Franchising Made Simple.

The Franchise Company was founded in 1991 by Julie Waites as a franchise consulting business, to help businesses expand and grow their company using an effective, tailor-made franchise model. With over 25 years of experience in the industry, the Franchise Company have helped over 200 organisations from a wide variety of sectors and industries grow their business using a franchise model, from SMEs to blue chip organisations.

Our highly experienced team of franchise consultants have helped business owners for years, to expand their business and grow their operations using a proven business model, carefully curated for them by our team of experts. If you have a business that you’re thinking about developing into a franchise, then we can provide the help and advice you'll need to create a robust and successful franchise model.

What is Franchising?

Put simply, franchising is the process of expanding an established business by granting a licence to franchisees to own and operate their own business, under the brand and business model of the franchisor. In a franchise system, a franchisee will generally pay the franchisor to use their branding and established company identity, and then run their own location, largely independently, with the franchisor offering support and training in the operations and marketing of the franchise.

Franchising is an alternative to company owned expansion, which can be costly, time consuming and very difficult for the owner of the company. It is a highly successful model, with the vast majority of franchises becoming profitable, and very few failing.

Franchising is considered to be more affordable and less time consuming method of expansion, but does it come with its own difficulties and pitfalls, and not every business is suitable for a franchise model of expansion.

This is where The Franchise Company comes in. Once your company is in a position to franchise, our expert consultants will help guide you through the process of moving your business into a franchise model and helping to make your company a success.

Who Are The Franchise Company?

The Franchise Company is a specialist franchise consultancy business. With years of experience working with businesses to crease successful franchise models, we are experts in the development of franchises and franchise models across a wide variety of industries. Our passion is helping businesses realise their potential in a franchise system, and using our expertise to make sure that your journey franchising your business is successful and creates opportunity for you and your franchisees. We have close links within the franchising industry, including affiliation with the British Franchise Association (BFA) and several high street banks.

As one of the longest established franchise consultancies in the country, all of our consultants have experience working in franchisor environments and so understand the unique challenges faced when moving your business into a franchise model. This allows us to apply our knowledge to help clients prosper within the franchise model. We always give honest and transparent advice to make sure our clients are successful, and don’t fall into common traps and pitfalls that we see so many businesses struggle with.

When you work with us, you’ll also have one consultant who sees you through from initial discussions to the very end of the consultancy process. This allows us to really get to know our clients and gain a complete understanding of the business.

We start by assessing the suitability of the business for expansion as a franchise model. We want to see all of our clients succeed, so won’t always recommend franchising as the most feasible course of action. We always look to the long term to make sure the business has potential for longevity and right from the early development stages look to build in reasons for long term success within the franchise model.

Then, we plan. Your consultant will spend time with your company, understanding how you work and the things about your business that make it special. From top to bottom, we examine the way you work and how you’ve made your business successful so far. Using this in-depth knowledge, we can confirm the feasibility of your business to operate as a franchise whilst helping you to make absolutely sure that franchising is the right choice for you and your organisation. We do an in-depth examination of the finance, operations and marketing of the company and consider the market opportunity and any established franchise competitors, so we understand exactly how you work now, how this can translate into a franchise model and how you can maximise the commercial opportunity.

This extensive examination also allows us to design a bespoke franchise model, tailored to your company and its needs. We’ll carry out territory analysis, to show how you can expand your reach, both when starting out as a franchised business, and further in the future. We’ll also put together accurate financial models for both franchisors and franchisees to show how the business will need to operate as part of a franchise model, including initial and ongoing franchise fee structures.

If the planning and modelling of the franchise indicates that your business can operate successfully as a franchise, we’ll then move onto documentation and system development. Making sure your franchisees understand exactly who and what your business is, your core values and unique selling points is vital to creating a strong, long lasting brand, and documentation is how we make sure this happens. Your internal management and marketing systems are part of the commercial advantages that you offer to franchisees and we’ll help you understand how they can be effectively structured as part of your franchise model.

We also assist in creating a variety of franchise marketing and recruitment documents, including a franchise prospectus and marketing materials to promote your franchise to potential franchisees, creating a positive relationship that enhances the success of your franchise. These materials tell potential franchisees everything about your company, as well as the opportunities and value that franchising with your company can give them. You want to attract driven, competent, motivated franchisees who believe in your brand and want to make it a success, and with great marketing, training, recruitment and support systems and materials, The Franchise Company can help to make this happen.

Your operations manual and franchise agreement documents help to establish the responsibilities of the franchisor and franchisee, setting the stage for the relationship you’ll have in the coming years, which is why it’s so important to have high quality and in-depth documents. When you work with The Franchise Company, your consultant will have years of experience creating bespoke franchise documentation to help make sure your expansion gets started on the right foot, and sets you up for a long, successful relationship with your franchisees.

Then, we’ll support you to pilot the franchise. With the help of 1-3 carefully chosen franchisees, we can assist you to run an ongoing feedback, monitoring and review process across the pilot franchises. We create a feedback loop between all parties to help make the start of your franchising journey as easy and effective as possible.

Finally, after a successful pilot, we can help you start to expand. Our experience of franchising can be utilized to provide ongoing support to you and your franchisees as you expand, while also helping the organisation innovate and develop, and creating opportunities for further development. Specific support available here includes staff and franchisee training, franchise website and social media development, staff and franchisee mentoring and coaching support and ongoing assistance with franchise recruitment.

Your consultant will remain with you for as long as you need support, before you branch out fully into your successfully franchised business.

As a long-standing and highly respected franchise consultancy, we have a multitude of connections to help make the franchising process easy for our clients, including strong links with the British Franchise Association (BFA) - the regulatory body for franchises in the UK. We also have close relationships with several high street banks to help our clients on their journey as they move their business into a franchise model.

