The latest report revealed that many working fathers are not making the most of their entitled paternity leave. Accomplishing the ideal work and personal life stability is much easier said than it is done. With several households concerned about job security, men often stay at work in order to keep their job. But some say they can’t afford to take time off work, particularly for a longer period than the constitutional 2 weeks paid paternity leave period.

Against this difficult backdrop, more and more couples are exploring different ways for making a living while spending some quality time with their families. Franchising is an attractive option. Activ Web Design’s successful young director, Simon Rickett frequently receives enquiries from many couples of different age groups in diverse situations who are keen to determine the enterprise that they can easily run together.

Simon said that they have numerous husband and wife teams among their franchise-holders. A few of them dedicate their complete time to build their franchises whereas others run theirs on a part-time basis.

Activ is a good example of how franchising can work fine for couples due to the great flexibility that its business model offers. For example, some of the web design assignments can be carried out at the weekends or in the evening.

Simon further added that with appropriate planning, their franchisees can and do figure out ways of running a successful business while still managing to spend quality time with their family than they earlier did when working for an employer.

UK franchises have gained immense popularity over the last few years, and have become a major part of the UK economy. Franchising is an agreement where a company sells its rights to a new company, and a person or group to sell its products and services. Pioneering businesses are making active use of franchising in order to penetrate the market quickly. There are different types of franchise agreements, and they all differ slightly.

Manufacturing Franchises: This type of franchise agreement is very common in the food and beverage industry. In this agreement, the franchisor allows the franchisee to manufacture its products under its brand name. The franchising company receives an initial fee for the agreement and may also receive an extra fee for every product sold.

Product Franchises: This type of franchising agreement is used to distribute products. The franchisor allows the franchisee to sell its products under its brand name.

Business franchise ventures: In this franchise agreement, the franchisee buys and distributes the products for the franchisor. The client base is provided to the franchisee to sell the products.

Business Format Franchises: This type of agreement is more complex, and demands a broader relationship between the franchisees and the franchising company. The franchisee’s investment involves buying the operating processes of an existing business, along with its products and brands.

Different types of UK franchises are suitable for different purposes. However, they are all a great way to get started in business.

Web development franchise Activ has recruited more than 85 franchise owners across the UK since its launch in March 2008.  In addition to this the company, which builds websites for SMEs, has attracted interest from prospective franchise owners living abroad.

Simon Rickett, joint Director of Activ, said:  “The model has proved so successful that we are now recruiting franchise owners in France, Australia, Ireland and most recently Spain.  Kevin Grist, our Madrid-based Master Franchisor, has identified vast potential in Spain where as many as 70 per cent of Spanish SMEs have no online presence, and is currently in the process of recruiting up to 50 franchise owners.

“It has been a similar story in other overseas markets where despite the popularity of the internet many smaller businesses are not yet fully exploiting the marvellous opportunities it offers.”

Dillion Boivin, joint Director of Activ, said:  “Having a website built in Spain can cost literally thousands of Euros and is often a complex process so our simple, jargon free approach is most welcome there.”

Activ, which charges UK customers a fixed £499 for a standard website and £999 for an e-commerce site is offering Spanish-based businesses a basic website package for €599 and an e-commerce one for €1299.  Simon added:  “One of the key benefits of online marketing is its capacity for businesses everywhere – regardless of their size – to reach customer nationally and internationally as well as locally.

“However, despite the popularity of the internet there are still businesses at home and abroad who are missing out on its potential for increasing their sales and profits, promoting their goods and services and generally enhancing their reputations.

“With Activ continuing to grow rapidly in Britain we are confident of replicating this success globally and are constantly on the lookout for more Master Franchisors like Kevin Grist who can roll out our business model overseas.

“There is no doubt that we are all operating in a global marketplace these days, so it makes sense that the advantages online marketing provides for a business in one country will apply equally to businesses based in another country.”

Dillon added:  “In overseas markets as in Britain, smaller companies are rapidly realising that having an online presence should be viewed as an investment not a cost.  At Activ we can help meet an SME’s requirements in an affordable, professional way and are pleased to be getting in there right at the start.”

Franchising is generally more about insight than it is about market research. While the first rule of effectively marketing a business is to determine your target audience, you should remember you are franchising and not marketing the business.

Opportunities in franchising

The key opportunities in franchising lie in being able to fulfill a need that nobody has fulfilled so far. Franchising offers many benefits including:

- You can fulfill the needs of an area by becoming the chief franchisee for that location
- You can begin your franchising business by investing a small sum of money and reaping large benefits
- You can extend your franchise to other people within the area you live, without paying a single penny.
- Lastly you may sell your service or product if you have a recognised franchisor on board.

