Common Mistakes to Avoid When Entering Into a Franchise Financing Loan

Many Canadian would be entrepreneurs and business owners find that financing a franchise is often as challenging (if not more so) than the process and work and due diligence in selecting the right business to purchase.Lets share some hands on, ‘real world’ advice and tips on franchise finance in Canada. Fantasy might often work for you, but NOT in business financing!Business financing is a challenge on any level, major corporations wrestle with it everyday, and you are wrestling with it as you contemplate your new business venture. Naturally all our comments and advice relate to both a new franchise or your purchase of an existing business that is being sold by a franchisee.A lot of franchises would do well to understand how the franchise industry is regulated in Canada and what types of disclosure and protection are in place for both you, and, to be fair, the franchisor. Those rights and obligations you have are under something called the ‘Arthur Wishart Act’ if you are in Ontario – other provinces have similar legislation. We strongly recommend that you look at the Act, and quite frankly your lawyer might be the best one to do this.Clients always ask us what rate they might be expected to pay on a franchise finance loan in Canada. We are very clear on that, and the answer is ‘ it depends ‘! Would a rate in the 5-6% range sound good to you. We certainly think it does given you are a small business and in many cases viewed as a ‘start up ‘, notwithstanding your franchisors depth and reputation. That interest rate is available to you through a loan technically known as the BIL loan, also called the CSBF loan. Lay people call it the government Small Business Loan, and it is categorically the way in which a majority of the franchises in Canada are financed. Speak to trusted, credible an experienced advisor in this area of franchise finance who can successfully complete this financing for you.Is a BIL franchise loan the only way to finance a franchise? Definitely not, other alternatives include a cash term loan, equipment financing for any hard assets in the business, and the final piece of the puzzle, which is your own owner equity or cash investment into the business. All business is financed by borrowing (debt) plus the owner equity contribution.Can you get a franchise finance loan without any personal guarantees – the quick tip and answer is ‘ no ‘, we don’t think so, but we also point out to clients the aforementioned BIL loan requires only a 25% personal guarantee.Clients always ask if a franchise can be financed with no down payment – here’s our quick tip on that – No, absolutely not. Whether you are financing a pizza franchise or building a car mfg plant any lender in North America will look to some owner financial involvement in the project. The balance act becomes how much, as there are pros and cons of putting down too much or too little equity.Can you purchase a franchise without some thought around a business plan – we don’t think so, and info act the best tip we can give you is to do a business plan, and if you aren’t preparing it personally at least stay involved in the input and the process. It will steer you towards a common sense level of financial success in your business.Prospective franchisees are always asking if an appraisal is required. Generally it is, but the biggest tip we can give you in this area is that the modest cost of an appraisal can actually be the largest financial benefit to your franchise financing, as it has the ability to increase lender confidence and lower your estimated personal financial commitment to the business.Franchise finance has many small twists and turns along your process – investigate financing options thoroughly and our tips should help you to minimize personal risk and maximize the financing of your business.

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Providing Network Installation For Your Current And Future Usage

Considering the complexity of networks and the role networks play in one’s daily activities, your best bet when planning a home or business computer system configuration, is to hire a professional service for your system installation.Prior to the actual installation, you must review certain scenarios which will ensure that youinstall a network that is adequate for today but can easily accommodate your needs as your company grows. Because making a poor choice during this phase is detrimental to the success of your network installation, hiring a professional network installation service is also crucial.UsageYou will need to know who will use the network and what they will use the network for. This means that for each area of your enterprise or for each person on your home network, you will need to gather and document requirements. Failing to acquire input from the actual users on the network may render your network inadequate and force you to expand or replace your network prematurely.Indeed you know the individual network users and you probably have an idea how each will use the network. Generalizations though may lead you to install an inadequate network and hence is the reason it is beneficial to have your network installation completed by professionals.Growth Impacts Network UsageA consideration for growth plays a huge role in installing your network. Plans for future growth – including expansions, employee retention and recruitment, and new product developments will impact network usage because items such as additional work stations and additional software may be required.Your network must be able to withstand future growth without requiring total replacements or expensive patches. Determining the best network configuration for current usage and for future growth is an explicit advantage of obtaining professional network installation. Many areas have technicians who can install your network but only a professional network installation service can ensure that you project for future needs.Design & SecurityNetwork design and security are also important considerations for network installation. Decisions regarding your network topology, workstation NICs, the operating system you will use and the type of cabling must be determined before installation can take place. Even cable location and server, peripheral and computer location must be accounted for.Security is also a huge factor and you must determine how you will protect your network and what protocols and policies you will implement. Providing network installation in the Maryland, Baltimore, Ellicott City, and Annapolis, Hanover and Columbia areas, we ensure that your network is designed to serve you for years and that your network is secure.ManagementOnce the system is installed, it will not self manage. You will need to determine who will manage the system. Whether you choose to manage yourself or hire a consultant to manage your network will largely depend on the complexity of your network and your commitment to having a dedicated person available to handle network issues and maintenance. Technicians can assist you in establishing the appropriate strategy for management of your network prior to your network installation.DocumentationNo installation is complete without sound documentation. Documentation can help in the event that disaster recovery is required or if a legacy system needs to be replaced. Documentation provides:
evidence of the software on the network including licenses and renewals
identification of equipment and hardware – information required for maintenance such as service tags
disk capacity on the network
DNS for external websites and routing
description of servers on the network
administrator rights on the server
IP addresses and NetBIOS names
Documentation is clearly vital to the success of your installation. Service providers can all probably attest to the difficulties involved when attempting to install a network with no documentation. Lack of documentation slows the installation process and encourages future difficulties.

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Art and Crafts For Kids

Times sure have changed over the years. In the past, children were very interested in all kinds of art and crafts. However, in this day and age, most boys and girls are so into electronics like video games, cell phones, and iPods. It can be difficult to get you kid up and moving sometimes. Naturally this has an affect on their imaginations. If you don’t use your brain and explore new things, you will end up bored fast. This is where fun art and crafts for kids come in handy. The key is to introduce your child to crafts and art projects at an early age. If you do so, you will have a good chance of getting them interested for the long run. When they are small, kids will be interested in what you have in mind for fun.Let’s go over a few websites that can be of assistance when it comes to art and crafts for kids. First there is FatBrainToys.com. This company offers a vast array of products that can assist your child with learning all sorts of cool new things. You should also check out cool websites like OrientalTrading.com, and ChangingImages.com. These are also great sites that will help you with art and crafts for kids. The key is to make the experiences fun. If you do not, then you will have some difficulty getting your children interested. With the utter deluge of arts and craft information and products at your fingertips nowadays, there is really no reason why you can’t get your kids involved.This is better for your children and their minds than playing video games all day. When you kids just sit around and play with electronics, their imaginations kind of go kaput. This is the last thing you want. Take some times to introduce art and crafts for kids to your little ones. This is a great way for the entire family to have a blast together. You do not have to spend a great deal of money keeping your kids entertained. If you stop by a simple crafts store like Michaels, you can easily pick up a few different items to get your children started. Go ahead and take them with you. This way they get to explore the store and see what all they have to offer in regards to art and crafts for kids.Since there are several branches of arts and crafts, it is essential to let your children explore them. This is a great way to help them find their niche. While one child may enjoy painting on canvas, another child might prefer ceramics and dealing with clay. It simply depends on the child and his/her imagination. There is so much to explore when it comes to arts and crafts for children.

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