What is the best franchise to choose? How to choose a profitable franchise for a novice entrepreneur.

To choose the right franchise, an aspiring entrepreneur must evaluate a fairly large amount of information. So that a person does not get lost in the flow of information, he should start by compiling an algorithm for finding a suitable offer.

Every day the franchising network in Russia is expanding, involving in this segment of the business, for the most part, start-up entrepreneurs who do not have enough knowledge and skills. If a person has start-up capital, roughly understands how he needs to act in the chosen niche, then the need to buy a franchise may not be relevant for him. And yet, for most beginners, this will be the right step. Choosing a franchise for a business, rather than starting your own business alone, is worth it in the following cases:

• Starting capital is limited. Surprisingly, most franchises allow you to save money and get started. own business with less investment. This effect is achieved due to the scale of production. The entrepreneur does not need to promote the brand, sometimes the franchisor is ready to take on other responsibilities.
• There is absolutely no work experience and understanding of how the business works in the area you like. When registering a franchise, a person receives an experienced mentor in the person of the franchisor, who gives tips and helps to cope with difficulties.
• Gaining advantages over competitors. If starting your own business requires you to earn these benefits, then a franchise allows you to enjoy them right away. Ultimately, this has a positive effect on profit margins.

Obviously, it will not be easy for a person who has never had his own business to deal with all the intricacies of business. Therefore, he should try to buy a franchise.

So, if a person has decided that he wants to buy a franchise, he must carefully approach the issue of choosing it. Not every offer on the market is effective. Some unscrupulous franchisors try to earn as much as possible in this way, treating their franchisees superficially.

By carefully analyzing the business owners and their offers, a person will be able to decide for himself which franchise to choose. But here you need to act in stages.

Finding the Right Niche

First you need to decide on the direction of your activity. First of all, you need to be guided by your own interests. If a businessman himself is passionate about the idea, then he will be able to achieve much greater results.

But enthusiasm is not the only factor. You need to soberly approach the assessment of a niche. Some market segments require special education, certain skills. If a person used to work in the field of sales, then it is better for him to associate his first project with this niche.

Relevance is another very important aspect. You have to be able to keep up with the times. Therefore, it is better to choose franchises from those industries that are at the peak of popularity today. These include the following areas:

• information Services;
• catering;
• goods for children and developing centers, circles;
• shops (clothes, shoes, groceries);
• delivery services;
• real estate transactions.

And, for example, the tourism industry is experiencing a decline today. Therefore, opening a franchise in this niche may not be profitable.

When choosing a niche, it is also important to take into account the regional factor. For a city with a population of over a million, opening a bowling alley may be relevant, but in a small town grocery store can become much more profitable and appropriate.

Matching desires with opportunities

Any catalog of franchises has a distinction in terms of the amount of investment, the cost of the franchise. This allows the future franchisee to simplify the search for a suitable offer. But start-up capital is not the only factor to take into account. It is worth considering the following questions in advance:

1. How much money are you willing to invest? You can take into account not only your own funds, but also those that can be additionally attracted with the help of loans or investors. You should invest credit funds only when there is complete confidence in success.
2. How much time are you willing to give to the business? Someone just wants to invest in a business and make a profit from it. For example, installing various machines, applications and cards can generate passive income. But in the service sector, good results can be achieved only with personal participation.
3. What model of interaction with the franchisor is most suitable for you? Someone just wants to get recommendations and cases, while someone wants to constantly interact with their franchisor. Some, on the contrary, are extremely negative about control from the outside.

Based on this, you can make an approximate portrait of the future franchisor. Financial side will help to weed out unsuitable options immediately.

We take into account the regional factor

A promising niche for a particular region may turn out to be completely irrelevant. That is why many franchisors indicate the parameters of the city where a particular activity could be carried out. Some business owners have gone even further and made for small and major cities different business concepts. They differ in the amount of investments and the number of seats, For example.

Before buying a particular franchise, it is necessary to draw up a description of the city in which the person plans to work. Here are the features to consider:

• the number of citizens;
• the presence of competitors (the more there are, the more difficult it will be to find your niche in the chosen sector);
• the presence of a target audience (there may be many people in the city, but, for example, there are only a few dozen who would like to visit a rock cafe);
• production capabilities (for example, it will be impossible to open an island point of sale in the absence of a shopping center in the city).

Assessing a potential franchisor

Choosing the right niche and assessing your own capabilities can significantly increase the likelihood of success. But still, a lot will depend on the effectiveness of the acquired franchise. When looking for a reliable mentor, you need to look at the following set of factors:

• work experience - it is better not to work with new companies that have been on the market for only a few years;
• success - first of all, you need to pay attention to the level of profit, business reputation, fame and number of eigenpoints;
• the procedure for paying royalties - a conscientious franchisor does not charge more than 15% of the profit from its franchisees, some do not require constant deductions at all;
• the desire to share their experience, success - if the franchisor does not give recommendations and does not teach how to earn money, then such interaction will not bring any practical benefit to the businessman.

