Thinking About Buying a Franchise?

Make Two Days at the Expo Count

If buying a franchise would be your first step into business ownership, there is a lot to learn.

What sort of business will suit you? How much should you invest? What return should you expect? How much training and support will you receive? What does a good franchise system actually look like? And, perhaps most importantly, which franchise opportunity is the right fit for your skills, goals, lifestyle and location?

The internet is a great starting point. Websites, articles, videos and franchise information packs allow you to research opportunities at your own pace. But there is still enormous value in getting out from behind the screen and speaking directly with the people involved.

That is what makes the Franchise & Small Business Expo on 18 and 19 September particularly valuable for anyone seriously considering franchise ownership.

A lot of franchise knowledge, all in one place

Over two days, prospective franchisees have the opportunity to meet franchisors, franchise professionals and business advisers, attend seminars, ask questions and compare a wide range of business models.

Think about how much ground you can cover.

Instead of arranging individual meetings over several weeks, you can have conversations with multiple franchise brands in a single day. You can explore industries you may not previously have considered, compare different investment levels and business models, and start developing a much clearer picture of what you do and perhaps do not want from a business.

Just as importantly, an Expo gives you the opportunity to ask questions.

How does the franchise make money? What does the franchisee actually do each day? What training is provided? What support is available after opening? What skills make the best franchisees successful? What locations are available? What are the establishment costs?

You are unlikely to make a franchise investment decision over a weekend, nor should you. But you could leave the Expo much better informed and with a shortlist of opportunities worth investigating further.

Meet Iridium Partners and our franchise partners

Iridium Partners will be exhibiting at Expo, together with and representing a broad group of franchise brands covering hospitality, retail, automotive, home services and business-to-business opportunities.

These include The Coffee Club, Flooring Design, Rodney Wayne, Pit Stop, Mexicali, Burger Wisconsin, Roll’d, Guthrie Bowron, Sushi Sushi, Exceed, Gloria Jean’s Coffees, Fully Promoted and Speedy Signs, as well as Soul Origin.

That diversity is valuable in itself. Someone may arrive at the Expo with one type of opportunity in mind, only to discover a range of franchise models that align well with their skills, goals and interests.

Part of our role at Iridium Partners is helping people look beyond the logo and understand the business behind the brand.

Learn what makes a good franchise system

Iridium Partners Director Nathan Bonney will also be speaking during the Expo, with sessions focused on some of the questions prospective franchisees should be asking.

One session will look at what actually makes a franchise system work. A recognised brand is valuable, but successful franchising goes much deeper. The strength of the business model, operating systems, customer proposition, franchisee support and the ability to consistently reproduce the business are all important considerations when assessing an opportunity. And importantly, how do you take all of these factors and decide what is right for you?

Nathan will also be involved in discussion around training and franchisee support – another area that should be high on every prospective franchisee’s due-diligence list.

Buying a franchise means buying into a proven system, but that system is only valuable if franchisees are properly trained to use it and supported as they build their businesses.

These sessions are an opportunity to hear from experienced people in the sector and gain some additional context before you begin assessing individual opportunities in greater detail.

Use the two days well

If you are seriously considering buying a franchise, our suggestion is simple: give yourself time.

Attend the seminars. Walk the Expo more than once. Speak to brands you know and a few you do not. Ask questions. Take notes. Compare what you hear. And do not feel that you need to make an immediate decision.

The objective should be to leave the Expo knowing considerably more about franchising and about what you want from your own business than when you arrived.

Attendance is via registration, so we recommend registering in advance through the Franchise & Small Business Expo registration page.

And while you are there, come and have a conversation with the Iridium Partners team. Whether you already have a particular franchise in mind or are simply beginning to explore what business ownership could look like, the Expo is a very good place to start.