Trying To Find Alternatives For Your Business Mail As The USPS Struggles

At one time, the entire country depended on the U.S. Postal Service to get messages around. Postal workers went about their rounds proud of how they practically held the country together delivering personal and business mail.

And then, the telephone became popular, FedEx and UPS became inexpensive and affordable and more dependable. Postal workers began to "go postal", the postal service began to lose money and salaries and benefits were cut. The worst came around Thanksgiving last year when they said they were closing down thousands of post offices and around the country and they began issuing pink slips to hundreds of thousands of postal workers.

How does all of this affect your business mail needs? If you are a small business owner, you are likely to see prices rise for for your postal needs. Perhaps it's time now to take a second look at your business mail needs and find cheaper, more reliable ways of getting your mail around.

The first thing you can do to help cut down on your business mail costs would be to review your mailing list and see how current it is. Perhaps there are people on there who are really not interested. You could send a postcard out to everyone on your mailing list and ask them to tell you whether they wish to stay on.

Whenever you need to send products to your customers over the mail, try not to use overnight delivery. It costs a lot of money. Instead, advertise longer delivery periods. Your customers will still only get their deliveries when they are told they will, and you'll save a bundle.

If you want to send brochures and flyers to your mailing list, you may consider sending virtual ones out instead of real physical ones. They'll help save the environment, too. All you need to do is sign up for MailChimp or AWeber for one of their e-mail marketing programs, and they will design a really attractive looking flyer or brochure for you and send it out. All you need to do is to send postcards out to your mailing list and ask everyone if they would like an e-mail opt-in.

It will be an added bonus that they'll give you their e-mail IDs, too.

Private electronic mail by companies like Zumbox is really taking off now. You get to send your promotional material to customers' virtual e-mail boxes, and it'll be cool.

What Should The Medical Billing Companies Do Come 2015

Electronic health records are going to become mandatory by 2015. This will come amid resistance. The medical billing companies aren't happy at all. When electronic health records come online, the software will be able to automatically find out what insurance codes go where and it will look for submission errors. This is the kind of work that the medical billing companies are doing right now. When all of this is automated in the future, they'll be left without a job.

Most experts believe that there will be all kinds of opportunities for the medical billing companies. For instance, hospitals and other medical establishments will need a lot of help learning how to use electronic health records. This is a new area of business for the medical billing companies that they are eminently suited for.

There are a number of things that EHR cannot do, too. When a hospital gets the medical billing company on the line and begins to hem and haw about how their services aren't as useful as they once used to be, the billing company just needs to talk about all the things that EHR cannot do. For instance, how about collection calls from people who won't pay? Or how about attaining supporting documents or follow-ups? Software can just not replace this kind of thing.

Medical billing companies need to really work hard on preparing a sales pitch on how EHR cannot do everything. Once they get that through, there's another step. They need to tell their medical business clients that the transition to EHR isn't going to be easy, either. It could take years to make everyone become fluent its use. And who better to do it than the billing companies?

Seriously, those aren't even the oldest services that medical billing companies can provide hospitals that have EHR on the brain.

The EHR companies don't provide troubleshooting or tech support. They don't provide template customization. And even if they do, the medical billing companies can really go to town with it, providing personalized  high-quality service. That alone should keep them in business.

They have to help your client hospitals understand that it's a waste of time for them to invest themselves in learning about their EHR systems or finding out about tweaking them. It's not the kind of thing a medical professional is supposed to do. They're supposed outsource this to someone - like the medical billing companies.

With Sales 2.0, Businesses Want an Even More Complete Picture of the Customer Than Ever Before

Remember how a couple of years ago, you couldn't go anywhere without having people bring up Web 2.0? You knew what it was, but if anyone were to ask you for an explanation, you'd struggle - because there are so many parts to it. It's kind of that way now, for sales 2.0.

To people in sales, the whole 2.0 thing makes them quite uncomfortable. Sure, anyone who comes in trying to promote it has wonderful stories to tell about how you can expect better sales and commissions and less work. But often, they just roll their eyes at it - they suspect that the person talking is just spouting some spiel the way they do when they need to sell something to someone who doesn't need it. At the end of it all, they suspect that if management seems this interested in having them buy sales 2.0, it must be because it gives them a way to keep them a short leash. And you know salespeople - they love their independence.