Ideally, if a potential businessman can personally communicate with other franchisees. They will tell you firsthand about the interaction with the business owner. You can also study information about how many entrepreneurs wanted to become franchisees and how many of them left the business due to the unprofitability of their own business.

Studying a product or service

The fame and success of a business owner does not always mean that all his goods or services are popular. Therefore, when looking for a suitable franchise, you need to evaluate the subject of business separately. At the same time, it is worth trying to answer a number of the following questions on your own:

• why a product or service is better than others;
• does it match set price actual quality;
• whether there are fluctuations in demand (if they take place, then you need to build your business in a completely different way, taking into account seasonality);
• whether the product is perishable or can be stored for a long time;
• what price segment does it belong to (elite, economy);
• variety of goods/services.

It is worth evaluating the prospects of the franchise idea. For example, the provision of rental services for premises may subsequently develop into an entire real estate agency. And this is a completely different level of profit.

Such a thorough assessment will help to understand not only the value of the idea, but also what the potential client looks like.

We study legal aspects

Doing business in some niches can be complicated by various bureaucratic issues. Therefore, even at the stage of searching for a franchise, it is worth attending to a number of the following questions:

• whether any additional documents (patents, licenses) will be required to carry out activities;
• are there any requirements for the business owner (for example, when opening a pharmacy, an entrepreneur or manager must have not only a profile medical education, but also some work experience);
• Are there any benefits, tax holidays for entrepreneurs;
• how long the registration process will take.

So the entrepreneur will understand in advance what difficulties or, on the contrary, positive moments await him.

Learn about the features of cooperation

Any franchisor, selling his own franchise, sets his own parameters of interaction with the franchisee. You can find all the nuances in a standard contract. When studying it, you need to pay attention to the following features:

• whether the trademark is registered (otherwise it will be illegal to work under it);
• are there any restrictions (some franchisors do not want their students to cooperate with someone else, they may also insist on purchasing equipment or products from their suppliers);
• on what grounds and under what conditions cooperation ends (for example, a retail outlet may be closed due to non-fulfillment of the plan);
• what is included in the cost of the franchise (the contract specifies what kind of support the franchisor provides).

On the last moment need to stay apart. Sometimes franchisors simply give the opportunity to work under their own brand. If an entrepreneur wants to find a good mentor, then among other conditions of the contract, you should look for:

• training of the entrepreneur and his staff;
• obtaining consulting and legal support;
• providing the necessary software, various programs that allow you to track the quality of services, the demand for goods;
• departure of the franchisor's employees to prepare and open a business;
• obtaining Internet sites for promotion;
• obtaining promotional materials, product samples, branded accessories;
• step by step guides marketing strategy, sales technology.

From such trifles, the effectiveness of interaction and the results of the work of the franchisee will be formed. The more services and bonuses he receives from the franchisor, the more chances there will be to acquire a truly successful and profitable business.

Any self-respecting franchisor carefully prepares presentation materials for their potential franchisees. Therefore, this is also worth paying attention to. Presentations, videos and related documents should display complete information about the work of the business owner, the goods and services provided, the features and formats of interaction.

If the presentations contain almost no information and are made “on the knee”, then the franchisor is unlikely to have reacted responsibly to the creation of a franchise. And this, in turn, gives reason to doubt the effectiveness of the business strategy itself.

Be sure to compare your favorite franchise with other offers in the same area. This will allow you to choose a really worthy business model that will bring profit to its owner.

Summing up

Even following all the steps described, a person will not be able to ensure the success of his business if he does not apply own forces. Yes, the franchisor can become a wise and competent mentor, helping to solve emerging problems. But the inaction of the franchisee himself can make even the most efficient business model unprofitable.

Marketplace TopFranchise, at least 20% of Russian franchisees go bankrupt. Inc. studied the cases of two entrepreneurs who bought franchises: one is a success story, the other is a failure, and both are instructive in their own way.

A story about openness

Muscovite Denis Efimov is engaged in business in the field of IT, but last summer he decided to open a restaurant and chose the franchise of the Subway network - it attracted him with the availability of information.

According to Denis, they explained to him simply and in detail how long it would take to open a restaurant, where to buy equipment, and what the payback period would be. They also talked about the difficulties that may arise, offered to study the experience of other franchisees and communicate with them directly.

And in the Shokoladnitsa network, for example, they didn’t give information, - says Denis, - but they asked for a long time who I was, where I wanted to open up ... Apparently, they wanted to understand if I had money.

The Subway franchise cost Efimov 500 thousand rubles (not including royalties of 8% of revenue and a marketing payment of 1.5%). But first, Denis was asked to confirm the availability of 4 million rubles (the minimum amount for opening a restaurant) and take a two-week course in training center Subway in St. Petersburg, where franchisees get restaurant management skills, and at the same time learn how to make sandwiches and work at the checkout.

