Blog Articles

Part of the joy of running a franchise is that you do not have to start from the ground up. Instead, you have a reliable business model and recognized brand name to work with from the start, which can help set you on the path to success.

In my mind, the following franchise mistakes all come under the umbrella of not understanding what a franchise is all about. Mistake One Thinking the existing business will form the franchise outlet and only getting a legal agreement and operations manual based on that. Invariably, to be

Expanding interstate or internationally definitely has different requirements which need to be accommodated. There are a number of things to think about and it definitely helps to be open-minded and flexible to change. Read on to learn more about taking franchisees from other states or countries. The need

Most business owners think about small business franchising as a way to grow but I find most just don’t take the step to make the necessary changes. Over the years I have found there are a number of reasons. To do this topic justice, I have written

Most business owners think about franchising as a way to grow but I find most just don’t take the step to make the necessary changes. Over the years I have found there are a number of reasons. To do this topic justice, I have written two blogs,

There are a number of reasons for people to shy away from franchising. Is franchising a good idea? Firstly, most people have no idea what franchising really involves. They know that they need to work out fees and territories and that they need a legal agreement but

Businesses should have franchising in mind from the beginning. However, this is said with some provisos. If you’re asking yourself, ‘should I franchise my business right now’, then read this first. The thing about franchising a business is that a franchisor is responsible, not just for running

A Franchise Simply Radio Show with Paul Dunn from Buy1Give1 Many of the most successful franchises are not complex but are based on simple concepts which connect to people and give them what they want. The things that move us are actually tiny. As Seth Godin, in

So often I am asked, “What is the difference between licensing and franchising?” Usually followed very fast by the statement, “A license is so much easier and faster to set up and so this is the way I want to go.” And you are right, a license

In the last of our three-part series on the advantages of franchising, we thought it would be extremely useful to look at the disadvantages of a franchise. Like with all important decisions, it is a wise idea to weigh up both sides to ensure that you are

In part 1 of our Advantages of Franchising series, we looked at the advantages of franchising for a franchisor. Now it’s time to look at the benefits for a franchisee. You may have been considering owning your own business but have been worried that you don’t have

Franchising has been around for many years, and has proven to be an excellent way for businesses to expand. It allows individuals to own and operate their own business under a business model that has been tried and tested, and ideas can be bounced between franchisor and

We have come to the last post in our series and what better way to bring it all together than to talk about teams!  After all, choosing your team will help link those ever important pieces together for you! In the previous few posts we talked about

This part is a bit more daunting than the six preceding components of our series – the basics, the people, the vision, the finances, and the the operating systems – because the preparation of legal documents and agreements is a highly specialised area. However, since they stitch

You’ve covered a lot up to now with our 7 part series: learning the basics, choosing the right people, envisioning the bigger picture, and the finances. Now in part 5, we roll up our sleeves to create the operating systems which benefit both the franchisor and franchisee.

We’re now in Part 4 of our 7 part series. Now that you’ve learned about franchising, realised the importance of choosing people and envisioned your empire, it’s time to look into money. It’s obvious, the need for profit drives all business. And franchise groups are no exception.

Already in Part 3 of our 7 part series!  Just to recap; in Part 1 we covered Learning about Franchising and in Part 2 we looked at how important it was to choose the right people and in this post we are going to delve into the

Last week we went over the basics of Learning about Franchising.  If you haven’t read Week 1 of our 7 part series you will find it here. But this week, it’s all about the people. We recognise that when business owners were working out why they wanted

Welcome to the first of our new 7 part series. Franchising is a wild and exciting ride! Are you ready to begin the journey with us? We understand that the idea of franchising your business can be overwhelming, complex and intense. That’s why we took over 30

When deciding to make the leap from small business owner to franchisor, there are a number of elements that you will need to consider about what part you will play in the development and success of your franchise chain. It’s an exciting time for your business, but

If you haven’t read our first blog post, then you’ve missed the quintessential key to the best chance of franchise success, get  that step right and finding the right people becomes relatively straightforward. Here are 5 elements for you to contemplate as you search for the right

Once you have your franchise system in place and have worked out how the business elements will need to be changed to accommodate the new structure, the next step is to get the wheels turning by getting the paperwork done. Why? Because franchising is based on two

Once you have a clear idea of your franchise system and the kind of people you need to run each bit, the next step is to think about the business adjustments needed to form the foundation. By creating a franchise group, your changes will be necessary to

Before you can begin franchising, it’s important to work out what your franchise business system is going to look like. What for? Because you’re going to divide your existing business into two new ones: one for your future franchisees to service your customers; and the other one

When you think of great Australian Franchises, Boost Juice, Ferguson Plarre, Bakers Delight, Kwik Kopy and G.J. Gardner are just a few of the names that spring to mind. Sometimes a little bit of inspiration is all it takes to leap from small business to entrepreneurial success.

