A lot is written in franchising circles about a franchisor’s search for the right franchisees. Indeed, a franchise can only thrive with the right franchisees delivering the business. So where do you start, as someone looking for a franchise, if you want to find the right match for you?
Informing yourself about franchising, what it is and what you can expect if you become a franchisee is a very good place to start. Understanding the commitments that you would undertake, the legal and financial implications and how to choose the right franchise to suit your needs should help you to avoid the pitfall of buying into something that you maybe don’t enjoy or worse, will not deliver what you need.
I’ve written previously about documenting a personal audit – understand your needs, skills and wants, in advance of applying for a franchise. So you know who you are and what you might be looking for…but where do you find the franchise to suit you?
Of course, Google is going to be a good friend to you – and equally as challenging, with the mind-boggling number of opportunities that are on offer. Here’s my thoughts on where to start.
British Franchise Association
The British Franchise Association (bfa) is a standards based organisation and a good UK benchmark for quality franchising. Franchisors (and affiliates and suppliers to the industry) apply and may be accredited to a specific standard. Members are advertised on their website and you can take some level of reassurance that they have been reviewed by industry professionals. You will, however, still need to ensure you undertake due diligence to ensure that what you are buying in to is the right franchise for you.
The bfa also run a course called ‘Buy a Franchise’ which offers a form of training in how to evaluate a franchise. There is a small charge for this.
Franchise directories
Franchise directories are a good source of franchise opportunities. Often split into genre (van-based, children’s services, B2B etc) and sometimes filtered by location and investment level (more on that later), it helps focus the attention on more suitable franchises. Franchisors pay to advertise on these portals and that means you will not be seeing all of the opportunities in the market (only those who’ve chosen to advertise) so it will benefit you to go to a number of different sites.
You can often subscribe to the sites and they may send information of new opportunities or more information on their current listings. It is important to note that since these sites are paid for by the advertisers and it will not cost you anything more than your name, email address and phone contact number.
There are usually two options – enquiries about a specific opportunity or a general enquiry about the genre you’re looking in. Either way, be prepared to receive phone calls and emails. I recommend that you list those opportunities you’ve looked at and keep notes on what you like and/or any contact made.
Your information will be sent to the relevant franchisors and a number of things can happen – you may be immediately sent an email with some information, you may be emailed with an invite to book a time to call and/or you may receive a phone call. It is a great idea to have a voicemail on your phone, and for you to return calls and emails – even just to say it is not of interest to you. Unsubscribe if you have the option or you will continue to receive information until you do so.
Franchisor websites
Well worth a visit, most franchises operate an ‘operations’ website and have a franchising section or another site for their franchise. These will provide good initial information that should allow you to get a feel for the business and whether it may be something for you. You’ll find that different information is offered – some will put the financial commitments and rewards to be expected on their sites. Others will be less forthcoming and you’ll need to follow their discovery process to find the financial breakdowns. But nearly all will tell you what being a franchisee entails, what they do and you can get a feel for the franchise culture from this information and the operations site.
If you’re simply doing a search on franchises, remember that the bigger franchises are likely to appear at the top of the ranking. This is one of the occasions that looking on several pages may be worthwhile if it’s a general search – being specific with sector might help if you already know what you’re targeting.
Exhibitions
Like the directories, franchisors pay to attend so you don’t have to. It’s a great way to gauge the personality of the franchise by stopping at a stand to chat. If you leave your details, expect to be contacted (and answer the emails/calls!) but don’t feel you have to give your information. If it is of interest, let them know. And if it isn’t, just let them know too. The great thing is having people to ask direct questions to – pick some simple evaluation questions that are in line with what you are looking for. Don’t feel obliged just because you’ve stopped to look.
Franchise or Business Magazines
Franchise magazines will often have case studies of franchisees, opinion pieces (such as this!) and advertorial on franchise opportunities. Subscribing for a period of time (and you’ll often fine there is no charge for these, since the advertisers pay) gives you another dimension for researching the opportunities.
Social media
Look on social media for franchisors and franchisees – the search may need to be specific though, so is a good follow up to the initial web search. Don’t forget – people may not always write good things so you need to take a balanced view.
Franchise finding services
There are some businesses who will help you to find the right business for you. This may be a paid service and could be well worth the investment to find the option to suit you. I recommend that you find someone ‘neutral’ in the process. That means they get to know you and then look at the whole of market – that they are not affiliated to just a few brands.
Decision
It’s your decision and it’s a big one. Of course there is an element of ‘sales’ in every franchise recruiter response. But they need to find the right person to bring into the network – someone who can do, or learn to do, whatever the franchise demands of them. Questioning should be two-way, thought provoking and you should never feel pressurised to buy into any franchise.