"Bomb Voronezh"

The search for the premises took about three months. Subway has strict requirements for space, power electrical network, visibility and patency (all these parameters are evaluated by a network employee).

About 200 premises in different cities near Moscow (Tula, Tver, Kaluga, Ryazan, Vladimir, Yaroslavl) Subway rejected and unexpectedly offered two premises in Voronezh - rental space in shopping malls where they used to work, but different reasons chain restaurants closed.

I liked both rooms very much - in terms of cross-country ability, those that I found myself did not stand close, - says Denis.

Marina Tukshumskaya, Subway Regional Manager for Franchising and Territory Development, participated in all negotiations with landlords and explained to Denis what conditions and why not to agree.

Subway provided the design project of the future restaurant for free - as part of a franchise. The network also recommended restaurant equipment suppliers and a construction company for renovations and decorations. As part of the franchise, Denis also received a lucrative contract with food and beverage suppliers - supplies for Subway are noticeably cheaper than the market average due to large volumes.

Cash gap

Immediately after payment, Denis was provided step by step instructions to open a restaurant.

It was very convenient, we used it as a checklist when we ordered equipment, conducted staff training, and received approvals from the authorities,” Denis shares. But it wasn't without problems.

The cash register from the Voronezh dealer of the UCS company (IP Mavlyutov Dmitry Fanilevich) arrived three weeks later than the deadline, two days before the opening of the restaurant, and for another month and a half they established online data transmission to the Federal Tax Service, Denis complains.

According to him, having received a 100% advance payment, the dealer disappeared for several days - turned off the phone, did not respond to letters - and Efimov had to solve problems on his own. For example, at the suggestion of the same dealer, he mistakenly bought the wrong electronic key.

Subway representative Anton Sineok and I struggled for a whole month until we realized what the mistake was, - Denis is indignant.

As a result, fiscal data was not transmitted online for a month and a half, Denis could not sell beer and lost a significant part of the proceeds.

Sergei Gorbunov

CEO of UCS

According to our information, Subway franchisee Dmitry Efimov turned to our dealer MDF-Soft with a request to install equipment at a newly opened outlet. It was just a period of updating cash systems in connection with. Fiscal accumulators are produced by only one certified contractor - RIK LLC. Delays in the supply of new equipment in the regions are two to three months (in Moscow - about 1 month).

Olga Bludovskaya

President Subway Russia Service Company

Online cash registers - for this reason, various problems may arise.

The Subway network unites over 600 restaurants in Russia, and all of them are equipped with cash registers UCS. We highly value our cooperation and consider it strategic - of course, drawing appropriate conclusions from the mistakes made.

There were also difficulties in hiring staff. Following Subway's instructions, Denis posted job ads in local newspapers two weeks before opening so he could train new hires.

We offered a salary twice as high as the average for the region, but people did not come, and I still did not understand why. By the opening, we hardly recruited the minimum staff, - Denis recalls.

And yet the restaurant managed to open even ahead of schedule and at the same time save on costs. According to Denis, it was a very good idea to hire Anastasia Gotsulyak, the owner of four Subway restaurants in Ryazan, as a consultant and Nizhny Novgorod. Efimov met Gotsulyak when he was just considering buying a franchise. She helped to debug all the processes a week before the opening of the restaurant and a week after.

Having paid Anastasia, an experienced franchisee, 100 thousand rubles for consulting, I saved 500 thousand rubles thanks to her advice, Denis shares.

After opening, the Subway Regional Manager reviews the restaurant's standards once a month. You can also contact him for advice on any issues. For example, recently a consultant helped Denis understand why the quality of baking has deteriorated - it turned out that the equipment settings went wrong.

For the first three months of operation, the restaurant's revenue amounted to 850 thousand rubles, net profit - 100-150 thousand rubles a month. In the future, Denis expects to raise revenue to 1–1.2 million rubles, and by the end of summer he will open a second Subway in Voronezh.

1. Clients

When you buy a franchise, you pay for brand loyal customers in the first place. If you don’t have them in your city, you will have to promote the brand yourself. A franchise without customers is not worth buying.

2. Savings

Starting a franchise should be more profitable than starting an independent business - by saving on design, design, development corporate identity, website, as well as through corporate discounts on purchases and lower rents for a well-known brand.

3. royalties

The amount of royalties should be based on revenue. Every business has a high and low season. If the franchisor's income directly depends on the franchisee's income, this is fair. And if the amount of royalties is fixed, then the brand owner does not care about you.

4. Validity

The term of the franchise must exceed the payback period of the point. Dishonest franchisors can sell a "short" license for little money. As soon as the point starts to make a profit, they revoke the license and open themselves in the same place or nearby.

They did not demand anything from me except money - there were no conditions for a franchise. I still thought how lucky I was! Lugay recalls.

