When looking to buy a franchise, it can seem intuitive to spend time scrutinising the brand and the model. When you meet a franchisor, it makes sense to enquire about the quality of their numbers and the level of training and support they provide. But as prospective franchisees work through their list of questions for a franchisor, what often doesn’t receive anywhere near the same amount of scrutiny – until it’s too late – is an equally critical decision: the territory you’re offered.
The success of your franchise depends on this more than any other decision you make. If the territory is flawed or overserved – if the opportunity you have been presented has created a structural disadvantage which you can’t ever really overcome – then no matter how hard you work, how well you deliver a great service and protect your reputation, there is a hard ceiling to how much you will achieve in this business and everything else you do simply determines how close you get to that ceiling. For advice on Franchise My Business, contact www.ashtonsfranchise.com/franchise-my-business
There are so many variables to consider, beyond the obvious and immediate. For instance, is there enough population density and the right demographic profile of customers for your business model? Are there too many similar offerings in your territory already – either from fellow franchisees of the same organisation or from competitors who aren’t part of the franchise but who are nonetheless providing the same product or service?
All of which points towards a critical truth when buying a franchise: if your territory isn’t right, neither is anything else. And if you don’t take the time now to carefully scrutinise the opportunity, to ask the right questions and gather the most compelling information – including, at a bare minimum, a full demographic report and an attorney skilled in this space – you’ll find out why down the road.