Franchising Your Business

Franchising one's own business is an interesting way to achieve growth and increased profitability. Before you undertake to franchise your business, you must first ensure that you have the necessary resources, patience, brand, relationships and systems in place to help establish and train franchisees. Above all, you must be able to develop and test you business to ensure that the business, its products and services are franchisable.

The Franchising Code of Conduct (FCC) is designed to protect potential franchisees from any unscrupulous conduct by franchisors, and requires the disclosure of important information to the franchisee. The FCC has recently been updated, with new changes being implemented on 1 July 2010. These changes are designed to give new or potential franchisees information so that they can make a reasonably informed decision about the franchise they are looking to enter in to.

The FCC stipulates that a franchisor is required to give the potential franchisee copies of the:

• Franchise Agreement (in final form)

• Disclosure Document

• Franchising Code of Conduct

• Lease (if applicable)

As a franchisor, you are under obligation to offer training to franchisees to educate them in business systems and operations. It is also important to develop a model for your franchise system in order to launch and maintain the franchising of your business.

Some of the advantages of franchising your business include:

Ability to expand the business without the need to manage each individual outlet
Franchisee pay an initial capital fee for the right to replicate your business, as well as an ongoing royalty fee
Selected franchisees tend to be motivated, experienced and able to add value to your network

However, it is important to remember that franchising your business is not an easy route to business success and increased net profit. Franchising your business is risky and requires large amounts of patience and capital. You will be responsible for guiding the new franchisee during the set up of new outlets, as well tasks such as training in the future.

If you are unsure about whether your business is suitable for franchising then seek professional advice. Our dedicated team can assist you with all your franchising related matters. Complete and submit the Express Enquiry form on the top right hand side of this page and we will contact you to discuss your enquiry or call us on 1300 QUINNS (1300 784 667) or on +61 2 9223 9166 to arrange an appointment.