Once you have everything ready and in place, you soon realise that post-launch is when the hard work really starts.

Launching a franchise really is a learning curve, and it takes resilience and patience to see your ideas become a reality. When developing your model, you need to seek all the advice and experience you can get to maximise your potential and minimise the risk of costly excess and wasted time.

With this in mind, here are some of the key takeaways I found during the early stages of launching BizSmart franchising.

It will be more expensive than you think

Franchising your business can be a great way to expand its reach into new territories, which can bring financial gain but, before you jump straight in, you need to understand the costs involved.

Looking at the financials will help you decide whether franchising is right for you and your business. There are a variety of different estimates of how much a franchisor can expect to spend. The British Franchise Association [BFA] suggests it generally costs around £170,000, whereas HSBC calculates a cost of roughly £50,000.

The reality is that it will depend on the individual requirements of the business. For more complex businesses, it's likely that the more professional advice will need to be outsourced, which increases the development costs.

Legal documentation and agreements, brand protection costs, feasibility planning, manual writing, model set-up, marketing and recruitment can all cost way more than you envision, so it is wise to do your research before making any decisions.

The real work starts post-launch

Preparation is key when launching a franchise. You need to have a solid franchising message, your short and long-term goals mapped out, as well as all the necessary paperwork and manuals in place. I would argue, however, that this is the easy part.

You can have the best franchising content, but then have no franchisees to bring it to life. It is like having the fastest racing car on the track, but no driver to steer it in the right direction.

The work starts when you set out to recruit your first franchisee. There is a lot of pressure during this stage, as they are essentially the person who will catapult your model into reality, so it is crucial that this person is the perfect fit.

Therefore, you need to consider how you are going to attract franchisees, who can help you in doing so, and the type of people you are looking for. By outlining all of this in the early stages, you can ensure your marketing collateral and franchising model is appealing to those purchasing, whilst attracting the right type of franchisees.

The right franchisee will be able to bring value from their own experiences to help build the model further, offering new insight and ideas that you may never have thought of when establishing the franchise. In this instance, you must be flexible and open to new ideas, even if the franchise is well established.

The early success of your first franchisee is vital

After you have won and trained your first franchisee, the first few months are critical in getting them off the ground and securing their first clients/customers.

Not only is this crucial in proving that the franchising model they bought into works, but it also acts as a case study for securing those next franchisees. It is always worth spending as much time as possible to assist them in the early stages to help them succeed.

No matter how well you train them, they will not remember everything, and they may not necessarily be good at operating your model fully. Pencilling in time for catch ups is incredibly important, especially in the early stages. By spending time with your franchisees regularly, you can discuss any issues they are having and guide them in the right direction.

Through regular contact with them, you can teach and support them not to just deliver once they have clients, but how to sell their offering to new potential clients.

Conclusion

The process of franchising a business is not for the faint-hearted. For your new franchise venture to succeed, you need to take time to carefully construct a plan of action, and have realistic expectations of the costs involved and time required to make it a success.

My advice to anyone looking to launch a franchise is to do as much research as possible and seek guidance from others who have been through the journey.

Kevin Brent is founder of BizSmart.