What should you be looking for in a logo?  The trend nowadays seems to be to keep it simple, following Saul Bass’s advice to “Symbolize and summarize.”  Within that, however, there are some key elements you should be taking into consideration.  Remember, your logo should be the most recognizable part of your company and convey identity and ownership in a memorable way.

A logo should be simple enough that it can be used in many different contexts.  There are lots of uses for logos: it can be placed on a menu, on letterhead, on a building, on clothes, on pencils, etc.  These myriad uses place a simplicity and practicality restraint on how your logo should look.  It should still be memorable enough, however, that it can be easily remembered and fast to recognize.

Logos have been a part of any public organization for probably longer than writing has existed.   The ancient Egyptians branded their cattle with hieroglyphs to establish ownership, Ancient Sumerian accountants had personal identifying marks, and the Ancient Romans and Greeks marked their pottery with the symbol of its manufacturer.  Even religions use logos, such as Christianity’s cross and Judaism’s Star of David.

The evolution of logo design has advanced quite a bit since ancient times.  Medieval lords, when developing their heraldic coats of arms, took elements like color warmth, blank space, symbolism, and geometry into consideration.  Craftsmen adopted logos to establish the origin and quality of their wares.  Today, with the invention of color printing and the advertising industry, logos are a powerful piece of branding that serve to communicate an organization’s values and purpose.

Below are some simple guidelines and design paradigms that will help you develop a logo for your own endeavor.  With luck and hard work, maybe your own symbol will last a few thousand years.  

Starting a new career can be intimidating, even for military veterans.

Having faced years of rigorous military training and the unfathomable challenges of war, many might assume that a veteran can tackle anything without help.

That simply isn’t the case – and nor should it be.

For the thousands of veterans making the transition to civilian life and starting careers as franchisees, knowing how to optimize their next mission in life – and really hone in on their core objectives – is imperative for determining success.

Here are the Top 3 Success Tips for Franchising Vets:

1. Pick a Franchise Best Suited to Your Interests, Skills. This is your first – and perhaps most important – objective: finding a franchise that you’re truly passionate about. This is crucial, as it will determine how much energy you’re willing to put into it to make it grow. Take the time to research all the different kinds of franchises, to find out which one fits your interests and lifestyle best. Just as importantly, make sure it’s tailored to your core skills that were honed in the military.

2. Learn Systems & Processes, then Hire & Train Teams to Execute Them. Systems and processes are the hallmarks of franchising, and that’s why it’s so important to take the time to work with the franchisor to ensure you’re a trained expert in them. From there, you need to establish a workplace identity best suited to those systems, and then hire and train the right people to optimize them.

3. Be Prepared for the Unexpected. Just like in the military, it’s crucial to be prepared at all times. Having a checklist, Microsoft Excel file, or a software program that helps track all areas of your business – from sales and service, to inventory and payroll – is a huge help. Either way, you need to stay ahead of the game, as unexpected problems can derail your business’s productivity and hurt efficiency.

To learn more about entrepreneurship through franchising, attend our free monthly webinar, Franchise Ownership as a More Stable Career Path. The webinar is free, but you need to pre-register, which you can do online by clicking on the linked seminar title.

You may also register by calling 866-246-2884.

When the cash starts flowing, the last thing you want is to lose track.

For veterans starting out as new franchise owners, cash control is paramount – getting it just right is how you optimize profitability and growth.

For starters, cash flow management is a simple philosophy: delaying your cash outputs as long as possible, while maximizing input by ensuring you’re paid as quickly as possible.

This usually involves when you pay your suppliers and employees, and the times you collect payment from your customers and clients.

Here are 5 Cash Flow Management Strategies for Vets:

1. Prepare and Measure. Prepare cash flow projections ahead of time, to ensure you always maximize the amount you have on hand. This could involve yearly and quarterly views, or, if you’re just starting out, even monthly and weekly projections. Understand that these are just predictions, though – so be sure to have enough (or even more) cash on hand just in case, and measure your projections to compare various information.

2. Be Meticulous. A huge part of making accurate projections is not only know when money will be spent, but on what types of thing. In order to track this effectively, have a line item projection for major things such as overhead costs, significant cash outputs, inventory, sales, and salaries.

3. Optimize Payment Time. Unless you’re receiving upfront or instant payment from customers, it’s crucial to speed up the time it takes to get paid. Depending on the type of franchise you’re operating, you can improve upon this by making clients pay deposits, provide incentives for fast payment, or track accounts receivable and follow up quickly on tardy accounts.

