Being in control of your own destiny? Priceless!

Wow, it's a bit hair raising out there in the business world right now!

Italy's credit rating has dropped a point. Greece is on the brink of defaulting on international loans. The IMF analysis of the world economy is depressing to say the least. America and Europe are dangerously near financial collapse... if you take the news at face value. Plus unemployment and redundancies are rife.

So what's the solution?

You can't beat being in full control of your business destiny for comparative financial safety and income security. If you've got a regular job and you lose it, you'll probably be in real trouble. But if you run your own business you can drop a client or two and the world won't end. It's more than likely you'll survive.

Better still, the smart money is on products with a wide, unflagging appeal. Stuff like matchmaking services. And niche products with an equally strong appeal, for instance matchmaking services for professional people.

TopMatch dating franchises have a foot in both camps, which is why they're such a good idea however horrid the economic climate happens to be. We all want love. There's a vast market of singles in Britain and Europe who are happy to pay good money for a quality service. And because we matchmake for professionals only, a TM franchise also taps into a powerful, relatively wealthy niche.

What's the best time to set yourself free and take control of your own business destiny? How about now. Our franchisees are surviving and thriving despite the economy. They know if they can keep afloat in the current situation, they'll survive anything... which is pure gold dust when all around you people are losing their jobs, income and peace of mind.

Sounds good? It is. Very good. Give us a call now for a chat about it. Or download Russell's free franchising ebook and take things from there.

(Thanks to http://www.sxc.hu/profile/pawel_231 for the image)

FREE guide: How to Win Your Freedom Through Franchising

How much do you really know about franchising?

Perhaps you've scoured the franchise opportunity market and have a really good handle on the whole scenario. Perhaps you're a beginner, just about to start your research and familiarise yourself with how franchises work, for whom and why. Maybe you're part-way along the journey. Either way you'll love this brilliant little ebook by TopMatch co-founder and Director Russell Leach.

Russell has run successful franchises with his lovely wife Nora for many years. They're one of those enviable happy couples with a wonderful lifestyle and numerous successful businesses under their belt. And they know their stuff.

Anyone can dream up a franchise opportunity. But very few people have the gumption, experience, expertise and business acumen to bring it to successful fruition and keep the profits rolling in long-term.

The How to Win Your Freedom Through Franchising guide covers every aspect of the benefits of franchising, delivering vital insights into the pitfalls as well as the benefits and highs of running a successful franchise business.

Are you the right personality type to make a go of it? The best way to find out the nitty gritty detail behind the scenes is to request a copy. There's no obligation and no strings attached. And TopMatch never, ever passes your contact details to anyone else. You're safe with Russell and Nora.

Here's a link - go for it and get the story straight from the proverbial horse's mouth!

http://www.topmatch-uk.com/franchise-opportunities.html

Having realistic expectations and reaping what you sow

When you're in the market for a franchise, take realistic expectations into account... theirs and yours.

If a franchise owner promises you the earth, insisting you'll make thousands straight away with your first million on the horizon, step away from your computer, go and make a cuppa and cool off a bit!

Like most things in life, if it looks too good to be true it almost always is. Chances are the franchise owners are either desperate, lying, misguided, hugely over-optimistic or good old fashioned scammers. None of which makes for a sensible, lucrative business proposition.

On the other hand franchisees who expect to sit on their backsides watching daytime TV while their franchise quietly ticks over in the back ground making a fortune also need a serious reality check.

Never expect franchising life to be easy. It's hard work. But if you're the type to succeed, you'll be expecting to put the effort in and you'll thrive on it. As we've said before, there's no such thing as a get rich quick scheme. If there was, would we be really writing this blog?

As trustworthy, expert franchise owners with years in the business we know how it works. We won't promise you the earth. But we do promise you a proven business opportunity in a box.

We understand you reap what you sow. Our initial income projections are realistic rather than off the scale. Ultimately, your income potential is unlimited. The harder you work, the more money you'll make.

On the other hand if you sit back and coast you won't make a bean.

Fair enough?

Men are great at running dating franchises too!

You might imagine that women tend to be better at running dating franchises. There's no doubt they're good. Very good. But men are just as capable and you might be surprised how many of them express a strong interest in the online dating sector.

Most of us know a bloke who's a bit more sensitive than the rest, great to talk to with an uncanny understanding of what makes women tick. If that sounds like you, you'll probably make an excellent matchmaker.

