Is my business franchisable? This is one of the questions I get asked often.

The truth is; not all businesses are franchisable.

This question has been asked by many people but this article will give you the definitive
answer.

Franchising a business is an exciting endeavor. If you are interested in growing your
business and brand; franchising is an option for you to consider.

However, it is important that you do your due diligence.

It is important that you franchise your business methodically and not too fast where a lot
of financial losses can occur.

Here are some of the key factors to consider:

1. Are you ready to grow your business?

In order to start franchising your business, you must be ready to grow and expand your
business. The desire must be there because it is a process. If you would like to
franchise your business, but your intention is to open only two or three locations-then
franchising is not for you.

The goal of franchising is to GROW!

You should also evaluate yourself as a potential franchisor. You may be a good
business owner-but, not a good franchisor.

When you become a franchisor, you will also be an educator, trainer, and support
system for your franchisees.

2. Is your business profitable?

This is a key component of deciding to franchise your business. Are you making money
and will your franchisees make money as well?

You will also need to consider whether you have sufficient capital to make the upfront
investment required to set up a franchising operation.

Typical expenses include fees for legal and other professional advice, protecting
intellectual property, market research, and marketing and advertising, among other
things.

Some of the key indicators of profitability include the number of customers, year over
year sales, and the amount of demand in your geographic region and net profit of
revenue.

3. Do you have systems in place?

The next important tip to franchise your business smoothly is to have operations and
systems in place that keep the flywheel moving.

Once there is standardization in systems it makes the whole franchising process
easier as the managers and employees can be all aligned and working to the best of
their capacity.

In addition, having systems and thinking in systems will allow your franchise to be run
more efficiently and it will save time.

Consistency is also key because it will cause positive brand equity. For example, when
you go to different McDonald’s locations you always get the same experience for the
most part. When you go there they have uniformity in the brand.

4. Do you have a brand image?

When you have your unique franchise you don’t want to base it on a personal brand
because that will be very hard to replicate.

It is more important for the brand image to be one that can easily be franchised.

The best time to franchise a business is when there is demand.

This demand can be gauged by using focus groups, and by doing existing market
research, and sending out surveys and questionnaires to people who are in the region.

Also, by asking your customers what your brand represents.

In addition, it is important to have enough capital or access to capital when it is time to
franchise. Not having enough capital is the number one reason why businesses fail.

Have you considered franchising your business?