Tag Archives: business

Moansan: The Business Opportunity for Animal Lovers

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Moansan is the unique provider of ProVetLogic sanitation products. The company started in 2009 as a developer of continuing education for the veterinary medical industry. ProVetLogic has quickly grown to become one of the most recognized providers of educational programs and product solutions for the professional animal care providers nationwide.

Moansan provides education for the animal care industry, including vets, shelters, hospitals, zoos, stables, groomers, kennels, boarding, and trainers. The annual turnover in the professional animal care industry is 25% to 30%, and the cost of training a new hire employee can range from $4000.00 to $6000.00. Providing training to new-hire employees and continuing education to existing employees can be both costly and time consuming. But have no fear, Moansan is here! The ProVetLogic Educational Support Team has created and offers a variety of educational support options including free online educational coruses, onsite “Launch & Learn” programs, training manuals, and online Q & A support.

Moansan has a mission: to make the animal world a better place through education and through the introduction of products that are designed to create a safer and healthier environment for animals and their care providers. They are clearly doing something right – Moansan now has a 90%+ brand recognition with veterinarians in the animal care industry.

How can you become a part of this successful business? Moansan is a licensed/distributor business, which may be as small as one vehicle or as large as 50 or more vehicles. If you are looking to work in the animal industry and have a love for animals’ well-being, it is worth considering owning a business in the world of preventive animal health care. If you are currently engaged in distribution of products or services for this industry and would like to participate in these new technologies, large scale opportunities are also available. High margins from distributor wholesale to retail (40-50%) make Moansan a very profitable business with positive cash flow.

Interested in learning more about business opportunities with Moansan? Check them out here!

How to Deal with Change in Your Business

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Whether you are a current franchisee, a future franchisee, or even just a fan of our blog, chances are that you have experienced major changes in your workplace. Changes can cause great anxiety, especially if you are forced to adjust the way you have always approached a situation. Changes in process are often the best way to enhance productivity in business, yet the transition can prove to be troublesome.

I wanted to take this week’s post to discuss dealing with change and the growth contained in the process of change. Most of us operate under the illusion that life remains constant, but in reality, it is always changing. Your business, if it’s growing, is always changing, too.

Based on a study by the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), the number one issue facing senior leadership today is “dealing with complex challenges.” Furthermore, studies say that the number one most important competency in shortest supply today is dealing with change. The CCL defines challenges as problems that:

  1. Lack a clearly defined solution
  2. Remain beyond an individual’s or single group’s ability to overcome
  3. Have significant strategic, cultural, environmental, and marketplace impact
  4. Create a paradox of reflection and action
  5. Render traditional solutions ineffective
  6. Demand flexibility and agility as challenges shift seemingly overnight

Being open to change and the lessons within change is no small task. Positive change requires letting go of old patterns and taking a fresh approach. In business, and in life, we must go beyond our preconceived ideas. We have to embrace, rather than resist, the change.

Change in an organization calls for a great deal of communication, specifically from the leaders in the group. What are some important lessons that you have learned about change from your business? Leave comments below!

Using LinkedIn For Your Business?

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I have been paying a closer attention lately to the way in which franchise professionals utilize social media platforms. Specifically this week, I wanted to take a closer look at how LinkedIn is being used in the franchise industry. LinkedIn is a hot topic in the social networking realm right now. Everyone wants to know how to best leverage LinkedIn for their various needs. Franchisors, franchisees, and suppliers all see opportunity in the networking site, but many question how exactly they can use the platform to their benefit.

With a database of more than 238 million individuals, LinkedIn provides a great pool of prospective franchisees and customers. How can franchise professionals tap into this resource? They can start with their profile page. A new article in Franchising World’s November issue gives some tips about how you should go about revamping your page. First, look at your page from an outsider’s view. Does it read like a resume? If you’re seeking employment, that is one thing. But if you are not, it may be time to rewrite your profile to target whichever prospect or customer or prospective employee that you would like to engage.  People are using LinkedIn to better know you. You must actively choose a message: what do you want people to know about you and your company?

The article says that as you read through your LinkedIn profile, you must ask yourself whether your profile answers these questions that the reader may have:

–          Should I pay this person money?

–          Can I trust this person?

–          Can this person help me with my objectives (franchise ownership, employment, doing business)?

–          What benefits does this person and his company provide?

–          Does this person have the ability to help me make a significant decision?

–          Does this person look trustworthy and credible?

 

What is all really comes down to is making your profile a welcome mat to your company. You want to seem approachable, communicable and transparent. People want to do business with people they like and feel at ease with. Let your LinkedIn profile be a peak into your company’s missions and future goals. What LinkedIn tips do you have for fellow franchise professionals?

Franchise Real Estate Trends that You’ve Got to Check Out

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I recently read an article in Franchise Times (“Eight trends top the year’s list of big stories in real estate” by Beth Mattson-Teig) about real estate trends among franchises around the world. Some very interesting trends (including oddball locations such as a Subway store on a German riverboat) make the list and give franchisees a glimpse into the vast possibilities of location, location, location.

The list is as follows:

1. Top Towns
This one isn’t very surprising. Cities on the short list for expansion are those who are ahead of the curve in economic recovery. Interestingly, the article reports that retailers are now looking into “second-tier” markets for development now more than ever, as opposed to large, central cities. Growing cities provide opportunities at lower costs.

