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Franchising

This series has been provided by startups.co.uk, which has references with Great Britain stats and British currency, so just mentally make an adjustment.

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Choosing a franchisor

What is Franchising?
Is Franchising for you?
Pros & Cons
Choosing a Franchisor
If it all goes wrong!
Insurance

There may be plenty of franchises that you like the look of, but how do you whittle them down to find the one that is right for you?

  • Look at your own interests - If you like being outdoors there are plenty of franchises that require outside work like household repairs or pulling up tree stumps. If you enjoy serving people food – catering could suit you. If you are mad about cars there are plenty of vehicle service franchises that involve things like repairing dents, paint jobs or alloy wheels.
  • Check your family circumstances - Could you cope with the long hours that can be involved in something like retail or catering? If you have children there are part-time franchises providing exercise, sport or music classes for kids that operate only out of school hours and where you can even takes your children along.
  • Check out the franchise itself - Has it been tried and tested thoroughly and has it got a successful track record? Don't just ask the franchisor – check what the franchising departments of the big banks think about it and ask around among people in its line of business.
  • Is it reputable? - Once again ask around among those likely to know – there have been dodgy franchises that are only interested in collecting the initial fees from new franchisees and then leave them with little support, reasoning that if the franchisee goes bust their area can be resold to another new franchisee. Franchises that belong the British Franchising Association (BFA) are supposed to abide by a code of ethics - check whether the franchise is a member. However, the BFA code is only voluntary and membership is not a guarantee. There are reputable franchises that choose not to belong.
  • Check out the people running the franchise - Do you like them and could you work with them? Are they professional? Remember your future success depends in part on them.
  • Always check out what existing franchisees think of a franchise - Do not simply call a list of names given by the franchisor – dodgy franchisors have been known to plant people on the list who will paint a very rosy picture when the opposite is true. Ask for a list of names and contact details from which you can choose yourself. Talk to them at length.

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