In recent years the coffee culture in America has exploded, no doubt encouraged by TV programs such as Friends, where the coffee house is the central location for the characters to meet up. Whoever had the initial concept for coffee shop franchises such as Starbucks were onto an immediate winner. The coffee makers in these places are constantly in use and the queues that build up during the lunch break don’t seem to put anybody off. Coffee houses have become the new places to be seen, oh and to have a cup of coffee while you are there.

Starbucks, you either love it or you hate it, and if you love it you can’t possibly imagine any other reaction. Where else can you get such a selection of coffee and general hot drink varieties, along with a delectable range of sandwiches and sticky desserts at such reasonable prices? All in ultimate comfort too as Starbucks outlets are filled with comfy sofas and armchairs. Almost every town centre, shopping mall, highway service area or train station now has a handy Starbucks outlet, not just in the US, but all over Europe and a number of other parts of the world.

Perhaps herein lays the problem. The widespread success of Starbucks, and similar coffee shop franchises, has all but obliterated the small independent coffee shops that used to be the main venues for caffeine consumption. In many European cities, Starbucks have bought up smaller independent cafes, traded in them for a while until they have gained a monopoly in that area, and then closed some down, leaving open just the larger outlets, with a higher turnover. Your options for coffee drinking in many towns are now Starbucks or, well, Starbucks!

Some people find it frustrating that wherever you go in the world, you are confronted with the same coffee shop as you have in your local shopping mall or high street. When you visit another country, you want to spend some time soaking up the local culture, rather than the identikit d

San Diego, CA – The franchise business can be an excellent place to start as an entrepreneur because unlike other start up shops the franchise comes, for the most part, already packaged and ready to go. But before we dive off the deep end it best to do some investigation as to which type of franchise industry is going to have the best chance at profitability. There are hundreds of franchise businesses to get into from hamburger joints, retail stores, coffee shops or health club facilities. All good investments however there is one area of the market place that stands out above the rest and not just because of its deep rich glow. The tanning salon franchise, such as one from Image Sun Tanning Salon Centers, is an exceptional venture to consider. Consider the differences between a few other types of enterprises and tanning salons. Unlike clothing stores, restaurants and caf

Over the past years, the business opportunity to franchise in India has grown as the low risk option. With the growth of foreign brands and liberal government regulations, both the franchisers and franchisees see maximized profits in this option. More and more new international companies are coming to India and franchise their business. In fact, in the recent years India has overcome its infrastructure and technical barriers. Connected to the world at a click, foreign investors see India with a large buying potential. Though the concept of franchising in India is old but with the coming of the foreign brands it has proliferated fast. In the past, BATA was a known brand to have spread all across the nation by franchising its brand to various storeowners. In the current scenario, the franchising has moved to eating joints like Costa Coffee, Café Coffee Day, Pizza Hut and more. Even garment stores like Benetton, Levis and others are growing with the franchising option.

India offers the profitable investment option for franchisors and franchisees alike. Leading the race of the fastest growing economies, India presents the unique market in all segments that is growing at a tremendous pace. India is one of the very few economies of the world that presents the opportunity for practically every business to be successful. Its middle class mainly governs the growing buying potential of India. The growing shopping malls are the best example of the increasing buying capacity of the middle class in India. The shopping malls are flooded with well-known brands, the demand for which is constantly growing. So depending on the capital, the franchisees can choose from the various choices and modes of business. The capital required to start a franchise business is far lesser than staring your own business. In fact, the investment required to drive the business is also lesser as the people are already familiar with the brand.

An Indian franchisee has a world of opportunities to start a franchising business. They can choose from both domestic and international brands to start their franchising business. More and more professionals are opting to start their franchising business and a lot of women also prefer this flexible option of business. They can operate from home and run a business in healthcare products or cosmetics or even small businesses. Novices don’t have to worry as some franchisors have complete training programs to educate the new franchisees. The qualification required to start a franchise business needn’t be very stringent unless it is a specialized field. For more please log onto www.franchise-plus.com

About the Author

Anurag is well known author who writes on business opportunity in India. Find more information at www.franchise-plus.com.

Long gone are the days when restaurant franchising was purely synonymous with fast food burger joints and pizza parlours. The industry has now branched out and restaurant franchises include not only themed food from countries all across the globe, but also internet cafes, coffee stalls, tea shops, sandwich bars and cookie outlets. Many involve several food and drink types, combining coffee, smoothies, juice and other drinks with muffins, bagels, baguettes and wraps. One of the newest restaurant franchising opportunities in the UK focuses on the health trend, with all menu items having some health benefit. Healthy eating venues emphasise their use of fresh, quality nutritionally balanced, high-flavour ingredients and pride themselves on their “green” credentials, their aim being to run a responsible and sustainable business. They may offer organic or free range produce, or items which have a reduced carbon footprint, for example locally sourced meat or home grown vegetables and they will try and use environmentally friendly packaging where possible.

