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New Farmers Need Land Reform In Order To Get A Fair Deal

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May 2011 witnesses the elections to the Scottish Parliament which will see the politicians finalising their policies. However according to Rog Wood of the Herald Scotland newspaper, they should take into consideration Scottish land reform. This is a policy which he believes has diminished under the SNP.

In 2003 land reform was very important to the Scottish Parliament which resulted in the ground breaking Land Reform (Scotland) Act and the Agricultural Holdings (Scotland) Act. These Acts both did a great deal but there is a lot still to be done.

Scottish agriculture is suffering because of how expensive land has now become. This in turn is putting unbelievable pressure on farm rents. The problem has developed through the tax system for Scottish land. Both agricultural and forestry land are both exempt from inheritance tax, it is thought that they are worth £20 billion combined, although this is not an final figure. Either way it is an astonishing amount. Add to this the fact that the price of land has doubled in the last ten years, all without being taxed, and it is hardly surprising that land values have increased.

However to avoid paying inheritance tax does mean that the land has to be farmed by the owner, rented land is not included. It has been noted that landowners take farms when tenancies expire just for this reason. As a result there are fewer tenancies available on the open market. This in turn leads to farm rents increasing and also to disagreements between landlords and tenants. Anyone interested in entering the farming profession often finds it unaffordable due to land values, if in fact they can find any farm to rent in the first place.

Many feel that the answer to the problem is to tax land when the owner dies. This would result in land values decreasing as more land would become available on the open market. The Government would also benefit from this. However it would have to be considered carefully by those in Government as the flip side would be breaking up farms which might make them uneconomical. Some have suggested allowing the first £1 million exempt from tax, this is seen as the average value for a typical working farm.

At the moment land is also bequeathed to only one child, which is known as primogeniture. It is not, which would seem fairer, divided amongst all the siblings. Therefore Scottish landowners are rather small in numbers but they own a vast amount of the land, land which they can see going up massively in value but that they do not have to pay tax on.

With the Price of Information Getting Close to Free – Is The Franchise Industry In Trouble?

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Back in the 90s when I was franchising my company, often franchisees would ask why on Earth they should buy a franchise. Generally, I would tell them because I had built all the mistakes out of the business model, and we just knew what we were doing, and it would take them far too long to go through that same experience curve, at a great cost to them. However, if they bought a franchise, the $20,000 franchise fee would give them access to our business model, and all the information and proprietary knowledge that we had. Okay so let’s talk about this for second shall we?

but before- on the other side of the story, the franchisors also can offer a franchise with ease using a Using a Franchise Operations Manual Template (click to read review)  and a Franchise Operations Manual as a template.

You see, with the price of information getting close to zero or free, this could spell a disaster for the future of the franchising industry. After all, if someone can learn all the information they need off the Internet, and there is so much information available, why should they buy a franchise in the first place? One could say they should buy the franchise because of the brand name, the buying power, the economies of scale, but it would be hard to say that they should buy it strictly for the proprietary information that they don’t have access too – because they do.

If the value, even if it is only the perceived value, of information is zero or free, then $20,000 franchise fee would be considered too much. Are you beginning to understand my point here? And even if it is worth the $20,000 franchise fee, which I still believe today it would be, I also realize that it will not be valued by the franchise buyer as it might have been in the past, let’s say back in the 90s when I was franchising my company. You see what I’m saying here?

Yes, and I realize that there is a difference between knowledge and know-how, and actually putting it into practice. Just because you read how to do something, does not necessarily mean you don’t need at least some training. There’s nothing better than on the job training or learning from doing where one also picks up a lot of information, which may or may not be able to be put into words. Nevertheless, there are YouTube videos people can watch of other people doing, and humans are very good imitators much like their very similar chimpanzee cousins.

There have even been some futurists put forth business plans for small businesses, and say to improve job growth we need more turnkey small business blueprints for startup entrepreneurs. If something like this were ever put into full practice on the Internet, where folks could download just about any business model or business plan for free, or for a very low price such as let’s say $.99 on Amazon, then why on earth would anyone ever buy a franchise and pay 7% royalties and a $20,000 franchise fee? You see my point again?

