Franchises
Franchises are a simple principle where a proven business are licensed to others to resell their products and service with the knowledge of the brand and reputation already established.
A franchise is a proven and developed business concept that has the potential to grow through one of the many different models of franchising such as master franchises in different countries, regional franchises within a country, independent franchises of defined regions, and licensing of unit businesses.
There are many types of franchises, detailed below, including all sectors of business. Different types of franchises are found in the retail sectors, food and catering, transport and vehicle services, business and commercial sectors, property, and skill based personal services. All of these types of franchise can be further divided into many sub-categories.
Franchising involves the payment of fees and royalties to a franchisor in return for training, marketing and business support from the franchisor. Both new and established brands have chosen franchising as their method of expanding regionally, nationally and internationally.
Franchising is a popular way for individuals to get into business with limited risk and a proven business model together with the support of the franchisor.
The different types of franchises provide advantages to entrepreneurs by providing an established brand identity, a proven business model and training, enabling new franchises to be successful without trial and error. The franchisor will require the third party to use the same logos, uniforms, pricing, and business methods in order to maintain the standards and reputation they have already established.
Types of Franchises
There are many types of franchises available. If you are looking to start a new franchise business based on a proven business model, it is important to know which industry sector you would like to be involved in, the level of financial commitment you have available or can raise, and the commitment of your time involved.
The unit model is the most well known model of franchising and the franchisor will usually expect only a percentage return from its franchisees, but will retain control over product development, branding and distribution.
A master franchisee will be able to control a group of franchises in a designated country, state or region and will usually have similar rights as a franchisor to establish market potential, recruit local franchisees and provide the training and support for their area.
There are five main types of Franchises, broadly broken into manual and executive in the way they operate.
Business to Business Franchises – The type of franchisee in these businesses will be out negotiating the provision of services or products to other business and will not be directly in touch with consumers. For this type of franchise premises may often be required for the production side of the business, such as printing, communications, or sign and design manufacture.
Management Franchises – This type of franchise is typically run from regional or geographic head offices and will involve the development, management and co-ordination of a group of operatives or team of providers for the service or product. This type of franchise can be either a manual franchise such as van based businesses and service sector providers or executive franchises such as training, education, and white collar services. This type of management franchise will not be directly dealing with the end consumers or receivers of the products or services. In this type of franchise, the franchisee will be responsible for the marketing and management of the business while staff will be responsible for the sales of the product or the provision of the service.
Retail Franchises – This type of franchise will usually be owner operated from a retail outlet, in the high street or retail park. An established and proven brand with products and service will provide revenue from walk in customers purchasing direct. This type of franchise can be found in many different industries including fashion, IT, technology, food, education, leisure and services. Retail franchises will require the right location and customer base in order to create the sales of the products or services with good customer service through their employees. The retail type of franchise will often require significant investment with rent and design costs to create the image of the brand chosen.
Investment Franchises – This type of franchise requires a significant amount of financial investment and the franchisee will normally work in a managerial and advisory role rather than in a direct manor. For this type of franchise experience in managing a large team of employees is usual, such as a hotel, a restaurant, or department store. The franchisee, often a corporate investor, will delegate the running of the business to an executive team.
Single Operator Franchises – This type of franchise will involve a single operator selling products or providing a service within a specific trade or industry. In this type of franchise the franchisor will provide the brand name or trademark together with relevant equipment, uniforms and marketing material in order for the franchisee to sell the products or deliver the services to an established standard and reputation. With smaller levels of investment, this type of franchise is suitable for home based business, mobile operators or smaller start up businesses. This type of franchise relies on brand recognition and quality assurance based on reputation and recommendation. An executive single operator franchisee, with the types of franchises including accountants, product or skill trainers and consultants, will have knowledge and experience in their field of business.
Find Franchise Opportunities
To find franchise opportunites visit the Browse Merchants section on The Reseller Network to view current franchise opportunities. You do not need to register a profile to browse and find franchise opportunites, however by registering a Reseller (franchisee) on The Reseller Network you will be able you to find franchise opportunites suitable for yourself and also contact franchisors directly for detailed information on franchise opportunities of interest. There are many different industries and categories, areas and countries, and various levels of investment. The search tool in Browse Merchants will help you to find franchise opportunites that meet your criteria.