Until recently, healthy eating in the UK had a (possibly deserved) reputation for bland and boring food, bound to leave you still feeling hungry. However, limp lettuce leaves and dry crackers have been consigned to the past, according to one new healthy eating restaurant franchise which is planning to expand across London and the south east and hopes to revolutionise the healthy eating market. To create an exciting new healthy food experience for the UK market, the new business has a large salad and wrap bar with a choice of fifteen house combinations, or customers can create their own. It also has a range of healthy sandwiches and wraps, with full nutritional and calorific content displayed. Their breakfast menu includes a range of toasted granary bread, lean bacon rolls on low GI granary bread, yoghurts and granola as well as fresh juices and fair-trade, organic coffee. In the winter months they plan to serve hot salads and soups, handmade chillies and stews, Scottish porridge and jacket potatoes.

Prices at restaurants and cafes specialising in healthy food tend to be higher than those at fast food outlets and are therefore usually found in affluent areas, or where consumers are more likely to be health or image conscious, such as health clubs, gyms, leisure centres and private clinics or hospitals. NHS hospitals have in the past rented out their catering spaces to fast food restaurant franchises, but these contracts are mostly due to end within the next two to three years. There is mounting pressure on the Government to take more action on obesity and health lobbyists have been campaigning for an end to fast food outlets in hospitals. It appears, therefore, that there will be a gap in the market and one which healthy eating restaurant franchises will be eager to fill. So it appears very likely that the health food restaurant franchising business is set for success in the UK.

Restaurant franchise reports

About the Author

Jack Halley advises on opening restaurants and has written a report on franchising

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Amidst recent economic turbulence, there is at least one thing that has made American citizens grin a little in the last month or two, and that is the falling price of gas. Though the reasons for the sudden decline in gasoline prices around the country are probably plentiful and complicated, the change has certainly been felt and appreciated by the American people. In July, gas prices hit their all-time high, rising well above /gal and approaching the unheard-of mark, but now, only three short months later, prices have fallen dramatically, averaging less than /gal across the country and, in some places, dropping to less than .50, a price that few believed we would ever see again.

Of course, the fact that gas prices are once more falling to reasonable levels cannot fully assuage the national tension built by rising food prices, a shrinking stock market, increasing unemployment, and all else that comes with a recession. People are still very concerned with saving dollars and cents wherever possible, even in business, and there are few better ways to save money in business than by running your own home based business. Those who work from home save on overhead costs, staff expenses, the cost of fuel and other commute needs, and even simply the time it would take to travel to and from the office. There are many business opportunities for entrepreneurs looking to work more efficiently and cheaply from home, and here are just a few examples.

BookKeeping Express Anyone in small business knows how hard it can be to work on growing and driving your business ahead when you

Individually, these words can imply quite different things, but used as they are above, they can only represent the opportunity that awaits an investor interested in starting a business. A coffee express franchise, not only holds the promise of opportunity, it holds the promise of freedom. Small businesses like a coffee express franchise can provide the financial freedom that eludes most people throughout their entire lives. Business such as this represent freedom form the giant corporations and banks that have only succeeded in separating more people from their hard-earned life savings. It is also businesses like coffee express franchises that offer freedom from fear. The fear of the unknown is eliminated when individuals control their own destiny and that is exactly what business ownership offers.

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This freedom didn’t happen overnight however. It wasn’t like some get rich quick scheme that offers instant success. There were errors made along the way as well as setbacks that had to be overcome, but the expected end result always justified the journey. It drove the original creators forward until a formula for success was discovered and it drives these same creators forward today in an effort to duplicate their original success.

In many instances however, it is money that has proven to be the biggest obstacle to expanding their products or services into new markets. This is the point at which franchising helps these entrepreneurs continue their dream of growing the business beyond its current boundaries. Franchising adds revenue that would otherwise be unavailable for expansion while offering an opportunity for investor looking to be a part of a winning strategy.

For an interested investor, it is simply a matter of paying for the right to utilize the original brand while maintaining its quality and the high level of service. It is this symbiotic relationship that is beneficial to all parties involved, because it provides each those things they lack otherwise.

To recap, the words of the phrase ‘coffee express franchise’ may have different meanings depending on the context in which they are used, but together they mean profit. Look into a coffee express franchise and find out how this phrase can change your life.

To say he took to this business opportunity would be a bit of an understatement. Buckley and Coffee News went together like, well, coffee and the morning paper.

It took only a year for the Canadian based company to see something special in Buckley, and offered him the rights to franchise all of the U.S. Eventually, Buckley would go on to purchase the company and gain control of the world wide publishing and distribution rights. Coffee News now has 1075 franchisees in over 22 countries.

