Facebook, an international social-networking website, was founded by Harvard University students: Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes in January of 2004. The previous October, founder and CEO, Zuckerberg, had launched the controversial Facemash, which the university shut down just a few days later due to security breaches, copyright violations, and privacy violations. Upon completion of the site, Zuckerberg and his co-founders offered The Facebook (as it was originally known) services to the Kirkland House online mailing list. Several dozen people joined from there, and then, word of mouth spread the rest. According to Dustin Moskovitz, “Within twenty-four hours, we had somewhere between twelve hundred and fifteen hundred registrants.” Today, this online tool serves more than 350 million active users, expanded from its original invitation only to students in the Boston area, the Ivy League, and Stanford University. Further, this website offers free services to anyone over the age of 13. For many consumers, Facebook provides the means of staying in touch with family and friends, without having to create a personal blog. ...

McDonald’s is one of the most established and successful franchises to ever operate. Since 1955, this fast food chain has been in business.  Though it started in the tiny town of Des Plaines, Illinois, this brand can be found in 122 countries around the globe, with more than 30,000 locations.  Eighty-three percent of all McDonald’s franchisers own more than one store, and rarely, do these franchises close because of poor sales. What makes this franchise business opportunity so successful?  And how do I start one? McDonald’s holds high expectations from the beginning with its franchise owners. Not only does this entity require a large investment, but it also must be a non-borrowed cash investment.  This company wants individuals who are serious enough about successfully owning and operating a McDonald’s that they are willing to put forth their own, personal resources.  A minimum of $300,000 is required to even be considered, though buyers are encouraged to have more liquid assets at hand.  Further, “the buyer must pay 25% cash as a down payment toward the purchase of a restaurant (1)”.  McDonald’s allows ...

For many, starting a business can be intimidating and even a little bit scary.  Will my ideas sell?  Do I have a substantial brand, product, or service?  Do I possess the capacity to make this business a success?   Will I be able to make a profit?  Can I sustain a profit?  What if I run into trouble?  The list goes on.  There are many areas to consider.  Because of the risk involved when starting an individual business, often times, people consider buying a franchise.  There are typically more investment costs upfront, but the risk seems much lower because the individual purchases a franchise business opportunity from a successful, already proven company.  One such company, which I want to discuss, is the Subway franchise. Subway Franchise Opportunity Thirteen out of the last seventeen years, Entrepreneur Magazine has rated this franchise the #1 US franchise.  Subway is also currently the largest franchise business opportunity in North America.  Fred DeLuca and Peter Buck started this business in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1965, 44 years ago.  Today, this restaurant chain consists of over 30,000 stores. How did these ...

Franchisee Or Small Business Owner, Many individuals want to go into business for themselves, but struggle with their freedom to choose which option best fits their needs and talents.  Sometimes it’s difficult to decide whether to open a franchise or run a small business.  I say there are advantages and disadvantages to both.  However, in the long run, a franchise appears to be a better choice in my mind. Lets look at the benefits of opening a franchise.  Prior to doing this, one must do adequate research.  Skye King provides answers to some really thoughtful questions.  Upon finishing your research, you may find the below trends. First, you do not have to “reinvent the wheel”.  There are hundreds of successful franchises out there.  You simply need to do your research, crunch some numbers, and find the right franchise for you.  Also, because there are other franchises in operation, you have the benefit of ideas laid before you.  This is an added benefit of choosing a franchise.  To counter, small business owners can say that they get to choose exactly what they want to ...

Not every franchise is that of a McDonald’s, where it has been around forever and everyone knows its face.  Many franchises are brand new.  Because they start in an initial, local area, where they are only known to such, it becomes imperative to broaden a franchises marketing campaign.  The way to globalize a franchise is by using a universal marketing tool:  seo and sms marketing. SEO, short for search engine optimization, provides a way for consumers to find out about your franchise faster.  This is helpful to the franchisee in two ways.  When potential franchisees search the Internet to research franchises they may be interested in, this increases your chances of potential franchisees seeing your franchise first before others.  SEO is designed to prioritize websites in the order they appear from a search engine based on page edits and key words.  I won’t go into the technicalities of the process, but basically what happens is a person types in “franchise opportunities” lets say.  Hundreds of pages then appear from the search.  Have you ever wondered who or what decided the ...

Once an individual has decided which franchise to operate and where, and has received necessary funding to secure the investment, the franchisee must decide which way he will market his new franchise business opportunity. He further needs to devise a social network to help support his marketing strategy that can accomplish his financial goals. The point behind franchises is taking a chain global.  An individual opens a localized franchise, achieves success, and then, eventually, opens another franchise at another location.  Soon enough, these franchise businesses exist across the map.  To me, the best way to achieve this is by penetrating the online and mobile world.  All industries have moved this direction, and it only makes sense to adapt this application to the franchise world as well.  This is especially important if the franchise one opens is not an Internet business franchise. The current forms of mobile marketing, which flood the business world include: sms marketing, text message marketing, and SEO.  Of course, there are other forms of marketing, which still apply here.  Signs, billboards, radio advertisement, and television commercials can only help ...

Today the internet marketing world can crown the new king.  Michael Force not only delivered the most online sale for WMI, he did it handedly. Mr. Force almost double the total earnings of the runner-up, while creating more wealth for his students than any other internet marketer online today. The best part isn't that he the stand alone leader within the online industry, but the fact that he his creating leaders everyday. Michael Force is on a mission to create 100 businesses on the internet that will generate one million dollars a piece by 2012. Who is he creating these businesses for? You, me and anyone else who wants to work out of the house. His WMI compensation plan is a life changing product and his online tool kit he created for his student is one of the best turn-key solution for marketing on the internet. Michael Force - "Job Opportunities Now Available