Converting a small restaurant chain to a franchise model

searcher profile

February 25, 2022

by a searcher from Tufts University in Los Angeles, CA, USA

Curious if anyone has experience setting up a franchise business (as the franchisor). I own a small chain of quick serve restaurants - the operations are as simple as you could imagine, the startup costs are very low, and there are a lot of tailwinds in my vertical.

I think the concept really resonates with urban/suburban women aged###-###-#### These are pretty small-scale stores that generate around $400K in revenue and $50K in profit, plus whatever labor the owner decides to handle themselves. So potentially $75K+ of owner's income while working part-time.

I'm probably a couple years away from testing out a franchise concept, but I'm wondering what sort of stuff I should be considering now in order to set myself up well down the line.

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commentor profile
Reply by a searcher
from Texas Tech University in Houston, TX, USA
I Nathan, I am very glad to hear that you are thinking long-term and have a preparation mindset for the eventual franchise offering of your concept.

You mention a small chain of quick serve restaurants. How many are you operating now?

Franchisees will be buying a fully defined system that will produce predictable results. So, I recommend that in preparation you work on that. How would you rate your operation from a business operating systems perspective from 0 to 10? And from predictability? The franchising model will work best when you are able to create a win/win/win/win relationship between you, the franchisee, the customer, and the employees.

So overall, two steps. #1, the business systematization, and then #2, navigating the franchising journey. You need good maps for both points and
then the key is execution.

Rgds,

Victor
commentor profile
Reply by an investor
from Duke University in Austin, TX, USA
I would reach out to a number of restaurant franchisors and have some meetings to hear their pitches about their opportunities. If you go past the initial call or two, you will get to the stage where they provide you the franchise disclosure document.
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