Since 1996 the Filta Group has been gaining more and more notice as a provider of top-quality service to commercial kitchens.  Most recently, the Filta Group was honored with the 2009 U.S. Commerce Associations “Best of Local Business” Award in the category of Green Business.  This is because Filta’s products and services are just great when it comes to saving their customers time and money, the Filta services are also great for the environment too.  Filta firmly believes that green business is good business and that shows in every Filta product and service offered by every Filta franchise across the world.

Therefore, it was only natural that when Vancouver was selected as the site for the 2010 Winter Olympics, Filta was called on to make sure that the food needs of millions of visiting participants and spectators could be met with the least amount of negative environmental impact and waste.  During the coming Winter Olympics, Filta representatives will be working diligently to provide the acclaimed FiltaFry cooking oil micro-filtration service to all of the deep fryers in use around BC Place where the opening ceremonies are to be held and GM Place, one of the main sites of the Olympic competitions.

For those who are not yet aware, FiltaFry operates by using a specialized micro-filtration system to purify even the most microscopic particles from cooking oil.  As a result of the process the oil remains usable for twice as long without sacrificing quality and taste.  Oil that lasts twice as long mean half as much oil used.  In this instance, that amount is truly staggering.

Initially planning estimated that around 600,000 gallons of cooking oil would be used over the course of the event.  That is enough cooking oil to completely fill an Olympic sized swimming pool.  FiltaFry hopes to drastically reduce that amount, substantially lessening the waste created by the monumental event.  Furthermore, because FiltaFry maintained fryers run more efficiently, the fryers running at BC Place and GM Place will be able to keep up with demands while using a lot less electricity.

Local Vancouver Filta franchise owner, Steven Hughes, has already expressed his excitement at getting to provide Filta services for this historic event.  Steven already has plenty of practice providing FiltaFry services for large sports venues.  He currently filters the cooking oil used in the fryers at GM Place during the National Hockey League season when it also serves as the home arena of the Vancouver Canucks.

Just like the thousands of Olympic competitors hoping to win fame and glory at the 2010 Winter Olympics, the Olympic games will be an exciting chance for Filta to show the world just what FiltaFry can do on such a massive scale.  Unlike any other Olympic hopeful, Filta does not represent just one country though.  Filta has found a home in 27 of the countries that will be competing for gold in the 2010 Winter Games.  Filta’s involvement in the 2010 Winter Olympics is a prime example of just how far Filta has come since its start as a single oil filtration business in the UK just over a decade ago.

Whether you work in the restaurant industry, manage a hospital or school kitchen, own a floristry shop or supervise a grocery store, you may have heard one of your peers in the industry mention a relatively new item that has been helping them to save a lot of money in their walk-in cooler – the FiltaCool filter.  FiltaCool filters tend to get talked about because they provide so much benefit for such a small investment.  But just what are these small, inexpensive money-savers and how do you get them?

The Filters

FiltaCool filters are small, flat filters that fit into small brackets fastened (usually) to the top of your walk-in cooler or other commercial refrigeration unit.  They take up almost no space at all and they start to work immediately, altering the internal environment of your cooler so that your cooler runs more efficiently and your produce or other perishables stay fresh longer.  FiltaCool filters only cost about $12 a piece each month.  Not a large investment, but their impact is huge.

What They Do

FiltaCool filters alter the environment inside your refrigeration unit in several beneficial ways.  Primarily, they act to regulate the humidity inside of your cooler.  Humidity is bad news for commercial coolers.  Condensation freezes on the interior walls and piping of the cooler causing it to use more energy to run and causing its parts to wear out more quickly.  Coolers with FiltaCool filters installed use 10% less energy to maintain a constant temperature.

Humidity is also death for perishable goods.  Too much humidity and your product spoils rapidly, too little humidity and your products dry out, crack and become unusable.  FiltaCool filters keep the humidity inside of you cooler at the optimal level for both the unit and your perishable goods.  Your products can make it into the hands of your customers, where they belong, instead of getting tossed into the dumpster and your cooler could last for years longer than it’s expected lifetime.

