Greenville Business Magazine 2010 June issue : Page 38
FRANCHISES Worth it? Are BY NICHOLE LIVENGOOD Chad Eads opened his first Cold Stone Creamery franchise in June of 2006. Like many entrepreneurs Eads was looking for the keys to his own business, but not interested in fighting for a customer base among established ice cream shops. Cold Stone Creamery’s brand recognition sealed Ead’s decision to buy the franchise.He now owns four Cold Stone locations: one in Greenville, one in Charleston and two in Asheville. Franchises are appealing to prospective owners like Eads because they come prepackaged. The business plan is developed, an operation plan is in place and the goods and/or services are test marketed and refined. For someone looking to own their own business, but not so concerned with invention, the benefits of opening a franchise could definitely outweigh the risk of developing a new concept. 38 GREENVILLEBUSINESSMAG.COM | JUNE 2010 $
Are Franchises Worth It?
Nicole Livengood
Chad Eads opened his first Cold Stone Creamery franchise in June of 2006. Like many entrepreneurs Eads was looking for the keys to his own business, but not interested in fighting for a customer base among established ice cream shops. Cold Stone Creamery’s brand recognition sealed Ead’s decision to buy the franchise. He now owns four Cold Stone locations: one in Greenville, one in Charleston and two in Asheville.
Franchises are appealing to prospective owners like Eads because they come prepackaged. The business plan is developed, an operation plan is in place and the goods and/or services are test marketed and refined. For someone looking to own their own business, but not so concerned with invention, the benefits of opening a franchise could definitely outweigh the risk of developing a new concept.
“Obviously, with over 1,300 stores nation wide, experience in the market place played a key role in my decision” says Eads. Like many business owners, the benefits of owning a franchise outweighed the trial and error struggles he would have faced starting from scratch.
With over 75 franchise industries to choose from, including food, building, health, automotive, clothing, education, and consulting, there is likely a business to match anyone’s passion.
When Patty Dellert moved to Greenville from North Carolina she left behind a sales career, and wanted to start over in the fitness industry. Dellert found through her research that fitness franchises have a higher success rate in the fitness industry than independent gyms. After going through her different options, she decided to open a Curves franchise. She was impressed with the company’s business model and equipment specifically geared for women.
“All of the systems are already in place and they do all of your training,” says Dellert, who opened Curves on Howell Road in October of 2002.
Eads and Dellert have found success in franchises, but it has not been without bumps in the road. Eades closed his Taylors store as a result of the economic downturn. “I see a lot of franchisees in this industry that open stores of this sort and believe that by just opening the doors that people will come to buy your product and that just simply isn’t true. I strongly believe that to be successful you have to be dedicated to investing your time and energy to growing the business at a sustainable rate and being extremely careful to not make poor decisions that may ultimately sacrifice what you’ve worked so hard to achieve,” says Eads. He refocused his energy on the Woodruff Road store, which is thriving.
For individuals looking to start a new business, the prospect of being your own boss is tantalizing but if you’re thinking of buying into a franchise, you may run into problems you didn’t anticipate such as a contract that keeps you open whether or not your business is thriving. Before you are able to open the doors to your new business, you must get approval for the building site and must stick to the design standards set forth in the franchise documents. There is also a set method of operation, continued royalty payments running as high as 12 percent depending upon franchise, and there is no guarantee of a continued franchise contract.
Mallie Majarais, owner of Ocha Tea Bar on River Walk in downtown Greenville, researched franchise options when she and her husband were ready to open their own business, but found that creatively, “I just wanted to do it myself,” she says. Majarais had a café background and none of the established franchises such as Lollicup and Tea Shop 168 worked for her conceptually.
Also, it was “crazy expensive” to buy a franchise, she says. The couple put less money into opening their own independent business than they would have buying into an established franchise.
“We sell tea and bubble tea…not something people are necessarily familiar with,” so it was important for the couple to create a strong business model. “You have to think about what you plan on conceptually giving to people. A lot of thought has to go into what you will look like, and what will make you stand out,” she says.
They have had to make some risky decisions in the five years Ocha has been open. The Tea Shop moved from an upstairs space on Main Street to the new River Walk development. Majarais admits they were taking a big chance, but the move definitely paid off. “We don’t do much print advertising and we don’t have a built in marketing team like a big franchise, but I put our logo on everything,” she says.
“It was financially hard to do it on our own,” Majarais says, and challenging to work from scratch, but the reward has been seeing a single idea that started on paper turn into a thriving business.
“I think we pulled it off,” she says. “People come in and wonder if we are a franchise.” GBM
Previous Page Next Page
Publication List
