Damn robots, taking our jobs !

[Benton]

(02-28-2017, 01:51 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: We have 2-3, in my town.
It was (obviously) a great idea.
However, once the nation is blanketed with high speed internet, streaming will turn Redboxes into fossils.

The deck is stacked against the little guy.
I just checked into a Rally's franchise, again.
They doubled the qualifications and added an application fee.
You need: $500,000 Net Worth, $250,000 Liquidable Assets, $160,000 Start Up cash, and $60,000 for the application fee.

I dunno.

We're pretty netflix oriented, and I stream movies through my Xbox. The kids still love going to Redbox. Plus, with the looming Net Neutrality (also known as Pay More For Less), those streaming services are going to have to compete with a handful of internet providers that (surprise!) are owned/own entertainment providers/cable/move companies. So while Netflix, Hulu, etc., have had a nice run, they're either going to have to jack up their prices or get buried as Viacom and Disney decide that you'll be watching.

[*michaelsean*]

(02-28-2017, 01:51 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: We have 2-3, in my town.
It was (obviously) a great idea.
However, once the nation is blanketed with high speed internet, streaming will turn Redboxes into fossils.

The deck is stacked against the little guy.
I just checked into a Rally's franchise, again.
They doubled the qualifications and added an application fee.
You need: $500,000 Net Worth, $250,000 Liquidable Assets, $160,000 Start Up cash, and $60,000 for the application fee.

WTF? When I was a boy you could get a shack with 2 windows and a grill for a couple hundred dollars.

[oncemoreuntothejimbreech]

(02-28-2017, 01:51 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: We have 2-3, in my town.
It was (obviously) a great idea.
However, once the nation is blanketed with high speed internet, streaming will turn Redboxes into fossils.

The deck is stacked against the little guy.
I just checked into a Rally's franchise, again.
They doubled the qualifications and added an application fee.
You need: $500,000 Net Worth, $250,000 Liquidable Assets, $160,000 Start Up cash, and $60,000 for the application fee.

Holy shit!  I didn't realize you could be on the cusp of homelessness and buy a franchise.  No wonder they can't afford to pay more than minimum wage.  Shit, they're barely getting by the way it is.

I wouldn't be able to afford to feed my family at a Rally's with only $250K of liquidity.

[Rotobeast]

(02-28-2017, 03:09 PM)oncemoreuntothejimbreech Wrote: Holy shit!  I didn't realize you could be on the cusp of homelessness and buy a franchise.  No wonder they can't afford to pay more than minimum wage.  Shit, they're barely getting by the way it is.

I wouldn't be able to afford to feed my family at a Rally's with only $250K of liquidity.

They also "highly recommend" putting at least $165,000 back into the franchise, each year.
Rally's only takes a 4% royalty though.
So, I suppose that could be worse.
Average sales per location is around $700,000-800,000 annually.

I think I'd give bonuses to my employees, based on franchise performance.

[oncemoreuntothejimbreech]

(02-28-2017, 03:19 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: They also "highly recommend" putting at least $165,000 back into the franchise, each year.
Rally's only takes a 4% royalty though.
So, I suppose that could be worse.
Average sales per location is around  $700,000-800,000 annually.

I think I'd give bonuses to my employees, based on franchise performance.

Hand outs? Sounds like socialism.

I think I just lost my lunch.

[Rotobeast]

(02-28-2017, 03:37 PM)oncemoreuntothejimbreech Wrote: Hand outs? Sounds like socialism.

I think I just lost my lunch.

While I note the sarcasm....

Profit sharing.
It doesn't take much to create peer pressure and promotion of the establishment.
Besides, I wouldn't limit myself to that being my only income.

[Benton]

(02-28-2017, 03:19 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: They also "highly recommend" putting at least $165,000 back into the franchise, each year.
Rally's only takes a 4% royalty though.
So, I suppose that could be worse.
Average sales per location is around  $700,000-800,000 annually.

I think I'd give bonuses to my employees, based on franchise performance.

For someone who worked in the restaurant industry all of one summer, those sales are location specific.

I've got a friend that just opened a Culver's. They pressured him to open along I-69, but he opted for a spot close to a high school. But that was the only two options they would really consider. Which seems to support my thinking that with those franchises, it's more about where it is than what it is. 

