Why Sell a Franchise?

Why bother to sell a franchise if you own an interesting business?

First question to ask yourself if you are thinking of franchising your business:
If you have a successful operation, it’s easy to think it can be franchised. But why should someone pay for the company name and your expertise when they can probably duplicate the same entity at no additional franchising cost?

There are some questions you can ask yourself about the possibility and logic of franchising. 

You cannot successfully franchise your operation if:
1: It is easily duplicated or entered into by a competitor.
2: You don’t have a highly recognized brand name.
3: You don’t have special management expertise to offer.
4: It’s hard to service or manage operations, from your site.

You must realize, too, that the usual upfront fees and the royalty you take on sales, that cover whatever management training and materials you may offer, will probably represent about half a franchisee’s net earnings. That fact is bound to eventually infuriate him, assuming he becomes successful. There is no telling what the fury may be if he fails after investing in your advice.
So he may eventually cheat you or form groups with any other franchisees you may have, to sue you over contract terms.

Question: If you want to franchise your business, can you finance and constantly control the finances of your franchisees? That is most important, should you do decide to franchise. It is the most important binding link you can have to the prospective franchisee. (See the Earl J. Weinreb NewsHole® comments and @BusinessNewshole at twitter.)