BUSINESS FRANCHISE - 2

1. iAremyhair Business Franchise: Go Global with Lesser Fees and More Support

iAremyhair is a hair boutique and a one-stop hair loss solutions center. It offers high quality products and services that are customised to the clients’ individual needs.

One only needs to meet Peter Lim, iAremyhair’s dynamic founder and iAremyhair’s business franchise Director, to see why franchising a hair loss solution business should fit into any entrepreneur’s plan. Whilst the market is growing and iAremyhair offers a unique solution, it is Peter’s drive and enthusiasm that should assure potential franchisees of complete support.

Peter is passionate about transforming lives by restoring hope to individuals struggling with hair loss.
He oversees the business development of iAremyhair and works closely with his experienced and meticulous staff. Together, they assist clients by assessing various options and providing the best solution for their hair loss concerns.

The center specialises in Non-Surgical Hair Replacement System, a revolutionary and state-of-the art solution to hair loss. iAremyhair also provides effective hair treatment to manage thinning hair and offers specific complementary products to its clients.


iAremyhair is the first Hair Loss Solutions Centre to be accredited by Case Trust in Singapore.

It instills assurance through its patented and top quality products, reliable technology and stellar services.

One such product works by revealing a natural looking front hairline and the hair can be styled and parted to seamlessly blend with the scalp and hair. The system ensures customers of a comfortable, customised and convenient solution to hair loss.

iAremyhair also offers other products and services such as hair extensions, chemotherapy wigs and hair treatment.

The hair extension service is ideal for clients with short, thinning or slow growing hair. In just two hours, clients gets longer and thicker hair.


The center also provides wigs for customers with hair loss due to medical reasons. iAremyhair is also a trusted supplier of chemotherapy wigs for Singapore National Cancer Centre.

The hair treatment service is ideal for clients with thinning and damaged hair. iAremyhair uses the latest, most effective, patented and FDA approved products for treatment.

iAremyhair recently launched its international business franchise program which focuses on neighbouring countries, including China and India. The iAremyhair business franchise program is a unique hybrid that provides the benefits of a Master Franchise and an Area Franchise model.

The “more support and lesser fees” is patterned after an Area Franchise format while the development schedule and territorial grants are patterned after a Master Franchise model. As a result, iAremyhair franchisees get a iAremyhair business franchise over a territory while being provided comprehensive support by the franchisor at a low investment. They can also enjoy the benefits of a recurring income franchise and it also provides an additional income for the existing salon business owner.

“iAremyhair is ready to share the experience through business franchise plans,” said Hsien Naidu, Director of business consulting firm, Astreem that consists of a team of franchise consultants, business consultants, branding consultants and marketing consultants. “The team at iAremyhair is set to develop and share their franchise business concept with investors seeking Singapore franchise opportunities through Singapore lifestyle franchise for their business investments.”

2. Is Dry Cleaning a Great Business Franchise Opportunity?

Robert Devaney, head of a dry cleaning plant that processes more than 2,000 shirts every day has worked hard to produce the perfect shirt. Th3is is why he recently spent $60,000 on new pressing machines that neatly press 200 shirts per hour, each ironed as if by hand.

Devaney got his start in the dry cleaning industry more than 30 years ago. He was pursuing a degree in speech pathology at Northeastern University when his father convinced him to join the family business. The father and son team purchased the Weymouth-based Dry cleaning by Dorothy in 1976. Later, Devaney founded the Fresh n’ Clean and Lapels franchises and opened 42 stores in five states. Both franchises have been sold.

Devaney's latest business endeavor, The Cleaner Spot has already established nine locations on the South Shore, and looks to
extend franchise business opportunities. The Weymouth plant employs 35 people and processes items from the three corporate-owned Drycleaning by Dorothy drop-off stores and The Cleaner Spot franchises.

- How casual dress trends have affected dry cleaning

Casual dress has heavily affected the dry cleaning industry over the last decade. The volume of clothes needed to be dry cleaned has greatly reduced. The industry has created new methods and equipment to handle casual dress. When a pair of khakis are pressed, for instance, it’s different than pressing a pair of wool slacks. Often, khakis are needed to be wet cleaned instead of dry cleaned, which makes them harder to press and finish. There are actually machines that grab the bottom of the pants and pull them down, helping to give a better press. Undoubtedly making that press much more popular with casual
clothing.