We also offer specialist services in international franchising and social franchising.

Is Franchising Right For Me?

Franchising is best for companies who are established and have been trading for at least twelve months. Ideally, you will have been trading for 2-3 years and are an established successful business with the capital and capacity for growth and a real market opportunity to exploit.

Some business models aren’t appropriate for franchising, as the model has to be able to support both the franchisor and the franchisee. For example, businesses that rely on very low gross profit margins or require specialist knowledge and skills might not be appropriate for the franchise model. Businesses catering to trends or providing products that may be rendered obsolete after a few years are also unlikely to be successful in a franchise system, due to the long-term nature of franchisor/franchisee relationships.

In a successful franchise system, the business model has to be established, proven and easily replicable by potential franchisees. The unique industry challenges and the pitfalls potential franchisors can find while setting up their business must all have been faced and overcome by the original owners of the business. When your business is ready to start looking into franchising as a potential path for growth, you should be running a tried and tested business model, and not be experimenting or trying new processes.

When it comes to franchising a company, your branding is one of the most important factors to your success. Having a strong brand that can portray your company's identity instantly and effectively, while being an organisation that franchisees are enthusiastic to join, and is suitable to expand nationally or internationally will help make your franchise process a success. A strong brand that permeates through all levels of the business will make your company a better candidate for the franchise model.

One of, if not the most important factor in creating a successful franchise is to recruit franchisees who are passionate and driven to help make the business successful. To get great franchisees, you have to be a great franchisor, and your business must be willing to allow franchisees independence, but still consistently offer high levels of support, training and development to franchisees.

It is important to remember that relationship between the franchisor and franchisee is not the same as an employer/employee relationship. Franchisees must be given the opportunity to lead and improve their own franchise, and in order to be successful, the franchisor has to be able to give franchisees this level of responsibility and independence. Clear, professional communication between franchisors and franchisees is a sign of a franchise with great potential.

If your business is ready to take on the challenges and rewards of becoming a franchised company, contact one of The Franchise Company’s consultants today, and see how our experienced team can help you grow your business as part of a franchise model.

International Franchising

As experts in helping your franchise business move to the next level, The Franchise Company have extensive experience in international franchising.

Moving your company and product into a brand new market can be a difficult process, and may require you to adapt your brand and business model to build success in different international markets. By working with The Franchise Company, you can feel confident we have the knowledge and understanding to make sure your company is a success as you move into markets different from the ones you know.

Franchising in international markets requires a strong understanding of consumers and potential franchisees in the area. Depending on what you, and they are looking for, your business model may have to adapt to become successful and popular in new markets.

Social Franchising

Social franchising has been growing significantly in recent years, and is the idea that the models and principles that make commercial franchising such a success can also be applied to a charitable or socially beneficial organisation. Social franchising is a relatively new concept, and usually carried out by non-governmental organisations or charities wanting to expand the scope of their operations and the locations they work in.

As experts in the challenges and difficulties social franchises face when first trying to get off the ground, . We are passionate about social franchising and helping organisations move into social franchising to allow them to do good in the world.

The BFA

The British Franchise Association (BFA) was established in 1977 as an accrediting body for the UK franchise sector. It promotes ethical practices for franchises, franchisors and franchisees, as well as the development of the franchise sector.

The BFA was founded as a response to an unfavourable view of the franchise sector at the time, and so the industry created a regulatory body of its own. Ethics and ethical practice are at the very heart of the BFA, and in order to become a member, companies must adhere to very strict criteria in all aspects of its franchise model, including operations, business models and the level of support and training offered to franchisees. It is a voluntary, self-accrediting body that aims to ensure best practice within the franchise sector.

For this reason, membership of the BFA is vital to an organisation new to the franchise sector, and gives new franchising companies stability and a stronger reputation in the eyes of the industry and other relevant bodies, such as financial institutions and potential franchisees.

The team at The Franchise Company have close relationships with the BFA, and as a BFA accredited franchise consultancy, we put the BFA’s code of ethics at the centre of our business, and of the businesses we help move into the franchise market. We are proud to be closely aligned with the BFA and its strong ethical standpoint, and to help introduce new franchises into the sector with safety and business ethics at the heart of their franchise models.

So, if you are a company ready to start your journey into becoming a successfully franchised business, and want to expand and improve your business with the assistance and expertise of one of the UKs longest standing franchise consultancies, contact one of our experienced franchise consultants today, and see how The Franchise Company can help you grow your business.

Marketing

When it comes to marketing your new franchise, there are many different paths you can take. As a franchise network, you have to consider both how you are going to market your network to potential franchisees, and how the franchise network will be marketed, as well as the kind of assistance and materials you’ll give to new franchisees when they come on board, with regards to marketing to their customers. This can be tough to start with - how do you know where to put your marketing budget? How do you know how much budget to set aside in the first place? Why should you be sending on marketing in the first place? All these questions and more are common for new franchisors moving their business into a franchise model.

Fortunately, there are plenty of different channels to choose from, making it easy to find a strategy that works for you, your franchisees and your customers.

Digital Marketing for Franchisors

Digital marketing is becoming increasingly important every day, as the world moves further and further online! When you hear the term “Digital Marketing”, the first thing that comes to lots of people’s minds is social media marketing, and you wouldn’t be wrong to think that! However, it’s not the only channel that can be used by franchisors and franchisees. SEO (search engine optimisation), PPC (pay-per-click advertising) and content marketing all play an important role in your digital strategy, and by combining these disciplines, you can create a strong, quality brand with a great presence online.

There are also plenty of offline methods that you can combine with your digital footprint, which you might be more familiar with. Incorporating both new media and online marketing with trade shows, leaflets & flyers in the local area is key to creating a marketing strategy that is effective and sets you up for success, both on and offline!