Franchising & Minority Owned Businesses

What exactly is a franchise business opportunity? A business opportunity exists when: 1) the buyer purchases goods or services that enable him or her to begin a business, 2) the seller makes one of several defined representations about the opportunity, such as guaranteeing the program will be profitable; offering to provide assistance in locating accounts, vending machines or other display devices; promising to buy back products that have been assembled or produced by the buyer; or providing a sales program or marketing plan. Now there are hundreds of big and small business opportunities available. Minority business opportunity is the option made available to various minority classes by various organizations in the world to help them grow. These minority business opportunities give the minorities the chance to flourish as independent business personals and have a profit earning business.

The initial receptivity to establishing supplier relationships with minority owned firms was somewhat slow in coming, but today's minority entrepreneurs are finding very fertile and lucrative minority business opportunities open to them within the mainstream of corporate purchasing departments in the United nations and the world. Why?

The reasons are as diverse and widespread as the business sector itself. One concept seems to prevail throughout: Today's corporate executives have recognized that it makes good business sense to do business with minority and women owned businesses. Hence the minority business opportunities have increased tremendously. Corporations have set up offices, or at minimum assigned key personnel, to oversee and monitor minority purchasing activities within the various line functions. To date, these efforts are being met with extremely positive results.

Although much of the recent minority business opportunity programs can be attributed to a growing trend among corporations to contract out (outsourcing) many of the products or services that were previously provided from within the corporation or by one of its divisions, it is also clear that minority business owners are becoming more adept at understanding the process of competing for corporate contracts. Understanding and thoroughly completing "the process," say experts, is the first step along the road to securing supplier contracts and for building long term lucrative partner relationships within both the public and private sectors

There are various non profit organizations helping women and various other minorities and helping minority business opportunities to grow. One of the organizations providing minority business opportunity is BMWCO. The Bureau of Minority and Women Business Opportunities (BMWBO) provides the necessary information and minority business opportunities for their customers, the small, women, and minority business owners, to compete for and participate in the state contracting process. The office certifies minority and women businesses based on ownership criteria and teaches these business owners how to pursue the minority business opportunities available through state contracting. In addition, the office administers the statewide contract compliance program, which ensures that suppliers and contractors are not discriminatory in hiring, firing, and subcontracting arrangements.

Asian Women In Business is non profit organization also provide minorities business opportunities. It is an organization founded in 1995 to help Asian women realize their entrepreneurial potential. AWIB helps women who need information, education and networking opportunities to start or expand their businesses. Black Enterprise markets itself as an expert on African American business and upscale consumer markets. The organization works to understand the markets, serve them and sell to them through its publication, information products and services and corporate business partnerships and provide tremendous minority business opportunities.