Franchise Services Severn MD

If you were trying an aerial trapeze stunt for the first time, would you do it without a net and safety harness? Probably not because chances are very good that you would fall. The same holds true for business ownership. If you’ve never been your own boss, doing it alone could be difficult, scary, and full of the unknown.

Statistics from the Small Business Administration show that one third of all new businesses do not survive their first two years. What is often missing from those failed businesses is a safety net – which is the very thing provided by franchising.

Just how does a company become a franchise? Here are the steps most franchisors go through before you even hear of the company.

• Franchising comes after a start-up business experiences success. They’ve learned what works and what doesn’t, made adjustments, tried a variety of strategies, tested and re-tested. Finally they have documented results and a system in place and want to grow. This is when they open a few franchises and retest every assumption.
  
• More adjustments are made and a few more franchises are awarded and opened, usually in a small number of test areas.
  
• With data coming from a variety of sources, the business can determine what type of marketing works and in what areas. Are customer expectations being met? Word of mouth will make or break any business concept.
  
• Franchisees in this new system are also sharing information with each other. Are they happy?

Author: Lori Kiser-Block

Copyright 2009 StartupNation, LLC

Click here to read more from StartupNation