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Brisbane franchising expo: just days away

Sarah Stowe

Are you excited by the prospect of opening your own franchise outlet and making your mark in the local community while building a business? This weekend there is a dedicated franchising expo in Brisbane.

Before you commit to a franchise agreement, take time out to find out more about the opportunities available, the commitments required and the lifestyle of a franchisee.  

There’s an easy way to do this and meet the people involved in the franchising community. 

A visit to an expo gives you the chance to dip your toe into the franchising pool without having to dive in head first. 

The expo will have a diverse range of franchised, licensed and other small business opportunities across a number of different industries, giving the visitor a taste for the breadth of the franchise sector.  

Buying a franchise business 

Among the businesses exhibiting will be names you are familiar with as well as brands as yet unknown to you, offering business opportunities in industry sectors you might not have considered. 

Whether you are looking for something specific in an area close to home, or are open to the best opportunities on offer – perhaps even a regional location – there will be something to pique your interest at the expos. 

As a visitor you will be able to compare and research a diverse range of franchise opportunities with investment levels from under $10,000 to more than $500,000. 

Food and retail

Food franchises are always a popular element of any expo. At the Brisbane show, for instance, there will be coffee and casual dining oppor-tunities from brands like Kamikaze Coffee, Xpresso Mobile Cafe and La Porchetta, alongside ice cream favourite Movenpick, and pizza brands Crust Gourmet Pizza,  Wood Fired Pizza Trailer and New York Slice. 

The sector’s largest food franchisor, Retail Food Group, will be represented too. Chicken stalwart Lenard’s will be showcasing its business offer as well. 

But there is so much more to franchising than the food court heroes. 

Want to work in retail, but not food? Dodo Connect is a supplier of phone and broadband products with shopping centre presence; Luxaflex is a well-known window dressing retailer; Wild Cards & Gifts is now owned by UK newsagency giant WH Smith and is continuing to franchise.  

In the business sector Mail Boxes Etc services the business community with printing, mailboxes, packaging and shipp-ing while the EmbroidMe business, part of the United Franchise Group, also deals with business customers wanting an embroidery, screen printing service. Minuteman Press will cater for any printing project through its retail outlets. 

And for something a little different, the mechanically minded can buy into a mobile tool retailer, Snap-on Tools. 

If working within the community, being out and about, is more your style, then keep reading.  

Mobile franchises

Just want to be on the road? Take a look at Little Green Truck, the local truck hire business. Or perhaps an environmental twist appeals? Geowash hand car wash and caf_ has been trading for 15 years and has ventured overseas with its detail-ing business. 

Whether you have an existing technical skill you can apply to a business opportunity with home services businesses such as Absolut Pool Fencing, Jim’s Test & Tag, Mend A Bath or VIP Home Services, or want to leverage your career talents to date through well-known franchise brands like Aussie Home Loans or newer companies such as IT educational franchise ScopeIT, there are skilled opportunities showcased at these events. 

Something a little different? How about the G-Force Simulators? This draws a great crowd at the expos with everyone keen to try out the virtual reality race car driving. 

Do you have a passion for the beauty industry? A team from Endota Spa will be on hand at the expo to explain just what running a franchise in this chain entails. 

Seek advice  

There’s so much more to an expo than the myriad business opportunities. 

Everyone searching for a franchise business will need to understand just what’s involved in legal and financial terms, and there’s no better place to start than the daily seminar program. 

A line-up of franchising experts – franchisors, advisors and consultants – will bring clarity to some of the key issues in the world of franchising. There’s always time after a session to chat with the presenter to gain further insight into the topics that concern you. 

A cross-section of franchisees from a number of franchised brands will participate in a daily forum that gives the audience a taste of what a franchise journey is like. 

These Franchise Council of Australia Franchise Success Seminar Panels are a great opportunity to ask the tough questions and hear about the good things and the challenging moments in a franchise relationship, from a franchisee’s point of view. 

Just show up at the seminar theatre to hear from the franchisees, franchise experts or to listen to franchisors talk for 20 minutes about their business opportunities in the soapbox sessions. 

Professional bodies will have a presence at the expos and there will be information on hand at the Franchise Council of Australia stand, from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission which promotes compliance with the Franchising Code of Conduct, and from the Fair Work Ombudsman. 

Anyone serious about researching a franchise investment will make the most of a day at an expo. Planning before you get to the venue is key.  

You can check out some of the expert ad-vice on www.franchisebusiness.com.au that we’ve published to help franchise buyers get closer to their dreams of owning their own business.  

Compile a hit list of key franchises and a series of pertinent questions to pose to each of the relevant franchisor teams – that makes comparisons so much easier afterwards. 

Remember to take a break and reflect on what you have seen before you reach the point of being overwhelmed by information and opportunities. 

  • You can pre-register for the event, which will be held at the Brisbane Convention & Exhibition Centre, South Bank, Brisbane, on Saturday and Sunday 18-19 July, 2015.