Owning and running a business can be exciting, rewarding and lucrative – successfully master the right formula then the world is your oyster. Becoming a franchisor is no different. Franchising is all about working to a tried and tested system in order to replicate the success of

Despite popular belief, franchising is not exclusive to large-scale businesses. Many studies show it can be the perfect vehicle for small businesses to expand – gaining market share through increased distribution of products or services with minimal capital outlay. You’ve probably heard of franchising before, but are

“What keywords that have been uppermost in business commentary so far this year?” In searching for a topic for this article, I asked this question at the recent Franchise Expo in Sydney. And there were three clear favourite responses – ‘change,’ ‘innovation,’ and ‘fear.’ Change because we

Advertising is expensive and, next to creating your product, probably the most critical and expensive investment for developing and growing a successful business. You May Have To Sacrifice Equity Some businesses see advertising as their way to growth but I know this is often a gross oversimplification.

In today’s consumer world we are all bombarded with choice. Choice of more suppliers, choice of more products, and every one of them promising to provide better service. It doesn’t have to be January sale time to see that everyone is competing on price as well. In

There Are New Patterns Emerging As Fresh New Food Choices Challenge The Establishment When we arrived on the Gold Coast a few years ago, we were encouraged to visit Tedder Avenue in Main Beach for a foodie experience. The strip boasted some of the best foodie outlets

Brian Keen from How to Franchise Simply talks to Renew Design and shares three decades experience working within the franchise industry. We discussed a simple strategy to set your business up for growth. There are a handful of key ingredients that must be in place before a business

Of course there has understandably been a lot of press about 7Eleven recently – which appears to be more about franchisee employment practices than franchising per se. There are always a wide range of success and failure stories around franchising but I have found that within the

Starting or buying a franchise is one of the very best ways to leverage the profitability of a tried and tested business model. However, before you look at how to start your own franchise by converting an existing business, you need to ask yourself whether it’s actually

Choosing franchisees is little different from any normal job selection process. However, finding the right applicant for your business isn’t easy… one well-known hamburger chain is said to interview 100 prospective franchisees for every one appointed. Given this difficulty, it is especially important to have an effective

It’s long been recognised that newer small businesses run as a sole proprietorship have higher failure rate than many long-established companies. Even larger businesses with long-standing track records for success are sliding into decline. By comparison, the franchise business model offers multiple advantages over other types of

Many businesses work with ad hoc procedures that ‘just happen’, and aren’t really systems at all. This article is about how to maximise efficiency, how do you systemise your business, or improve the systems already there. Here are some tips: 1. Start by choosing an area for

Business owners are wary of ‘systems’, feeling they deprive them of flexibility. However, a system is no more than a repeatable way of doing things to achieve a particular outcome. Properly implemented, systemisation increases productivity and improves profit in businesses of any size and type. Here are

The right management and the right staff are two cornerstones ! Staff members play a very important role in making any franchise business successful. So, appoint the staff carefully and manage them properly to ensure quality customer handling. This will ensure customer satisfaction which is a must

One of the other deciding factors when analyzing whether a business is ripe to franchise, is the personality of the business owner or owners. Is that person a natural leader? Does he or she have the characteristics to manage a franchise chain? From perhaps dealing directly with

How to systemise your business for profit growth Or Profit from growth by systemising your business Or Systemising for Success In an earlier article – System Is Not a Dirty Word – I looked at how systems can be used by businesses of all types and size

A good example of using the franchising process of systemization and putting these principles into practice is Jack Cowin. Jack Cowin came to Australia when he was 26 years old with the franchise rights to Kentucky Fried Chicken in WA. Today he owns the Hungry Jacks chain

Want to grow your business, raise capital and know franchising may be an option but you are unsure what’s really involved? Well, franchising is a great way to grow your business, often allowing you to expand locally, interstate and even internationally. But it can cost thousands, take

Evidence shows franchising has extraordinary opportunities for family businesses, enabling them to grow into multi-million dollar assets. According to a recent PriceWaterhouseCoopers report franchises have seen average annual revenue growth of 10%.   The report states:   ‘The results of the 2012 Franchise Sector Indicator again back

We’ve just spent some weeks working with our team developing our new website (yes, hoorah we’re excited about it – have a look at Franchise Simplyand tell us what you think at info@howtofranchisesimply.com.au) and after lots of research here’s what we’d like to share with you. Does

With the acquisition by Eagle Boys holding company of Degani’s Bakery Café – an interesting and diverse Melbourne based chain of 60 stores, the growth of the major franchise investment groups shows no sign of slowing  – this healthy demand means a lot for the value of

