Corporate Refugees - Find A Home In Franchising Lloyd Shears If we have always had a job, and particularly if it has been relatively long term, we will view self employment as risky. Despite the fact that most people want to work for themselves, we will not do so because of the perception of "risk". If we have always been self employed, we would perceive working for someone else as extremely risky. After all, someone will tell us when to come to work, how much vacation we can have, how much money we are worth, and force us to undergo the ultimate humiliation, a performance review. And even after that, they have the power any day to take the job away. Once we taste self employment, there is no turning back. A job would be too risky to even contemplate. And so it becomes for many of the people who find themselves in transition after years in the corporate environment. For many of these people, losing their job now gives them the opportunity to realize the long term dream of being self-employed. Building for them and their families something which is secure and cannot be taken away. Determined to be self-employed, and determined to have the best possible chance for success, many of these people choose franchising. Long gone are the days when buying a franchise meant you would have to stand in front of a deep fryer, pour coffee, or bake bread. The "white collar" franchise is the fastest growing sector of the industry. With the help of some of my colleagues in Franchise Network across Canada, I will introduce you to 3 "corporate refugees", tell you what they bought, and why. Jim Grant at the Halifax, Nova Scotia office introduced me to Mike Grieves. Mike has recently purchased a housecleaning franchise called "The Maids International". Mike had been an employee at Quebecor Printing for the past eight years, and was not convinced that his career was going anywhere. Every merger brought a staff change, and every staff change brought a new direction to the company. Mike found himself wanting control of his career and life. Wanting to direct rather than be directed for the remainder of his working years, he left Quebecor to fulfill the long time goal of self employment. Mike says he started out looking at the food industry, but wanted to see what his options were. He looked at several companies closely, but says "The Maids was "the logical choice for him". The hours are Monday to Friday, nine to five. The investment was relatively modest, and the earnings potential is superior to the other options he considered. In fact, "The Maids" has a "Million Dollar Club" for their franchises who reach that volume of business. However, Mike is quick to point out that the big reason he bought was the opportunity to bring a unique service to his city. He tells me that his staff are better trained, do a better job, are better dressed (uniform), are in and out faster, look more professional, and get the house cleaner than the competition. In fact, 52% cleaner. They are also environmentally conscious. All cleaning solutions are non allergenic. The vacuum cleaning system, exclusive to The Maids, does not put dust back in to the air and will remove a particle of dust from the carpet 1/210 times smaller than a human hair. That is clean! Jack Yee of Calgary, Alberta office introduced me to Daryl Turko. Daryl is a Certified Management Accountant and had been at the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers for 3 years. A corporate merger triggered a restructuring, and he, along with a number of colleagues, were outplaced. Daryl says the new of his job ending was fine with him. It was time for a change, and he was ready for new challenges in his life. He had long felt that being self-employed was more closely allied with his values and goals, and planned to use this break in his career to do just that. The idea of a franchise came when he attended a workshop on franchising at the career counselling centre he was placed with. In keeping with his corporate and accounting background, Daryl purchased a financial service franchise, "Interface Financial". Interface is a business to business franchise. Interface franchisees are short term funders to small businesses. Short term, good quality accounts receivable are purchased for cash, at discount. In business since 1972, and franchising for the past five years, Interface is attracting outplaced professionals to their growing organization. Daryl says he chose Interface because of the flexibility it allows him. The franchise is home based, has no inventory, and no employees, so the overhead is low. It also is the reverse of most start up business - instead of 60-80 hours a week, this permits a 20-30 hour a week start-up, reducing from there to 3-5 hours a week, without sacrificing income. Accustomed to working with professionals, Daryl is enjoying working with bankers, accountants, and business owners. Interface gives him the opportunity to use his relationship building skills and still spend valuable family time. Our third "corporate refugee" is Dan Lee of Vancouver, British Columbia. After a 27 year career at Xerox, Dan says it is hard to describe how he felt when he was outplaced. "Somewhere between devastated and shocked. And disappointed." However, for the last 10 years, he had been thinking of a business of his own. Dan says the decision to buy a franchise was not an easy one. It is a proven formula, versus your own idea, which may or may not work. He chose a franchise called Langenwalter Carpet Dyeing. The Langenwalter franchise offered independence. Neither Dan or his son Fraser who works with him, wanted "to be tied to a store". Langenwalter was also attractive as it is recession proof and new to the area. Everyone has carpets. Hotels, motels, apartments, home - the market was obvious. Dan is quick to point out that the marketing took longer than he would have hoped. However, after a healthy first year, the second year sales were up 250%, and he says the "real growth" will happen in the third years, which begins January 1997. Both he and Fraser point out that they went into business to be successful. They followed the system, were aggressive, and failure was "simply not an option". He describes the Langenwalter people as "the same good people, month in and month out. The same good people I bought the business from. The support is excellent". His advice? We all owe it to ourselves to take a serious look at self employment before we are too old! There are literally thousands of franchises in North America. Choosing the right one may seem like a daunting task, so here are a few points. No ONE franchise will be right for everyone. Make the decision based on your goals and values. Begin by deciding some very basic things. How much money are you comfortable investing and what is it you want to achieve? To most of us safety is important, and that frequently means a large and proven system. What hours do you ideally want to work? Do you prefer home based, office, working from a vehicle, or a storefront? Know what you want to achieve in the next 5 years, and buy a franchise where you can find franchise where you can find franchisees who have achieved what you want. Review the franchisor's financial statements, and make sure they have the funds necessary to grow and will continue to support you. Look at a minimum of 3 good quality franchises before you buy anything, and if you are not comfortable, do not buy. Being self employed will not be right for everyone. And, most importantly, do not settle. The "right" franchise IS out there. Published: Canadian Business Franchise L'Entreprise Volume 3, No. 1