FiltaCool filters also work to trap the harmful gasses that are a natural product of the decomposition of produce.  When these gasses build up inside of a cooler they accelerated decomposition, causing your goods to spoil more quickly.  FiltaCool traps these gasses so that they cannot accumulate, slowing the decay of your cold-stored products.

Of course, those gasses aren’t the only thing to build up inside of your cooler.  Unpleasant odors accumulate in a cooler over time, making it an unpleasant place for your employees and for your distributors.  Even worse, some produce can actually absorb noxious odors.  Nobody wants their kale to taste like carp, now it doesn’t have to.

When you use FiltaCool filters in your walk-in or other commercial refrigeration unit you will begin to see big savings right away.  Your perishable goods will last longer and you will lose less money to waste.  FiltaCool filters allows you to put more of your products on the customers’ tables and less into the waste bin.

Where to Get Them

FiltaCool filters are available from your local Filta franchise owner.  If you are already a FiltaFry user, then ask your Filta representative about FiltaCool filters.  If you haven’t used Filta before, call 1-800-Go-Filta to find a Filta franchise near you.  Filta will come to your place of business and FiltaCool filters can be installed in about 10 minutes per unit.  After that, your Filta representative will return to your place of business every 3 months to replace your filters at no additional cost.

When Filta first introduced the FiltaCool filters in 2008, the product met with a very positive overall response from the food-service industry and other businesses that rely on commercial refrigeration.  FiltaCool filters are small, inexpensive and long lasting.  However, can something so cheap that only has to changed out once every three months really help Filta franchise owners make money?  Or are FiltaCool filters a burden to Filta franchisees?

The Big Picture

It may help to take a look first at the big picture, not just in terms of impact across the entire geographical dispersion of Filta franchises, but also looking forward into the future.  The addition of FiltaCool opens up an entire new customer base to Filta owners.  In the past, Filta owners were limited to providing service to only restaurants, hospitals, sporting arenas and other places where fried foods were served.  For some that was more than enough to provide all the business they could handle.  Still, it left so many businesses in any community out of reach of Filta franchise owners.

FiltaCool expands the amount of businesses that can benefit from Filta services.  Now Filta owners are no longer limited to doing business with establishment using fryers.  Now any business that uses commercial coolers is a potential customer too.  This means grocery stores, florists and many other previously inaccessible venues.  Of course, almost all of a Filta franchisee’s existing customers also use commercial coolers in their establishments.  This means that Filta owners can make even more money on each service call to their FiltaFry customers.

Low Overhead

Of course, FiltaCool filters do not constitute a major investment by Filta customers.  Neither do they constitute one the part of Filta owners, either in time or money.  Filta cool filters take only a few minutes to install and a few seconds to replace.  Even though they only have to be replaced once every three months, they are rented by the month.  That means that, as an owner, you can make a profit off of a unit every month for only a few seconds of time every 90 days.

FiltaCool filters also don’t go bad.  When it is time to replace them, a filter owner simply takes the used filters home, de-gasses them and then they are ready to be installed in another unit.  This means there is very little investment into equipment for Filta owners.  FiltaCool filters are almost all profit.

The Figures

How much do FiltaCool filters earn Filta owners, though?  Most Filta owners rent out their FiltaCool filters for about $12 a month and the average walk-in cooler requires 6 filters.  That is an extra $72 per customer each month.  Multiply that amount by the number of FiltaCool customers you have and it’s easy to see how quickly the profits add up.  And remember, FiltaCool filters only have to be changed once every three months, so it’s essentially like making money for doing nothing at all.  FiltaCool filters certainly help Filta customers save a lot of money, but they are also a major asset to Filta franchise owners too.

Recently the U.S. Commerce Association named the Filta Group the recipient of its 2009 “Best Local Business” in the Green Business category.  This isn’t the first time Filta has received such honorable recognition.  The Filta Group appeared for 3 consecutive years in the Franchise Times list of top 55 fastest growing franchisors.  Filta has also received a number of other glowing recommendation within the business community and the food-service industry.

