The Federal Trade Commission is assisting competitor to cheat and encouraging this unethical behavior thru their disclosure rule on franchisors. Competition in the market place is far more competitive and the stakes are high enough that Over Disclosure Regulatory Rules cause competition to take the advantage and cheat. And before you say I am off base on these comments, let me tell you that 20% of every single inquiry to buy our franchise comes from a competitor. That's right 20%.
So with 70% misrepresenting themselves on applications (consumers often lie about their financial where with all) and 20% being competitors, that leaves 10%. Only one in ten is actually a possibility of becoming a franchise buyer and then they have to like us. One in ten is not a good ratio. That would mean out of twenty inquiries that we contact and talk to we would send out 18 UFOC franchise disclosure documents in vain at a cost of $8.00 or $144.00. That is not cost effective for a small franchisor and it when multiplied times ten is not cost-effective for large ones either. Please, oh brilliant grand Pooba, at the Federal Trade Commission enlighten us as to how this is so darn "cost-effective" will you? After all this is what they proclaimed in the most recent franchise regulatory report on the franchising industry.
Well the current franchisees, the consumers pay for it in the market place due to competitive information leakage and we as franchisors pay for it in real time lost and $144.00 per 20 leads. For our company that is times five per week or $720.00 per week and over a year you just added $37,440.00, and just think we are only getting 100 leads a week, what about those who spend a lot in advertising their franchises, what are their costs? And here is one for the Liberals out there reading this who want to save the planet by stifling the free enterprise that our ancestors died to protect and give you the standard of living you now have. Our franchise agreement and UFOC with attachments was 115 plus pages in 1995, some were 235 pages at that time. Other franchisors have larger documents. Companies like Dwyer, Grow Biz, Service Master, etc., have over 280 pages with all the disclosures and attachments.
So how many trees are we going to cut down to disclose people who are not even legitimate, do not have the money, are simply looking for free information to attack their competitors? Yes we can cut down the number by further scrutinizing the buyers, who are more and more reluctant to give out personal information in the first place because of the Federal Trade Commission's failure to curb identity theft. If you think my figures are too high you are wrong because long about June 2002 the United States Post Office is raised rates and there is talk they are going to raise them again in 2005? Why? Because people are using SPAM instead (which is costing American Business 35 Billion a year in lost productivity, wake-up FTC), because the Federal Trade Commission has not been able to stop it and therefore the junk mail or commercial mail that pays the bills at the USPS is dwindling. Did you know that $37,000 pays for our entire annual meeting for our franchisees, yet this over disclosure you call cost-effective is eating up real profits and monies we could use helping our franchisees.
Where will I as an entrepreneur cut costs to cover this increase in paperwork that the added pages in the UFOC will need when the Federal Trade Commission enacts these additional rules? Hmm? How nice of the Federal Trade Commission comment on my costs and the cost-effectiveness of the insanity of over disclosure? How dare they copy the comments of Lawyers who specializing in suing franchisors as factual, this shows how out of touch our regulatory bodies are and it is unforgivable and unacceptable, we need to take these disclosure laws back to the drawing board. These current disclosure laws and this trend is a plague against America, which more resembles a Smallpox laced Ebola virus than anything else.
The Federal Trade Commission needs to think on these things before making any more laws or franchise rules.
"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.worldthinktank.net/wttbbs
one time home cleaning Morton Grove ..When does your ego get in the way?Let's go back... Read More
Why does research and education play an important part of... Read More
A cherished business doctrine is that growth must be a... Read More
Are you a home or small business owner and you're... Read More
Self-cleaning glass has been talked about a lot, with such... Read More
What does it take to grow a business and run... Read More
10 Best Practices to consider as your SBIR negotiations approach... Read More
Your product is dying. With the same inevitability that we... Read More
Business checks are available in many styles and varieties. They... Read More
Many small businesses do quite well due to the blood,... Read More
Where do you find the right people for a business... Read More
As a Boat Detailing Specialist, you may want to offer... Read More
There is a continual trend we are seeing which I... Read More
Every company has a value proposition. That is a statement... Read More
Technical writing services are employed to explain the details of... Read More
The FTC- Mighty Federal Trade Commission has unilaterally decided to... Read More
Get maximum results with minimum effort. Sounds great doesn't it?... Read More
What makes a business relationship?What really makes a business relationship?... Read More
Do you have a Business Plan? Congratulations, but you are... Read More
Having their own business is something many millions of people... Read More
Most pressure washing companies never look into some of the... Read More
How often have you thumbed through a business opportunity magazine,... Read More
Boston itself covers 50 square miles of concrete and traffic,... Read More
You've heard marketing and advertising gurus quip, "Sell the sizzle,... Read More
Due to the over regulation in the Franchising Industry and... Read More
eco-friendly cleaning service Glencoe ..How many "get rich schemes" have you joined? Or have... Read More
The start of a new year is a time for... Read More
We very much like what we see in Lubbock, TX... Read More
Lance Armstrong this week won an unprecedented 7th Tour de... Read More
That sizzling sound you're hearing may be a symptom of... Read More
Do you like animals? Would you like to work for... Read More
Am I the only one that does not have an... Read More
Those who are in the pressure washer business should not... Read More
As a teenager I worked for my father's small business.... Read More
Whether it has been thrust upon you by external market... Read More
At first blush this idea might be difficult to wrap... Read More
You've come up with the best idea since sliced bread,... Read More
Franchising is the fastest way to build small businesses, provide... Read More
Fuel prices these days are quite high and they take... Read More
Continuing from the second article:6. About the aground mathematical model,... Read More
Looking for a place to add a Quick Lube away... Read More
$elling $elling $ellingWhat makes a great sales person? Well, the... Read More
How do you make sure you have the business solutions... Read More
A cluttered world of marketing communications diminishes the ordinary. The... Read More
What was your aim when you went into business for... Read More
Think of all of your business ideas as tiny seeds... Read More
A successful joint venture marketing effort is the goal of... Read More
We all know that competition is an ugly word but... Read More
As you may know, there are many ways to incorporate... Read More
What are the best methods for keeping a good business... Read More
Small Business |