To find out more about franchising in the UK, you can find a lot of information- including companies that offer franchising opportunities- on the internet.

Franchising is a fantastic way of learning about the different aspects of running a business, and creating useful business contacts along the way.

A recent report which revealed that many working fathers are not taking their full entitlement to paternity leave would suggest that achieving the perfect life work balance is much easier said than done. With many households worried about job security, some men fear they might lose career momentum if they are away from the office whereas others say they just cannot afford to take time off beyond the statutory two week paid paternity leave period.

Against this testing background couples are increasingly exploring alternative means of making a living while spending more time with their families – franchising being an attractive option. Simon Rickett, director of successful young franchise Activ Web Design regularly receives inquiries from couples of all ages and in various circumstances who are keen to find a venture they can run together.

He said: “We have a number of husband and wife teams among our franchise-holders, some of whom devote their entire time to building their franchises and others who run their post codes areas on a part-time basis while their partners continue in their existing employment. Activ is a particularly good example of how franchising can work well for couples as the business model offers such great flexibility. For example, some of the web design assignments can be undertaken in the evenings or at weekends but ultimately the hours and days worked rests with the franchise owner. With some careful planning our franchise owners can and do find ways of successfully running their businesses while  managing to spend more time as a family than they previously did while working for an employer.”

And the Activ model works equally well for couples with grown up families or no children. Simon Rickett added: “A number of our franchise owners have worked in satisfying high powered roles in major organisations where the financial rewards were high. However  after several years of pursing their careers they felt that they weren’t spending enough quality time with their partners and families  and  concluded that the monetary gains no longer made up  for the personal sacrifices they were making.”

In a number of cases, leaving their old lives behind and investing in an Activ franchise has seen couples realise a long held dream of operating their own business venture together.

Simon Rickett added: “To give up a well paid position in a job you’ve been doing for many years takes courage and is not a decision to be taken lightly. However Activ, which not only offers good earnings potential but an  exciting  way of utilising  existing IT, sales, business and interpersonal skills, has proved to be the ideal choice for many of our couples.

“Since launching their franchises all have commented on how much better their lives are now they can pursue their own goals together and work to their own agendas rather than someone else’s. They also know that although they have each other for support, the Activ team is only a phone call away should they need advice and guidance on any aspect of running their Activ franchise.”

Many people get confused between business packages and a franchise. However, although the two are alike in some ways, they also have many differences.

What is a business package?

If you are budding entrepreneur and have been given material in the form of a package which consists of information, materials, tools needed and documents then you are likely to have been given a business package. Many companies may also give you some training to help you get started.

What is a franchise?

A franchise covers a diverse range of arrangements between two partners. The two partners are likely to be a service, product or a celebrity who allows another smaller entity to use or manufacture their products. In case of a celebrity, just allowing the use of a brand name could be called a franchise. Here the franchisor is the party who is lending its products or services. The party that needs to sell the product or service is known as the franchisee. In this case, the franchisor receives a sum of money for providing knowledge or giving the franchisee some of its stock. A franchisor may also provide the franchisee with a range of other things, such as promotional material or their customer database.

Although many people get confused between a franchise and a business package, once you understand the fundamentals it is very simple to distinguish them.

What do people do to start a new business? The initial course begins with planning the business, doing it on your own, having a little information about market conditions, technical know-how and using basic business instincts.

But you do not have to worry about all of this as franchising can make the process much easier. Pioneering companies can make use of franchising and earn their share in the market. Franchising has marked a huge change in the business world today. It has many advantages like:

Ready market: The franchisee has a ready market available to him. This is because when he purchases a franchise, he is allowed to use the brand name of an existing powerful company to sell its products. The franchising company is an established firm with a good record. As a result, the franchisee is given the advantage of selling its products under the brand name that is familiar to the consumers.

You are the boss: The franchisee has his own business. He owns an outlet of his own and can hire his own employees. The franchisee has a high stake in the business as his money is involved in it.

Franchisor support: Franchising allows the franchisee to gain support and assistance from the franchisor whenever he wants. Many franchising companies employ field operations personnel to guide and help franchisees if there are problems in business operations. The head organisation provides efficient support and services to the franchisee.

The franchising company helps the franchisee in finding the best location for the business and also provides the supplies and equipments required in running the business. This type of support and help makes franchising a worthy investment.

Taking on an Activ Web Design franchise has enabled a husband and wife team to realise a long-held ambition of working together in their own IT-based business.

