WordPress is currently becoming the most dominant CMS used on the internet. WordPress is an open source blogging tool which is a dynamic CMS based on PHP and MySQL and is absolutely free. Its ceaseless list of features includes plugin architecture and a template system. WordPress is used by nearly 15 percent of Alexa Internet?s ?top one million? websites. WordPress known for its simplicity and intuitive design has limitation in managing editorial teams efficiently. Content companies that need to implement a proper editorial workflow which includes managing pitching, assigning writers, editing and paying contributors etc are finding it very hard to balance administrative and editorial tasks. I have always been a firm believer in efficient newsroom, a concept bit new to online publishing. Lately there has been surge in deployment of editorial workflow platform by many small to large publishers. Many enterprise CMS vendors have launched a lot of exciting solutions. But publishers on WordPress also need not worry, as WordPress developers have come out with some brilliant solutions to achieve editorial efficiency nirvana. Below are a few WordPress solutions which are giving enterprise CMS vendors sleepless nights.
Betaout?s ContentCloud is a highly evolved editorial team and content management SaaS solution for WordPress sites. I really liked Betaout?s sleek, user friendly and intuitive interface. The system offers a lot of flexibility to create and define custom workflows to enhance collaboration and resource sharing between your content team across multiple sites. Newsroom dashboard gives a bird-eye view of all the content in production with a neat story path describing how an assignment passes from one team member to another. An ajaxified interface inspired from Outlook takes away the need of opening assignments in multiple tabs. You can just click on any assignment and will be shown in the right hand panel.
Another great feature is their seamless integration with WordPress sites. As soon as you plugin your WordPress sites, Betaout will make few default workflows based on the current set of users you have to give you a quick start. A lot of editorial project management systems I have tried in past have taken too much time to get used to their system before getting any real work done.
Newsflow was initially named as Hypernews. Newsflow is an editorial support plugin which allows content to be published on the website using various RSS feeds. The plugin not only fetches customized feeds from various sources at regular intervals but also publishes the feeds on the website or the blog in a time defined mechanism. The plugin also makes a note along with the fetched feeds on its respective item row for future reference while readers and publishers can mark various feeds as read and favorites thereby earmarking the content in a systematic manner.
Role Scoper plugin allows WordPress enabled websites to function as fully customized CMS websites by offering CMS like permissions for reading as well as editing and publishing content. Role Scoper plugin assigns restrictions and access to specific pages, posts and categories as suggested by the administrator while not altering core role administrative functionality. Users of any one level can be upgraded or downgraded to read respective posts or categories as desired. Removing the role scoper plugin or deactivation makes sure that default functionality of all users gets resorted.
Post revision workflow is a newly introduced WordPress plugin that caters to the needs of revision of published content without altering the original published works. The plugin provides editing or revision options in its publish Meta box and all changes are saved as a revision text and posted without altering the workflow of the original write-up. Post revision workflow plugin has inbuilt options of straightaway publishing the revised content to save revised changes without notification or saving revised content and sending notifications emails to admin and finally auto publication of the revised changes and bringing the changes in notice of the reviewer or publisher as per the workflow of the website concerned.
ApprovalWordPress plugin enhances the smooth workflow progress of multiple authored websites or blogs by verifying users for administrative as well publishing rights for their articles or posts. The plugin also sends a notification to the author having publishing rights after the submission of each post there by helping in cutting out any time discrepancies in submission and publication. Another very essential feature of the Approval workflow plugin is its feature to find for users with publication rights if the writer of the original piece does not have editing or publication rights.
The plugin hunts for the users with publication rights and informs them via email for each submission. The plugin not only helps in easing out the workflow of multiple authored websites but works equally well on WordPress multi site.
I am an American Mulatto. My Mother is Cherokee & Seminole (tall, yellow, black kinky hair, (Bette Davis) brown eyes, pretty. My Father is Italian American (tall, rock star skinny, curly blond hair, gorgeous blue eyes, incredibly handsome.