4. Stretch Your Own Outputs. If a supplier’s invoice doesn’t need to be paid for 30 days, pay it in 30 days. To help do this, use an electronic cash transfer and pay on the last possible day – this way, you’re stretching your cash while also fully complying with all payment deadlines.

5. Act Quickly Upon Shortfalls. No matter how successful you are, there may come a time when cash flow is low. Whatever the case, the most important thing is to act quickly and efficiently to effectively manage it. Because of this, if you need to take a loan from the bank, let them know as early as possible – months in advance, if you can. If the banks won’t help, work with your suppliers to extend their payment dates, and to ask your best customers to pay a little faster.

To learn more about entrepreneurship through franchising, attend our free monthly webinar, Franchise Ownership as a More Stable Career Path. The webinar is free, but you need to pre-register, which you can do online by clicking on the linked seminar title.

You may also register by calling 866-246-2884.

Women compose 50.4% of the population of the United States, and yet own only about 35.8% of all businesses.  The persistent gap between female workforce participation and business ownership has been present since the country’s inception, but there are positive trends currently in the marketplace, where even poorer states such as Georgia are seeing huge increases in the number of women business owners.  

In many environments, social and workplace cultural conditions can impede woman from moving up in their careers.  The largest factors are a lack of confidence in women to pursue risky career decisions, insufficient training and education levels, or exclusion from opportunities due to pervasive gender bias in certain companies. Family–Work balance issues are another large factor in businesswomen’s decision making, as research shows that even when women have a job they are taking care of and acting as primary caregivers for their children and parents.  

Many businesses are taking steps to combat problems such as a lack of diversity.  They are allowing flexible work hours, mentoring programs, and training where they can interact with other females in positions of power.  However, one of the best ways to break out of a bad work situation is still to start your own business.  Although a lot of work is necessary for success, owning and growing a business is an incredible education experience, once for which you set the bar for achievement and structure to work within.  If you are interested in business ownership, franchising is a tremendous opportunity to explore an industry and choose the business model that fits your needs and preferences.  Attend our free monthly webinar “Franchise Ownership as a More Stable Career Path” for expert advice and information from our experienced franchise consultants.  Register by clicking on this link or calling 866-246-2884.

Finding a career you’re truly passionate about can be challenging.

If you’re like most people, you were brought up to believe there was only one way to succeed in life: to get an education, get a steady job working for a respected company, and live happily ever after.

As we all know, this isn’t often the case – especially not today.

Most people don’t realize they’re not meant to work for others

Whether you’re a mid-career professional making a career change, a veteran transitioning to civilian life, or a college graduate, sending out resume after resume to jobs you may never enjoy can be a draining experience.

(And that’s before you even begin working one of these jobs.)

For most people, they don’t see that they’re meant to work for themselves – though what they subconsciously write about themselves in their resume, and where their past has taken them, can reveal a lot about where they’re destined to go.

Here are 5 Signs Your Resume Screams ‘Entrepreneur’:

1. Leadership Experience. You led teams that succeeded, whether in the workplace, military, sports teams, or elsewhere. Others looked up to you to guide them to success. Entrepreneurs are natural-born leaders – they make everyone else around them better, as they work towards a greater goal.

2. You Got Fired or Quit Jobs. Many entrepreneurs struggle to hold jobs working for others, because it goes against their inner grain. Instead of listening to the commands of others, entrepreneurs want to forge their own course of success. This can often lead to getting fired or quitting jobs easily.

3. Unique Design/Layout. Entrepreneurs love to be different, because that’s what makes the best businesses so successful. Sometimes without knowing it, their resumes will have a unique design/layout that almost gives them their own personal brand to stand out from the pack.

4. Creative-Thinking, Problem-Solving Skills. Do you highlight your creative-thinking and problem-solving skills? That means you thrive at finding solutions under pressure – something entrepreneurs need to have to survive in business.

5. Wide-Ranging Areas of Expertise. You’re not knowledgeable in one or two areas – it seems you’re an expert in many. For entrepreneurs, they need to wear many different hats to keep their business running smoothly. This could be a sign for you to take an exit route on applying for jobs, and to become an entrepreneur.

To learn more about entrepreneurship through franchising, attend our free monthly webinar, Franchise Ownership as a More Stable Career Path. The webinar is free, but you need to pre-register, which you can do online by clicking on the linked seminar title.

You may also register by calling 866-246-2884.