The Franchise Business Plan

Developing the franchise organisation

Starting a balanced, professional, and above all, successful franchise organisation begins with a solid foundation: the Franchise Business Plan. For this, we have developed the FranScan® methodology; a comprehensive assessment of your organisation and plans to turn your concept into a successful franchise organisation. Using this proven methodology, we take the time to thoroughly discuss your concept and develop it into a franchise formula. Topics we discuss in these sessions include:

• The positioning of your concept in the market
• Protection of your intellectual property
• Division of tasks between franchisee and franchisor
• Assortment, purchasing & logistics
• Growth strategy
• Recruitment & selection of franchisees
• Operational matters
• Marketing
• Automation
• Personnel management
• Consultation structure
• Administration
• Legal aspects
• Input for determining the condition system and revenue model

The result is a good and structured basis for your franchise organisation, summarised in the Franchise Business Plan. This also forms the foundation for the development of the compensation system through the Franchise Exploitation Model.

Avoid pitfalls when starting a franchise organisation with the Franchise Business Plan

Without proper preparation, starting a sustainably successful franchise organisation is virtually impossible. To help you avoid the main pitfalls when starting a franchise organisation, such as underestimating the implications of certain choices or the required (additional) knowledge, skills, and abilities, Koelewijn & Partners developed the FranScan® Methodology.

Using the FranScan® methodology, we extensively assess your concept so that all formula elements are addressed. The resulting Franchise Business Plan focuses on all aspects of business operations. This is how we jointly map out whether your organisation is ready for the step to franchise and where the main points of attention lie.

We look at the history of your organisation, analyse the current situation and map out the desired situation in the short and long term. We also address various prerequisites. Many of the topics are strategic and policy-oriented, but our focus is also on the operational, legal, and financial impact. This way, we gradually develop the Franchise Business Plan for your concept.

Koelewijn & Partners helps you during this phase to answer questions such as: What is ‘hard’ to agree on and what is optional? What are good, workable agreements in your collaboration with franchisees? What will your own organisation look like in the future? What will be the compensation system? What demands can you place on the franchisee? What else (including legally) is involved?

The right balance in soft and hard franchise

The FranScan® provides insight into how hard or soft you can set up your franchise organisation. The consequence of choosing the right balance on this spectrum is having more or less control over the future franchise chain. In soft franchising, the collaboration often remains limited to operating a common name, logo, and carrying out limited marketing activities. Hard franchising is often the best way to realise scale advantages by organising things centrally and uniformly. The agreements are hard, meaning clearly defined and detailed. However, whether hard franchise is really the best solution for you in all facets of the collaboration also depends on the development stage of the industry in which you operate, your own ambitions as a franchisor, the expected speed of developments, and the entry barriers for potential franchisees.

The franchise business plan, a solid foundation for starting your franchise formula

All discussed topics are interconnected, ensuring a robust foundation for your franchise organisation. The categories cannot be viewed in isolation. Only when everything is transparent, conscious choices have been made, and their implementation is secured in the Franchise Business Plan, the franchise manual, and the franchise contract, can your formula operate successfully for the long term. Ultimately, the FranScan® helps create a complete overview of all the things you need to consider during the setup and growth of your franchise formula! A handy guide for your future organisation. In the FranScan®, you will also find a clear explanation for each topic on whether it should be incorporated into the franchise manual, the Franchise Exploitation Model, and/or the franchise contract. This way, the drafting of these documents can take place efficiently in the next phase.

Next steps: Establishing the condition system and revenue model

The next step after the Franchise Business Plan is mapping out the financial consequences for your organisation; drafting the franchise exploitation budget. We develop these financial projections for both you as the franchisor and your franchisees.