I am 5'7", 100 lbs., Size Zero, Brown Eyes, Curly Black Hair Professional Actress, Model,?Composer, Artist & Poetess
My name is pronounced vonnie monay
I have created hundreds of original musical compositions, but due to the excessiveness of the Organized Criminal Gang Stalking I have to endured on a constant basis; I have only 60 songs?and only 60 poems?copywritten.
I also have not had the time to even present my work in a professional manner.
I figured I would present it raw since these creatures think they can erase me and my life. ?They are lowlives who think they can make their outrageous "frame ups" stick.
I have been a vegetarian all of my life.
I know it is not for everyone and have never and will never try to force anyone to eat the way I do. I was forced by my mother to eat meat because of my blood disorder, Thalassemia Minor. She tried to frighten me into eating it by telling me that I would die if I didn't. I am still alive!
?
I am a True Gemini a Syzygy and a Grand Cross!
Syzygy?in?Astronomy? is an alignment of three celestial objects, as the sun, the earth, and either the moon or a planet.
In a Grand Cross, there is one planet in each astrological element (fire, earth, air and water) but all the planets are in signs of the same modality or quality.
I am a victim of child pornographers, sadistic, homosexual, pedophile, rapists, kidnapping, forced breeding & sex slavery. I am still stalked by these slanderers. I will tell anyone who will listen until I have justice. I am so fed up with them that I have begun to names names.
These brute beasts twice dead (A New Teatament description of these creatures) ought to thank me for sharing their actual "Accomplishments" Crimes.
I think it is all about the land that was stolen from my family.
Tropicana Orange Juice is on it in Bradenton, Florida, USA.
These posts are designed to disrupt the MuslimTerrorist, Zionists/Jewish, Papist/Catholic Inquisitors/Mafia & Willie Lynch Slaves/Blacks , Third World/Illegal Aliens attempts to commit The Genocide of True Americans!
The Bucks County District Attorney's Office is auctioning off cars that were seized in drug or vice crimes. The two-day auction involves dozens of cars at a fraction of their value. NBC10's Aditi Roy shows you some of the best deals.
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The Bucks County District Attorney's office is auctioning off 40 vehicles that were seized in drug or vice crimes. The upside for you?? A great deal on a car selling for a fraction of its value.
For example, there's a 2003 Lexus up for grabs with a minimum bid of $100.
Here's all you have to do. Just show up to the D.A.'s warehouse in Levittown and place a written bid. You have until noon Saturday. Winners will be announced Saturday afternoon.
Len Yodis of Levittown, PA has done this before. "I bought a Lexus for 2500 dollars, 1991. It's kind of fun" Yodis told NBC10. "You're competing against all these people to buy a car, a little exciting."
"The car I bought was a 2001 Ford Taurus. I paid $400 for it and I sold it for $1500." said Joseph Mullins of Levittown, PA.
For a complete list of vehicles available at auction, click here.
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Cultural institutions in San Francisco continually search for new acquisitions. Alexis Coe brings you the most important, often wondrous, sometimes bizarre, and occasionally downright vexing finds every Friday.
In 1936, a young woman named Ingeborg Willy went to work at Walt Disney Studios as an inker, responsible for every black line on any given page, a substantial task when it came to Mickey Mouse. The pace and mood of an animated story rests on a fulcrum that is the inker, but if Willy felt any pressure, it is nowhere to be seen in the scrapbook she kept of her first year in the ink and paint department.
See also:
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Recent Acquisitions: Freemasons and the Case of the Missing Jewel
"The acquisition excites me because it's a personal documentation of events in a time in history, and for me, there couldn't be a better addition to the collection," explained Michael Labrie, director of collections at the Walt Disney Family Museum. He had other notebooks kept by employees at the museum, but they tended to have a more narrow focus, such as special effects, without any clues that might help historians get a better sense of the professional atmosphere at the studio, or the life of Walt Disney.
