Small Business: Should Your Small Business Consider Franchising?

If your business is doing well and attracting the attention of potential franchisors, there are few factors you should consider before going into business. For small businesses especially, franchising can be a great way to expand your customer base and business model. 

But franchising can also bring more responsibility and differing reputations of your company. Before you begin the process, look through a few of these questions and suggestions to better determine if your small business should look into the franchising market.

1) Is there a location in need of your products or services that cannot get to your flagship store easily? The obvious solution to this problem would be to enable a shipping and delivery capability into your store’s website. But if that is just not enough and there is a person that is interested in opening their own store under your company name in that location, perhaps the idea deserves a bit more research.

2) Is your trademark registered? If you haven’t taken the time to register your trademark, definitely look into that before beginning the franchising process. When you allow someone else to operate under your trademark, without registering it, you are allowing that person to make a profit from your company trademark. But on the other side, this person can also do terrible business under your trademark and ruin your company’s reputation. Furthermore, if anyone else decides to use your trademark without explicit permission, a suit can be brought against him or her in federal court.

3) Are you prepared to offer support, supplies and resources for the franchisee?  Before you consider franchising your company, ask yourself if your business model could use any improvements? Are you happy with your operating systems? Do you have regulations that you want to implement before expansion occurs? These are questions you will need to grapple with so that your franchisee can abide by your rules and make your company look better. Franchises should be an asset, not a hassle. 

 

4) Have you prepared reasonably for franchising? Preparing to expand your business into the world of franchisees can mean a number of things. Have you seen a business lawyer or spoken to any other professionals about the advantages of franchising? The most common mistakes people make when attempting this kind of business is: underestimating costs, confusing the idea of franchisor and business owner, and franchising too soon. Could you be guilty of any of these mistakes? If so, perhaps you need more time or information before agreeing to a franchise.

It’s definitely a big decision to expand your business beyond your immediate control. With a little research, hard work and dedication, however, it could prove to be very profitable.

This post was written by M.G. Bachemin in association with Townlaw Licensing. For more information about franchising, please visit http://www.townlaw-licensing.com/.

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