One thing you absolutely must get right is your market research and preparation before committing to starting your own franchise. It’s very easy to waste a lot of effort and money on a franchise idea which is doomed to fail.
Owning a franchise has an impressive ring but don’t get caught up in the ‘bling’ factor of it before you’re really sure it has a good chance to succeed. The power to convince ourselves of what we want to believe is strong.
Researching should take about 6 months to one year to complete properly and only when the green light is given there can you start to consider seriously the possibility of owning a franchise.
Now a word about franchisees. The first one is always the hardest to find, why? Because your franchise model is as yet unproven and what you’re really looking for is a pioneer who will take the extra risk involved with testing it. Remember that you must consider things from the franchisees point of view and be sympathetic to their position.
In order to make it easer to sign your first franchisee you can offer a reduced initial fee and/or reduced royalty rates. This is to sweeten the attractiveness of buying into your franchise and to reward them for taking the potential risk of an ‘unknown runner’. It’s only fair they be rewarded for that.
If this initial franchisee does well you’ll have some proven track history and can raise your fees back up to their correct market value.
Of all the stages in franchising, the success of that first franchisee is probably the most crucial. It’s advisable to baby sit them to a greater extent than you normally would in order to help them succeed. You see their success is directly linked to the success of your franchise, they are one and the same.
In part 3 we’ll take a close look at the important process of selecting the right people for franchisees. If anything is true it’s this, franchising is a people business.
The writer is a successful businessman who runs his own music franchise. You can also check out his excellent online product reviews on inground pool prices and find some fantastic deals for inground pool kits by visiting his site.