Even if you've got little to no restaurant experience, I think you could do ok hiring someone to teach you and putting down $200-500,00k on the right piece of dirt, then open up whatever you want, as opposed to spending a million or two on opening a chain place.

[Rotobeast]

(02-28-2017, 04:05 PM)Benton Wrote: For someone who worked in the restaurant industry all of one summer, those sales are location specific.

I've got a friend that just opened a Culver's. They pressured him to open along I-69, but he opted for a spot close to a high school. But that was the only two options they would really consider. Which seems to support my thinking that with those franchises, it's more about where it is than what it is. 

Even if you've got little to no restaurant experience, I think you could do ok hiring someone to teach you and putting down $200-500,00k on the right piece of dirt, then open up whatever you want, as opposed to spending a million or two on opening a chain place.

I thought as much, regarding average sales.

I do have restaurant management experience, but wanted a more hands off approach, after getting something started.
My area is so depressed though, I have to be very attentive to the products price points.

[Au165]

(02-28-2017, 04:05 PM)Benton Wrote: For someone who worked in the restaurant industry all of one summer, those sales are location specific.

I've got a friend that just opened a Culver's. They pressured him to open along I-69, but he opted for a spot close to a high school. But that was the only two options they would really consider. Which seems to support my thinking that with those franchises, it's more about where it is than what it is. 

Even if you've got little to no restaurant experience, I think you could do ok hiring someone to teach you and putting down $200-500,00k on the right piece of dirt, then open up whatever you want, as opposed to spending a million or two on opening a chain place.

Chain places have the advantage of established brands that have value your personal restaurant wouldn't have. The main reason a lot of personal owned restaurants fail is because of bad or little marketing.

[*michaelsean*]

(02-28-2017, 04:19 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: I thought as much, regarding average sales.

I do have restaurant management experience, but wanted a more hands off approach, after getting something started.
My area is so depressed though, I have to be very attentive to the products price points.

That's one thing Rallys offers.

[Benton]

(02-28-2017, 04:25 PM)Au165 Wrote: Chain places have the advantage of established brands that have value your personal restaurant wouldn't have. The main reason a lot of personal owned restaurants fail is because of bad or little marketing.

Agreed, but that can be true of chain places, too.

I'm as guilty as anyone about hitting places closest to the exit, but that often includes places I've never heard of before, chains included. That was how I discovered Frisch's even though I don't think I've ever seen an ad for one. I've never tried a Rally's. Likewise, there's two Culver's within 25 miles of my house and I've never seen either advertise or promote. But I can't turn a television or radio on without seeing a commercial for Hardee's, McDonald's, Wendy's or Arby's.

Part of my job is working with local businesses about marketing. Too many think having a good product and good word of mouth will bring in customers. And that doesn't hurt, but  promotion will bring in more customers than product quality.

[Au165]

(02-28-2017, 04:58 PM)Benton Wrote: Agreed, but that can be true of chain places, too.

I'm as guilty as anyone about hitting places closest to the exit, but that often includes places I've never heard of before, chains included. That was how I discovered Frisch's even though I don't think I've ever seen an ad for one. I've never tried a Rally's. Likewise, there's two Culver's within 25 miles of my house and I've never seen either advertise or promote. But I can't turn a television or radio on without seeing a commercial for Hardee's, McDonald's, Wendy's or Arby's.

Part of my job is working with local businesses about marketing. Too many think having a good product and good word of mouth will bring in customers. And that doesn't hurt, but  promotion will bring in more customers than product quality.

McDonald's franchises are huge beneficiaries right now of the Grand Mac with little effort of their own. That is more my point, the Franchise owners have to do a lot less work in the marketing and awareness realm but still have the same issues of picking locations and running the business correctly. Not all franchise opportunities are equal though, which is why some cost more than others.

[*michaelsean*]

(02-28-2017, 04:58 PM)Benton Wrote: Agreed, but that can be true of chain places, too.

