Franchising

Franchising has been another option for our career when we think about "be your own boss". I have been thinking of why people want to go to franchising model of business.

Surely, the Franchising Company would put up a good frontage to attract potential franchisee.

So the challenge to me is how do I know I have a profitable franchise with reasonable financial without burning a big hole? And at the same time, for Franchising to have a higher success rate, the Franchise system would have a proven track record. Nonetheless, my friend still requested me to engage a Franchising Consultant to give his expertise on the Franchising model.

From the search for Franchising consultants, I identified 3 Franchising consultants. The first Franchising consultant highlighted to me the key success areas like the ability of Franchisor to support when needed, availability of Franchisor expertise and how their model fit into the local situation.

The second Franchising consultant shared his view on the criteria in selecting the Franchising company for its financial strength, his local knowledge and chance of success. The third Franchising consultant instead asked me why do I want a Franchising model. I decided to probe further by telling him that Franchising help me to have a "Quick Jump Start" and also assist me to select a suitable location especially for food kiosk.

From the above, I manage to size up that Franchising consultants have reasonable knowledge about the Franchising model as well as dos and don't for Franchising model.

I would like to share what I had gathered about engaging Franchising consultant:

1. want him or her to play an independent role and give his assessment on the strength and opportunity that Franchisor profiles
2. has the ability to negotiate favorable terms when a suitable Franchisor being sourced
3. involve him recruit the right people to run the Franchising business

However, if I am from the Food and Beverage industry, I would have the fundamental knowledge in this industry. The short coming is my negotiation techniques for better deal. In any business setting, we must have the basic key success indicators.

From what I understand, Franchisor - franchisee relationship is just like having the courtship and subsequently getting married as partners. Know the Franchisor's work style and his team would be the first step for the success of getting a Franchise.