There is no one right way to prepare a business plan. An effective business plan tells a great story and draws the reader in. The investor will then want to learn more, which leads to a meeting that significantly increases your chances and reduces the possibility that your plan will not be evaluated.

In the success of any business, planning is a vital ingredient. For building one's business now-a-days, developing a business plan is not just a requirement, but a basic necessity. Starting from large corporations to entrepreneurs, it is an honest truth that every business needs a plan. The business plan helps one map out strategies, raise additional capital either for expansion or to boost operations, measure performance, monitor progress and develop work guidelines. Several business owners, who want to franchise their businesses, also are planning to work around a franchise business plan.

In a business, there are certain things investors look out for. Every investor will want to know a business owner's passion,his dedication to his business and his managerial skills. Apart from this, he will also look out for one's management team. Every investor will always like to see his business associate's cash-flow, break-even analysis and return of investment.Therefore, a well prepared business plan is the key to attracting investors. If you are a franchisor, your franchisee will see the same in your franchise business plan and evaluate if this franchise has got enough substance for them to invest in it.

Writing a business plan must be managed just as most other important business projects are managed.It requires advance preparation, delegation, refinement, and discipline. The process ofpreparing a business plan involves identifying likely users, gathering accurate and convincing Information and carefully outlining the plan before writing. The key sections of the businessplan are as follows:

Executive Summary: This is the most concise form of the business plan, covering all thekey points. Outside parties typically review the executive summary first to determine, if your company is a potential candidate before deciding to read further. As the most important part of your business plan, these sections should be prepared last.

Company Description: This first full section of the business plan covers the company’s mission, history, current status,strategies, and plans for the future.

Management and Organization: Many potential investors consider the management team to be the most important predictor of a successful business. This section should describe members of the management team and their back grounds as well as needs for additional key people. Key outside advisors and consultants should also be discussed.

The Market and Competitors: This section must define the company’s market, the industry, current and potential buyers, and competitors. The plan should explain the key factors for the market in terms of how buying decisions are made, how the market is segmented, what kind of market position you plan, and what sort of defensive strategy you envision to fend off competitors.

The Product or Service: In this section, the features, components, and quality of the product(s) or service(s) are described in detail. Issues that must be addressed are the amount of research and development remaining to be completed, how the product or service will be produced and at what cost, and how the crucial activities of quality control and after-sales service will be performed. Key regulatory considerations should also be addressed.

Marketing and Sales: The business plan must describe the company’s selling methods (such as direct sales or mail order), how sales staff is trained, and how support is provided. Because of the substantial expense associated with business development, the plan should consider and present the most cost-effective options. Your marketing plan should discuss the results of market research and the value proposition of your product or service. Effective marketing, often through advertising and public relations, must also be described.

Financial Information: The most important elements of this section are the financial forecasts, balance sheets, and the statements of cash flow and income. They must be consistent with the discussion of the company’s past performance trends and the data presented in other sections of the plan. For plans used to solicit financial backing, this section should also include a funding request that states how much money is needed, why it is needed, and how it will be used. Finally, you need to consider the likely payback for the investors and their need for an exit strategy.

Once all of these sections have been formulated, the plan is ready for final rewriting and presentation. Extensive editing is highly recommended, along with careful attention to presentation details. The plan should be tailored to the preferences and concerns of its readers, including insiders using the plan to guide the company. Given the dynamic markets within which growing businesses operate today, periodic revisions of the business plan will be necessary in order to maximize its utility as a tool for management and investors. A Franchise Business Plan is similar in nature, but covers several other sections which would be relevant for franchisees and covers franchise manuals and standard operating procedures as well.

So many businesses fail due to inadequate planning and the rate at which they fail is overwhelming. In small businesses, the rate of failure is highly significant and it is the main reason why a good business plan is needed. Developing a plan extremely important for raisingadditional cash and to provide potential investors, franchisees and lenders with the information required to make investment decisions. Due to higher competition in attracting funding for any business, one's business plan has to stand out and the projection has to be firm.

Just like a road map, a good business plan shows one the route to avoid pitfalls and reach your destination smoothly. Working with a good plan will prevent one from entering unfamiliar territory. For you and your organization, the plan becomes a working map. It spells out the things to do and things not to do, the functions and how everyone within every department should operate. It helps one become more efficient, reduce waste and redundancy, channeling one's resources to rightful place and being a guide to the successful running of your business.

You have done your research and have chosen a franchise business opportunity. You like the business and want to go ahead...but there is a hurdle in between. The company has given you its franchise agreement template and wants you to sign the same and then get started with the business. You have a lengthy document with several clauses/sub clauses and are not sure of what to do. I have tried to make this simple for you and have given you certain standard guidelines of what to do and how companies look at this document and expect the prospective franchisees to respond. At the end of the document, you will also see what characteristically a good franchise agreement contract sample must have. Beyond that, you will understand the importance of the franchise agreement and how it protects you as much as it safe guards the franchisors interests.

