What should I keep in mind when buying a franchiseAutumn 2008 .

Petropavlovsk- Kamchatsky. Before entering the store tightly zadraenny ” Tsentrobuv ” – turn . Opening of the first store in the town of cheap shoes people are waiting impatiently. Owner , 25 -year-old entrepreneur Taras Sharyge too eager . The company, which he bought a franchise and pay 540,000 rubles for the right to use the brand, allows to open stores only in season – fall and spring. Shopping center built in the summer, and a few months Sharyga paying rent on empty. “I was very nervous , tried to dissuade them ,” – says Sharyga . But on the first day of his patience was rewarded: the store sold a tenth of the purchased games for the season .

The ideal way to make a trade

” Tsentrobuv ” was the third – and last – Sharygi shop , open for franchising. By that time he already had experience in trading – own shop equipment for snowboarding and other extreme sports. The second such store town with a population of 200,000 people was clearly not needed, and the owner decided that franchising – the perfect way to make a trade.

In Petropavlovsk -Kamchatsky then built the first modern shopping center ” Shams “. “The owners have said : we want souvenirs , tourism and shoes. I say only that he was in Moscow , has held talks on franchising . They are wildly happy “- says Sharyga . He played for broke – no agreement on the hands were not. Reaching home , the young man got in touch with the ” Expedition ” and ” red cube “. Representatives of the first network agreed at once, the second had to be persuaded about a month. With ” TSENTROBUV “, the contacts you found on the Internet , too, agreed with no problems.

History of failure

All three franchises Sharyga recouped in less than a year and a half . But it turned out that each purchase a franchise – a business with a clean slate. In 2010, as an experiment Sharyga bought three franchises – apparel network Sasch, confectionery stalls Tip Top and sports shop “Pro Sport”. All three stories ended in failure , the entrepreneur has lost more than 4 million.

Sharyga recognizes that in many respects he is guilty . First of all, was wrong with the place – “Pro Sport”, for example, held the third floor of the shopping center , where visitors are few. But franchising in all three cases was limited to only sign. “Pro Sport” does not even require a lump-sum fee and royalty (for many franchisors absence of these payments – pride ) – only commercial equipment and supplies manufacturers’ recommendations . By comparison, before the first “expedition” company compensated for half of the cost of urgent delivery of goods from Moscow to Kamchatka , and the managers of the company flew specially to motivate his salespeople. Now the entrepreneur will always pay more attention to the depth study franchbuka ( a list of recommendations for the franchisee . – Forbes).

Marianne Kashezheva , managing partner of “Business Bazaar” , warns that you should not rely on the instructions over the phone or by e -mail, electronic presentations and marketing materials. ” Any question of business, requires a personal meeting ,” – she said. It is worth asking in advance , ready to for this seller.In franchising entrepreneur Sharyga not disappointed . Six months ago, he opened a shoe stores under the names Obuv.com and Comforto. Now nine franchises bring Sharyge 7,000,000 rubles monthly revenue and margin will not fall below 15%. ” Many people think that franchise – it’s business on a silver platter . Nothing of the sort ! You provide the goods, give tips and fleece three skins for non- standards. And they are right , “- says Sharyga .