The scrapbook contains little commentary by Willy, but what is clear is that the inker relished in what looked to be a very exciting workplace. She included materials that spoke to her specific experience -- from pay stubs, time cards, and various internal memos, a personalized photo from Walt Disney himself -- and the studio as a whole. Ingeborg pasted original drawings alongside magazine cutouts featuring the actors who provided the models and voices for characters that would quickly become classics, including Dopey, Bashful, and the evil Queen. Her brief captions provide enough background to appreciate the often playful, candid photos of employees, including animators and airbrushers at their desks, prototypes of "Pluto, the Pup in Person," and a stuffed Mickey Mouse perched on a wall, looking noble from below. Clarence Nash, better known as Donald Duck, is shown walking towards what is later identified as "The Comic Strip Bungalow." There are several pictures of "Marjorie Belcher as 'Snow White,'" posing in different, but identifiable versions of the long iconic dress with short, puffy sleeves.
At a time when most women were most often relegated to the role of secretary in an office, Willy shows plenty of women working as checkers, color arrangers, mixing colors in the painting lab, and guarding the film vaults. Underneath a picture of a woman in a short-sleeved button-down shirt and pinned bob is the caption, "Martharose Bode is Inking Supervisor." Another features a group of women holding the various tools of their trade, pausing for "A Brief Chat," and eight women lined up in height order are identified as "'Our Gang' from 6'2 ? to 4'10 ?." The women seemed to enjoy smoke breaks, afternoon tea, and lunches under trees. Some of the best group shots reveal intimacy as the women lean into each other on the couch during "A Gossip," or link arms during smoke breaks.
Willy was an excellent accidental archivist who, by documenting her first year of work, sheds light on an important year, 1936-37, in the studio's history. Three Orphan Kittens (1935) earned an Academy Award for best short subject that year, but the studio was focused on developing its first ever full-length feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
The scrapbook is undergoing substantial conservation work, but there are several pages currently on display, and more to come in the upcoming special exhibition, "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: The Creation of Classic," which will open on November 15 in celebration of its 75th anniversary.
The Walt Disney Family Museum is located at 104 Montgomery (at Lincoln, in the Presidio). The museum is open Wednesday-Monday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Admission is $12-$20.
Filed under: Adidas, Boots, MLS News, Highlights, Videos, and Scores | Major League Soccer Highlights, Soccer News
We recently showed you the custom boots that a handful of MLS players did for Breast Cancer Awareness month. And now, we are here to announce a contest where we will be giving away a signed Darlington Nagbe boot and a signed Fredy Montero boot. Darglington?s custom boot is above, and Freddy?s is below.
If you want a chance to win one of these signed boots, here is what you need to do.
-Pick which of the two is your favorite. -Post that picture to your Facebook wall and tag?The Original Winger. -Like The Original Winger on Facebook (very important). -Whoever gets the most likes on their post of the boot will win that signed version.
There are very few signed versions of these limited and custom boots out there, so the winners will have a super limited boot to show off as a piece of artwork / collectible.
The contest will run through next Monday so get in and get your friends involved to make sure you get as many ?likes? as you can.
A victory in WWE Hell in a Cell?s scheduled World Heavyweight Title Match does not necessarily assure that Sheamus or No. 1 contender Big Show will leave Atlanta?s Philips Arena with the championship gold.
Casting a long shadow over the much-anticipated clash between super heavyweights is ?Mr. Money in the Bank? Dolph Ziggler?s vow to have the World Heavyweight Championship in his possession at the end of the Oct. 28 pay-per-view.
?When the Hell in a Cell pay-per-view comes to a close, I guarantee I will be the World Heavyweight Champion,? the spotlight-stealing Ziggler told The Celtic Warrior while interrupting Sheamus? guest spot on ?Miz TV? two weeks ago on SmackDown. (WATCH)
But, can The Showoff make good on his promise, and what does his very public declaration mean for the way Sheamus and Big Show prepare for their match at WWE Hell in a Cell? ?
Though Ziggler directed his comment toward The Great White, asserting that he?d take advantage of whatever battle damage Sheamus may accumulate in his showdown with The World?s Largest Athlete, the boisterous blond?s comments should hold plenty of interest to both competitors ? not just The Celtic Warrior.
