What To Expect When Investing In A Franchise

So, you've decided to make the leap and reap the benefits of investing in a franchise. What next, you might wonder? Here's what you can expect when you officially become a franchisee.

Buying into a brand

When you take on any franchise, from cleaning franchises to catering franchises, you are buying into a brand, which has its own model or system and ways of doing things. The benefit of this is that this will be tried-and-trusted, based on extensive research and experience. You will inherit this when you take on the franchise, and the franchisor will explain everything you need to know about running the business and what makes the brand tick. This means that, at the start, you'll probably have a lot of interaction with the franchisor, to help you learn the ropes and connect with the brand ethos. You'll be given a manual or company 'bible' explaining all the ins and outs of running the franchise.

While it might seem that there are a lot of rules and ways of doing things that you have to follow, you will also be given a degree of autonomy when running the business; this is what makes franchising such an appealing proposition for many. It means you get the best of both worlds: support and guidance when you need it from an established brand, but the flexibility and freedom to run the business to suit you, for example, by choosing what hours to work.

Location

When you're thinking about franchise opportunities, you need to decide whether you'd prefer to look at home-based franchises or if you don't mind working from a physical location. There are benefits to both arrangements, and it depends on what you want from the franchise and the type of franchise you opt for.

If you take on a franchise that will have a physical location, the franchisor may be able to help you with choosing a particular site, or they may have a site in mind that they think will best suit the business.

Training

One of the benefits of franchising is that you will be given training from experts in all aspects of the business. As well as initial training to get you started, as part of the franchise agreement, you can expect ongoing training, especially if there are any changes to the way a company operates or the services and products it offers. Quite often, there may be networking events and get-togethers with those working within the franchise network, enabling you to learn from each other.

Support

Every franchise arrangement is different, but you can expect a certain level of support and assistance from those within the franchise network. For example, you may be given help with the financial aspects of the business, allowing you to focus on other key areas. The type and level of support you can expect will be clearly explained to you from the moment you take on the franchise.

The good thing is that whenever you encounter a problem with the business, there should be someone you can contact within the network who can provide you with the guidance and advice you need. There's every chance they'll have seen or experienced a similar problem themselves, so they will know how to tackle it without causing too much impact on the business, or your stress levels!

Suppliers

If you have chosen a franchise that deals with selling goods and services, then the franchisor will talk to you about where to obtain the supplies that you'll need to operate the business. In many cases, the franchise business might use the same suppliers throughout the network, in order to maintain the same quality standards across the chain.

Marketing

Marketing is a key aspect of any franchising arrangement, and the level of support you're given and how much flexibility you have in this area will differ from one business to the next. The franchisor will explain right from the start what the expectations are with regards to marketing activities. Quite often, all those within the franchise network contribute financially towards national marketing campaigns, but you may also be expected to devise your own marketing initiatives and contribute towards business development and growth.

Customers

If you're investing in a franchise for the first time, inevitably, you might be worried about having to drum up business and get customers to use your services or buy your goods. The good thing is that by already having a recognised name and reputation, attracting customers should be much easier to achieve than if you were starting a brand new business from scratch. In some cases, depending on the nature of the franchise, you may also be assigned key customers or clients, which could be a lucrative way to really get your franchise off the ground. A franchisor will provide you with all the details of any key customers, enabling you to quickly establish a seamless working relationship.

About Joel Bissitt

Joel Bissitt has been an entrepreneur since the age of 19, now 29 years on, he has experience in many different industries, including retail, catering, health & fitness, technology, and sport. Bissitt has been a Franchisor twice and owns Infinity Business Growth Network Limited, a franchise consultancy business that also owns several other franchise portals, including Franchise UK, the UK's largest franchise directory. Franchise UK was established in 2004 and generated more than 18,000 franchise recruitment leads in 2018.