Franchisors Help Entrepreneurial Vets Through Voluntary “VetFran” Assistance Program

Posted on February 15, 2012 by admin

Franchise Opportunities for VeteransSome veterans of the U.S. armed forces return from their deployments looking to transition into civilian life as something more than an employee. With self-confidence, leadership abilities and organizational skills instilled by their military training, a relatively large proportion of America’s veterans come home seeking out small business opportunities.

Choosing entrepreneurship over nine-to-five employment is a natural for many vets, especially when poor economic conditions continue to make finding a job difficult. And statistically, unemployment for veterans as a group is even higher than the national average, despite federal government programs that give employers added incentives to hire them.

The nation’s franchising companies have stepped in to give veterans a hand in starting businesses through a program called the Veterans Transition Franchise Initiative, or VetFran. Through the program, franchisors help veterans acquire franchises more easily by voluntarily offering various forms of financial assistance such as reduced initial franchise fees, waivers of training costs and free product inventories.

Going into business by buying a franchise is a great fit for former members of the armed forces, because performing well in the military often means learning to work within and follow a proven process or system. That’s exactly what franchising is all about – buying into a successful system and having the discipline to follow an established formula for success.

The VetFran program was initiated by the International Franchise Association (IFA), the world’s oldest and largest organization representing franchising companies worldwide. The IFA initially launched VetFran about 20 years ago, in the aftermath of the first Gulf War. VetFran was revived after the September 11 attacks and the ensuing increases in military service and in overseas deployment of U.S. troops.

More than 400 companies are currently participating in VetFran, which has helped more than 1,500 veterans to start a franchise with the assistance of discounts extended by franchisors that now total in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The goal of owning a franchise may be even more attainable in the future for America’s veterans thanks to IFA-supported legislation currently pending in Congress. The bill, called the Help Veterans Own Franchises Act, has bipartisan support and would give incentives to franchisors to offer discounts to veterans by providing a tax credit based on a percentage of the discounts granted. Veterans themselves would also be able to take a credit against part of the franchise fees that they pay.

Padgett Business Services, the small biz pros, is a proud participant in the VetFran program. Padgett offers accounting franchises for sale and has franchise opportunities all across the country for veterans who want to become civilian entrepreneurs. Padgett has served small businesses since 1966 with professional bookkeeping, tax and payroll services, and is a trusted and respected name in the small business community.

Call Padgett Business Services today at 1-866-729-8725 to learn more about how we can help you reach your goal of business ownership.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Franchises Bridge the Entrepreneurship Gap for Small Business Success

Posted on February 2, 2012 by admin

Small Business SuccessSmall business opportunities abound even in spite of today’s difficult economic conditions. Some would even say that entrepreneurship is on the rise in the United States precisely because of the economic upheaval of the past few years. Unfortunately, without the right kind of knowledge, guidance and support, many would-be entrepreneurs will fail.

Perhaps the most difficult part of going into business for yourself is making the jump from technical expert to the role of entrepreneur/business manager. Having thorough knowledge of a particular field, such as accounting, is obviously a solid foundation for starting a business in that field. But technical expertise alone is not enough to ensure small business success.

Business author and consultant Michael E. Gerber uses the term “entrepreneurial myth,” or E-myth, to describe the mistaken belief that technical or subject-matter knowledge by itself necessarily translates into a successful business operation. Gerber thinks the E-myth is responsible for many misguided and ultimately unsuccessful entrepreneurial efforts.

The fact is that performing a certain kind of work as an employee, no matter how long and how well you’ve done that type of work, only partially prepares you for the task of running an organization that sells the same kind of services in the marketplace.

Buying an existing independent accounting business for sale may supply name recognition and a list of clients, but it won’t buy business mentoring, entrepreneurship advising or managerial training. And even the former corporate accountant who does well initially with an accounting business opportunity as a sole proprietor may be frustrated in his or her attempts to grow the business later on.

