Franchising is great for single businessmen and women who want to get ahead, but it can also be a great opportunity for family members to work together.

That’s exactly what mother and daughter team Jan and Emma Stewart have done with the help of the Molly Maid franchise network.

Jan and Emma were looking for franchise opportunities when they were immediately attracted to the professional services and the established brand that Molly Maid could offer.

So the pair set about starting up their Molly Maid franchise in Swansea and were immediately impressed with the business model that was in operation at the franchise network.

The reason that the mother and daughter team chose Molly Maid was because of the reputation that the franchise has for excellent quality and for being a reliable business.

So Jan and Emma began the training programme to learn all about the network and how they would fit in with it.

The thing that they really relished was that they could start to build a loyal customer base and could also create some great job opportunities.

As more and more people decide to get help with their household chores, the mother and daughter team are really hoping to create a hugely successful franchise.

When you enter the world of franchising, you benefit from being involved in a brand that is already established. The brand will already have a proven business model that will have been tried across the network and it will have strengthened itself along the way.

Cash Generator has found a new way to strengthen its brand and that is through its online presence. The website and online presence is currently being developed to make the franchise network more visible and to ensure that it becomes even more of a recognised brand.

Once the work is complete, Cash Generator should be easier to find on the internet when consumers are looking for products and also when franchisees are looking for franchise opportunities.

Cash Generator will be enlisting the help of McCann Manchester who specialise in social media. Stuart Owens who is Director of Digital Marketing for Cash Generator said:

‘With ambitious objectives for the Cash Generator site, I am confident that the appointment of McCann Manchester will ensure we deliver these, further enhancing the brand and our products online.’

It is hoped that with the help of McCann Manchester, Cash Generator will flourish even more as a strong franchise.

You may have always dreamt of owning your own business, but you might now have the knowledge to be able to start it from scratch.

An excellent alternative is to get involved in franchising. This is viewed as a much more secure way of owning your own business. You run the business to a proven business model that is overlooked by the franchisor.

With franchising, you are not simply left to fend for yourself; you have the support and backing of the franchisor. If something goes wrong or you need help and advice at any point of your venture, you can rely on the franchisor to offer it.

The great thing about franchising is that there is a lot less risk involved than if you start a business from scratch. Before you invest in a franchise, you can see it at work and you can already see how successful it is. The franchisor takes the stress of arranging a business model and simply leaves you to get on with the managing, promoting and marketing of the business.

Always having the support and backing of a franchisor can really put your mind at rest. So if you’ve always wanted your very own business, then franchising could be the key.

The recession is still claiming victims right across the country. And being made redundant is a really frightening and stressful experience.

But what a lot of people don’t realise is that it can actually be beneficial in the long run because redundancy can force you to find your real calling in life.

It may be that you were stuck in a job that you didn’t enjoy without even realising it. And now that you have been made redundant, you have the chance to start again and try something new. Perhaps you could try something that you were always curious about. And a great way of doing this is through franchising.

This is because, in order to be a franchisee, you don’t need to be an expert in the industry that it is involved in. So long as you are willing to learn and that you have the management skills to manage your team, you will be able to take on any challenge that you wish in the franchise sector.

Being made redundant is a terrible experience, but it could be the beginning of something new and exciting and a career that you will be really happy with.

In this day and age, it’s difficult enough to juggle all of your responsibilities as well as home life and work. But this situation is made much worse if you are a single parent.

If you have young children that you care for alone, trying to work and balance the rest of your responsibilities can be a nightmare. This is why so many businessmen and women who are single parents are choosing franchising as their business option.

What makes franchising stand out as a viable option for single parents is that it can be a lot more flexible than working in a normal independent business.

With a franchise, you can often decide to work around your family life. So if you have to look after your children at certain times of the day, or if you need to pick them up from school or nursery, you can continue doing this and arrange your working day around it.

When you take on a franchise, it’s up to you to put the work in to get it started. You will of course have the backing of the franchisor but it’s a very flexible way of working and much more suitable than an independent business, if you have young children to look after.

Franchises seem to grow at a much faster pace than normal businesses. And that is normally down to the fact that they are already established and successful and have a strong team to support the franchisees as they take on a new franchise within the network.

Signs Express is an example of a franchise that seems to be growing at a fast pace and this franchise network is now looking for new franchise owners to set themselves up in the Leicester area.

The franchise has singled out this area because there isn’t much competition there at the moment, so it would be a great place for a strong franchise to establish itself.

Franchising is a much more secure way of carrying out business than launching an independent venture. Fewer than seven our off ten independent businesses last more than three years, but there are an estimated 75,000 businesses surviving through franchise networks due to the fact that they operate to a proven business model and have the support behind them.