In SUN Studio, Irina was offered a two-year installment plan for the printer - she had to pay only 834 thousand rubles right away, which also pleased her. They promised free installation of equipment, technical support and consultations. They showed a business plan - according to Irina, a cost estimate: an approximate list of expenses for an office, a production site and wages. They promised to provide a full package of documents for the creation and development of the enterprise after paying the franchise and the fee for the printer.

When you buy a franchise, you hope that people will pass on their experience to you and you will not repeat their mistakes, - says Irina. - And I was deceived wherever possible.

Frustrated plans

The problems started right away. The printer was delivered almost a month late: instead of March 4, 2014 - April 2. Because of this, Irina wasted 220 thousand rubles for an extra month of renting an almost two hundred-meter room, which was supposed to accommodate a 2x3 m printer and tables for processing and drying glass.

There was no talk of paying a penalty for the disrupted terms of delivery of equipment, - says Irina. - I was told: yes, you are generally lucky, people wait for six months. And there was nothing to rent such a large room - they say, it was her own fault.

According to Irina, commissioning work turned out to be paid - 500 thousand rubles - about which she was not warned in advance. Moreover, the SUN Studio representative could not start the printer for another month. To connect the printer, I had to completely replace the electrical wiring and make grounding (the franchisor did not help with the choice of premises). It took Lyugay another 800 thousand rubles.

Interestingly, SUN Studio explains the delay in commissioning by the fact that the premises were not technically ready, - Irina is perplexed. - Only now the printer was delivered on April 2, 2014, and the certificates of inspection of the premises, where they pointed out to me a technical discrepancy, are dated May 29. That is, for almost two months no one was worried about the state of our premises.

broken printer

Finally, the printer was launched, but after a few days - during the execution of the second order - it broke down. They did it for two weeks.

According to Irina, during the two years of her work under the SUN Studio franchise, the printer broke down almost every month. Minor breakdowns of its employees got the hang of fixing on their own in 2-3 days. But three times I had to wait a month or more for a warranty repair.

Due to a delay in the launch of production and large unplanned expenses, Irina simply ran out of money. She had to get into debt - take a loan from a bank and borrow from friends.

Having no income, Irina stopped paying for the printer and royalties. Only in November 2014, she managed to scrape together 30 thousand rubles to partially pay off the debt.

But the most unpleasant surprise was the low productivity of the printer - instead of the promised 24 sq. m per hour could be printed in best case 5 sq. m.

Even after the upgrade, squeeze more than 8 square meters out of this printer. m per hour was impossible, - Irina laments. - I was initially lied to about its performance, but this is the economy - we were counting on completely different incomes. In SUN Studio, they told me that there was nothing to be indignant with my delay in payments.

SUN Franchising Company OJSC (trademark SUN Studio):

Commissioning of the equipment was delayed due to inconsistency of the premises technical requirements. The client was informed about this in advance - everything is spelled out in the contract.

At the same time, for two years the client did not make a single payment according to the installment plan. In this case, under the supply contract, we have the right not to repair the equipment. But we still got into the position of the client and advised him, our engineers went to the site!

As for the printing technology, it is specified in Appendix No. 1 to the franchise license agreement. The franchisee also did not repay the royalty, in connection with which, according to the agreement, we suspended the transfer of files and other support. At the same time, our managers have repeatedly tried to contact Irina and find out how she is doing and what help is needed from us. She did not answer calls - she knew that the question of her debt would be raised.

Moreover, according to Irina, printing using the technology provided by SUN Studio under a franchise agreement led to marriage and the loss of customers. UV ink held well only on PVC plastic and glass. On the tile high humidity they fell off, and on the tree they swelled.

One of the first orders was printing on tiles for wall cladding. kindergarten in Vladivostok, - Irina recalls. - The paint fell off from it on the way - well, the client did not demand a penalty.

At SUN Studio, they reacted to our questions as if we were not franchisees, but competitors who encroached on trade secret. So up to ink technology for different materials came by experience, having changed a myriad of printers, - says Irina.

Lugai believes that under the franchise sauce, SUN Studio simply sold her equipment. After suffering for two years, she closed her enterprise - she considered that in such conditions it would never become profitable. Still repaying debts.

I do not regret getting involved in this, - says Irina. - I tried and realized that I would no longer be in business. Now I am engaged in PR-support of startups, own experience it helps me.

I took the word of the franchisor and did not check whether the declared characteristics of the equipment are valid. If a franchise requires expensive equipment, you need to carefully find out its true capabilities.

4. Empty hopes

It was necessary to curtail the work on the franchise (without regretting the investment) much earlier - as soon as I realized that it was not working. In such a situation, you should not pull and multiply losses.

5. No stock

I did not take into account all the possible costs. You need to have a reserve for at least three quarters - so that there is something to “plug a hole” in the budget due to unforeseen expenses. You need to count everything to the penny and focus on the worst scenario.