After all, Big Show already knows the pitfalls of winning a World Title while an unredeemed Money in the Bank contract remains in a challenger?s possession. ?Just last December, Big Show lost the World Heavyweight Title 45 seconds after winning it from Mark Henry at WWE TLC: Tables, Ladders & Chairs. The giant was so exhausted by the fight with The World?s Strongest Man that he posed little challenge to Daniel Bryan, who carefully chose his spot when cashing in his Money in the Bank contract. (WATCH)
Some observers have questioned the soundness of Ziggler and Vickie Guerrero?s actual strategy for cashing in his contract, but there is no denying that The Showoff?s timing in issuing his ?guarantee? is impeccable.
For one, the tone of Sheamus? rivalry with Big Show has recently taken a grave shift. The Celtic Warrior?? perhaps shaken by his blocked Brogue Kick Monday or the empirical evidence Friday that his Brogue Kick generates less force than his challenger?s KO Punch?? appears to be making fewer jokes. While he sharpens his focus on his giant foe, Sheamus risks losing sight of The Showoff, much to Ziggler?s potential benefit.
Alternatively, Ziggler?s threat might be part of a calculated game plan to remove the title from Sheamus? waist. After having his jaw crushed repeatedly by the Brogue Kick, perhaps The Showoff would prefer to try his luck against another champion, even a giant-sized one. Could Mr. Money in the Bank be using his guaranteed contract as a means to distract Sheamus in the weeks leading up to his encounter with Big Show?
Yet another possibility is that Ziggler?s guarantee is simply a red herring and he has no intention of making a major move Oct. 28. Just because The Showoff said he will cash in his contract at WWE Hell in a Cell does not mean he necessarily will cash in the contract. (Bryan pulled a similar ruse last year, first promising to cash in his contract at WrestleMania, only to pull the trigger at WWE TLC.) Despite his guarantee to take the title Oct. 28, might Ziggler choose to survey the situation in Atlanta before taking any drastic measures?
Regardless, one thing is for certain: WWE Hell in a Cell holds no certainty for Sheamus or Big Show, whereas for Ziggler, it holds nothing but opportunity.
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University at Buffalo Professor of Chemistry Diana Aga and Lewiston-Porter High School teachers Michelle Hinchliffe and Colleen Glor have won a national science education award for their efforts to train student scientists to measure pharmaceutical contamination in Niagara County waterways.
Under the faculty members? watch, Lewiston-Porter juniors and sophomores are testing water from school water fountains, the Lewiston wastewater treatment plant and local streams, including the Niagara River.
Using methods Aga developed, the students are measuring pharmaceutical levels and checking for trends. They?re trying to figure out, for example, whether there?s a correlation between flu season and the presence of prescription drugs in water.
Aga, Hinchliffe and Glor are the 2012 recipients of the SETAC/Menzie Environmental Education Award, presented by the North America Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) to recognize programs that improve environmental science education, and environmental literacy and awareness among youth and the general public.
The award will be presented Nov. 11 at the SETAC North America 33rd Annual Meeting in Long Beach, Calif. The team will receive a plaque and a $1,000 gift from the Menzie Family, which the team plans to use toward future sampling and analysis of water samples.
?As high school teachers, we are extremely honored that our effort in advancing authentic science education is being recognized at such a distinguished level,? Glor said. ?We are also extremely grateful that Dr. Aga shares our enthusiasm and also recognized how important it is to make real-life scientific connections with our young students.?
Aga, an environmental chemist, has been a pioneer in recognizing the dangers that prescription drugs and personal care products pose to the health of waterways.
Read more.
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Posted on Friday, October 12, 2012 at 9:26 am under Uncategorized.
NEW YORK (Reuters) - If the United States Anti-Doping Agency is right, then Lance Armstrong cheated his way to the top of the cycling world through an elaborate doping scheme never seen before in the sport.
Hotel rooms were transformed into blood banks as riders were given late-night transfusions, doctors were paid off and competitors were warned about tests in advance, said the anti-doping agency, or USADA.
More than six weeks after it banned Armstrong for life and stripped him of his seven Tour de France titles, USADA revealed on Wednesday the findings of its investigation into Armstrong and his U.S. Postal Service Pro Cycling Team.
