Franchising Explained

One of three business strategies that businesses can use to get a market share is called franchising. This is a specific business strategy to get and keep your customers. It is a way to market your products and services so that your customers can visualize how they will benefit from purchasing from you. Franchising involves a network of business relationships which are interdependent, allowing a number of people to share in things such as brand identification, a proven marketing and distribution system and a successful method of running a business.

Franchising means that groups of people with the same goals and responsibilities in relation to dominating the markets form an alliance. The relationship of a franchise is a business relationship which is a joint commitment by all of the members, or franchisees. Their main goal is to get more customers than anyone else in the same type of business.

Many people don’t truly understand what a franchise is. The biggest misconception is that when you are a franchisee you are buying a franchise. Actually, it is an investment you are making into a system to use the operating system, brand name and ongoing support. Everyone involved in the same system are licensed to use it and the brand name.

If you want to be successful in your franchise, you must understand all aspects of the business itself and also the legal aspects of your relationship with the other franchisees and the franchise owner. You must be focused on working with the franchisees and company managers so you can successfully market your brand. If you acquire an ownership mentality, it will ruin your success. Working together with the other people in your business circle is where your success lies. They can help you with your shared responsibilities of operating the business and experienced franchisees can give you advice you need when you are just starting out.

Other reasons to avoid the ownership mentality are because if you think you bought the franchise, and begin thinking like an owner instead of a franchisee, you’ll start to act that way as well. You’ll want to change the system according to your needs and wonder what you are paying royalties for. Plus, you will see the other franchisees as your competitors instead of your team mates.

You own the assets of your company when you are a franchisee, but remember, you are still licensed to run another person’s proven business system.

Giving Business Presentations Without Putting Anyone to Sleep

Giving business presentations doesn’t have to be horribly boring. If you take the time to do the proper preparation, there are several ways that you can make your presentation much more interesting and help your audience to make the decision that you would like them to make.

Before giving business presentations, you must fully prepare. The first thing to do is to create a story. This is the number one way that you will hold the attention of your audience. Giving them just a whole bunch of information with no meaning or context is extremely boring and you lose your audience. You also want to keep your presentation relevant. Figure out what decision you want the audience to make and build a case that will lead them there.

Be short and simple when creating your introduction. Something that drags on to tell all about you, your business and how you got there will just bore people. Even for a longer presentation, keep it to a sentence or two only. You’ll also want to do this with the entire length of your presentation. Cut the time in half of how long you thought it should be, or even shorter.

Start out with an eye-opening fact that will give your audience a unique perspective and that leads well into your presentation. Also, use facts instead of generalities. Make your presentation memorable and dramatic with verifiable facts.

You’ll also want to consider the type of audience you are presenting to. Customize your presentation accordingly, as each audience is different. Simplify your graphics on any slides or other pictures you use, and don’t try and use fancy, confusing backgrounds. Make sure you use simple, readable fonts as well. Don’t try and use features such as all caps, boldface or italics.

Before the presentation begins, make sure your equipment is working properly. This is the last thing you want to be fumbling with during the presentation.

Speak to your audience instead of focusing on your notes or slides. This will encourage the audience’s focus on you and the message you are giving. Also, do not ever read from your slides, as this insults the intelligence of your audience and will bore them. Don’t try to be a comedian either. When giving business presentations, there is no place for joking or polite laughter.

Another important aspect of your presentation is the time of day that you give it. Don’t try and present right before lunch, at the end of the day or the day before a holiday. Also, don’t appear disorganized by skipping around from point to point. Don’t go back to slides you already showed your audience or show slides that don’t fit into your presentation. This will ruin the credibility of the message you are trying to give.

With the proper preparation, giving business presentations can be informative and interesting for your audience and you will have a much better chance of getting your message across.

How to Choose the Right 3D Printer?

Thinking of buying a 3D printer? If so, then you are in the right place! Whatever you plan on doing with your 3D printer, it all starts with you purchasing it. If you have already visited a dealer or are looking up your options, it will be quite clear by now that it is not a walk in the park.

There are various factors that need to be considered before buying a 3D printer. From pinpointing your exact application to formulating your budget, you have got to list down a few things before you can start thinking about what to buy.

It all starts with thorough research of what your market has to offer and what each product features. You need to know what is available and what is not because this little effort will leave you with those limited options you can actually consider.

Then you need to list down your own needs and match them with your findings. Described below are a few things you need to get sorted before purchasing a 3D printer.

Purpose: What your 3D printer will do affects your choice. You should consider a more robust one if you are running a 3D printer farm and would be using it around the clock. On the contrary, a lower quality one would suffice for educational purposes as they are not used as frequently and neither do they need to print accurately.
Frequency of Usage: This is an important factor. You should always go for the more reliable, expensive option if you intend to print a lot from your machine. The extra money goes towards making them more hardy and wear-resistant. The carriages, bed, motors are all high quality, which is exactly what you need.
Material: Each 3D printer technology is suitable for a certain class of materials. Hence, knowing what material you will be printing narrows down your options to a convenient figure.
Precision & Accuracy: This is one of the most important factors to be considered. Some technologies are capable of producing remarkably smooth prints while others are a bit crude. SLS, for example, is capable of producing realistic prints while FDM prints are always a little rough, with the individual layers visible. Your choice should depend on what quality are you satisfied with.
Printer Speed: Speed is something you must know about before entering a store. If your 3D printer is going to handle commercial orders on a regular basis, you should consider a quicker one. On the other hand, if you intend on keeping it in your garage for DIY stuff, a slower one would suffice. It is to be noted, however, that speed is often negatively associated with precision. If your printing speed is too fast, it will definitely affect your final print quality. So make sure you do the math before making a decision.
So that is it. These are the main things you need to keep in mind while deciding which 3D printer to buy. Thanks to the competition in this industry, you have the freedom to choose from a wide variety of brands and technologies, and a lack of choice surely is not something that will frustrate your purchase.