As well, perhaps they think this way, because face it - salespeople tend to be cynical about how honest people can be when they try to sell something. In truth, sales 2.0 isn't a management tool. It's something that salespeople can use to get better results. The thing is, there is so much hype and buzz surrounding it, that it's hard to see it for what it really is.

Let's try to define it now - with no buzz or hype. With sales, the  way it's always been done, it's always been about data harvesting. That's how sales departments get to know about where to head for the next the lead. With sales 2.0 though, it's mostly about customer engagement. This isn't as difficult or new as it might sound.

Customer engagement is about keeping all the information you need about a customer in one place so that you have everything you need to pursue the sale successfully. It's about creating a digital breadcrumb trail of everything one knows about a customer, and using that to establish contact with him at all times.

But even this doesn't adequately explain what sales 2.0 does. This is only superficial engagement - as when you use your registered number to call company, the number right away puts your name on the call-center person's screen and they address you by name. Everyone knows that this is just phony. Sales 2.0 is about going deeper with the customer engagement thing then just this.

Traditionally, the data harvesting sales techniques have just been about keeping a record of everything the customer has done with the company in the past and assuming that it's relevant information. If a customer comes in once to buy four bottles of Chivas for a boss who is retiring, they'll keep sending e-mails about new more whiskey. That's not the way sales 2.0 works.

In this system, you try to build a complete picture of what the the customer's life really is like. They'll try to learn why exactly of customers buying something.

One way to do this is, they use software to track every single move a customer makes when he arrives at the website. It's all about speed, it's all about taking advantage of the moment, and it's about the complete picture.

Keeping Your Eyes Trained On Your Business Credit Score

As the owner of a small business, be it a new one that's just finding its feet or an established one, you do know that there are few things on your plan that are more important than the job of managing your finances properly. Your ability to manage your business credit record responsibly and effectively should be one of the most important things you do here.

Business credit doesn't work much differently than individual credit does. You do need to realize though that the credit rating that your business enjoys should be kept separate from your own. If your business is to stand up on its own and survive as a separate entity, it needs to be able to establish and maintain an independent credit reputation.

Why does your business need to stand on its own reputation? The answer is simple - when your business needs to borrow money, it will get far lower rates if it has a great credit score. You need to keep your business finance completely separate from your personal stuff. Your business has its own credit cards, its own business account and there's no reason they should ever mix.

Of course, there's a lot more to getting your business a good credit reputation than just that.

The first thing you need to do is to establish one name for your business that you decide on. You need to use it everywhere and for everything. It has to be the same name, address and contact information right from the start. This is the only way the credit reporting agencies will be able to keep track of your business and to know that it's been a responsible and dependable entity for a long time.

Whatever purchases you make for your business, you want to pay them through checks written on your business account. You want to make sure that vendors you do business with actually do report to the credit agencies. Make sure that you pay even before payments are due. You get extra credit for that.

When you go in to apply for a loan for your business at any time, the lender will usually ask to see earnings statements and tax records for your business. They also want to see how well you plan for the future of your business - they want to see a business plan too. This kind of thing goes in your favor.

For businesses, Dun & Bradstreet has a big name and credit reporting. As soon as you get into business for yourself, apply for a DUNS number. It'll take a month to arrive. Once you do that, you want to make sure that whatever business your business deals with, report to D&B. You want to milk everything as far as possible.

And finally, do check your business credit from time to time. PAYDEX is the firm that compares credit scores for businesses. The top score for businesses is 100. Get anything above 80, and you are doing well.

Putting an SEO Team at Your Business

Just about everyone who runs a business now knows that they need a website and they need search engine optimization to make the website come up for all relevant searches. The question is, what is the best way for a small business owner to get said SEO done on his company website? Should he outsource it to a company that's skilled in this kind of thing, or should he build an SEO team in-house right from the start?

