Why a Franchise?

     In a nutshell, the franchisee purchases someone else’s expertise, experience and method of doing business.

     You’re dissatisfied with the way you’re being treated by your company. Perhaps you’re an executive who has been displaced. You realize that your labors have been creating wealth for others but not for yourself. You’ve had the idea of owning your own business as a solution to these and other issues but you’ve heard all the horror stories about the failure rates of independent businesses. A franchise may be the answer for you.

      Franchising is nothing more or less than a business strategy for getting and keeping customers. It is a marketing system for creating an image in the minds of customers about the company’s products or services. It is a method for distributing products and services that satisfies customer needs. Franchising is a network of interdependent business relationships that allows a number of people to share a brand identification, a successful method of doing business, and a strong marketing and distribution system.

     For the franchisee, franchising is about risk reduction and safety. You give up the total freedom agentd with being an “independent owner” to become part of a group of people committed to building a brand and dominating markets using a common, tested operating system. You don’t have to guess about the most effective way to build your business, there is a specific system to use. 

     The franchisor provides a proven method of doing business (the operating system), a brand or trademark that will have value in the eyes of the customer based on execution of the operating system, and initial and ongoing support so you won’t have to reinvent the wheel to be successful. You provide capital to expand the brand faster than the franchisor can by itself and management talent to run the business and execute the operating system.

     A franchise system should also provide group buying power to cut your operating expenses, faster growth due to tested marketing programs, predictable results based on your adherence to the operating system and less risk of your invested capital.

     Ask yourself if you would rather own a McDonald's or an independent burger drive-in. The answer to that question will tell you whether franchising is worth exploring for you.