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The first question you should ask is: IS MY BUSINESS FRANCHISEABLE?Franchising your business can be a very successful way of expanding your business, provided that you have a business to begin with. Many of today’s well-known brands have used franchising to accelerate the growth of their existing businesses, building national or even international brands in the process. However, franchising should never be seen as a testing ground for a brand new (and unproven) business idea but as a means of expanding an already successful business.The following characteristics make a business franchiseable:Credibility and a proven concept - The concept needs to be proven. The company must have a good track record and an experienced management team.Potential to establish a memorable brand -The brand should be memorable, registered and capable of being expanded into different parts of the country, eventually perhaps even into other countries.Profitability and access to capital - To franchise a business is not, and can never be, a means of funding a new business, or rescuing a business that is in trouble. For a business to be franchiseable, it needs to offer more than mere potential. It needs to have a proven record of success and generate adequate gross margins to allow franchisees to make money after they have paid their franchise fees, repaid their loan and paid themselves a market related salary. Franchising is also capital intensive as the franchisor needs to get professional advice and build an infrastructure. The franchisor should have access to capital and shouldn’t sell franchises for survival. Return on investment for the franchisee and franchisor Both franchisee and franchisor should obtain a reasonable return on investment. The franchisor should receive a return on the investment in the development costs. The franchisee should receive a return on the investment in setting up an individual outlet. A good franchise will deliver a return on the initial investment within 3 to 4 years.Uniqueness and high barrier to entry - The business to be franchised needs to have a unique selling point that will allow it to differentiate its products or services from those of its competitors. This sustainable competitive advantage would allow it to compete successfully in its markets nationally, with possible potential to eventually expand internationally.Sustainable and growing demand - The franchisor needs to ensure that demand exists in different areas, and that the product has staying power. The market for the product or service should be growing and the demand must be sustainable.Intellectual property and systems - The business needs to have a set of systems, procedures, expertise, skills and know-how that optimises every operational step. This, in a nutshell, is the purpose of the operations and procedures manual.Transfer of skills - It must be possible to train prospective franchisees lacking experience in the sector within a reasonable period. This is important because to permit new franchisees to operate a business under the network’s brand before they are adequately trained would be a recipe for disaster. Practical considerations dictate that franchisees cannot afford to spend long periods in training. Most franchisors recognise this and aim to train their franchisees within three months or less. However, there are exceptions. This needs to be considered when working out the total cost of the franchise the prospect incurs (which needs to include the lack of income during training.)Support infrastructure must be in place - The franchisor must provide intensive initial and ongoing support to franchisees. This requires manpower, facilities, a veritable set of skills and absolute dedication to the creation of win/win outcomes.The product should demand a price premium- It’s difficult to franchise a product that is seen as a commodity or that is the target of price wars. This makes for a difficult competitive environment where franchisees will be under constant pressure. The margins must also be high enough to afford franchise fees. The added element of personal service from an owner operator can mitigate price sensitivity to some extent.The company must have a franchise culture- It’s important to have a culture that is open, learning orientated and participative. Autocratic companies will find it difficult to franchise, since franchisees are not employees to be dictated to but should be seen as business partners.FRANCHISING A BUSINESS IN SOUTH AFRICAHaving a concept that has been working well over a reasonable period as a freestanding business is the first step to the creation of a successful franchise. Moreover, the franchisor must understand how the business operates and what systems, procedures, expertise etc are at the roots of its success.This development period eases the franchisor into the task of entering a new business – to franchise a concept to others. During this period, the franchisor will also have had an opportunity to bring the market research up to date and correct any problems that may have manifested themselves, be they linked to the product range or operational