Below we've listed some of the typical components of a business plan - consider the ticks (√) we’ve given the franchise when compared to a stand-alone business (X):
Past financials available
√ Typically available from prior franchisees
X Non-existent or not always trustworthy in a stand-alone business
Marketing
√ Typically guidance and mentorship is available from franchisor
X Owner required to research best marketing methods for industry and estimate cost
Operations, processes and procedures
√ Typically franchisor has processes and procedures in place
X Owner required to research possible processes and procedures, hardware, software, quality control, invoicing, CRM systems and estimate cost
Human resources
√ Typically franchisor will assist with suggesting staffing requirements based on other sites and peak demand times for staff is usually known
X Owner required to estimate service demand throughout week and also required to understand ever changing HR laws
Management
√ Franchisor typically available to mentor and add layer of management
X Owner may need to hire services manager(s) or consider business coach
Financial projections
√ There are always past financials of target site or others available to base projections on
X Usually pure estimates
Business expansion
√ Easier expansion with franchisees buying multiple franchise sites
X Can open multiple sites but risk typically equal to that of opening original site
Across all areas of a business plan, the ‘work’ has been done or the information required is much easier to acquire.
Information is expensive
You see, with a business plan the source of the information contributes greatly to the cost of the business plan. If, as a provider, we have to go out and research marketing strategies or an operations strategy, the cost of the business plan starts heading into the thousands.
Rather, with franchises all the information is typically much more easily available from the franchisor for a new site or the prior franchisee for an existing site.
No free ride
All this doesn’t mean the franchisor will typically hand out franchises to just anyone – they have a brand to protect and a vested interest in the franchise succeeding.
Many prospective franchisees are given the task by the franchisor to produce a business plan as part of the selection criteria (especially if the franchisor is a large business with lots of people applying for a franchise). This makes sense as the franchisor has spent years or even decades building a well regarded reputable brand and the last thing they want to see is one of their sites stumble or even fail.
The franchisor is looking for the franchisee to ‘showcase’ themselves in a business plan - what are you bringing to the table?
Here, we work with prospective franchisee to extract all relevant information across the various components of the business plan. The franchisee is handed a brand, a site and full operations manuals and the availability of the franchisor to call upon. However we work with franchisees to help them consider:
What are your marketing ideas?
What are your personnel ideas?
What research are you prepared to do?
Why do you think you’ll succeed?
What will you do different from the prior franchisee to improve the site?
Overall, what are you bringing to the table?
Article courtesy of australianfranchising.com.au
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Baskin-Robbins in Australia - Vertical Sundaes!
Through out April in all Baskin-Robbins stores in Australia, you have the opportunity to indulge in their range of 'Vertical Sundaes'.
Each Vertical Sundae has 5 levels of indulgence -
Layer 1: Fudge
Layer 2: Ice Cream
Layer 3: Brownies
Layer 4: Ice Cream
Layer 5: Fudge
There are 3 flavours to choose from in this range:
World Class Choc Chip
Jamoca Almond Fudge
Chocolate Mousse Royale & Cookies
The World's Most Expensive Ice Cream Sundae
The most expensive ice cream sundae in the world is called the “Grand Opulence” Sundae and was created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Manhattan restaurant Serendipity 3. Serendipity 3 celebrated their 50th anniversary in 2004 and decided to create the world’s most expensive ice cream sundae as a publicity stunt. They were later recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as having accomplished their goal – at $1,000 the most expensive item on their menu became the official recorder holder as the most expensive ice cream sundae in the world!
Serendipity describes the Golden Opulence Sundae as follows: “5 scoops of the richest Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla and covered in 23K edible gold leaf, the sundae is drizzled with the world’s most expensive chocolate, Amedei Porceleana, and covered with chunks of rare Chuao chocolate, which is from cocoa beans harvested by the Caribbean Sea on Venezuela’s coast. The masterpiece is suffused with exotic candied fruits from Paris, gold dragets, truffles and Marzipan Cherries. It is topped with a tiny glass bowl of Grand Passion Caviar, an exclusive dessert caviar, made of salt-free American Golden caviar, known for its sparkling golden color. It’s sweetened and infused with fresh passion fruit, orange and Armagnac.
