This is a question many business owners have contemplated and for many the decision has been the key to building a successful business. Do you have any idea of what is involved? Could it be possible given the size of your business? Are the risks too great?

The development of the franchise program is the foundation of the franchise system. There are a number of key decisions that are made during the development of the strategy that are absolutely critical to the future success of the business. This is an area where expert advice should be sought to ensure the franchise system is developed to a quality standard that will provide the foundation of the business.

The businesses that are entering franchising can, in the opinion of DC Strategy, be loosely categorised into two broad groups. Firstly, those who build a strong foundation with a view to building a sustainable business for the franchisor and franchisee. Secondly, those who are seeking to make money from selling franchises (transactional franchising) and are more focused on franchising than the value proposition to the end consumer.

Controversial as this may appear one need only cast their eye across the statistics in franchising to understand the number of franchise systems that have very small networks. Size of itself is no indication as every successful franchise system starts out with only a few operations. The important issue is the length of time the business has been franchising, the success of the franchisees and the growth trajectory for the business.

If you are thinking about franchising you are best placed to make a fully informed and well considered decision.