Both franchisees and franchisors are looking for a stable business model to weather economic rough patches.
Each side may have found more security and certainty in franchising since franchising allows you to capitalize on a proven business model and draw on franchisor support in hiring, training, setup, and operational assistance. Franchising is about going into business for yourself, but never by yourself. That’s important to remember.
On your entrepreneurial search to find out whether franchising is the right business venture for you, you may have come across a franchise consultant who provided a few guideposts along the way. If you are a small business owner, you may also have encountered a franchise consultant.
In both cases—entrepreneurs just starting out and small businesses looking to start franchising—a franchise consultant might be a valuable resource.
Franchise Consultant: A Promising Professional Avenue
Franchise consultants work with both franchisees and franchisors, which means that franchise consultants wear a lot of professional hats.
What you may infer from this is that wearing many hats means more job security and a steady stream of work to do!
Roles of a Franchise Consultant
What would you be doing as a franchise consultant if you worked predominately with franchisees?
Franchise consultants help aspiring franchisees learn more about both franchising in general and the particular franchise industry in which they’re interested.
This means that a franchise consultant will work one on one with entrepreneurs to illuminate some of the differences between the franchising business model and the traditional small business model.
The differences between franchising and operating a traditional business are profound when it comes to startup funding, ongoing marketing and other kinds of support, and the training that’s received prior to setting up shop.
Franchise Consultants Are Personable People
A franchise consultant will go over all this with franchisees in a way that’s comprehensive, comprehensible, and friendly.
If you are an entrepreneur, a franchise consultant could also help you determine whether licensing or franchising is in your financial best interests.
In essence, the former entails licensing out your intellectual property—but not your operational model. The latter gives you both . . . plus ongoing support, training, and everything in between.
Franchise consultants can provide a dispassionate eye to ensure that franchisees make the best decision given their interests, business experience, and price range.
Whether aspiring franchisees will need a franchise manager or whether that franchise can accommodate owner-operators is often discussed early with franchise consultants as well.
Franchise Consultants Work with Franchisors, Too!
Franchise consultants can do more than work with franchisors—although they can do that very well.
Franchise consultants can help small business owners become franchisors by transitioning that small business into a franchise. As a franchise consultant working with a small business owner, you would facilitate this process and make it as seamless as possible for a small business owner who may not have any prior exposure to franchising.
This would, for instance, entail setting the foundations of a franchise agreement to officially take that small business into franchising territory. In addition, you might be expected to work with small business owners to create an operations manual, marketing collateral, and training protocols.
Franchise consultants are constantly helping lay the foundations for aspiring franchisees and small business owners to find their own way on their franchising journeys.
Becoming a franchise consultant can be personally fulfilling, professionally promising, and a great way to share your insights. Interested in learning more? Then visit our website today!