The sundae is served in a baccarat Harcourt crystal goblet with an 18K gold spoon to partake in the indulgence, served with a petite mother of pearl spoon and topped with a gilded sugar flower by Ron Ben-Israel. How many customers have been willing to spend the $1,000 that this sundae costs? The founders admit it’s an outrageous price tag, but they say it has “snob appeal”. It has been popular enough since its introduction that they still serve it today, and recently the 15th Golden Opulence Sundae sold was ordered in advance for someone’s Sweet 16 birthday party.
Serendipity describes the Golden Opulence Sundae as follows: “5 scoops of the richest Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream infused with Madagascar vanilla and covered in 23K edible gold leaf, the sundae is drizzled with the world’s most expensive chocolate, Amedei Porceleana, and covered with chunks of rare Chuao chocolate, which is from cocoa beans harvested by the Caribbean Sea on Venezuela’s coast. The masterpiece is suffused with exotic candied fruits from Paris, gold dragets, truffles and Marzipan Cherries. It is topped with a tiny glass bowl of Grand Passion Caviar, an exclusive dessert caviar, made of salt-free American Golden caviar, known for its sparkling golden color. It’s sweetened and infused with fresh passion fruit, orange and Armagnac.
The sundae is served in a baccarat Harcourt crystal goblet with an 18K gold spoon to partake in the indulgence, served with a petite mother of pearl spoon and topped with a gilded sugar flower by Ron Ben-Israel. How many customers have been willing to spend the $1,000 that this sundae costs? The founders admit it’s an outrageous price tag, but they say it has “snob appeal”. It has been popular enough since its introduction that they still serve it today, and recently the 15th Golden Opulence Sundae sold was ordered in advance for someone’s Sweet 16 birthday party.
The History & Controversy of the Ice Cream Sundae
According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the origin of the term sundae is obscure. Various American localities have claimed to be the birthplace of the ice cream sundae. These claimants include Ithaca, New York; Two Rivers, Wisconsin; Plainfield, Illinois; Evanston, Illinois; New York City; New Orleans, Louisiana; Cleveland, Ohio; and Buffalo, New York.
There is debate between Ithaca and Two Rivers over which city has the right to claim the title "birthplace of the ice cream sundae." When Ithaca mayor Carolyn K. Peterson proclaimed a day to celebrate her city as the birthplace of the sundae, she received postcards from Two Rivers' citizens reiterating that town's claim.
Of the many stories about the invention of the sundae, one frequent theme is the sinfulness of the ice cream soda and the need to produce a substitute for the popular treat for consumption on Sunday. Peter Bird writes in The First Food Empire (2000) that the name 'sundae' was adopted from Illinois state's early prohibition of ice cream consumption on Sundays, because ice cream with a topping that obscured the main product was not deemed to be ice cream.
Ithaca, New York in 1892
Supporting Ithaca's claim, researchers at The History Center in Tompkins County, New York, provide an account of how the sundae came to be: On Sunday, April 3, 1892 in Ithaca, John M. Scott, a Unitarian Church minister, and Chester Platt, co-owner of Platt & Colt Pharmacy, created the first historically documented sundae. Platt covered dishes of ice cream with cherry syrup and candied cherries on a whim. The men named the dish "Cherry Sunday" in honor of the day it was created. The oldest-known written evidence of a sundae is Platt & Colt's newspaper ad for a "Cherry Sunday" placed in the Ithaca Daily Journal on April 5, 1892. By May, 1892, the Platt & Colt soda fountain also served "Strawberry Sundays," and later, "Chocolate Sundays." Platt & Colt's "Sundays" grew so popular that by 1894, Chester Platt attempted to trademark the term ice cream "Sunday."
