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Review of the Sheetz Franchise Opp and Startup Costs

Do you love going out to eat at a restaurant that makes your food to order from fresh, locally produced ingredients? Would you love to offer your community the chance to have an exciting convenience store option that will let customers be able to buy coffee online, stop in for competitively priced fuel, and provide an outstanding service environment? What you’re looking to invest into sounds like a Sheetz franchise opportunity. With almost 500 locations along the East Coast and in the Midwest, this organization offers a unique opportunity for quality food and fuel that isn’t found in many other organizations.

The only trouble you’ll find in trying to obtain a Sheetz franchise is that it is a privately held organization that isn’t offering any opportunities for investment at this time. You could marry into the family to get your hands on a location if you wanted… or you could look at these other similar franchising opportunities that can help you achieve the success you want.

7-Eleven

When you think of a gas station, at some point in time you’re going to think of a 7-Eleven store. This is a turnkey franchise opportunity that offers you zero hassles to get started. You have a gross profit split model in this franchising agreement instead of the typical fee-for-playing type of opportunities that are available today, which means you can get up and running in no time at all. You’ll be able to meet your customer’s core shopping needs, give them products they’ll crave, and have instant brand recognition in your community.

As an added benefit, 7-Eleven franchises have a system in place that will help you handle the day-to-day operations of the franchise. There are a number of franchise seminars that are available for you to fully evaluate the opportunity and see if joining one of the best franchises available today is the right choice for you.

ARCO / AMPM

If you’re looking for brand recognition on the West Coast of the US, then ARCO and the associated AMPM brand will provide you with 30 years of brand recognition for your new franchise opportunity. You’ll receive a full array of support that includes specific training, advertising and marketing, and field management assistance when you sign up for this opportunity. There’s a loan program with good terms that will help to finance new construction costs or a re-branding with amounts up to $1 million in some areas.

The total initial investment is what will set some investors back from this opportunity. Your liquid capital requirements may be $1.2 million depending on your circumstances and your total estimated investment in this franchise opportunity could be as high as $7.6 million per location. ARCO also requires that all franchisees work a minimum of 40 hours per week in the operation of an associated retail facility and you must have an outstanding credit record that does not include any late payments.

Part of the franchising agreement also requires a stipulation that you require a license of wine and beer sales for off-site consumption.

Sunoco

If you’re looking to get involved with a new franchise and don’t have a property as of yet, the Sunoco makes becoming a franchisee simple and easy. Instead of having to purchase a new property or create a re-branding effort, you could lease an existing location that already has the full set-up in place. Many of their opportunities are located near major routes and have an existing customer count that is good. You can look at each location in depth before deciding to sign the lease and a number of East Coast locations are available right now.

The other advantage in taking over a lease is that many of the licenses will transfer over to the new ownership, depending on local laws of course. This may make it easier to get your alcohol licenses and other specific documents you may need for an attractive convenience experience.

Holiday

Located in the Upper Midwest, Holiday has over 100 franchise locations and the organization offers a comprehensive system that will help your convenience store be successful in your community. With an additional 450 locations in 12 Midwestern states that are company-owned, you’ll be joining a network that works together to provide each other with the support that is needed for success. You’ll receive a strategic supply relationship for merchandise and logistics, have national account recognition for delivery vendors, and have a number of private label products that could attract volume sales to your business.

You’ll also get to be part of an integrated system of fuel transport that makes sure you always have timely deliveries of your product so you won’t have to worry about inventory control. You’ll have a reliable, secure supply source thanks to the organization’s relationship with several refiners and suppliers. There’s also alliances in place that will let you be cross-promoted with other brands that you’ll also promote, adding to the possibility of higher sales too.

Raceway

If you’re looking for an opportunity in the US Southeast, then Raceway has the ability to help you succeed as well. There aren’t any start-up costs at all with this franchising opportunity as your fees are paid through the unique fueling relationship that you’ll have with the home organization RaceTrac. You’ll have full control over the convenience store at your location and be able to sell virtually anything, although the service agreement does prohibit some items.

If you’re looking to get involved with a business that you manage yourself, this could be the right one as most owners are operators and Raceway tends to only award one franchise location per ownership group. That means you’ll have an exclusive territory where you can grow your customer base and work toward profitability in a way that makes sense for you.

Gas stations may not be for everyone, but they are an exciting opportunity for some. With over 200 million vehicles on the road in the US and that number ever-growing, the time is right to get involved in this industry.

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