FRANCHISE IRELAND

Spring 2005

(The online newsletter of the Irish Franchise Association, 30 Tolka Valley Business Park, Ballyboggan Road, Dublin 11. Tel 01 4991091.
Chairman - John Green; CEO - Michael Bradley) www.irishfranchiseassociation.com)

IFA CHAIRMAN'S MESSAGE - from John Green

Welcome to the Spring 05 edition of our newsletter, to update IFA members and others on the franchise sector in Ireland. Franchise Ireland is also published to raise the profile of business format franchising, particularly as a means of starting or expanding a business. The IFA committee has been busy since our winter '04 edition - a summary of our main activities follows (see www.irishfranchiseassociation.com for more information):

The first Irish Franchise Exhibition 2004, held at the RDS, Dublin on 19/20 November last, generated good media coverage and was considered very successful, with some 5,600 visitors and 50 exhibitors.

The Irish Franchise Exhibition 2005, scheduled for 4/5 November at the RDS, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4, promises to be the showcase for franchising in Ireland. See www.franinfo.co.uk for more information or to reserve a stand.

The Irish Franchise Awards 2005, which celebrate the best in franchising on the island of Ireland, will be presented at a reception and dinner at the Hilton Hotel, Dublin on Friday 4 November. See our website for more details and nomination forms for the six categories.

A seminar for business owners looking at franchising as a means of expansion, entitled "How to franchise your business - an introduction", was held in February in Dublin. The next is scheduled for May - details on our website.

A regional seminar/franchisors' forum, "Franchising - all you need to know", was held at Druid's Glen, with Wicklow County Enterprise Board. See our website for details of similar events planned for Tralee, Galway, Cork and Belfast.

The increasing interest in franchising as a means of starting or expanding a business is reflected by recent supplements on franchising in the national media, including an Irish Times three-page supplement, the 2,500 visitors per month to our website and the demand for various presentations.

Recent meetings include IDA/Forfas re the Enterprise Strategy Report, and we have requested a meeting with The Minister for Enterprise & Employment to discuss the role of the franchise sector in the economy going forward.

IFA membership continues to grow and we would encourage more ethical Franchisors to join us. This can be done online at www.irishfranchiseassociation.com

Thank you for your continued support.

JOHN GREEN
Chairman
Irish Franchise Association
P.S. Email - michaelbradley@irishfranchiseassociation.com to join our Newsletter mailing list

New Members

We welcome -

The bagel Bar - provides a selection of freshly made smoothies, gourmet coffee, wraps, pastries, multipacks of bagels to go and eighteen signature bagel sandwiches. It is the fastest growing 100% Irish owned bagel franchise company with 11 stores and a further 6 new stores to open in 2005.
For franchise opportunities see www.thebagelbars.com or email info@thebagelbars.com

Days Hotels - are premium three star hotels, in city and town centre locations.
Whether it's an independent hotel in need of reviving, or a new construction in need of a plan, franchisees can be assured of top class sales & marketing, training, pre-opening and operational support. Management Contracts are also available.
Contact Joanna Doyle, Franchise Development Manager, Tel: (003531) 6391229. See www.days-hotels.com

OSK Accountants & Business Consultants - specialise in franchise, accounting, taxation and business advice, assisting clients to grow and develop their businesses through proactive support and advice.
Contact Imelda Prendergast - tel: 01 439 4206, Email: prendergasti@osk.ie Web: www.osk.ie

Ology - is a new business advisory franchise delivering practical business advice and tangible value to SMEs and small corporate organisations. Potential franchisees should have a good level of business or corporate experience and want to work in a rewarding environment.
Contact: Dave Pike, Tel: (0044) 870 2418191, www.ologybusiness.com

Horwath - the Horwath franchising team provide franchise development services to both practising and prospective franchisors locally, nationally or internationally. They also run an accredited Diploma in Franchise Management programme for staff in franchisor organisations, and for which modules are planned in Dublin this year.
E-mail sarah@horwathfranchising.co.uk for an informal meeting in Dublin or see www.horwathfranchising.ie

Sunbelt Business Advisors - provide a brokerage service to owners wishing to dispose of their businesses. Business brokerage is the relatively new profession that lists and sells these businesses for a fee, enabling the owner to market the business to the widest possible audience in a professional and confidential manner.
See www.sunbeltnetwork.com/uk for franchise opportunities and further information.

