Franchise Expo’s & Conventions

Thinking about franchising?  If so then attend a franchise expo at least once! They’re usually at a busy place like a convention center or fairgrounds, in a fun city like Las Vegas. So, you see, you have an excuse to go already.

But when you do go, you might want to… oh, say… keep to the middle of the aisle and not make too much eye contact. That’s because along with the hundreds of legitimate businesses that want you to sign up with them, you also have some small-time hoodlums trying to run some kind of hustle game on everybody. And the only reason they don’t physically jump out of their booth and tackle you to the ground and take your wallet is because the security guards would taze’ them and they’re scared of modern-man magic.

But by all means, go to the booths of companies you’ve at least heard of. Even if you’re not interested in franchising with them specifically, it’s a good way to look for ideas for something else. You can comparison shop many companies in one place, get a handful of brochures and pamphlets, and collect those silly bouncing balls with the electronic sounds and lights or whatever stress toy they’re giving away this year.

But more importantly, the crowd outside of the booths will be… people just like you! That’s right, you’ll be rubbing elbows with other franchisees all at once. Doubtless, you all have a lot to talk about. You can trade horror stories or recommendations, you can get ideas and tips from each other, and perhaps even strike up an acquaintance or two that will be a good addition to your network.

Now, not at all do we mean to say that franchise expos are full of scams. There’s about as many scams out there as there are, regardless if you find them in the paper, the Internet, or in person. But this is as good a place as any to talk about enterprises that are probably good not to get into. We’re not saying that any of these signs means a person is a crook, we’re just saying if you see one or two of them, it is more likely that there’s a crook somewhere close by. Catch my drift?

* “Return phone calls” or “get paid to stuff envelopes”. - This is nothing but cold-calling and junk-mailing. Just like spam for email, so are telemarketers on the phone and junk mail in your mailbox. Don’t take it. They rip off their own franchisees as much as they rip everybody else off, and even if they did pay you money, is it really worth it to be the hated enemy of society?

* Quack “medical” gizmos. - Look up the history of the “orgone box” some time. That’s what we’re talking about. Any bizarre contraption or strange potion purported to have revolutionary powers to cure thousands of diseases and improve stamina is a huge, obvious scam. If it were a medical necessity, it would be prescribed by doctors. Selling quack gizmos runs the simultaneous risks of (a) going broke, (b) ending up in jail, and (c) killing somebody all at the same time.

* Multi-level marketing scams. - Any business whose sole purpose in recruiting you is to send you out to look for more recruits. The Better Business Bureau has a list of these outfits, but more pop up every day. Sometimes for show, they’ll bring up a few cases of some meaningless product like a protein powder or diet pills, which they are supposedly selling. These are nothing but big fat pyramid schemes, easily recognizable by their cult-like zeal and high-pressure sales pitches.

* Businesses that will not tell you what the heck they do. - Real businesses have some function they perform, and they can explain it in one sentence. If they’ve gone on for thirty minutes about their dynamic program, their motivation package, their testimonials, their action-oriented marketing paradigm, and so on without once mentioning what their product is, run away fast before you get stuck with a bunch of Amway products or the deeds to some time-share property in a Florida swamp.

* Extra tip: Beware of any business that’s computer-maintenance related - Yes, there are legitimate computer sales-and-maintenance businesses and they make big bucks. There are also the biggest, most audacious, hilariously stupid scams in history that also involve computers. Can you tell the difference? Then you are not a computer expert. Go get your Computer Science degree and then come back as a computer expert and pick a computer business. If you know one computer part and software instruction from another, then you’ll be able to see through scams.

OK, got your notepad to scribble ideas? Good, have fun at the expo!