One of the more secure ways to enter any field of business is through buying a franchise. The success rate of new franchised businesses is much higher than that of non-franchised ones, precisely because the franchising model addresses the E-myth problem. Whatever a particular franchisee lacks in the knowledge needed to run and grow a company, the franchising organization can supply. A franchisor knows the market for their products and services and the methods to successfully deliver them to customers in a profitable way. And by definition, a successful franchisor knows how to plan for growth and how to scale up a business when the time comes to expand.

Padgett Business Services’ accounting franchises for sale are an excellent value because Padgett has more than 35 years of experience helping people to become savvy business owners while doing something they love. Our ability to make the most of our franchisees’ accounting experience and their entrepreneurial drive through our proven model for success is why Padgett is one of the top franchisors in the United States today. Call Padgett Business Services, the small biz pros, at 1-866-729-8725 to learn more about how we can help you realize your vision of successful and rewarding business ownership.

Posted in Accounting Franchise Opportunities | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Excellent Customer Relationship Management Makes for Small Business Success

Posted on January 20, 2012 by admin

CRMPutting the customer first is a concept for business success that has been around as long as there have been businesses and customers.  The saying that “the customer comes first” is true whether a company sells retail goods or provides business services such as accounting to other companies. But keeping the interests of customers and potential customers always at the forefront during every transaction at every stage of the customer-business relationship can be a challenge even for the most well-intentioned company.

To the salesmen and marketing managers of the past, the only business tools available to record data about interactions with clients were pencil and paper and their own fallible human memories. Communication between different parts of an organization was often relatively limited, too.

In the 1990s, new ways of thinking, combined with computer technology, ushered in the era of customer relationship management (CRM). While it can be brushed off as a ‘90s business-buzzword acronym, CRM at its heart is a valuable business strategy that keeps customers’ past history, present concerns and future wishes at the focus of every part of a business’s operations. Well-executed CRM presents a unified image of a business to its customers, making it clear that nominally separate functions such as marketing, sales, operations, customer service and technical support are not fragmented but are all working toward the same ultimate goal, that of customer satisfaction.

CRM has come of age with the new millennium, thanks to the increasing sophistication of specialized CRM software. While it’s still incorrect to equate CRM with software alone, deploying an optimal CRM strategy today will involve implementing a CRM computer application. Fortunately, CRM software solutions have evolved that can serve the needs of small businesses at an affordable price.

CRM systems provide one integrated platform to record and manage all customer-centered activities, such as:

  • Lead generation
  • Contact of prospective clients and followup
  • Appointment scheduling
  • Quote generation
  • Sales
  • Client communication including phone calls, e-mails, faxes and documents
  • Ongoing jobs, projects or assignments
  • Service requests
  • Customer satisfaction monitoring

When you join the family at Padgett Business Services, you won’t have to worry about choosing between the growing number of CRM solutions available, or figuring out which one will best support your new small business accounting, tax or payroll company. Padgett provides all franchisees with a name-brand, recognized leader in CRM solutions. With this CRM software and our other proven tools such as our proprietary accounting system, Padgett Connect and the Padgett Reality Check, you’ll have the foundation to realize your vision of success.  Call Padgett Business Services today at 1-866-729-8725 to take the first step toward owning your own small business accounting service.

Posted in Franchise Resources | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Padgett Franchisees Receive Solid Training Along With Continuing Support for Success

Posted on January 11, 2012 by admin

Accounting Franchise TrainingPerhaps you have hands-on experience in one or more business support fields such as accounting, financial reporting, payroll processing or tax preparation, but you’ve always performed those duties in the context of a large corporation. You know that you have valuable knowledge, skills and experience that you could take out on your own, working for yourself and building up a business of your own instead of someone else’s. You even have the necessary drive, self-motivation and entrepreneurial spirit. But you’ve passed up accounting business opportunities in the past because you don’t quite know how to translate the assets you have into running a small business that helps other small businesses.

