Blog







When I attend expos and events I am told again and again, ‘This franchising thing is a con, my ideal franchisee just doesn’t exist’. When I question, I am inevitably told, ‘My business is successful but I want it to grow and have other people take the

WHEN FRANCHISING A BUSINESS, YOU CAN’T WORK OUT THE MYRIAD OF DIFFERENT ITEMS TO BE CAREFULLY DESCRIBED IN ANY MEANINGFUL FRANCHISE AGREEMENT, UNLESS YOU KNOW HOW A FRANCHISE GROUP IS GOING TO WORK. Even with the best will in the world, lawyers are not in the best

Does your franchise offer stack up? It’s crucial in a highly competitive market to ensure your franchises are set to sell. How do you measure this? The exercise will be quite different for a greenfield outlet and an established one. This is because of every accountant’s pet

In my mind, the following mistakes in franchising 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

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

Over 35 years in the franchise industry, watching many new and very experienced groups succeed and fail – my own among them – I’d say the commercial barriers to growth in a franchise network boil down to four things: Your product over time Your people and the

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. Like with all important decisions, it is a wise idea to weigh up both sides to ensure that you are fully aware of

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

Brian Keen, founder and CEO of Franchise Simply, looks at the current run of bad news about the sector. Starting with the good news about franchising…Figures show the franchise sector continues its decades long history of grossly outstripping Australia’s GDP growth by an embarrassing margin. How does

Click HERE to Go to – Start of recording Brian Keen: Yes, it’s the place to be for all things franchising. Hello everyone, and welcome. Today’s topic is an exciting one and one that’s really close to my heart, and anybody in franchising, particularly today. Modern franchise

Current media coverage might indicate that franchising is Australia is in strife, but that’s not the case. Let’s start with the good news about franchising. The franchising industry frequently achieves double-digit annual gains and contributes a vast amount to Australia’s GDP. The sector is a huge support

Is my business franchisable? This is a question I am asked every day of the week. And the answer… I have a question of you. ‘How flexible are you to making changes to your business and the way you do business?’ You see, almost every business can

Brian Keen interviewed on The Franchise Show recently and here is the video Click here!

Today, business everywhere is all about optimising growth – or being lost in the turmoil we are witnessing daily in this new world order of disruption. In this eye-opening and frank conversation, we’re going to explore ways that the franchise model can be further improved, and how

The Franchise Recruitment Package Once you have people interested in your franchise, you’ll need a package to send them. The recruitment package is a very basic thing. A lot of people, when they get hits on their website, will send out a bit of information and then

Planning territories Planning territories… I could spend half a day talking about territories. We’ll try and run through this just to get you a bit of a glimpse and see, really, what it comes down to. You need to get the size right It’s an opportunity, territories,

There’s a lovely word that I learned that I came across it recently – “Schlimmbesserung.” It’s a German word. And what it means is you can work on something to the point of the optimum when you put more work into it, it actually it becomes less

So it’s not all wine and roses. In some respects there are what some people perceive as disadvantages. Loss of Autonomy You know, you have to lose some of your autonomy. No longer can you just chop and change and make decisions at the drop of a

Let’s look in some of these aspects. Working Capital A big advantage of franchising, there is an initial outlay, yes, but that’s fairly limited, I think, in terms of what you can spend in a business today, is that you get working capital. So for franchisors, you

Recruiting new franchIsees An Example of how we went about it Moving on to recruitment, I mentioned earlier about Peter Bassett with his group and how his first franchisee was an employee and then, once that was established, he went on and sold other outlets to new

How many franchises could you grow across Australia Just consider this. Location Total Year One Year Two Year Three Accumulative Sydney 35 Melbourne 28 Brisbane 19 Perth 12 Adelaide 8 Country 20 Total 120 Example city 19 4 9 3 16 These figures are from Peter, but

First Things, First Franchise Simply Member Spotlight: Wade Morse and Base Zero One of our members has been featured in Business Franchise Magazine! Wade Morse of Base Zero will be exhibiting at the Franchising Expo and Business Opportunities at the Brisbane Convention Centre on 23-24 July. See

Register and attend my Franchise Workshop on 7 and 8 August by clicking here. By attending you’ll discover how to grow a business asset you love and gain the time to live your life. And you will gain valuable information from our Expert Speakers on how to avoid the myriad mistakes too