I'm as guilty as anyone about hitting places closest to the exit, but that often includes places I've never heard of before, chains included. That was how I discovered Frisch's even though I don't think I've ever seen an ad for one. I've never tried a Rally's. Likewise, there's two Culver's within 25 miles of my house and I've never seen either advertise or promote. But I can't turn a television or radio on without seeing a commercial for Hardee's, McDonald's, Wendy's or Arby's.

Part of my job is working with local businesses about marketing. Too many think having a good product and good word of mouth will bring in customers. And that doesn't hurt, but  promotion will bring in more customers than product quality.

We don't have Hardees anymore.  I always admired them.  they made no attempt to even approach healthy.  Every time McDonalds came out with a salad, Hardees threw 4 more pieces of bacon on something.

And Frischs is all about the tartar sauce.  

[Rotobeast]

(02-28-2017, 04:58 PM)Benton Wrote: Agreed, but that can be true of chain places, too.

I'm as guilty as anyone about hitting places closest to the exit, but that often includes places I've never heard of before, chains included. That was how I discovered Frisch's even though I don't think I've ever seen an ad for one. I've never tried a Rally's. Likewise, there's two Culver's within 25 miles of my house and I've never seen either advertise or promote. But I can't turn a television or radio on without seeing a commercial for Hardee's, McDonald's, Wendy's or Arby's.

Part of my job is working with local businesses about marketing. Too many think having a good product and good word of mouth will bring in customers. And that doesn't hurt, but  promotion will bring in more customers than product quality.

They all seem to think Facebook advertising is all they need now, too...lol

[oncemoreuntothejimbreech]

(02-28-2017, 03:43 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: While I note the sarcasm....

Profit sharing.
It doesn't take much to create peer pressure and promotion of the establishment.
Besides, I wouldn't limit myself to that being my only income.

Meth.  Now we're talking free market economics the way God intended!

[Benton]

(02-28-2017, 05:13 PM)michaelsean Wrote: We don't have Hardees anymore.  I always admired them.  they made no attempt to even approach healthy.  Every time McDonalds came out with a salad, Hardees threw 4 more pieces of bacon on something.

And Frischs is all about the tartar sauce.  

They've shut down two Hardee's in my area. I think that's mostly due to the shrinking economy here. You can't go 5 feet without seeing a McDonald's and a $1 cheeseburger, but the parking lots at Hardee's or Arby's stayed pretty empty with their $9-12 value meals.

(02-28-2017, 05:21 PM)Rotobeast Wrote: They all seem to think Facebook advertising is all they need now, too...lol

No kidding.

I had an account say he was pulling all advertising and going to Facebook (which isn't uncommon). This guy stands out because he was tired of spending money when Facebook was free and got more results. I asked him how he was measuring that. It says so at the bottom, that his posts have reached 3,000 people or however many. I just shook my head. That's not even click throughs, he was just going by what Facebook told him of people who had "seen" what he was posting. And people always bring up "well, on Facebook I get 200 likes, but with online/print ads I don't know how many people respond." So you have to try and explain that people like things on Facebook the same way they say hello at a party — they do it to be courteous because everyone else is doing it. And most of those likes are by friends and family who don't care that they misspelled half the words.

[Rotobeast]

(02-28-2017, 05:47 PM)Benton Wrote: They've shut down two Hardee's in my area. I think that's mostly due to the shrinking economy here. You can't go 5 feet without seeing a McDonald's and a $1 cheeseburger, but the parking lots at Hardee's or Arby's stayed pretty empty with their $9-12 value meals.


No kidding.

I had an account say he was pulling all advertising and going to Facebook (which isn't uncommon). This guy stands out because he was tired of spending money when Facebook was free and got more results. I asked him how he was measuring that. It says so at the bottom, that his posts have reached 3,000 people or however many. I just shook my head. That's not even click throughs, he was just going by what Facebook told him of people who had "seen" what he was posting. And people always bring up "well, on Facebook I get 200 likes, but with online/print ads I don't know how many people respond." So you have to try and explain that people like things on Facebook the same way they say hello at a party — they do it to be courteous because everyone else is doing it. And most of those likes are by friends and family who don't care that they misspelled half the words.

Yes, I know exactly the silliness you're talking about.
I think I mentioned before that my wife is in radio advertising, which seems to still be effective.
I get to hear all the stories.
I especially like the ones where they come crawling back...lol