How to Franchise Your Business and Multiply Your Success: Expert Tips and Strategies

What exactly is a franchise? A franchise, for the would-be small business owners, happens to be a self-employment business opportunity.

It will be possible for you to commence your personal company trading under a recognized brand with support and guidance on virtually everything including marketing, financial planning, and HR.

In This Article

Small Business Franchising Guide

Franchising, for the small business owners, is a means to expand more cost-effectively and quickly instead of opening more company outlets by granting individuals the right to operate their business under your systems and brand. Legal safeguards happen to be in place for maintaining brand control, protection, and consistency.

How does it function?

Given below is exactly how a franchise functions.

Franchising is similar to having the blueprint for a business. The concept here is that the franchisor has undergone the procedure of establishing the brand and he has gained the loyalty of the customers plus learned how to improve the business through experience.

Franchising shows somebody else the means to repeat success. Subway or Domino’s comes with an established track record and in case you have ordered food items at these places, the store used by you was actually operated by a franchisee and not by any corporate brand. They are accountable for the products and the staff in spite of operating employing a bigger brand.

A fee is paid by the franchisees for starting the business and following that, monthly royalties. In return for that they receive in-depth training plus ongoing support from the franchisor whenever required. In case they face any adverse situation, a franchisee can go to the head office – along with any other franchisee likewise within the network – for real-life suggestions as well as assistance for overcoming a challenge.

When prepared, it is possible for the franchisee to market their business to any purchaser who has been accepted by the franchisor; therefore, they are not only self-employed but also building an asset for the upcoming days.

What happens to be the criteria when it comes to franchising any business?

At the basic level, for getting franchised your company ought to be:

Proven – not a concept but demonstrable proof of success

Profitable – at an adequate level for both franchisor as well as franchisee

Teachable – It will be of no use to franchising a business which only 3 individuals could operate

Transferable – ideal for different geographies

You will likewise require a great brand as well as differentiation of some sort in the market. And it is also essential that your business has got an appeal for the long-term instead of being a short-term fad.

Why do companies franchise?

The benefits include the following:

Quicker expansion

In case care is taken for setting up the franchise properly from the very beginning then development can be as fast as the time required to find, and adequately support the franchises to develop.

Lower capital outlay

After the model has been established, the expansion will come primarily by means of the investment made by the franchisees which implies that it will cost much less to develop.

Lesser ongoing expenses

The head office of a franchise backs up its network of small business owners by means of a team of workers; however, franchisees will be employing the stuff of each outlet, maintaining accounts, and so forth.

Better performance

Franchises have got an interest in the business and therefore due to everything for succeeding, unlike a manager who is regarded almost the same. Approximately 30% of turnover growth has been reported by the retailers after transforming a company-owned outlet to a franchise.

Strength in numbers

The most effective franchise brands are actually those which can integrate franchisees as a collective network of small business owners while getting the immense power of shared experience, concepts, and know-how from a particular group which has been pulling in an identical direction.

Benefits of becoming a franchisee

• While some other individual has undergone the experimentation period of growing and developing the business, it is up to you to do the rest.

• More possibility of self-employment success statistically: while 90% report profitability, yearly rates of franchisee failures are below 5%.

• Backup from experienced individuals on virtually any aspect of operating the business.

• Being an integral part of a larger brand, generating loyalty, expectations, and recognition.

• Shared know-how and experience from the franchisor as well as other franchisees.

It appears to be simpler, and therefore, some business owners would rather open a franchise instead of their personal business. The advantages of a franchise consist of brand equity, operational or marketing assistance, as well as a confirmed track record. Nevertheless, even franchisees require time for research out there. We are going to mention the procedure of opening a franchise for your assistance.

We have pointed out the 7 steps to consider while starting a franchise:

1. Perform Your Preliminary Research

The initial step when you wish to open a franchise would be to find out more about franchising on the whole, such as what you should expect, how it functions, and how to choose from all options open to you. Sites such as FranchiseGator can assist you to discover franchise opportunities matching your unique requirements.

Perform your research and pick to open a franchise best suited for your requirements once you have identified several franchises to open. Listed here are some key elements that you should take into account while picking a franchise:

• Personal preference – Which kind of franchise business you want to own (e.g. technology-related items, food business, along with other types of services)?

