Hosting The Right Way

Franchisor Website Rules and Media Regulations

Recently a Federal Trade Commission Report on Franchising has been looking into what should be allowed on Franchisor websites, as some information could be considered advertising for franchise buyers. Most websites of businesses in the franchising industry are set up to sell and give information to consumers of the end product; Submarine Sandwiches, haircuts, hotel rooms and things of this nature.

This has been one of my major complaints in franchising. States like CA dictate what we can say on our website if we wish to sell franchises there. We have 13,000 pages online on all of our websites, the Department of Corporations in CA had once asked us to submit our website to them, so they could look at it since they wish to regulate advertising. I asked how, they said just print it out and send it in with the registration renewal. Oh great and how long is that going to take to go thru it all? They do not have the staff and the year will be over and it will be time to renew again before they get done. They said that was our problem. Needless to say, we are doing company owned units in the Great State of California these days even with the 110% of payroll workmen's comp costs.

What the The Federal Trade Commission fails to understand is that they are merely one agency and business people have to deal with all agencies and everyone is busy making rules? Why? To reduce fraud? What fraud? The only fraud is that which is against the entrepreneurs and business people that provide the jobs, tax base and stability to civilization by the regulators in the first place. That is a complete fraud against humanity and must be stopped.

Of the 13,000 pages on our websites, only a few pages on the franchise opportunity sections have anything to do with franchise sales, no sense in repeating the 180-230 pages in the UFOC, they are constantly changing anyway. We need to be careful how we regulate things, which change all the time, since who is going to monitor it anyway? Who will enforce it, will we have business people turning in competition and the Federal Trade Commission as the secret police for competitive advantage? Seems we have a little of that now; don't we? You do not have to answer that, you can take the fifth, I understand how all this really works, the Federal Trade Commission has taught me well, but why can't we have a little reality at the agency which claims truth, justice and the American way, hmm, just a little is not too much to ask is it? What say you?

I have been in my industry some 27 years, write trade journal articles in 22 different industries that we service, which brings us business offers for all kinds of interesting things as well as contacts for services for our franchisees and/or company. Such articles do belong on our websites. We are put at a competitive disadvantage in franchising by not putting up things like business plans, sector surveys, industry information, etc., which are common knowledge in the industry. It is not right for people who sell equipment in the industry to be able to offer training and put up such things and since we are franchising, we are barred from doing so. That is lunacy.

Sometimes franchising does not fit into the type of business our customers want to do with us, so we offer consulting services. Our franchisees benefit from working with industry leaders and from our strengths from mere association. If we do not put up such information we are constantly running at half speed. Such a general media rule would in fact limit the success of the franchisees as well as our efforts to achieve the goals for our company, in turn help their reputation and increase their sales. The FTC in even bringing this up proves they have lost touch with the modern era in business, forgotten the lessons learned from strategic partnering and generally do not care to learn. It is all about a bunch of outdated rules which have absolutely nothing to do with reality, which is consistent I guess with all government, perpetuated by morons of linear thought. Deny It, I have proof, observation and experience to back me up.

Many companies have franchising divisions and company owned divisions, consulting divisions, business opportunities, signage agreements, for instance look at Shell Oil in their auto lube businesses. All sorts of different programs, some came from mergers, some from distributors. They are a solutions provider and a product manufacturer as well as a retailing and service franchise. People have needs and they have figured out how to service those needs. Sometimes when you are the dominant player in an industry, you are called upon to fix things, solve problems and provide solutions, that is your job and folks that is what makes the world go around. That is why we are the greatest nation in the world and the FTC has no right to tear that down. Franchising is one such method although with the over regulations and increased litigation a less profitable one and often an impossible one due to the customizing of documents on a short time line. Why? Because the Federal Trade Commission is trying to help the consumer from fraud where no fraud exists?

Being the best in the world at what we do did not come over night, it is hard work and it always will be, we accept this, but condemn the Federal Trade Commission for making it even harder for no apparent reason. As we read the dribble and bogus arguments of the FTC latest report on franchising and what if, scenarios from attorneys; one has to laugh, because in the real world, you do what ever it takes to get it done and move on to the next opportunity which comes your way. If you cannot get it done, then no one is going to buy from you anyway.

Franchising can serve a niche where other formats cannot. Every possible combination in the playbook should be available to entrepreneurs, business people and corporations like Shell Oil. It is for this reason I agree with the commission on this point of contention that franchisors should be allowed to put up press releases on their website, just like any other company provided it does not appear on the franchise opportunities section or place on the site offering information about a potential franchise if those press releases contain information of earnings claims which is not backed up in the UFOC or available upon request from legitimate franchise buyers only.

We should not be bogged down with all kinds of incessant rules to cover every possible business eventuality otherwise we end up boxing companies into holes and therefore do not receive their innovations or best efforts, that causes a sever loss in the general productivity of an industry which must compete with foreign and domestic players who do not have the same rules. I therefore believe the Federal Trade Commission is correct in allowing such information as long as it is not used in conjunction with franchise sales. Under the earnings claims section of the UFOC negative declarations can be used to protect the consumer as are currently in play in most UFOC which do not contain such earnings claims. Think on it, I am right and will not yield the mike to the gentleman from the state of confusion at the FTC.

"Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs

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