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Franchise & Business Opportunity News

Consider Adding a Franchise to Your Existing Business

Written on January 22nd, 2009 by Joseph in Franchise Industry.

The franchise business has become a major industry in the recent times. To keep up with the escalating demand of franchise businesses for sale, the rules of how to franchise are also changing rapidly. At first, the motto of franchise business was “one person, one location”.

But now the emphasis is on Master Franchise, Area Development and Multi-Unit Operator. Moreover, previously franchising meant that the franchisee is not entitled to operate another business besides his franchise. But even that rule is changing fast.

The industry has woken up to the fact that symbiotic relationship between one concept and another can exist. This has resulted in franchisees operating more than one franchised units from the same location that are unrelated or complementary to each other. It’s not that only franchisees are opting for this co-branding synergistic franchising. Even people with independent business are starting a franchise to fulfill their ambition of growth.

There are certain criteria for starting a franchise alongside an existing business. First of all, your present business must have enough customers to whom you can offer your new service. Hence, location becomes the primary point for opening a franchise. What’s more, it’s not always necessary that the businesses need to complement each other; they can be dissimilar, but there should be a demand for the franchise product that you are offering.

For example, if you have a gas station, you can utilize some portion of it by opening coffee franchises, drive-thru juice bars or convenience stores that offer basic home utilities. Moreover, if you have a day-care center, you can start a baby gym franchise or a furniture store for children. Similarly, eBay-related shops like Auction it Today can be run along with a office-supply store.

Then there are seasonal businesses whose owners can maximize their property and time by starting a franchise that is complementing their main business. For example, a handyman franchise can generate additional revenue by taking up holiday-lighting franchises like Decorating Elves during the lean winter months. In the same way, a tuxedo rental company can buy a franchise of one of the top franchises from the laundry service category. Similarly, a health and fitness franchise will perfectly fit in with a tanning salon or a cosmetic surgeon can maximize the earning of his clinic by starting a franchise of Skinovative.

However, certain things have to be kept in mind when you a buy a franchise alongside your existing franchise. First of all, make sure that you have enough space and employees to look after the new franchise business. Secondly, be prepared to learn the new business. Also make sure that there’s no restrictive clause on co-branding in the franchise agreement, especially if you already have a franchise business and staring a new one. As long as they don’t compete with each other and the main business is not hampered, franchisors don’t usually disapprove of co-branding. Even some of the best franchises in the business are actively encouraging their franchisees to go that way.

If you want to know more on this topic, contact brandEXPANSION.