HOW TO FIND YOUR PERSONAL FRANCHISE

Finding the unique small business that can grow into a franchise can be difficult. Read this article to see how to do it.

Find Businesses With Franchising Potential

To discover viable candidates, scour business publications, tap business groups, and get to know online resources like MarketResearch.com and Springwise.com

My company looks for small businesses that have the potential to become franchises. Where would I find an information source I could use to discover unique small businesses?
—B.D., Austin, Tex.

Like a talent scout or professional sports scout, you’re looking for small-time players who have the potential to hit it big. This is something of a needle-in-a-haystack proposition. There are millions of solid, profitable small businesses, but it takes some special attributes to turn them into franchises—and it isn’t always clear which ones will make the cut.

“It is a judgment call, based on the type of product or service a small company has and its ability to duplicate itself in other locations,” says Daniel Burrus, chief executive officer ofBurrus Research Associates in Hartland, Wis. Because many small, privately owned companies are leery of disclosing their financials, it may be tough to figure out which ones could sustain rapid expansion. And even the owner may not be sure whether his or her concept is a candidate for franchising, Burrus says.

It’s likely you have developed a formula that small businesses must meet in order to be potential franchisors. For instance, the product or service theoretically must be marketable around the country and even the world. The operations must be organized enough to be broken down into replicable processes that can be taught to new employers and employees. And, most important, profits must be sufficient to scale the concept up onto a larger playing field, with multiple locations supplied by a central headquarters.