Do You Have the Right Mindset and Goals
Determining whether or not you are ready to franchise your business involves a decision making process that must start with you, your goals and your business mindset. Sure, your business needs to be franchisable and you need the right guidance and franchise blueprint to get started but before we get any further into the franchising process it is important to start with you.
Is Franchising Right for You?
As a franchisor you must be committed to establishing and building systems that are focused on systemizing the steps that have made your business a success. The process of franchising your business is an on-going process and always a work in progress where you focus on your business, your business systems, improving your business systems and educating and training your future franchisee partners to duplicate your success. You must be focused on building a business (a franchise business) that is separate and distinct from your existing business (the business that you are franchising) and, over, time you must be focused on building an organization that supports the operations of your franchisees and is focused on the expansion of your brand.
When evaluating whether or not franchising is right for you, consider that when done correctly, franchising is extremely flexible and scalable business model. Franchise success, depending your expectations and goals, comes and many forms and does not necessarily require that your system grow past 100 franchisees. So very successful franchise systems have 20, 30 or 50 operating units and their systems thrive.
Are Your Goals Consistent with Franchising
You don't franchise because you want to make more money.
You franchise because you have a great business and brand (albeit, maybe small but emerging) with a really great product or service and you are looking for the right legal and business strategy to expand. If this is your mindset, then it is safe to say that your goals are consistent with franchising. So lets discuss legitimate franchising goals in more detail and if your goals match, well, franchising may be right for you:
Goal 1
To expand your business and brand by establishing additional operating units that are strategically located within your state, regionally and nationally.
Goal 2
To work with prospective partners (franchisees) who you are willing to train and support and, in return, have these franchisee partners establish and manage their own franchised operating units.
Goal 3
To build an organization and business (a franchise business) that is separate and distinct from your existing business and one that is focused on strategically scaling-up your business model, supporting franchisees and to continuously improving the business, marketing and operational systems of your Business.
Goal 4
To create a win-win scenario for you and your franchisee partners where you expand and grow your brand, you monetize the brand and business know-how that you have already built and your franchisee partners gain a competitive advantage in building out a franchised business that is supported by you.
If franchising is right for you, then you need to share these goals. Also, getting back to having the right mindset, consider that many great businesses and franchise systems did not start off as "great". They were "good enough" and through dedication, focused execution and a commitment to continuous improvement, they created great businesses and franchise systems.
Do you share a similar mindset? Do you share the right franchising goals? If you do, then the next question is whether or not your business is "franchisable" and if it is how do you successfully launch a franchise system.
