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ENTREPRENEUR GUIDE

How To Franchise Your Business

If your business is doing well, and your products or services are in high demand, it may be time to think about franchising your business. Franchising not only provides customers with the choice of buying products and services from a name that they know and trust, it also allows the franchising business owner to grow and increase sales and profits to their full potential.

Since franchisees usually pay all the startup costs, one of the greatest things about franchising your business is that it doesn't take much capital on your end. However, there are costs involved. The main costs are having an operations manual written, implementing a training program for your franchisees, writing and implementing a marketing plan, legal costs and costs associated with other professional assistance.

The first step to franchising your business is to find a good franchise attorney. This professional will write all the basic legal documents, including your Uniform Franchise Offering Circular (UFOC) and your franchise agreement. They will also work to ensure that your trademark is protected and help you comply with the franchising laws in your state.

You will also need to have an operations manual written. This is the guideline that your franchisees will be required to follow. Its purpose is to help franchisees run successful businesses and to protect your trademark and other copyrighted material, by telling franchisees how they can and cannot use your material.

The operating manual should ensure quality control, by making sure that the franchisees follow a certain protocol. The manual covers topics such as opening procedures and day-to-day operations of a franchise. Furthermore, the operations manual should put limits on your liability when it comes to the actions of franchisees and their employees. Work with your lawyer and your accountant if you are writing the manual yourself. Otherwise, hire a professional consultant or franchise company to take care of this for you.

You will need to design and implement a training program for new franchisees. Training the people who will own franchises will be vital to their success, which is a reflection of your success as well. This may require training manuals, as well as personnel to do the training. A business coach or consultant can help you design the right training program for the type of business you are franchising.

Finally, you will need two marketing plans – one to market your franchise opportunity to potential franchisees, and another to market your franchise to potential customers. The marketing of all of the franchises is usually paid for with the marketing pool fund, which each franchisee contributes to, as agreed to in the franchise agreement. You should have a solid marketing plan in place, as potential franchisees would want to know about it in advance.

Marketing the franchise opportunity is a bit easier. You can market your franchise online at franchise opportunity websites such as GlobalBX and FranchiseLeader.com, business opportunity magazines and newspapers, as well as in the classified ads in various geographical locations.

Franchise companies, which specialize in setting up franchises, can help you with all aspects of franchising your business. This is often the easiest way to franchise, but not necessarily the least expensive. Be sure that you are using a reputable franchise company.

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