Signs Express is well established and a highly successful franchise, so there will be plenty of people who will want to get involved in the franchise opportunities offered in the Leicester area.

If there’s one franchise network that allows its employees to thrive, it’s McDonalds. And the news has been announced that a Brit has become a key player over in America.

It has been announced that Steve Easterbrook will be the new global brand supremo. Having worked on the UK side of the franchise for the last four years, this is a big step for him to take.

Steve will be based in Chicago and in this role, he will be one of the eight top bosses of the Franchise and will be crowned the highest ranked person in the Franchise ever, to have come from Britain.

His next logical step would be to take over from the chief executive when he retires, but for now, Steve is simply pleased to be taking on the new role. In fact, he played down the speculation that he might take the top job, simply saying: ‘This is a massive role and what will be will be’.

The high flyer is credited with completely transforming the franchise in England by introducing salads and sliced apples to the fast food chain. It remains to be seen what he has planned for the American market.

Safeclean, the UK’s leading carpet and upholstery cleaning franchise has launched its Corporate Team Values to its franchise network.

Safeclean is part of the multinational Valspar Corporation, who share its UK head office with Safeclean. “The Valspar Values” as they are more commonly known were initially launched to the head office staff towards the end of 2008.

“From the time I have been with the company, I can see how much of an impact they have on my colleagues at head office in terms of the morale, the creativity and productivity.  The staff “live the Values” every day and it creates a healthy, happy and cohesive environment.” reports Steve Calvert, Franchise Operations Manager.

The Valspar Values consist of:
Team Spirit
Communication
Leading the way
Delivering Change

“The Values have had such a positive impact on the team at head office, it made complete sense that they become part of our franchise network as well.  We are part of one big team and by sharing the values with our network it shows we are committed to them and care about their working life as much as the staff at head office,” continues Steve.

The Team Spirit Value is all about treating colleagues with respect at all times, working together as one focussed team to achieve goals, supporting and recognising each others achievements.  Leading the Way is about being role models to fellow team members and continually striving to develop themselves and others.  Communication is about being positive and constructive in communications, and sharing information of value with others in the company.  And finally Delivering Change is about actively seeking out new ways of working and embracing and supporting change.  “When I had my induction with the company back in June, the Valspar Values were top of the list of important things to know.  I was told about them literally on my first day, so I knew they were of importance and held in high regard by everyone.  It immediately made me think that we should launch these values to the Safeclean network.  It also made me realise, that actually, we do live these values with our network already, we just didn’t realise it.”

“Communication is paramount to the success of a franchise business and its one of the elements attributable to our 40 year success. Team Spirit is vital to a network of franchisees which is why we have our yearly workshops and awards scheme.  Leading the Way can be linked to the training courses we run to help develop our franchisees and their service technicians, and Delivering Change is about us, the franchisor, making sure that we are at the forefront of the industry and passing that information onto our network.  I want to make the network feel part of the team and by launching these Values to them I hope will go a long way to doing this” concludes Steve.

Safeclean is holding a series of Discovery Days throughout September and October and invite any prospective franchise owners to come along to find out more. Please click here if you would like further information.

Some people are not cut out for working for other people. There are certain personalities who want to manage and lead. And for these people, owning your own business is the best option.

There are a few ways that you can go about this but a lot of people find that franchising offers them a great compromise.

In the world of franchising, you can have the independence of having your own business, leading your own team and striving for your own ambitions but you also have the comfort of having the backing and support of the franchisor.

When you start to work for a franchise, you will be trained and guided through the process and you will be shown exactly how you need to work in order to get your franchise off the ground.

A franchise will normally have a system in place for you to adhere to and this will be the same across the network. This will be a proven system which is already established and successful meaning that you are given the confidence and reassurance that it will be a success for you.

Franchising is a great way to put your management skills to good use, but it has the added benefit of being supportive when you need it to be.

It’s amazing how quickly franchises can grow. And one franchise that can show this is All Trades Network. One franchisee from this network in particular has managed to really impress his team by preparing to take on a second territory just three years after starting with the All Trades Network.

Paul Dennis received the All Trades Network Franchise Owner of the Year award in 2010 and is set to achieve £500,000 turnover.

Paul has really taken to the franchise but he thinks that a lot of the success is down to his previous experiences as he has owned a franchise before.

It wasn’t only his experience that helped though because the franchise offered Paul a training course that could prepare him for his duties running a franchise. Paul also knows that if he ever needs any help, he can pick up the phone and ask for help from his franchisor.

Business is now booming for Paul and he is now aiming to achieve a turnover of £500,000 for this year. He’s already planning his next success though and hopes to buy another territory soon, meaning that his staff will also increase.