India's No.1 Multi-City Business Opportunities Show

Q. Share the origin and growth of your company and how did the company opt for franchise route?
HM: In 1988, Bryan Stokes, the founder of Cartridge World, saw an advert in the Advertiser newspaper for Australian Laser Charge that read, “Make $75.00 every fifteen minutes recharging laser printer cartridges”. Even though Bryan didn’t know what a laser printer cartridge was, it sounded to him like a good speed to make money, so he decided to give it a go.

The company was based in Melbourne, so Bryan headed east for a weekend’s training. Over the two days, he was taught how to recharge two laser cartridges and given a briefcase containing a couple of screwdrivers and a cartridge price list. The weekend’s training cost him $4,000. Bryan returned to Adelaide and set up a cartridge recharging area in his 2 x 3m garden shed. With only two different laser cartridges to recharge, business was scarce but by marketing consistently and constantly, he started to make the business successful. Bryan was quickly building a trusted relationship with his customers and soon discovered another area that he could market as well—recharging dot matrix printer ribbons. After six months it was obvious to Bryan that the business had outgrown the shed in his back yard so he moved to a business premises in Kent Town. It became apparent to Bryan that his customers were prepared to pay more for his service if he recharged their cartridges on the spot. From that point, cash flow improved and business boomed. Bryan moved to bigger premises with a shop front and his business grew and grew.

Then in 1992, while doing some DIY handyman work at home, Bryan suffered an extremely serious hand injury. In a fraction of a second he lost a finger and removed all the tendons and nerves in the fingers of his right hand. His hand became almost useless. Despite 10 operations, Bryan found it was now nearly impossible for him to recharge cartridges. Rather than accepting defeat, Bryan started teaching other people how to fill cartridges and from this, Cartridge World was born.

It was then that Bryan decided to take Cartridge World into the Franchise Market. He joined forces with Paul Wheeler, who had an impressive background encompassing franchising, finance and management. Together, they planned the franchising structure of Cartridge World.

The first Cartridge World franchise was sold in August 1997. The second, third and fourth followed in rapid succession. Cartridge World continues to be the leader due to Bryan's passion for the industry and his knack of staying in tune with technology, coupled with Paul’s extensive knowledge of franchising and business management.

The Indian operations of Cartridge World began in November 2006. Entering India and finding customers was easy enough for Cartridge World. It found customers across all cities, be it Jammu or Kerala. The business model helped us reach and educate customers quickly as the stores are franchisee owned and operated.

Cartridge World in India has in a short span of three years won several awards and been recognized for its successful business model and customer offerings.

Currently Cartridge World in India has its presence with more than 90 stores operating successfully across 37 cities and is looking for partners to expand further.

Q. Promotional strategy plays a very significant role in the appropriate growth of the brand. Kindly elaborate?
HM: The key to effective marketing lies in adopting a local face. Cartridge World aims to provide its retail and corporate customers with competitive pricing and superior products, whilst developing the brand into a market leader. Cartridge World franchise model ensures that they appoint a local agent who has an understanding of local needs, being one from within, he communicates with locals in local dialect and effectively too. Our store design is an India adaptation approved and appreciated by the Cartridge World’s global leader headquarters. This ensures that they are also able to effectively respond to the diverse small format retail space available in the country.

Q. 3) Franchise India Holdings Limited organizes series of events in the form of BOS (Business Opportunity Show) and FRO (Franchise and Retail opportunity) Show every year to provide a platform to the entrepreneurs and investors to come face to face. Your company participated in BOS Gujarat, what factors motivated you to participate in the event?
HM: Gujarat as a state, is an example in India when it comes to entrepreneurship. And, the Business Opportunity Show is the right platform for us to show case our business model and connect with like minded entrepreneurs / professionals.

Q. Share your experience of being one of the participating companies at BOS?
HM: One of the finest shows and most economical ways to market in small towns of India.

Q. How do you think the brands’ participation in the event has contributed to its growth of your company?
HM: It was good to see that FIHL team had selected few and non-competing brands.

Q. What advice would you like to give to the entrepreneurs and investors aspiring to participate in the show to get maximum benefits from it?
HM: My advice to entrepreneurs and investors will be to ask 5 questions before deciding on buying a franchise:
What is The Product?
This is probably the number one factor in choosing your business. If you don't have a product you truly believe in, or if you feel like you're twisting someone's arm to get them to buy, you'll never be successful. You need to do whatever research is necessary to understand the value and quality of the product you will be representing, and more importantly, find out if there is a demand for it.

Who is The Company?
The internet has opened wide the doors of research but with the rush of legitimate information comes untruthful, spiteful, and just plain wrong information. Even so, when you research the company, you should see what other people are saying about it -- good and bad.
You need to find out:
Who are the founders of the company?
What is their background?
What are the debts of the company? (Hint: they should be low or zero for the best stability and future)
How many other representatives are there now?
What is the projected growth of the company?

Be sure the team you would be joining is supportive and offers training. Talk to the other members of the team and be sure you have the contact information of, not only the person who is showing you this opportunity, but also at least three other team members that you can call on when you have a question or problem.

What is The Compensation?
Obviously this is the reason you're looking at a business opportunity at all. You need to be sure you can actually make the money you expect to with the compensation plan the company offers. There are so many different plans and all have their pros and cons, so the key is not to find a certain type of plan, but to be sure you can make money with the plan they have.

What is The Cost?
All franchise-based businesses have a cost associated with them. What is the initial cost and are there any on-going royalty fees? Some people think that if you have to pay to make money, it must be a scam. Nothing could be farther from the truth. If you were to buy one of the top franchise opportunities today, you'd be spending INR 10L to over 30L just to open your doors. I don't know of any legitimate business you can own for zero cash. If you are looking for extra money without a cost associated with it, then you are looking for a JOB, not an opportunity.

What is The Value?
This last question is one of soul-searching. You have to determine what you are willing to "pay" for the value. You can pick up your paycheck every week and keep working to try to stretch it out over all the bills, or you can turn your life around with a legitimate business opportunity and start building for the life you really want. Whichever opportunity you ultimately choose will require hard work and sweat-equity, but the value you derive from believing in yourself and changing your future today is worth it all!