Small Business & Franchise Resources Center

Franchise Resources | Franchise & Small Business News

IFA’s information hub provides resources designed to keep you informed on the latest franchise thought leadership.

Choose from a list of topics. Select curated content that explores what’s important to the franchise community - franchise and small business news, small business trends, advice from franchise experts, valuable insight and resources from IFA Toolkits, and engaging articles from IFA’s franchise magazine Franchising World.

Information Hub

House bill will prevent overzealous government agency from stifling job creation

Despite the fact that job creation is vital to the economic recovery, recent regulatory action by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Department of Labor (DOL) could have a chilling effect on the nation’s businesses and discourage job creation.

Government Relations

Are financial regulations killing jobs?

There is increasing concern across America that Dodd-Frank, last year's banking regulatory reform, is having harmful, unintended consequences on small business--and jobs. With the economy showing no signs of a return to pre-recession unemployment n

Finance

If a disaster or pandemic strikes, is your franchise business ready?

IFA participated in the kick-off event of the American Red Cross Ready Rating Program, a new, free, online tool designed to help businesses better prepare for emergencies. Franchise businesses face a number of emergencies that could disrupt their organizations at any time, and the American Red Cross is helping everyone feel more confident about the safety of their employees.

Operations & Training

Examiner.com: "The International Franchise Association (IFA) website should be a first stop for individuals considering purchasing a franchise"

As Shelton Rhodes' article on Examiner.com notes, the IFA has great resources for potential franchise owners to read in order to familiarize themselves with the basics of franchising. Successful franchisees tell potential new franchise owners the most important thing to do when considering buying into a franchise system is to do an extensive amount of research, starting with visiting the IFA's web site.

Marketing

Five Must-Do Franchise Support Tactics

A highly successful, energized group of franchisees is critical to the success and growth of any brand. When franchisees are seeing their desired results through the help of an active and engaged franchise support system, their success becomes contagious and begins to create “brand evangelists” to further drive growth in the brand. These brand evangelists promote your brand for you–they assist in selling franchises, driving increases in system-wide sales and in decreasing store closings and transfers. Their attitude becomes infectious, thereby spreading their success throughout the entire system. But this brand enthusiasm is not created overnight. It is developed and nurtured only by providing ongoing, effective franchisee support. The following are the five key components of a first-class franchise support system:

Operations & Training

CNBC’S Behind the Counter: What they left “Untold” About Franchising

The recent CNBC Documentary, Behind the Counter: The Untold Story of Franchising, provided viewers a unique perspective into the $2.3 trillion franchise industry.

Government Relations