Robert Jennings ⋅ Westville, NJ IBM ⋅ 25 years experience

Chad, for a franchised small business like this, I would strongly encourage you to look to the cloud for the needs you're asking about. Products like Quickbooks and Freshbooks will handle the bulk of your administrative and financial needs. For general productivity, I would recommend Office365 or GoogleApps for Small Business. Google is fairly complete and relatively inexpensive, Office 365 is a little more sophisticated, and a little pricier.

When you say "build-out", I assume you're talking about the preparation of your storefront? If that's the case, I'd simply use Visio for floor and space planning (many towns require certified architectural plans for building permits, you need to check on that). For running the build-out and managing the expense, SageOne is an excellent choice. Some of the productivity cloud products like Google Apps also have add-ins for these functions.

Marketing is probably the most complex and conditional function that you asked about in your original question. I don't what 9Round is, what your sales model is (brick & mortar only, online, mix, etc.) or anything about the product. How to market and what to use is highly dependent on those specifics. You're welcome to PM me with more information, and I'll try to give you some good advice on this area.

Hope this helps.

Chad Hollenbeck ⋅ Eleva, WI U.S. Army National Guard, Major ⋅ 21 years served

Well, thought I'd get back to everyone. I have been open since the last week of Jan 15. Things are going pretty good. Would always like it to be better but the business is financially self maintaining itself. My books are a mess though. I am using Quick Books and it does not sync with my bank. My banks fault not QBs. So, i was looking for someone whom I could trust to assist. Thanks!

Sarah Bates ⋅ Fallbrook, CA Palomar Community College ⋅ 25 years experience

Find your local chapter of SCORE, the organization of successful retired business people who share their expertise with new business owners. They offer free, relevant advice in all the business areas you mentioned and often can bring in a specialist for your franchise field. The learning curve going from customer to seller is steep. SCORE can reduce that frustrating climb faster so you see results and profits sooner. Good luck!

Tony Emerick ⋅ Colonial Beach, VA Intuit ⋅ 20 years experience

Chad,

First, congratulations on opening your own franchise as that is great!!! If 9Round is what I'm thinking it is, it is a fitness franchise. I'll offer a couple of ideas to help you get started regarding your administrative help. I would speak with an accountant to see what types of tax software they are using and/or recommend, but I would probably recommend using something like Quickbooks which is an Intuit product. You can go on-line and take a test drive. The platform is scaleable as your business grows, so you can add payroll, etc. as you grow and need such.

Marketing is really my specialty. I have found in over 20 years there is nothing better than networking and word of mouth. Currently, there is a new trend for businesses to take more proactive measures toward ensuring the health and fitness of their employees. More businesses are either providing gyms within their offices or paying for their employees memberships. These 'wellness' programs are invented by the rising cost of healthcare. I would target mid-size to large businesses in your immediate area and make them aware of your opening and your franchise partners may have 'content' marketing already available you can share with these viable customers.

Feel free to contact me at emericktony@gmail.com if you'd like to continue discussing but hopefully this helps get you started.

Good Luck!!!

Darcy Eikenberg, ACC ⋅ Bonita Springs, FL RedCapeRevolution.com ⋅ 30 years experience

For cost-effective administrative support, look to the virtual assistant community. There are lots of qualified, talented administrative pros who have mastered the art of working from wherever. You can hire someone for a set fee that works with your budget or hire them just for a particular project. IVAA.com is the national trade association, but you can also look on Odesk.com or ask for referrals from other entrepreneurs. Definitely outsource whatever is not in your sweet spot but that needs to get done well. Good luck!