Fortunes favour the brave: Minster Cleaning has survived a number of recessions and its franchisees have continued to prosper.(FRANCHISE FOCUS: Franchises from 50,000 [pounds sterling] to 100,000 [pounds sterling])

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SERENDIPITY. THAT'S Starting a new business when times are tough may seem to Fly in the face of common sense but many well-known and successful organisations were born during economic slumps.

Multi millionaire entrepreneur and Dragon's Den star james Caan, for one, started one of his most successful businesses, an executive headhunting company, in 1992 when the UK was in the grip of the last big recession. By the time he sold the business, it had 147 orates in 30 different countries.

Burger King was another recession start-up in 1954; today, the fast food operator has more than 11,000 outlets in 65 countries, Harvard …