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NewswireToday - /newswire/ -
St Albans, Herts, United Kingdom, 07/06/2009 - Successful businessman turned franchisee and motivational speaker, Basil Plews, reveals the secrets of buying and running a successful franchised business in his new book, ‘The Franchise Way’.
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Published by Authorhouse (ISBN 9781438994550; price £11.99), the book not only explains how to find, buy and run a franchised business but also explores the character, talents and motivation of successful franchisees.
“Lots of people watch ‘reality TV’ shows and feel that, if they got a chance, they could be successful and live their dream,” Plews said.
“They feel that they have a talent but they might not have the skill set necessary for success in the business world. That’s where buying a franchise could help them because they become part of a team and buy in to a brand and a system.”
Plews’ first book – ‘The Complete Franchise Book’ (ISBN 09548883-8-3), published last year – is already out of print, so Plews has produced an updated version to take account of the economic changes that have happened in that time.
He explained: “With unemployment now rising, the prospect of working for yourself is becoming more attractive, so increasing numbers of people are exploring opportunities to buy a franchise. If you choose your franchisor well, you should get a great deal of support – through training, being kept abreast of changes in relevant regulations and so on – which should ease the burden of starting your own business.”
Of course, there are pitfalls for the unwary – which Plews explains, bringing all his years of business experience to bear on the subject. His book even provides a handy 11-question aid-memoir questionnaire for potential franchisees to ask a franchisor.
The book contains a list of useful addresses of organisations supplying specialist services to franchisees and well as a lengthy list of franchisors.
However, its value lies in posing searching questions not just about how to discover the business opportunities that a particular franchise has to offer but also about the reader’s suitability and motivation to take on a franchise – and make it successful.
Ten facts and figures about the UK franchise industry:
• The UK franchise industry is estimated to be worth £10.8bn a year.
• In the last ten years, the number of franchise systems has risen from 541 to 781.
• Some 371.600 people are employed by franchised businesses in the UK.
• The average annual turnover for a franchised business in the UK is £323,000.
• The average amount borrowed to finance a franchise is now £50,000 (a rise of £10,000 in the last few years).
• Some 45 per cent of franchises in the UK are members of the British Franchise Association (BFA).
• Some 81 per cent of franchisees are married.
• The average age for a franchisee is 46.
• Some 77 per cent of franchisee recruits are male.
• Some 23 per cent of franchisees are graduates.
(From ‘The Franchise Way’ by Basil Plews)
About Basil Plews
Born in the North East of England, Basil Plews (basilplews.co.uk) left school at the age of 15 and came to London to get a job as an office boy. By the time he was 28, he employed over 450 people.
In ‘middle life’, he was looking both for a new challenge and for businesses which his two sons – Tim and Andy – could run. So they began researching the opportunities in buying a business franchise.
This led to Andy buying a locksmith franchise which he later left to become a sole trader in that industry. Basil and Tim bought a Driver Hire franchise and, in four years, had grown their business’ annual turnover to around £1m. In 2006, when Driver Hire won the British Franchise Association (bfa) ‘Franchisor of the Year’ title, the business was named Driver Hire Franchisee of the Year.
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