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- Consider if the business model is relevant for your market, not only the product and the concept. Is licensor’s
experience applicable in your country? Does it offer any substantial contribution to your prospective business?
- Be aware that entering a market with an unknown brand, by only selling via internet, telephone and personal contact requires
immense marketing resources. Intense canvassing may compensate for lack of money but is on the other hand extremely time consuming.
Do you have both time and money to reach break-even within a reasonable time frame?
- Do not overrestimate yourself. Do you posess skills about petfood and pet nutrition? Do you have a network of prospective
clients? Do you have sales experience? If the answer is no, hardly, just a little on any of these questions you should really
reconsider.
- Scrutinise the licensor. Do they have the ability to conduct business on a worldwide scale? The capacity and competence
to operate on an international market, in different countries? Are they mature, experienced and skilled enough, to understand
cultural differences, local circumstances, perceptions and habits? This is a question of having the capability of going abroad
rather than making quality petfood. Success in the home market does not necessarily mean success in other countries.
- In order to provide adequate training and assistance, one should have some education, academic background and not just
“on site experience” from own company. Simply check the licensor’s CV!
- Check independent references. Not only the company itself, their partners and customers. Try for instance to get hold
of previous employees – or licencees, like us.
- Keep it on a strictly professional level and steer away from any personal involvement. Refrain from any ”family
talk”. Notions like value, constitution, mission etc. should not be put into a personal context.
- If you opened up a shop on the corner, would you pay a fee to your suppliers to have them deliver? Consider if the entrance
fee is in proportion to the goodwill, business model being delivered and the tools included. The brand offered is unknown
– you must do the brand and image building on your own. What about the remaining stuff? Check and scrutinise all tools
like website, content management system (publishing tools), advertising material etc. Have some local professional to look
at it. Can you use it? Is is worth paying for?
- Insist to run your business from home. Put the stock in your garage and park the car outside. Do not meet any demands
for office and warehouse, unless licensor offers to pay the rent. You are the only one to pay the bills so you should decide
what the money should be spent on.
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