Many small business owners dream of franchising their existing businesses. As a former franchisor, many of these individuals contact me through one of our websites. Most future franchisors do not really understand what franchising really is or how it really works, they just like the idea of taking their company nationwide and making lots of money.
First of course they need a business plan and perhaps need some help with this in order to secure the 1 million dollars that it takes to franchise. A former franchisor or franchise consultant can certainly assist you in your business plan, no problem there. Sometimes the SBA and SCORE counselors are a little problematic on Franchising, if they do not have "franchise" experience, then that can be a huge problem.
Worse off, I went to a few of these types of people before franchising my business, they told me it wouldn't work? Amazing, because we ended up franchising it into 23 states, before I sold it and retired before my 40th birthday. Getting an SBA Loan is not very hard, but it may not be advisable for you either, so there are many things to consider there.
What will a franchise consultant need to know before they start working with you or consider taking a consulting job to help you with your business plan? Well, here are the first questions that I had recently when asked to assist a future franchisor:
- What sort of "Franchise Company" are you considering on creating?
- How long have you been in business so far?
- Have you read any of the following books?
- Franchise Bible
- Franchising 101
- Franchise and Licensing
- The E-Myth
Since, most franchise consultants work on a case by case scenario, they need to know more about what you are doing, as they may not be the most qualified to assist you, but the franchise industry is small and they all know a ton of people in the industry, so even if they do not feel comfortable advising you, they do know where to point you.
L. Winslow is an Economic, Political and Technology Advisor to the Online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entrepreneur http://www.worldthinktank.net Mr. Winslow's motto in life is; "Work Hard, Work Smart, Make Lots of Friends and Never Give Up!" Lance's future challenges include bicycling across the US and writing 100 eBooks, he has written 10 so far, even considering co-authors for a few, perhaps you wish to write a book too?