One of the most important parts of doing any franchise business is the franchise agreement. Every franchise relationship fructifies with the franchise sign up and hence the marriage with the franchisor and the franchisee is defined by the franchise contract. As an entrepreneur, you have to be extremely careful of what you sign, when you get into this relationship, as the next few years and the course of your life will stay altered forever. Let’s begin understanding this entire process and how you should do this prudently, when you take up a franchise business.

We start with the understanding of what is the definition of a franchise agreement. We’d say that it’s ‘A legal document that clearly states the rights and responsibilities of the franchisor and franchiseeand is subject to a defined geography and a period and conforms to the entire legal requirements of the said location, is commonly known as the franchise agreement. It is always very good to know the entire terms and conditions of any agreement,before you get into a contract with a franchisor. It is always good for a franchisee to know what a franchisor is offering. In the franchise agreementyou will find some guidelines that will act as rules to govern your day to day running of the franchise and your overall functions.To know your rights and obligations, it is advisable to read allclauses in the agreement clearly. You need to ensure that, this agreement will make you run the business smoothly and will not hinder your functions in any way.

All the crucial information concerning the businessshould be contained in a good franchise agreement. The basic information should include the kind of business that is operated under this franchise, the name of the franchisor, the location and the mode used in advertising the franchise and the performance of the franchisor in the past. Before you sign an agreement with any given franchisor,these are some of the basic information you need toknow which is linked with having a plan on how the franchise will operate, and what the future prospects are. In the agreement, the rights of the franchisee and franchisor should also be clearly stipulated. This is a good way of understanding what the franchisors wants you to do and what they would do.

There are some kinds of franchise business model where health risk is involved. If you are looking for such type of business franchise then your health and safety obligation should beclearly mentioned in the particular franchise agreement. It is good to ensure that you make use of an insured franchisor so that in case of emergencies you are well catered for. In case you terminate the terms of agreement, it should also show what the penalty is. When it comes to hiring of employees, an agreement should provide you with a clearly defined operation guideline.

For your own safety, it is good to know each and every aspect of the agreement you get into. It is good to make sure you know the legitimacy and genuineness of the franchisor you want to partner with before you sign an agreement. You need to look for a company that will offer you high quality services to your satisfaction. It is advisable to check on the satisfaction level of past franchisees before you sign such a company.

A new company, which is just beginning to franchise, may have room for recommendations and negotiations on terms of franchise. However, established brands with several franchisees may rarely look at altering their standard franchise template. In fact, they would at the onset give you the franchise agreement sample, and ask you to go through the same, before they engage you more seriously. Most companies though, through their annual franchisee meets and other regular feedbacks from their existing franchisees, make amendments to their franchise contract template. These company’s give you a chance to incorporate new business ideas to make your business a success. Beware of many companies who could be very tricky. They may have hidden terms and conditions. So, it is always advisable to keenly read through all details of the documentsbefore you sign a franchise agreement and engage a proper franchise attorney or experienced franchise consultants who would guide you through the entire process.

Some countries also allows a minimum time period from when the agreement contract template is shared to when it is actually signed. If the does not exist in your country, it is always advisable to take at least 2 weeks’ time and to read, understand and speak to franchise consultants or specialist franchise lawyers and then respond. Never, rush into signing a franchise agreement, just because the franchisor is pressurizing you to do so.

Hence to conclude, we could say:

All good franchise agreements have these things in common:

1) It does not limit the franchise marketing functions and enable recruitment of franchisees instead of scaring them away of several limiting clauses. Hence a good franchise contract will take into account, what franchisees would be wary off signing and ensure that the same is excluded. This means, as a franchisee, you need not worry of any clause that will either harm you or restrict you beyond the functions of the business.

2) It ensures clear demarcations, and provides for future growth and ensures seamless entry and exit, having proper termination and post termination clauses.

3) It provides sufficient provisions and time for rectifications of errors, if any. It is designed to protect the relationship, rather than break it.

4) It restricts the liabilities for the franchisees and franchisors properly and provides for proper coverage through insurance and other damage control measures.

5) Above all enables the company and the franchisee to function, respond and do business freely. Is synchronized properly with the financial, operational and marketing functions of the business.

6) Is absolutely compliant 100% with the local laws of the land and does not contravene in any way with local customs, cultures, sentiments and way of life. Hence you have to be very careful with international franchise agreements, which could have certain clauses that would be correct for one country, but may be irrelevant for yours.