I was reminded again the other day that great marketing is one of the foundations of a great franchise. I don’t mean just the advertising component of marketing but those first steps most businesses often overlook – working out exactly who wants your product, exactly what the

It doesn’t surprise me Australia is at the top of the list when it comes to producing great entrepreneurial business people. I see the signs each and every month in my Franchising workshops when business owners come to learn how to grow their latest enterprise through creating

Choose wisely before investing in a franchise. Buying a franchise can seem like an easy way to get into business, but there are pitfalls. Phil Blain, a franchise consultant at business advisers BDC, says that along with getting advice from an accountant and a lawyer, potential franchisees

This morning I visited the Brisbane Franchise Expo. In days gone by, I used to exhibit at Franchise Expos in all the major cities in Australia, both as a franchisor looking for new recruits and as a consultant looking for prospective franchisors. I recollect huge halls with

Social Media Tips about – Twitter Twitter is an online social networking service and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based messages of up to 140 characters, known as “tweets“. An information network Twitter is a real-time information network that connects you to

To see what they can do I waved at Kevin Ford and his five-man crew on Tuesday night when the Space Station passed overhead. It still gives me a sense of awe accompanied by moistened eyes to see this small craft up there on its current 5

One reads forever about so many business failures – not just in these post-GFC times. If you run a successful business or a franchise then you must read this because it’s very simple: can you provide the answer to these unfortunate business owners problems? It’s like a,b,c

Went to Nick Cownie’s Success Blueprint weekend workshop with Prue and a lovely crowd of guests from my previous franchise events. We all had heaps of fun and some amazing mindset breakthroughs. Thanks Nick – you’re absolutely brilliant!  

Don’t take franchise success for granted. The mistakes franchisors can make are many and one major example appears to be lack of appropriate research as in this unfortunate recent example with Success Recipes franchise from Malaysia. And this was after already expanding into eight countries… read more

A great weekend. I ran the best franchise workshop yet on Saturday with a lovely group of committed business owners and then on Sunday….. A nine o’clock start saw me privileged to front up and spend an inspiring day in a workshop  with John Dwyer’s Institute of

Have you set your goals for next year yet? Prue and I are going to be setting ours over the next couple of weeks before Christmas. It’s terrific having the flip chart out planning our new projects and strategies. And committing to what breakthroughs we want to

We’re all (well, if we’re not we should be) experiencing massive change. For many of us it’s the first time. For us who are longer in the tooth, and that includes me, it’s a familiar pattern every seven to ten years. Maybe we’re lucky, maybe we’re not.

It started with Pizza Hut, McDonalds and the rest of the fast-food giants, but now franchises have become one of the fastest-growing business types in Australia, racking up a turnover of more than $2 billion a year – or 15% of GDP. More often than not they

Article from Ballina Shire Advocate Thursday 17th May 2012.   A FREE seminar on franchising will be held in Ballina on May 22.  The seminar is being presented by Brian Keen, from How to Franchise Simply. Brian started and grew six new franchise businesses with over 120

Just returned from enjoying three stimulating days at Mal Emery’s Streetsmart Business School in Sydney where I made a presentation on our new programs – and received a really enthusiastic reception. Fortunate to meet numerous really dynamic business people. What a contagious environment!

On this week’s episode of Red Tent Radio, Ludwina Dautovic interviews Brian Keen who is an expert in business franchising advice and consulting. Australia, April 06,2014/Free-Press-Release.com/ — This week, Red Tent Radio, one of Australia’s leading and most influential radio/podcast shows for small business advice, interviewed the

Like to learn more about how you can franchise your business and save $10,000s? Listen to this week’s episode of Red Tent Radio – The Small Business Podcast Show, where Ludwina Dautovic, the host, has recorded a feature length interview with me on the in’s and out’s

How To Franchise Your Business! 7 Steps To Creating & Setting Up A Franchise Business You Want Since you’re here, you’ve probably heard the story of how I started and grew six new franchise businesses with over 120 outlets over a five year period. Over the last

Despite the economic turbulence of recent times, franchising is set to overtake manufacturing in terms of employment numbers this decade. So many people in Australia want to run and then grow their own business, but they become frustrated when they can’t grow it. Franchising is a way

Franchising is set to overtake manufacturing in terms of employment numbers within 10 years, according to Brian Keen founder and director of How To Franchise Simply. Recent treasury modelling has suggested that the number of jobs in employment in manufacturing is expected to shrink by 17 per

Success comes from humble beginnings It started with Pizza Hut, McDonalds and the rest of the fast-food giants, but now franchises have become one of the fastest growing business