Casual dress has become more popular over the years, but doesn’t mean you should sacrifice a professional look. Meaning if you want to dress in khakis and a polo, but still desire that professional image, it’s best to have those items
professionally cleaned and pressed.

-Changes due to pollutant regulations

Environmental Protection Agency regulations have given us additional costs. Additional education and new equipment were also needed. Equipment manufacturers were needed to create more efficient equipment - equipment that didn’t harm the atmosphere. In our industry, they are referred to as closed-loop systems, so instead of releasing the odors into the atmosphere,
pollutants are all self-contained. This process also made cleaning much more efficient, so that less of the chemicals could do the same volume of clothing.

In addition, after the dry cleaning process is completed, a hazardous waste residue is left behind. Dry cleaners must then take that waste and put it into barrels, and then have it professionally removed. The newest thing in dry cleaning is environmentally friendly systems, but even plants that claim to have an environmentally-friendly process use chemicals that are considered pollutants. There’s actually no such thing as a completely environmentally-friendly dry cleaner, unless they personally wash everything.

- The Perfect Shirt

You won't see any difference in quality if you bring a sweater into 10 dry cleaners ...And you can't take a stain on a silk blouse to five dry cleaners, so this difference is very hard to see. But generally, what greatly sets dry cleaners apart Is the quality of their shirts, which is easily noticeable. You can very readily see any obstructions made to a shirt, therefore shirts are the competitive grounds between dry cleaners. 99-cent shirts are all over the place, leaving customers very attuned to the cost of shirts. For this reason, shirts are cleaned on mass production equipment. They are actually processed
at about 100 or more shirts per hour, as opposed to a dry cleaning item that’s hand-ironed and pressed is only done at around 15 or 20 an hour.

You could always make the perfect shirt if you had time to hand press every shirt, which doesn't happen anymore because of inefficiency and high price, until a new company (Japan’s Sankosha) developed a machine that can still turn out 150 to 200 shirts an hour - but as perfect shirts.

-What sets The Cleaner Spot apart

The whole dry cleaning and tailoring economy works on incentive, allowing Devaney to realize that no one cares about the business more than the owner, which is why every franchise of The Cleaner Spot is managed by the owner. The owner is always there, working 40 to 50 hours a week, so that you’re guaranteed the ultimate in service. The owner specifically inspects
every piece that is processed through that store so you are ensured to get the best quality. Our drop stores are small, 1,000-square-foot stores that we are able to conveniently locate anywhere. Dry cleaning is a business based on convenience, typically drawing customers that live and work near by, enabling us to target specific communities. Large dry cleaning plants are typically not allowed anymore in heavily populated areas because of chemical and environmental problems.

3. A Bit Of Franchising History

The three largest franchise companies in the world Yum! Brands, McDonald's, and Subway between them operate nearly 100,000 locations. Franchising has become big business and it's only getting bigger. There are many companies that have gotten in on the act. So how did the modern franchise company get started? Well it all seems to have started with Isaac Singer the man better known for his Singer Sewing Machines. He had just finished improving on an existing model of sewing machine and was trying to work out a way to to be able to distribute them. Although his efforts at the time would prove to be unsuccessful other people were willing to continue his efforts for their own businesses.

Other famous examples of early franchises include Coca Cola which has obviously worked out very well. They would sell the distributorship rights to others that wanted to sell the Coca Cola product. Also the telegraph system actually used a franchise model. Most of the telegraph stations at the time were owned and operated by the railroad companies but the telegraph was controlled instead by Western Union. Early automobile manufacturers also used a franchise model by entering into deals with automobile dealerships that would carry their cars on the dealership lots.

The real turning point for franchising came during the 1930's. It was during this period that two men Howard Deering Johnson and Reginald Sprague would team up to form the first modern restaurant franchise. An early example is A&W Root Beer which used quick service as its theme. This was of course before the modern drive thru. They thought of the idea that for a fee they could let independent operators use the same name, food, supplies, logo, and building design to operate their business.

Soon Howard Johnson's would turn to franchising for their motels. This would be a smart move as the U.S. Interstate Highway System was just starting to be constructed. That would lead to fast food restaurants and motels popping up everywhere a highway did. And each of them would be eager to serve tired and hungry motorists.

Today the franchising model is used in over 70 different industries across the globe. In the United States alone franchise businesses are responsible for over 1 trillion dollars in sales annually. They are used to create a huge number of new jobs each year as more franchise stores open up in cities across America and elsewhere. With ever increasing influence and economic power in the business world today the idea of franchising for business has come a long way since Isaac Singer first tried it to help himself and sell a better sewing machine.

