HOW TO FRANCHISE?

In 2005 and 2006, eBay consignment shops from several different franchisors became popular and showed dramatic growth in the number of units that were opened nationwide. These businesses are, of course, based on the incredible worldwide popularity and success of eBay online auctions (www.ebay.com) and provide a way ordinary people can buy and sell new and used goods via the web.

eBay itself is an online based auction site. The franchise opportunities available allow people to drop off their items at a retail location in order to have someone else (an independent party, in this case the franchisee, sell those items on eBay in exchange for a flat-fee and/or commission on the sale. The franchises offering these business opportunities are not directly owned or affiliated with eBay, but they rely almost entirely on the ongoing popularity and success of this service.

Computer and online technology changes extremely rapidly. Although online auctions using eBay are popular right now and probably will be for several years to come, will this still be a popular trend in ten or fifteen years, when technology will have evolved dramatically? As a potential franchisee, always consider the long-term viability of a business opportunity and how the evolution of technology might impact the viability of your business.

Another popular tend in franchising is pet-based businesses, including pet supply stores, grooming services, dog-walking services and doggy daycare. The American Pet Products Manufacturers Association reported that in 2006, there were 69.1 million homes in the U.S. that had a pet. In 2005, this translated into a $35.9 billion per year industry that continues to show impressive growth.

Pet-related businesses rely on an unwavering trend in America, which is pet ownership. They also capitalize on the fact that people tend to work all day and need to arrange for their pets to be cared for while they’re at work, traveling for business, or on vacation. Pets also need to be fed, entertained, and cared for, which opens up a wide range of business opportunities in virtually every community across America. Because pet ownership
is not a trend that’s likely to diminish anytime soon, several viable business opportunities exist on which franchisors have only begin to capitalize.

Working parents tend to be spending longer hours on the job and focusing more on their professional lives, a phenomenon that continues to reveal new opportunities for franchise- based kid-oriented services. Parents want to see their kids cared for, entertained after school, and able to stay up-to-date on their schoolwork, even if the parents aren’t around to help their children with homework. Franchise opportunities that provide fitness programs, art classes, science-activities, tutoring, and enrichment programs to young people continued to show steady growth potential, with no end in sight.