How to Cut the cost of franchising

How to Cut the cost of franchising by Sandy Purewal It’s not uncommon for people to be put off by the price tag attached to owning a franchise.In reality, franchises come in all shapes and sizes to suit a range of different budgets and lifestyles. So no matter how deep your pockets are, there’s an opportunity out there for you.To help get you started, here are three ways you can be your own boss without breaking the bank:Work-from-home franchisesBenefits:Cut the cost of transport â€" there’s no need to shell out on your commute when your office is your living roomWardrobe worries will become a thing of the pastYou can avoid the cost of lunches, coffees and breakfasts by eating at homePerhaps the biggest saving no need rent out a space to work fromPart-time franchisesBenefits:More time to choose whether it’s worth moving into the role of full-time franchiseeOffers the opportunity to see how your investment could potentially pan outJust like working from home, you can remove the cost associated with ren ting and maintaining a businessAllows you to supplement your income as a franchisee, keep your current job and work on the franchise in your spare timeMobile and outdoor franchisesBenefits:No need to wait for your customer to come to you earn more by going straight to them, for example as a mobile coffee or gardening service franchisee.You can reduce the costs associated with renting a store as generally, mobile franchises are a much smaller investment.Tips to maximise your income potentialHere are some of our top tips to help maximise the potential income of your franchise:Create a watertight business plan so that you have a good understanding of how to keep your business on the path to profitCome up with a contingency plan to prepare for potential times of crisisKeep confident franchising is an industry with a high success rate, with 9 out of 10 UK franchises operating profitably*Ask your bank for help thanks to the tried-and-tested franchise business model, they’re more like ly to fund franchises compared to new businessesLook for government support, which is often available through start up grants.*British Franchise Association, 2014Find a job What Where Search JobsSign up for more Career AdviceSign up for moreCareer Advice Please enter a valid email addressmessage hereBy clicking Submit you agree to the terms and conditions applicable to our service and acknowledge that your personal data will be used in accordance with our privacy policy and you will receive emails and communications about jobs and career related topics. Features

Find a Job You Love and Youll Never Work a Day in Your Life

Find a Job You Love and Youll Never Work a Day in Your Life That’s right folks I am going philosophical on you today. As great as the quote from Confucius is, the sad truth is that doing what you love is the dream of many, but the reality of few. I get asked to help people with their job searches, however some people haven’t got a clue what the next job should be, where they are heading and what the longer term plan is. They are currently doing one thing and would consider doing ten different others. This makes it near impossible for me or the person themselves to actually get anywhere with the job search, let alone accepting a job offer down the line when the doubts start kicking in: Establishing clarity: Confucius, the über wise man himself, put the truth down in a nice quote that sounds easy enough. The question is, how do you actually go about finding out what you would love to do? Not even a  career coach can tell you exactly what you should do; it has to come from you. I don’t claim to be an expert on people’s dream careers but there are three simple questions you can ask yourself today and the answers can give you some guidance. Take a few minutes out of your day to think this over and you will have better clarity as a result. Here we go: What is the passion in your life? What would you pay to do? How would you fill your days if you were a millionaire? The answers to these three questions are hopefully somewhat similar and will give you a good indication of what your true calling is. Whatever it may be, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that it is your childhood dream or what you set out to do before you stumbled upon an different path. Your dream will latently follow you for the rest of your life, your choice is whether to pursue it now or run the risk of having serious regrets later on. Let’s say we press on. At this point it may seem like the dream activity is impossible to fill your days with unless you are idle rich. Assuming you dont have that kind of money, your best bet will be to map out what others have done. By modeling others’ path to your dream job, you will have the roadmap ready. Ask yourself the three follow up questions: Does anybody get paid doing this? How could you get paid doing this? What is stopping you? The answer to the final question is usually an amalgamation of excuses such as limiting beliefs, fear of failure, complacency and the all too cozy comfort zone. These objections can all be overcome with clear goals, hard work and belief in yourself. Let’s take some action When you have identified exactly what you want to do, the next step is to research the dream job. What companies or organizations do you target, where are the jobs located, do you need any qualifications, who can you contact that is already doing this? Speak to friends and family, professional contacts, scour Linkedin and the rest of the web for clues. The more research you do, the more fired up you will get. Set some clear objectives and timescales and make sure you take an action every day to edge toward your goal. Get a big wall calendar to fill out your through goals and achievements. This change could be a long process but as long as you are willing to focus on where you are heading, you will get there. Please note that while all great jobs out there are up for grabs, you have to do a reality check and make sure you are not delusional when pursuing your dream. There will be physical and other limitations that are out of your control. There could of course be very valid obstacles such as family situation or your finances; as a rule however, there is always a solution that can be worked out over time. Bottom line In my mind, as soon as you have identified the job you love you should go for it non-stop. Actually taking the decision to pursue your dream can sometimes be harder than achieving it. I say there are only two things you need to get any job; belief in yourself and desire. The rest will somehow take care of itself. Are you doing the job you love? Why or why not? You might want to check out How a Career Coach Can Help Your Job Search. Image: Shutterstock

Mistakes to Avoid When Planning Your Office Christmas Party

Mistakes to Avoid When Planning Your Office Christmas Party If you are in charge of this year’s office Christmas party, you better get a move on! Time is ticking away and it is already way late in the year. You will find that the most common mistakes, as detailed below, are made because the planner left it until too late in the year. Here are those common mistakes to avoid when planning your office Christmas party. Read quickly because time is running out! Not Securing a Venue Early Enough In previous years, it was common practice to wait until autumn to begin planning a Christmas party because many directors and business owners thought they would get a better deal due to last minute cancellations. This could be a very grave error in judgement, as has often been the case, for two very good reasons. Many venues are no longer offering a discount for last minute bookings when another group has cancelled because they are in high demand and will go at almost any price at this late date. A great number of businesses are scurrying around like chickens with their heads cut off trying to find a venue on sites like venuesearchlondon.com. If you want a great venue, get it before you can’t get the date you want. Booking Entertainment Too Late Another common mistake is procrastinating when booking entertainment. You will see that most of the top name entertainers are even booked years in advance for all the main holidays. What is an office Christmas party without entertainment? If you have any hope of getting talented performers, book them early in the year at the absolute latest! Many companies have learned to line up top name acts the year before to ensure having great entertainment. Setting the Wrong Date You may be asking how you can choose a ‘wrong date’ when planning a Christmas party but if you aren’t in administration, you may not be privy to large work orders that will be coming in around that time of year. As well, if you aren’t in human resources you might not know when key employees have requested time off for annual holiday leave. It is important to be aware of scheduling conflicts before booking a date at the venue and hiring talent for entertainment. If you need to change your date, you may suddenly see yourself back at square one looking for both a venue and an entertainer. So by now you can see that planning an office Christmas party needs to be completed well in advance. Some businesses book the same venue year after year, thus avoiding the frustration of that last minute search. If you are looking for a venue, start right now. The same holds true with entertainment. This will give you plenty of time to plan menus, find gifts for the staff and also to order decorations at a reasonable price. (If you find a venue that does the decorating for you, all the better!) Just remember that you can’t leave things until the last minute or you could be in for a not-so-nice surprise and a huge headache.