The Franchise Blog 4 Vets

Tailgating Into A Franchise Business Opportunity

Ravens fan Jeff Hinton has been going to games with the same four friends since the team came to Baltimore. The crew of five always arrives early for the tailgating festivities, and each member has a special role they play within the group: one guy cooks and the other four bartend.

This is tailgating Ravens style, and Hinton has spent 13 years perfecting the art: A fully stocked bar on a portable table, a grill that holds eight steaks flipped by Ravens grill tools, an array of Ravens chairs arranged under a Ravens tent, all to be enjoyed while decked out in officially licensed Ravens clothing. For the recent game against the Cleveland Browns, the cook prepared steak, cream of crab soup, crab cakes, and Caesar’s Salad eaten, naturally, with Ravens plates and napkins.

Even for a dedicated fan like Hinton who was willing to put in the time, finding Ravens gear in one place was hard. “There was nowhere,” said the Sykesville resident. That is when Hinton decided to open his own store....

Military Veteran Business Owners; Check Out The New And Improved, Business.Gov!

As a military veteran small business owner, you are probably familiar with some of the government websites that offer tips and lists of resources for your current and future business needs. But have you checked out Business.Gov?

Recently revamped, the official "Business Link To the US Government" has become a serious resource for those wanting assistance with their small business related questions.

If you are thinking about launching a business, this is the place to go. Thinking of business expansion? Ditto.

There is even a "Small Business Community" section on the site now in which you can discuss, share and get insight from your fellow business owners as well as industry and government experts.

Here's an article outlining all that Business.Gov now offers, right here.

SBA Easing Limits On "Goodwill" For Small Business Purchases

                              Good News!

Starting in October, the SBA is raising the cap on its guarantee of goodwill financing to $500,000. If the goodwill financing exceeds that amount, the SBA will recommend that lenders consider requiring more equity from the borrower or seller.

So, if you are buying or selling a business, franchise, or non-franchise, you have a little room to maneuver...

Read more

Spring-Green Lawn Care Franchise Supports Our Troops!

                               Spring-Green

This franchisor is showing its support for the Help Veterans Own Franchises Act, which was introduced earlier this year in the House of Representatives to help veterans purchase small businesses. Spring-Green CEO Tom Hofer and Peoria Spring-Green franchisee Dave Vojta recently met with Congressman Aaron Schock (R-Ill.) for a press conference to discuss the act......

Read more about this at the Daily Franchise News

Becoming A Small Business Owner; Who To Talk To

From Dane Carlson's Business Opportunities Blog;

"If you are considering small business ownership, entrepreneurship or self-employment keep survivor bias in mind as you read surveys and talk to people. Also, make sure to talk to folks that have failed. They will give you important and likely different perspectives than people that have succeeded."  Great suggestions!

Do your homework before you jump into small business ownership. It will pay off big time!

Read the rest of the story

Veteran Small Business Owners; Check Out These Wednesday Webinars

These days, being a small business owner means that you must stay current on all the technology advances that can help your small business proper.

There are tons of new tools and strategies to better connect with today’s socially-empowered, on-the-go customer, and some very well known small business experts, with the help of Blackberry, are going to show you how to use these tools in your business.

The series kicks off  Wednesday September 23, 2009 at 1:00 pm ET (New York time) with a discussion on using social media to connect with today’s mobile customer.  Featured small business professionals for this webinar include Pamela O’Hara of social CRM vendor BatchBlue, and Network Solutions’ Shashi Bellamkonda - also known to many online as the Social Media Swami. Anita Campbell, and Brent O'Leary are running the show...

Go here for more information, and to register.

TeamLogic IT Awards It's Top Achievers

 

Chuck Lennon, president of TeamLogic IT—a nationwide network of computer consultation and managed services businesses—is pleased to announce the winners of four business achievement awards presented at the company’s Owners Summit recently held in Washington, D.C. Chris Cioffi and Rob Fallows of Northwest Valley Phoenix, Arizona received the Franchisee of the Year Award and the Top Volume-SystemWatch Award. Keith and Taco Cowan of Mission Viejo, California received the Overall Top Volume Award and the Top Volume-Services Award.

“Each of these winners is a leader in our network and I am very proud of their success,” said Lennon. “Receiving these awards is a testament to their professional and personal commitment to their business and their customers.”

Congrats, Chuck!

Learn About Franchise Ownership From The Franchisees

For those who are interested in becoming a franchisee, Lew Carter, a Tampa Bay area multi-unit Subway franchisee says that a person needs to ask, "is it something you want to do?"

He suggests contacting existing franchisees who can talk about the process and discuss sales.

Here's some more hints from other current franchisees, as they discuss them in this article.

Here's a recently posted 3 minute video on a related franchise topic.

Are Veteran-Owned Businesses Still Feeling The Credit Crunch?

I for one, would like to know. If you are a Veteran SBO, are you having a tough time getting credit lines for purchases? How about expansion loans?

Please tell us via comment, below! We need to know if this is spin, or fact...

Look what this article over at CNN.com says;

"Despite government efforts to shore up the banking system, credit remains tight. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. last week said loans to small firms declined 1.9% in the past year. A Federal Reserve survey showed a third of banks tightened lending to businesses in the three months ended in July.

While the recession depresses demand for funds and hurts credit quality for small businesses, lines of credit are being cut for even solid firms, say advocates."

Finish the article, and then come back and comment! Are you able to get the money you need to keep your business running?

Check out this handy little cash flow tool.

A Cash Flow Calculator