For a novice entrepreneur, the most convenient business scheme is cooperation with a successful company. The franchisor gives detailed guide on doing business, reveals all the subtleties. A person without experience in entrepreneurship becomes a successful businessman in a short time. But the number of deceived franchisees is growing.

Niche selection

There are many offers on the franchising market. There are many online portals with catalogs of franchises for various businesses. Choose a niche in which you will be comfortable working: retail, services, catering. But don't forget about supply and demand.

In a small town, a bridal salon is hardly appropriate, in which the price of a dress is three times the average salary of local residents. In Moscow, it is risky to open another coffee shop (if it is not Shokoladnitsa). The restaurant business is highly competitive. Although experts recommend buying a franchise in the field of catering.

Success will be a business that brings pleasure. But remember: content is more important than form. A bright, interesting business model is a “dummy” if it belongs to a pseudo-franchisor.

Let's say you decide to open a children's clothing store. Browse the catalog of a franchise site, make a list of companies operating in this field. Look for information on the Internet: customer reviews about the quality of clothes, the level of service.

You can contact the franchisor through a special portal or feedback on the official site. The more offers considered, the higher the probability of concluding a successful transaction.

You should not spare time for negotiations with franchisors. But you need to pay attention not to the style of communication, but to the terms of cooperation - in the words of an eloquent franchisor, perhaps only empty promises.

Negotiation

The common scheme of unscrupulous franchisors is simple. The victim is misled by hearing about false earnings and no risks. The would-be entrepreneur is fascinated by the idea of ​​a salesman who is so persuasive that he ends up selling a dubious franchise. And then he safely forgets about his partner, switching to the search for new victims.

Checking counterparties

Before meeting with the franchisor, collect as much information as possible about his company: year of foundation, reputation, customer reviews.

Financial information can be obtained on the free portal InfoUnit.ru: date of registration of the company, financial indicators, etc. A company that launched a franchise network a year after its foundation is not credible.

The information on the service is enough to find out the names of companies in which the founder of the franchisor appears. A businessman can be engaged in parallel retail trade and the provision of services. Registration of several companies does not indicate dishonesty. But the information received sometimes speaks volumes.

It is also necessary to check the availability of litigation with a future partner on the website of the file cabinet of Arbitration cases. Find the plaintiff's contacts, contact him and talk about the reason for the problems not resolved peacefully.

Members of the franchise network

The franchisor talks about successful partners. When promoting his product, he describes all the existing and non-existent advantages. As evidence, he uses the story of a successful franchisee. find out full list entrepreneurs who have entered into an agreement on commercial concession. Chat with those about whom he is silent.

A telephone conversation is not enough. Perhaps an employee of the franchisor will answer the questions - scammers love this method. It is better to visit the office in person. Is the city where the current franchisee works thousands of kilometers away from you? You can post an ad on social networks or forums, and for a small amount, a schoolboy or student will visit the office and take a photo.

How successful is the business? Does the payback period really correspond to the declared one? Does the franchisor provide full support after the conclusion of the contract? You can learn about everything by looking at the work of the current franchisee.

Reviews

On online franchise sales sites, negative reviews are rare. We'll have to work hard to find the opinion of a real buyer. Truthful information can be obtained at business forums, in thematic groups, but here too there are custom reviews.

The opinions of company employees are also important. Feedback on the work at the enterprise will complete the picture. It is worth remembering: everything the franchisor says is part of the advertising campaign. Beautiful words about a business idea with a real workflow may have little in common.

Legal documentation

The franchisor is obliged to provide documents confirming the rights to own the brand. There are many offers on the Internet from companies with trademarks that have not been registered with Rospatent. There are also pseudo-franchises that copy a well-known brand. By purchasing them, entrepreneurs take risks. About punishment for illegal use trademark is stated in Art. 180 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.

The contract includes:

• scope of rights;
• the amount of remuneration;
• field of activity;
• ways to use rights.

The franchisor can make additional terms which should be carefully reviewed. The figures appearing in the contract require special attention. What is the investment amount? Will additional payments be required? The franchisor can already tell you about the costs of advertising during the training. Before starting a business, you need to prepare for additional expenses.

The original conditions can be challenged. For example, shorten the list of goods. Franchise companies receive discounts from suppliers, and therefore include products in the list that a new partner can do without at the first stage of work.

Before concluding an agreement, you need to find out about the current network participants and closed points. A franchise that opens 100 stores and closes 50 every year is dubious. It is important to see with your own eyes how the company works. The re-opening of the point indicates the profitability of the business. If there are those among the company's business partners who have bought a franchise more than once, the scheme is really reliable.

Information about a product or service

Become a customer of the franchisor. Visit one or more outlets. Find out more about the services that a future business partner provides. You should be afraid not only of fraud, but also of "raw" franchising.