issuesThe importance of a company owned operationIn addition to the core business, the franchisor should operate at least one unit at arm’s length before franchising commences in earnest. This means testing the concept as a franchise, perhaps in the form of a joint venture with a trusted staff member or outsider. At this point, problems that manifest themselves can be addressed. It may emerge, for example, that new franchisees require a longer training period than originally thought, or instructions given in the operations and procedures manual may prove inadequate.Retaining a company owned outlet helps the franchisor to generate income to fund ongoing operations. It also forms the ideal base for providing training and testing new products and/or services.Operations and procedures manualThe operations and procedures manual needs to be prepared with care. This is the blueprint for how franchisees should run their businesses and must contain a detailed explanation of the business system and how the business must operate. Keep in mind that the franchise agreement will contain numerous references to the manual, therefore, it should be prepared before a lawyer is instructed to draw up the agreement.Drafting a good operations and procedures manual is a time consuming task that should not be underestimated. Assistance by consultants will ease the burden considerably. Once in place, however, the manual can be used for a multitude of purposes including:As a day-to-day reference tool for use by the franchisee and his/her employees. (The more comprehensive the manual, the less likely it is that the franchisee has to call head office at every turn or, worse still, develops his/her own solutions to problems.)As a training tool by the franchisor when training franchisees.As a training tool by the franchisee when training employees.It also forms a framework for the further development of the brand and the network.Franchise agreementThe franchise agreement governs the relationship between the franchisor and each individual franchisee. It should protect the interests of the network as well as those of the franchisee, and covers the following:Duration of the initial agreement and renewal rights if applicable. (On occasion, franchise agreements are open-ended, but the majority of them are entered into for a fixed period.)Rights and obligations of both parties.Termination provisions and what happens in the event of illness, death or incapacity of the franchisee.Franchise agreements are governed by the Consumer Protection Act (CPA) and should comply with its requirements. It is important to consult with an attorney with proven experience in franchise matters to ensure that the franchise agreement is compliant.Disclosure documentThe disclosure document must contain everything a prospective franchisee needs to know to make an informed decision regarding the opportunity. In addition to a run-down of the nature of the business, details of the people behind it and the work franchisees are expected to carry out, it is especially important to provide meaningful financial projections. In terms of the guidelines issued by the Franchise Association of Southern Africa (FASA), the franchise agreement will make reference to the disclosure document. Also, the CPA has certain requirements of disclosure documents and these must be met to ensure legal compliance.This implies legal consequences, therefore, the franchisor should consult with a competent consultant and/or attorney before issuing a disclosure document.Franchisee profileDeciding who will make an ideal franchisee is an essential step. Good franchisees help to build the network into the leader in its sector, bad ones can bring it down. Franchise fees notwithstanding, franchisors make a huge investment in their franchisees and depend on them to help them grow the business. It follows that choosing the right franchisees is vital, especially but not only during the early stages as the initial franchisees form the backbone of the network.The franchisor needs to identify what skills, experience and characteristics are essential for success, develop a profile around these findings and strictly adhere to it. Next, the franchisor should consider tools such as psychometric assessments to assess whether the potential franchisee fits the profile required.TrainingThe franchisor needs to decide what training franchisees require, its duration, where it will be presented and who will deliver the training. The franchisor should develop both an initial and ongoing training programme for franchisees.Franchise feesSetting the correct franchise fees is a vital success factor. If fees are set too low, franchisee support will suffer, if fees are set too high, franchisees will be unable to make ends meet.Initial fee – Although there is no law governing this, it is accepted good practice that the initial fee should not contain a significant profit component for the franchisor. The franchisor’s return should come from ongoing management services fees. The purpose of the initial fee is to compensate the franchisor for costs incurred during start-up assistance to a franchisee.Management services fee – Set it