Advice from the Industry's Experts

We know that potential investors are seeking valuable insight into the workings of the franchise industry, and we're committed to bringing you the best analysis and advice from our panel of expert industry advisors. The panel will be continually updating this section with the most important franchising articles, insights and analysis of the industry. We offer our knowledge and experience to help with any questions you might have, and help with your franchise research and selection.

Cyber Crime Has Reached New Threatening Levels

 It’s amazing to think that cutting-edge free hacking tools are widely available anywhere on the web these days which come with complete free how-to training videos on Youtube! ..... read full article

Choosing Between Leasing and Buying Space as a Franchisee

 It is best to go through a complete site selection practice with your franchiser to find all of your options before choosing either the leasing or purchasing route. ..... read full article

Learning New Tricks For Bringing In Repeat Customers

 Many business owners choose franchises because the marketing efforts of the franchiser provide a boost that trickles down to each local branch. ..... read full article

Ending Your Commercial Lease The Right Way

 Signing up with a well-known franchiser usually makes it fairly easy to secure a commercial lease. The reputation of the brand provides a boost to your opportunities. ..... read full article

Understanding the Franchising Format

 There are three main options for capturing a larger section of the market when time comes to expand. ..... read full article

Understanding Your Franchise Agreement

 Once you've done your basic investigations into the history and opportunities of the franchise, it's time to start picking through the agreement with a fine-toothed comb. ..... read full article

Insurance is a crucial element to the protection of one’s business

 Many businesses are preoccupied with profit margins that they can neglect vital factors which help maintain the success of their company. ..... read full article

How To Find Great Vendors

 Vendors are one of the many keys to success when you run a franchise. They provide you with the raw materials or finished products that you need to keep customers coming in. ..... read full article

Preparing to Buy a Franchise

 If you're already committed to choosing a franchise opportunity, you'll need to prepare carefully before paying your first fee or agreeing to a royalty schedule. ..... read full article

Getting Started with a Franchise

 If 2013 is the year that you intend to transform your dreams of profitable business ownership into reality, then you should be looking at franchising. ..... read full article

It's All About The Relationship

 If you're considering the world of franchising for the first time, you will probably read a great deal of advice and find many helpful tips...... read full article

Home Grown and Locally Owned

 There are literally hundreds of franchises in the UK, some of which are global brands with UK-based operations and some of which are entirely home-grown...... read full article

Thriving in Challenging Times

 Recession? Not in the franchise industry! According to recent research by the British Franchise Association and NatWest, the number of franchised units has increased ..... read full article

How To Sell More

 So you finally get to meet a potential customer face to face, how do you clinch the sale? Most people make a decision on like or dislike in the first five minutes, so first impressions are key. ..... read full article

I Bought a Franchise - Now What?

 If you've bought a franchise, the chances are that you're now feeling a mix of excitement, nervousness and mounting panic ..... read full article

The Advantages and Challenges of Franchising

 If you're considering taking the franchise route, you'll need to be prepared to do plenty of research. Franchising is a specific business model that....... read full article

Fast Track Risk

 Would you rather have a company with £1 million of sales from a single customer, or 10 customers of £100,000? Which has more risk and therefore potentially less value? ..... read full article

Key Legal Questions to Ask

 If you're looking at buying a franchise, then you will find that there are a number of legal questions that you need to ask before signing on the dotted line ..... read full article

Economic Impact of Franchising in the UK

 The UK's economy is continuing to experience downward pressures and yet the franchise industry is still expanding. In fact, in 2012, an increase of... ..... read full article

Residual Income is a Beautiful Thing

 Across the country, when the calendar moves round and a new month starts, for the vast majority of franchisees, the scoreboard is reset to zero. ..... read full article

Why You Should Consider a Van Based Franchise

 A good franchise opportunity to look for is a van-based franchise. This involves selling your product or service directly from a van. Examples of van-based franchises include.. ..... read full article

What do I Need to Know From a Legal Perspective

 There are no regulations or laws that apply specifically to franchising so that means that you have to rely on legal principles and regulations that apply to all commercial contracts...... read full article

The 7 Characteristics of Highly Successful Franchisees

 Much research has been done into the skills, motivations and behaviours of successful franchisees. In fact, most experienced franchisors have developed a... ..... read full article

Your Most Valuable Asset

 Who was it that said businesses don’t succeed, people do!! We all know how important people are in our respective businesses but how much... ..... read full article

Franchisor Marketing Tip No 2: How to Attract Profitable Franchisees

 There are many ways to find your ideal franchisees to grow your network and Sally Butters, Director of Media at Coconut Creatives, highlights just a few for Franchise Expo. ..... read full article

What to Look for in a Home Based Franchise Opportunity

 There are many franchise opportunities that allow parents to work from home. Many franchisors are successful in specifically targeting parents with ..... read full article

Harnessing the value of your pilot franchise - Part 1

 It's always important to 'lead your pack' and it is has never been more important to do this than now.... Use all the tools you have to effectively market your franchise...... read full article

Are You as Available as You Should Be?

