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
Hillside car service to O'Hare ..Ok, so next to the taxman, your company payroll department... Read More
How often has someone thought of starting a business based... Read More
The less a business pays for goods and services the... Read More
This year, some 700,000 American businesses will be sold. Most... Read More
When small businesses fail, the wreckage is often assigned to... Read More
The Federal Trade Commission is assisting competitor to cheat and... Read More
You can't imagine how many people ask me how I... Read More
How do marine type businesses start? Have you ever thought... Read More
Many small companies work very hard to get new accounts.... Read More
It behooves every professional mobile auto detailer to stay up... Read More
The FTC Franchise Rule maybe changed, as the Federal trade... Read More
Top 3 Ways to Maximize Your Small Business Server Consulting... Read More
What are the best methods for keeping a good business... Read More
Introduction: This article is written as a general discussion on... Read More
Office support services can range from basic data entry to... Read More
Do you operate your business as a series of projects,... Read More
How far away is the person you need to meet?We... Read More
A top executive called up me late in the night.... Read More
Do you sometimes find yourself just going "through the motions"... Read More
I ran a franchise company for many years, a car... Read More
Opportunities for home show businesses have never been more abundant.... Read More
As a specialist in getting restaurants open, it is surprising... Read More
Why should you do informative talks to smaller groups?Informative talks... Read More
Back when I owned an inventory-based business, one of my... Read More
New Franchisors and Entrepreneurs need to watch out as they... Read More
Fond Du Lac Chicago limousine service ..Before you read any further in this article, I'd like... Read More
If your home business is not performing the way you... Read More
While I was hard at work last week, an everyday... Read More
I propose this thought on the subject of Franchisee territory... Read More
How often have you thumbed through a business opportunity magazine,... Read More
Providing high quality customer service is a must for any... Read More
When a person knows and knows not that he knows.... Read More
Last year, trillions of dollars transferred hands on the internet... Read More
Most of us remember going to at least one garage... Read More
Having their own business is something many millions of people... Read More
After over thirty years advising small business it still comes... Read More
One of the hidden perks of raising six children is... Read More
Q. I am a former pastor who left the ministry... Read More
Ongoing support for a franchise system is omnipotent. A major... Read More
One of the most common issues that comes up for... Read More
It is imperative to have your business legally prepared. How... Read More
One of the most common horrific mistakes a business can... Read More
No matter how small your small business is, it is... Read More
You are selling your small business (business value under $1... Read More
As a teenager I worked for my father's small business.... Read More
Q: A friend told me that as a woman of... Read More
If an organization lacks a mission statement, it is worthwhile... Read More
There are many choices when thinking about a small business... Read More
Before you start a business we encourage you to prepare... Read More
Owning a business is a challenging endeavor. If you're like... Read More
Small Business |