at a level that ensures that the franchisor’s operation becomes financially viable over time, keeping in mind that the franchisee must have a chance to earn adequate returns on his/her investment and labour. The fee should be market related when benchmarking against other franchises in the category.Marketing fee – Marketing is an investment and not an expense. One of the benefits of joining a franchise is the access to an existing brand and national marketing campaigns. The marketing fee should also be market related. According to the CPA, marketing contributions must be paid into a separate bank account and franchisees must receive feedback on the use of the funds. Ideally, the franchisor should match franchisee contributions to have a marketing budget that is substantial enough to make an impact.Recruiting franchiseesThere are numerous ways of doing this. Leading the way is online portals such as the whichfranchise website, then there are exhibitions, advertisements in business publications and so on. The franchisor will need to create literature that outlines the structure and nature of your franchise and what’s involved in becoming a franchisee of the network.Management and support staffThe franchise management team plays a key role in a franchised network. They are usually responsible for selecting franchisees and providing initial and ongoing support. Moreover, they also monitor franchisee performance and reporting and provide technical assistance to franchisees. As these are key staff members, relied upon to recruit, manage and support franchisees, they should be top calibre people and employed in sufficient numbers to ensure adequate coverage of the network and should be trained on the intricacies of maintaining good franchise relationships.For help and advice on franchising your business find out more about Franchising Plus

Export in itself is a vast concept, and an exporter requires a lot of preparations before starting an export business. To start an export business, the following steps may be followed:1) Establishing an OrganisationTo start the export business, first, a Sole Proprietary concern/ Partnership firm/Company has to be set up as per procedure with an attractive name and logo.2) Opening a Bank AccountA current account with a bank authorized to deal in Foreign Exchange should be opened.3) Obtaining Permanent Account Number (PAN)Every exporter and importer must obtain a PAN from the Income Tax Department. (To apply PAN Card Click here)4) Obtaining the Importer-Exporter Code (IEC) NumberAs per the Foreign Trade Policy, it is mandatory to get IEC for export/import from India. Para 2.05 of the FTP, 2015-20 lays down the procedure to be followed for obtaining an IEC, which is PAN based.An application for IEC is filed online at www.dgft.gov.in as per ANF 2A, online payment of application fee of Rs. 500/- through net Banking or credit/debit card is made along with requisite documents as mentioned in the application form. (For more information Click here)5) Registration cum membership certificate (RCMC)For availing authorization to import/ export or any other benefit or concession under FTP 2015-20, as also to avail the services/ guidance, exporters are required to obtain RCMC granted by the concerned Export Promotion Councils/ FIEO/Commodity Boards/ Authorities.6) Selection of productAll items are freely exportable except few items appearing in prohibited/ restricted list.After studying the trends of export of different products from India proper selection of the product(s) to be exported may be made.7) Range of MarketsAn overseas market should be selected after research covering market size, competition, quality requirements, payment terms, etc. Exporters can also evaluate the markets based on the export benefits available for a few countries under the FTP. Export promotion agencies, Indian Missions abroad, colleagues, friends, and relatives might be helpful in gathering information.8) Finding BuyersParticipation in trade fairs, buyer-seller meets, exhibitions, B2B portals, web browsing are a useful tool to find buyers. EPC’s, Indian Missions abroad, overseas chambers of commerce can also be helpful. Creating multilingual Website with product catalog, price, payment terms, and other related information would also help.9) SamplingProviding customized samples as per the demands of Foreign buyers help in getting export orders. As per FTP 2015-2020, exports of bonafide trade and technical examples of freely exportable items shall be allowed without any limit.10) Pricing/CostingProduct pricing is crucial in getting buyers’ attention and promoting sales in view of international competition. The price should be worked out taking into consideration all expenses from sampling to realization of export proceeds on the basis of terms of sale i.e. Free on Board (FOB), Cost, Insurance & Freight (CIF), Cost & Freight(C&F), etc. The goal of establishing export costing should be to sell maximum quantity at a competitive price with a maximum profit margin. Preparing an export costing sheet for every export product is advisable.11) Negotiation with BuyersAfter determining the buyer’s interest in the product, future