Sponsored Section: Bricks or Clicks

Choosing between online and offline business opportunities

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The Internet has wrought profound change on franchising. New concepts unimaginable a few years ago today deliver value to customers almost entirely through the worldwide computer network. Other businesses exploit a combination of bricks-and-mortar locations and virtual storefronts to produce hybrid offerings. And it's safe to say that nearly all franchises today employ mouse clicks to market to consumers, communicate with franchisees, and run their operations.

For many potential franchisees, one of the first decisions comes down to a choice between an online business or one requiring some form of office or storefront outside the home.According to Philadelphia franchise attorney Lane Fisher, a member of the International Franchise Association board of directors, this decision revolves mainly around access to capital.

"In the traditional business world there is generally high capital investment, and there's generally delay in finding real estate and completing construction,"Fisher says. Money and time demands can be important for people who, for instance, have been laid off from corporate jobs and need to replace income quickly, he said.

Online businesses may also require more selling skills compared to bricks-and-mortar opportunities such as restaurants that rely on marketing, location, and walk-in traffic for much of their business, Fisher says. And opportunities involving physical storefronts also usually include some sort of exclusive territory, while an online franchisee could well be competing against the entire world, he adds.

When it comes to concepts that would be impossible without the Internet, Printinginabox.com comes quickly to mind.The Tampa franchiser enables entrepreneurs located almost anywhere to broker printing services that are fulfilled in Florida. Materials to be printed are delivered electronically by customers who click on the services they need at franchisee websites.

Even marketing is handled largely online, says President Brooks Palmer. Some franchisees rely on face-to-face selling, but others do mostly search engine optimization, pay-per-click ads and social networking. "It's an easy sell," Palmer says. "Our quality, turnaround, and pricing is second to none. And with our easy online ordering, customers can process orders without tying up too much of their valuable time."

The company has two physical locations and approximately 400 virtual locations, and Palmer is looking to hit 1,000 in 2010. Printinginabox.com charges no upfront franchise fee, only set monthly fees, and little training is required, Palmer says."Anyone can do thisif they put theirtimeintoit,"hesays.

A similar approach underlies Cybertary, a Roseville, Calif.,franchiser of virtual assistant agencies. Business can be conducted almost entirely online, with franchisees lining up clients and connecting them to virtual assistants through the Internet who perform word processing and other back office tasks."It allows you to work from home,and youcan fit your work intoyour life ratherthanthe other way around,"says Founder and CEO Patricia Beckman.

Cybertary franchisees' customers are mostly small and medium-sized businesses looking for part-time administrative assistance. Demand for virtual assistants has stayed strong despite the downturn, and franchisee demand has helped the company expand to 19 franchise locations --15 in just the second half of 2009, Beckman says. She anticipates adding three or four new franchise locations a month in 2010, and the company also plans to expand to Canada later this year.

While Cybertary uses the Internet to deliver its services, SearchMarketMe of Issaquah, Wash., helps other small business owners conduct Internet-based marketing campaigns. President Jenny Dibble says the company's objective is to fill the niche between solo web designers or SEO practitioners and traditional marketing firms that charge tens of thousands of dollars. "Businesses know enough about online marketing to know they want to do it, but they don't know how to do it themselves," she says."They know the web is where consumers are. But they don't know who to call."

SearchMarketMe's agency owners help design and implement online marketing efforts employing search engines, social media, e-mail, and more. The company has 56 agency owners in its network now, and anticipates adding 10 each month in 2010. "Online marketing is such an amazing field right now to go into," says Dibble."It reallyis just the perfectstorm."

The Internet represents an almost-perfect lead-generation tool for many franchises, including those that seemingly are almost entirely reliant on physical locations. Candy Bouquet International, Inc. of Little Rock, Ark., offers franchises that sell candies in flower-like arrangements. Although each franchisee has a bricks-andmortar location for walk-ins, the parent also provides leads virtually generated from people clicking on the company's main website, says Founder Margaret McEntire

Personal experience, rather than online marketing, is the main reason people become interesting in Candy Bouquet franchises, McEntire says. Many franchisees started by receiving Candy Bouquets themselves, when they were blown away by the way it made them feel --and by the idea of making a living likewise for others."It'ssomething that gets intoyourblood,"shesays..

Candy Bouquet has 577 franchised locations and in 2010 plans to add 150 to 175, including a number of international expansions. McEntire expects candy arrangements to exert considerable cross-cultural appeal. "We're one of the fastest growing international franchises there is," she says.

Customers don't need to walk into a store to do business with from Online Trading Academy. President Eyal Shahar has set up the Irvine, Calif., financial education franchiser as a sort of hybrid bricks-and-clicks business. Many customers first learn of Online Trading Academy through free learning resources found on financial websites, he says. Later, they may take a free class at a bricks-and-mortar training center, then graduate to paid training center classes and online courses for continuing education.

Online Trading Academy generates its revenue from paid financial education classes,but the customer relationship usually starts for free online. "We've found an incredible blend between both clicks and mortar," Shahar says. "Offering only one or the other was not effective." The company has 33 franchises worldwide, and next year hopes to open up in India and other U.S. and international locations.

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