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The Curiously Strong Way to Expand Your Business
Do you have a successful business but don't know how to expand it? Do your customers love your products and services and often tell you that you should take your business nationwide? (or worldwide?) Do you have a unique business concept that if you could just get people to sell it for you, you know it would be a huge hit? Do you have a great product or service but you're struggling to find commissioned salespeople that will sell it for you? __________ These are common frustrations that I often hear from small business owners. I received an email the other day that reminded me of one simple solution that solves the aforementioned problems. Okay, maybe it's not so simple, but it's definitely one solution that is widely employed but only by a very small subset of businesses. The Solution to the Problem and the Curiously Strong Email that I Received that Reminded Me of this Solution Here's a snapshot of the the email I received that reminded me of this solution. http://www.davidfrey.us/recommends/altoid Did you have the same reaction I did? Altoids? A franchise? What a novel idea. Well, it's not actually a franchise they're advertising, but...franchising IS a very effective way to expand your business. How a Friend of Mine Grew a Consulting Franchise from $0 to $8 Million in Less than 10 Months I witnessed first hand how effective franchising can be when a friend of mine started a consulting franchise from scratch and built it into an $8 million dollar company in less than 10 months! And he didn't even have one client! Can you believe that. He didn't have one client. He simply took his processes, procedures and business model and franchised it and then sold it to other consultants. Actually, he "licensed" his system rather than franchising it. It was amazing to behold. (I was a little jealous :-) But Why Do So Very Few Business Owners Franchise? ...Probably for several reasons: 1. They think it's too complicated. 2. They fear they'll lose control. 3. They believe it's very expensive. 4. They don't think they have a business that can be franchised. Or, they probably just didn't know how to go about it so they never pursued it. All of these fears are unfounded. They are myths (like my friend proved). Most any business can be franchised. The franchisability of a business has more to do with how you run your business than the business you are in. Here Are Ten Elements that Make Your Business Franchiseable 1. First You do need a decent business concept. But it doesn't have to be a novel concept. Heck, look at how many hamburger joints are franchised. 2. Second You should have a good operational system. This means that many of your operations are somewhat systematized. (If you want a good step-by-step guide by someone who used to do this for a living go to http://www.successideas.com/BizBlueprint.htm) 3. Third Your business needs to be somewhat simple. By that I mean, you should be able to teach it to someone else in a relatively short amount of time. 4. Fourth Your business needs to make money. It's no use franchising a business that isn't profitable. If your franchisee can make around a 15% return on their money then you're okay. 5. Fifth You have to be able to manage a corporation. You no longer will be managing a small business so you'll have to put your franchisor hat on and sharpen your management skills. 6. Sixth Does your business have a uniqueness to it. This flies in the face of what I told you in the first element, but it does help. 7. Seventh Your business needs to be able to thrive in any locale. It should not have a regional flavor to it to the point that it wouldn't work in another part of the country. 8. Eighth The industry your business is in preferably should not be dominated by huge conglomerates. Industries with lots of Mom and Pop shops is a good sign. 9. Ninth Can the inventory that your business uses be financed. You'll need to create financial leverage so it's best to have assets that can be financed. 10. Tenth Are you willing to take advice and invest in the proper help you'll need to franchise your business. You might be a great window company but you probably don't know much about franchising so you'll need to invest in professional help. The following are several companies that help small businesses who want to franchise make their dream a reality. ___________ FranCorp Premier Franchising http://www.PremierFranchising.com Horwath Franchising http://www.franchise-executive.com The iFranchise Group The Franchise Strategies Group NOTE: I have no personal experience with any of these companies and do not endorse any one franshise consulting company. Conclusion Franchising is a viable marketing strategy to expand your business. Again, I've seen franchising literally explode businesses in a very short period of time. And there are other ways of expanding your business without having to "franchise" your business. But I'm not a lawyer so I'm going to talk about them. :-) |
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