Evanston, Illinois in 1890
Evanston was one of the first locations to pass a blue law against selling ice cream sodas in 1890. "Some ingenious confectioners and drug store operators [in Evanston]... obeying the law, served ice cream with the syrup of your choice without the soda. Thereby complying with the law ... This sodaless soda was the Sunday soda." As sales of the dessert continued on Mondays, local leaders then objected to naming the dish after the Sabbath. So the spelling of the name was changed to Sundae.
Two Rivers, Wisconsin in 1899
Two Rivers' claim is based on the story of George Hallauer asking Edward C. Berners, the owner of Berners' Soda Fountain, to drizzle chocolate syrup over ice cream in 1881. Berners eventually did and wound up selling the treat for a nickel, originally only on Sundays, but later every day. According to this story, the spelling changed when a glass salesman ordered canoe-shaped dishes. When Berners died in 1939, the Chicago Tribune headlined his obituary "Man Who Made First Ice Cream Sundae Is Dead." Two Ithaca High School students, however, claim that Berners would have only been 16 or 17 in 1881 and it is therefore "improbable" that he would have owned an ice cream shop in that year. They also state that the obituary dates Berners' first sundae to 1899 rather than 1881.
There is debate between Ithaca and Two Rivers over which city has the right to claim the title "birthplace of the ice cream sundae." When Ithaca mayor Carolyn K. Peterson proclaimed a day to celebrate her city as the birthplace of the sundae, she received postcards from Two Rivers' citizens reiterating that town's claim.
Of the many stories about the invention of the sundae, one frequent theme is the sinfulness of the ice cream soda and the need to produce a substitute for the popular treat for consumption on Sunday. Peter Bird writes in The First Food Empire (2000) that the name 'sundae' was adopted from Illinois state's early prohibition of ice cream consumption on Sundays, because ice cream with a topping that obscured the main product was not deemed to be ice cream.
Ithaca, New York in 1892
Supporting Ithaca's claim, researchers at The History Center in Tompkins County, New York, provide an account of how the sundae came to be: On Sunday, April 3, 1892 in Ithaca, John M. Scott, a Unitarian Church minister, and Chester Platt, co-owner of Platt & Colt Pharmacy, created the first historically documented sundae. Platt covered dishes of ice cream with cherry syrup and candied cherries on a whim. The men named the dish "Cherry Sunday" in honor of the day it was created. The oldest-known written evidence of a sundae is Platt & Colt's newspaper ad for a "Cherry Sunday" placed in the Ithaca Daily Journal on April 5, 1892. By May, 1892, the Platt & Colt soda fountain also served "Strawberry Sundays," and later, "Chocolate Sundays." Platt & Colt's "Sundays" grew so popular that by 1894, Chester Platt attempted to trademark the term ice cream "Sunday."
Evanston, Illinois in 1890
Evanston was one of the first locations to pass a blue law against selling ice cream sodas in 1890. "Some ingenious confectioners and drug store operators [in Evanston]... obeying the law, served ice cream with the syrup of your choice without the soda. Thereby complying with the law ... This sodaless soda was the Sunday soda." As sales of the dessert continued on Mondays, local leaders then objected to naming the dish after the Sabbath. So the spelling of the name was changed to Sundae.
Two Rivers, Wisconsin in 1899
Two Rivers' claim is based on the story of George Hallauer asking Edward C. Berners, the owner of Berners' Soda Fountain, to drizzle chocolate syrup over ice cream in 1881. Berners eventually did and wound up selling the treat for a nickel, originally only on Sundays, but later every day. According to this story, the spelling changed when a glass salesman ordered canoe-shaped dishes. When Berners died in 1939, the Chicago Tribune headlined his obituary "Man Who Made First Ice Cream Sundae Is Dead." Two Ithaca High School students, however, claim that Berners would have only been 16 or 17 in 1881 and it is therefore "improbable" that he would have owned an ice cream shop in that year. They also state that the obituary dates Berners' first sundae to 1899 rather than 1881.
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