Armstrong's lawyer called the investigation a "hatchet job" and "witch hunt." The champion cyclist has denied cheating and has never failed a doping test. But he did not fight the charges.
There were few new revelations in the 1,000-page report, but the weight of testimony was greater than any of the previous investigations into his conduct. (Report: http://www.usantidoping.org/)
His accusers said Armstrong - one of the world's most famous athletes who also is well known for his cancer-fighting charity work - was not only a willing participant, but the ringleaders, ordering teammates to cheat.
In addition to financial payments, emails and laboratory test results that the agency says proves the use of performance enhancing drugs by Armstrong and the USPS Team, 26 people gave sworn testimony, including 11 former teammates.
Of the 11, the most surprising was George Hincapie, who rode alongside Armstrong when he won each of his Tour de France titles and was one of his most loyal and trusted friends.
"I would have been much more comfortable talking only about myself, but understood that I was obligated to tell the truth about everything I knew. So that is what I did," he said in a statement.
'UNDENIABLE PROOF'
USADA's dossier was the most comprehensive report detailing his alleged transgressions and the agency said it had provided undeniable proof Armstrong was the center of a sophisticated doping program.
"His goal led him to depend on EPO, testosterone and blood transfusions but also, more ruthlessly, to expect and to require that his teammates would likewise use drugs to support his goals if not their own," the report said. "The evidence is overwhelming that Lance Armstrong did not just use performance enhancing drugs, he supplied them to his teammates."
As expected, Armstrong's lawyers responded quickly and angrily, condemning the investigation as an inquisition based on unreliable accusations and sloppy procedures.
"USADA has continued its government-funded witch hunt of only Mr. Armstrong, a retired cyclist, in violation of its own rules and due process, in spite of USADA's lack of jurisdiction, in blatant violation of the statute of limitations," said Sean Breen, one of Armstrong's lawyers.
The International Cycling Union, or UCI, which has been highly critical of USADA's handling of the investigation, said it was considering what to do next as the fallout from the report began to unfold.
TEAMMATES CONFESS TO CHEATING
Five of Armstrong's former teammates, who were among the riders who testified against him, released separate statements admitting they had used performance drugs. Most of the others had already confessed to cheating.
The report included testimony that Armstrong and his team used a range of performance-enhancing drugs including erythropoietin (EPO), blood transfusions, testosterone, corticosteroids, human growth hormone and masking agents.
The report covered Armstrong's professional career, including the seven years in a row when he won the Tour de France from 1999 to 2005, and provided graphic revelations about the methods it said he used to dope and avoid detection.
Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title for a positive doping test, and Tyler Hamilton, who was stripped of his 2004 Olympic gold medal after confessing to drug use, both previously pointed the finger at Armstrong.
On Wednesday, Christian van de Velde, Tom Danielson, David Zabreskie and Hincapie, who were identified among former Armstrong teammates who testified against him, also came clean and admitted cheating.
Armstrong was accused of trafficking and encouraging other cyclists to use drugs, as well as conspiring with team manager Johan Bruyneel, doctor Pedro Celaya, doctor Luis del Moral, doctor Michele Ferrari and trainer Jose Pepe Marti.
Ferrari and Del Moral were also given lifetime bans for their role in the alleged doping scheme while Bruyneel, Celaya and Marti are contesting the charges.
"From day one, we always hoped this investigation would bring to a close this troubling chapter in cycling's history and we hope the sport will use this tragedy to prevent it from ever happening again," USADA said.
Although he has never failed a doping test, Armstrong has long been dogged by accusations he climbed to the top by using banned drugs.
The Texan has always denied any wrongdoing but was banned for life last month when he decided not to defend himself against USADA's doping charges.
He insisted his decision was not an admission of guilt and challenged USADA to prove its case. On Wednesday, the doping agency showed its hand by releasing a 200-page summary of the dossier it had sent to UCI, the World Anti-Doping Agency, or WADA, and the World Triathlon Corporation, or WTC.