Obviously whether you're male or female we give you some of the franchising world's best quality training, designed to help you hone your natural matchmaking skills as well as run a successful business from a practical perspective. So no worries there.

Couples are great too. When you're a couple running a dating franchise, you can harness both your skills and maximise your franchise's success by concentrating on the things you do best. If your wife or girlfriend is a fiendishly good organiser and administrator but, unlike you, doesn't feel comfy dealing with real, live people, you can split the responsibilities accordingly and make the most of your individual skills. If you both love meeting new people and matching them with their true love, you can split your Personal Dating Consultant and admin responsibilities 50/50.

Do you need to be a 'real' couple of just a couple of friends who, together, have the requisite skills needed to run a money spinning dating franchise? No, if you want to run a TopMatch dating franchise with a friend that's fine too...

8 top tips for choosing the right franchise

There's a whole lot of franchises out there. Some make amazing, exciting claims. Most insist you'll enjoy a better life, better income and better work-life balance. So how do you create a sensible short list in such a crowded market?

Here's eight top tips help you create a short list and come to a final decision:

1. identify and acknowledge your emotional reasons for choosing each franchise for your short list. Is it because you like the look of their marketing materials, spoke to someone nice on the phone or appreciate their honesty? If your motivations aren't 100% business-based, think again and look at the opportunity dispassionately to make sure it still makes sense
2. do your research - if the information you want isn't there, ask for it. It you don't get it in full straight away, with no excuses, drop them like a hot cake
3. ask the experts - if you run the numbers past your accountant he or she will let you know whether the franchise owner's financial and income projections are realistic and accurate
4. talk to or email existing franchisees to get their take on the opportunity
5. talk to other people you know who already run or are involved in running successful businesses. They might spot something you've missed
6. talk to your family... but not if you come from a family of pessimists and nay-sayers. In that case it might be better to stick with purely professional advice for now, without that destructive emotional tinge!
7. take legal advice. A good solicitor will run through a franchise agreement or contract in no time, making sure it protects everyone concerned properly and fairly
8. be honest again... this time about your capabilities. Do you have the skills you need to run a franchise? If not will the franchise owner train you, sticking with you through thick and thin? Are you willing to put the work in or lazy at heart? If you're in it for a quick buck you will be disappointed. There's no such thing as 'get rich quick'.

Does the prospect of the franchises you've chosen fill you with excitement and joy? If so, and if you've ticked off the above, they probably deserve a place on your short list!

Thanks to http://www.sxc.hu/profile/darktaco for the image.

The online dating market keeps on growing...

...and it's changing just as fast. Not so long ago, the simple fact that you could offer online dating services was enough to succeed. But, in the face of increasing competition, today's online dating sites are having to work much harder.

How? It's all about targeting. These days the winners are the sites that target their service directly to the needs of their customers. The 'one size fits all' online dating model is falling behind this new breed of specific, targeted offerings.

Has it come as a surprise to us at TopMatch? No. We predicted this'd happen. Which is why we have never opened our doors to all comers. Far from it. We find love for professional people... and only professional people. The TopMatch dating franchise has always been about targeted marketing, right from the start. And it's holding it's own nicely as a result.

There's nothing new about the marketing wisdom behind our decision. Anyone who knows anything about direct marketing knows when you make a targeted offer it invariably performs better than a random, scattergun approach.

Obviously you've got to put your money where your mouth is where targeting is concerned. It's no good just claiming to be a special service but trolleying out the same old stuff as everyone else. If you create a consumer expectation it's vital to fulfil it.

So the second part of our success story revolves around providing an unbeatable service to meet customer expectations. Something genuinely unique that takes their needs directly into account. How many dating sites do the same? Very few. If any. Because the target audience varies but the service usually remains much the same, they're only doing half the job.

You don't get where we are today without significant marketing nouse. That's why our matchmaking franchises have always worked so well for our franchisees, and continue to generate impressive returns in a fast-changing marketplace. If you want to be part of it, call us now and we'll take it from there.

Spreading happiness in hard times

If you believed everything in the news, you'd think the end of the world was nigh. It's all doom and gloom. Which is just one good reason why making your working life as happy as you can is a wise move.

Many professional people spend at least a third of the week working. Overtime is a thing of the past - we're expected to work long hours for no extra money. Work eats up such a significant amount of time, it makes sense to focus your considerable energies on a career that makes you feel good.

Feeling good about life has all sorts of unexpected benefits. For a start, when you're happy you're healthier, less likely to catch colds, infections and other nasties. Your skin is clearer and your digestion works better. You look... well, brighter.

