Franchising Library

Franchising Your Business

Thinking of Franchising a Business? Here’s why not every brand will succeed

Practically any business can be franchised, but the threshold question of whether that business *should* franchise is often overlooked, especially when a founder has early success. A threshold analysis provides the crucial initial evaluation that is often the difference between a franchise system that has legs and one that fails at launch.
How to Franchise Your Business — The Right Way

Development of your legal agreements is one of the last elements of developing a successful franchising strategy. Your FDD and Franchise Agreement should be developed only after a feasibility analysis and strategic plan. While you may have an operating business with a long history and experienced management, you are developing a *new* business – a franchise system.
Five Attributes of Great Franchise Systems

For many years we’ve advised and observed the world’s leading franchise brands, and without these five qualities, in our considerable experience, even the best business concept will not achieve greatness as a franchise system, and will often fail.

Developing a Franchise System

Franchise Growth Without Intermediaries

Why do franchisors continue to outsource core franchise development functions to third parties when the tools to internalize development have never been more powerful, efficient, or scalable?
Rethinking Franchising

Franchise system failure is regrettable – but rarely shocking. When it happens, the fallout does not land solely on the franchisor. It lands on the franchisees who invested capital, sweat equity, and trust in a system that was never built to endure.
Are You Ready to Franchise Your Business? Threshold Analysis Part One

Your goal is to ensure that your franchise system has the ability to consistently and sustainably replicate your brand standards from location to location.

Operations Training and Support

To Train or Not to Train

Successful franchisors understand they cannot fully eliminate the risk of co-employment liability in franchise training. This article explains ways to minimize that risk, including filtering decisions about training programs and content based on their impact on brand execution.
Training Franchise Managers to Coach their Teams

Unfortunately, when managers fail to coach, employees’ continued poor performance can have negative consequences on customers as well as morale. For managers who may have come to the position without coaching skills, as is the case for most first-time managers in a franchise as well as some franchisees, a structured approach to training is the best path forward.
Training Execution in Franchising: Problems and Solutions

Though problems in training execution can be the source of service or product issues, take the time to sort out whether other factors in your system are to blame. There may be multiple obstacles to effective training execution, each of them requiring careful analysis.

Documenting Your Business for Franchising

What Is a Franchise Operations Manual?

A franchise operations manual is the DNA of a franchise system – the foundation that governs franchise unit performance, procedures, and conduct. The manual sets out in detail the specifications, standards, and procedures with which franchisees must comply in order to operate their franchised businesses and consistently deliver on the franchisor’s brand promise.
Managing Labor Risk: Avoid joint employer and vicarious liability

We recommend scrubbing franchise manual libraries, training programs, and agreements to remove unnecessary controls. Our goal is to put the franchise relationship back into proper balance between brand standards versus control.
Four Best Practices in Franchise Manuals Wording

The current climate around joint employment issues should serve as a wake-up call to review your franchise operations manuals now with these best practices in mind. After these key writing tactics have been applied, future updates will be much easier.

Franchisee Recruiting

Interconnected: The relationship between franchisee recruitment and support

Franchisee recruitment and franchisee support form the backbone of a successful franchise system. They influence and reinforce each other in a symbiotic relationship that can make or break a franchise system’s success.
Creating the Profile of Your Ideal Franchisee

For franchisors, the key to successfully marketing their franchise opportunity begins with being able to create a profile of their ideal franchisee. This profile makes it easier to create a message that will reach and interest your target candidates, and to select media that will reach your target audience.
Finding the Right Candidate – Profiling in Franchisee Recruitment, Part 1

While financial qualification is certainly very important in franchisee selection, many candidates that are financially qualified would be terrible franchisees in your system.

International Franchising

Coming to America: International Franchise Brands Land on U.S. Shores

For every international franchise success story, countless brands have struggled or failed to gain traction. Understanding the factors that separate success from failure is essential for U.S. expansion.
Adapting Your Franchise Concept for International Markets

For changes to the franchise concept that can be approved, knowing the cost and how it will impact the bottom line of the franchisor and the franchisee will help in negotiations with the prospective franchisee.
Caution: International Franchising May Be Trickier than You Thought

Falling prey to flattery from prospective international franchisees, or believing in an opportunity that is “too good to be true” has caused many a U.S. franchisor to lose substantial amounts of money and harmed their brand.

