The world of franchising is evolving so rapidly that I find myself reading and watching the news with the question in mind of how this is going to affect the franchising part of the business space. Whether the news relates to technological advances, social networking, Supreme Court cases relating to employment, federal policies on the debt ceiling (these are the stories I remember from yesterday), all of this information impacts on those active in franchising.
I have found a few quick and easy sources of information where the focus of the news is brought to bear directly on franchising. I have mentioned them before, but they have proven so useful they merit a quick mention again.
For news that is viewed principally through the franchisor side of the lens, there is the website and email newsletter of the International Franchise Association, the unofficial spokespersons forfranchisors. Yesterday’s newsletter referred to a fascinating article on the as-yet unused 30 billion dollar small business loan fund.
That article is actually of particular interest to franchisees. For information that is more consistently geared towards franchisees, you can refer to FranchiseKnowHow. This valuable website offers information to both sides of the franchisor/franchisee dynamic, but provides particularly valuable information to those looking to get into the franchise field, such as in its recent discussion of “franchisor competency” in its “Buying a Franchise” section.
Also especially active on the part of the franchisee world is Blue Mau Mau, a blog for franchisees, whose most recent edition offers a list of the twenty five worst franchise systems, based upon their SBA loan default rates (an interesting barometer).
In franchising, there is no such thing as too much information.