Franchisee

Introduction

A franchisee is a person or company that is granted a license to do business under the franchisor's trademark, trade name, and business model, by the franchisor. The franchisee purchases a franchise from the franchisor. The franchisee must follow certain rules and guidelines already established by the franchisor, and in most cases, the franchisee must pay an ongoing franchise royalty fee to the franchisor.

Franchising is a system for expanding a business and distributing goods and services to meet higher consumer demand. It’s based on a relationship between the brand owner and the local operator to skillfully and successfully extend one’s established business system. As a condition of obtaining or commencing operation of the franchise, the franchisee makes a requirement payment or commits to make a required payment to the franchisor or its affiliate.

From a business perspective, a franchise is a contractual relationship between a licensor and a licensee for the licensee to use the licensor’s method of doing business to distribute products or services using the franchisor’s trade or service mark, or to offer, sell, or distribute goods, services, or commodities that are identified or associated with the franchisor’s trademark. While every franchise is a license, not every license is a franchise under the law.

Role of the Franchisee

A franchisee has four major responsibilities for the success of the system in which they are granted a franchise:

1.    To protect the franchised brand by operating the franchise in strict compliance with system operating standards.

2.    To build a strong and loyal customer base by offering only approved products and services and by providing superior customer service.

3.    To ensure that all employees are properly trained and the franchise is properly staffed at all times.

4.    To advertise and promote the franchise and its approved products and services according to the guidelines provided by the franchisor.

Advantages:

·      Management Training Support.

·      Brand Name Appeal.

·      Standardized Quality of Products and Services.

·      National Advertising Programs.

·      Financial Assistance.

Disadvantages:

·      Franchise Fees and Ongoing Royalties.

·      Restrict to Standardized Operations.

·      Restrictions on Buying.

·      Limited Product Line.

·      Profit Sharing.

Types of Franchising:

1. Trade Name Franchising: Under this type of franchising, the franchisee buys the right to utilize the trade name of the franchisor without distributing specific items exclusively under the name of franchisor.

2. Product Distribution Franchising: In this type of arrangement, a franchisor provides licensing to a franchisee to sell particular articles under the brand name and trademark of franchisor through a selective limited distribution network.

3. Pure Franchising: In pure franchising, franchisor provides a complete business format including a license for a trade name, the products or services to be sold, the physical plant, the method of operation, a marketing plan, a quality control process, a two-way communication system and the necessary business support services to the franchisee. 

Attributes of a Successful Franchisee

1. Be willing and able to learn new skills. As the operating manager of a franchise, you will take on a multitude of roles, from trainer, to watchdog, to customer service, to financial advisor. The franchisor sets the brand standards, but they are not responsible for how the franchisee's day-to-day business is run. It is a steep learning curve, but if you can master these new skills, you can become a successful franchisee.
2. Be able and willing to follow system standards. As a franchisee, you are chiefly agreeing to follow someone else’s operating system, often including specific requirements for what marketing materials to use, what suppliers you must work with, and what specific products or services you must offer. This, along with the licensing rights and restrictions on how you can use the franchisor’s intellectual property, is what you are investing in. In exchange for this ready-made operating system, a franchisee has to report their sales and expenses follow instructions on how to present the products and services, and comply with the franchisor’s advertising requirements. Every day, week, month, and year, the franchisee will be following protocols set up by the franchisor. If the franchisee fails to meet those brand standards, they risk being in breach of their franchise agreement. 
3. Be ready to move from big business to small business. The former corporate middle manager, who wants to be a franchisee has a broad understanding of business, knows how to work within a system, knows how to motivate staff, and certainly is no stranger to long hours. But a franchisee is essentially a small business owner, which means leaving behind the internal support services they have grown accustomed to, as well as the many benefits that come with employment at a larger company, such as retirement plans and paid sick days, expense accounts, and health insurance plans.

As a franchisee, your success is measured each day in your franchise's performance, requiring more self-reliance than many corporate managers have had to demonstrate.

However, a well-structured franchised system will provide a level of support that contributes to the franchise's success.

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Corporations

Introduction

A corporation chartered by the state in which it is headquartered is considered by law to be a unique entity, separate and apart from those who own it. A corporation can be taxed, it can be sued, and it can enter into contractual agreements. The owners of a corporation are its shareholders. The shareholders elect a board of directors to oversee the major policies and decisions. The corporation has a life of its own and does not dissolve when ownership changes.

Advantages of a Corporation:

·         Shareholders have limited liability for the corporation's debts or judgments against the corporations.

·         Generally, shareholders can only be held accountable for their investment in stock of the company. (Note however, that officers can be held personally liable for their actions, such as the failure to withhold and pay employment taxes.)

·         Corporations can raise additional funds through the sale of stock.

·         A corporation may deduct the cost of benefits it provides to officers and employees.

·         Can elect S corporation status if certain requirements are met. This election enables company to be taxed similar to a partnership.

Disadvantages of a Corporation:

·         The process of incorporation requires more time and money than other forms of organization.

·         Corporations are monitored by federal, state and some local agencies, and as a result may have more
paperwork to comply with regulations.

