HOW TO OPEN A FRANCHISE STORE
Step 1:
Keeping track right you're money
In my work experience I have met aspiring entrepreneurs who despite having ideas and ambitions, nevertheless do not have sufficient financial resources to realize their dream. In short, if you have the money for a hatchback, you cannot expect to walk out of a dealership with a super car. The first assessment you need to make then concerns your investment capacity. What is the amount of money you can devote to open a franchise business? When you have a rough figure well in mind, you have to relate it to the expenses you will have to incur to launch the business, some temporary, some long-term. For example, in addition to the franchise costs, you have to consider the deposit for the room rents, the brokerage of the real estate agency, the cash to meet the first expenses. And also a little cash, especially if the business model you have chosen does not provide for daily cashflow, but longer collection times.
Step 2:
The choice of location.
A few months ago I was approached by a client who intended to open a franchise in the fast food business. The idea was very original and he was also very knowledgeable. Yet, he was convinced that he would open the first outlet in a very suburban area of his city, because he had been born and raised there. Respecting his emotional connection to the area, I persuaded him to consider another location, placing his fast food outlet in the city center, where there is a strong pedestrian flow, or within a shopping mall that typically has a plaza that gathers stores intended for food service despite the fact that the cost of cannons was significantly higher. The choice of location becomes critical to the success or failure to start a store: a careful study of the catchment area and the quality of the area, allows you to make estimates of sales volume and turnover. The choice of “location” not surprisingly is the issue I addressed first in my book “Let’s franchise” and to which I devoted an entire chapter.
Step 3:
Become aware of your attitude.
It has happened to me during my experience as a consultant to be faced with uncertain entrepreneurs, determined to focus on a format just because it was fashionable and belonged to a growing market, without unfortunately having the right knowledge to deal with it. The industry and business model you choose to invest in must marry well with your attitude and skills. Reason about what activities you have done in your professional life, what you do better than others, and also what you then really enjoy doing. This way you will have a search direction , you can better focus in the universe of franchise proposals.
Step 4:
Research and compare opportunities in the franchise landscape.
“How do I find interesting formats to evaluate?”: if I had to take a survey of the questions I am most often asked online by my users, I would tell you just that. On the one hand, there are various websites, industry magazines, the trade associations, advisor companies like mine, in which you can find franchisor proposals. However, to this remote search, I would recommend accompanying another one “on the road,” that is, to look in your area or in more dynamic and avant-garde cities for those realities that seem to work very well and ask if their business model is also available as a franchise, or not.
For the next 3 steps
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