"The evidence shows beyond any doubt that the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team ran the most sophisticated, professionalized and successful doping program that sport has ever seen," USADA Chief Executive Travis Tygart said.
"The ... doping conspiracy was professionally designed to groom and pressure athletes to use dangerous drugs, to evade detection, to ensure its secrecy and ultimately gain an unfair competitive advantage through superior doping practices."
The UCI, which has the right to appeal USADA's rulings, said it was considering its position.
"The UCI will examine all information received in order to consider issues of appeal and recognition, jurisdiction and statute of limitation, within the term of appeal of 21 days, as required by the World Anti-Doping Code," the world governing body for cycling said.
(Additional reporting by Gene Cherry, Steve Keating and Julien Pretot; Editing by Will Dunham and Lisa Shumaker)
Want to grow your business? Why bother doing all the hard work yourself when you get can others to build an empire for you - and pay you for the privilege? But is becoming a franchisor the fast and cheap path to riches? Er, probably not. EN takes a look.
Although it's often seen as a quintessentially American business model, elements of franchising have been around in the UK for centuries, from feudal lords flogging the rights to run the village well to the town market, where stall holders pay to sell their wares in a specified territory.
Nowadays, businesses of all shapes and sizes have embraced the franchise model to supercharge their growth. Last year, the Subway sandwich chain overtook McDonald's as the number one fast food chain in terms of units and it now has over 36,650 restaurants in 100 countries, including 1,459 in the UK, which didn't have a single Subway until 1996.
Tom Endean of the British Franchise Association, an organisation set up in 1977 to create a formalised structure and standards for franchising in the UK, says, "You tend to be able to extend your brand much faster than you would be able to organically because you're using other people's money, essentially. Other people are investing into the brand by them starting up their own business under your brand and your system.
"And you tend to build a more robust business because rather than starting an outlet and then staffing that with a manager and other staff, you're actually setting up a new outlet or an operation with somebody that has a much higher vested interest in the success of that outlet."
Endean adds that because you're not directly employing the franchisee and their staff, you can actually run a nationwide chain from a relatively small headquarters, which means less direct overheads.
But, let's be clear, franchising is not a quick ticket to global brand domination and your own personal island.
"All of the advantages only follow the right structure being put in place," Endean cautions.
"So if you hear people saying that franchising is fast and cheap to grow, it may be faster and it may be cheaper than doing it organically, but it's not fast and it's not cheap."
And if you think franchising is just getting a bunch of cash-rich suckers to do all the hard work for you, think again.
"At the outset, you've got to put a lot of investment in upfront with probably little income," Endean notes.
"You've got to pay to put the right franchise agreement in place, which are the contracts that stipulate the obligations on both sides; you've got to put the right operations manuals in place to stipulate all of the aspects of how the business will operate; you've got to think about the support staff; you might have to put training processes in place because you might be taking people on who have completely new to the industry in which you're working."
Indeed, finding the right franchisees to take your business model to the masses can be a tricky task. Many established franchisors only recruit one in 50 or even one in 100 of serious enquiries.
"You've also got to put a lot of time and money into the recruitment - that is, of course, if you only want to take people on who are going help grow your business, not somebody who has a pulse and a cheque," Endean says.
But no matter how good your recruits are, franchising will not magically fix a flawed business because it's about replicating a formula. Replicate a bad formula and you'll just have a bigger problem.
Bill Pegram of the Franchising Centre, a consultant that advises new franchisors and provides franchisee training, says: "Franchising isn't about dumping loss-making units and it's not about trying to roll out unproven businesses before the concept's been proven."
So how do you know if your business is suited to franchising?
"Almost any type of business can be franchised if the business can be duplicated, if there is sufficient profit in there for two parties - franchisor and franchisee - [and] if you can train someone to do it fairly easily," Pegram says.
The "best practice" on proving the concept of your business is to have three units operating in three locations for three years.
"But commercial reality often says I've started a business, it's going like wildfire, I've got a march on the competition - how do I get involved in franchising it? That's okay, as long as there's some level of proof there because there is such a thing as the early adopter or risk-taker of a franchisee who likes to be in on the ground floor," Pegram adds.