Filta has become such a well known name in the food-service industry that Filta services are now used by a number of major sports arenas, such as the Invesco Field at Mile High and the University of Virginia Stadium.  In fact, Filta has gained such a great reputation that it has been asked to provide services at two of the main venues of the 2010 Winter Olympics to be held in Vancouver, British Columbia.  So who is Filta and what makes them such a highly regarded name?

Inside Filta

The Filta Group began as a small cooking oil filtration service in the UK during the 1990s.  Since that time Filta has expanded across the globe, with franchises operating in 27 different companies.  It has also expanded its product and service to provide much more that just oil filtration.  All of its products are eco-friendly, reduce waste and help businesses save money.  The Filta Group is now headquartered here in the U.S., in Orlando, FL, where it continues to grow.  Adding new franchises and new satisfied customers with increasing rapidity.

FiltaFry

The service that started it all, FiltaFry, is still Filta’s top service.  The FiltaFry service is a revolutionary method of cooking oil filtration that allows restaurants and other commercial kitchen to reduce their cooking oil use by half.  Obviously that adds up to a pretty tremendous savings and the reduced waste is good for the environment too.  FiltaFry also helps maintain commercial fryers so that they run more efficiently and use less energy, providing even more savings and less waste.

Other benefits of using Filta Fry include increased employee safety and decreased incidents of burn injuries and slip-and-fall injuries in the workplace.  A safer workplace can net your business up to 25% off of your insurance premiums.  When FiltaFry takes over managing your fryers it takes the burden of that unpleasant task off of your staff and places it into the hands of a skilled professional.

FiltaBio

Filta’s newest service, FiltaBio, works hand-in-hand with the FiltaFry service.  Rather than having to store your oil in unsightly and unsanitary waste oil bins when it comes time to throw it away, the FiltaBio waste oil removal service can take the oil directly from your fryers and transport it off-site for you.  Better yet, almost all of the waste oil Filta collects is used to produce biodiesel fuel to help combat rising oil prices and pollution.

FiltaCool

In 2008 Filta added FiltaCool to the lineup.  FiltaCool is Filta’s specially designed filters for commercial coolers.  These filters help regulate the environment inside of your walk-in cooler so that your perishable goods stay fresh longer.  This means less waste due to spoilage and less energy waste, because your cooler will run much more efficiently.  FiltaCool filters make a big difference for not much money.

Each day several million of Americans get up and trudge off to unrewarding and unsatisfying dead-end jobs.  Most have dreamed of getting out of the rat race and going into business for themselves doing something rewarding .  Many won’t make that happen because they don’t have practical education, skills,  investment capital, or the motivation to make it happen.  On the other hand, for those really genuine in their longing to go into business themselves, Filta may be the answer to their prayers.

Why Filta?

Filta is the top business when it comes to environmentally safe, cost saving industry solutions for food-service businesses.  Filta franchises provide 3 excellent services which are performed on site at restaurants, sports venues, hospitals and anywhere commercial fryers and coolers are used.  The goal of Filta owners is to help their customers save money by creating less waste and improving their environmental impact.

The 3 service provided by Filta franchise owners are FiltaFry, FiltaBio and FiltaCool.  Each of these service provide customers with great benefit in their own right.  When combined it adds up to big savings for customers and a big difference in the environment.

All Filta service are proven to be 100% eco-friendly.  These services have been proven effective in the industry and have received awards and mention throughout the business and food-service communities.  This means that Filta franchise owners will find their services in high demand now and tomorrow as more business seek for ways to cut cost and embrace green business practices.

No Degree Needed

You don’t need a degree in Business Management to be a Filta franchise owner.  You don’t have to have gone to trade school.  You don’t need any prior experience working with fryers or walk-in coolers.  All you need is a strong work ethic and the desire to be your own boss.

Filta provides all of the training that you need to handle all of the business aspects of your Filta franchise as well as training in how to operate equipment, provide Filta services to your customers.  Since most Filta franchises are owner-operated, Filta understands how important it is that Filta franchise owners be knowledgeable in every aspect of the Filta business.

