FranNet of Vermont helps revive family business tradition

FranNet of Vermont is helping resurrect an American tradition in the Vermont area: The small, family-owned business. That kind of mom-and-pop enterprise once was the backbone of American small business. Although family-owned businesses still account for a large segment of the US economy ‘50 percent of GDP and 60 percent of employment, says the online entrepreneur resource gaebler.com ‘those are weighted heavily toward large corporations. Of the Fortune 500, 35 percent of companies are family-owned.
‘They’re not the corner haberdashery or market, the kind of small business we usually think of when someone uses the term ‘family-owned business,’‘said Keld Alstrup, owner of FranNet of Vermont, a consulting business that helps guide entrepreneurs to franchise opportunities.
‘Today, franchises are helping establish what we call ‘Dad-and-grad’businesses. Parents who want a good investment and source of retirement income buy and run franchises with their children, who may be running into trouble finding work after college graduation,’Alstrup said. ‘In the last few years, I’ve helped numerous clients who wanted to use a franchise as a launching pad for their family businesses.’
The rise of the franchise as a family business is coming at a good time for young people trying to find work in a still-stagnant job market.
The unemployment rate for Americans aged 16 to 24 was 17.1 percent in July ‘a staggering 17.9 percent among young men, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Aug. 21.
‘High youth unemployment walks hand in hand with the vast numbers of corporate veterans who have either been forced out of their jobs or chosen to leave increasingly shaky positions,’Alstrup said. ‘The two movements create an opportunity for the franchise industry to step in and help both generations.’
It helps that a franchise is a far better bet to succeed than a typical start-up business. A recent survey of more than 1,200 former FranNet clients revealed that 91 percent of small businesses that used FranNet to find their franchises were still in business after two years, 85 percent after five. Typical small businesses succeed at rates of only 64 percent after two years and 50 percent after five, U.S. Census data show.
‘I think you’re going to see more and more of these kinds of family businesses in the Vermont area over the next decade,’Alstrup said. ‘We may be on the verge of a revolution in family businesses, and the opportunities available in franchising are the reason why.’
About FranNet of Vermont
FranNet of Vermont is a privately held franchised business consulting company that matches entrepreneurs in the Vermont area with the franchise opportunities that match their talents, goals, interests and budgets. Owned and run by Keld Alstrup, FranNet of Vermont has helped clients from all kinds of professional backgrounds build fulfilling careers through franchising.