 Finding the right team to support your individual needs is key to your operation. Do you require one person who will answer your calls when you are out of the office and also at weekend? ..... read full article

What to Consider When Dealing With a Franchisor

As a prospective franchisee there are several things that you should bear in mind when you first make contact with a franchisor. ..... read full article

Cash Management

 With banks reluctant to lend and liquidity in the economy tight, good cash management is of paramount importance to businesses ..... read full article

Planning to Franchise

 Most people are aware of franchising, McDonalds, Prontaprint, etc. etc. there is more to it than at first appears. ..... read full article

How much money can I make with a franchise?

 If you are making a decision about getting involved with a franchise as a business it is reasonable to ask how much money you can hope to make from it...... read full article

If you don’t answer that call, your competitors will

 Today more than ever before, a business needs to be able to communicate professionally with its customers and a company mobile phone generally provides a limited and ‘suspicious’ point of contact.... ..... read full article

Questions and Answers with Brian Duckett

 When you start the process of investigating which franchises you want to shortlist for further consideration, you should.... ..... read full article

Profit Improvement Strategies for Franchising

 Everyone would like to improve profits, more so than ever in the current climate. But is there an easy model to follow? ..... read full article

Understanding The Franchise Agreement

 If you have never looked at a franchise agreement before, at first glance it may seem that lawyers do all they can to make it as complicated as possible... ..... read full article

Is bank financing available to buy a franchise?

 When buying a franchise, raising the money needed to get started can often be the difficult part... ..... read full article

A Brief History of Franchising

 Like most things American, its origins can be found in Europe. The word Franchise comes from ancient French language and means holder of.... ..... read full article

How to market your business on a tight budget

 Sally Butters, Head of Media at Coconut Creatives, suggests a few cost-saving marketing methods that you can implement if you are working to a tight budget... ..... read full article

What is Franchising?

 A franchise must have the following elements: a brand name, a franchisor who has control over and provides support to its franchisees and an obligation for the franchisee to pay fees periodically to the franchisor. ..... read full article

Planning is Key to Becoming a Successful Franchisee

 Faced with a difficult economic outlook and likely rising unemployment how do we move forward as a nation? ..... read full article

Questions and Answers with Brian Duckett

 What's the difference between a 'franchise' and a 'business format franchise'? A franchise is simply a right or privilege granted to a person, or a corporation, to do ..... read full article

Top Ten Most Popular Franchise Industries

 What are the top ten franchise industries that have been tipped for popularity in 2012? ..... read full article

What to Look for in a Franchise

 For budding entrepreneurs considering franchising as their route to success and self-employment, the temptation to leap straight into a franchise purchase can be overwhelming ..... read full article

Women in Franchising

Research suggests that more women than ever are looking at self-employment as an alternative to employed and corporate professions. ..... read full article

Finding the Franchise that`s right for you

 Finding out what type of franchise suites you best....... read full article

5 Reasons to buy a Franchise

 The top 5 reasons to buy a franchise and what you must know...... read full article

Evaluating A Franchise

 How do you decide whether or not a franchise is worth investing in? There are a number of points that should be considered when assessing a franchise. ..... read full article

How to Finance your Franchise

 In broad terms, franchising is a safer option than going into business on your own. A franchisee should have a tried and tested format to follow. ..... read full article

Franchising in UK

 Unlike in the USA, Australia or Canada, there is no franchise specific legislation in the United Kingdom. However, franchise agreements in the UK, are .... ..... read full article

The Characteristics of a Good Franchise

 Buying a franchise is an important decision that should only be taken after a lot of thought and consideration. From my experience there are usually 3 factors that have a huge influence on identifying suitable franchise opportunities. ..... read full article

Importance of keeping communication channels open during the recruitment process

 A fundamental attribute of any good business is the awareness and effectiveness of your communication channels. ..... read full article

Making the most of your awards success

 Celebrating success is something we British are often very blasé about. In the franchising game however, this can be a key indicator to prospective franchisees about your credentials. ..... read full article

What support do franchisors provide?

 A great number of franchise opportunities exist for UK entrepreneurs. When you consider which one to invest in, make sure ..... read full article

Is a home based business franchise the right choice for you?

 More people than ever in the UK are choosing to work from home. This business model suits many - but before you decide..... read full article

Introduction to Franchising

The franchising model is specific in nature, and must be understood clearly by the potential entrepreneur before investing in a franchise. Crucially, you don't buy the franchise itself ..... read full article