Does anyone here run a franchise?

[PI Guy]

Originally Posted by Claire at Music Bugs

PI Guy, hello! I know you from other forums I think that franchising your company would be a great idea - let us know how it goes. I always fancied myself as a sleuth (I love Mme Ramotwe from No 1 Ladies Detective Agency) but would struggle to keep a straight face - would totally give the game away

How far are you down the route of franchising?

i have merged salgado investigations with trident investigations. working on a model that will be fair to all. we are the two pilot offices. currently looking for serious people to take it further.

[JoebeeKenobi]

Hi there... although I'm not a franchisee.. I do work in the franchise industry as part owner of a online franchise directory for 7 years now... In general I've heard only good things about starting up in franchising as it is much more successful than just going solo. My advice is to do your research and check out the franchise company and yes, speak to their franchisees. On the whole if you look for one that is BFA (British Franchise Association) Accredited then you know they have at least been checked out by the BFA and that their offering is kosher at least. Of course no business opportunity comes without risk... but checking out their support structures and knowing you will get the backup and help you need is what will set them aside from others. My Co-partner Nick, wrote a helpful blog article recently on how to choose a franchise which you might find helpful: Recession is presenting new opportunities for franchise start-ups | Franchise Blog at Select Your Franchise
It includes a "10 things to discover before buying a franchise" section which might be of help.

[mangostudio]

Hi guys

One of our clients (SphereMania) runs a franchise company across the UK with 11 locations, each of them a franchise. They're great guys and I'm sure they'll be willing to help or point you in the right direction and who best to speak too.

They recently became members of the BFA too.

Best of luck, Vinnie

[Mark]

Thanks. Feel free to invite them along: Feature: Invite your Friends and Colleagues!

[Angela "VirtualPA" Dawson]

Not a franchise as such, but I've bought a license to operate in the North of England providing training courses for PAs, secretaries and administrators to support them in setting up their own Virtual Assistant business.

It's early days and I've got my first course booked for the 16th & 17th October in Leeds.

Angela

[UK Business Network]

Originally Posted by Emma

If so, we'd love to hear your tale. Was it wasy to get going? Expensive? Any disasters along the way?

Does anyone own a franchise? As above!

We are currently looking at franchising each county, put some feelers out and had a fairly good result, looking at making it enough that they need to earn it back (create the drive in their sales) but enough that its very affordable and will not run at a loss (£499)

It may seem daft but our thinking is that we would rather have people buy into it then sales staff, there is so little drive when backed by a basic salary, I started with comms only at 16 and they were the days I wish would return.

Will keep you updated.

[skeeter]

Hello, we started a new company last year to sell a well respected (within its market) continetal brand in the UK. We acquired something called a Master License. This is where you are responsible for national distribtion.

I have developed business models for a couple of franchisors, prepared a clients' company for franchising and worked on the implementation for a franchisee or two.

All I would say, is that there is different levels of strata within the franchise business model. Each has its pitfalls. As the owner, you lose control. As the buyer, you are supposed to get a system that works. it is usually sink or swim for the buyer. I have seen some disasters.

Be careful if things are priced under £ 18,000. There is a reason for this. I will not divulge. But there is a reason. Think before you buy.

[redsocks]

Just a word of warning about filtafry. I was a franchisee for them for nearly three years and they took my franchise from me with no notice or compensation. In my opinion they are crooks.

Does anyone else have any stories about them? if so check out filtafry.freeforums.org

Cheers

[Wana Bee]

Never owned or worked for a franchise

[JoebeeKenobi]

Originally Posted by skeeter

...it is usually sink or swim for the buyer. I have seen some disasters...

Its true theres some rogues out there. I'm an avid fan of franchising (been connecting with many different franchise businesses around 7 years now) but I think many can fall into the illusion that the "franchise" label alone gives the business opportunity credibility and can lull the uninformed into a false sense of security. Its an investment and like any investment some good background checking and due dilligence should be carried out to give yourself the confidence to stump up your hard cash.

Theres nothing to stop anyone claiming their opportunity is a 'franchise' but by checking out the background of the company... chatting to their existing franchisees to see what their experiences are... and checking with the British Franchise Association to see if they are members or if there are any known issues with the franchise management team (historic failed businesses etc) can usually give you as much confidence as you can get.

It still doesn't guarantee success but will give you a good fighting chance to make it work if you know you have stable backup and support from the franchisor in conjunction with a well documented and proven model.

Joe

[Ray Stewart]

I have two clients who run children related franchises but they have a hard job making more than a wage out of them. These are definitely bias towards the franchisor as they take far more out than the people working the franchises and their hands are completely tied about marketing - no doubt in case they cross into another territory - but means their growth possibilities are almost nil. The allowed marketing doesn't work at all either.

I also looked at a courier franchise a few years ago for a client but managed to convince him before he sank £'000's in that he would struggle to make any money at all, let alone recoup the investment and make a living as well.

Finally, I took on a client who was a mobile mechanic. He had spent several years fighting his old franchisor for his money back due to failed promises, non existant vehicle and equipment etc.. He lost around £9k and this is back in the last century. The franchisor went bust - that was the excuse.

I expect there may be some reputable franchises out there but I would need to see some seriously impressive figures and several successful franchisees before I recommended a client put money into one.

[Emma]

Thanks for all the answers, everyone.

[AndyMyers]

We run two franchises - ORCA Local, which is a community based franchise, and ORCA Franchise, which helps small-medium sized businesses get online.