“Working out more” is one of the most popular New Year’s resolutions, so much so that despite the cold and wintry gloom, January continues to be one of the busiest months of the year for fitness franchises.

Economically-speaking, though, 2009 promises to be a different year than any in recent memory, and fitness franchises are no different. Perhaps, in this recession-age, a gym membership will become a luxury that people can no longer afford. But even though the fitness industry has noted a general slump in recent months, creative franchisors are finding new means to bring new customers in.

For instance, gyms in Tyler, Texas, are offering referral discounts of up to six months for every four new customers brought in. Others are offering January discounts. Other fitness franchises have noted a switch towards the most inexpensive athletic centres, like the YMCA, and are accordingly modifying their cost structure.

So while people may put wallets ahead of their fitness this new year, early signs are showing that physical well-being is as important as ever to Americans. Which is heartening news to fitness franchisors or people considering their next franchise investment.

We just couldn’t let 2008 pass with pointing out an excellent article from the December issue of Business Week magazine that spells out the virtues of franchising.

The article offers prescient advice about some of the important practicalities involved in franchising, including utilising top-notch consultants and employing sound legal advice.

Also featured are three important questions prospective franchisors should ask themselves before commiting themselves to franchising:

1. Firstly, is your flagship business successful? Your flagship’s success will provide the blueprint to a thriving franchise operation.

2. Is your business solely reliant upon your presence? If work is stopping you from taking a vacation, handing over the reins of your franchised business to a manager may prove extremely difficult.

3. Is your business idea simple enough to be franchised?

“Any business that requires a specialized skill or creative talent—say, a restaurant with a complicated menu or a boutique clothing store—isn’t ideal. Relatively simple concepts tend to do the best because they appeal to a diverse pool of would-be franchisees and are quick to launch.”

If you’ve answered ‘Yes’ to these three questions, odds are, you have a business concept that’s perfectly suited to franchising.

Stick with Franchise Direct this year for all the latest news from the world of franchising.

Thanks to Franchise Direct, franchising is going green. As businesses continue to embrace environmentally-friendly practices, the franchising industry has witnessed the recent growth in ‘green’ franchises. As such, Franchise Direct, the world’s leading portal for franchise opportunities, is proud to announce the launch its own line of green businesses. Eco-conscious business practice represents the way forward and Franchise Direct is looking to provide the entrepreneurial world with a green injection.

The reasons for a green conversion are bountiful. The world can no longer sit idly by and expect the earth’s resources to replenish themselves. And while necessity drives the engine of environmentally-friendly commerce, profit is still part of the equation. The truth is, the time is coming is when environmentally-friendly practice will be the exception, not the rule, for small business owners. Innovative entrepreneurs are developing their green businesses at the moment and Franchise Direct has decided to provide them with platform for global success.

With Franchise Direct’s green franchises, entrepreneurs will be provided with a vast range of business opportunities linked together by a common commitment towards saving energy and utilising green energy methods. As the green marketplace continues to expand, Franchise Direct will be the central resource for this franchising sector, fostering the gradual evolution of the industry.

Take, for example, a company like Filtafry. In 1996, Filtagroup launched the Filtafry brand, after pioneering a cleaner oil filtration technique. Filtafry gained attention from restaurant owners immediately because it provided a more economical approach to oil filtration. Its environmental impact, however worthy, was something of a secondary concern. But Filtrfry sensed that a market was developing and chose to continue investing in its line of environmentally-sustainable products. Thirteen years later and Filtafry is at the forefront of its industry and living proof that green businesses can also be profitable ones.

The Franchise Filtafry is just one of the exciting environmentally-conscious companies that Franchise Direct now provides access to. There are also green opportunities with pizza, home cleaning and indoor air cleaning businesses with Franchise Direct. And this is only the tip of the franchising iceberg. As the marketplace responds to the present environmental challenges, green franchises like Filtafry will become more and more essential to commercial activities. You can be guaranteed that Franchise Direct will be on hand to provide entrepreneurs with direct access to the most innovative green businesses.

As the success of a company like Filtafry illustrates, there’s no stopping a unique entrepreneurial idea. If you’re an investor look to ride the crest of the green wave to financial success or if you have a sustainable business concept that’s ready to thrive on a national level, let Franchise Direct act as your conduit to profitability and business growth.

As we all know, there is no wishing away the economic downturn at this stage. It has quickly become part of our lives and the most opportune investers are trying to position themselves with the business most able to weather a bad economic stretch.

There are a lot of theories about which industries are recession-proof. It’s certainly a subject that we’ve discussed on this blog. The truth is, there’s no way of exactly saying, as each recession differs from the one that precedes it. Interestingly though, Scott Shane, who writes for the website smallbiztrends.com and teaches entrepreneurial studies, compared data from the last two recessions (1990-1991 and 2001-2003) in search of trends among the small business that succeeded.

Shane used pretty rigorous criteria to determine a recession-proof business. A company had to experience a 20% increase in each of the following categories to be considered recession-proof: the number of establishments; the number of employees; the dollar amount of payroll; the number of establishments with 20 or fewer employees; the number of employees at establishments with 20 or fewer employees; and the dollar amount of payroll at establishments of 20 or fewer employees.

Pooling all of his data together, Shane found only a handful of industries that experienced booms as the rest of the economy slumped: banking-related businesses, accident and health insurers, health practioners and business consultants.

The findings are highly interesting, indeed. One thing Shane admits is that every recession is different, and so it is rare to see a business thrive in two recessions. As for thriving in three recessions, banking-related businesses are facing into a tough few months given the collapse of Wall Street. The future may look brighter for business consultants and insurers, though.

