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Sasha-Lee de Bod

Franchise Consultant
Sasha-Lee de Bod

Sasha-Lee de BodFranchise Development Consultant and Partner

Sasha-Lee completed her Bachelor of Commerce Honours Degree in Marketing and Entrepreneurship with distinction at North-West University in 2014.  She has also completed an Undergraduate Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Entrepreneurship and Business Management with distinction at North-West University in addition to a NQF Level 5 Project Management qualification. She completed a course on managing Franchisee Performance as a Field Service Consultant and modelling for analysts and accountants.

Since 2013, Sasha-Lee has been a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society for Academic Excellence and Leadership Development.

As a partner at Franchising Plus, Sasha-Lee has worked on various commercial and social projects across several different industries, such as: Health and Beauty, Retail, Restaurant and QSR, Mentorship and Consulting to SME’S, Insurance, Business to Business and Education, alongside specialists in the franchising industry.

She has been involved in project management and mentoring for small businesses as part of the Supplier Development Mentorship Programme/Initiative facilitated by Franchising Plus.

She has been a speaker at several industry events. These conferences and workshops included the Restaurant and QSR Africa Conference, Africa Fuel Wholesale and Retail Expansion Summit, IP Assessment Management and Tech Transfer

Ask Sasha-Lee a Question

Sasha-Lee has worked with an array of franchises in several industries, her knowledge spans across the board and has plenty of experience. She’s your general knowledge go to!

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Frequently Asked Questions

I am about to sign a franchise agreement. My problem is this: I have just enough money to fund the transaction, but really only just! Is it wise to invest all my cash or should I rather take out a loan and keep a nest egg, just in case?

You should definitely keep a nest egg!  Even though a franchise will typically reach break-even sooner than an independent business with no track record, it still takes time.  Your franchisor will have given you projections, but you need to remember that these are assumptions only.  With the best will in the world, nobody can guarantee that your business will perform exactly in line with projections. One more tip: If your business is a cash business, for example, fast food outlet where most people pay cash for their purchases, cash flow should pick up fairly quickly.  If so, you could invest part of your capital with your bank and use the investment as surety for an overdraft.  On the face of it, it may sound daft to deposit money at a relatively low-interest rate, and then borrow against a higher rate but consider this. You draw on your overdraft only during valleys in your cash flow, perhaps just for a few days each month.  However, your investment will earn interest on an ongoing basis leaving you with net gain

I want to venture into the franchise business can the bank finance me for the whole cost or must I have my own collateral (my own contribution)?

The bank will never finance you 100% for a franchise business, depending on the business, the bank will most likely require you to contribute a minimum of 50% own contribution (cash-unencumbered funds) towards the purchase or set up of the business and the bank will assess funding the balance. Read more on financing a business

I would like to know how much cash I need to invest in a franchise and how much I can expect to earn a month, say over the next three years?

The costs of setting up a franchise vary tremendously.  They are influenced by the type and size of business you are interested in, the reputation of the brand (which could affect the amount payable as an upfront fee) and working capital requirements. Many of the listings on our website give an indication of investment levels. To answer the second part of your question is equally difficult.  Franchises do not come with guarantees, your earnings depend on the viability of the business of your choice and the amount of effort you put into its operation.  Speak to several franchisors, once negotiations with one progress beyond the initial information stage, you should receive a disclosure document which will provide among other things detailed financial information.  Most banks require unencumbered cash requirements of 50% of the total investment required.

Our business is located in the UK; we were approached by a South African entrepreneur who wants to acquire a master licence for South Africa. What are the problems we are likely to encounter, should we agree to this?

South Africa has a robust franchise sector, with about 85% of concepts home-grown.  This notwithstanding, there is a place for foreign concepts with leading brands like KFC and McDonald’s leading the charge.  To ensure success as far as this is possible, the grantor of the license must be prepared to provide extensive support and take a long-term view on returns. For example, our population figure stands at about 50 million people yet the number of people with disposable income is closer to 10 million.

Taxation for companies currently is 28%, is on par with most of the rest of the world and South Africa has double-taxation treaty with the UK.  The payment of license fees is subject to change controls.  At this time, exchange controls continue to be strictly enforced but they have been relaxed over time and there is an expectation that they will eventually fall away.

In the interim, permission to make such payments will usually be given provided that the fees are reasonable and the local master licensee can show that the transaction involves the transfer of meaningful know-how and creates realistic opportunities for creation of new business and employment

I want to invest in a franchise, how do I go about it? Which brand would you recommend?

Please note we cannot advise on a specific brand or opportunity for you to invest in but we can only give advice in general pertaining to franchising. The only guideline we can offer in this regard is that a good investment would be a franchised business that can give you a return on your investment within roughly 4 years, after you as the owner have drawn a market-related salary.

How do you decide which business to be a franchisee of? How do you go about it?

  1. It needs to be something you love, or you are passionate about (remember you will be running the outlet on a full-time basis)
  2. Be realistic about your technical skills
  3. Do you have sufficient capital to offer the category
  4. Will the franchise give you a satisfactory ROI and allow you to draw the salary that you want?
  5. Research the concept and do a thorough due diligence
  • chatting to the franchisor of the concept;
  • chatting to existing franchisees to see what their experience with the concept and with the franchisor has been
  • you can also ask the franchisors to provide you with their franchise disclosure document and draft franchise agreement to understand better what they do as well as the rights and obligations of both parties should you decide to work with them
  • evaluate and compare all the opportunities you are interested in
Who is the first professional person I need to speak to if I am sure that my business can be franchised?

Not so fast! We could refer you to any number of professional advisors but we feel that it is in your interest to study the articles we enclose before you do anything else.  The information they contain will help you decide, firstly, whether your business is ready to be franchised, and if so, whether franchising is indeed the best option. Once satisfied that this is indeed the case, let us know and we will offer your various options for moving forward

How often is it necessary to update the operations manual?

It depends on the dynamics of your business sector.  The manual must always reflect the current status of product know-how, systems and procedures in the network, if significant changes occur, an update should be issued immediately.  Otherwise, the manual should be reviewed at least once or twice a year, failing which it will become obsolete

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