Cecilia and John Holden, who have between them more than 45 years’ experience in IT, acquired their franchise in July 2008 and now operate seven post code areas across Bedfordshire. For Cecilia, who used to work for a large international investment bank in the City, the decision has improved her life beyond all recognition.

She said: “My job used to entail a three and a half hour commute as well as travelling backwards and forwards to New York every few weeks. This may sound glamorous but the novelty soon wears off and despite being well paid in my old job, I am a million times happier since I decided to give it up and take on the Activ franchise with John.”

With help and guidance from Simon Rickett and Dillon Boivin at Activ, the couple have now secured post code areas SG 15, 16, 17 and 19 as well as MK 40, 42 and 44 and are working hard to generate more business, primarily through networking.

Cecilia added: “I am among the core founders of a new BNI chapter in our region and have found networking an excellent way to promote Activ’s services and capabilities. The decision to buy the franchise has been a great move for John too, who had been running his own golf ball business but had been looking for an alternative to that. Like other Activ franchise owners across the country Cecilia values highly the help and technical support offered by Simon Rickett and the Activ team.

She added: “Although we are essentially running our own businesses, when an issue arises such as a server problem, we really appreciate being able to contact Activ.” In the course of her work as an Activ web designer Cecilia has helped a diverse range of businesses not only to gain an online presence but to update their existing web pages and address problems with their sites.

She added: “One customer, who had moved premises and wanted to update his contact details, couldn’t track down the people who had originally built it in 2000 and was being asked for £50 just to change his address. We managed to resolve his IT issues efficiently and cost-effectively as well as providing him with a better site.”

As someone who has worked in big business where huge budgets are often the norm, Cecilia relishes working with small concerns that are operating within much tighter cost controls.

She added: “In the past I’ve been used to working with organisation with annual budgets of £13 million but am now dealing with companies whose budgets are measured in units of £500. It’s fascinating to see how businesses can make £500 work for them and to play our part in helping  smaller companies to achieve higher sales,  profit and inquiry levels a result of us building them a  good website.”

Planning to start a franchise? Looking for good franchise opportunities? Well, before you get started, it is crucial to narrow down your goals, skills and the choices you are looking for. Here are a few tips on how to get the best franchise which will earn you good benefits and opportunities suiting your interests and abilities.

Your interests:

It is important to select a franchise that interests you. Know your interests and skills and think about the franchise sector that suits you best and the one you will enjoy running. If you are interested in looking after children, a children based franchise is good for you. If you are into food and beverages, a food based franchise is ideal for you. There are different types of franchise that offer great opportunities.

Franchise opportunities:

Look for a list of franchise opportunities available. The best way to do this is to search in online franchise directories. There will be a list of franchise opportunities. You can order free franchise information packs to get an idea.

Research:

After getting the franchise packs, start reading the packs properly and shortlist the ones that interest you. Discard those which offer little or no interest. Keep at least 3 to 5 packs to start your research work.

Researching online is the best way to get information quickly. Log on to the internet and gather all the necessary information about each franchise. Here you will get a quick review on the various franchises. Reject those having bad reviews and search for the remaining.

Contact the franchisor:

Contact the franchisor and decide a meeting place. Try knowing about the history of the franchise and ask for the list of current franchisees. You can then contact the franchisees and find out about their performance with the franchise. This will help you take the right decision.

It is time to make a decision. Scrutinise the details and make sure that you select the franchise that appeals the most to you.

etyres online tyres franchise has recently announced that 15 of their franchise owners have invested in numerous vans in order to expand their business. Managing director of etyres, Tony Bowman said that nearly 25 to 30 per cent of their branches operate multi-van territories.

Tony said that they have seen a huge growth in the number of franchise partners who are looking to own additional vans based on the increase of their sales in the past one year. He also said that there are many territories that are nearing an annual turnover of £1 million, such as their Luton franchise owners Oliver Hall and Alex Kapadia.

Oliver and Alex have been working with etyres for approximately four years and their level of commitment to the business is just outstanding. Having 5 vans on road, Alex and Oliver are reaping the financial rewards. They have also smashed the company record for turnover and number of vans and every month their profit margins, and more importantly, sales figures are showing a steep rise.

etyres continues to operate profitably even during the recession as they save people’s money on an essential product. As estimated, there are approximately 30 million cars on the road and all of them need new tyres at some point or other. As an online retailer, etyres can easily afford to be quite cheap when compared to the traditional high street tyre depots as they have comparatively lower overheads.