In business there’s always more than one way to do something, and this is no different when it comes to growth and expansion. Growing your business takes a lot of work, from building up your brand to finding new locations where you’re more likely to be successful. While there is a lot to be said for building up your business organically, franchising your business has proven to be a good source for rapid growth.
Franchising gives you the opportunity to take your business to other parts of the UK, thereby widening your geographical appeal and increasing your reach. This increases your influence as a brand and can help your business to become firmly established amongst your competitors.
If you decide to franchise your business, there are certain steps that you need to take, and you can follow franchise models from companies like InXpress. Here are some preliminary tips to help you get your new franchise off the ground.
Assess and Plan
If you want to franchise your business, then it’s important that your business model is solid. The most successful franchises offer familiarity, tapping into the public consciousness to provide them with what they want, but with a twist or something special to draw people in. Does your business have a great unique selling point? Will it have wide appeal if you expand to other parts of the country?
It’s also important that you know if your business is suited to being franchised. Restaurants with a speciality like Pizza Hut or cleaning companies are well suited to being franchised as they already have a wide-spread appeal. If you think your business has wide-appeal, then franchising may be for you.
Build your Brand
Your brand is extremely important, and the strength of your brand will play a huge part in your business success. Once you franchise your business, you will effectively be trusting other people to represent that brand across the country so it’s crucial that you are confident in it.
Remember that your brand is not just a description of your business, it’s also represents your values and culture. Work on your brand before franchising your business, build up a presence online and engage with your potential customers.
Legal Aspects
A franchise is not the same as an independent business and is therefore subject to different legal requirements. For instance, you will need to register your brand, logo and so on with the relevant authorities, as well as drawing up a franchise contract. The contract will establish the obligations of everyone involved, so you should contact a solicitor to handle these processes for you.
Turning your business into a franchise can be a great way to increase your income and success, so long as you take the right steps.
