Like most people you may be extremely tired of the daily commute to and from work and wouldn’t mind exploring a franchise opportunity near your home. There are numerous business franchises all over and they are seen as successful enterprises too. Consider some of the following options when locating a franchise that is the right fit for your area.

The ever-reliable Internet is the most convenient and quick way to search for franchise opportunities in your community. Another alternative is to be part of a mailing list that keeps people updated on new franchise opportunities and other local announcements in their newsletters.

When there are new property locations open to businesses you will most likely find a franchise fair or expo. It is recommended that you attend any of these events because you will get some helpful hints and that particular location may be a ‘hot spot’ for a new and upcoming business. Networking with other more experienced business people at these fairs will give you priceless information and knowledge about the franchise market.

At this point, you may have narrowed your choices down to a handful of potential franchises. Where do you go from there? The franchisees in your area, whether they’re in business now or if they’ve shut up shop, may help clarify a few things for you. The more franchisees and franchise owners you talk to the better. Don’t limit your discussions to one industry - remember there are lots of different types of franchise.

Let’s consider some of the benefits to opening a franchise in your community.

Socializing with your neighbors and other people in your community is a good idea especially since you may open a franchise. During all of these conversations you can find out what they like, how they spend their money and what service they feel their business district needs. This is very valuable information and somebody else outside of your community would not be as fortunate to get the inside scoop. In addition, it will most likely be your friends and neighbors who are your first customers even if it is just out of sheer curiosity or support of a new business entrepreneur. As you can see, if you were to open a franchise outside of your area then you would not be able to reap the rewards and will have to do a lot more work in order to gain that competitive edge.

What about the quality of your life? Environmentalists for urban and suburban sprawl often take City planners to task. The problem is that as a city’s population grows so too does the city. The advent of the automobile helped to overcome this problem, but a second problem emerged - rush hour traffic. Road networks have become congested, and people are finding they have to travel further and further, either spending longer hours behind the wheel or finding themselves at the mercy of the timetables of public transport, in order to earn salaries at places of employment many miles from their home.

An obvious benefit in setting up a local franchise is that you’ll be working in your area instead of the next town over. Even if you just want to check in daily to see how business is going, the benefits of a franchise close to home are clear.

The Global Resorts Network offers a discount luxury travel membership as well as an affiliate program for those who want to sell membership to other people. This article provides an unbiased review of both the product (which is the membership package) and its affiliate program.

Two (2) types of membership are offered. One is a Platinum membership which cost US$2,995.00.

Membership Features: Lifetime membership, fully transferable and willable to one’s estate, no yearly fees, unlimited vacations per year, offers guest weeks which allows members to offer stays for family and friends, resort weeks cost from US$298 - 699 per week in 5 and 4 start resorts (in rare cases, may be up to US$799 per week in Hawaii etc.)

The second type of membership is a Gold membership. The cost is US$ 1,495.

Membership Features: 3-year membership, 3 resort weeks per year and not exceeding 21 days, maybe consecutive and in same resort, no guest weeks allowed, resort weeks cost start at US$398 in 5 and 4 star resorts

It is actually Gold Crown Resorts which handles the membership. What the company does is purchase excess inventory from timeshares and resorts all over the world.

Why Memberships Are Better Than Timeshare:

- timeshare requires annual maintenance fee; with GRN, no maintenance fee is required

- timeshare usually allows only one vacation per year; with GRN, unlimited number of vacations

- timeshare initial purchase cost is generally more than GRN membership cost

- the annual maintenance fee in timeshare is generally more than the cost per resort week in a GRN membership

Some Shortcomings of GRN:

- there is no guarantee that one’s preferred vacation schedule and resort can always be accomodated due to fluctuations in resort vacancies; therefore, one has to be flexible as far as travel schedules are concerned.

- a member cannot cancel his/her reservation; one of the ways GRN can provide accommodations well below the standard rates is because they receive specific non-cancellable dates when a request is made.

