Cash-strapped franchisees need not fear

Taking up a franchise is considered to be the best business venture for gaining maximum profits in a limited period of time. However, buying and maintaining a franchise requires huge investment, relevant knowledge and prior experience. New franchisees with limited financial capabilities or less experience face hurdles in running their outlet. With added rental expenses, opening of their outlet, buying merchandise from vendors etc. becomes almost a nightmare for them. This article provides you with various strategies to build a successful franchise with limited resources and knowledge. For cash and knowledge shy aspiring franchisees, this article should be of help.

Exchanging goods

The age old barter system is still prevalent in the present society. Barter means exchanging products or services for other needed products with little or no cash. For a cash-shy franchisee, bartering can be quite helpful as he can utilise the excessive products by exchanging them with the needed products/services. This will help them to save on cash as well as make use of the unsold products. Moreover, with the franchisor’s permission the franchisee can reach and acquire new customers through this system.

Taking advice from mentors

Mentors include experienced and successful businessmen from the field of franchising. They can include franchisors as well as franchisees. As a struggling franchisee, you can get lot of free and useful advice from these mentors. Although there is your franchisor to guide you but sometimes to save on lengthy telephone bills and time you can always contact local businessmen. In case of urgent decision making you can ask the other mentors for suggestions instead of waiting for your franchisor to revert back.

Special treatment for customers

Establishing franchisees are more often short of cash. Discount offering is not a guaranteed means to attract customers. Therefore, maintaining your clientele with quick and effective services can be useful for your sales growth. Moreover, you can indulge in giving offers and special packages to your key customers. Therefore, offering discounts is not the only way to increase your footfalls in case of shortage of cash.

Develop relations with suppliers

Almost every franchise needs reliable suppliers. Most of the times, franchisors provide the contact of their reliable vendors and suppliers but a franchisee can also look for suitable vendors himself. The vendors can contribute to the quality of your business with on-time delivery or innovation and solve some of your financial problems by giving you extended terms. They can also sell you the merchandise on reduced rates if you treat suppliers fairly and pay their bills on time.

Reasonable advertising techniques

Franchisees always need to employ their personal promotional techniques for popularising their outlet apart from the franchisor’s advertising. For any debutant, franchisee with less cash advertising seems to be an expensive method. However, with the emergence of the internet and local channels, advertising can be easier and more reasonable. Making your own website and signing up with various social networking sites (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc) will be the best means of informing prospective customers.

Building trust in all dealings

Franchisees should always try to develop trust with their franchisors, employees, customers, vendors etc. You build trust by refusing to compromise on doing the right thing and conducting business ethically. Customers would revisit your store and your employees will care for your business like their own.

Employing the above given strategies, cash-shy franchisees can establish their outlets and also run them profitably. Thus, to conclude, it can be said that franchisees can run their outlets successfully in spite of limited cash and experience.