Top franchise company Fastsigns have once again demonstrated their fantastic generosity by kindly donating a banner to the Handicapped Children’s Pilgrimage Trust. The banner was used by HCPT on their recent journey to Lourdes- a journey which they make each year.

The colourful banner was presented to the Leeds arm of the charity, and was received with absolute delight. The graphics on the banner feature a Noah’s Ark style boat, along with the slogan ‘Rise & Shine’, and is sure to have been an eye-catching pick me up for those involved in the pilgrimage.

The yearly pilgrimage was set up so that more than 2000 youngsters with a range of disabilities could take the journey to Lourdes- an trip which they otherwise would probably never have had the chance to experience.

Being a top manufacturer of high-quality signs, Fastsigns felt that they were in the perfect position to lend a helping hand.

One of the owners of Fastsigns, Chris Simpson, explained:

“We consider ourselves to be very much a part of the local community and try to help charities wherever we can. We’re delighted to be able to showcase our work in this way and help a worthwhile cause at the same time.”

There’s no doubt about it- franchising is becoming more and more popular, and this isn’t showing any signs of slowing down any time soon.

Franchising is popular with people from all walks of life, and there are various reasons why individuals decide to go into it.

From fast food outlets to estate agent franchises- the options are endless- and if you’ve been thinking about going into franchising previously, now could be the perfect time to make that all important decision.

If the thought of becoming your own boss and starting your own business is something that has been playing on your mind for a while now, but you’ve been concerned about the financial implications, then franchising could be perfect for you. Unlike starting a business from scratch, franchising requires you to put up far less capital up front, and the risks involved are considerably less.

Franchising is also good if working 9-5 isn’t the best option for you, as you have more freedom over hours worked. However, this doesn’t mean that you can work less hours- particularly when you’re getting the franchise up and running.

Franchising is also ideal for those who don’t feel entirely confident that they don’t have all of the necessary training and skills- such as marketing techniques that are required to run your own business. Most franchises will provide you with all of the training and support that you need, which will be a load off your mind.

Think long and hard about whether franchising is ideal for you.

Bluebird Care were recently overjoyed to find out that they were chosen as finalists for the renowned Franchisor of the Year title.
8 finalists will be fighting it out for the award, which is run by the British Franchise Association, although they will be slogging it out against some of the biggest names in franchising- including fast food giants McDonalds and Dominos.

The winner of the award will be announced at the beginning of June, although Bluebird is pleased to even have been selected as a finalist.

Bluebird’s MD, Paul Tarsey, said:

“To be chosen as a finalist for this prestigious award is a tribute to all our staff and franchise owners, who have worked so hard in the past year.”

Despite the tough economic climate over the past couple of years, care at home providers Bluebird have never allowed standards to slip- which is one of the key reasons which Mr Tarsey believes have put them in the running and allowed them to go from strength to strength.

In addition to providing the highest quality service possible to their clients, Bluebird have also ensured that staff are also very well trained and well looked after.

Bluebird will be travelling to a ceremony in London to find out whether or not they have won.

Top franchise ChipsAway have revealed a caring side, as they have recently announced that they are going to support the Help for Heroes cause.

ChipsAway, who are car paintwork repair specialists will be actively raising funds for the cause over the course of a year. ChipsAway choose a charity a year to assist, putting them at the forefront of socially responsible organisations.

Help for Heroes was created to help those who have been injured in war, and is supported by many different businesses and organisations in the UK and beyond.

Their fundraising efforts will consist of a range of events all over the country, in the hope that they can raise a phenomenal amount for Help for Heroes. Their efforts will be enhanced by Fifth Gear front woman Vicki Butler-Henderson, who was recently announced as the latest face of ChipsAway.

ChipsAway franchisees are likely to play a huge part in the fundraising, and with the amount of dedicated franchisees that ChipsAway currently have, this is likely to really boost proceeds.

CEO of Chips Away, Lloyd Evans, said: “

We are encouraging our franchisees to ‘get involved’ all across the country. There will be exciting prizes on offer throughout the year for those franchisees with the most creative and crazy fundraising ideas, as well as for the top fundraisers.”

Revive! Is a SMART repair franchise and it recently held its annual conference where its franchisees were congratulated.

The franchise took the opportunity to give out 15 awards to franchisees in order to reward them for their performance over the last year.

The evening dinner and awards ceremony was a great success and was a chance for the franchisor to really recognise the hard work of the franchisees.

The most prestigious award for Franchisee of the Year was awarded to Byron Lindsay who runs Revive! in High Wycombe. Byron managed to develop his franchise really quickly and had put his second van on the road within 12 months of beginning the franchise. He was commended for providing an excellent quality of customer care as well as embracing the values of the Revive! franchise.

