Franchise Focus Business News…

Franchise Direct’s summer campaign, aptly named the Recession Buster campaign, has gained momentum with more and more franchises committing to a special offer on their franchise opportunities.

The campaign is designed to increase the availability of real career alternatives in individuals across the UK facing the harsh realities of the economic downturn. With unemployment exceeding the 2 million mark, and expectations that this figure could reach 3 million by the end of the year; the outlook for the UK labour market is grim.

However, much is being done to encourage a stimulus among small business start ups. Along with the launch of Business Link, a comprehensive online resource for businesses, the government has rushed schemes into place to help ease the burdens on small businesses, such as the Prompt Payment Code, Capital for Enterprise Fund and HM Revenue and Custom’s Business Payment Support Services.

During the economic recession, franchise opportunities offer real career alternatives to individuals facing redundancy and unemployment. Working from a proven business model, under a recognisable brand, franchises have a higher success rate than independent small businesses.

There are over 50 franchises offering discounts and special offers on Franchise Direct’s Recession Buster campaign, which lasts until the end of August 2009. The offers include a variety of financing options to help ease cash flow during the start up months of the franchisee’s new business, as well as discounts on the business start up costs and extra equipment in the initial start up package. Some have even done away with their ongoing franchise fees.

Some of the franchises who are offering a discount include debt management franchise – Money Smart Solutions, the David Ross Acting Academy franchise, and the UK’s biggest mobile coffee franchise – Cafe2U.

Franchise Direct’s Director Sean McGarry has expressed his pleasure with the success of the Recession Buster Campaign, saying “We believe that this Campaign has encouraged more and more franchisors to be proactive in offering real career and business opportunities to individuals across the UK and Ireland, and we hope the Campaign will help stimulate small business start up”.

In this week’s Franchise Update, we are bringing you news from the Federation of Small Businesses as well as the Office of National Statistics.

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Produced by Franchise Direct UK & Ireland

The Federation of Small Businesses is calling on Gordon Brown’s government to create 5,000 internship places across the small business sector to help rising rates of unemployment among graduates and produce talented workers for the small firms sector.

The Office of National Statistics is reporting that nearly one million people in the UK are now working part-time because of a shortage in full-time work. Figures from May from the ONS show that 927,000 people said they now work part-time. This constitutes a 33% increase since 2008. UK unemployment is currently at its highest rate in a decade, after jobless figures spiked by 281,000 in the last quarter. People looking for a part-time franchise opportunity should consider Franchise Direct’s exciting part-time businesses.

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Franchise Direct are excited by the opening of a new international franchise in their home town of Dublin, which is creating much needed employment for Irish people along with new business start ups!

There has been so much hype about the opening of Ireland’s first IKEA store, which finally opened to much furore yesterday morning. IKEA celebrated the opening with a traditional Swedish log cutting ceremony and welcomed approximately 3,000 excited customers to the store situated in Dublin suburb – Ballymun within the first hour of opening.

The opening of the store has been causing excitement ever since its announcement at the start of Ireland’s economic downturn, primarily for two reasons: the prospect of new jobs and also a store offering very affordable home ware. In fact, the impending opening even influenced the staging of a play by Ballymun’s axis theatre – “Waiting for IKEA”. However, what is even more interesting for entrepreneurs is the start up of new small businesses in reaction to the opening of IKEA. Small businesses offering flat pack assembly services have sprung up overnight. Small businesses such as Flatpack Unpack and hilariously named Simple Assembly Me Hole all promise to assemble your new IKEA flat pack furniture and save your marriage at the same time.

IKEA have shown remarkable dedication to the global expansion of their franchise. With 301 stores open in 37 countries, the franchise along with its many franchisees is a Swedish success story, having opened its first store in Älmhult, Sweden in 1958. So while a large international home improvement franchise moves into the Irish market, it is encouraging to know that this has provided ample business opportunities to Irish entrepreneurs also. IKEA are most certainly welcome to Ireland.

On this week’s Franchise Update, we’re bringing you information about a cross-border entrepreneurship conference in Ireland and some interesting developments in the energy industry.

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Firstly, here’s information on the Bridging The Border Seminar, which will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Santry. The event is sponsored by InterTrade Ireland, Enterprise Ireland and Invest Northern Ireland and will be held on October 28th. The event will help entrepreneurs gain access to the best opportunities on the island of Ireland.

The Director General of the Confederation of British Industry has warned against the dependence on wind power. John Cridland urged the British government to examine nuclear and clean coal power. Franchise Direct brings you the best green franchises.

A new blog has been set up by the European Commission to provide an interactive online forum for innovators and entrepreneurs to share ideas about how to promote innovation for improvement across all EU member countries.

The blog entitled “Innovation Unlimited” offers forums for six key areas: broaden the concept of innovation; Speed and synchronisation; new places for new types of collaboration; innovative financing models; invest in future infrastructure; and why re-invent Europe through innovation. 

The forums each host blogs posted by independent industry experts proposing ideas for reform and development and offer visitors the chance to react with a comments section. The blog is an important creative platform for entrepreneurs and innovators across Europe to share ideas with one another and to contribute to change to EU regulation and policy. For example, Jan Lamser, Member of Board of Directors and Senior Executive Officer, CSOB Bank (member of KBC Group) suggests:

“Broker bolder investment readiness initiatives that support knowledge and creative businesses to reduce their risk profiles to investors and accelerate deal flow – engaging existing investment communities to recognise value in the innovation economy”

This is met with a counter argument from a visitor to the blog that:

“Special banks for Innovation are dangerous for both themselves and their customers. They are disasters in the making. Funding “innovation” (whatever that may be) is and always should be an integral task of any bank. A good balance between short, medium and long-term should be the basis under all banks and the banking system.”

See how this works?! The blog has just been launched and has already attracted a considerable amount of traffic and sparked much debate. So if you have any ideas for reform or innovation, if you’re starting your own business, investing in a franchise opportunity or already run your own business; the ideas discussed on this blog concern and affect you and here you can make your voice heard!