Member Article

Franchising? Things to consider

As business mentor here at the North East Business and Innovation Centre (BIC) I speak to a wide variety of business, all at various stages with different concerns and questions.

Over the last few months I have seen an increase in businesses coming to me wanting franchise advice so I thought it best to put a few points down for those to consider if it’s the right decision for them and their business before taking the leap.

If you have a successful business then this can be a very effective way of growing, use your blueprint for expansion, but you must do your research and seek advice before you go down this road.

Consider the demands that franchising will place on the business. Time and money must be invested into researching and marketing the format so you really do have to look at your current outputs. Your business, broadly speaking, needs to be one that can be replicated in different locations not just in the UK but internationally and as I said earlier this is a marriage contract and be ready to answer a lot of questions from any potential franchisors.

If you are a business owner thinking about franchising I would advise you seek advice from the British Franchise Association (BFA) www.thebfa.org one of the BFA’s main roles is to help potential franchisees recognise the good franchise and the no do good.

This isn’t something that could be entered lightly and this is certainly not a decision to be made overnight so if you are considering the route of franchising then please give me a call 0191 516 6170.

Louise.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Louise Hardy .