Nevertheless, he cautions, if your sure-fire jackpot of a business exists only on paper (or in your dreams) you're best coming back when there's something tangible to look at.
Once you've decided the business model can be transplanted to other locations while making enough money to make it worth everyone's while, it's time to recruit some franchisees.
"The thing that makes franchise companies is recruiting the right people," Pegram says.
"The thing that kills them is if the early franchisees are wrong because when a potential franchisee looks at a franchise business, the first question they ask is how are the franchisees doing? If they're not doing well, then they walk away."
As a business owner, you might be used to giving everything your personal inspection but with a franchise, you'll have to trust the franchisees to take on your model and get it right without your hand on the tiller.
"With any small business, once you get to a certain size you need to let go of certain aspects of the business to be able to manage the business properly," Endean says.
"With franchising, you're taking that to the next level. Not only are you having to step back from part of the business, you are actually handing over an operation to somebody to say you are now going to follow my system.
"I think one of the biggest problems and the hardest things for a franchisor taking on their first couple of franchisees is actually to say no to people.
"They come to you and they're very enthusiastic and seem very keen and have the money and want to take on the business but may not be right.
"You may really like the person [but] you have to be careful to make sure that they are really the right person for the business, that they're going to add value to the business, that you're going to be able to get on with them and that they're going to prosper.
"If you've put ten years of your life - blood, sweat and tears - into creating your business, you don't just want to hand that over to somebody that might wreck it."
Consultants like the Franchising Centre can develop a franchisee profile setting out how much candidates have to invest, as well as the required experience and skills.
"As you can imagine, the profile for a prospective gardening franchisee is going to be very different from someone who's going to run a day school or a restaurant or an IT company, so the criteria is different for each franchise," says Pegram.
But while this can help you whittle down the pack, there is always that unpredictable human element, which is why it's so important to have the right structures, support systems and, crucially, the right franchise agreement and operations manual.
Franchise agreements are hefty documents, usually 40 to 60 pages long, covering myriad issues from fees, royalties and territories to specifying where your franchisees buy the equipment or products they use in your good name.
Duncan Vaughan, head of commercial and intellectual property in Leeds and Newcastle at law firm DWF and a BFA-accredited franchise solicitor, says the details of an agreement will depend on the individual business but there are "certain basics that you will see again and again".
"A franchise agreement, at its most basic, is a trademark licence and it's also a business method licence," he explains.
"The reason it's so detailed is for the protection of both the franchisor and the franchisees because if you have a rogue franchisee who starts creating a bad name for the whole of the network, it protects the franchisor but it also protects the franchisees because one bad apple will ruin the name for everybody else.
"If your food franchise serves meat that's off, the public won't necessarily say oh, it's a rogue franchisee - that will tarnish all of those franchises."
That is one of the big reasons why franchise agreements are a) weighted in favour of the franchisor and b) non-negotiable. As franchisor, you need the power to protect the wider network from one of your franchisees going off the reservation, whether it's using cheap and nasty produce in a food-based chain or deciding they want to change the colour of your logo.
"The point of a franchise is you're building a common brand and therefore a common promise to all consumers to build confidence and advantages to the consumer that will help you in business - but if you've got somebody that's messing around with the brand that obviously detracts from that and everybody loses benefits as a result," Endean says.
The franchise agreement can also offer some protection if a former franchisee decides to give you a run for your money.
"There's what you call a restricted covenant, that's to stop a franchisee setting up in competition with you," Vaughan notes.
"If they've been operating in south Manchester it might be reasonable to say, okay, you won't set up as a competitor in south Manchester for six months in the franchise agreement - and that's just to give you a reasonable amount of protection.
"It won't work if the clause goes too far. If you say nowhere north of Birmingham for the next 20 years, that wouldn't be enforceable. It needs to be reasonable in terms of scope, the extent of the geographic scope but also the duration."
Many franchisors who lease premises to franchisees also insert clauses that make the lease co-terminus with the franchise agreement. If the franchise ends, the lease terminates at the same time, allowing the franchisor to reclaim the premises for a new franchisee.
