Today I wanted to share a few franchise facts and industry stats with you.

• There are an estimated 1,500 different franchisors (franchise business companies) operating in the U.S.
• There are believed to be more than 750,000 franchise businesses in the U.S.
• The franchising industry and businesses employs over 18 million people in the U.S.
• In 2004, it is estimated that franchise businesses were responsible for over 1.5 trillion in economic output.
• The franchise industry accounts for 40% of all retail sales in the US
• A new franchise business opens every 8 minutes of every business day
• Approximately one out of every 12 businesses in the U.S. is a franchise business
• Franchise fact: More than 75 different industries use franchising as a means to distribute goods and services
• The average initial franchise investment is $250,000- excluding real estate.
• The average royalty fees paid by franchisees range from 3% to 6% of monthly gross sales.
• Most franchise companies have fewer than 100 units
• The average length of a franchise contract is 10 years
• Top franchise industry- Fast Food
• Top franchise company- McDonalds

It's no doubt that franchiseing works, but the question really is.... Is a franchise business right for you. Here are some reasons You might want to purchase a Franchise Business?

Top Reasons To Buy A Franchise Business: Below you will find a list of some the top reasons why the franchise business model is considered to be the best and least risky way to start and own a successful small business in today's market.

Minimization of Risk: The #1 reason you should consider the franchise business model is to minimize your risk of failure. Many studies have concluded that the failure rate of new start businesses is over 90% within 5 years, compared to a success rate of 90% of franchise businesses that are still operating after 5 years.

Established Business Product or Service: The franchising business model generally offers a proven product or service that has been tested, validated, and successfully sold in the market place.

Proven Business Model: Franchise businesses can offer and transfer a proven and refined business model. This would include would include operating and management systems developed by the franchise company, as well as uniform operational standards and procedures.

Brand Recognition: Leveraging the power of an established and successful franchise system can offer new franchise owners instant brand name recognition in a crowded and often very competitive consumer market place.

Learn more about our one of a kind franchise online business. It's got all the benefits of the traditional franchise but not all the big up front costs. http://afranchiseonline.com

One nice thing about social networkworking is you are in the pulse of the Internet marketers, you know what they are thinking, predicting, and talking to other marketers about. When the death of SEO talk came across on twitter it sure made me stop and take a look. As you probably know I've been marketing full time online for 6 years now. I built a large customer base by making my presence known in the search engines. Anytime I see or hear about something that might change the way I do business I take note and research the validity of it.

Don't get me wrong here, the Internet pulse is changing rapidly towards social networks and many of the things I'm seeing will take people away from the search engines in time making them not as important. BUT I don't see in the horizon moving completely away from SEO as a part bringing people to our businesses.

Facts you should know about marketing trends:

For the longest time many Internet gurus totally made their income from their list. Most of these gurus made fortunes with e-mail marketing only. And even though the spam filters make it harder and harder to deliver good content via e-mail some marketers still earn their living this way. When I started marketing online their was already a trend in place of a few e-mail's not getting delivered, that has gotten worse over the years, BUT e-mail marketing hasn't totally died. Now you just need a bigger list and provide what readers want so they look for your stuff. The days of blasting out your opportunity with out building the relationship are gone. E-mail opt in site

Not long after I started marketing online I started using web conferencing to communicate. I've never been a person who hosts teleconferences. If I host a conference it's in a web conference room. This probably why I saw a good fit when I was asked to become the head trainer and master distributor for VereConference. Even though I've never been much for teleconferencing the mainstream Internet pulse still uses teleconferences. I think we who use web conferencing are ahead of the bell curve on this one and in time the mainstream group will catch on. In the mobile society we live in I personally don't think teleconferencing will ever completely die, because we can hop on a conference from anywhere via cell phone. There is a reason I record my training as mp3 recordings. I know to capture and keep the mobile society I must have training they can access from anywhere. Link to my podcasts.

Now the buzz about death of SEO. The buzz got started from Pat O'Bryan his site is called Portable Empire. He has a Internet TV show at www.portableempire.tv. O'Bryan promotes his stuff through social networking and yes he is in my network on Facebook and Twitter. In his message about the death of SEO he talks about the growing popularity of Adobe Air, social networks and the future of Internet users using these interfaces instead of going to the SE's to find what they want. Yes I can see this trend happening to, but I don't think mainstream Internet users will adapt to this anytime soon.

Here is my reasoning for my statement.. "SEO marketing will still be an effective way to grow your business." Yes it's important to watch the trends and take advantage of new trends as they come across the horizon. Daily I get calls from customers ordering product that don't even have an e-mail address. They had someone look up on the Internet to find my number to order the product they read about, saw on TV, or have used for up to 52 years. Do you think these people or their circle of friends will be plugging into the new pulse of these Internet tools? (don't think so)

Just as it's important to develop multiple streams of income to grow your business, it's equally important to have multiple marketing strategies. (reach out methods) As a marketing strategies coach I'm tuned into the pulse of the Internet but also know what has worked for years and continues to work for some. Marketing isn't a one size fits all and anyone who tells you to market this product or service it must be done a certain way don't believe them. I'm sure you've heard the buzz words "duplicate" and "delegate" that's all they are... buzz words. YOU must decide what is right for your business.

I don't know if you've had a chance to check out http://www.afranchiseonline.com or not, but this is one way you can get some direction and start earning a living online.

The clock is ticking...