prospects and continuity in business, demand for giving reasonable allowance/discount in price may be considered.12) Covering Risks through ECGCInternational trade involves payment risks due to buyer/ Country insolvency. These risks can be covered by an appropriate Policy from Export Credit Guarantee Corporation Ltd (ECGC). Where the buyer is placing an order without making advance payment or opening letter of Credit, it is advisable to procure credit limit on the foreign buyer from ECGC to protect against the risk of non-payment. (To know more about ECGC Click here)Processing an Export Orderi. Confirmation of orderOn receiving an export order, it should be examined scrutinized of items, specification, payment conditions, packaging, delivery schedule, etc. and then the order shoullawconfirmed. Accordingly, the exporter may enter into a formal contract with the overseas buyer.ii. Procurement of GoodsAfter confirmation of the export order, immediate steps may be taken for procurement/manufacture of the goods meant for export. It should be remembered that the order has been obtained with much efforts and competition, so the procurement should also be strict as per buyer’s requirement.iii. Quality ControlIn today’s competitive era, it is essential to be strict quality conscious about the export goods. Some products like food and agriculture, fishery, certain chemicals, etc. are subject to compulsory pre-shipment inspection. Foreign buyers may also lay down their standards/specifications and insist upon inspection by their private nominated agencies. Maintaining high quality is necessary to sustain in export business.iv. FinanceExporters are eligible to obtain pre-shipment and post-shipment funding from Commercial Banks at concessional interest rates to complete the export transaction. Packing Credit advance in the pre-shipment stage is granted to new exporters against lodgment of L/C or confirmed order for 180 days to meet working capital requirements for purchase of raw material/finished goods, labor expenses, packing, transporting, etc. Usually, Banks give 75% to 90% advances of the value of the order keeping the balance as margin. Banks adjust the packing credit advance from the proceeds of export bills negotiated, purchased or discounted.Post Shipment finance is given to exporters generally up to 90% of the Invoice value for standard transit period and in cases of usance export bills up to notional due date. The maximum period for post-shipment advances is 180 days from the date of shipment. Increases granted by Banks are adjusted by the realization of the sale proceeds of the export bills. In case the export bill becomes overdue Banks will charge commercial lending rate of interest.v. Labeling, Packaging, Packing, and MarkingThe export goods should be labeled, packaged and packed strictly as per the buyer’s specific instructions. Good packaging delivers and presents the products in top condition and in an attractive way. Similarly, good packing helps secure handling, maximum loading, reducing shipping costs and to ensuring safety and standard of the cargo. Marking such as an address, package number, port, and place of destination, weight, handling instructions, etc. provides identification and information of load packed.vi. InsuranceThe marine insurance policy covers risks of loss or damage to the goods during the while the products are in transit. Generally, in CIF contract, the exporters arrange the insurance whereas for C&F and FOB contract the buyers obtain an insurance policy.vii. DeliveryIt is essential to feature of export, and the exporter must adhere to the delivery schedule. Planning should be there to let nothing stand in the way of fast and efficient delivery.viii. Customs ProceduresIt is necessary to obtain PAN based Business Identification Number (BIN) from the Customs before the filing of shipping bill for clearance of export good and open a current account in the designated bank for crediting of any drawback amount, and the same has to be registered on the system.In case of Non-EDI, the shipping bills or bills of export are required to be filled in the format as prescribed in the Shipping Bill and Bill of Export (Form) regulations, 1991. An exporter needs to apply different forms of shipping bill/ bill of export for export of duty-free goods, the export of dutiable goods and export under drawback, etc.Under EDI System, declarations in the prescribed format are to be filed through the Service Centers of Customs. A checklist is generated for verification of data by the exporter/CHA. After verification, the data is submitted to the System by the Service Center operator, and the System makes a Shipping Bill Number, which is endorsed on the printed checklist and returned to the exporter/CHA. In most of the cases, a Shipping Bill is processed by the system based on declarations made by the exporters without any human intervention. Where the Appraiser Dock (export) orders for samples to be drawn and tested, the Customs Officer may proceed to draw two examples from the consignment and enter the particulars thereof along with details of the testing agency in the ICES/E system.Any correction/amendments