2. Think Global
Franchisors are accelerating international growth plans, expanding to emerging markets in Asia and South America. The expansion doesn’t stop there however, as other major franchises are targeting expansion in Russia and sub-Saharan Africa.

 3. Tenants Rule
Due to an excess of vacant space in many cities across the US, many landlords are offering rent discounts and concessions, such as more tenant improvement dollar. While the retail sector is improving, the vacancy rate at neighborhood and community shopping centers is just 60 basis points below the sector’s all time high of 11.1% in 2011, according to Reis Inc.

4. Tech Talk
TV screens are no longer exclusive to sports bars. They are now popping up in a wide array of franchises. Apparently, people report they like the white noise of televisions while they are in a restaurant or bar. Whatever is on television provides a talking point for people socializing with one another as well.

 5. Smaller Footprints
This is a big one. Restaurants and retail groups are now expanding with smaller store footprints. There is currently a drive in America to return to local, mom-and-pop stores. By franchises switching to spaces with smaller square footage, they provide more of a small store feel and less “big box.”

 6. Against the Grain
Non-traditional locations such as college campuses and baseball stadiums are by no means a new trend, but franchises lately have also been finding great success in other high-traffic areas such as inside of convenience stores, as well as at amusement parks, train stations, and hospitals.

 7. Back in Action
While new construction projects were far and few in-between during the recession, the one exception has been outlet malls, which have an estimated 20 million square feet of new projects either proposed or underway, according to Marcus & Millichap.

8. Designs To Go
Lastly, there is a growing demand in our country for home meal replacement. Busy families are driving more business to restaurants that offer quick take-out delivery. Because of this, more focus is being paid to designing for the “to go” service, with marked parking spots for people using the service, and dedicated windows for such orders. Designing buildings with separate entrance and pick-up counters from the rest of the restaurant is on the rise.

 

Community Outreach: What is your business doing for your community?

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Recent studies are showing that volunteer rates in America are on the rise. A 2012 study by the U.S. Corporation for National and Community Service found that two-out-of-three citizens serve their communities today and those numbers are increasing each year. Sociologists believe we are seeing a shift in many parts of the country where people are returning to focusing on their smaller communities, through supporting local goods and services, as well their local nonprofits.

Why is this important to national franchises? Any smart business should follow sociological trends. Therefore, national franchise systems are challenged to create a local presence in their community. People want their neighbor Doug running the shop down the road, contributing to the local economy, and therefore national franchises should encourage their independent locations to run as such. The way to do this is through community outreach.

Community outreach shows the public that you ARE a part of the community. While you may be part of a large national company, you are living, working, and investing in the individual communities you serve. By franchise systems partnering with local charities, they show the community that they care about the individual communities they operate within.

“Building a Company Culture for Community Outreach” a recent article in Franchising World, by Robert A. Funk, gives guidelines for how to go about making community relations an important part of your business’s culture. Here are a few I especially liked:

1)      Communicate Core Values

First and foremost, you have to set direction, with both a mission and a vision. Market yourself as a philanthropic company, and use social media to show what you’re doing for your local charities.

 

2)      Financial Contributions

At the corporate level, franchises can supply grants to community projects, as well as local initiatives and programs that support their charitable mission.

 

3)      Engage Your Customers

People want to purchase from a business that is sincere and authentic about giving. Franchises can ask customers to directly donate to the cause, making them feel just as much a part of the giving as the franchise itself.

Franchises & The Law: How Liable is a Franchise for Actions of Franchisees’ Employees?

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Patterson v. Domino’s Pizza, LLC, the California case that involves a sexual harassment claim by a franchisee’s employee once again raises the question whether a franchisor can be deemed a franchisee’s “employer” for certain purposes. Patterson, a Domino’s employee claimed that her assistant manager both sexually harassed and sexually assaulted her. When filing suit, Patterson listed both the franchisee and Domino’s liable for her sexual harassment. The reasoning behind this was that both the franchisee AND Domino’s were the supervisor’s “employers”, and therefore made them vicariously liable for his actions.

The appellate court was faced with a challenge: how liable is a franchise for the actions of individual franchisees’ employees? The appellate court stated that the “franchisors interest in the reputation of its entire system allows it to exercise certain controls over the enterprise without running the risk of transforming its independent contractor franchisee into an agent.” However, the court went on to explain that although this is generally true, because of this substantial control over franchisee’s local operation as well as management-employee, the franchisor can be subject to vicarious liability. The franchisee’s testimony stressed this issue of control, as he said that he had to abide by the hiring and firing rules given by the Domino’s area representative. California’s court decided that Domino’s actually can be liable for sexual harassment of a franchisee’s employee. (2012 Cal. App. LEXIS 753)

What does this mean for franchisees? Franchisees can certainly have a specific disclaimer for employment relationships to help protect them from liability. It could also be a reminder for franchisors everywhere to review their operations manuals and determine standards for what a franchisor actually has control, and therefore potential liability, over. I can only imagine that this case, along with several others in the past few years in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Florida, has made franchises more cognizant about sexual harassment laws and regulations.

What do you think about the ruling of this case? How much liability should a franchisor hold? Does a franchisor’s right to set standards for franchisees’ employees’ appearance and its involvement in hiring and firing decisions make them reliable for sexual harassment cases? Leave your opinions below!