Making the Franchise Decision

The simple truth is that any business and any idea can be franchised. Becoming a franchisor only requires you to have a disclosure document and a franchise agreement. Answering the question of whether you can franchise your business is easy. Yes you can.

The more important question for you to ask is:

        "Should I become a franchisor?"

To answer that question effectively requires you to work with professionals that understand not only franchising but other methods of distribution and business expansion as well. Making the franchise decision is one of the most critical business decisions you will ever make.

Before MSA creates any franchise program for our clients we compare the benefits and pitfalls of franchising their business to other methods of growth. We help our clients determine not only should they franchise but whether or not franchising is the best way to meet their needs and goals.

When you look at our list of clients, you may notice that many are not franchisors. We're more than franchise consultants. We're business expansion experts. We have the resources and expertise to help our clients explore expansion alternatives other than franchising and our role is to help them make the right decision not just the franchise decision. Our reputation and standing in franchising does not allow us to do any less.

We will start by answering your fundamental questions since franchising first must meet your requirements.

• How will becoming a franchisor affect my current business?
• How complicated is the process of becoming a franchisor?
• How long will the development process take?
• How much will it cost?
• How complicated are the regulations?
• How fast can I grow?
• How big can I become?
• What are the risks?
• How should I approach the process of franchising my business?

We will start by examining your business so that we can begin to determine your most effective growth strategy. We will discuss with you the criteria that we believe will be appropriate for measuring the results of the study and then prepare a written Feasibility Report. Our report will provide you with detailed information on your readiness to grow and our written opinion about your potential and whether we believe your business is franchisable.

If we determine that your business is franchisable, and you concur, we then begin the design and development of your franchise system.

If however, we determine that your business should be expanded but that other methods of growth are superior to franchising, MSA has the experience to help you grow using the method of expansion that is right for you.

Should we determine that you are not ready to expand; we will tell you that also. We can work with you to improve your performance, remove the obstacles to your growth and then, revisit your expansion plans when you are ready.