The News & Observer:

Chuck Bankoff, Capistrano Beach franchisee for WSI Internet, has not met 90 percent of his clients in person.
Most of his work and meetings are done over the Internet.

Lack of time and abundance of technology are combining to change the way some franchises and similar ventures do business.

Despite advertising promises of “run an Internet business from home,” franchisers aren’t completely there yet. But some are moving in that direction in response to customers and interest from franchise buyers.

Thousands of individuals do run full- or part-time businesses completely over the Internet. Think eBay super sellers.

But the appeal of franchising and similar business opportunities is that they supposedly come with a proven business model, established brand and how-to-do-it instruction manual. They are also more likely to grow into larger businesses.

“Relationships are still very important, but what we’re finding is that people are busy, and in the past four or five months gas prices have gone up so much that working virtually appeals to a lot of people,” said Ron McArthur, chief executive of WSI, a Canadian franchiser that helps build Web sites and provides Internet marketing tools and services through 1,500 franchisees in 87 countries.

“Time is money. WSI is in a unique position,” he added, “because clients see these tools that allow franchisees to work over the Internet as part of what we do for them.”

Read full article.

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