Well, you have to understand that it's always an SEO team. It's never just one person tinkering about with the website. For instance, a search engine optimization person cannot do anything for your website if he doesn't have content creators who write large amounts of content for him or create videos or something for him to put on there. So when you hire an SEO person, you will need to give him perhaps two or three creative people to work with.

He will need other experts to help manage the whole project and to do data analysis for him so that he'll know what kind of keywords are bringing in what kind of traffic, and so on. It's also a full-time job for one professional, to do link building - an activity whose importance cannot be over-emphasized. In short, when you hear that you need an SEO team, no one's just saying that.

Now if you go with building an SEO team in-house, you may find that you don't really have to hire new employees. You can just create the department, and staff it with people pulled from other departments part-time. You may find that you don't really need people who are trained in this. They may have the right kind of skills obtained from other areas that help them. All you need is to get someone who will train them a little bit. There are online training courses too by the likes of the University of San Francisco and Bruce Clay Inc.


If you just don't have the kind of staff that you need to build an SEO team from scratch in your own company, an outside SEO consultant might be a good idea. You could retain such a professional, and you could get your SEO project underway in no time flat. It could be cheaper and quicker. Usually, they charge you per-project - it could cost you anything from $2000-$10,000.

Your SEO professional will tell you if perhaps, your SEO needs are far too involved to be wrapped up in one single project. If that's the way he feels, you might have to  build an SEO team from the ground up - at about $100,000 a year.

Learning the Basics of how to Sell your Business

A strange thing tends to happen to even the most hard-nosed businessman, when it comes to considering an offer for his business.  He tends to just let everything he knows about selling go out the window. When it comes to selling the business that you have put years of your life into, sometimes, you can become a bit self-absorbed. You can just be all about "me, me, me". That's not how you succeed in selling anything. To sell something successfully, you need to focus on fulfilling the needs of the buyer - and not on fulfilling your own needs. Let's look at what you need to know to learn how to sell your business.

The first thing you need to realize learning how to sell your business is, that this happens to be like any other sale you've made in your life. As any sales intern knows, selling is supposed to be about first determining what it is that a customer is looking for when he walks in. You need to ask the buyer of your business what he hopes to achieve buying you up. You need to know how your business will make a good act extension of theirs, what kind of returns they expect once they do acquire your business, and so on.

It can be a complex equation what determines the price of your business. But to simplify, if the value of your business is $100, and the buyer is looking for a 20% return on their investment, they're basically looking for a five-fold return on what they pay for your business (100/20=5). The fivefold return would be earnings before taxes and everything. It's the figure they call EBITDA. The more they expect your business to bring them, the less they will be willing to pay for you. Now why is that? Doesn't that sound kind of counter intuitive?

It's just that the more a business is expected to earn in a short period of time, the riskier this supposed to be. And more risk there is involved, the less a buyer is usually willing to pay. It's the way it is when you invest your money in shares. Usually, when your broker points out a high-performing small-cap fund to you, you know that since it's a small-cap fund that's performing usually well, it can't be all that solid an investment. You're taking a risk, a bet on it. And for that, you expect a lower price.

Learning how to sell your business then is all about learning to make your business look like a low risk investment for the buyer. How do you do this? Well, if you are a business that relies on just two or three important clients, if you are a business that has just one or two suppliers for everything, if you have just one or two important employees whose skills you depend on, and if you have handshake agreements to put all of these in place, you happen to be high risk business. Fix all these, and suddenly, magically, you turn lower risk and become worth a lot more.

10 Tips to Finding More Clients!

Getting new business clients or reviving old customers are much simpler than we make it. Most times we cannot see the forest for the trees, so here are ten tips to bring back the basics into your business.

1. Tap into old business for new business. Begin to ask your existing clients for more business when they are buying from you; e.g., remind them of all the products or services you have that they might need. Ask satisfied customers for new referrals - everyone knows people you don't know.

2. Pitch a stranger. Let strangers know who and what you are about. Always be prepared to showcase your company without forgetting about meeting the needs of the new prospective client.