Byron said that he was shocked that he received the award as there was so much competition and he added that it was nice to get the recognition. He also said that his success was partly down to the support offered by Revive!

Other awards included the award for Outstanding Sales Achievement which went to Adam Smith who achieved a record first month when he went into trading in 2009.

Fitness has been a real hot topic over the last few years as the country attempts to tackle the growing problem of obesity. And some new franchise opportunities have come about as a result of this.

For example, it has been reported that Razzamataz Theatre School is launching a new family fitness scheme which will begin this summer. And the theatre school is working with Duncan Bannatyne in order to provide drama, dance and singing classes for children.

The Razzamataz Theatre School will house their classes at Bannatynes’ clubs after Duncan invested in the idea on BBC’s Dragon’s Den.

The idea of the new classes is to encourage children to exercise through getting the whole family involved. The director of Razzamataz Denise Hutton Gosney, is working closely with Duncan Bannatyne with the support of his chain of gyms. The aim is to get families working out together and to increase the fitness of the country. The entire family can take a trip to the Bannatynes gyms and take part in a variety of activities.

Razzamataz started out at Bannatynes Health Club in Durham and since this has been such a huge success, the idea is being launched in Ayr.

Monkey Music is a franchise which offers children the chance to get involved in the world of music. The franchise was started by Angie Coates in 1992.

After the birth of her first child, Angie was looking for a way to get her daughter involved in the world of music but she couldn’t find a way of her doing this.

This is why Monkey Music was created. Angie began holding classes for both children and their parents and the classes were such a success that Angie decided to franchise the company in 1998.

The franchise has continued to grow and now, 10,000 babies and children enjoy classes with Monkey Music every week at 51 different franchises around the country.

Angie not only had skills musically, but she also had a business mind, with commercial knowledge and it is this that has led to the huge success of the franchise.

It just goes to show, that franchising can be a huge overnight success so long as you choose something which fills a gap in the market. Often, an idea for a franchise will come from someone’s personal experiences. In Angie’s case, she couldn’t find somewhere suitable to take her children to learn about music so she created it herself. And she’s never looked back.

The economic situation over the last couple of years has put a lot of people off from starting their own business. But this is where franchise opportunities thrived.

When people did not want to risk losing money by starting their own business when the economy was so unstable, they turned to franchise opportunities.

And now, there are plenty of success stories, proving that even when the economy is struggling, franchises manage to pull through the tough times.

Lime Orchard is one such franchise. This garden design and construction service franchise is just celebrating its first year of trading. The franchise appeals to homeowners who are completing a garden project. The franchise uses experienced garden designers and landscape architects to ensure that their customers receive the best service.

And now, having successfully established themselves, the franchise is looking to grow and develop their network this year.

Judy Behl who heads the franchise has commented that she believes it was their research and hard work which really led to the success of the franchise. The reputation of Lime Orchard has really grown and its all down to their determination, innovative nature and creative flair as well as of course, the backing of a strong franchise.

The best way to decide on the right franchise for you is by looking at your skills and your experiences carefully and seeing where they are appropriate.

Your past jobs and experiences will have taught you skills that you can use in your next employment. Make the most of these skills and experiences and choose the type of work that will benefit from them. Then you can choose the right franchise to suit you too.

Research franchising thoroughly and look into the risks involved. The risks are very different to those involved with starting your own business and there are fewer of them, but they still exist.

Management skills are normally essential for any franchise type. That is because as a franchisee, you will be taking on and managing a lot of people.

Administration skills are also essential and that is because there is a lot of administration involved in managing a franchise.

It can be difficult to know what type of franchise you would like to work for, whether it is a shop or office. But don’t feel like you are restricted to choose something that you have worked in before; you don’t need to work in the same area, so long as you have transferable skills that you can use.

It is essential for any franchisee to draw up a business plan. This document outlines what your plans are with the franchise and how much money you will need in order to achieve these plans. You must also detail exactly how you propose to pay this money back.

The business plan also acts as an opportunity for you to really get your ideas down on paper and to clarify exactly what you want to achieve.

Your business plan needs to be really clear and divided into sections where possible:

• Begin your plan with an introduction describing your business.

• The next section should cover the product or service that you are offering. Describe the product or service that you are offering and ensure that you mention your Unique Selling Point (USP) and how it can be developed to match the changing market.

• The third section needs to outline the people involved in getting your franchise started. You should include a mini profile of each person involved and outline their strengths and weaknesses and what they can bring to the franchise.

• As well as this, you need to discuss the market and how your product or service will fit in with it among any competitors.

• You then need to define your marketing plan. Outline your objectives with regards to marketing and how you will go about it.

• The operation is the next thing to be discussed. You should outline how you will supply your products and services and how this will work within the franchisor’s agreed operation.