Franchising A Start-up: Five Tips On How To Expand Your Business
The thought of expanding a start-up business can be exciting and scary at the same time for business owners. But if you are ready to take the leap and offer your products and services to a bigger audience, you need to arm yourself first with the right knowledge and tools to make the franchising of your brand successful.
If you own a start-up and are looking to grow your business further, here are some useful tips that can help you with the expansion process:
- Make a thorough research and start slowly
It is essential to have an in-depth understanding of the franchise business model and how it works because its operations take a different form than other businesses. As such, gathering all the facts and information that you need about franchising will leave no room for unpleasant surprises. These include evaluating how your business works and how you want your franchisees to replicate the model on which your start-up is running. Moreover, having a clear overview of the franchising costs will help you prepare the business financially. Experiment by starting with one franchise first and see how it runs. If it’s successful, then you can consider further expansion of the business.
- Have a sound marketing strategy
No business in the industry achieved success without having an effective marketing strategy. This same is true when marketing your start-up to potential franchisees. A complicated business model can spook franchisees out and turn them away. Ensuring that your business model is straightforward, has clear guidelines and is simple enough to understand and execute will help prospective franchisees choose your business entity over others.
- Select franchisees smartly
Finding the right people to franchise your start-up and represent your brand can prove to be tricky. Sure, you can find people with the capital, but are they competent enough to appropriately portray your brand based on your beliefs? In order for your business to succeed in expanding, you need skilled franchisees who are passionate about progressing in the industry and delivering the best service to customers, as well as keeping in line with the brand’s original business model and protecting its reputation.
- Get legal help
Hiring a franchise attorney to give you professional advice about the laws related to franchising is highly recommended not only to protect yourself legally but also because they can help you in case a legal problem arises between you and the franchisee. For example, factors such as franchise agreement and Franchise Disclosure Document should be discussed with your franchise lawyer, carefully laid out and agreed upon by both parties so that you and your franchisee are on the same page.
- Scout for ideal locations
The success of a franchise business strongly relies on establishing it at the right place and at the right time. Understanding the concept of your franchise will help narrow down your target audience and identify where most of them are located and what drives them to the business. Other factors that will help you determine the perfect location for your franchise are ease of access into the location, nearby competitors and establishments, and of course, negotiating reasonable terms of lease with the lessor.
Franchising is a great method of growing your business further as well as its profits. Equipped with all the valuable data and help you can get from other franchisors and experts in the franchising industry, you’ll be confident that expanding your start-up is an ideal step towards the success of the business.