Have you considered starting your own business? What about a franchise? FranNet (Three Girls client) is great resource for potential franchisees! They can provide information about planning for retirement when opening a business, help figuring out which company is right for you as well as recent growth areas and trends. Their free conference coming up March 1 (details below) is a fantastic way to find out even more.

2012 is known as the Year of the Entrepreneur, and for good reason. The government is very pro small business right now with various programs such as incentives for hiring new employees. But why go with a franchise as opposed to starting a business completely from scratch?

• Financing is more attainable for a franchise then a start up.
• Franchise consultants are available free of charge to help entrepreneurs make an informed decision.
• Franchises provide intense training on the business and ongoing support.
• Franchises will often have better economies of scale and buying power then an independent business.
• Business plans are realized because the units are in place proving the success of the concept.

2012 is the best time to invest in a franchise because:

• Franchising is offering unique programs like the VetFran program to reduce costs for Veterans.
• Interest rates on lending and leasing are at all time lows.
• Labor costs are down with more availability.
• Franchising is able to use state of the art location and demographic software to find the best locations.

Want to find out more? Be sure to make it to FranNet’s upcoming conference!

Here are the details:

Bay Area Business and Franchise Conference
Do You Dream of Owning Your OWN Business? In this, the Year of the Entrepreneur, meet executives from award winning franchises experiencing nationwide growth and learn about:

• 2011 Franchise Growth Areas and Trends
• Semi-absentee, Single, multiple and master territory opportunities
• Executive models – White Collar / Scalable (Manage the Managers)
• Business to business (B2B) and Retail Personal Services
• Retirement alternatives
• Latest developments in franchise financing
• Franchises with an initial investment from $80K-$150K

Franchisors will share information covering growth trends, what sets them apart, details on their history of success, experience requirements and why their owner’s are thriving.

Where/When: Thursday, March 1, at 1:30 – 4:30 or 5:30 – 8:30 pm at the South San Francisco Conference Center (255 South Airport Blvd. South San Francisco, CA 94596)

Visit franchise2012.eventbrite.com for more information and to register for this free conference.

Photo Credit: AGmakonts