Considering Franchising an Existing Business?

Franchising is the most dynamic method of expanding a business in the twentieth century.  Yet, not all of those that venture upon this strategy will find that to be a "road to riches."  Many companies have tried to franchise only to fail in the attempt.  

When making a decision to franchise, the iFranchise Group believes that business owners must first determine if franchising is even a legitimate option.  With this in mind, the iFranchise Group has developed twelve criteria of franchisability that you can use to test the franchisability of your business.  While not a definitive, applying this test to your business will at least allow you to know where you stand and perhaps provide you with some insight as to how a business must be improved in order to franchise.

Secondly, business owners should gain a thorough understanding of what is involved in franchising , in terms of resources, costs, and personnel.  While your business may be ready to franchise, there may be financial, operational, or resources barriers that should be overcome before proceeding with this strategy.

Finally, assuming that you have a franchisable business and the resources necessary to succeed, your next step should be to determine if franchising is the best strategy based on your own personal goals and objectives.  Just because a business can be franchised does not mean that it should be franchised.  To do this, you will need to measure the advantages and disadvantages of each of your alternative strategies versus the advantages of franchising .   

Each strategy should then be evaluated based on the goals, objectives, resources, and tolerance for risk.  To best analyze these alternatives, we suggest that you order our free video on "How to Franchise a Business."   This videotape will provide you with the framework for analysis that will allow you to understand whether franchising is the best strategy to allow you to reach your business goals.