Get information about products and services. Cooperation with a franchisor that sells low-quality products will not lead to anything good. But another situation is also possible. The company uses equipment well-known manufacturer, but the partner offers to buy a cheaper one. This cuts down on investment, which attracts cash-strapped franchisees. But the use of low-quality equipment will affect the work.

financial model

Today, many people want to make money on a franchise scheme. Not only reliable and successful companies. It happens that an entrepreneur opens a business and, after working for a year or two, launches a franchise network. In his city, a business scheme may work well, in yours it may fail. You need to rely not on emotions, not on dreams of quick profits, but on numbers.

The franchising data shows the payback period. This is an estimated figure, which rarely justifies itself. You can find out in advance the size of the lump-sum contribution, royalties. Everything else depends on the region.

The price of the Junior franchise is 150-800 thousand rubles. Another 100 thousand will be needed for the purchase of inventory and printing. Rent, staff salaries, advertising budget - the amount of these expenses depends on the region. The franchisor does not name the exact amount. It depends on the city where the children's football school will be opened.

Inexpensive franchises are in demand today - 400-600 thousand rubles. Such offers are often found in the catering industry. A small fast food outlet with a recognizable logo in a busy area big city, perhaps, will bring income to the owner. True, investments sometimes amount to about two million.

Popular and cheap coffee franchises that do not require large investments. But the "know-how" comes down to buying a coffee machine and instructions for selling drinks under the logo of a little-known company. Why pay extra money? You can buy equipment, draw up documents and sell drinks in the take and go format and without a pseudo-franchisor.

Franchisors indicate a payback period of two to three months. This is the time within which the buyer can return the lump sum. The actual payback period depends on the franchisee himself. To recapture the money spent on renting a room for a novice entrepreneur is not an easy task. Royalties will also be added to the costs. If it is fixed, you will have to pay even if there are no customers.

The most expensive franchises in the HoReCa segment. The price for them reaches a million rubles. Opening a cafe or restaurant under a well-known brand is not easy. For the leaders of the Shokoladnitsy franchise network, the company's reputation comes first. They will not conclude an agreement with the first person they meet, who has the amount necessary to pay the lump-sum contribution. The franchisee must have additional funds (for the renovation of the premises, business development) and, preferably, experience in the restaurant business.

A reliable company takes the choice of partners seriously. If the franchisor is not interested in your reputation, experience in entrepreneurship, desire to develop a business, but he praises his product in every possible way, promising high income, do not rush to conclude an agreement with him.

Franchisors fall into two categories. The first includes enterprises for which the creation of a reliable network is a priority. To the second - those who seek to replicate their business and earn in the short term.

Support

An important point in the contract: the assistance that the entrepreneur will receive. This may be assistance in the selection of premises and the conduct of an advertising campaign, training of employees, consultations. The franchisor's promises have no weight. The obligations included in the contract are important.

You should not enter into a contract without a financial airbag. Do not rush to buy a franchise, even if its cost does not exceed 500 thousand rubles. In most cases, you have to invest additional funds.

Over the past three years, the franchising market in Russia, according to the European Franchise Association, has grown by 98%. As of the end of 2011, more than 500 franchisors operate in our country, and more than eight hundred claim to have a franchise program. Obviously, these figures are the result of a low base (in Poland, with a population 3.7 times less than in Russia, there are about 600 franchisors). Most experts agree that the high pace of franchising development will continue in the next five years. As a result, competition among franchisors is growing.

In negotiations, I often hear the phrase: "We will sign the contract if you give a guarantee of sale." Long time I tried to explain to partners that for a broker a lot depends on the franchise itself. It didn't work. Then we analyzed the proposals implemented during the year and developed clear criteria for a commercially successful franchise, according to which we now offer clients to evaluate their project.

Business indicators

Since franchising is copying successful business, then it is fair to single out the indicators of the flagship company as the main block. How long has the franchisor been in the market? How fast is its network growing? Did he manage to fine-tune his own business processes, understand the specifics of the industry and evaluate the seasonality factor in his business? I am very worried about the trend of launching a franchise program by very young companies. Moreover, now it is not uncommon for a company to announce a franchise without having its own points of sale. This is certainly a negative signal for the investor.

Successful franchisors, as a rule, begin to replicate the business at least a year after the launch of their own outlets. This is preceded by a period of development of a full package of franchise documents, the purpose of which is to secure the franchisor and facilitate the transfer of technology/know-how to the partner. The number of partner outlets opened under a franchise of such companies significantly exceeds the number of closed ones (there may be no more than 15%), because franchising is primarily the minimization of entrepreneurial risks. At the same time, a potential franchisee can easily get the contacts of almost all existing partners, ask them questions of interest, learn their impressions of cooperation.

