Being the left-brained person that I am, the thought of coming up with a name for my new business was very intimidating. We all know the power of names and brands so I knew it was really important to get this right. Therefore I turned to the best, most creative, right-brained person I know. Jester Levity didn't let me down!
Jester, being the smart AND creative person she is, recommended we start with synonyms of a word like "embarking" since I was embarking on a journey. From that list she identified "venture" and we threw "franchise consulting" on the end. Just like you do with baby names, you have to check the initials to make sure nothing weird is going on! "VFC" sounded safe enough.
The next brilliant step was to Google "Venture Franchise Consulting" to see if there was another company using that name. Luck! No issues with that name being taken. Then Jester offered to do some numerology for me. Not really sure what that meant, but as it turns out, it was an unnecessary step.
At the end of the conversation Jester says, "I also LOOOVE Meta Franchise Solutions/ Meta Franchise Consulting." Hmmmm...I've heard of the word "meta" but I don't really know what it means. A quick wikipedia search tells me that meta means, among other things, "about (its own category)". Metadata, a term I know from database work, is data about data. Then I saw a posting for Meta-advertising which means an ad about an ad. Hmmmm...so Meta-Franchise would be a franchise about franchising! Could anything be more perfect?
http://www.metafranchiseconsulting.com/
http://www.utilityplayerscomedy.com/
http://homesliceproductions.com/Homeslice_Productions.html
Monday, March 22, 2010
Thursday, March 18, 2010
In the Beginning
My journey to business ownership started over two years ago. After a string of less-than-satisfying projects I grew frustrated with my career path and my employer. I started to weigh my options: suck it up, find a new employer, go to grad school, start my own business. In a list of pros and cons, options 1 and 2 got cut from the list. Option 3 was exciting since I love learning, but after a cost-benefit analysis I was less excited.
That left starting my own business. I thought I had lots of good ideas. What about a bar called "The Boardroom" that hosted game nights, had board games for groups of friends to come in and play, and served drinks like Candy Land (Peppermint Schnapps) and Bingo! (shot of Tequila)? Another idea, based on my love of weddings, was a retail store that sold everything but the dress. I could market invitations that my friend is so great at making, sell dyeable shoes that were so hard to find in a store when I was getting married, and offer services like Day-of-Coordination.
I thought these were great ideas in theory, but wasn't sure how well I would do in practice since I have no food service industry or retail industry experience. Also, starting a business is very risky!! According to a study by the U.S. Small Business Association, only 66% of small business start-ups survive the first 2 years and less than 50% make it to 4 years. I didn't like those odds.
Then I found franchising! What a great alternative for those of us wanting to own a business while minimizing risk. A study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that 86% of franchises opened within the last 5 years were still under the same ownership and 97% were still open for business. I like those odds a lot better!
http://www.metafranchiseconsulting.com/
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That left starting my own business. I thought I had lots of good ideas. What about a bar called "The Boardroom" that hosted game nights, had board games for groups of friends to come in and play, and served drinks like Candy Land (Peppermint Schnapps) and Bingo! (shot of Tequila)? Another idea, based on my love of weddings, was a retail store that sold everything but the dress. I could market invitations that my friend is so great at making, sell dyeable shoes that were so hard to find in a store when I was getting married, and offer services like Day-of-Coordination.
I thought these were great ideas in theory, but wasn't sure how well I would do in practice since I have no food service industry or retail industry experience. Also, starting a business is very risky!! According to a study by the U.S. Small Business Association, only 66% of small business start-ups survive the first 2 years and less than 50% make it to 4 years. I didn't like those odds.
Then I found franchising! What a great alternative for those of us wanting to own a business while minimizing risk. A study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce found that 86% of franchises opened within the last 5 years were still under the same ownership and 97% were still open for business. I like those odds a lot better!
http://www.metafranchiseconsulting.com/
Share
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