Do you dread waking up to your alarm clock in the morning, just to pick yourself out of bed and trek off to a job you dislike? Well, you’re in luck!
Although that sounds like a cheesy advertisement for a fake job opportunity, it could be the truth. FranNet is hosting a small business seminar, Small Business – Big Potential: Toledo, March 25 and is actively seeking entrepreneurs interested in opening up their own franchise in the Toledo area.
FranNet is “like eHarmony for business owners,” said Tracy Rickman, president and owner of FranNet Northern Ohio. As a franchise network, it works with a group of franchisers and potential franchise owners to make a perfect match.
“Most clients have been in corporate America for a long time,” Rickman said. “If it makes sense for them to open a franchise and start a small business, we will help them research different opportunities.”
Rickman adds that her staff gets compensated from the franchisers, therefore prospective small business owners do not pay for FranNet’s services and can ensure that they are making the best decision while seeking the most options with little effect on their own finances.
“It gives entrepreneurs a chance to see options they wouldn’t have seen on their own,” Rickman added.
When a majority of people think about franchises, restaurants come to mind, but Rickman said there is much more to the network than grub. FranNet works with more than 3,000 different franchises in multiple networks — in fact, there will not be any food franchisers at the seminar.
Jared Jensen, Director of Franchise Development at Floor Coverings International, is one of the 11 franchisers who will be the seminar. Jensen said that he loves working with FranNet because he believes they really care about their local environment.
“They’re local and they represent really good franchise systems that are looking for the right franchisees,” Jensen said.
“Because they are local, they really want to find the right kind of business for their environment.”
In addition, Jensen is thrilled to search for a prospective franchise owner in Toledo and cannot wait to meet the eager entrepreneurs at the seminar.
“Toledo will be a great market for our business,” Jensen said. “We target to a female consumer who is the driver of the decision of the flooring decision in the home.
“The business model of our franchise really does well in a city like Toledo,” he said, adding that a mid-size city with great suburbs bodes well with a custom flooring company like Floor Coverings International.
Rickman hopes a diverse group of individuals attend the seminar. She said FranNet’s typical client is about “48 years old, coming out of corporate America and ready to be in control.” But that doesn’t mean younger entrepreneurs should skip this seminar. Rickman said she’s worked with many millennial entrepreneurs in recent years. According to Rickman, parents are starting to wonder if they should send their kid to college or assist them with opening a business instead.
“Quite honestly, I hope that trend goes somewhere,” she said. “There is a lot more opportunity to buy a business and run it how you want to. Owning a franchise really helps to and gives you the backbone to get started.”
FranNet is hosting its seminar at the Hilton Garden Inn at The Town Center at Levis Commons in Perrysburg from 6:30-9 p.m. March 25.
This is the fifth year FranNet’s hosted the seminar in Toledo and according to Rickman, it’s the largest.
“There are more and more folks interested coming to the Toledo area and growing here,” she said.
Toledo Free Press is a media sponsor of the event.
To register for the Small Business – Big Potential: Toledo seminar, head to http://bit.ly/1AHSvxv. There is also more information on FranNet’s Facebook page, FranNet of Northern Ohio.