To help Filta franchisees succeed with their businesses, Filta provides an in-depth training program.  All new Filta owners are provided with a formal training course in a classroom setting with courses in Filta services and in business management taught by knowledgeable professionals.  Filta also connects new franchisees with experienced Filta franchise mentors who guide new owners in a real-life hands-on experience providing all of the Filta services in the real world.

Filta Affordable

Not only do you not need a lot of education to be a Filta owner, you don’t need a lot of money either.  Filta franchises start at around $80,000 for a single unit.  That includes all of the equipment and materials needed to start a Filta business right away, as well as the cost of all classroom and infield training.  A Filta business can be up and making money quicker than many franchises that cost twice as much and take twice as long to get started.

A lot of research goes into selecting just the right franchise to invest in.  The more time that you spend looking into prospective franchisors, the better your chances of making a smart decision that you will be satisfied with 10-15 years down the line.  There are a lot of important questions to ask and a lot of people to approach with those questions.
If you take the information of your prospective franchisors at face value, then you are setting yourself up for disaster.  Franchisors have one main goal – selling their brand.  Franchisors need investors buying franchises if they want to profit.  As such, they are most often inclined to focus on the benefits of signing up with them and gloss over the negative.
Of course, if there is negative to be seen, then much of it will be there in plain sight for those discerning enough to look for it.  No matter how much a franchisor might wish to gloss over negatives, if the company’s franchise owners have had problems with them, then there are probably some telling clues in the Franchise Disclosure Document.
Any franchisor is legally obligated to disclose through their FDD any litigation against the company brought by franchisees.  This is true regardless of whether the case went in favor of the franchisor or the franchisee.  Even in those instances where lawsuits went in favor of the franchisor, those cases can shed light into issues that may arise with that franchisor should you choose to pursue franchise ownership.
On the other hand, if there are no lawsuits listed and a franchisor has been in franchising for some period of time, then there is another important question you should ask.  No matter how great a franchisor might be, there isn’t much chance that no franchisee has had a serious grievance even once over the life of the franchising company.
A lack of litigation should be a red flag that the franchisor may have a mediation and arbitration clause in the franchising agreement.  If you suspect that this might be the case, then it is something you should definitely investigate.  Mediation and arbitration clauses, though rare, can have a major impact on franchisees.
Arbitration is, essentially, a truncated lawsuit.  Rather than taking a complaint into court, both sides agree before hand to be bound by the decision of an arbitrator or arbitrators.  Arbitration happens more or less in the same way as a court case, with both sides presenting their cases.  An arbitrator then decides how the two parties should proceed.  Mediation is much the same, but is less formal and less binding.
Mediation and arbitration are not bad, in and of themselves, but such clauses can severely limit the recourses available to a franchisee should trouble with the franchisor arise.  Such clauses prohibit pursuit of litigation (other than by violation of contract).  As such, if you feel that you have been wronged by your franchisor, you may find yourself obligated to adhere to an arbitrated ruling that quite likely would not be in your favor.