Coffee News is a weekly restaurant publication delivered free of charge to restaurants, coffee shops, hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, doctors offices, walk in medical clinics, employer break rooms or anywhere people sit, and wait or eat. Coffee News only has good news and no bad news and is filled with fun interesting stories, jokes and trivia. Small and medium sized advertisers purchase space in the publication in exclusive ad spaces. Only one business per industry category and restaurants are not allowed to advertise unless in tourist areas.

Like most home based businesses, franchisees can choose to run their territory on a full or part time basis, but he states that they “prefer full time publishers. Some stay at home Moms can publish one or two franchises if the children are in school. On the other hand we have some publishers who own 22 franchises and employ several people.”

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With over 1000 territories being run, including home offices in Mexico, Venezuela, Spain, Canada, and New Zealand, franchisees come in all shapes and sizes. “We look for people who like people, have good sales and networking skills and are self starters,” says Buckley. “If they have a desire to work for themselves and be independent and make in excess of 100k per year, we would like to talk to them. We have had some excellent military retirees, and other early retirees who have done extremely well. They must enjoy going out on the streets to meet the business owners in their stores.”

Business is thriving, up nearly 25% this year alone. “Coffee News is a very affordable advertising medium for small to medium sized businesses that do not have large advertising budgets. People love to read Coffee News. It is universally attractive so advertisers get great results.”

All this points to a great work from home business opportunity.

According to the Coffee News website, surveys show that the Coffee News publication is read five to seven times. “It has been proven that people absorb more advertising messages before or during eating, as there is a need for mental input – food for thought – during this time period. Coffee News is designed to take full advantage of this fact.”

In 2008 Coffee News purchased a large printing company in Houlton, Maine. This facility is responsible for printing over 11 million copies of Coffee News a year. Not outsourcing the printing is one of the many ways the franchisor keeps costs down, making it one of the more affordable franchises to buy into. To buy into this home based business, a franchisee needs only 00 for their first territory. Additional territories are then discounted to 00. Financing is also available after the purchase of the first franchise. The average publisher owns 3 franchises.

To help franchisees reach their potential, free 2 1/2 day training sessions are offered led by corporate staff and veteran publishers. Some topics that may be covered are sales, ad design, billing, collections, distribution, marketing, and startup. This program is optional to take, however, 95% of existing Coffee News publishers have attended. Additional support includes mentor programs, personal calls, free Quickbooks software with a built in Merchants services program for charge cards, conferences, newsletters, regional meetings, and online chat groups.

Advertising experience is not a necessity to be a successful Coffee News franchisee. The operations manual not only teaches how to design ads, but also how ads work, giving the franchisee a better understanding of the business as a whole. The tools provided will allow franchisees to help small businesses even in trying times, making this a home based business opportunity that can thrive during recessions.

“Why be limited to a paycheck when you can make as much as you want” offers Buckley.

There are thousands of franchises available, and Buckley is proud to point out that only 2% of them have over 1000 franchisees, a true sign that his quick growth was no fluke. Will this type of success continue? Its safe to say that as long as coffee and the morning paper continue to form a powerful partnership, we can expect to see Coffee News take advantage and thrive.

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Has any business sector been more saturated than that of the coffee shop? Any major city features multiple street corners that have 2, 3, or even 4 shops at the intersection – many time even multiple stores of the same franchise. With this level of redundancy, one would think that the coffee shop is nearing its tipping point. On the contrary, more are being built all the time and franchise owners continue to rake in giant profits year in and year out. This begs the question: why? What is the appeal of these locations that people will wait in long lines to pay expensive sums (by coffee standards) to the degree that a franchise needs to open up multiple locations with a stone’s throw of each other?

It starts with the products themselves. Coffee is the world’s second most consumed beverage (after water). The business model has proven that people want GOOD coffee. While instant may work for some consumers, there is definitely a different market segment – much larger than a niche – that wants quality coffee from a quality brewer. They want that premium cup and are willing to pay a premium a price for it – and a premium price is what is charged. However, maybe more important than the quality is the variety that is available. Anybody can get a cup of instant coffee from any number of sources, but to get the various flavors (vanilla, chocolate, caramel, etc.) and types of beans, that is more difficult to obtain than simply strolling down the aisle at the local grocer. Beyond the variety of coffees, most of these shops also offer teas and other beverages. For those in need of breakfast, there is also usually a selection of pastries and snacks available. In that way, the shop features more a niche restaurant than as a glorified beverage stand.