• Cost of the franchise – What happens to be the total expense of the franchise (such as property lease, the franchise charge, training expenditures, insurance, equipment, plus more)?

• Internal policies as well as other regulations – What happens to be the internal plans and policies of the franchise? Will they work with your individual management style?

Online Research

After selecting the franchise you would like to open, you ought to know every single detail regarding their franchising terms. Typically preliminary research commences online – you will find out more info regarding them after going to the website of the franchise. Besides their website, you may also like to see other sources, such as ratings and testimonials from their former and current franchise owners.

Franchise Disclosure Statement

Once you allow the franchisors to understand regarding your interest, they are going to offer a Franchise Disclosure Document, which is also referred to as a UFOC. It describes the franchising charges, guidelines, your obligations, along with their economic as well as legal background.

You should analyze these regulations and make certain that you will be able to satisfy your commitments to the franchise.

2. Show up at Discovery Day

After selecting a franchise, you will be invited by the franchisor to Discovery Day which happens to be a day-long event where one can meet privately. Here you can get more information on the franchise’s business tradition, policies, values, and the individuals you’ll be working with. In the same way, the franchisor can also know you better as a prospective business partner.

Normally, on this day the franchisor will make a decision whether they are going to work with you. What precisely a franchisor searches for may differ from one business to another. Apart from certain qualifications (such as business experience, college degree, trade accreditations, in addition to adequate money to invest), a franchisor ought to know that you are dedicated and also interested in their services and products.

A normal schedule for this particular day consists of one-on-one conferences, group presentations, as well as appointments to current franchises.

Ensure that you take advantage of the discovery day and that your remaining queries are answered. After this day, franchisors will often want you to come to a decision promptly.

3. Get Your Franchise Agreement reviewed

Taking into consideration that everything goes properly with the discovery day, the franchisor is going to present the franchise contract to you. This happens to be the formal agreement which provides you with the right of opening a franchise. You should usually seek advice from a legal professional with franchise experience for helping you with the franchise contract.

Take note of the claims that the franchisor makes during the meetings and find out whether they are defined in the agreement. For example, make certain that this is clearly laid out in the agreement in case the franchisor is assured of providing lawful support in case of a lawsuit. Exactly the same applies to pricing, regulations on suppliers, protection of property, transfer of possession, royalty charges, hiring of employees, training, and so forth.

After talking to the franchisor discuss the agreement thoroughly along with your expectations. In the event of any discrepancy between the verbal promises and the written agreement inform the franchisor.

In most cases, they are going to inform you that the verbal assurance has been done in error and those within the agreement are the genuine terms. When needed, negotiate those terms.

4. Get the Appropriate Franchise Funding

Prior to signing the agreement, it is advisable to ensure that you have adequate funds for covering the franchise expense along with other types of expenditures. Franchisors will typically expect that your franchise fee is going to be delivered along with the signed agreement. You might think of applying for new business loans for financing your startup franchise.

Financing alternatives for Starting your franchise

Given below is a list of the financing alternatives for starting the franchise.

ROBS

A ROBS (Rollover for Business Startups) allows you to make use of cash from your retirement account for investing in the franchise without having to pay taxes or early withdrawal fines.

As compared to every other startup loan ROBS is generally quicker to obtain. Furthermore, it will be fairly easy to put together a ROBS and there is no need to repay interest or debt since it is not a loan.

A ROBS enables you to make use of at least $50k in the retirement account of yours to purchase a fresh franchise business.

SBA Loan

This type of loan is among the most effective ways for covering the expenses of your startup franchise. These loans are actually confirmed by the authorities, and therefore, they come with reduced interest rates.

However, new businesses might find it somewhat hard to become accredited for financing. Nevertheless, the review procedure could be streamlined in case the SBA has already authorized loans to the franchise opened by you.

Conventional Loan from the bank

One more alternative will be to acquire a conventional bank business loan. Nevertheless, the option is not always reliable because so many banks reject startups.

Ensure that you come in with a powerful business program dedicated to franchises so as to improve your chances. Furthermore, be ready to present the business plan in a clear manner.