Promotion

When choosing a franchise, investors often pay attention to the quality of federal brand promotion. When the product is already known to the end consumer, having opened a point in his city, the entrepreneur immediately has a pool of loyal customers. However, this criterion fades into the background if the franchisor offers a truly unique business for replication. In this case, carried away by the bright and original idea The investor turns a blind eye to many things. As a rule, such projects at the initial stage have practically no competitors, due to this they manage to achieve good commercial performance.

The situation is similar with franchises from "scarce" industries. For example, the number of production franchises is critically small and falls short of even 1% in the overall supply structure. At the same time, we have more than 5% of applications for such franchises. Unsatisfied demand makes any more or less established franchise from this industry in demand.

Separately, it is worth highlighting the situation with Moscow and St. Petersburg. More than 90% of franchise companies develop in this territory own network. Exorbitant rents and high salaries are sapping the prospects for retail franchises in these cities. Commodity franchising implies that the franchisor's delta of earnings is already included in the shipping price, so the franchisor will always earn on the supply, but the franchisee will not - the level of current costs is too high. That is why only the franchising model in the field of Catering and services, when the amount of the franchisor's earnings is tied to the sales volume of the franchisee. Clear and thoughtful proposals from this industry are doomed to success.

Franchise Economics

The economy plays a big role in the success of a franchise. Russian franchising, like business in general, is characterized by short planning horizons - an alarming feature. Entrepreneurs are unsure tomorrow, and therefore franchisors, especially well-known brands, wanting to immediately receive a significant part of the funds, unreasonably overestimate the down payment. At the same time, the payback period of the project is often underestimated. When we see such a situation, we offer the client to calculate the payback of their own point based on the purchase prices of the franchisee and all necessary deductions. For a commercially successful franchise, this indicator is always not lower than stated in commercial offer. Otherwise, the business simply grows in breadth, without any internal content, and a bubble effect occurs. That is why I am sure that only those franchisors who understand that their competitive advantage in the medium and long term is the quality of operational management have a future. It does not develop quickly - it is daily work professional team.

When choosing a franchise, one must be aware that it is impossible to determine in advance which franchise will be the best. How successful the purchased business will be depends entirely on the entrepreneur who bought the rights to the trademark and develops his business under an agreement with the copyright holder. But still, it’s worth having at least some ideas about how to choose a franchise.

Market trends in Russia

Before moving on to practical recommendations How to choose a franchise, it is worth giving some idea of ​​what is happening in the franchise market in Russia today. Until recently, a single scheme for entering the market of a new one was used. The company made a decision to sell the franchise, developed appropriate schemes, and then brought the offer to the market. Today, another trend has emerged, when a company has to respond to the demand of potential franchisees, to form an offer according to demand.

As practice shows, average check of such franchises is $150,000. However, about a third of entrepreneurs interested in franchising are willing to pay more.

Along with large and well-known brands, this business model is increasingly being adopted by regional entrepreneurs. At the same time, the level of franchise supply has grown qualitatively. Today, copyright holders carefully develop proposal packages.

Another notable trend is the expansion of service and service franchise offerings. These are beauty salons, publishing houses, real estate agencies and especially banks that are more willing to support lending in this area.

Franchise Selection Criteria

Choosing a franchise is a serious step that largely determines the success of your business and the effectiveness of your investments. Therefore, it must be approached with all seriousness. A decision must be made based on an assessment of such factors:

• your possibilities;
• local market trends;
• the franchisor personally;
• franchise system.

Your opportunities

First of all, you need to assess your financial capabilities, that is, how much money you are willing to invest in this business and how much money you have available. It must be understood that in the first months of work, a lot of investment will be required. Therefore, if your funds are only enough for a lump-sum contribution, you need to think carefully before signing the contract, and once again not take risks. The turnover that the franchisor promises usually refers to companies that operate on the market more than a year. Until then, you are at great risk.

Also, you must immediately decide whether you will personally run the business, or hire a manager, and limit yourself to investing in the enterprise. In addition, you should be clearly aware of how ready and able you are to follow the requirements and standards set by the franchisor. Characteristic Russian franchisees - the desire to do everything in their own way, bypassing established requirements. In this case, it is better to purchase a domestic franchise, since foreign copyright holders are very strict about fulfilling the terms of the contract.

Local Market Trends

Evaluate local market required according to certain criteria. First of all, in terms of population. She demonstrates the potential target audience, its likely size. It is also necessary to assess how much your product or service will interest the population, to determine which particular segment of consumers is interested in it.

Along with these studies, it is necessary to find out which trade marks your industry is already on the market. This will give an understanding of the level of competition as well as possible ways market entry and product promotion.

It is important to evaluate trading platforms locality. Some franchisors are ready to sell the rights to their business only when it is opened in certain conditions, for example, in large shopping centers.

Franchisor's assessment

Special attention should be paid general characteristics franchisor. It is necessary to clarify how many years this company has been operating on the market, how many franchises it has sold and how successful they have been. It is believed that a long stay on the market indicates the maturity of the franchise and its adaptation to the conditions, while the young one is still undergoing an approbation period and has great risks.

