As a franchise consultant I recommend you answer a very important question before you franchise your business. This question is “can my business be duplicated by another person?” If your business cannot be easily replicated, it probably is not a good candidate for franchising.
When you franchise your business properly, it creates a classic win-win situation. Someone else uses your trade name, business concept and operating system. In addition, your Franchisees receive both pre-opening and on-going support. In exchange, when you franchise your business, you receive an up-front initial franchise fee and continuing royalty or service fee payments.
In essence, when you franchise your business, you are expanding using other people’s money, time and management skills; in turn, you are splitting the pie with your Franchisees. If you are going to franchise your business, it works only if you can teach another person how to open and operate a location of the business within a commercially viable period of time.
When deciding whether to franchise your business, in many instances, a concept that is extremely unique or difficult to master is not a good candidate for franchising. Examples of this type of concepts may be computer repair businesses or other technical services that can require too much specialized knowledge to be taught to another in a training program of three to six weeks. However, if your computer repair concept is run by a business person who hires computer repair technicians, it may franchise-able.
Another consideration is if your business requires an advanced degree – such as a medical license or contractor’s license. In some cases, such as weight loss clinics, the Franchisee may be able to hire a doctor to serve part-time. In other franchise concepts, such as an eye glasses store or vision clinic, the target Franchisees may be doctors.
So, if you are examining whether you should franchise your business, think carefully about whether you can teach others how to perform your services or produce/sell your products.
Thinking About Franchising?
NFA Franchise Consultants have the experience to help businesses franchise. Just watch and listen to some of our client case studies and video testimonials. We can HELP YOU and it doesn’t cost anything to call and talk to us!
So, if you are still asking the “should I franchise my business” question over and over with no clear direction, give us a call at (706) 356-5637, or contact us through our online form. We look forward to helping you take your business to the next level and beyond.