That’s where Padgett Business Services comes in. Because we’ve been helping small businesses since 1966, we know the market for small business support services, we know the needs of small business owners and we know what it takes for someone like you to get started, succeed, grow and thrive. Padgett’s initial training and ongoing support and education for our franchisees is what makes our accounting franchise opportunities stand out from the rest.  In fact, Entrepreneur magazine named Padgett Business Services as one of the top 100 opportunities in its 2011 “Franchise 500” listings.

As valuable as the Padgett brand is, buying a franchise from Padgett means much more than just buying the right to use our recognized and respected name. It means partnering with us and becoming part of a network of some 400 other North American franchisees from coast to coast. We believe that entrepreneurial energy and a desire to achieve are some of the most important elements that a franchisee can contribute to the Padgett family. If you possess those qualities, our training, education and support programs can round out your knowledge base and teach you the practical skills you need for your own small business success. Because we want to uphold the great reputation of Padgett Business Services and build it even further, we have just as much motivation to see our franchisees succeed and thrive as they do! Here’s how Padgett helps you do that:

  • Training – After you’re approved and granted a Padgett Business Services franchise, you’ll undergo two intensive weeks of our premier training program to learn all about the nuts and bolts of running your business successfully. You’ll learn about the Padgett system and how to use and market our proprietary tools and services.
  • Expert support – The Padgett support team and our large network of Padgett franchise owners are available to share their experience, give guidance and impart their knowledge on an ongoing basis as the need arises. This includes an easily accessible online community of Padgett franchisees.
  • Continuing education – Free additional training is offered several times a year to help you sharpen your skills and to keep you current on the latest developments in the accounting industry and in the world of small business.
  • Online information – Our website for owners offers advice, information and support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
  • Padgett newsletters – Every month you’ll get useful information and tips from The Bottom Line Online and The Small Biz Builder, our two newsletters for franchisees.
  • Marketing and public relations assistance – Our team of in-house experts will help you promote and market your business.

When you make the decision to open your own Padgett franchise, you’ll be the beneficiary of our proven business training and education programs. Padgett Business Services, the small biz pros, has accounting franchises for sale across the United States and Canada, so call us today at 866-729-8725.

Posted in Franchise Resources | 1 Comment

When Your Business is Brand-New, a Trusted Brand Name is Just What You Need

Posted on December 28, 2011 by admin

Padgett Accounting Business FranchiseYou have the background and experience to assist small businesses with their accounting and financial reporting. You have the entrepreneurial spirit to risk going out on your own into the marketplace, and you have the drive to succeed. What you probably don’t have is a recognized name, a public image and a well-known track record of helping small businesspeople to solve their problems. That’s where Padgett Business Services, the small biz pros, come in – because buying a franchise from Padgett brings you all of these things!

The Padgett brand confers instant credibility, because Padgett Business Services has been known since 1966 as a reliable partner for small business. When you have the Padgett sign on your office and in your marketing materials, potential clients can immediately place you as an authoritative source of accounting, tax and payroll know-how, as well as sound business advice. Your affiliation with Padgett lets business customers know that you can be relied on, and that you’re here to stay.

Those aren’t just empty perceptions, either. Aside from devoting 45 years (and counting) to assisting small businesses, the Padgett family provides a network of experience and expertise that franchisees can fall back on. That’s a big reason why Padgett’s franchises for sale are considered one of the top accounting business opportunities available in North America today.

There are a lot of other small business opportunities out there, but few can match what Padgett Business Services has to offer. We even offer home-based business opportunities that come with the Padgett name.

To see how having the Padgett brand behind you can propel you toward success, contact us today. You can connect with us via our website’s contact page or by phone at 866-729-8725. We’ll tell you more about Padgett Business Services accounting franchises for sale from coast to coast in the United States and Canada, as well as how to begin the process of gaining your independence through taking charge of your own Padgett franchise.

Posted in Accounting Franchise Opportunities | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment