Financing Your Franchise in Canada - A Winning Formula For Funding Via Franchising Finance Loans
Second challenge after picking your franchise - we are assuming you have already done that, is determining how you will finance it. The Canadian landscape differs significantly from that of the U.S. experience; although we can assure clients that the franchise industry as a whole in Canada is doing very well.
Many franchisees often are concerned about the need and requirement for 'collateral' on a franchise loan. That is partly because they view franchise finance in the same manner as they would view a traditional loan application. Wrong! The reality is that our formula calls for no collateral requirement.
The majority of franchises in Canada are funded in two manners; they are the true secret to the winning formula we are sharing. The first and most popular method is taking advantage, (properly, and we'll come back to the term properly) of a specialized government program known as the CSBF/BIL program. Subsidized and 'managed' by a department of government in Canada known as INDUSTRY CANADA the program is the driver behind our winning formula.
Why is the BIL/CSBF loan so appropriate for financing for franchise? Consider this, when you started reading our article you probably thought that you need outside collateral, a huge down payment, and potentially outside collateral to get your 'franchise loan'. Nothing is farther from the truth.
Many franchise experts claim you need persistence and creativity to get a franchise loan financed in Canada. We disagree, you just need an expert and some hard work around satisfying the requirements of the loan program we have identified.
Those requirements include some very common sense things such as a reasonable personal credit history, a positive personal net worth, and a business plan that outlines your experience and expectations of financial success for the franchise funding. This typically includes your estimate of sales, expenses, profits, and, oh yes, cash flow that will repay your loan.
We also point out to clients that there are some other mechanisms we can 'add on' to the BIL loan to enhance the financial proposal. They are equpment financing or leasing in some cases where hard assets are being acquired, as well as potentially a vendor take back if you are buying an existing franchise from a current franchisee.
Our formula for franchise success could not be more simple - identify your franchise, work with a Canadian business financing expert to maximize your ability to close a BIL loan in a short amount of time. Your package will include your business plan, background experience, and a real focus on how the loan will be repaid. If you need add on financing to make your transaction work consider equipment financing for some assets in the business or a term working capital loan that might compliment the entire package.
