Franchising

Are Chick-Fil-A Franchise Opportunities the Best Investment Choice?

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Why Does Everyone Love Chick-Fil-A?

The adored quick-service restaurant sandwich began in 1964 in Atlanta, GA. The chicken sandwich was then, a novelty idea before its widespread success which was popularized by original Chick-Fil-A restaurants. Not only is the food great, but many customers visit Chick-Fil-A for the Christian-based culture the company is known for.

Beginning in 1995, on a Texas billboard, a renegade cow statue armed with a paintbrush displayed three words, “Eat Mor Chikin.” These iconic cows and their words became the company’s slogan and marketing mascots. Since then, the cows have evolved into a calendar, holiday, and make-up the majority of the company’s marketing content theme. The restaurants are also known for their stance on being closed on Sundays and using cups with bible verses printed on the bottom.

Chick-Fil-A’s bottom line is, “More than 2.000 restaurants serving hand-breaded chicken sandwiches, hot waffle fries, and genuine hospitality,” as boasted on their website.

How Much does a Franchise Owner Make?

Both franchise and licensing opportunities are available through Chick-Fil-A headquarters.

A prospect operator (what the company calls their franchise owners), must be:

  • Interested in a full-time business opportunity.
  • Possess a proven track record in business leadership.
  • Managed personal finances in a successful manner.
  • A results-oriented worker interested in starting and growing a business.
  • Prepared to have no other active business.

Many writers for business magazines like Forbes and Entrepreneur argue that owners of Chick-Fil-A have a religious investment over fiscal motivations. Many cite company culture like Chick-Fil-A headquarters urging operators to attend Christian-based relationship-building conferences, marketing through church groups, and company-wide political stances as the reasoning for this.

Also interesting, is that  Chick-Fil-A owners usually make around $100,000 dollars compared with the similar franchise Bojangles—whose owners take home $330,000 on average, according to Forbes writer, Emily Schmall.

Licensing a Chick-Fil-A

The company also offers licensing opportunities to food service providers and self-operated food service providers in airports, colleges, universities, health-care facilities and business and industry venues.

Many of these locations have a limited menu to support the interests of the specific licensee.

What Does ROI (Return on Investment) Look Like?

Owning a franchise location in the Chick-Fil-A company costs on average a range between $280,725-$814,650. The liquid capital required is $5,000 with a franchise fee of $10,000.

The reason there is such a large scope within the initial investment is because of other costs to open. Purchasing cooking equipment, construction, hiring employees, training and marketing are all factored into the investment cost. The costs of these all vary depending on the situation.

As with all franchise ownership return on investment (ROI), numbers are situational. This means there is no guarantee of being able to identify how much an individual Chick-Fil-A owner will have the potential to make. A franchisee’s return on investment  is contingent on the demographics around the location, successful marketing strategies, and the cost of opening. But most importantly, it depends on how hard a franchise owner works to ensure their location is successful. Chick-Fil-A headquarters delivers training and support to help franchise owners have a successful opening. On-going support is also facilitated through the company’s headquarters.

Franchising is a two-way street. A franchisor helps build the pathway, but the franchisee is responsible for walking this route to success.

What Are Other Alternate Franchise Opportunities?

Undeniably, Chick-Fil-A is the leader in quick-service chicken consumption franchising. Other top-grossing franchises are: El Pollo Loco, Popeye’s Louisiana Chicken, Boston Market, Bojangles Famous Chicken N’ Biscuits and Entrepreneur Magazine’s best ranking chicken franchise—Wingstop Restaurants INC.

Chicken consumption is up 17% since 2012 reported by the National Chicken Council in 2014. Just taking a look around on major highways and fast-food menus are enough evidence to show the rising national interest in chicken consumption. Most major fast food chains feature a chicken sandwich as a staple on their menu.  

But, what if you are interested in a franchise opportunity outside of the food service industry?

Consider Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique

Company History

The company was founded in 2009 and began franchising in 2014 as a specialty pet grooming and retail store. The premise behind the franchise is taking all the amenities of a big-box pet store combined with the friendliness and convenience of a mom and pop grooming location—creating a truly unique experience for pet animals and their parents.

Founder and CEO, Dan J. Barton, envisioned a place where someone could bring their pet to be pampered in a lap of luxury. A place that smelled great and provided all the nutritious dietary and lifestyle retail choices every loving pet parent would ever need. With this concept as a guiding force, Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique began.

Growth

Since franchising, the company has grown immensely.

Currently, Splash and Dash is ranked #59 on Entrepreneur Magazine’s 500 List for strong growth rates and unique benefits. Splash and Dash has received various awards and rankings including the 500 lists from multiple business magazine rankings, retailer of the year, media spotlights on Fox, and much more!

