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Franchising a Business: What You Need to Know About Expanding your Business Into a Franchise

In franchise lawyer Charles Internicola's article "4 Questions to Answer before you Start a Franchise" he explains the steps that you must consider when thinking about expanding your business into a franchise.  If you are a successful business owner and believe that your business system could potentially be expanded to multiple locations you may have question about whether or not you should expand your business into a franchise system.  Franchising your business may be a good idea if:

• You have a business system - Most potential franchisees consider becoming a part of a franchise system because they do not want to have the guess work that is associated with starting a business of their own.  You will want to be able to offer a simple, well planned out business system that franchisees can follow. 
• Your business systems can be easily taught to franchisees - If you do have a business system established the next thing to consider is can it be easily taught to others.  If your business systems are too complex your company not be a good candidate for a franchise.
• You have a trademark that is protectable - Franchising your business means that you will have to share your trademark with other franchisees so you will want to make sure that your trademark is protected.  Hiring a franchise lawyer to protect your trademark is essential for you to be able to share your trademark with franchisees that are a part of your franchise system to avoid trademark infringement.
• Your business can be profitable for other franchisees - Ensuring that your business success is something that can be followed and successfully achieved by other franchisees is key to deciding if you should franchise your business.  You must take into account that your franchisees will be paying franchise fees and royalties to you.  If you do not believe that additional franchise locations will generate enough profit you may want to reconsider franchising your business.  After all, in order to have a successful franchise system your franchisees will need to be successful at what they do also or else your franchise expansion will essentially become non-existent.