Burgers and Bulldozers: New Franchise Roundup

 With hundreds of new franchise concepts being started every year, it is nearly impossible to keep track of the freshest ideas. Here is an update of two new franchises and how they have fared in their first several months of franchising.

The Counter - No, this isn’t just another fast food hamburger joint. Besides serving hamburgers, The Counter has as much in common with your local McDonalds or Wendy’s as the World Cup has to do with your child’s weekend soccer game. First opened in Santa Monica in 2003, this trendy update to the classic burger joint serves its burgers with any combination of 10 cheeses, 26 toppings, and 17 sauces. So, go ahead and order that Danish Bleu Cheese Burger topped with dried cranberries and a ginger soy glaze you always wanted.

Since 2003, The Counter has received the type of press that most companies can only dream about. After being listed as one of the top 20 burgers in the country by GQ, the holy grail of endorsers, The Oprah Winfrey Show, named it the “Best Burger in the USA.” (An aside on the power of the O-nod, sales jumped from $44,000/mo to $245,000/mo after the endorsement)

With all of this success, The Counter did the only logical next step and began selling franchises in early 2006 with a $40,000 franchise fee and 6% royalty.

So how is it going? The company has already inked agreements for 60 restaurants in California alone. Next up is expansion into Florida, New York, Arizona and Nevada followed by the rest of the country. With long range projections of only 400 to 600 units, The Counter is well on its way to franchising stardom.

EQUIPRO - If Santa Monica and The Counter just seem too trendy and hip, this light equipment repair franchise from Wisconsin surely won’t. EQUIPRO, a subsidiary of Wacker Corporation began providing repair service to the light construction equipment industry in 2003. At the same time that the light equipment market is growing at nearly ten percent per year, many large equipment dealers have been cutting back on service support. In response to these trends, EQUIPRO began to build out its network of service centers.

EQUIPRO focuses on providing service for the following manufacturers: ICS, MI-T-M, MK Diamond, Sullair, and Wacker. The franchises are also full-service dealers for Honda, Briggs & Stratton, Robin/Subaru, Wacker and Kohler engines.

For each franchise, the company hires a Metro Service Specialist (MSS). The MSS is an employee of EQUIPRO, Inc. hired on behalf of the franchisee to develop service sales and act as a liaison for EQUIPRO’s OEM partners in the local market. The responsibilities of the MSS include effectively calling on contractor offices and jobsites, equipment and rental dealers, as well as national accounts to promote solutions for equipment repair and parts. In addition, EQUIPRO provides professional training on business operations and technical details both in the classroom and on-site.

Franchising since June 2005, new franchisees can expect to invest between $145,000 and $350,000. EQUIPRO has opened 12 service centers and plans on opening 33 units by the end of 2006 and 150 in the next seven years.

Benefits of Virtual Assistance

 A virtual assistant is an individual who provides business services to other professionals.  They're considered virtual because they perform their services from a remote location.  Communications with their clients take place through telephone, fax, email, and snail mail.  As a business owner, you can save time, money, and energy by hiring a virtual assistant.  Best of all, you'll have more time to do what you do best - running a business!

 

1.    You do not need to provide a physical workspace.  A virtual assistant works from their own home or office.  This is especially convenient if you are running a business from home or if you have limited space at your own office.

 

2.    You do not need to provide costly equipment.  Virtual assistants use their own equipment to provide services to you.  This can result is tremendous savings especially if the virtual assistant has access to equipment that you don't already own.  Also, you don't have the worries of dealing with the maintenance and upkeep of office equipment.

3.    You save valuable time not performing tasks you don't have time for or are not able to do.  As a business owner, the highest and best use of your time is to work in your business.  Delegating important and necessary administrative tasks like web design and maintenance, bookkeeping, writing, shopping cart setup, and other tasks will allow you to spend time developing your business and building relationships with your customers or clients.

 

4.    You do not have to deal with payroll, taxes or benefits.  You can hire a virtual assistant as an independent contractor which frees you from spending time dealing with tax filings and compliance issues.  You also have the added benefit of hiring them just for the task at hand, paying them at an hourly rate or by the project.  This is much more cost efficient than having a full time employee who you might not be able to fully utilize.

5.    You can accelerate growth by finally having the time to focus on the most important issues of your business.  The administrative tasks related to running a business are overwhelming, even for a one-person business!  The best way to grow your business fast is to concentrate your energies working on your business and leaving everything else to your virtual assistant.  

6.    You have the freedom to work on growing and improving your business/life skills, knowledge, and relationships.  We have a vision for our business.  We are constrained by time which limits how quickly we can move towards achieving the goals which underlie that vision.  With the help of a virtual assistant, we'll have more time to do the things that matter most to us, the things that will bring richness and enjoyment to our life.

 

7.    You are able to make better decisions by having a partner to “bounce” ideas off.  Having an assistant is a great benefit especially if you are a solopreneur.  Their strengths, background, and expertise can provide fresh eyes through which to view your business problems and projects.  There's a lot of truth to the saying, "Two heads are better than one."

8.    You have peace of mind knowing that the details are being handled.  Most business owners find themselves swimming in details.  There are so many things to handle, from paying the rent, to returning calls, from updating the customer data base, to sending out products.  There are literally dozens and dozens of details to remember and juggle which leads to mental and physical exhaustion.  By turning over these tasks to your assistant, you'll get more done faster and with a lot less stress.

9.    You are finally able to run your business instead of it running you.  At some point during the progression of our business, we start feeling like our business is running us instead of the other way around.  Feelings of overwhelm from the countless tasks we must complete can make it difficult to do anything at all.  Partnering with a virtual assistant can help us avoid getting stuck.  Instead, we can then stay focused on our goals and in control of our business.   

10.    You have flexibility to assume new, challenging opportunities.  With the administrative details handled by your virtual assistant, you'll automatically be more open to taking on new projects that can benefit you and your business.  Your talents and creativity can really shine when you aren't bogged down in details, overworked, or distracted by things that aren't directly related to serving your clients.