Ideally, franchising is a mutually beneficial arrangement.  On one side, the franchising organization grows and prospers by offering investors the chance to use its successful name and business model in return for royalties and franchising fees.  On the other side, franchise owners get the opportunity to start a business that has a greater chance of success than an independent business would and comes with a pre-existing customer base.
It seems that with so much to gain on both sides that there could be little cause for complaint from either party.  Of course, that isn’t at all realistic.  The truth is that franchisors and their franchisees bump heads regularly.  Any franchising company whose Franchise Disclosure Document doesn’t list at least a few lawsuits hasn’t been franchising very long.  Franchisor/franchisee disputes are so common, in fact, that a whole subset of legal council has arisen to cater to parties on both sides.
However, in most instances it does not serve a franchisor well to allow things to progress to the point of litigation.  As mentioned, those suits all have to go into the franchisor’s FDD.  Even if the case goes in favor of the franchisor, having those complaints levied by franchisees does not look good for potential investors.
In order to prevent litigation, franchisors may attempt to resolve conflicts through other channels first.  In fact, many franchising agreements may even include mediation and arbitration clauses which obligate franchisees to pursue resolution through this channels before, or in lieu of, pursuing legal recourse.  However, such clauses are not the norm.
Mediation and arbitration clauses are not common because of one simple fact.  When push comes to shove, the franchisor can almost always out-gun the franchisee in court.  So, while the franchisor may prefer to avoid litigation, if it feels that its chances of coming out ahead through mediation or arbitration are week, then it may prefer to take the hit of the FDD suit disclosure and go for the win in court.
Those franchisors who do not contractually obligate their franchisees to pursue mediation and arbitration are often still inclined to push those means of resolution.  Again, avoiding litigation is best for the franchisor in almost all instances (except those wherein the franchisor probably really is in the wrong).  This does not mean that mediation and arbitration cannot work in favor of the franchisee, though.
In fact, mediation or arbitration, either one, is often mutually beneficial to both parties.  It, of course, allows the franchisor to avoid potentially embarrassing litigation.  For the franchisee, it provides a means of having his or her complaint heard and addressed without the expense of going to court.  Since arbitration is generally binding, as per agreement before arbitration, it can be just as effective as litigation.
Though mediation is generally not binding (unless both parties agree to abide by it after the fact), it can still provide a channel to allow franchisor and franchisee to reach a mutual understanding and agreement without escalating the conflict beyond the point of repair.  Generally, by the time a dispute reaches court there is no longer any chance of maintaining a working relationship.  Mediation and arbitration both allow conflicts to be addressed while preserving the franchisor/franchisee relationship.

It is not as easy to find franchising now as it was a few years ago, and with the current economic state, it may not be for some time. There are still options available to those who seek out funding to purchase their franchises, however, before doing so, it is absolutely vital to have your finances in order. Once you have taken a long hard look at both your assets and your liabilities, then it is time to seek out that funding. Here, we’ll go into a few examples of how to finance your franchise.

Usually, if you do have decent credit and a bit of collateral to put towards the loan, a conventional loan may still yet be an option for some. In order to obtain a commercial loan, however, you will definitely need to have your finances in order as well as being able to make the lender realize what a great opportunity the franchise, and your ability to manage your own branch of it are.

Some franchise companies finance from within, but it does not happen often. Finding out if your franchise company will offer this sort of loan is fairly easy, as it is usually contained in the Franchise Disclosure Document. Usually, there has to be a solid reason that the franchisor would lend you the capital- perhaps potential gains in a new market or if you are very experienced. In order to raise your chances of being able to use this option, make sure that you are strongly qualified and can outline that to the franchisor. If this isn’t an option, sometimes they are able to refer potential franchisees to lenders who may be able to help.

There are usually options in grants or through the various small business programs. If you are ready to do paperwork, you will find that the time and effort just may work out for you. The state government often also offers help for small businesses or franchises, as well as the small business organizations in various areas. The actual Small Business Association does not lend to borrowers, however, they do guarantee parts of loans made by those lenders who they approve and you may find that there is a loan program that works for you. If you find a franchise that is approved by the SBA, you have a much better chance at this option and usually this option is much more timely and simple.

Another option is using a home equity loan, or borrowing against your house. If you have enough equity in your home, this can be a good source of funding for your franchise. However, the risk here is that you are essentially risking your home. If you make sure that you are able to get with a franchise that shows potential, this can lessen the risk but it is always there, so you have to be very careful. These are a few different ways that you can obtain funding for your franchise, there are others out there available if you do your homework, but these are the ones that most people find the greatest amount of success in.

There are many great benefits to franchising, and that’s something that most people would agree on. However, many people, while doing great research and seriously looking into the franchises that interest them, never sit down to ask themselves about their own goals. There are a number of things that come in to play in order to make for a successful franchisee, and quite a few traits that make a world of difference. Apart from being ready and having the capital, there are some other, deeper questions that you may want to ask yourself before you decide that franchising is right for you.