Another critical element is deciding on fees and royalties. You need to make percentages attractive to potential franchisees while making sure you won't be left taking a bath when things take off.
Pegram says that financial forecasting, usually one of the first pieces of work carried out by a consultant, helps to find the right balance.
"We spend some weeks with the client and they tell us pretty much how they see the franchise operating. Then we build that into a financial model, which is a financial model for both the franchisee and the franchisor," he explains.
"Then we look at recruiting and training franchisees and if you recruit three a year, five a year, ten a year, whatever it is, how does that then feed through into your business?
"Once you've got that model set up, you can play with the sensitivities and the percentages and you can arrive at a level of fee which is deemed to be fair and acceptable, so there's enough there for the franchisee to make a profit and for the franchisor to make a profit.
"There has to be a balance ... otherwise there's going to be resentment there from one side or the other - and if there isn't good profit in there for both parties then you haven't got a franchise."
A franchise agreement will also cover a number of different income streams for the franchisor, including the initial buy-in payment, the fee paid when the agreement is signed, ongoing royalties and marketing fees, which are often split into two types.
"One is the amount that you expect the franchisee to spend advertising in their local area and, often, you also see a central advertising fund," Vaughan says.
"A good example of that is when you see sandwich franchises or burger franchises advertising on TV. The way they pay for that is to get franchisees to contribute a percentage or a fixed fee into a central advertising fund, which the franchisor will administer.
"That works really well for the franchisees: they can afford to pay for and benefit from national advertising that they couldn't possibly afford on their own."
A franchise agreement can also stipulate where franchisees will buy stock and equipment - whether that's direct from you or from an approved supplier. That can create collective purchasing power while also helping to ensure a uniform quality across the chain, so consumers know what to expect when they use your brand, whether they're in Manchester, Mumbai or Moose Jaw.
All these variables underline the importance of having a bespoke agreement for your business that each franchisee can work from.
"There are sites out there that will talk about a franchise agreement that you can download for ?50 and fill in the gaps, which is all great until something goes wrong and you realise you've just lost your business, your brand and it's absolutely worthless," Endean warns.
"It's not the case that you have to draft every clause from scratch but making sure that it's tailored to your business is important," adds Vaughan.
"The benefit of having a decent agreement drafted for you by a solicitor is that it makes your franchise network easier to administer. All your agreements are largely standard except for specific amendments that you might make such as cheaper royalties in the first year, smaller territories etc."
Let's talk turkey. How much is a franchise agreement going to cost?
"It will vary but if we were to say a standard agreement at a standard level of complexity, you're looking at ?6,000 to ?8,000," says Vaughan.
"If it's particularly complicated, it could be more. If it's really straightforward - a really straightforward one would be somebody doing, say, an after-school club that really is just one person with minimum equipment and just light training - really quite straightforward and cheap to set up, it could be less because it would be quicker to draft.
"In terms of length of time to draft, it involves quite detailed meetings. We'll run through everything, make sure we've got it right and prepare a first draft that goes for approval then we make amendments. I wouldn't budget any less than two weeks to do that."
Like most things in business, setting yourself up as a franchisor will probably cost more and take longer than you think it will. It will definitely take a lot of work and investment before you start to see some returns and there's the added complication of finding and entrusting the right people with your brand.
"You do need to make sure you're objective about the process," Endean says.
"Being motivated and being enthusiastic are not bad things; they drive a lot of businesses and that's fantastic, but you do need to sometimes step back and take stock of what's in front of you and make sure this is what you want to do and you can do it and that it is something that somebody would want to take on."
The BFA offers full-day seminars as well as step-by-step guides for prospective franchisors on its website, www.thebfa.org. In addition, it has directories of lawyers, franchise consultants and accountants that meet the organisation's voluntary code of conduct.
So there's plenty of information out there and no need to rush.
As Endean says, "Take a few days, take some time out and decide if it's the right thing for you."
This entry was posted on Thursday, October 11th, 2012 at 9:45 AM and is filed under Health Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.