Asking “Can I franchise my business?” shows that you have the good sense to look first and know what you are getting into before starting out in franchising

It seems that just about any business that can get some level of success in what they do may have that moment when they ask, “Can I franchise my business?” Franchising is the hot thing these days. This is not to say that is isn’t a fair question.  Franchising a business can be a huge step toward much greater profitability and a way to make your business take off faster than you could otherwise.

That question, “Can I franchise my business?” starts with where your business is in its growth plan. Obviously, if you are still working on reaching a level of profitability and stability in running the operation you have, that is no time to take on the big challenges of franchising the business.  So if you ask yourself, “Can I franchise my business?” because you have a dynamite business idea and a growing customer base, it might be best to wait until you have your “base” well established and the need to expand is pressing.

The very fact that you are nervous enough to ask “Can I franchise my business?” rather than just launching out shows that you have your head together. To ask the tough questions and bring some skepticism into the evaluation will pay you big time because before you spend a dime to franchise your operation, you will make sure you will be a winner in the franchising game and not one of the casualties.

Diving into franchising your business and succeeding may be a matter of who you know.

In reality that question, “Can I franchise my business?” could use with some review. Instead it might be smart to ask, “Should I franchise my business?”  An even more on target question might be, “Do I know enough to franchise my business?”  That doesn’t mean you are a dummy. It just means that those who go blindly charging into franchising and loose their shirts do so because they did not take the time to learn the ropes of the franchising adventure.

There are a few pitfalls, sand traps and a few cliffs you can fall off of and you need some help knowing where they are.  That is why the question, “Can I franchise my business?” might also be revised to, “Do I know people who can help me franchise my business?”  The last thing you should do is to launch out into the deep water of franchising without some skilled sailors on your boat, so to speak.

Fortunately, the skilled labor needed to make you a success in franchising are ready to help you out, for a fee.  But paying for a well established and experienced franchise lawyer and a solid franchise consultant may be just what it takes to put you in a place where the answer to that question, “Can I franchise my business?” is yes.

Be smart and check out that the franchise experts that you bring onto your team are honest and qualified people.  You are a savvy business person so you know how to check references.  Once you have a team of smart franchising gurus, set out to become a franchising guru yourself.  Look at every example franchise agreement and review knowledgeable literature on the “dos and don’ts” of the franchising game. When you do that, you will become one of the smart ones going into franchising your business and the outcome will be great success for you and your partners.