Shane also makes two other points:

• Some industries grow at a steathfully during a recession.
• Insurance, health care, and consulting tend to be recession-resistant industries for people running small businesses.

As for his second point, Franchise Direct brings you some of the most vibrant insurance, health care and consulting franchises in the industry. Find out more today.

With VetFran, over 350 companies have signed up to assist qualified veterans purchase franchises by offering them financial incentives. VetFran was started 17 years ago by the late Don Dwyer during the first Persian Gulf War. The idea behind VetFran was to allow veterans easy access into contributing to the economy after their service abroad. Over 100 companies originally signed up and the operation, which was eventually taken over by Don’s daughter, Dina Dwyer-Owens, was grown from strength to strength.

Vet Fran was created with assistance from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Veterans Corporation, and the U.S. Small Business Administration, and includes outreach initiatives to our country’s military and veteran organizations. VetFran is one of the most innovative initiatives in franchising and here’s a somewhat belated thanks to America’s veterans. If you’re an honorably-disarmed veteran looking to set out on a new course in life, VetFran may have an opportunity for you.

new-found interest in entrepreneurship

TV viewers will, of course, remember ABC’s popular program American Inventor, which ran for two seasons. Another sign of a boom in entrepreneurial TV is news that ABC has teamed the don of reality TV, Survivor creator Mark Burnett, to produce a show called ‘The Shark’s Tank’, which is based on the successful British show ‘The Dragon’s Den’. The Shark’s Tank concept, which has already proved itself popular in Australia, New Zealand, Israel, Canada, the Netherlands, Finland, Nigeria, and the UK, allows entrepreneurs to pitch their new concepts to a group of investors with the hope of receiving capital investment.

So how do you explain network television’s sudden interest in the experiences of entrepreneurs? First off, programs like American Entrepreneur make for good, entertaining television, otherwise they wouldn’t last in prime time. Still, the growth of entrepreneurial television seems to speak to something deeper in the American experience. Certainly, these programs celebrate the value and spirit for entrepreneurship. But the small business owner, who was quite common in 1950s television, has been somewhat phased out of prime time in recent years. This trend directly goes against the perceived political value of small business owners—who became the centerpiece of John McCain’s flailing campaign in its final days. Joe the Plumber, as none of us will forget, emerged as a national phenomenon.

At a time of great economic uncertainty in America, these programs reinforce the notion that it’s America’s innovative businessmen and businesswomen who got the country to where it is today and will guide it in the future. Time will tell if reality shows like American Entrepreneur help mold the next generation of entrepreneurs, but for anyone passionate about small business, it is refreshing to turn on the television and see the entrepreneurial spirit being celebrated. And, who knows, there might be a profitable idea or two to be promoted as well…

As we all know, these are trying times for small businesses. The credit crunch is biting and insurance costs are skyrocketing.

“The state of the union for small business is bad,” says Moody’s Economy.com chief economist, Mark Zandi recently told CNN recently.

Here’s more bad news for entrepreneurs: a recent Fortune Small Business/Zogby International poll says 42% of U.S. small-business owners have had their businesses had go down in the last four years.

That said, there are still reasons for small business owners to be positive. Just look at the boom in the education and health-service sectors last year. And with the low cost of the dollar, small businesses have enjoyed a bumper year for exports. Statistics from the Small Business Administration shows exports up 63 percent over the last five years for small firms.

Financial experts are now advocating a sensible approach for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Here are three elements which might be able to bring further relief:

* Health care costs: The Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) was introduced by Congress in April 2008. The Small Business Association is excited by the cost-cutting opportunities that the bill presents.

* Credit cuts: there have been calls to the SBA to raise its current 7(a) loan guarantees from 75 – 85 percent to 100 percent. This move would go a long way towards restoring confidence of small business owners and getting them back in business

* Help exporters: some franchisors might not know about the Government’s Gold Key service. In this service, the Department of Commerce charges $700 to match business owners and distributors. There were 1,200 Gold Key requests and this is another tool that might help small business owners through this trying time.

Yet despite this uncertainty, every entrepreneur will be familiar with Warren Buffet’s famous maxim on investing: “Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful.” Enterprising franchisees will be surveying the suffering business world and envisioning future success when the upturn comes around. The obvious question then is which kind of franchise makes for the perfect opportunity at this financial  moment.

Many businesses claim to be recession-resistant, but shrewd franchisees must see the bigger picture when considering their big investment. Franchisees should only really be considering buying into the most proven brands and products—the day of investing heavily in gimmicky items is over, it seems. There must also be inherent value in the product you are buying into. It must not be a niche item, but instead something that will work for you. For these reasons and for many other, the time seems right to focus on Vending Franchises.

Vending opportunities come in an array of shapes and sizes, stocking a number of interesting items. With Franchise Direct alone, there are vending opportunities for the sale of DVDs, coffee, yogurt and ice. The tremendous diversity within vending franchises is only one of their selling points. Just think of the low overhead costs. Rather than have to spend long nights sweating about staff or rents costs, you can sleep easy knowing that a vending machine will simply pay for itself.

Market forecasts show that vending businesses blossomed by over 43 per cent earlier this decade, according to industry publication Vending Times. And the beauty of a vending business is that while people’s tastes and interests change constantly, the medium, i.e. the vending machine, remains constant. The financial world may be in total upheaval, and  people may be holding back on that extra restaurant meal on a weekend, or that nagging car problem, but the immediacy of a vending product, be it an a can of Coke or a cup of coffee, makes them invaluable products.

Still, there are essential things to consider when purchasing a vending business. Having the time to stock the product is a must before signing up to owning your own machine. Likewise, the location you choose is essentially linked to the profitability of your venture. That said, if you can find a vending concept that will be a sure-fire success, the time has never been better to own your own vending franchise.