South Africa is stuck in the longest business cycle slump since 1945 (Bloomberg 27 June 2019) – what a frightening headline..! Times are indeed tough and much more difficult than most of us realise. Job losses are every day news and since the beginning of this year alone Dunkin Donuts & Basking Robbins’ closure resulted in 120 retrenchments, Standard Bank announced 1200 retrenchments, Absa 827 retrenchments, Sibanya-Stilwater 3450 retrenchments, MultiChoice 2000 retrenchments and Tongaat Hulett 5000 retrenchments with many other big corporates not even disclosing job losses i.e. Group Five, PPC Cements and Tiso Black Star Group. Some people who have been retrenched look towards getting into their own business and franchising immediately comes up.

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Those are the words by Lungile Qwabe when she attended a seminar presented by Herman Bezuidenhout of BeztForex on the topic of sales strategy at the 2019 KZN Franchise Expo, organised by FASA and in partnership with Ithala.

This was Lungile’s takeaway: “If you are not growing, you are dying.”

As Herman said these words Lungile imagined herself dying! For the last few years she had felt she was too busy being busy, and had actually allowed herself to stagnate – she was definitely not growing! And as of that moment, she was no longer going to accept the concept of dying.

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There is no question that franchising’s saving grace in a struggling economy is the fact that, by its very nature franchising is entrepreneurial, flexible and forward-thinking. Not only does it continue to be resilient, it offers, largely due to its strong business format and support system, a better chance of surviving the ups and downs.

Thinking outside the box and looking for ways and means to cross-promote and reach new markets is a trait that many of FASA’s members do extremely well. They are the ones who find a ‘niche’ that sets them apart or, by default, thrive on the back of challenging conditions.

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Tuesday 6 Aug 2019
Round Table Paarl 44, Klein Parys Rd, Paarl, Western Cape
08h30 – 13h00 (registration from 08h00)
RSVP:  31 July 2019

Labour law sets strict requirements that employers must comply with and the LWO’s main goal is to ensure that your business not only complies with all of these requirements but that you use labour law to your benefit to protect your business.  Compliance with labour law is not negotiable and creates a business risk for employers.  To comply requires specialist knowledge.

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The rapid growth of new franchise concepts right across the 14 different business sectors in the franchise industry, is of huge concern as unsuspecting franchisees seem eager to invest in these concepts without seemingly having done a thorough due diligence on the sustainability of the concept.

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Franchising has been around since the 1920’s – but the joy of a franchise to a young entrepreneur today is that no matter how replicated a business may be, it is always fresh to the new owner. It comes kitted with all the essentials: a logo, a colour design, a value system, a primed product, a marketing profile, a ready-made customer base, an infrastructure that has already been nipped and tucked into shape.

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With already one successful Franchise Expo under its belt earlier this year in Durban, KZN, FASA is now planning its Gauteng Expo on the 1st and 2nd November in which will focus on the potential of entrepreneurship and offer a platform to investigate the business format that is franchising. Drawing on FASA’s pool of experts in the business and franchise arena, visitors will be educated on every aspect of business – from how to evaluate a franchise business; what is the best way to fund a franchise and how to turn your business into a franchise. Read More

Whether you are the one sipping that drink or milkshake through a plastic straw or a food franchise wanting to play your part in the sustainability of the planet, we all need to take steps to remove single-use plastics.  Are you on board?

“It started with the straw. This is our final straw. This moment in our history is just the beginning. ” Those were the words of Thabisa Mkhwanazi, KFC Africa’s Public Affairs Director after announcing the removal of plastic straws in over 900 KFC restaurants across South Africa, helping to eliminate 60 million plastic straws a year.

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When one thinks of franchising one automatically thinks of leading franchise brands or the many franchise outlets that take that product or service to the market-place.  But what about the companies that supply products and services to those franchise businesses – from those who shop-fit those eye-catching food outlets to those who make sure their operating systems run efficiently to those who supply the ingredients to make those mouth-watering eats. Read More

‘Meet the Brands’ offers franchisors the opportunity to present their franchise offering to a pre-qualified group of potential franchisees.

Currently, franchisors are finding it difficult to reach suitable franchisees who have the necessary capital. On the other hand, potential franchisees are finding it difficult to select good, reputable franchise concepts.

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