to accept responsibility for the process, it can happen!!

Here's a short list of the critical steps to take to find, buy and open your new franchise. (For further insight, you may want to review this section on The Franchise Doctor's Home Page entitled "How should you evaluate a franchise opportunity?" )

1. Research the Industry

2. Submit the Franchisor's Qualification Sheet

3. Review the Disclosure Documents

4. Quiz the Franchisor about details

5. Call/Visit Franchisees

6. Meet with the Franchisor

7. Evaluate your town's suitability

8. MAKE A DECISION

9. Sign the Agreement

10. Attend training

11. Grand Opening

Like riding a bicycle--you can learn how by focusing on the basic steps.

If you're looking for an extensive "How to" Manual (120+ pages), please consider The Franchise Doctor's book "Insiders' Secrets to Buying a Franchise."

REASONABLE FRANCHISE EXPECTATIONS

This week my phone rang with a call from a sharp lady from one of Atlanta's upper income suburbs. She is interested in buying a new or existing franchise so that she can reduce the time she spends on the road. Last year she logged 40,000 total miles making sales calls on local companies.

Two suggestions were offered and both met her investment capability, her earning needs and her skill set. Surprisingly, she quickly rejected both because they were too far from her residence. Each of these opportunities is approximately 12 miles from her home. Since both are site-based companies, I noted that 24 miles a day seemed far better than the 160 per day average necessary to reach 40,000 per year.

Her response was that she'd only consider a business "no more than five or six miles distant!"

I'm afraid I failed this prospect by not making her understand that it is not a perfect world. If it were, she might have had the $200,000 needed for a 10-year-old company in her home town. But, with $50 to $60,000, she will probably hunt for a year and then abandon her plans of entrepreneurship.

Are your expectations reasonable?? Have you acknowledged to yourself that we live in an imperfect world? Are you ready to "pay the price" for the success you desire? Few franchisees earn $50,000 in their first year. That may cause some belt-tightening at home as you begin your business. Most businesses cannot be run from your spare bedroom, so commuting will not end the day you begin working for yourself.

Don't set your expectations so high that achievement is impossible. It's time to begin strengthening your family's finances today. Don't make the solution impossible to find by placing self-imposed barriers in the way.

If you'd like to talk to The Franchise Doctor about your plans in Franchising, call today... 800 220-8256 or email jd@franchisedoc.com