The David Ross Acting Academy has signed its first franchise deal with the head of English and Drama teacher, Mrs Frances Entwistle. After being with the company for just 15 weeks, Mrs Entwistle has decided to take up the job full time. She states that apart from the business generating a wonderful income; it is fulfilling on many levels and has given her a zest for life.

The director and principal of the academy, David Ross, appeared in an interview on Manchester Breakfast Television recently and discussed franchising the company. David who is also a teacher in performing arts talked about his experiences which led him to find the David Ross Acting Academy.

David, in his interview, acknowledged his family who have played an important role in marketing the franchising network and who are also very successful in business. The company has been nominated as one of the top 30 in the North West. When asked about the possibility of making the company a franchise, David spoke of his association with UK casting directors and some of the opportunities he has given his own students. In his potential franchisees, David is looking for people who have a background in theatre arts or as an acting coach or drama teacher. David would also like to raise his company’s profile in the eyes of the public.

The British Chamber of Commerce has warned that businesses will face very difficult years ahead. It will be difficult for those people who are carrying their business alone to survive. If you are a part of a franchise, you can definitely cope with the economic downturn and survive in the market better.

It is always safer to work as a franchise because of the limited risk involved and the support that you receive. This helps franchisees to keep the business in shape and run the business smoothly for a longer period of time.

There are some tips for franchisees by Kathryn Hayes, head of franchising at HSBC Commercial Banking. These tips will help you to stay one step ahead in difficult situations.

1. Know your competitors- Always be aware of your competitors. Take advice from your franchisor at regular intervals. Use all their knowledge and skills to increase your profit.
2. Minimise overheads- Always keep a check that your goodwill is comparable or better than other firms. For this, work with your bank or franchisor to review your overheads.
3. Build your customer base – Re-establish old leads or dormant accounts by going back to data held about past and current clients.
4. Consider how customer care is utilised – try to improve the efficiency and communicate actively with the consumers. Make the most of available technology to cut unnecessary costs.
5. Always keep a note on your money flow.

By following these few simple tips, you should be able to cope with the current market slowdown in a better way.

Gabrielle Lixton took a break from her career as a human resource manager to have her first child. While attending swimming classes with her baby, she noticed a business opportunity in it.

The class was run by a company named Water Babies. Lixton was ready to buy a franchise from Water Babies in her local area, Berkshire.

She was confused in choosing between business and her earlier corporate life. She spoke to the franchise owner and was very pleased to buy one of the franchises. She felt that Water Babies is a safe and profitable business.

Her business grew more than five times within two and half years and hence she decided to buy a second franchise in Oxford. She sold her first franchise and earned 15 times more money than what she paid for it.

Lixton started her business from scratch. The franchise had helped her to run her own business with very limited risk. Buying a franchise is of great advantage. It helps with things like human resources, marketing, PR and health and safety matters. She was highly supported by Water Babies. This helped her in focusing on growing her business.

According to the British Franchise Association (BFA), a franchise is a business which grows rapidly with lesser risk involved. Franchise is the best option in starting up your own business. The survival rate of other start ups is much less than a franchise.

A café for the franchise was started in the heart of Blackpool town centre by a Chorley businesswoman.

The Blackpool venture was successfully launched in Preston in December 2007. This was the second Lancashire-based O’Briens café business. The first one was by Wendy Harrison.

In the heart of Blackpool, the O’Briens Café Express franchise is located within the food court complex. It is in the £30m-plus recently refurbished Houndshill Shopping Centre.

They will employ a further seven staff to add to their team at St Georges Shopping Centre. Along with this, they are planning to operate five outlets in Lancashire which is a part of Wendy’s expansion within next few years.

Wendy has previously worked as a relationship manager with Barclays Bank. She is trying to improve her O’Briens catering business by using the help of those people who were involved with her during her banking days.

After completing high school, Wendy studied in to a catering school. She completed her Diploma in Hotel Catering.

She started her career by selling sandwiches in a small shop at the age of 24 before becoming a publican.

At the age of 40 she chose catering and food industry to restart her own business. This time she wanted to establish on a large scale with backing. She always wanted to own a franchise. Wendy researched several franchises and found O’Brien an ideal choice for herself.

Energie Group, which launched its fitness club in 2007, is now looking for personal trainers who are interested in running a business full time. The company was among finalists in the BFA franchisors awards 2005, and currently has 100 franchisees operating for it. The group has gone to great lengths to study the industry and franchising to expand the fitness clubs to the public.

Energie Personal Fitness is the first franchise of the group that caters in personal and professional training studios. CEO Darren Morford claims many personal trainers have no knowledge in business and only perform their job because they are paid to do it, the company can train them to run a successful business and earn a reawarding income.

The group already has seven fitness divisions and is in the process of launching two new franchises. They are looking for candidates to help them in their mission. The group supports finance, training and assistance and also provides full training for franchisees on the products they deliver. The group’s fitness clubs are determined to provide their customers with good results which will transform their lives.

Energie Personal Fitness wants to recruit people who can handle multiple studios, but not necessarily personal trainers. By next year, they have their sight on starting 10 more studios and launching at least 20 more franchisees.

There are endless reasons why franchising is the best option if you want to start a business. The main reason behind this is that you not only enter a tried and tested business model but you also do not have to worry about creating a known brand. You do not have to deal with things like organising, initial advertising and finding a start up location for your business. The business is already there, you just have take charge of it. Also if you have any problem in operations, you always have support of the franchisor.