Budget 2016: Government reaffirms commitment to innovation agenda with a focus on fintech The federal government has used the 2016 budget to reinforce its commitment to the national innovation agenda, with a particular focus on the role of fintech startups. Budget 2016: Tax “discount” for unincorporated businesses

Franchising expert Brian Keen encourages entrepreneurs to “Be a disruptor and join the new winners!”. “What keywords 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

“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

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

Griffiths University reported that the overall number of franchises fell between 2012 and 2014, because of small and unprofitable franchise closures. But franchise groups start small (even McDonalds) and some choose to stay small. 5 STEPS NOT TO FALL AND GET STUCK 1. A franchise is more

Maybe you’ve planned do some more video’s or interviews etc in which case this short video will be a great help to you I’m sure! See Dale’s short video about it here Kellogg’s first cereal cafe pops up in Sydney Kellogg’s is launching Sydney’s first cereal café

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.

Of course there has understandably been a lot of press about 7Eleven last year – 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



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

96% of customers don’t bother complaining, they simply walk out, and many don’t bother to return. In fact recent research states that 91% don’t come back. Why are these figures so high? Read the article here The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is a little bit of

Carl’s Jr. was founded in Los Angeles in 1941, but has since expanded beyond the United States to countries such as Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Brazil, Russia and Denmark. American burger franchise Carl’s Jr. has launched in Australia almost three years after announcing its intention to tackle the

Article Source: Franchise Buyer



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.

As we have previously announced, we are doing business under a new name. How to Franchise Simply has officially been renamed as ‘Franchise Simply’. I would like to welcome to 2016 and another year in which to grow your business. In this month’s newsletter, you’ll find news,

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

Well, yes, you can. Virtually every business I have come across in over 30 years has had the potential to be franchised. Having said that, of course, there are exceptions, and I know it is not feasible to create a franchise system for all businesses. Some businesses

I have been involved in franchising dozens of businesses, at last count over 60. Some from concept and some where we converted an existing business to the franchised model and I am really happy to deal with either pathway with one really important proviso. The business owner

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

What is it? In its simplest form, an operations manual is effectively the instruction manual for running a franchise business. It should include information and guidance on all aspects of what a franchisee needs to do in order to run their business as per the operational and

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







Will Gooding, Radio 5aa Adelaide, interviews Brian Keen of How to Franchise Simply ask some serious questions about franchising in Australia today.

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

Microloan Foundation Australian founder Brian Keen was featured in the July 2013 issue of online magazine, YMag.

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

Congratulations: you bought a franchise. Now, in theory at least, you have the resources to compete with big business. But suppose that your commercial marriage does not run to plan. Suppose you flounder and begin regretting investing in the $130 billion industry. Suppose you start fretting that

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

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

Australia is the world’s most franchised nation on a per-person basis, with three times as many franchises per head compared with the United States, IBISWorld research shows. The appeal of a franchise is clear. On paper, investing in one brings you turnkey convenience twinned with recognition. Still,

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.

Australia is the world’s most franchised nation. It has three times more franchises per head compared with the United States, according to IBISWorld, which describes the $180 billion industry as “booming”. If you are keen to join the boom by buying a franchise, you’d better be careful.

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

Franchising is a $128-billion-a-year business in Australia. Over a thousand franchise brands run across the country, covering every angle from coffee vending to in-home behavioural dog training. On paper, because its structure has been road-tested, a franchise is a money-making machine. In theory, any dropkick can run

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!

Red Tent Radio Episode #29 featuring Brian Keen from Franchising Made Easy

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 My 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

My next big task is to run a huge three day training workshop in my franchising system and I’m really excited about this. I will take you through each of my seven key steps in detail and give you lots of other tips so you can get

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

In a surprising development franchising is set to overtake manufacturing in  terms  of   employment  numbers  during  this  decade.  Recent  treasury modeling  has  suggested  that  the  number  of   jobs  in  employment  in manufacturing is expected to shrink by 17 per cent this decade, wiping out 170,000 jobs. This

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

Hastings people can learn the ins-and-out of setting up a franchise from a man with first-hand experience. How to Franchise Simply – a workshop for business owners looking in franchise – is the brainchild of Brian Keen, who has worked in the franchising industry for three decades.

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