In my last blog, I shared a brief history of franchising. Which led us to this question, why would anyone want to franchise their business?
There are so many different reasons a business owner would want to franchise. But by far the most common is the reality to grow a concept, brand, or business on a larger scale requires resources and capital. And like Iron Valley Real Estate, many franchises started out with one person, an idea, and a vision to open one business that turned into something that could be, and people wanted to see, replicated.
The original founder may start to expand on their own, they may get some others to join in their journey, until they recognize that there are only so many hours in a day, and only so many dollars they can invest on their own. What do they do, they either stop or slow growth, or they consider other options to grow. This leads to one possible option, creating a franchise.
Deciding to franchise is not easy. First, there is a lot of legal work that must happen. I mean a lot. This will consume hours and days of your time in addition to the hours and days you already need to put into your business. Next, comes the fear. The fear of turning over your baby, of letting others take what you created and run with it. There is also the fear that it won’t be well received in other places. Then there are the critics, the ones who will say you are crazy, or your idea is ridiculous, or just flat out tell you that you will fail.
As with any other entrepreneurial decision, you need to be ready to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. But once you get on the other side you will hear things like, I wish we had this sooner or I love what this concept gives me, gives my clients. The saying reward is not without risk is at the center of deciding to franchise your business.
It is also the center of why someone would decide to become a franchisee. In my next blog in this series, I will talk about just that, why would anyone want to own a franchise.
