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Why should I franchise?
Years ago my business partner asked why we had so many rules to follow as a franchisee. I explained, the best I could, that a franchise is a blueprint of a successful business. It's tried and true, all of the mistakes have been made and it's simply a matter of duplication or that particular product or service.
Fast forward 10 years that same partner calls me as he's opening up a new business and says, “ You know what? I sure wish I had that rule book to follow right now! Let me answer the question of why should I franchise ?
I think it's important to understand what a franchise is space and what a franchise is not . A franchise is a proven system that has been refined, can be duplicated, has all of the systems in place regarding marketing and operations, trademarks , short and long-term marketing plans with the support team to coach and assist along the way. The have standards and you are expected to adhere to them. However, some people want to reinvent the wheel.The wheel has been invented it just simply needs rolled forward and that speed is determined by you, the leader.
Once you have made the decision that you want to become a part of a franchise system e there are many categories and sectors to look into. I believe it's important that you take your personal experience and skill set and match it with the concept that you can make successful. Just because you like to eat in restaurants is not a good reason to buy a restaurant franchise.
There is alot to consider when buying a franchise. Things that you may not have thought of. How much do I need to invest, where do I get the money to inves,t who are going to be my employees, how many do I need, do you plan to commit full-time are you looking for something absentee (or something in the middle)? Will your household have any other income while you start up this new venture? Can I work from home, or do I need to lease retail space? By answering these questions you can help narrow down the categories that you would want to begin to investigate. Also you need to understand that a franchise contract is typically 10 years. If for some reason you choose to not continue to run that business it needs to be sold, you cannot simply close it.
You'll probably be surprised to learn that many services that you currently use or places that you frequent currently are franchises. The franchisor makes money by charging franchise fees, royalty and advertising payments in exchange for their business model to follow. there is also named recognition. I owned multiple Domino's Pizza franchises for 20 years. I'm pretty sure nobody would have called if it were Julie's Pizza. You pay them a percentage of your sales (not profits) to them weekly. There is typically an advertising fee. The franchisor has a vested interest in your success as the franchise publishes a document and (if they choose) reveal the earnings of each and every one of their current franchisees in order for a franchise to be
successful they need each franchisee to be successful within their system. Another thing is that the franchisor is getting into a partnership (typically 10 years) with you. They carefully select who they choose to award a territory. Again, the franchisor follows a very strict recipe for success as they need each and every franchisee within their system to be successful for their franchise system to work.
More questions about franchising can be sent to me at Julie@thefranchiseconsultingcompany.com. I offer a free service to assist in this most important decision of joining the millions that have chosen the path of business ownership and leave the Corporate world behind!