When is the Right Time to Franchise Your Business?
Franchise Law

When is the Right Time to Franchise Your Business?

By May 31, 2021 June 4th, 2021 No Comments

Franchising is a very attractive method of marketing a product or service at retail. It combines the advantages of a proven concept with entrepreneurial opportunities for small business owners.

The number of franchise concepts have grown from a handful when franchising began in the 1950s with McDonald’s and Holiday Inn to more than a thousand concepts today. In fact, the International Franchise Association alone has a membership of over 1,400 brands.

If you have a successful business, and are deciding whether or not creating a franchise system is the path forward, there are a few things you should first consider.

In this article, we will cover when is the right time to franchise your business, as well as, the ten questions you should ask yourself before franchising your business.

Franchising your Business? What to Consider

Becoming a franchisor is no easy task. The franchise process includes selling your model and licensing your name or trademark to others who then become your independent “franchisees.”

In addition, you should also consider whether you will seek to expand by opening new outlets that you will own and fully control (“vertical integration”).  

There are no rules that inflexibly govern your decision. But there are important questions to answer when considering your decision.

To help, we’ve put together a list of questions that you should answer before you move forward with the franchising process.

10 Questions to Ask Before Franchising your Business

Here are the ten questions you should ask yourself before franchising your business.

They include:

1

Have you developed a concept that has been very successful in your own stores or businesses?
2

Do you have a reasonably distinctive trademark and is it federally registered?
3

Whatever your concept, from food to maid service to tax preparation to real property services to business consulting to hundreds of others – is it something that can be expanded to a wide retail public?
4

Is your product or service differentiated enough to be a success in a competitive environment – not just local but statewide and ultimately regionally and nationally?
5

Are there likely to be sufficient people willing to invest tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars in buying your franchises?
6

Is your concept something that can be operated at retail by small businessmen with a limited number of employees?
7

Do you have confidential information and/or trade secrets to protect?
8

Do you have the capital to invest in a staff to run your franchise business and can you hire competent people to employ in operations, advertising, and as financial and sales executives and staff?
9

Are you willing to “let go” of day-to-day supervision and allow the franchisees to run their operations, subject to mandatory use of your system and trademark and your quality control procedures?
10

Are you prepared for the legal issues that arise from federal and (in many states) state regulation of franchisors, including requirements for extensive disclosures to prospective franchisees and rules concerning your relationships with them?

This list is not exhaustive, but the primary issue is “are you ready?” The answers to these questions, together with legal and accounting guidance, will help you decide if the time is NOW. Fortunately, the lawyers at Garcia & Milas Law Firm are here to help.

By: Allan P. Hillman, Esq.

Connecticut Franchise Law Attorneys

If you or someone you know is considering franchising their business, the Business and Franchise Law Attorneys at Garcia and Milas Law Firm in New Haven, CT are available to provide legal guidance.

Our attorneys have extensive experience in franchise, antitrust, non compete, and trademark law for business clients, lawyers and judges. To get started, please complete the contact form included below.

Contact Garcia & Milas Law Firm

Speak with a Connecticut Franchise Attorney today!

    Allan P Hillman Attorney Connecticut CT

    Allan P. Hillman

    Attorney

    Allan Hillman is a business and litigation attorney. He has practiced and has taught franchise, antitrust, non compete, and trademark law to business clients, lawyers and judges. He has many years of experience in these areas, has Chaired to the Connecticut Bar Association Franchise, Dealer & Distribution Law Committee, and served on the American Bar Association Governing Committee for its Forum on Franchising.

    This publication is for general information purposes only and is not and is not intended to constitute legal advice. The reader should consult with legal counsel to determine how laws or decisions discussed herein apply to the reader’s specific circumstances.

    Allan Hillman

    Allan Hillman

    Allan P. Hillman is an attorney at Garcia & Milas Law Firm in New Haven, CT. Mr. Hillman specializes in Franchise and Distribution Law, Trade Regulation and Antitrust Law, Commercial Litigation and Arbitration, Intellectual Property Law, Defamation, and Trade Association Law. Mr. Hillman was ranked as a Super Lawyer for the last consecutive five years (2015-2020). He is also named the Best Lawyer in America for 2020.

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