For some, one is never enough. Ambition comes very naturally to certain people and perhaps those same people have the funding to make things happen- and this is where multi unit franchising may be a really powerful tool for investing in a very profitable long term future. When you bring together someone who is gifted with ambition, resources and realistic expectations, you have someone who may really benefit from a multi unit franchise.
Understandably, not everyone is going to have a look into franchising and decide that they want to take on more than one territory, store, or location all at once- but some do. For those people, multi unit just makes more sense. Another group that sometimes considers multi unit franchise didn’t start out that way, but perhaps discovered the location that they found themselves in, the franchise they’d bought really worked out well, and from an economics standpoint- more locations equals more profits. The realist also says that it brings about more issues in management, staffing and overhead, but at the same time, for many, this is a risk that pays off in some big ways.
One of the best things to have going for you is in fact already being a franchisee with a given company, and having a great working relationship. The franchiser is the one that is going to be in your corner, particularly if you have been a success within their umbrella. More often than not, franchisers are very encouraging of this method of business because it does mean more profit, and usually they offer a wealth of resources to those seeking to expand.
Also, the relationship you have with your current supplier may take on a whole new light as more locations mean more volume of order- which often comes with some exceptionally nice discounts for higher quantity. Banks tend to favor second locations and more also, if the franchisee has an already established business that is turning a nice profit or a stable one.
A key thing to remember when thinking about going multi unit is that you have to be realistic and conservative. If you’ve got the capital to open more than one location at a time, you still need to be sure of many things- for instance, not every location is going to work out well and that can really cause financial distress on your entire system. This is where demographics and studies of the area are going to come in particularly useful as you will have to have a very clear understanding of the areas in which you plan to expand and what sort of profits you can realistically bring in from them.
Multi unit franchising may seem like a steep hill to climb for some, and for others it may be exactly what they seek out to grow. Depending on your long term goals, capital and the passion you have for your work, you may find that multi unit franchising is just the thing for you.