Archive for the 'Franchising' Category

A small business strategic plan for leading change

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on January 28, 2010
in Business planning, Customer Care, Franchising, Future thinking, Innovation - Creativity, Strategic planning and e-Business
. 1 Comment

Most of us allow our minds to swing back and forth between dealing with the reality we see in front of us and nostalgia for the way things were. In the marketplace, spending too much time with the latter half of this pendulum swing is an indulgence at best, and dangerously delusional at worst. With change happening more rapidly than ever before, this increased velocity is challenging even when we like the new stuff, but it can be paralyzing when we don’t.

It’s a fool’s errand to just take the direct hits from the rapid-fire changes the world aims at our small businesses. Sustained success in our light-speed world requires developing a plan that identifies and establishes practices that help us anticipate change, manage it and actually lead with it.

Recently on my radio program, The Small Business Advocate Show, I talked with change expert, Rich Horwath, about developing a strategic plan that will set your business up to function effectively regardless what the world and the marketplace throws at you. Rich is a new member of my Brain Trust, founder and president of the Strategic Thinking Institute and author of four books including his latest, Deep Dive.

Take a few minutes to listen to our conversation, and let us know about your plan for leading change. Listen Live! Download, Too!

Tough love on buying a franchise

Published
by
Jim Blasingame
on January 14, 2010
in Entrepreneurship, Franchising and Start-up
. 1 Comment

At a time of high unemployment, it’s natural for there to be increased interest in starting a small business. And one of the classic options is to look into buying a franchise because many thinks they’re like a business-in-a-box. 

Another thing that is part-and-parcel with these start-up scenarios is desperation, which leads to poor decision-making and way too many business failures.  Recently on my radio program, The Small Business Advocate Show, Nick Bibby delivered some tough love that every prospective franchisee should experience before signing on a franchise dotted line. 

In addition to being a member of my Brain Trust, Nick is principal of the Bibby Group, an international consulting firm focused on the development of franchise systems, as well as due diligence services for prospective franchisees and independent entrepreneurs. Take a few minutes to listen to this interview and, as always, leave your thoughts and experiences on franchising. Listen Live! Download, Too!