3. Be direct. Don't waste time "warming up" clients. Know what you're going to say - be well-prepared. People will appreciate you are getting to the point intelligently and quickly. If you are communicating via email, make sure you get to the point sooner than later. You only have about ten seconds to get their attention and keep them reading.

4. Discuss your failures. What? My failures? Yes, discussing your failure actually builds credibility. Everyone makes mistakes so being able to admit your mistakes and failures shows clients you're human. Telling a client how or why you lost a customer and what you learned would be a welcome change to the norm.

5. Create a "loss-leader." Creating a loss-leader helps relationships build over time. Allowing clients to get to know you through loss-leaders helps develop trust.

6. Get sold yourself. Visit your most successful competitors and allow them to sell you. By playing the customer you can learn what and how their approach works. As you are being the customer, be aware of how you feel and what techniques are most effective. In the auto industry this is a common practice - buying a car or truck and going over the vehicle with a fine-tooth comb results in lots of great information.

7. Pitch an enemy. Seek out someone who is very disagreeable and pitch to him or her. By doing this, you will find out if anything you said made a difference or if any of their negative comments had any merit. Don't defend anything - stay detached. This exercise will show you what you or your business might be lacking.

8. Create an email newsletter. This is a great way to reach out to your customers on a regular basis. Develop a newsletter that "you" would look forward to receiving. Don't always be trying to sell them something, instead, give away lots of information.

9. Share testimonials. Ask your satisfied clients to share their experiences of your business. These testimonials also add credibility. It's best to use the full name of the person. "JO from Chicago" is not nearly as credible as "Jon Owens" from Chicago."

10. Ask questions. This cannot be emphasized enough in growing and developing a business. The act of allowing people to share their needs make them happy and lets them know you are listening.

It may seem strange, but we get so caught up in "doing" our businesses that we overlook simple strategies that are right in front of our noses. The better you take care of the client in front of you the faster your business can attract new clients and grow.

Action-Oriented Individuals

Have you ever been around someone that was inclined to take action immediately and always? It can be a great experience, but at the same time an embarrassing one.

It's a great thing because these people have an energy about them. They have an air of making things happen, simply because that's exactly what they are doing. They don't necessarily take action without giving things sufficient thought, but they certainly don't waste time by postponing the action any longer than they should.

It's as if these action-oriented individuals have no procrastination filter in place. As if it doesn't even dawn on them that they could postpone taking action. They just go ahead as if it were the only logical thing to do. Of course in many cases that's exactly what moving into action is: the only logical thing to do. Yet how many times have you found yourself in a situation where, for some strange reason, you didn't shift into gear immediately? Instead you thought about it for a while and then you decided to make a mental note and pick it up somewhere later in the day or perhaps later in the week. Only to find that whatever it was you intended to do, you never came around to doing it.

Being around an individual that's action oriented can also be quite embarrassing because it often confronts us with our own habits of procrastinating. Most of us put off many things for a variety of reasons. Actually the word 'reason' isn't really correct in this context. The word 'excuse' comes much closer to the truth. Sometimes the excuses are obvious. Making a phone call to someone can be painful if you have to deliver bad news or, perhaps worse, if you expect to be on the receiving end of bad news. However many times people tend to put off little things that really aren't worth fussing over. Things like setting an appointment with the local car repair shop to get your windshield fixed or cleaning out a desk drawer; actions that would be over and done with in a couple of minutes that we sometimes put off for weeks for no apparent reason.

Without getting into any specific actions it can be said that the tendency to take action leads to better results in business and in life in general. Samuel Golden, a well-known Hollywood motion picture producer stated, "The harder I work, the luckier I get". Early in the twentieth century he was at the cradle of the company that later evolved into Paramount Pictures. A decade later he joined forces with two other Broadway producers to found the Golden Pictures Corporation. This company was eventually purchased by Metro Pictures Corporation forming the well-known Metro-Golden-Mayer.

Samuels statement on the correlation between taking action and good fortune sure rang true for him and it still does to this day for many other people. It just seems that successful people are more inclined to take action. And of course this is no coincidence. Empirical evidence supports the theory that lady luck really does favor the action-oriented man. The more actions you will undertake the more successes you can expect to encounter. Of course you will also encounter your share of so-called failures, but failures are part and parcel of becoming a success.