Yet, people come for more than just the primary product. Coffee shops are about more than just the coffee – there is also an aura associated with the stores themselves. Why else would one of the most popular sitcoms in history feature a coffee shop as one of the primary meeting places for its characters? Beyond just the typical café chairs and tables, many of these stores feature couches and (no irony intended) coffee tables. It is about more than just consuming the product; it is also about providing a gathering location for a niche of its clientele. They also typically feature free Wi-Fi – I challenge you to find me a coffee shop during peak hours where there are not at least three patrons surfing their laptop or IPad.

Coffee shops essentially boil down to an either you get it or you don’t type of appeal. To a certain percentage of the population, they see two stores of the same franchise located right across the street from each other and it just doesn’t make sense (and never will). To others, not only will they patron one of those stores, but they will be fiercely loyal to it and never visit the other under any circumstances. While that may seem like a strange opinion, it is more common than you’d think. How else do you explain the success?

About the Author

Sites of note: Starbucks – Coffee House King Gallins – Gourmet Coffee Vendor Green Mountain – Coffee Varieties

Pros of a coffee shop franchise opportunity

When you choose to go with a coffee shop franchise you will not be alone in your new business venture. The coffee shop franchise company wants to see you succeed and to do that they will coach you and help you every step of the way. They will teach you about all the products they offer, how to manage employees, how to handle all the business activities, ordering supplies, and what to look for or avoid. Your franchise manager or coach can make your new business run as smooth as can be while giving you all the information that you will need in order to continue after they leave. A franchise will usually provide you with one week to two weeks of training. First you will experience the business opportunity by visiting one of the successful franchises already established. Then a coach or manager will come to your location and help you during the first few days or week.

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The cons of a coffee shop franchise opportunity

There are always good points and bad points to any business. The bad points are that each franchise will usually have their own set of rules and regulations. The main downfall, of course, is the amount of money you need up front before your business even begins. Then you have additional expenses as well. Sometimes it makes you feel as though things would have been a lot less expensive if you went on your own but you don’t have the support that will benefit your business in the long run. When you go with a coffee shop franchise, there are several regulations which must be adhered to including declaring the amount of earnings. You must have a certain amount of employees maintained at all times and the business must be run the way that they specify.

Each coffee shop franchise usually has their own site that lists the major rules and regulations so you can get a first hand look at what may be required. This will help you determine if you want to peruse this franchise more or if you feel you would be better off if you went to another franchise.

Coffee shop franchise opportunities are there to help those who want to be their own boss get started with some type of guidance. The benefit of coffee shop franchises helping you is it also gives them a cut of the profit as well. It is a situation where both companies win, the franchisor and the franchisee.

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And the good ones are always busy.

So, when was the last time you visited a high street coffee shop?

In the last hour?

Yesterday?

Last week?

Last month?

Did you sit in on one of those comfy lougers or grab a quick take-a-way on your way to work?

Or maybe you have never visited a coffee shop and simply happy with the free vending machine at work.

Over the last 10 years coffee shops are one of the fastest growing retailers.

More and more are being established.

I know in my local town whenever a shop closes, it often re-opens as a coffee franchise. Starbucks, Costa Coffee, Tchibo, Nero…there are many to choose from.

And no matter how many there are in each town, you always have to queue. So many people are now finding the time and money to have a coffee with friends. Relax a bit, have a good gossip and simply enjoy each other’s company.

Or maybe, you go there to work on the free wi-fi offering.

I’m lucky enough to live by the sea and often my wife and I go out for a cup of coffee overlooking the sea. You know spur of the moment thing.

“Fancy a coffee?”

“Yes, I’ll put the kettle on”

“No, let’s go to Costa’s”

“Great idea…”

A few years ago you would never have guessed we would pay or for an ordinary cup of coffee. But we all do, don’t we?

This weekend just gone, we decided to take a visit into town just for a cup of coffee.

“We’ll go to…”

“Yeah, sounds good”

When we arrived we changed our minds on where to go.

We saw a ‘better’ coffee shop open.

So what do you look for in your favourite coffee shop?

What makes you go back time and time again?

Some would say – “simply good tasting coffee”

Others would say – “a wide selection of great tasting coffees and cakes”

Others want -  “a wide selection of great tasting coffees and cakes plus well trained staff, a smile and an efficient service, maybe with free wi-fi”

What about – “a wide selection of great tasting coffees and cakes plus well trained staff, a smile and an efficient service with free wi-fi and they know your name”

Which statement would make you give 10 out of 10?

My wife and I go to relax, so the following is important to us:

1.    A nice comfy sofa
2.    Great tasting coffee
3.    A good selection of cakes to choose from
4.    Service with a smile

And if we can see by the window ‘people watching’, even better.

That’s it – we are easily pleased. But so many coffee shops just don’t provide all 4 of our needs. They may just offer points, 2, 3 and 4 but point 1 is so important!

Or 1, 2 and 3, but point 4 is also important to us!

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What is important to you?

What do you look for in a coffee shop for you to go back time and time again?