In the international realm of sign franchises, large companies are providing the strength and support to make franchisees feel like a tight-knit community.
Why join a sign franchise instead of building an entirely new shop? Easy: Name recognition. Owners don’t have to spend years forging a good reputation; that status is included in the package. Of course, a franchise gives you much more.
The leading national – and international – franchises offer myriad support systems for franchisees. There’s training, hardware and software support, and, perhaps most crucial, marketing help. Going it alone remains admirable, but the right help can put owners on the fast track to success.
Training
Major U.S. sign franchises, like Sign*A*Rama (West Palm Beach, FL), Signs Now (Sarasota, FL) and FastSigns Intl. Inc. (Carrollton, TX) offer weeks of training, split between company headquarters and your shop. Same is true for Sign Biz! Inc. (Dana Point, CA), which isn’t a franchise, but a network of independent signshops that shares information and group discounts.
Sign*A*Rama, for example, brings new franchisees, whether they’re from North America or overseas, to meet with President Ray Titus at the headquarters.
“We still run it like a small company,” said Tony Foley, president of World Franchisors, which aids the company with international development. (Both World Franchisors and Sign*A*Rama are sister companies within the United Franchise Group.)
Jim Tatem, of Sign*A*Rama’s Global Franchise Training Program, says franchisees attend two weeks at the “university” in West Palm Beach, learning pricing, the sales process, marketing strategies and business management. Then they spend up to one week training at a store in their city or country. Two weeks of training at their stores’ location follows.
Master licensors, which the company appoints outside the United States, Canada, United Kingdom and Australia, are primary franchisees who set up stores throughout their country. Sign*A*Rama scouts visit new countries to secure ideal flagship locations. “Seems like we’re opening in new countries weekly,” said Sharon Burman, brands marketing manager for Sign*A*Rama.
Sign Biz provides two weeks of home instruction, six days of training in the Sign Biz Technical Training Center in California, then four days of in-store training at a working Sign Biz store. Training at Sign Biz, however, involves more than the art of signage.
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