Anyone that is considered a successful person can tell you that they have undertaken more actions than the average person, probably many more. But somehow they don't think of it as a chore. Many of them just do it and as a result of that doing they get all the rewards.

Taking action

Have you ever been around someone that was inclined to take action immediately and always? It can be a great experience, but at the same time an embarrassing one.

It's a great thing because these people have an energy about them. They have an air of making things happen, simply because that's exactly what they are doing. They don't necessarily take action without giving things sufficient thought, but they certainly don't waste time by postponing the action any longer than they should.

It's as if these action oriented individuals have no procrastination filter in place. As if it doesn't even dawn on them that they could postpone taking action. They just go ahead as if it were the only logical thing to do. Of course in many cases that's exactly what moving into action is: the only logical thing to do. Yet how many times have you found yourself in a situation where, for some strange reason, you didn't shift into gear immediately. Instead you thought about it for a while and then you decided to make a mental note and pick it up somewhere later in the day. Or perhaps later in the week. Only to find that whatever it was you intended to do, you never came around to doing it.

Being around an individual that's action oriented can also be quite embarrassing because it often confronts us with our own habits of procrastinating. Most of us put off many things for a variety of reasons. Actually the word 'reason' isn't really correct in this context. The word 'excuse' comes much closer to the truth. Sometimes the excuses are obvious. Making a phone call to someone can be painful if you have to deliver bad news or, perhaps worse, if you expect to be on the receiving end of bad news. However many times people tend to put off little things that really aren't worth fussing over. Things like setting an appointment with the local car repair shop to get your windshield fixed of cleaning out a desk drawer. Actions that would be over and done with in a couple of minutes that we sometimes put off for weeks for no apparent reason.

Without getting into any specific actions it can be said that the tendency to take action leads to better results in business and in life in general. Samuel Golden, a well-known Hollywood motion picture producer stated "The harder I work, the luckier I get". Early in the twentieth century he was at the cradle of the company that later evolved into Paramount Pictures. A decade later he joined forces with two other Broadway producers to found the Golden Pictures Corporation. This company was eventually purchased by Metro Pictures Corporation forming the well-known Metro-Golden-Mayer.

Samuels statement on the correlation between taking action and good fortune sure rang true for him and it still does to this day for many other people. It just seems that successful people are more inclined to take action. And of course this is no coincidence. Empirical evidence supports the theory that lady luck really does favor the action oriented man. The more actions you will undertake the more successes you can expect to encounter. Of course you will also encounter your share of so-called failures, but failures are part and parcel of becoming a success.

Anyone that is considered a successful person can tell you that they have undertaken more actions than the average person, probably many more. But somehow they don't think of it as a chore. Many of them just do it and as a result of that doing they get all the rewards.

The Benefits of Outsourcing Your Business Functions

Whether you own a small or large business, chances are very good that you can benefit from outsourcing some of your business functions to outside vendors. Ideally, you want to be in a position where you are working on your business, rather than in your business.

Running and operating a business positioned for growth requires many different key functions. For starters, you must handle accounting, administration, customer service, as well as sales and marketing. Many new small business owners attempt to tackle all of these functions on their own, and find that they work long hours and can begin to burn out quickly. By outsourcing some of your routine tasks, you can leverage your time to spend on the functions that you do best in order to grow your business.

When trying to determine whether outsourcing will benefit your company, you need to determine how much money your time is worth. A simple way to figure this out is to estimate how much money you would like to make in a year, and divide that into productive work hours. Most of us are only productive about 2-3 hours a day. For example, if you'd like to make $200,000 this year, and you work 3 productive hours each day, 5 days a week, then your time is worth roughly $260 an hour. With this scenario, you could benefit from outsourcing any function that you can pay someone to do for less than $260 an hour.

In order to outsource effectively, you must understand your own business and processes. Take some time to write down job descriptions for different functions, as well as the processes you use in your business to accomplish certain tasks (like how you enter your invoices and receipts, how you generate new leads and clients, etc.). As part of this exercise, include clear expectations of what you hope to accomplish. A clear vision and business plan is key to setting up clear expectations. Once you have written down the job descriptions, you'll have a better idea of what you would like to outsource first.

