Guide
Unleashing the Power of Your People with Internal Franchise
Business leaders are looking for a new edge. Their companies may be just barely alive, having made cuts they never thought they would have to make. The workers have been beaten down and overworked. The energy, the buzz, and satisfaction are dead. Why not turn to Internal Franchise, advises management consultant and author Martin O’Neill.
Latest News
Anatomy of the Entrepreneur
What makes entrepreneurs tick? LinkedIn combed through more than 120 million public profiles to pull stats on entrepreneurs and compare them to the average member. Some common threads from the study released in September include:
Franchise or License?
Q:What is the fundamental difference between franchising vs. licensing someone to operate my business in another state? I am trying avoid becoming a franchise, but I have people interested in using my business and my business model in other states.
INTERNATIONAL FRANCHISING
International franchising has grown significantly in recent years. Franchising now exists in more than 160 countries and is used in more than 70 different business sectors. U.S. franchisors are expanding internationally, and in doing so, will need strong master licensees in the host countries. Master franchisees must have the capital, business acumen and knowledge of local markets to make the franchises there successful. While Canada is still the most popular country for U.S. franchise expansion...
FTC Guide to the Antitrust Laws
Free and open markets are the foundation of a vibrant economy. Aggressive competition among sellers in an open marketplace gives consumers - both individuals and businesses - the benefits of lower prices, higher quality products and services, more choices, and greater innovation. The FTC's competition mission is to enforce the rules of the competitive marketplace - the antitrust laws. These laws promote vigorous competition and protect consumers from anticompetitive mergers and business practic...
Federal and State Franchise Regulations
To ensure a full disclosure of all information relating to a franchise company prior to a franchisee taking on the business, franchise regulations have been put in place by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). While the disclosure process is lengthy and should always include an experienced franchise attorney, there are basic guidelines to the regulations that a small business owner should be aware of when considering franchising options.
Management Tip of the Day: Overcome the awkward silences
Meetings hold such promise for moving your business forward but are rarely executed well, with awkward silences just one of many hurdles to address, says Harvard Business Review.
2012: The year of the artist-entrepreneur(photo)
While 2011 was a big year for political unrest, another uprising was afoot in the world of content creators and artists. Everywhere you look, artists are taking more control over their own economic well being, in large part because the Internet has enabled them to do so. You see it in all forms of content, from books, to video to music.
Why are cheap startups so expensive?
Starting up a Web company is never easy, but at least it's not as expensive as it used to be. Instead of buying and maintaining an IT infrastructure, as they had to do in the dotcom boom, startups now turn to cloud server services like Amazon's. Instead of costly proprietary software, OpenOffice and Google offer cheaper (or free) options. Instead of paying office rent, employees can work from home. And the viral power of social media can bring new customers with little marketing. Open-source p...
Obama’s vision splits small businesses(photo)
State of the Union address from President Barack Obama left small business owners divided over his plans for economic recovery which included eliminating tax perks for companies that offshore jobs and beefing up training stimulus for technology jobs.