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>FRANCHISE TIMES >By JORGE WIENEKE III >--------------------------------- > > >Imitation is the best form of flattery, so the saying >goes. It may indeed be somewhat flattering to think >that one is big enough to be noticed, even copied—but >in the case of business, this is hardly the case. >Imitation is piracy—stealing of ideas, plain and >simple. > >Eleven years ago, I though of what became the next >snacking craze to hit the malling public—flavored >fries. Together with my best buddy, I launched my idea >into a successful business and soon enough, a slew of >wannabes mushroomed all over the place. Despite the >copycats however, our business managed to survive, >while its imitators are nowhere to be found today. > >Same is the case of Waffle Time, which made popular >the waffle dog in 1999. While this product has been >around as an old time favorite, never has a waffle dog >been more widely distributed and accepted as it is >today, due in part to Waffle Time’s over 180 outlets. >As soon as the product became visible in malls >nationwide, copycats struck once again, coming up with >all sorts of waffle carts that try to be what Waffle >Time is. > >This phenomenon has been called everything from the >pan de sal mentality, shawarma mentality, pearl shakes >mentality, to its most recent hybrid, the water >station mentality. It is a sad notion that Filipinos >are great imitators and do not rely on their own wits >to come up with something unique and innovative. > >The problem with copying is that the public is being >given second-rate versions of the product or service >copied. Copycats are in it for the money—not to >provide quality service or products. Take the case of >pirated CDs, which often have bugs or flaws in them. >In the case of food products, copycats opt to get >their products from a third party supplier, unlike the >originators who develop the products after long >periods of research and development. Copycats do not >care about what the consumers get, only about their >get rich quick schemes—which are often at the expense >of those whose intellectual property rights they >trample on. > >That is why when looking for a business to franchise, >always go for the original for they are the ones who >did the research and labored to achieve quality in >their offerings. Meanwhile, all copycats do is observe >the originals for a few times before deciding they >could do just as well themselves. > >In a nutshell, if you’re in the market for a franchise >business, do some background checking. Find out what >the concept is, how it is different from others of the >lot, who its proponents are, and what motivates them >to go into this business. Chances are if they are >copycats, they will eventually run out of ideas for >their company and move on to copy something else. It >would be wiser to seek out the originator of the idea, >as they would have the long-term plan that would take >the business to success. > >Hope this article helps in choosing your franchise >business. Till next time! > >The Franchise Times is a public service project of the >Association of Filipino Franchisors, Inc. (AFFI) and >The Manila Times. This week’s contributor, Jorge Y. >Wieneke, is President of Buy the Bucket and Kanin ni >Tisay and is a founding member of AFFI. He is also >President of Start-up Ventures, Inc., a business >conceptualization, expansion, and marketing company. > >For feedback, please email- >editor@filfranchisers.com >or >jorgenoelw@yahoo.com. > >For more info on AFFI, log on to : >www.filfranchisers.com > >Call the AFFI Secretariat at 532-8386, >or text AFFI to Smart 326. > > >http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=11780

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