Franchise Tip 1: So what is a Franchise anyway?
Joel Caws - Technical Director, Select Your Franchise
Welcome to the first in a series of 10 Franchise Tips. We’ve created this series to help those new to franchising to understand the concept and look at the steps involved in going from an interest in starting your own franchise business to getting up and running. Our hope is that this will help to avoid some of the common pitfalls and get you well on your way. So on with the first tip:-
So what is a Franchise anyway?
You might have heard the word ‘franchise’ before but many people associate it with either a ‘movie franchise’ which relates to a collection of films or movies created around a central theme, or a big brand name such as McDonalds.
One of the best descriptions I’ve heard for a business franchise is actually how Nick Strong, my business partner in Select Your Franchise, explained it to me:-
“A franchise is essentially the documenting and replication of a proven business formula.”
I think this sums it up in a short understandable way although if you prefer a dictionary definition heres what Dictionary.com have to say about it:-
“… the right or license granted by a company to an individual or group to market its products or services in a specific territory…”
Obviously, the big named restaurant franchises such as McDonalds, Burger King and others, are excellent examples of how business format franchising can work on a large scale. The reason they work so well is because each store replicates the success of the original pilot businesses. That is to say the way they make and present their work, products, services, branding, staffing and in fact every element that makes them successful, can be duplicated. The resulting idea is that anyone with the right business acumen and desire to build their own business could set up a franchise business in their own locality and duplicate the success of the original pilot all over again.
This is what makes the franchising concept so successful. Rather than building a business blind, with no track record of knowing whether the business idea might succeed or not, you can build a business with the advantage of knowing its a tried and tested business model.
Tags: business opportunities, franchise, franchise business, franchise opportunities, franchise tips, joel caws
