At The Franchising Centre, we’ve worked with more than 800 companies, franchisors and business owners over the last 25 years and have seen it all when it comes to political strife and economic difficulties, and how the franchise sector is affected.

Whether you’re an independent business looking to franchise; an existing franchisor seeking franchisees; or someone looking to invest in a franchise, it may seem like an easy decision to put a hold on plans for growth, both personal and business in times like these.

Our advice to all those that finds themselves caught in this dilemma is to do your research, ask the right questions and make sure the answers you get make sense.

Businesses are all affected in different ways when times seem tough, but, in our opinion, and when deciding what to do next, the key area to focus on is the profile of the customer or client of the business or franchise you own, or the franchise you’re looking to invest in.

Key Questions To Ask

Whether B2C or B2B, there are a couple of key questions that need to be addressed around the customer profile:

• How is the end customer being affected by current situations?
• Is the product or service being offered to the customer considered a necessity, a luxury or somewhere in between?

Even though the answers to these questions may appear to make it more risky to take the next steps, it must always be considered that it takes time to get things going and to set things up, so planning ahead is important.

For owners looking to franchise their business, you will know the answers to these questions and will also know how this may affect attracting potential franchisees. Bear in mind that it can take between 3 to 6 months to be in a position to start finding franchisees, so the best time to take next steps to franchise your business may be right now!

For existing franchisors looking for franchisees, the answers to these questions will help you understand how franchise recruitment might be affected during this period, and ensure you put a strategy in place to deal with this

For people looking to invest in a franchise (at either a local or national level), you need to ask the franchisor, and their franchisees, these questions and hear what they have to say. It’s important not to make firm decisions based on the current situation…investing in a franchise is usually a minimum 5 year initial commitment, and can be the next 20 years, so planning for the medium to long term is better than making decision on short term thinking.