If your privately owned business is experiencing steady growth, you might be considering the idea of “franchise my business”. Many entrepreneurs dream of establishing a small, locally owned business and fostering it into one of the biggest companies in the country. All companies started out small, even McDonald’s and Walmart!
However, not every business is fit to be franchised. This is why you should speak with a franchise consultant who can tell you the truth about whether your business is suitable for franchising.
The last thing you want to do is spawn a handful of franchises that fail. This will only hurt your original business, especially as far as reputation is concerned. So, how do you know if your business is fit for franchising? To find out, here are five questions that you should ask any franchise consultant:
1. Does your business concept meet a basic consumer need or desire?
Your company needs to have a clear and defined business concept that targets the needs and desires of a particular consumer base. For example, if you run a store that sells a random assortment of used furniture, electronics, and knick-knacks, then you probably don’t have a strong business concept, even if your store is very successful.
In contrast, if you’ve developed a method for refinishing bathroom appliances that targets homeowners who want to save money on remodeling, you do have a strong business concept.
A good franchise consultant will help identify what your business concept is and whether it’s strong enough to appeal to basic consumer needs or desires.
2. Can your business concept be replicated elsewhere?
Your business concept may be very effective where you are located, but this doesn’t mean that it will be effective in other places.
For example, maybe you run a decorative cake business out of Chapel Hill, NC, that focuses on creating UNC-oriented designs.
This concept won’t work anywhere else unless you modify it for different universities—and even then, it will be limited to certain areas that are home to big schools.
3. Will your business concept be appealing to the franchisee?
By looking at your numbers and having an understanding of how your business concept appeals to consumers and whether it can be replicated, a franchise consultant will be able to determine if franchisees will actually be able to make a decent living. If they can’t, or if the margins will be slim, the franchise is going to be extremely difficult to market.
4. Will your franchise concept be beneficial to you?
Even if your franchisees are breaking even or making a slim margin, it may not be worth the time and effort required if you’re not going to benefit financially from franchising your business.
5. Will there be enough continuous support to keep the franchisee in the system?
Franchisees are not only going to need proper training and education regarding the execution and understanding of your business concept, but they are also going to need assistance training their staff, setting up their franchise, and marketing their franchise—as well as continual support throughout the life of the franchise.
These are five of the most important questions that you should ask a franchise consultant to determine whether your business is fit for franchising.
For a free franchise feasibility consultation, be sure to contact one of our franchise consultants at Accurate Franchising today. We own and operate eight franchise brands with more than 1,400 locations and have over 30 years of real-world franchising experience.
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