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I always wanted to start a business of my own,but the problems of starting one did bog me a lot for quite some time. Like everyone, i too had lot of questions, where to start, How to Start, BIG or SMALL. What if i dont gain profits, will i be able to sustain. Who is going to manage it. I am already working, can i be able to pay salary for a new person to take care of my business. How much capital do i require. Do i need to take loan for starting a business. These question did deter me from venturing into my own for quite some time.

It was sheer accident that one day while having coffee with my collegues at Cognizant(my ex company), did i notice that the coffee day express vendor had put a advt that they are looking for franchise.I had no idea what is franchising and called up the number to get further details. Within 3 weeks i was able to start my own COFFEE DAY EXPRESS outlet.Franchising is a perfect way to know the basics of how to start,run business. I would recommend franchising for any one who does not have much idea on running a full fledged business

Becoming a franchise of a well know brand is the easiest and fastest way to self employment. Ofcourse there is some investment needed on your part. Like any other business, Franchising has its own pros and cons. I am summarizing it below.

PROS:
a) Very low investment compared to a convential method of starting a business. You can start a good franchise business even with less than one lakh rupees as intial capital
b) Less Risk- The fear of losing the capital is very low as in the case of other business model. Lot of franchise return the capital after successful association with the parent company for 2 years
c) No need for business knowledge- All know hows of the business you intend to start is provided by the parent company.
d) All Intial Training is provided by the parent company.
e) Very easy and faster to setup and run the business.
f) Interest on the capital. Some companies like Coffee day even gives you interest on the capital you had invested.

CONS:a) Remember almost all franchising works on revenue sharing model,so you would never would be able to enjoy the full revenue. Its usually 20 % for you and 80% for the company. Each company has its own revenue sharing model.
b) If the business you started runs into loss, then you bear the loss. Say if you start a Coffee day Express outlet in chennai and if the outlet does not do a good business then money would go out of your pocket. So make sure the outlet you are selecting is in a busy area with good sales record for atleast 4 months.

c) Wastages resulting from your outlet is your headache. This holds good for any food franchise. So its your job to reduce wastages.
d) There are other overheads like salary for the operatior, payment of electricity etc,rent etc etc which depends on the place you choose to start your franchising.

If you see my CONS are mainly based on my experience with COFFEE DAY EXPRESS, Bangalore. If you ask me if i make any profits at the end of the day, i would say Not Much. I would not recommend COFFEE DAY EXPRESS FRANCHISING to any one as they are one of the badly managed company with poor vision and no motive to beneifit the investors. While Coffee Day is a bad example of franchising, i must say there are other professionally run companies who are looking for a franchise.

If you have money you can start your own SIFY, COOKIE MAN,BASKIN ROBBINS, HUGHES, ARCHIES, BOOK SHOP etc as franchise. You can start your franchise in any of the following broad areas.

Health, Beauty & Fitness

Education

Food & Beverages

Retail

Apparels

Real estate

As i said,Franchising is an easy way to become part of a successful business, but please do due dilegence before selecting a franchise.Good Luck !

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