·         Incorporating may result in higher overall taxes. Dividends paid to shareholders are not deductible from
business income; thus it can be taxed twice.

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

The LLC is a relatively new type of hybrid business structure that is now permissible in most states. It is designed to provide the limited liability features of a corporation and the tax efficiencies and operational flexibility of a partnership. Formation is more complex and formal than that of a general partnership.

The owners are members, and the duration of the LLC is usually determined when the organization papers are filed. The time limit can be continued, if desired, by a vote of the members at the time of expiration. LLCs must not have more than two of the four characteristics that define corporations: Limited liability to the extent of assets, 
continuity of life, centralization of management, and free transferability of ownership interests.

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Partnerships

Introduction

In a Partnership, two or more people share ownership of a single business. Like proprietorship, the law does not distinguish between the business and its owners. The partners should have a legal agreement that sets forth how  decisions will be made, profits will be shared, disputes will be resolved, how future partners will be admitted to the  partnership, how partners can be bought out, and what steps will be taken to dissolve the partnership when  needed. Yes, it's hard to think about a breakup when the business is just getting started, but many partnerships split up at crisis times, and unless there is a defined process, there will be even greater problems. They also must 
decide up-front how much time and capital each will contribute, etc.

Advantages of a Partnership:

·         Partnerships are relatively easy to establish; however time should be invested in developing the partnership agreement.

·         With more than one owner, the ability to raise funds may be increased.

·         The profits from the business flow directly through to the partners' personal tax returns.

·         Prospective employees may be attracted to the business if given the incentive to become a partner.

·         The business usually will benefit from partners who have complementary skills.

Disadvantages of a Partnership:

·         Partners are jointly and individually liable for the actions of the other partners.

·         Profits must be shared with others.

·         Since decisions are shared, disagreements can occur.

·         Some employee benefits are not deductible from business income on tax returns.

·         The partnership may have a limited life; it may end upon the withdrawal or death of a partner.

Types of Partnerships that should be considered:

1.        General Partnership
Partners divide responsibility for management and liability as well as the shares of profit or loss according to their internal agreement. Equal shares are assumed
unless there is a written agreement that states differently.

2.        Limited Partnership and Partnership with limited liability
Limited means that most of the partners have limited liability (to the extent of their
investment) as well as limited input regarding management decisions, which
generally encourages investors for short-term projects or for investing in capital
assets. This form of ownership is not often used for operating retail or service
businesses. Forming a limited partnership is more complex and formal than that of a general partnership.

3.        Joint Venture
Acts like a general partnership, but are clearly for a limited period of time or a single project. If the partners in a  joint venture repeat the activity, they will be recognized as an ongoing partnership and will have to file as such as  well as distribute accumulated partnership assets upon dissolution of the entity.

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Operating System

Definition

·        An Operating System, or OS, is low-level software that enables a user and higher-level application software to interact with a computer’s hardware and the data and other programs stored on the computer.

·        An OS performs basic tasks, such as recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen, keeping track of files and directories on the disk, and controlling peripheral devices such as printers.

Operating Systems

•                     The operating system is the most important program that runs on a computer.

•                     Operating system is an interface between computer and user.

•                     It is responsible for the management and coordination of activities and the sharing of the resources of the computer.

•                     Operating systems provide a software platform on top of which other programs, called application programs, can run.

•                     There are instances where processes need to communicate with each other to exchange information. It may be between processes running on the same computer or running on different computers. The OS provides these services to application programs, making inter-process communication possible, and relieving the user of having to worry about how this accomplished.

Operating System types

As computers have progressed and developed, so have the operating systems. Below is a basic list of the types of operating systems and a few examples of operating systems that fall into each of the types. Many computer operating systems will fall into more than one of the below types.

CUI- CUI means you have to take help of a keyboard to type commands to interact with the computer. You can only type text to give commands to the computer as in MS DOS or command prompt. There are no images or graphics on the screen and it is a primitive type of interface. In the beginning, computers had to be operated through this interface and users who have seen it say that they had to contend with a black screen with white text only. In those days, there was no need of a mouse as CUI did not support the use of pointer devices. CUI’s have gradually become outdated with the more advanced GUI taking their place. However, even the most modern computers have a modified version of CUI called CLI (Command Line Interface).

CUI operating systems are:

MSDOS & UNIX

GUI -  Graphical User Interface, a GUI operating system contains graphics and icons and is commonly navigated by using a computer mouse. See the GUI definition for a complete definition. Examples of GUI operating systems are:

Macintosh, Windows 98 & Windows CE

Multi-user - A multi-user operating system allows for multiple users to use the same computer at the same time and different times. See the multi-user definition for a complete definition. Examples of operating systems that would fall into this category are:

Linux, UNIX , Windows 2000 & Macintosh

Multiprocessing - An operating system capable of supporting and utilizing more than one computer processor. Examples of operating systems that would fall into this category are:

Linux, Unix, Windows XP &  Macintosh

Multitasking - An operating system that is capable of allowing multiple software processes to run at the same time. Examples of operating systems that would fall into this category are:

Linux, UNIX, Windows 8 & Macintosh

Multithreading - Operating systems that allow different parts of software program to run concurrently. Examples of operating systems that would fall into this category are:

Linux, Unix, Windows XP & Macintosh

Examples of Operating Systems

UNIX

·        UNIX was one of the first operating systems to be written, in 1971.

