Franchisee Resource Center

So you’ve decided that a franchise is the right path for you? Now comes the exciting part—choosing among hundreds of franchise opportunities. Here are questions to ask yourself to help narrow the field:

Choosing a franchise can be a positive experience or a shot in the dark investment. Like most decisions, a systematic process for exploring and evaluating your options makes it much more likely that you'll be happy with the outcome. This guide will make your research faster, easier and more productive.

FranchiseHelp sat down with the next generation of that fitness legacy, Lucille Roberts President Kevin Roberts. Kevin discusses his mothers impact on the company and why the women's fitness niche continues to grow at a rapid pace. Kevin also gives insight on what it takes to be a good candidate to own a Lucille Roberts Women's Fitness gym franchise.

Luca studied the effects of Yelp ratings on the revenue of restaurants and discovered several interesting findings. Studying the relationships of restaurants' revenues to their Yelp reviews in Seattle over a period from 2003 to 2009, he found a significant relationship between a restaurant’s average rating and revenue. One star’s worth of improvement on Yelp leads, he found, on average to an increase of between 5 and 9 percent in revenue. The average rating is more important than the review, as many Yelp users are overwhelmed by the sheer number of reviews on manyrestaurantpages and find it easier to consult the star rating. Luca also found two features which exacerbate the effect on revenue Yelp has. First, the more reviews a restaurant has, the more impact an increase in its Yelp rating will have on its revenue. Second, the more reviews by Yelp “elite” members, the more impact; “elite” reviews have almost twice as much impact as other reviews.

Fans of the recently finished series Friday Night Lights remember the show for its heartwarming depiction of a small Texas town, Dillon, in love with its high school football program. (For you non sports lovers, the series' name refers to the day and time football games are typically contested at the high school level).

For new franchisors, standing out from the crowd can be a task of epic proportions. Selecting a strong and memorable trademark is certainly an important (indeed, critical) first step, but for the relatively unknown, picking a trademark that is too abstract can occasionally be viewed as a step in the wrong direction—you want to stand out, but you also want people to actually know what you do or sell.

Should I franchise my business? Is it the right time? Is franchising the right growth vehicle for my business model? Does franchising fit with my ambitions, tendencies, preferences and general corporate culture?