News from the U.S. Commercial Service, Dublin

Irish interest in American franchises has never been greater. During the promotion of our Franchise Trade Mission in October, visits to our website reached an all time high. To view over 40 American franchises that have expressed an interest in entering the Irish market, visit www.buyusa.gov/ireland. The majority of these franchisors are either looking to identify master licensees while others have already signed agreements and are now looking for franchisees. Given the elevated level of interest in franchising, the U.S. Commercial Service expects to recruit the largest-ever delegation to attend the International Franchise Expo in Washington DC in April.
For more information contact Finola.Cunningham@mail.doc.gov

News & Views

Signs Express recently launched its new website on www.signsexpress.ie
With a dedicated franchise opportunities section as well as comprehensive details on all the services Signs Express provides to its customers, the website also has a dedicated section for each centre, displaying examples of work as well as photographs of franchisees, their customers and the production centre. Signs Express has already had a fantastic start to the year, already signing their first franchise for 2005 for the South County Dublin & Wicklow territory. John O'Reilly joins the Signs Express group after visiting The Irish Franchise Exhibition in November last year. After attending a comprehensive training programme at Signs Express Head Office, John will receive help in finding premises and staff and in all aspects of setting up the business.

Esquires Coffee Houses currently operate twelve outlets in Ireland, seven in the North of Ireland and five in the South. The most recent opening was in Craigavon with further openings due shortly in Galway and Dublin.
Esquires Coffee are also exploring a number of joint ventures with a view to providing in-house coffee house facilities for large office complexes and colleges.
For further information contact Tony McVerry at 086 2589076, e-mail esquirescoffee@eircom.net or visit our website www.esquirescoffee.com

Jo Jingles took its first steps in Cork and Dublin recently. Jo Jingles is a music and movement group already successfully established in over forty towns in N Ireland. The weekly 45-minute long classes are enjoyed by parents and children alike as a fun approach to pre-school education.
Activities include playing simple musical instruments, movement and dancing, action songs, and a different educational theme is introduced each week. Jo Jingles helps to encourage children to develop language and numeracy skills, to improve physical co-ordination, and to gain confidence in their own abilities. Each class is taught by a fully qualified Jo Jingles music teacher.
For details of Jo Jingles classes in the Dublin area please call Jo Tynan on 01 869 0344 and in the Cork area please call Aine Dorgan on 0214 847 877 or visit the Jo Jingles website at www.jojingles.com

We understand that Starbucks will open its first Dublin outlet soon at 1, College Green, and that all Irish outlets will be company-owned rather than franchised.

CLASSIC MARKETING MESS-UPS (Part two)

Thinking of exporting your product into foreign markets? The following branding disasters show how important it is to hire local marketing staff when launching abroad.

• General Motors Nova fiasco was fantastic. They tried marketing the Nova in the Central and South America. It flopped. "Nova" in Spanish means "it doesn't go".
• The Dairy Association's huge success with the campaign "Got Milk?" prompted them to expand advertising to Mexico. It was soon brought to their attention the Spanish translation read, "Are you lactating".
• When American Airlines wanted to advertise its new leather first class seats in the Mexican market, it translated its "Fly in leather" campaign literally, which meant, "Fly naked" in Spanish!
• In Chinese, the Kentucky Fried Chicken slogan "finger-lickin' good" came out as "eat your fingers off".
• In Italy, a campaign for Schweppes Tonic Water translated the name into Schweppes Toilet Water.

Cash Management Tips

From Imelda Prendergast, OSK Small Business Support, t: 01 439 4206 e: prendergasti@osk.ie w: www.osk.ie

Every business needs a healthy cash flow to survive. Many small businesses don't manage their working capital and operate on a reactive basis without having reliable financial information and without careful budgeting and cash flow forecasting. A budgeted cash flow plan is essential if cash is to properly managed and controlled.

Debtors

1. Make cash collection your top priority
2. Set weekly cash collection targets
3. Involve sales staff in the collection of debts
4. Resolve customer queries quickly
5. Issue regular statements
6. Check new customers with a credit rating agency
7. Ask for financial references
8. Get bank guarantees for major contracts
9. Agree all credit terms with customers, in writing, prior to commencing the project/work
10. Give conservative credit limits initially
11. Reduce credit limits if concerns arise
12. Use a debt collection agency - many operate on a no collection no fee basis
13. Don't lose the focus on cash collection - your business won't survive without it

Creditors

1. Prepare a budgeted cash flow forecast
2. Identify finance requirements and have these in place well in advance of any 'lean' cash months
3. Avail of the maximum credit period
4. Buy on sale or return
5. Negotiate settlement and bulk discounts
6. Finance larger creditors over short periods: use accountancy fee or insurance premium finance
7. Pay VAT and PAYE via the Revenue direct debit system
8. Make provision during the year for any balance of personal taxes due
9. If your annual turnover is less than €635,000 take advantage of the cash received basis for returning VAT on sales

Stocks

1. Set targeted stock levels
2. Monitor all variations
3. Identify and eliminate slow moving items
4. Rotate stock

To move away from crisis cash management to successful working capital management put in place a plan that incorporates all of the above points and have sound and reliable financial reports on a monthly basis.

Among the services provided by OSK Small Business Support are business performance reviews and management accounts, which give a real and honest assessment of the performance of your business.

Thank you for reading FRANCHISE IRELAND.