It is also necessary to take into account the financial situation of the franchisor, his competitive advantages. It is worth knowing and comparing the number of open, closed and operating franchise enterprises. In case of their closure, it is necessary to clarify the reasons for such steps. Be sure to clarify the development plans of the main company. Otherwise, it may turn out that the franchisor plans to close the business, and through the sale of franchises is trying to do this with maximum benefit for himself. After talking with a company representative, try to evaluate the overall impression of the negotiations. To what extent the partner was open with you, frank, whether he provided comprehensive information to your questions, whether he showed loyalty, and so on.

System evaluation

In addition to assessing the franchisor itself, it is worth separately assessing the state of the current franchise system in which you plan to work. Even if the right holder is determined to openly conduct a dialogue and is ready to develop the network, it may still be underdeveloped, not have sufficient weight in the market. Therefore, when making a choice, you should take into account such nuances:

How are legal issues resolved?

First of all, it is necessary to clarify whether the trademark is registered, whether the main company has the relevant patents, whether there are any restrictions on working with franchisees. For example, most often the right holder requires that the franchisor does not enter into any such agreements in the same business area.

When studying the contract, it is especially necessary to carefully study the conditions for terminating the contract and leaving the company from the network. As a rule, the franchisor sets the most favorable conditions for himself, for example, the right to buy out the franchisee's business below cost. Particular care must be taken when studying legal issues when partnerships are being established with foreign companies. Often there are discrepancies in terms with them.

Payout Issues

It is known that payments to the franchisor consist of a lump-sum fee and royalties. It is these provisions in the contract that need to be evaluated. A clear justification for the amount of the lump-sum contribution must be required. If this is not clear from the contract, you must ask the representative to describe in detail the points on the basis of which the requested amount was withdrawn. Because in different areas of business, the lump sum required is different and sometimes it differs significantly. For example, to open a travel agency, you may need about 400 euros, and to open a clothing store of a well-known brand - up to 25 thousand euros.

As for royalty, it can be fixed or set as a percentage of the amount of profit. However, some domestic franchisors include royalties in the price of the goods supplied. In this case we are talking about hidden royalties. This scheme is mainly used in business retail. This decision dictated by the peculiarities of the domestic market, where franchisees often seek to hide the size real income from the copyright holder in order to reduce the amount of interest payments.

Support Scheme

Ask how detailed the franchise support scheme is and how much it is actually provided. Support in business, at least in the early stages, is promised by all franchisors. But in fact, it is rare that anyone provides it or does not provide it in the declared volumes. Therefore, it is worth clarifying the scheme for providing support in stages and in detail, as well as talking with existing franchisees about its real provision.

Requirements for consumables and equipment

The franchisor has the right to demand from partners the purchase of raw materials, Supplies and equipment from specific vendors. In this way, it guarantees the stability of the quality and product characteristics that customers expect from the network. But it happens that the right holder, putting forward such requirements, is trying to earn extra money on this business sector. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully check the validity of such claims.

Activity control

Each franchisor who values ​​his business and reputation is simply obliged to think over a scheme for controlling the work of the franchisee. Ask if your chosen copyright holder has one. It must necessarily introduce such a control system as a “mystery shopper”, which helps to most accurately determine the level of service and product quality.

Benefits for cooperation

This may not be a mandatory condition, but it is still worth asking if the franchisee is provided with certain benefits when signing a franchise agreement. Such benefits may include a guarantee that the franchisee will work in a certain territory without competition from other partners - the so-called territory exclusivity. Large discounts may also be provided compared to the conditions for the purchase of goods by wholesale companies and so on.

Communications

To some extent, this characteristic has something in common with control and support. Check with the representative if the franchisee is given the opportunity to communicate with key employees of the company. This opportunity testifies to the reliability of the copyright holder, the real solid position of the company. Sometimes he develops and offers excellent conditions, but the company is represented by two or three people. Naturally, with such a staff it is difficult to provide reliable and constant support to the franchisee.

To find out the real state of affairs, again, it is worth talking with the current partners of the main company. When communicating with these franchisees, try to find out the following things:

• whether their expectations about the business were justified, whether they are satisfied with the acquisition of the franchise;
• how the result declared in the plans corresponds to the real state of affairs;
• what are the advantages and disadvantages of cooperation with a specific copyright holder;
• what kind of support it provides and whether it provides it in the declared volume;
• How accurate is he deadlines supply of goods, etc.

Successes and failures of the company

Evaluate not only successful, but also unsuccessful experience of the company. As a rule, the main failures are related to the supply of goods. The issue is especially acute with the regions. It often happens that the franchisee has equipped a point of sale, purchased equipment, but the goods have not yet arrived. Failures can also be associated with an unsuccessfully chosen place of the outlet.