According to a survey in 2007 by the BFA, the franchising industry is worth £10.8 billion and around 93% of the franchisees are running a profitable business.

Richard Holden, the head of franchising at Lloyds TSB, said that commercial failure rates of franchisees is much lower than reported figures for independent businesses. The situation of the global market has altered many times during the past few years but franchising still remain an attractive option for existing and new business franchisors.

Cathryn Hayes, the head of franchising at HSBC Bank Plc., said that securing finance is easier for franchisees than conventional start ups. She also added that franchising is not an industry as such but it is a way of doing business.

Vicky Serle, a 36 year old teacher, has tasted the rewards of franchising. Vicky, who taught in Egypt for 10 years, returned to the UK to help run her mother’s franchise before she was inspired to buy one herself. Vicky, who bought her own franchise, Silverdaze jewellery, in 2005 from her mother, has experienced a 10 per cent rise in her sales each year, which she is sure will keep growing.

Jewellery making is a hobby for Vicky, in which she successfully completed a three year course. Today she has turned her hobby into a business, a decision she will never regret. Vicky states the great part about franchising is that no one needs to be an expert at it to succeed. Vicky who lives in Chipstead, Surrey spends half of her time throwing parties in people’s houses and the other half selling her jewellery to companies and at school fairs. Her customer total has currently reached about 300, one hundred of which are regulars.

What Vicky loves about her job is that she can work as many hours as she. She admitted that she would also like to try her hand at professionally designing jewellery. Although she is busy, Vicky is thinking of buying another kit and getting someone to work for her. However, she still teaches in the local school for three or four days a month, something she truly enjoys.

British Franchise Association (BFA) became a significant entity in 1977 and went on to become the only body that voluntary provides accreditation for the franchisors in UK. The BFA accredits franchise companies for membership on the basis of a standard factors.

These standards include a company’s…

• …day-to-day transactions
• … financial position
• …disclosure made to prospective franchisees
• …terms for the franchisee agreement

All these standards are based on the European code of ethics for franchising, which was agreed by the members of the European Franchise Federation in 1990, and they are recognised by the European commission. Companies are re-accredited by the BFA for membership purpose on a regular basis.

• In order to qualify as a full member, franchisors have to prove a trading and franchising record.
• Franchisors have to submit a complete application form that should include the following details:
• Disclosure document
• The proof of correct pilot scheme
• Franchise agreement
• Prospectus
• Accounts
• Finance

In addition to these, the franchisor should provide evidence of successful franchising over a minimum 2 year period, with at least four franchisees.

To become an associate member of the BFA, companies should have a growing franchise network and evidence of successful franchising for 1 year with at least 1 year of experience in the field.

For provisional listings, companies have to develop their franchising concept and take BFA accredited advice on its structure.

Former HiQ Retail Director, Chris Kisby, is the first successful bidder for a regional HiQ franchise zone. South, East and West Midlands franchise zones are operated by Chris. He has also had roles such as UK Sales and Marketing Director, European Brand Director, Managing Director for Russia, Belarus and Central Asia, and heading the HiQ Retail network, all of which have given him a wealth of experience with the Goodyear group.

According to Mark Brickhall who is the Group Managing Director, their regional zones were oversubscribed with bids and hence the HiQ Accelerated Franchise Programme was a huge success. Chris has been an integral part of their success. Therefore, they are delighted that Chris is their first successful named bidder.

Chris has played an important role in HiQ’s growth for many years. Their network growth plans and his personal business ambitions will be highly successful with his confidence, experience and knowledge focusing towards a stronger HiQ network.

The successful chosen bidders from every HiQ region will be interviewed and assessed by Goodyear Dunlop. Regional franchise partners will be named after this phase has been completed.

According to Chris, he is fulfilling his ultimate ambition of running his own regional tyre retailing business. In total, he has thirty years of experience in running business units across Europe with Goodyear Dunlop. He looks forward to driving the network forward and recognises a huge potential to grow the business.

As a tribute to the British Franchise Industry, an event has been organised by the British Franchise Association, HSBC, the French Franchise Federation and partners of the Trade Section of the French Embassy of London. The event is due to take place on the 2nd of October 2008 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Birmingham. The National Franchise Exhibition will involve experts and consultants in the field, as part of the conferences and meetings that are to take place.

The event acts as the perfect opportunity for deals to materialise between financial and legal experts of the British franchise industry and renowned French franchisors. Already, five French companies are supposed to be attending. They will be looking for UK-based master franchises and investors.

Some of the companies that will attend the event are:-

L’Echelle Europeenne, a company which started in 1990, offers safety products that allow people to move around, work, climb or be still at a height all on one premise. A growing product line, to which the company is dedicated, is the aluminium scaffolding on wheels. Today, the company’s franchise network has spread to 60 retail outlets in Europe.

Illicotravaux, a network providing building brokers to its clients helps them select contractors and make the right choices when it comes to property decisions. Illicotravaux is currently serving 70,000 clients.

A clothes designing company, CDC (Comptoir des Cottonniers), currently has a total of 351 points of sale worldwide. This French company whose designs are trendy and stylish now have their outlets in Spain and London after achieving immense success when they launched their Mother and Daughter line in 1997.