There are many other ways to find franchise opportunites, including on the internet, at exhibitions, in the press, through a consultant or trade organisation, or simply walking down a high street. The Reseller Network brings all of these mediums together in one global platform enabling franchisees, start ups and entrepreneurs to get all the information, resources and current franchise opportunities in one easy place completely free of charge.
To find the franchise opportunity that is right for you it is important to establish what you would enjoy committing your time and investment to, where your interests will permit dedication and effort to deliver business success, and which franchisor can provide the training support and products or service which will enable you to be successful as a franchisee.
Both new and established franchisors use The Reseller Network to find new franchisees as their preferred method of expansion. It is important to find a franchise opportunity that can supply the right product or service that you will be confident you can find customers for, in order to achieve the incomes and profits expected in return for your commitment. Browsing through different franchisors profiles and opportunities on The Reseller Network will provide information on many franchise opportunities across all industries.
Most franchisors want to find a franchisee that will want to work in hands on way in order to take advantage of someone who wants to be a successful business owner. To find a franchise that meets yours and the franchisors requirements with regards to financial commitment and capability to operate, you can consider the training and support each can offer you. Some franchisors provide all the necessary training and support and no experience may be necessary, while others may want to find a franchisee with qualifications in order to meet the requirements of the business type.
On The Reseller Network you can find franchise opportunites from a home run part time business to a well known high street brand, or a white collar business to business franchise to an online business to consumer franchise.
Researching carefully you should be able to find a franchise opportunity that will match your investment level, your personal skills and interests and your personal and family circumstances in relation to time and availability to work.
Franchisors will be looking to find a franchisee that is both motivated and has an enthusiasm for building a successful business to their established standards of sales and service. You must find a franchise opportunity that has a system and procedures to which you will adhere, as flexibility and freedom to do your own thing, will be limited by the franchisor.
It is essential to find a franchise opportunity that imposes image, products and operational standards that you approve of and can deliver for yourself. It is also essential find a franchise opportunity that is expanding successfully, to new businesses in new areas.
When you find a franchise it is not necessarily the most expensive franchise opportunity that delivers the highest incomes, but rather calculate realistically your own forecasts for costs and revenue for growing the business in your area.
Benefits of Franchising
There are many benefits of franchising. The benefits of becoming a franchisee are that the franchisor has already established a profitable business model that is tried, tested and proven to be successful. The products or services that they provide are in demand and could be supplied and sold or provided in new areas, counties or even countries as their reputation and brand awareness increases.
Another benefit of franchising is that the franchisor has already come up with a business concept, put it through the development process, and ironed out initial operational problems. They will be in a position to train, provide suppliers, and understand the marketing to find new customers, enabling them to support the franchisee in starting their new business. Another benefit of franchising is having access to a network of experience and support, reducing the time to becoming successful.
Franchisors with a well established track record of success will be recommended by trade bodies and organisations and may have support from financial providers for assisting in the start up costs. Brand identity and marketing strategies may also be provided offering numerous added benefits of franchising in your area.
All franchisors will already have been independently recognised as a business model that can be successfully repeated by working with new franchisees in new areas. The franchisor will therefore be in a position to provide skills training and have an operating business system for running the business already set up.
A further benefit of franchising is that your customers will understand that you offer a consistency of value and service based on existing established franchises. A key benefit of franching is that you are being provided with an established route to owning your own business but with back up and support from the franchisor.
An additional benefit of franchising is that you will be able to research and establish the business finances and profitability of existing franchisees and see how long they have been successful and being able to speak to other franchisees for information on actually running the business.
One of the most important benefits of franchising is that the business starts up costs and potential revenue will already be calculated and unexpected extra costs of trial and error are avoided. You will be able to benefit from franchising by determining the value and appeal of the business and the sustainability of the chosen type of franchise. Your licence fees are up front and then management fees and or percentages of royalties or sales etc are known up front.
The franchisor will have predetermined the size of territory that is required for a sustainable customer base, will have calculated the financial requirements in terms of start up and operating costs, and established a structure for licence fess and royalties as applicable, enabling you to benefit from franchising the same business model. Once you have decided on the franchise for you, all you have to do is launch, work hard following procedures and standards, and you are the owner of a successful business.