Franchising

[SharkBoy11]

Hi everyone. Most of you probably saw my post over in Chat and Conversation concerning my plans to open up a Cuts franchise for men which is based on the popular Curves concept for women. Anyway if you have not seen it, go take a look and give me some feedback (I would have posted it here but did not know this board existed until a few minutes ago).

Anyway, I just wanted to pick all of your brains about franchising. I am by no means "experienced" in the business field, but from what I can gather this seems to be the way to go. By putting down an investment you not only inherit support from corporate headquarters, but your potential success rate increases exponentially because of the fact that you are usually using a proven business strategy.

So does anyone have any stories about franchising, do you think that it is as close as one comes to a "can't miss" way to make money. Lastly, are there any low-moderate investment (under $40, 000 US) franchises around that you feel are good to invest in at this time (i.e. ground floor opportunities). Thanks for your feedback.

 

[bran987]

welcome to the board! I found some articles - you may want to consider picking the brains of some franchise brokers? What is the fee to open up a "cuts"?

http://www.entrepreneur.com/franzone/article/0,5847,290877,00.html

http://www.theesource.com/?ref=google&kw=franchise

http://www.franchiseopportunities.com/

 

[SharkBoy11]

Hey Bran, thanks for the response, I sent some Karma your way (at least I hope I did it right). The fee to open up a cuts right now is all together around $31,000, $400 flat a month for royalties. Once enough Cuts are open in a specific area there will be a $200 a month for advertising fees, which is a nominal fee for the potential it could present in getting the word out there about the company. I have a good feeling about the concept at this point (I know it's frowned upon here for many reasons) and am going to have a feasibility analysis done on it. I will keep you updated on what I come across. Thanks a lot for the links, I am going to go look at them right now.

 

[ZKaudio]

girls like to work out in an all womens facility b/c they hate guys eyeballing them throughout their workouts... and generally not having to worry as much about being judged. Unfortunately, I don't really think it works the other way around. Aside from the super-motivated and gays, I don't think this will take off nearly as well as curves. As for the finance side of it, everything looks feasible.

 

[SharkBoy11]

ZK, good points, many people that I have been talking with express the same feelings. However, Cuts is trying to appeal to the sedentary obese 30+ male who is too intimidated to get in a gym, or does not know how to workout "properly". I think that this demographic is less concerned with hot looking women being around, and more concerned about improving their health with an approach that works quickly and does not take up too much of their time.

The fact is that 80% of men don't workout, and if you can target these men (and put some added pressure on them to get healthy from their wives who go to Curves) this could be huge. Additionally, one potential way to get around the "no female" issue would be to have a female or two on staff.

 

[Crox]

Franchising is no golden bullet, the success rate for franchises is only marginally better than a normal small business start up (here in Australia anyway). Most are in the business of franchising ie. developing a franchise that they can sell, not necessarily a sound business that will do well in the long run, as once its all up and running its the people buying in like urself who are taking the risk, they dont loose a thing if you go under.

The advantages to you are they generally come with additional support, so you have someone guide you through the ins and outs of running the business, great if its your first time. My advice would be to check it out thoroughly before committing to it, and look at it rationally not emotionally.

 

[Devastation]

i just became partner in two franchises. looking to open a third next season


btw my company is the 7th fastest growing company in the US right now

 

[Mr.X]

Hi everyone. Most of you probably saw my post over in Chat and Conversation concerning my plans to open up a Cuts franchise for men which is based on the popular Curves concept for women. Anyway if you have not seen it, go take a look and give me some feedback (I would have posted it here but did not know this board existed until a few minutes ago).

Anyway, I just wanted to pick all of your brains about franchising. I am by no means "experienced" in the business field, but from what I can gather this seems to be the way to go. By putting down an investment you not only inherit support from corporate headquarters, but your potential success rate increases exponentially because of the fact that you are usually using a proven business strategy.

So does anyone have any stories about franchising, do you think that it is as close as one comes to a "can't miss" way to make money. Lastly, are there any low-moderate investment (under $40, 000 US) franchises around that you feel are good to invest in at this time (i.e. ground floor opportunities). Thanks for your feedback.

Interesting, I just have a few questions for you:

Why do you want to open a franchise? what's the goal behind it? what's your background in business and in fitness? do you know the target market of cuts? have you been to a cuts? if so, how many of them? do you think it can be a success? how many businesses have you ran before? and where are you getting the money to pay for this?

 

[Synpax]

I agree with the limited appeal of Cuts. However, my speculation is irrelevant as if it has performed well elsewhere because my doubts are universal, not geoghic.

Mr. X asks some good questions.

Still - I'd think an all-men's gym appeals to the same type that an all-men's bar does. Have fun cleaning your sauna.