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
If small business had no important outside audiences, it wouldn't... Read More
This is the tale of two business plans with very... Read More
SBIR Corner: FFP vs. CPFF contracts:In the SBIR/STTR world, the... Read More
We very much like what we see in Lubbock, TX... Read More
The Franchise Group at the Federal Trade Commission in all... Read More
Franchising Corporations need to maintain an iron fist when it... Read More
At first blush this idea might be difficult to wrap... Read More
Every business starts with an idea or a dream. To... Read More
It has been discussed allowing Franchising companies to electronically disclose... Read More
Congratulations, you are starting a small business! You are taking... Read More
In today's economic climate, the first priority for the small... Read More
A common hazard faced by new entrepreneurs is a lack... Read More
Pardon my enthusiasm, but a large part of your small... Read More
Sacred cows take a long time to die. We get... Read More
Deciding to start your own franchise is just one of... Read More
The FTC, Federal Trade Commission, is considering modifying the franchise... Read More
As I am preparing for my attendance to the CoachVille's... Read More
Small business owners can relieve a lot of their own... Read More
Cash flow. To stay in business, you've got to keep... Read More
1. Don't Spend Too Much Time PlanningWhen you are entering... Read More
In your small business debt collection laws will eventually become... Read More
COLLABORATIVE NEGOTIATING:Collaborative negotiating is a win-win strategy that can focus... Read More
Managing cash flow is every small business owner's most important... Read More
Aside from the fear of losing a spreadsheet or research... Read More
Unfortunately for all buyers, each selling organization and their individual... Read More
Before you start a business we encourage you to prepare... Read More
Washing the exterior of a truck. Sounds easy right? Well,... Read More
Cash is the lifeblood of any business. As humans need... Read More
What was your aim when you went into business for... Read More
Q: I'm curious. What is the dumbest business question you've... Read More
Do you know what your genius work is? It's the... Read More
In your small business debt collection laws will eventually become... Read More
If you own a mobile car washing, pressure washing or... Read More
As an Investment Representative you've worked hard to build trust... Read More
What is a Family Business? A family business is basically... Read More
As you may know, there are many ways to incorporate... Read More
If you are just starting your business, or if you... Read More
In a world full of complications sometimes we overlook the... Read More
For the employees, payday is the brightest day; they finally... Read More
If you are a motorcycle detailer and need to expand... Read More
Back when I owned an inventory-based business, one of my... Read More
Continuing from the second article:6. About the aground mathematical model,... Read More
The start of a new year is a time for... Read More
When you go into business for yourself, there are many... Read More
Every employee would like to earn as high a salary... Read More
Like most regulatory bodies in the United States, the Federal... Read More
The single most important activity you can do in your... Read More
Every business starts with an idea or a dream. To... Read More
Yes, that IS security when nobody can downsize you because... Read More
Seems as though there are a lot of business closings... Read More
|