National franchisor offers financial breaks during economic crisis

How are small businesses responding to the challenges of the current economic turmoil?

Some business owners may be focused on riding out the crisis. Not Matt “Red” Boswell, founder and self-described Chief "Excrement" Officer and “Entre-manure” of the national Pet Butler chain. Boswell wasted no time in coming up with ways to make it easier for displaced workers to start a Pet Butler franchise. He also came up with a creative way to help his current franchisees expand their markets during the current slowdown.

Pet Butler has cut its Franchise fee by two-thirds, to under $10,000, and is even accepting credit cards as a way to pay the franchisee fee. The company also has temporarily eliminated all mandatory minimum marketing requirements.

In addition, current franchisees will be able to expand their marketing efforts to include a territory adjacent to their existing market through the end of 2009. At the end of 15 months, franchisees who have generated a significant amount of new business will have their territory expanded to include the new market. Other franchisees will have the opportunity to purchase the additional territory or it will be made available to new potential franchisees.

If you are looking for an example of how business leaders are using creative thinking to respond to the current economic challenges, Matt “Red” Boswell is an excellent example and he is available to speak in more detail to these and other ways Pet Butler is taking a proactive, rather than a reactive approach.