Irish Franchise Exhibition in Dublin
OK, we’re in a recession and prospects are not good. But are we downhearted? I don’t think so—not if attendance at last month’s Irish Franchise Exhibition in Dublin is anything to go by.
While the exhibitors were fewer than the previous year, the number of visitors was well up—a sign of the times. I was a speaker at an exhibition seminar. My subject was “Understanding the Franchise Contract.”
I said this wasn’t the most exciting document in the franchise process (it’s a legal document so by necessity it has to use words such as “whereas” and “wherefore” etc.) and it can be double-dutch to anyone who hasn’t seen such a document before. But is arguably the most important, since it sets down the responsibilities of both franchisor and franchisee.
At the start of my talk I asked, on a show of hands, how many people in the audience were seriously interested in taking a franchise this year. Of about 100 people there about 50 put their hand up. This didn’t surprise me.
People are worried about job security and redundancy is becoming a fact of life these days. According to official figures, 4,644 people in Ireland were laid off in the month of October alone—the highest monthly total for 25 years and a 114 per cent increase in the numbers made redundant in October 2007. What is more, the number of redundancies is expected to increase.
Apart from people who have been made redundant, there are hundreds—perhaps thousands—more workers who are desperately worried about job security. Small wonder, then, that so many people turned up at the RDS to see what franchises were on offer. For some of them, franchising will provide a safe haven from the economic storm.
With a franchise they can be their own boss, pay themselves what they’re worth, and control their own destiny. I know it’s something of a cliché to say this, but it is nonetheless true. Franchising does offer such an opportunity. However, as I keep telling potential franchisees, franchising is a fantastic business but it’s not for everybody and you need the attitude of an entrepreneur plus energy and commitment to make it work.
Tony Fitzpatrick, Managing Partner, www.franchiseyourbusiness.ie