Franchising may just be the most dynamic method of expanding a business in the twenty-first century. Yet not all of those choose to pursue this strategy will find it to be a "road to riches." Many companies have tried to franchise--only to fail in the attempt.
When deciding whether or to franchise your business, the iFranchise Group believes business owners must first determine if franchising is even a legitimate option for their business. With that in mind, the iFranchise Group has developed 12 criteria you can use to test the franchisability of your business. While not a definitive solution, 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 your business must be improved before you can begin offering franchises.
Business owners should also gain a thorough understanding of what's involved in franchising in terms of resources, costs and personnel. While your business may be ready to franchise, there may be financial, operational or resource barriers that need to be overcome you can proceed with this strategy.
Finally, assuming you have a franchisable business and the resources necessary to succeed, your next step should be to determine whether franchising is the best strategy based on your personal goals and objectives: Just because a business can be franchised doesn't mean it should be franchised. To determine this, you'll need to weigh the advantages and disadvantages of each of your alternative strategies vs. the advantages of franchising.
Each strategy should then be evaluated based on your goals, objectives, resources and tolerance for risk. To best analyze these alternatives, we suggest you order our free videotape on "
How to Franchise a Business" This tape will provide you with the framework for analysis that will allow you to understand whether franchising is the best strategy for reaching your business goals.