One of the biggest problems that people come up against in franchising is they do not really realize that with the benefits of being able to use the brand name, and the proven business system- there’s the rub. Using a proven system of business, you have to adhere to someone else’s rules. While this is actually a huge part of what makes franchising such a great option, it’s not for everyone. If you find that you have difficulty sticking to a routine system of doing things, it may be that franchising is not for you.

Do you have issues with sales? If you feel like being your own boss will mean that you don’t have to work with sales, you may not realize how vital being an adequate salesperson is to any business. Being able to knock on some doors and get things started is a very important part of being a business owner, especially in the early days. Depending on the franchise that you go into, sales may be a much bigger aspect of the overall business than you think and it is a good thing to bear in mind.

Another issue is not so much one of personality, but one of finance. Many find that they did not plan ahead and end up in a world of trouble on this one. You may have enough to invest, but do you have enough to support yourself during the start up period? No matter how profitable a franchise may be, or how profitable it may claim to be, having a cushion set aside is an intelligent thing to do. Being absolutely sure that you have this in order makes sure that everything goes smoothly and you are not struggling.

Lastly, if you have not talked to people who are involved in franchises in general, give it a shot. More often than not they are happy to relay their experiences and this may make you feel a bit better about your choice- but it may also change your mind. Being able to decide before you do a great deal of research on franchises if you really feel that is the option that would best suit both you and your lifestyle is an important step that some miss. All too often, the rush of being able to have their own business comes into play and first making an assessment of yourself, your family, your lifestyle and your overall goals and dreams may make a big difference in where you take it.

For a franchise to succeed, the franchise owner cannot simply rely on the widespread marketing campaigns carried out by the franchisor.  Certainly those advertising campaigns do help the individual franchisee in most instances, but there are other factors that must be overcome within any given community.  The franchise owner may start his or her business with a certain degree of brand recognition and acceptance, but he or she still faces the task of raising community support for the new business.

Local Merchant Antagonism

The need for the franchise to thoroughly establish itself and gain community acceptance is especially relevant in smaller, rural areas.  In these locations there is a greater trend toward viewing franchises as “outsider” business that has come in to take business from local merchants and to hurt the community.  For the most part, those who espouse such views fail to consider whether or not the franchise owner is actually someone local, or even to view what the franchise may be bringing into the community – such as commerce and jobs.

It falls to the franchisee to remind the community that just because his or her business carries a brand name does not mean that it is not a valuable part of the local business community.  Establishing a positive image means more than weathering the storm of local resentment and hoping that, in time, the business will be accepted.  Rather, it requires a proactive stance on the part of the franchise owner; a commitment to becoming involved in the community in a positive and beneficial way.

Offsetting Negative Marketing

Sometimes a franchise owner may find that the marketing strategies of his or her franchisor have actually worked against his or her franchise.  This is a rarity, but it does happen.  Franchisors, seeking to benefit the majority of franchises, may advertise in manners that do not appeal in all localities and may even create a negative image of the franchise on a local level.

In these instances, the franchise owner may find, even if a good rapport with the community has already been established, that he or she must redouble the efforts of the franchise to stay connected with the community.  The franchise owner should distance his or her franchise from the national marketing campaign as much as possible.  If they are required to display ads that might be perceived as distasteful within their communities, franchise owners would do well to consult with the franchising organization and see if alternative marketing might be acceptable.  The individual franchise owner must find ways to very publicly embrace local values, even if the franchising organization does not.

Becoming Visible

As with most things, the public is inclined to believe what they hear until given reason to think otherwise.  Therefore, in areas where franchises are seen as antagonistic to the business community, or where marketing campaigns have presented the franchise as antagonistic to the values of the community, the franchisee must find ways to change his or her franchise’s individual presentation.

This can only be accomplished through community action.  By becoming an active and contributing part of the community and by supporting community action, a franchise owner can overcome preconceived notions or misperceptions about the franchise and become a thriving part of the community.