Please consider all this and think on it, because basically that’s what’s happening now, and although not all this information is in one place, someone who wants to start a business of any type, in any industry sector can find a blueprint, business plan, and operational information online.

Strategies for Running a Successful Franchise Business

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Some business ventures do well and many flop, its just life. So, what could be the determining criteria when considering success or failure? Could there be a mystical formula which could help operate a thriving venture?

First of all, choosing a franchise may give you an excellent head start in view of the fact that it is based on a confirmed system. That is to say that the chore of trying to discover whether a business idea work in reality has been completed, tested and verified by the franchise operator. Most franchises began as just a one store business idea and, having been found to be lucrative, the business owner may decide to franchise the idea as one way to enlarge the business.

After you are up and running with your new franchise system, in what ways can you make the most of the potential for success; what are the techniques to running that thriving business you’ve often dreamt about?

Truly, you will discover no real hidden techniques, but simply some invaluable common-sense rules you can try in your business that can help to build up the chances of achievement with your franchise business.

1. Commit to working hard

Of course, believe it or not a new venture involves working hard and time investment if you wish to attain success. Be under no illusion, a franchise opportunity isn’t a make-money-fast scheme but preferably a platform upon which one can develop an enduring, stable business. Work hard to promote, market and sell your business – if buyers will not come and buy then you will not be doing business for long!

2. Speak with the franchisor

The franchise owner knows the business formula better than any other person does. After all, it was them that came up with the inspiration! Make use of any education and backup offered – its available to assist you to be a success.

3. Be familiar with your enterprise

A big mistake for just about any business is having a poor handle on its running. Be sure you are getting the information you need from your accountant regarding financial performance of the franchise. Being knowledgable about your position is key to spotting problems before they get out of hand and is important to being able to decide strategically how the venture is pushing forward.

4. Employ the best staff!

When the franchise business necessitates you to take on staff make certain they’re the appropriate people! It is not limited to abilities, but also consider can you get along with them, and can you entrust them to work through any tasks you need them to carry out. Keep in mind that especially in sales situations, purchasers buy into the salesperson just as greatly as the product. So, are they cheery, well presented with polite attitude and behaviour.

Franchise Business Selection – The Three Kinds Of Franchisors

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After you’ve talked with a number of franchisors you may begin to wonder why any franchisees fail. But they do, and franchisors are usually tight lipped about it unless the franchisee is clearly at fault. I find it hard to accept their silence, and it is all the more reason to exercise caution. The less potential for risk the greater the opportunity for success.

Franchisors have never been overly generous with information that could be classified as sensitive. State and federal laws have made them “gun shy” and rather than tell a prospect too much they attribute their silence to strict governmental regulations.

The Treadmill Franchisor

This is the franchisor that is going nowhere. It will never make it to the “big time.” For a while the number of franchised units in operation will rise and fall like the ocean tides. Over time, however, attrition and disillusioned franchise owners will prevail while the franchise program whithers away and dies.

You can recognize a treadmill franchisor by its lack of purpose and direction – no well defined plan for growth and development. It’s management is sorely lacking in the most basic skills and the solution for every problem begins with the incompetency of the franchise owners.

The Good Hands Franchisor

These are the good guys. They are the ones you want to deal with. There are no pretenses, excuses, or hard sell tactics. What you see is what you get is a practicing philosophy. They don’t sell franchises, they award them. It is your job to sell them on you. They are building for the future, want only the best people in the system and will turn down any prospect who does not measure up to their standards.

These franchisors have it all together – the people, the resources, and the desire to make their franchisees successful.

The X-Rated Franchisor

These are the ones that give the industry fits. Their motivation is greed. The franchisee is just one big dollar sign to them. They have no qualms whatsoever in telling a franchisee, confidentially, about all the money that can be made and how easy it will be to open multiple units.

By and large the operational people are used for collection purposes. They see to it that all royalties and other charges are paid on a timely basis. Delinquents pay interest and are usually threatened with a cancellation of their franchise agreement if late payments continue.