Marketing and Branding

Retail Theater: Crafting an Immersive Shopping Experience in Franchising

The success of Retail Theater rests on how well you physically convey your brand’s story and the culture of your business, from even before the moment a customer steps through the door. Atmosphere, staff, product/service presentation, and packaging must all be orchestrated into a curated performance.
Adding a New Product or Service to Your Franchise System

George’s focus on franchise-system growth, instead of franchise-unit performance, makes him more typical than many in franchising would like to admit.
Franchisors Setting Prices – Tinkering with the rules of business?

“Law logic – an artificial system of reasoning, exclusively used in courts of justice, but good for nothing anywhere else.” – John Quincy Adams

Franchise Relations

MSA Worldwide’s response to the FTC’s Request for Information on franchise agreements & franchise business practices

In its update in 2007, the Commission decided to eliminate the requirement that franchise sales organizations and brokers provide material disclosure to the potential franchisees they are working with. While removing that information from a franchisor’s disclosure document was a sensible decision, eliminating broker information entirely left prospective franchisees in significant jeopardy.
Managing Your Franchise’s Reputation in Times of Crisis

Most professionals agree that the existence of a working crisis plan and its successful implementation must be viewed as important to the survival of business. The damage from a poorly handled crisis can cause long-lasting and often permanent damage to a company’s reputation and its marks.
The Franchisor – Franchisee Relationship

While the parent-child analogy is sometimes used to describe the relationship between franchisor and franchisee, it is neither the legal relationship nor even the practical business relationship.

Finance and Legal Issues in Franchising

American Franchise Act – Bipartisanship is back in style in Washington

The American Franchise Act (AFA) is a singularly important bill to clarify the meaning of joint employment. In the past ten years the definition of joint employment has changed four times, causing significant damage not only to franchisees and franchisor but to the American consumer, workers, and our economy.
Franchise Regulation: New FTC Rule Bans Non-Competes but Excludes Franchises

The Federal Trade Commission recently announced a new rule that will ban employers from imposing non-compete clauses on their workers – but the new rule will not prohibit non-compete provisions between franchisors and franchisees.
MSA Worldwide’s response to the FTC’s Request for Information on franchise agreements & franchise business practices

In its update in 2007, the Commission decided to eliminate the requirement that franchise sales organizations and brokers provide material disclosure to the potential franchisees they are working with. While removing that information from a franchisor’s disclosure document was a sensible decision, eliminating broker information entirely left prospective franchisees in significant jeopardy.

Real Estate and Territories

Understanding a Lease for a Franchise Location

Before you enter into negotiations with your landlord, it makes sense to check with your franchisor and determine what assistance and guidance they can provide you.
Retail Modeling – Encroachment avoidance in a franchise system

To evaluate the potential impact of new locations on existing locations, franchisors today are using increasingly sophisticated retail modeling techniques.
Finding A Great Location for your Franchise

Understanding your franchisor’s criteria for assessing potential locations is the beginning of the process – now, it’s time to go out and find that great location.

Strategic Planning in Franchise Systems

Protecting Brand Standards: Finding the right supply chain balance

While franchisors need to maintain brand consistency and quality standards across their networks, franchisees face increasing pressure to protect their profit margins in an inflationary environment. The most successful franchise systems recognize that supply chain management must balance the needs of consistently meeting brand standards with the economic realities facing franchisees.
Strategic and Long-Term Planning in Franchising

A detailed guide to developing your franchise system’s Strategic Plan, including utilizing a team approach to get all the elements to fit together.
Why Does Franchising Grow during Recessions?

An interesting phenomenon of a general downturn in the economy has often been the growth in franchise systems that occurs while the rest of the economy is going south.

Social Franchising

MSA Worldwide Ramps up its Response to Social Sector Needs with Social Franchising Initiative

MSA’s focus on social franchising extends back more than twenty years, supporting NGOs, donors, government agencies, and social franchisors.
Fundamentals of Good Social Franchise Design

Implementers and funders of social franchising will dramatically improve their bottom lines when they understand the fundamentals of franchising discussed in this article.
Fifty Shades of Franchising: Differentiating commercial, micro, social, and hybrid franchise models

A discussion of how the social and micro franchising communities of practice can collaborate so that the social franchising field of practice can advance more rapidly.