What keeps Splash and Dash Groomerie & Boutique competitive is the company-wide signature service, “Unlimited Monthly Bath & Brush.” This is win-win for both franchise owners and the pet parents that visit their shops.

Owners love it because it establishes recurring revenue and opens more retail engagement. Customers love it for the same reasons.  Since a pet parent can schedule an appointment anytime with their membership they can conveniently purchase pet supplies while they are already in the shop. A customer can easily book an appointment at their leisure and are provided with all the things their pet would ever need at a one-stop-shop.

Splash and Dash is the only pet franchise with a recurring revenue stream built into the business model. This is a vantage point in the pet franchise realm.

What also makes Splash and Dash stand above the competition is the style of shop owner the company works with. The company believes franchising is all about finding the right fit. A person with a strong work ethic, drive for success, ambition to better the world, and a mind for business makes the perfect Splash and Dash location owner candidate.

Just as Chick-Fil-A is taking the chicken sandwich world by storm, Splash and Dash is disrupting the pet industry one happy doggie at a time.

Play Dirty. Live Clean.

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Is Your Business Growing? It Might be Time to Offer Health Insurance

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The small business administration outlines 600,000 plus franchised small businesses accounting for 40% of U.S retail sales. This number is steadily growing. The proliferation of franchised small business is continuing to report strong numbers in the global economy. 28 million small businesses provide for 54% of all U.S. sales. This means that 52.6 million hardworking Americans make up the work force behind these figures. As part of the affordable care act, organizations with under 50 employees are not mandated to provide health insurance for a small business.

Still, many employers choose to provide health insurance to attract and retain talented employees. There are various options to choose from. An organization’s business model will affect which option in health insurance plans will be the most financially viable. If your once small start-up or franchise is growing in sales and employees it might be time to start reviewing your options.

There are shifting tectonic plates in the healthcare world right now and it’s likely nothing will be resolved anytime soon. This article provides the most up-to-date information on the options for health insurance for a small business and will explore five available options.

Individual Health Insurance

Many argue that the most straightforward approach is individual health insurance. Since individual subsidies are commonly available for families with annual household incomes of approximately $95K, and there is flexibility for each employee to choose from thousands of plans for the exact coverage they need, the appeal of taking advantage of the individual market for health insurance for a small business is apparent.

A small business owner can allow their employees to purchase individual health care coverage through the market or broker. If employers would like to contribute to their employees’ premium or other medical expenses they can set up a health reimbursement arrangement (HRA).  Individual plans are arguably the most cost-effective. Small groups can contribute any amount up to federal limits. Many small businesses are offering their employees a “raise” to purchase health insurance. This one time raise paired with government subsidies is more cost-efficient than paying for group insurance.

Many employers state the individual route as the best pathway to provide health insurance for a small business who is a first-time buyer or does not have the administration to arrange for a group health plan.

Small Business Health Care Programs (SHOP) Marketplace

SHOP is an extension of the affordable care act. This option rolls out through a public-state or federally run program exchanges that sell small group health policies. Many consider this good coverage for small businesses with less than 50 employees. Organizations with under 25 employees may qualify for a small business health care tax credit which can be worth up to 50% of your premium costs.

Employers’ Options:

  • Offer employees single plan, or let them choose from many plans
  • Offer only health coverage, health and dental coverage, or only dental coverage
  • Choose how much you pay toward your employees’ premiums, and whether to offer coverage to their dependents
  • Decide how long your employees’ initial enrollment period is, and how long new employees must wait before joining the plan

SHOP has come under some heat after first being implemented. A series of technical glitches delayed initial enrollment in some state exchanges.Also, the requirement that employers must offer a series of options wasn’t mandated until 2016 allowing 16 of 32 states with SHOP exchanges to only offer only one coverage option.

Private Health Exchange

The term private health exchange has been circulating the radar for the past few years and is gaining traction in the options of health insurance for a small business. This style of exchange is defined as a type of contribution strategy. With a private health exchange, a group of employees can set up a contribution that will be used toward either individual or group-based plans.

A brokered private exchange can be offered to a small group through a broker with a defined contribution or a private exchange provider. Small businesses like startups and new divisions of leading insurance companies have been created to adopt this approach.

Private Small Group Health Plan

Employers can still offer a private small health group plan. Small groups can find options and carriers to select from the private market with more options than SHOP in some states.

Co-Op

Many small groups join a co-op to purchase health care. Using a co-op expands buying power and mitigates risk to a larger group. Depending on the group’s needs, will detail how the co-op is structured. Regional insurance underwriting laws and the structure of the co-op determine whether going with a co-op will be more cost-effective than the insurance marketplace or SHOP.

 

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