The first steps to successfully franchise your business
Franchising is often a great way to expand a business, however before deciding whether or not to franchise your business there are some initial questions you should ask yourself.
It might sound obvious, but first of all you must be certain you know what a franchise is and if it is the right form of expansion for your business. If you are unsure that franchising your concept is the right choice it is advisable that you speak to a franchise consultant, who should be able to provide advice on whether or not your business model is suitable for franchising.
If the answer is yes, you can then proceed with your plans to franchise your business; if no, you should look at other ways of expanding.
It is also important to remember that whatever country you are franchising in there will be laws and regulations that will impact on your franchise. It is advisable that in the early stages of creating your franchise opportunity you get some sort of professional guidance, so that you are not hit with sudden legal or regulatory issues at a later date. At this stage it is recommended that you seek free legal advice, if possible, so that you are not wasting money if you decide not to proceed with franchising your business.
Furthermore, to help ensure success when you franchise your business you should have a clear plan or timescale of what you want to achieve. This will help you to remain focused when establishing your franchise network and will help you to clearly see if your franchise goals are realistic and achievable. Again, if possible, it is advisable that you seek guidance from a professional franchise consultant with this, as they will have a great deal of experience of successful franchising.
Included in this plan will be many aspects of franchising that you will probably not immediately think of. Most franchisors are aware of the fact that they will need a professionally written business manual and will need to be able to provide a comprehensive training and support package. However, there are also other aspects you will need to think about, such as how you are going to advertise your franchise opportunity to prospective franchise owners or how you plan to divide your country into suitably sized territories.
Additionally, it is now normal for franchisors to provide marketing support as part of its overall franchise support package. This can include a national advertising campaign or helping franchise owners with leaflet distributions. To help you to do this successfully it is usually a good idea to have a marketing strategy in place before you start recruiting franchise owners – a marketing consultant will be able to offer guidance on how to do this effectively.
If you are to successfully franchise your business there are many aspects of franchising that you will need to take into consideration, and at some stage you will probably need to get professional advice on some aspects. What you must keep in mind is that although franchising is an efficient way of growing a business it is not an easy option, but instead requires a lot of planning and dedication to ensuring its success.