When you're enjoying yourself you're more likely to come up with fresh ideas and inspiration. You're fizzing with well-being. Your spirit is alight instead of grey and tired. You find it easier to get on with people. You're more sociable, fun, creative, resilient, positive and tolerant. The list goes on.

If you're working in a sector where you're always giving or encountering bad news and negativity, it can really get you down. If you're so busy you can't see straight, sleep or eat properly, it's bound to have an effect on the way you experience everyday stuff.

The secret to a dramatically improved life? Work in a sector where you spread happiness.

Some say that what you give, you receive. If you believe happiness generates more happiness, you'll have the time of your working life with a TopMatch franchise. No matter how rough things get in the business world, everyone needs love and we all want to be happy!

A franchise that saves customers money as well as delivering a premium service

If at all possible it's best to buy into a franchise that not only makes you money but saves your customers money too.

In a competitive economy, a double whammy is your best bet. You can sell the finest service of its kind on the planet but when the going gets tough, price tends to become much more important to the consumer.

Does a TopMatch Franchise come up to scratch where value for money's concerned? Does it genuinely save customers money? Yes it does.

Imagine you're dating the traditional way, going out regularly looking for potential partners. It's a sure fire way to exhaust yourself when you work hard five days a week, as well as costing a fortune. Let's face it, it could take geological ages to find the love of your life that way. It's far too random. And you're spending a huge amount of money on drinks, restaurants, entertainment and transport.

When people date the TopMatch way, they save a whole heap of stress, time, hassle and potential heartache. Everyone on TopMatch is looking for love, so there's no chance of misunderstandings.

Because you, as their Personal Dating Consultant, are on hand with help and support the whole process is much faster and more efficient than doing it the old way. And the whole thing is backed up by sophisticated personal matching software, which in itself saves endless time, hassle and - inevitably - money.

It's a potent message in a sticky economy, where most people are taking care of the pennies... if you want to find love fast and save yourself a fortune, go with TopMatch. If you want to buy into a rock solid franchise, now is a great time to do it.

How to avoid the cowboys and identify top franchise opportunities

All you need to do is read a few of the franchise offers available online and you soon realise a high proportion of them are pretty weak.

Or maybe it’s just easy for us to spot because we’ve been in business long enough to distinguish a dud from a firework.

Unless you’ve run a successful online business before, or you’ve got enough business experience to see the wood for the trees, it’s often difficult to weed out the rip-offs and identify genuine, rock solid franchise opportunities.

Franchise owners naturally paint their franchises in the best light. That’s what marketing is all about. So you need to be able to read between the lines to make a sensible decision.

One good piece of advice is that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Look for realistic earnings projections, especially in the early days when you’re finding your feet. If a franchise owner tempts you in with promises of thousands of pounds a week from the word go, take it with a pinch of salt.

If it looks too easy, you might also be onto a loser. If there was a quick ‘n dirty way to make a fortune, we’d all be doing it. Like all businesses franchises require a common sense level of hard graft and commitment. Just make sure the one you choose doesn’t eat up your whole life. Pick a franchise that delivers a comfortable work-life balance.

Third, keep an eye open for all the little things that make a franchise credible. A solid team with enough business experience to see the helicopter and long term views as well as paying enough attention to the fine detail. People who are contactable by regular phone, mobile, email, a website and a street address. A business that is properly registered to trade legally in your country. People who you will meet in person before you part with your money!

Buy into a franchise where your hands aren't tied!

Imagine. You've bought an online dating franchise. You can see that the back-end dating software does a great job of matching singles with similar outlooks and interests. But you soon become frustrated by the lack of human intervention.

It seemed like a great idea at the time. But when you have to leave everything to a computer system you can't intervene in person to give good, old fashioned advice. You can't intervene even when you can see your members are barking up the wrong tree... after all it's always easier to see the wood for the trees when you're on the outside. You can see people failing to find their perfect partner but you're powerless to help. In effect, all you're doing is pressing buttons and doing admin.

If you're the type of person who can see the value of face to face interaction and professional person to person support, you should go for a TopMatch dating franchise. Yes, the franchise runs on a software engine behind the scenes. And it's a superb one. But you're also involved in meeting your members in person, adding the magic of real, human connections to the equation. You can help and advise, stick your oar in and generally become a true professional friend to your members.

Better still, by doing so you maximise members' chances of finding lasting love. Which in turn maximises your potential income. That's more like it!