There's no hard and fast rule as to which job functions you should outsource first, but many business owners like to hand off the functions that they enjoy the least. If you really dislike customer service, you may want to find a customer service rep first.

You have many options when looking for companies or services that will handle your outsourcing needs. Check with others in your industry to see who they use to outsource their functions. Many outsourcing firms not only specialize in certain functions (like customer service), but also in certain industries (like real estate). You can use freelancers, virtual assistants, or any number of outsourcing firms.

Many business owners hesitate to outsource some of their functions because they want to have complete control over their business, or they believe that it will be too difficult to train someone to do what they need. If you fall into this category, you may want to try outsourcing some very simple, routine tasks to get started. It will be well worth the effort!

When choosing an outsourcing firm, or freelancer, make sure you set clear expectations up front. Share your vision about how you see that function growing your business, and offer incentives for work well done, or work done under budget, or before a deadline.

In addition, take time to properly document how the work should be performed. This can be done easily with screen capture video software, and/or written processes and procedures.

Taking the time to properly train and motivate your outsourced personnel will benefit your business greatly. By now, you will see that outsourcing some of your business functions will help free up your time to work on your business, rather than in your business.

How to Become a Better MLM Recruiter

The lifeblood of any multi level marketing business is recruiting. Without new distributors your business will not grow. Anyone that has been involved in an mlm business for any period of time knows this and yet it seems to be the hardest thing to do. Why is that? Here are a few recruiting tips that can help you and your group to not only grow, but flourish.

1. First of all when you are talking to a prospect you need to try and see your business through their eyes and ears. The longer you are involved in your business the harder this is to do. You begin to assume things about your business that a new prospect will not naturally know. They do not know how great your products are. Or they do not know how great your compensation plan is.

The key here is to never assume, but to ask questions and then listen to what your prospect is saying. They will lead you to what is important to them and then you can proceed from there.

2. Spend some time just building a little rapport outside of your business. This simply means talking to them about them. Everyone loves to talk about themselves. You will very quickly find out what their hot button is by finding out what they like to do in their spare time. What they do and don't like about their lives right now. Making a friend goes a long way when it comes time for them to listen about your business.

3. Work at becoming a better communicator. The best skill you can develop when it comes to communicating is to become a better listener. Have you ever been in a conversation and felt like the person you were talking to was not hearing what you said. Many time people are so busy thinking about what they are going to say next that it wouldn't matter what you were saying because they weren't listening anyway. You have 2 ears and one mouth for a reason.

4. You get paid in your mlm business to get a yes or no out of your prospect. The sooner you find this out the better off for both of you. As you are talking to your prospect you basically go through the whole process just to find out if they are interested in joining you or not. Don't be afraid to find this out. If the answer is no that's o.k. because you can quickly move on to your next prospect.

To summarize this article, asking questions, becoming a better listener, and arriving at a final decision is the fastest way to make your network marketing business grow. Doing this over and over and getting your group to do the same will make all of you better recruiters.

10 Steps for Choosing the Right Franchise

There are many well-known franchise opportunities available in almost every industry you can think of. Some are well established with proven systems and support structures in place, while others are relatively new. Choosing the franchise that suits you will reduce risk and raise the levels of success.

While specialist advisors are a necessity to assist you throughout your business venture, the following steps will help you to evaluate any franchise opportunity you are considering.

1. KNOW YOURSELF
The first topic of research will be you. Consider your strengths and weaknesses. What is your level of knowledge, where might you need development and are your skills transferable? Will you be able to manage the high level of personal energy required to get yourself started? Are you a team player, or do you prefer to work alone? Will you require staff? Only after you have analyzed the depth of commitment required to start a new business venture will you be in a position to make a specific choice.

