Guidant Financial Group Blog

By: David Nilssen, Cofounder of Guidant Financial

I had the pleasure of attending the International Franchise Associations Annual Conference in Las Vegas this past week. One of the highlights was listening to Mitt Romney, former (and probably future) Republican presidential candidate. Mr. Romney impressed me with his remarks.

As a top contributor to the IFA, I was given an opportunity for a quick meeting and photo-op with him. Mr. Romney seemed to really care about small business. As a champion for small business myself, we instantly connected.

While I knew he founded a very successful company in Bain Capital, I was unaware of some of the impressive changes he made in Boston to balance their budget. Common sense is often missing in Washington, D.C. and I found Mr. Romney to be refreshing. My favorite quote from him was:

"The best and the brightest are in small business... and they have to be. Small business is remarkably unforgiving. If a politician makes a mistake they use their PR team, lobbyists and supporters to earn quick forgiveness. If you make a mistake, it could mean the end of your job - and others."

The rest of the convention was a huge success. On the morning of the expo we announced that Doug Smith, former VP of Business Development for Benetrends, had tendered his resignation and joined the Guidant family. This came shortly after we announced former Benetrends Sr. Vice President, Jerry Darnell, and Lori Kiser-Block (who owns Rapid Refill and is the former President of FranChoice) also joined our growing team. Our booth was buzzing the entire conference. We became acquainted with many new potential partners and reconnected with others.

Overall, it was a tremendous event. While the economy continues to struggle, our business is still growing and we feel that with the added momentum we will gain from this event, we'll have a very successful year helping even more people pursue small business as a catalyst to create the life they want.

Do you think you need hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy or start a business? That may not necessarily be true! There are many low-cost franchise opportunities for individuals who are interested in owning a business.

Each year, Entrepreneur Magazine releases their Franchise500 list and subsequent lists to celebrate different franchise categories. This year, they ranked the following businesses as the top low-cost franchise opportunities:

• Instant Tax Service
• Jani-King
• Jan-Pro Franchising Int'l Inc.
• Kumon Math & Reading Centers
• ServiceMaster Clean
• Merle Norman Cosmetics
• Stratus Building Solutions
• Jazzercize Inc.
• Vanguard Cleaning Systems
• RE/Max Int'l Inc.

These franchisors, although not endorsed by either Guidant Financial Group or Entrepreneur, offer a way for new small business owners, franchisees and entrepreneurs to get into business for less than $50,000. A business or franchise of this size can still be financed, fairly easily, in this market. Many people are using 401(k) small business investing or unsecured loans to acquire their business. In addition, an SBA loan can still be a viable option.

Before you invest in any business or franchise it's important that you investigate the opportunity by interviewing attorneys, consultants and existing franchisees (if applicable). In addition, make sure you work with a reputable small business financing company so that you can adequately capitalize your small business or franchise investment.

On April 27th, 2009, the Wall Street Journal reported that franchising sales have declined due to the recession. Really??? Duh!