- the available inventory decreases with the increase in the number of members; while GRN used to be sold solely through a personal presentation, it is now being sold through network marketing online and the number of members has increased since then.

The Perpetual Leverage Compensation Plan

The reason why the Affiliate Program is so enticing is because of the Perpetual Leverage Compensation plan which works this way:

Sale # 1: You don’t earn anything yet on your first sale as this is passed up to your sponsor or upline to activate your first level

Second Sale and Onwars: You receive US$1000 on each sale (if you sold a platinum membership) or US$500 (if you sold a gold membership). Your upline receives the same amount on each one of your sales as well

Sales of Your Affiliates: Every time your affiliate makes a sale, you also earn US$1000 or US$500 depending on what type of membership your affiliate sold.

Let’s say, you have 5 affiliates which sell 2 platinum membership per month, you earn US$10,000 monthly.

How Do You Sell Memberships:

The GRN has its own official website but there are various third party systems which provide the necessary tools to market the product. Each offers a marketing site/landing page, information pages, contact or list management and autoresponders. They vary in cost and some have additional features. Among them are:

GRN System (run by Priceless Possibilities) US$29.95/ month, Ty Coughlin’s Reverse Funnel System US$299.00/month, GRN Biz Builder (run by QuickLister) US$34.95/month, GRN Team Buidler (run by B.O. S. S.) US$79.95/month, Global Pro Builder US$39.95 - 69.95/month plus set up

These third party systems attempt to make the marketing process easy for you so you can start right away. They have back offices containing many training materials, advertising and marketing guides, etc.

What Customers Say:

“Global Resorts Network is also the first & only company I have ever seen were there truly is a product in place that is in demand & of real value unlike the majority of the 2 & 3 step money games with products that have no value. Meaning you can actually go out & sell this product / membership aside from the opportunity….” Source: http://www.work-at-home-forum.com/14_2845_0.html

“Well, I did everything step by step and used their exact key words and phrases for advertising. I utilized everything they suggested. $15,000.00 later still no sales! …” Source: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/318/RipOff0318260.htm

“Global Resorts Network is for real…and a great deal. Where else can you get a lifetime membership for less than $3000 one time…no recurring fees, no exchange fees, no maintanance fees, and can book weeks at 4-5 star luxury condos for under $300 to $700 as many times as you want. The company that provides the condos has been doing this for 20 years very successfully. I’m a member and think it’s a fantastic value….” Source: http://www.tugbbs.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40329

“I do not have a problem with Network Marketing, and I am not calling this a scam. However, I do have a problem with reverse funnel system, and Ty Coughlin’s screaming loud recordings on my answering machine …” Source: http://www.ripoffreport.com/reports/0/308/RipOff0308997.htm

Here’s Our Verdict:

With the cost of a resort week in a 5 or 4 star resort way below standard rates, a GRN membership is a great product. However, one needs a certain flexibility as far as travel schedules are concerned due to fluctuations in resort vacancies.

The membership fee can be recovered easily from the savings earned from heavily discounted rates. So even if you just become a member and avail of the travel benefits, you will eventually recover the cost you paid for your membership fee.

If you like to sell memberships as an affiliate, please remember that while there are third party marketing systems to help you, you still need to acquire long-term skills on affiliate marketing. Most of these systems focus on practical implementation and step by step guide. But to acquire long-term skills is not to have you follow instructions like a robot. The world of internet marketing is always in a state of flux, trends emerge and disappear and if you haven’t acquired long-term skills, your ability to make money online is only temporary or close to zero. You need to understand, acquire skills and practically implement techniques and at the same time see the overall picture and the significance of all the actions you are taking.

The GRN affiliate program does not guarantee to make you rich overnight. You have to be prepared to devote a considerable amount of time to it, spend for monthly fees and other marketing-related expenses such as advertising which can be costly.