Franchise Corner December / January
2006/07
Turnkey Virtual Assistant
Franchise
Opportunity
Cybertary,
Inc., a network of professional Virtual Assistants (VAs) supporting
independent and small-business owners, is now seeking motivated professionals
to establish Cybertary franchise offices in expandable key territories around
the U.S.
This affordable, turnkey
franchise opportunity makes starting a flexible, home-based business a reality
for highly skilled executive administrative professionals who wish to earn a
worthy wage outside the corporate world and be more available to their
families. The VA industry has grown steadily over the past five years, but
Cybertary is the first known national franchise opportunity in the U.S.
According to Jim
Fitzgerald of The Franchise Guys, Cybertary is an exceptional choice for
franchise consideration. “Cybertary was conceived with the first-time
business owner in mind. Most working professionals with strong technical
skills aren’t usually thinking about marketing, contracts, pricing, cash flow
and other ‘details’ until they start thinking of going into business for
themselves.
“I am very impressed with
the depth of the training, support and the quality of business tools that such
a young franchise system already has in place. Cybertary will provide
franchisees a real world jump start so they can hit the road to
success...running.”
Cybertary is a diversely
talented network of highly-skilled professional Virtual Assistants (VAs), who
collaborate to provide “on-demand” administrative support and specialized
services to small businesses. Cybertary franchise owners acquire a range of
investment opportunities and an already-established and successful system of
doing business.
They are equipped with the
tools and resources they need to get their businesses opened quickly,
including: a proven turnkey business model; a marketing startup package;
comprehensive training; manuals and reference books; a personalized Webpage
and Website; a monthly e-mail newsletter; an established team and searchable
team database; a proprietary Intranet; prepared legal forms and documents;
continuous skills development and certifications; and discounts on products
and services.
According to Cybertary
founder and President, Patricia Beckman, “It has been my mission to provide
this opportunity to career-minded professionals wishing to leave the corporate
world and build their own home-based business in order to be more available
for their families. A Cybertary franchise offers the balance that many female
professionals are seeking.”
Beckman founded the
Roseville, California-based company to meet the growing demand for reliable
and professional administrative outsourcing.
The Cybertary Trend and
the Virtual Assistant Industry
According to the Small
Business Administration, small firms total approximately 23 million in the
United States, with roughly 75 percent of the firms having no employees. This
means there are a significant number of small business owners out there trying
to ‘do it all’.
Cybertary and other
professional Virtual Assistants are increasingly popular since they take care
of the paperwork, bookkeeping, data entry and other marketing tasks so the
business owners have more time to spend with their clients, or simply take
time for themselves.
Most small business owners
mistakenly believe they ‘can’ and ‘should’ do it all on their own to save
money, when in fact, outsourcing some tasks could help them increase profits.
Business owners often spend four to ten hours per week completing
administrative tasks that do not generate revenues. That time could be better
spent on revenue producing activities. Outsourcing the administrative tasks
could actually save them money when the business owner’s own hourly wage is
taken into consideration.
A recent independent study
by Brenner Information Group (www.brennerbooks.com)
shows that over 400 industries and business verticals have sought the
assistance of outsourced VAs. Demand for virtual assistance is at an all-time
high and continues to increase annually. This growing demand makes it more
common for business clients to use outsourcing services like Cybertary on a
regular basis. It also demonstrates that Cybertary has solid growth potential
as well as a means to meet business, career and lifestyle goals.
Cybertary, Inc. is now
available as a nationwide franchise opportunity to creative regional networks
of VAs. For more information, contact Jim Fitzgerald, Director of Franchise
Development, by telephone: 877-249-4897; e-mail:
Franchise@Cybertary.com; or visit
www.CybertaryFranchise.com.
Franchise Financing
Comes in Many Shapes and Sizes, New Study Finds
Franchise systems are
helping franchisees access financing in several different ways, according to
an IFA Educational Foundation-FRANdata report. The Profile of Franchising
Study: 2006 found that more than 20 percent of all franchisors offer
direct financial assistance through a formal financing program. This includes
franchisors (or one of their affiliates) offering direct lending/leasing
programs to franchisees, as well as financing programs set up by third-party
lending and leasing institutions with specially-designed applications,
financing terms and procedures for particular franchise systems.
Another way of assisting
franchisees is through the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Franchise
Registry program. Nearly one-in-five franchise systems have registered with
the agency to enable their franchisees access to a streamlined review process
for SBA loan applications. An additional 9 percent of franchisors provide a
combination of SBA Franchise Registry and direct financing programs.
The study found that a
little more than half of franchisors provide general assistance, which spans
the spectrum from providing informal help, often as a component of franchisee
training, to providing limited information and no direct financial assistance.
Increasingly, franchisors have recognized the need to reach out to the lending
community with some type of information and comparative data on their
franchise systems. Such informal efforts are aimed at helping lenders to
become aware of their brands.
The Profile of
Franchising Study: 2006 is a six-part series appearing in the
International Franchise Association’s flagship magazine, Franchising World.
The foundation and FRANdata will release additional reports in upcoming months
that will examine program requirements, renewal terms and an analysis of
special issues affecting the sector.
IFA (www.franchise.org)
is a 46-year-old trade group encompassing a broad membership of more than
1,000 franchise companies, thousands of franchise small-business owners, and
hundreds of firms that supply goods and services to the sector. FRANdata (www.frandata.com),
an Arlington, Va.-based research firm, is the leading source of information
and analysis about franchising.