·        Advantages of UNIX are…

ƒ           Multitasking – multiple programs can run at one time.

ƒ           Multi-user – allows more than a single user to work at any given time. This is accomplished by sharing processing time between each user.

ƒ           Safe – prevents one program from accessing memory or storage space allocated to another program, and enables file protection, requiring users to have permission to perform certain functions, such as accessing a directory, file, or disk drive. 

Linux

Linux (lee'nuhks/ or /li'nuks/,_not_/li:'nuhks) is a free and open-source operating system first developed by Linus Torvalds and friends that was first announced August 25, 1991. The Linux kernelruns on numerous different platforms including the Intel and Alpha platform and is available under theGNU General Public License.The system can be distributed, used, and expanded free of charge. In this way, developers have access to all the source codes, thus being able to integrate new functions or to find and eliminate programming bugs quickly. Thereby drivers for new adapters (SCSI controller, graphics cards, etc.) can be integrated very rapidly.

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WINDOWS

Microsoft Windows, or simply Windows, is a metafamily of graphical operating systems developed, marketed, and sold by Microsoft. It consists of several families of operating systems, each of which cater to a certain sector of the computing industry with the OS typically associated with IBM PC compatible architecture. Microsoft Windows came to dominate the world's personal computer (PC) market with over 90% market share, overtaking Mac OS, which had been introduced in 1984. 

The history of Windows dates back to September 1981, when Chase Bishop, a computer scientist, designed the first model of an electronic device and project Interface Manager was started. It was announced in November 1983 (after the Apple Lisa, but before the Macintosh) under the name "Windows", but Windows 1.0 was not released until November 1985. Windows 1.0 was to compete with Apple's operating system, but achieved little popularity.

Windows 1.0 is not a complete operating system; rather, it extends MS-DOS. The shell of Windows 1.0 is a program known as the MS-DOS Executive. Components included Calculator, Calendar, Cardfile, Clipboard viewer, Clock, Control Panel, Notepad, Paint, Reversi, Terminal and Write. Windows 1.0 does not allow overlapping windows. Instead all windows are tiled. Only modal dialog boxes may appear over other windows.

Active Windows families include Windows NT and Windows Embedded; these may encompass subfamilies, e.g. Windows Embedded Compact (Windows CE) or Windows Server. Defunct Windows families include Windows 9x, Windows Mobile and Windows Phone.

Features of Windows Operating system

1) Windows Easy Transfer : One of the first things you might want to do is to transfer your files and settings from your old computer to the brand new computer. You can do this using an Easy Transfer Cable, CDs or DVDs, a USB flash drive, a network folder, or an external hard disk.

You can transfer almost everything from your old computer to the new one. User accounts, Files and Folders, Program Settings, Internet Settings and Favorites, E-mail settings, contacts and messages.

2) Windows Anytime Upgrade : This feature of Windows Operating System allows you to upgrade to any  higher windows version available for your system, so you can take  full advantage of enhanced digital entertainment and other features.

Windows anytime upgrade helps you compare features in each Windows edition and walks you through the upgrade process. (Windows 8 being the latest Operating system currently available for all the user worldwide). The upgrade will cost you as per the version being selected by you.

3) Windows Basics : If you are new to Windows or want to refresh your knowledge about areas such as security or working with digital pictures, this features will help you to get started.

Here you can learn how to help keep your computer more secure, work with digital pictures, use the mouse and keyboard, work with files and programs, use email, connect to and explore the internet and many more.

A new user can even see video or animations, that will explain the working of the windows operating system and will show you step by step instructions in order to configure your pc according to your desires.

4) Searching and Organizing : Most folders in Windows have a search box in the upper- right corner. To find a file in a folder, type a part of the file name in the search box.

You can also use this feature when you don't know where a files is actually located or when you want to do an advanced search. Since its will be an indexed searching the results will be very quick and very close to your search entries.

5) Parental Controls : Parental Controls give you the means to decide when your children use the computer, which website they visit, and which games they are allowed to play. You can also get reports of your children's computer activity as well.

6) Ease of Access Center : Ease of Access Center is the place to find and change settings that can enhance how you hear, see and use your computer. You can adjust text size and the speed of your mouse. This is also where you can go to set up your screen reader and find other helpful tools.

7) Default Programs : This is a features of your Windows Operating System where you can adjust and set your default programs, associate a file type or a protocol with a program, change and set auto play settings, set program access and computer defaults.

Very useful to configure our programs according to your wish and requirements.

8) Remote Desktop Connection : This features helps a user with a graphical user interface to another computer. It is a proprietary protocol developed by Microsoft specially for Windows Operating System. Basically by entering the IP address of the other computer you can directly see that computer's desktop right on to your desktop.

Normally known as desktop sharing. Using this you can share files and data and even solve problem without having physical access to the other computer.

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