4. Guide- Business Franchising Territories

Business franchising arrangements are usually conducted on the basis of a particular geographic area or territory. The franchisee breaks up the licensing of his business between different franchising territories, to ensure there’s no overlap of competition between franchises and to geographically grow the business nation wide or even world wide. Usually, the territory you are assigned is yours with exclusivity against any other business franchising agent that might otherwise move in to your area. This ensures your business franchising opportunity is given a chance to grow within your local area without having to compete with other franchisees. But how important are business franchising territories, and does it matter which territory you are assigned?

Business franchising territories are a handy way of dividing up franchising licenses. Rather than sending a dozen franchisees out into the world without consideration as to where they would operate would be difficult, and thus business franchising territories can be a great way to divide up the rights and responsibilities of each particular franchise. Business franchising territories are also beneficial for the franchisees, as a means of confirming their particular operating area and on their rights and responsibilities as regards that geographic area.

Business franchising territories, although obviously important from a practical point of view, are absolutely critical to the success of your business. If you were selling, say, cups of coffee to passing pedestrians, the territory you’ve been assigned will determine whether you can shift 100 or 10,000 cups every morning, depending on the physical number of people in the area – it’s that important to your business success. But in a number occasions, franchisees are given no choice over the exact territory of their business franchising agreement. In the event that there is a choice, it’s important to research which area would be most beneficial to the success of your business, and to come up with solid business reasons for selecting a particular territory.

Take this one step further, and before signing up to any business franchising agreement conduct some market research within the territory you will be assigned. Get down to the area and ask passers by whether or not they’d like to see your franchise in the area, and whether or not they’d be likely to make use of your franchise, were it located in that territory. That way, you can become more clued up about the potential market within your particular territory to determine whether or not your business franchising agreement will provide good value for money.

Business franchising territories are obviously an important part of the business franchising agreements, and they can also make a significant difference to the success or failure of your business. Where a choice of territories is available, it’s perhaps best to consider your options carefully, and it’s certainly a crucial consideration when reviewing any business franchising opportunities. However, provided there is a market available within your local area for the product or service offered by the business franchising license, you should be able to make the most of any territory to which you buy business franchising rights.

5. Starting A Franchise: Better Know Which Type You Want

One of the greatest decisions of any entrepreneur is in the choice of franchise that you buy in to. Therefore, there is a lot of planning and researching that needs to go into the process before deciding on a final franchise.

You need to have goals to work towards. For example, think about why you want to start a business and what you expect to get out of it. You must also think about if you will have the commitment to the business throughout as it can be a long and hard process at times.

Buying info a franchise may cost more or less money than you originally expect so make sure you know what financial requirements are expected of you and if you can afford them. This includes franchise fees, royalty payment terms and other expenses that you may have to pay along the way.

In order for your franchise to be a successful one you must ensure that you have the right qualities and skills. To do this you will need to look at your previous achievements and experiences and assess you areas of strength from these. There are certain maths and English skills that you need to have to become a franchisee of the Subway restaurant chain. These will be tested before you can become a franchisee. In is advised that you choose a franchise to buy into that can leverage your strong points. Look at the background of the franchisor as you do not want to take up their offer if they have a history of being unreliable and unsuccessful. You will also want to work for a franchisor who treats their franchisees well and gives them support and training throughout the whole business process. You should definitely talk to other franchisees in order to get an idea of how that particular franchisor works before applying to the franchise opportunity.

There may be restrictions within the business that you need to be aware of in terms of outlet size and restrictions on territory. It is advised that you familiarise yourself with these when making your decision. Agreements that you are required to sign will list out rights and obligations of both you and your franchisor and these should be read very carefully, if possible with legal opinion.

Franchise Offering Circular is the franchisor's disclosure document and you should make sure that you ask to have a look at this before you sign up as a franchisee. Reading this will help you to evaluate the financial stability of the franchisor and therefore see if they are financially capable of supporting you as a franchisee. It is law that you are given this document to read at least ten days before you sign up to the franchise.

So, before deciding to start up your own franchise, ask yourself these questions:

- Is training required before starting?

- Where is the best place to start up a franchise business?

- What equipment will be needed in order to start up th franchise?

- How many people will be required to start the operations of the franchise?

You will also need to consider all the risks that you may be open to throughout the business process as this will help you to minimize these risks and make your franchise business a success. You may like to get some professional guidance when choosing a franchise.