2. KNOW YOUR FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS
The costs of a franchise can vary considerably. While smaller investments can be affordable through personal assets, most potential franchise owners will need to consider additional borrowing. The increase in small business ventures have compelled many banks to have business start up kits, which include information on the requirements of starting a business, self evaluation reports and financial planning forms. No matter how much security you can offer, banks need to be convinced that loans can be serviced. What the proposed business can afford is more important than what you have.

3. KNOW WHAT FRANCHISING IS
Find out all you can about franchising. In particular focus on the unique relationship that exists between franchisees and franchisors. Look for a Franchise Association closest to you to obtain guidance from. Once again the banks can provide a wealth of information in this regard; it is now within their interests to build relationships in an extremely competitive financial environment by providing separate departments that serve the franchise industry. Search the internet, but be aware that different countries will have different compliance issues. Even if you have a preference this early in the game, research is still a vital process that needs to be completed. There is also the chance that research will open up alternatives you may not have previously considered.

4. KNOW THE INDUSTRY
You have already analyzed your skills and knowledge; now look at the different types of businesses that you feel are potentially suitable. Identify the different companies that are offering opportunities in the area. Consider the requirements of the proposed industry and see if it matches your skills and aspirations. It is not necessary for you to have worked in this industry before, but you need to feel comfortable and happy working in this environment. How durable is the potential market? Who are your customers? Who are your competitors? Is it an international franchise or newly introduced to your area? Is the market large enough to sustain a long-term business? Get to know the franchisor. You need to be happy with the industry you will be working in and with the people you will be working with.

5. EVALUTE THE FRANCHISE
Once it is established that you are interested in a particular franchise, information will be sent to you. Read all the information you receive thoroughly noting any first impressions and any initial questions you may have. Discuss and clarify any concerns you have with the franchisor. The size of the franchise should not restrict the availability of information you need regarding the company's history and profile, market conditions, the franchisees role and the costs involved. Examine company records in detail, check credit references. Closely examine the outline of the franchise particularly the manner in which the franchise is sold and operated. Look at all the details of any commissions’ payable on the sale of the franchise and ask to see references of present franchises and company outlets. Make sure you understand the components that make up the franchise fees.

6. QUESTIONS FOR THE FRANCHISOR
The greatest source of information you will obtain regarding the franchise system is from the franchisor. Prepare for every meeting with your list of items that need to be clarified. Ask all the questions you need in relation to the franchise, products and services. Do not be afraid to ask questions relating to the profitable viability of the franchise. You need to find out the success of the franchise, talk to other franchisees as well. What training and support exists? Is the franchise bound by any code of practice?

7. TALK TO THE FRANCHISEES
The surest method of evaluating any franchise will be to talk to a number of franchisees in existing businesses. In this way, you will get a realistic assessment. What value have they got from their business, both financial and personal? Make sure you chose the franchisees to speak with. You may not get a balanced picture if you speak only to 'approved' franchisees. The perspective of international outlets can also be of use, but, remember to consider different conditions, population structures and competition.

8. SPECIALISED FINANCIAL ADVICE
There could be some reluctance on the part of the franchisor to reveal financial projections in case they are viewed as guaranteed. However, what reports are available should provide relevant figures based on the existing climate. Whether the projections you receive are forecasted or guaranteed, an accountant with franchise experience should be able to give you qualified advice. Encourage your accountant to work with the franchisor. The franchisor will be able to offer cash flow, borrowing and overdraft guidelines. Take all the advice you can get. As a new business owner you do not want to start your business under capitalized.

9. SPECIALISED LEGAL ADVICE
It is important to fully understand the terms and conditions of the franchise agreement. Understanding your obligations and the franchisors responsibilities need to be clear from the start. Use a lawyer that specializes in franchise agreements to define legal terms you have difficulty with to save you time and money

10. CHECK WHAT YOU ARE PAYING FOR
Before you sign on the dotted line, make sure you know what the up-front franchise fee includes and what refunds you may expect if you change your mind or fail the training. What are the performance criteria? You must also have a clear understanding of any ongoing costs. You need to know what fees are payable, how they are calculated and what they are for.

To maximize your chances of success it is imperative you do not rush your decision. Check out all aspects before you commit yourself. Be 100% certain that the franchise is right for you before you part with your money.