in the check list generated after the filing of the declaration can be made at the service center if the documents have not yet been submitted in the system and the shipping bill number has not been generated. In situations, where corrections are required to be made after the generation of the shipping bill number or after the goods have been brought into the Export Dock, amendments are carried out in the following manners.1. The products have not yet been allowed "let export" changes may be permitted by the Assistant Commissioner (Exports).2. Where the "Let Export" order has already been given, amendments may be permitted only by the Additional/Joint Commissioner, Custom House, in charge of the export section.In both the cases, after the permission for amendments has been granted, the Assistant Commissioner / Deputy Commissioner (Export) may approve the changes on the system on behalf of the Additional /Joint Commissioner. Where the print out of the Shipping Bill has already been generated, the exporter may first surrender all copies of the shipping bill to the Dock Appraiser for cancellation before the amendment is approved on the system.ix. Customs House AgentsExporters may avail services of Customs House Agents licensed by the Commissioner of Customs. They are professionals and facilitate work connected with the clearance of cargo from Customs.x. DocumentationFTP 2015-2020 describe the following mandatory documents for import and export.· Bill of Lading/ Airway bill· Commercial invoice cum packing list· shipping bill/ bill of export/ bill of entry (for imports)(Other documents like certificate of origin, inspection certificate, etc. may be required as per the case.)xi. Submission of documents to BankAfter shipment, it is obligatory to present the documents to the Bank within 21 days for onward dispatch to the foreign Bank for arranging payment. Papers should be drawn under Collection/Purchase/Negotiation under L/C as the case may be, along with the following documents- Bill of Exchange- Letter of Credit (if the shipment is under L/C)- Invoice- Packing List- Airway Bill/Bill of Lading- Declaration under Foreign Exchange- Certificate of Origin/GSP- Inspection Certificate, wherever necessary- Any other document as required in the L/C or by the buyer or statutorily.xii. Realization of Export ProceedsAs per FTP 2015-2020, all export contracts and invoices shall be denominated either in the freely convertible currency of Indian rupees, but export proceeds should be realized in freely convertible currency except for export to Iran.Export proceeds should be realized in 9 months.

An immigrant who wants to reside in Canada must possess the Canada PR. The Canadian Government issues this Visa to the individual through various guidelines. Any individual from any country, including India, is eligible to get permanent residency in Canada. But, a student or a visitor is not entitled to get Canada PR because their stay is for a definite time. Though you will not be granted the Voting Rights or the passport of Canada but, you can redeem all those rights a citizen is approved of.The process of applying for Canada PR from India starts with the filling up of an ‘Assessment Form.’ While submitting the form few other documents have to be submitted along, to support the information provided. You have to submit documents related to age, education, the experience of work, etc. which are very essential.The authorities concerned scrutinize the applications. After which you would be invited to get in terms with the procedures that have to be further taken. The Citizenship & Immigration Canada selects those applicants who score higher points with the norms of CRS (Comprehensive Ranking System). Your points are going to accumulate as per your languages are known, work experience, education, adaptability. These are also the main requirements in applying Canada PR. Other than all these, you have to also exhibit that you have enough financial back-up to sustain yourself.You must have the necessary awareness of applying for a visa. You should also know which program to prefer for immigration. If you have enough work experience you can choose any one of the programs from Express Entry, Provincial Nominee Program, Quebec Skilled Worker Program.Having chosen any of these programs you will have to submit those documents which would prove that you are competent to carry on what you have chosen. Having a reference letter from your earlier employer is also valuable. Once you choose the program properly the processing gets through for Canada PR. And these are all done as per the rules and guidelines of Canadian Immigration.To apply for permanent residency in Canada it is very compulsory to select the correct immigration program. If you find it tough to understand the procedures and work accordingly, you can take the guidance of a prominent consultancy service which oversees immigration. You can receive worthy assistance from Meharban International. They have some of the best immigration experts in the business. Meharban International which is otherwise known as Meharban Overseas Pvt. Ltd has a fair amount of experience in Canada Immigration.