Singing Pig

I've been looking into these people :-- http://www.opportunity.activwebdesign.com/   does anybody know much about them and if it looks like a good prospect ?

Hi Paul

Do they explain what you will get for your 7 grand?

Check their sample sites and see if those look OK to you.

Check your local competition's samples to see their standard and also their pricing. 

How will you get your customers - does their franchise help with this?

Their year 1 projection shows an income of almost 24k. Then deduct the 7k fee to earn 17k for your time & effort in the first year.

Do your sums, talk to other franchise owners, talk to local businesses (the people you're going to be selling to).

Hope this helps

Trevor 

thanks for your reply Trevor.

the £7k gives you access to their custom built web design software and the licence to use their name in your local area.

I've looked around at the local scene and also asked around on a few other boards for a pricing guide for websites and online shops.  So far I've been looking at anything between £1000 -£2000 for a website and more for an online shop.

I'm also friends with my local bestof ( website franchise ) and they have a list of people who advertise with them who don't have websites yet. This could bring in a few sales and I could advertise it on their and also the odd local ad in the paper.

 The main site asks for a potential customer to enter in their postcodes - so few leads could come with that as they are spending money on product awareness etc.

 

One big step is that I have been asking about the master franchise in one of the states in the US. This would allow me to resell the franchises myself and take a % of the management fees too. As it happens my brother in law is about the move there and was keen about a joint venture when we spoke about it.

It involves more investment, but the market could be huge.

I hope to speak to the other franchise owners over the next few days.

I'm not under pressure but a big city near me has just been bought up and also they are pressing on with the global sites as we speak. ( I understand that Romania and Brazil have been bought up )

 Another big plus is that the HQ is only 40 minutes from me so I can go and visit them.
 

 

Hi Paul

More things to check then:

• How easy is the software to use?
• How flexible is it?
• How buggy is it? (Check with actual users - watch them and see whether Gordon Ramsey would blush while they're using the software)
• What maintenance fee do you pay on the software?
• What service level agreement (if any) do you have on the software for bug fixes - there will be bugs, how fast do they get fixed?
• Which versions of Windows or Mac does it work with? What happens when the next version of the operating software comes out? Will you be stuck in a time warp? (One of the businesses I work with has some custom software that won't work beyond NT4, for instance)
  
• Are you allowed to still use the software if you quit the franchise for any reason?
• How many people are allowed to use the software? Is there an extra licence fee if you take on a second person for instance?
  

Then consider:

• Could you use other software to do the same thing? (Dreamweaver is probably "industry standard" and is around £300 on Amazon).
  
• Does the franchise name mean anything to the average potential customer?
• Does exclusivity mean anything to your average customer? Will it attract a higher price? Or are you just another person on the list of potential site makers?

Pricing for a website is all over the place - from the website builder offered free by hosting companies like 1&1 through to "the sky's the limit". A friend of mine pitches SEO'd sites at anything from £3k to £7k and outsources the design work through Rentacoder. 50% up front, 50% once everything is agreed but before the site is handed over.

Since it sounds like you've got the potential buyers, there's nothing to stop you designing your own menu of options and producing your own cookie cutter style sites for local businesses.

Good luck!

Trevor

 

Another option would be to use what is called reseller hosting and choose one that offers a web design option, ideally one that's not proprietary so that you've got a better chance of support..

The one I've looked at recently is called (aptly) Geek Storage and it comes with a system called RVSiteBuilder. I''ve not used it fully but I have played with the system and the site building option is dead easy:

Umpteen templates available across various industries plus a DIY template option if that's not good enough. Or you can download existing templates, modify them and reupload so long as you keep the redesign in line with their specs.

• Font changes are from a drop down list.
• Screen sizes are 100% or fixed width from a drop down list.
• Company name, slogan & logo all optional.
• Navigation menu styles from a drop down list
• Meta tags can be added per page. Default titles can be changed,
• Page names can be changed if desired.
• Guest book, contact form and photo album are available as well
  
• Favorites/printer/tell a friend all built in to templates (Tell a friend opens up their own email client which cuts out any spam problems)

Then use the franchise fee you've saved to attract business...

Hope this helps,

Trevor 

 

thanks for the info

good advice yet again.

 

 Rather than spend the money I decided to keep to what I know !

I can put more time and effort into my Tiscali business without the added cost that way.

 

 

Paul