Associations and Events

The IFA International Committee

This committee oversees IFA’s International Department, which supports members outside U.S. borders through education, communications, trade missions, conferences, research, addressing trade and regulatory concerns, and working with partner organizations.
IFA, MSA Worldwide Announce Franchise Certification Partnership

MSA Worldwide has partnered with the IFA to offer continuing franchise education and certification through the IFA Certified Franchise Executive™(CFE) Program. “Understanding the Dynamics and Requirements of Commercial and Social Franchising” is a thirteen-week self-directed CFE course for franchise professionals.
VetFran: Helping Veterans become Job Providers

VetFran was founded in 1991 as a strategic initiative of the International Franchise Association (IFA), and is built upon the foundation of helping Veterans find careers in Franchising. VetFran includes over 650 IFA member companies that offer financial incentives, training, and mentoring to veterans interested in franchise ownership and/or a career path in franchising.

Market Trends in Franchising

It’s Time to Consider Privatizing Air Traffic Control

Franchising is a performance-based method in which standards are established, franchisees have incentives to meet those standards, and the scale of the system allows for replication of support and supply that makes it economically efficient at the system and local level.
Retail Theater: Crafting an Immersive Shopping Experience in Franchising

The success of Retail Theater rests on how well you physically convey your brand’s story and the culture of your business, from even before the moment a customer steps through the door. Atmosphere, staff, product/service presentation, and packaging must all be orchestrated into a curated performance.
Protecting Brand Standards: Finding the right supply chain balance

While franchisors need to maintain brand consistency and quality standards across their networks, franchisees face increasing pressure to protect their profit margins in an inflationary environment. The most successful franchise systems recognize that supply chain management must balance the needs of consistently meeting brand standards with the economic realities facing franchisees.

Buying a Franchise

How to decide if you are cut out to be a franchisee

Becoming a franchisee in a well-established franchise system has many advantages over starting a new business independently, but becoming a franchisee is not for everyone.
Top Ten Reasons to Invest in a Franchise

Expert Michael Seid’s top ten reasons for becoming a franchisee, with pros and cons, are essential reading for anyone considering investing in a franchise opportunity.
How Much Does a Franchise Cost?

It’s essential to make certain that you have adequate capital to not just open your new business, but also to operate your business through break-even.

The Basics of Franchising

Start-Up Costs: Determining Your Initial Franchise Investment

Smart franchisees investigate the costs in their area and modify the franchisor’s projections based upon the reality of their markets.
What is a Franchise: How Do Franchises Work?

Franchising is a system for expanding a business and distributing goods and services, and is based on a relationship between the brand owner and the local operator to skillfully and successfully expand.
Are You Ready to Be a Franchisee?

As a franchisee, you are agreeing to follow someone else’s operating system, including specific requirements for marketing, suppliers, and the products or services you offer.

Franchisor Interviews and Profiles

Why Franchising is Right for Enovana Green Cleaning

Bring all-natural cleaning to your neighborhood with an Enovana Green Cleaning franchise, using green cleaning products to deliver a more environmentally-friendly and healthier house cleaning experience.
Making a Splash in the Franchise World – Goldfish Swim School

Goldfish Swim School’s year-round swim lesson model for children 4 months to 12 years teaches swim and safety skills while building character, with one certified instructor for every four children. By Chris McCuiston, CEO & Co-Founder, Goldfish Swim School Franchising When my wife, Jenny, and I decided to start our own learn-to-swim business, we never…
Franchisor Profile: Shelly Sun, BrightStar Care

Shelly Sun, CFE, is CEO and Co-Founder of BrightStar Franchising, LLC, a healthcare franchise system providing the full continuum of home care, child care, and medical staffing services. Shelly also serves as Chair of the International Franchise Association’s Executive Committee. In the rapidly changing healthcare industry and regulatory environment, BrightStar Care franchisees – like all…

MSA Worldwide Franchising Resources & Library

MSA provides expert guidance on developing a successful and sustainable franchise system.

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