Thinking of turning your existing business into a franchise? It’s a great idea – as long as you do it correctly. Here are several questions you need to consider before moving forward with your idea to franchise:

Do I have a mature enough business to franchise?

Just as with people, maturity doesn’t just mean number of years existing. Your business needs to be established, successful, and clear on its goals – all signs of the maturity needed to excel as a franchise.

Are you willing to sacrifice entrepreneurial independence for the success of the franchise?

If you are like many business owners, it was that free entrepreneurial spirit that attracted you to business ownership in the first place. Unfortunately, you’ll need to give some of that up if you franchise. There are many successful business owners who just aren’t cut out to be franchisers because their strength isn’t in managing operations. You need to evaluate your own weaknesses before deciding if franchising is right for you.

What can I do to avoid mistakes made by many?

Franchising changes how you do business. It’s about more than just expanding a brand and because your role will be different, you need to consider what mistakes you’re likely to make. You can then take a look at the best way to avoid those mistakes because in most cases, they’ve been made by plenty of franchisors before you.

Can you offer support?

One of your main duties as a franchisor – and in many cases this duty is legally bound – is to provide support to your franchisees. Is this possible? Do you have the time and desire to give to your franchise investors what they need? If you can’t be constantly available to them franchising might not be right for you.

Where do I begin?

How many franchises can you support? What comes next? How do I manage operations and still keep my original business model intact? All of these are questions you’ll need to answer when franchising. For more information or help achieving your franchising goals, give us a call!