Franchisor Financing

Several franchisors can loan the cash to you directly. At times, they might partner with a lender or financial institution for providing loans. The main advantage of obtaining a financial loan from their partner lender could be that the lender has already been acquainted with the business model of the brand, and you may also obtain assistance while filling in the application.

Additional Funding Options

Usually, a credit rating of 680 or even higher would be needed for acquiring financing to purchase or open up a franchise. If it is impossible to receive funding from the sources stated previously for some reason, you will find additional franchise financing alternatives as well.

These consist of crowdfunding, microloans, as well as angel investors among other things. Small business credit cards happen to be another good option for financing amounts of around $20K.

After obtaining financing for your franchise, a business checking account would be needed for keeping your individual plus business assets separate. In fact, Chase. happens to be a fantastic choice to fit your banking requirements. At present, they have got 4,800 branches, a mobile app, 17,000 ATMs, along with a website.

5. Pick a Franchise Location

While your funding has been done, it is now possible to sign the franchise contract and start to plan the operation of the franchise enterprise. At this moment, the subsequent action would be to select a location. Some guidelines will be usually provided by the franchisor to assist you in finding an excellent location according to their business investigation.

It is possible for franchisors to have certain stringent specifications with regards to a commercial real-estate site including the minimal total area and a specific number of parking slots needed.

Furthermore, the majority of the franchisors have got certain territory specifications.

For example, it is essential for the location of a storefront or eatery to be within a specific range of other franchises. Usually, the territory protected will be smaller in case of a larger franchise. You may want to pick a location depending on traffic, and this might improve your sales.

Purchasing vs. Leasing Your Location

While opening a franchise the majority of the franchise owners are ripped between purchasing or renting a property. To begin with, franchise owners will be leasing a property due to the fact that the risk is lower and it demands less cash in advance. Nevertheless, think about purchasing commercial real estate should you be intending to remain in the identical area for about 7 years or even more.

You will come across business real estate loans that can finance the property purchase. These consist of SBA 504, SBA 7(a), Standard Bank Loans, Hard Money Loans as well as Online Marketplace Loans among other things. The average rates are going to range between 3.5% and 19% according to the loan type as well as your credentials being a borrower.

All those seeking to lease property ought to perform the following:

For the Retail Spaces

Seriously consider the five location specifications (is the region secure, close to your target consumers, close to competitors, accessible, plus close to well-matched organizations?)
Make an effort to calculate the total area needed by you
Negotiate the rent without having to extend the lease for the retail area longer than you are comfy

For Office Spaces

Pay only for the quality needed by you. B-class in addition to C-class structures can perform nevertheless in spite of not being that attractive
Take notice of the location of customers, workers, and other business requirements

6. Consider the Franchisee Training provided

Next, the most essential thing that must be done by you will be to consider the essential franchise training packages which the franchisor provides. This might take place prior to signing a lease, or whilst you are trying to find locations.

An excellent training course will teach you all you need to know regarding services or products – moreover, it will teach you in making negotiations with suppliers, marketing, employing as well as handling staff, and operations like bookkeeping, filing of permits, generating reports, and much more. In most cases, it is going to last a couple of weeks, with a blend of classroom in addition to on-site coaching along with equipment.

7. Get ready for the Opening Day

Having everything set up, you should consider opening a franchise for getting the franchise geared up for business. The leftover tasks might consist of purchasing or leasing equipment, renovating the interior, filling inventory, hiring employees, marketing your open jobs, and training your employees.

Using the services of good workers is definitely amongst the most difficult parts that you will face while commencing a business. Fortunately, you will find a variety of ways to get high-quality employees, both offline as well as online.

Planning a Grand Opening

For the opening ceremony, as much as 20% of the initial year marketing budget should be invested. Consult with your franchisor regarding what has been done by the other profitable franchisees for their opening ceremonies.

Takeaway

A franchise is not going to completely take the risk out of commencing small businesses. Although a proven model is provided by it to check out – from branding, services, or products, as well as day-to-day operations – it might make you fairly limited.

While choosing to open a franchise, you ought to comprehensively go through the franchise contract and the disclosure document, and look for legal counsel from a franchise legal professional. With the help of this guide, opening your franchise will be an easy job.