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By
Sarah Ward

How to Franchise a Restaurant Business: 12 Franchise Tips

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The future of restaurants lies in growth of all types, and franchising with great restaurant management is one of those options. A hospitality franchise is a way to grow in many interesting directions and work forward with risk assessment for a restaurant.

In this blog, we’ve got you covered. We’ll touch on restaurant location tips. We’ll talk about how to open a franchise restaurant, for those of you looking to take part in a franchise operation. Read on! 

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The Process of How to Franchise a Restaurant Business

The process of how to franchise a restaurant business shares traits with how to open a new business. It also shares elements of franchise plans for other types of hospitality businesses. From food and beverage truck franchising to a cafe franchise business plan, there are many places you can gather more information. 

In this blog, we’ll walk you through the key sections of how to franchise a restaurant business. These include legal needs, regular operations and management, and design and decoration plans. These three sections come together to craft your restaurant franchise plan, to make it a streamlined process. 

When you work through these plans, you’ll understand what your franchise will look like. From restaurant inventory in a franchise to restaurant marketing ideas, we’ve got you covered. 

Restaurant Franchise Legal Work

The legal work of how to franchise a restaurant business is some of the first work tasks you’ll want to complete. From risk assessment for a restaurant franchise to restaurant data analytics, you’ll need to check a lot of boxes. When you work through these four tasks of legal franchising needs, you’ll be prepared for the operations work that comes next. 

4. Franchise disclosure document: your franchise disclosure document, or FDD, is the main collection of work that dictates your franchise plan and how you’ll manage your business. 

3. Franchise operations manual: the franchise operations manual gets into the nitty gritty of how each franchise will operate according to your business procedures. 

2. Intellectual property protection: intellectual property protection is important to keep your property securely yours, even when others have permission to use it.

1. FDD issuance and registration: the issuance and registration of your FDD is the most technical legal need to get you set up. 

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Restaurant Franchise Operations Work

Restaurant franchise operations work is a catch-all that encompasses beginning and ongoing franchise tasks. You’ll find things cropping up like forecasting for restaurants to prepare for the future. There's also management for restaurant operations on a daily basis, including for restaurant menus. The restaurant manager job will incorporate all these four tasks, and more as restaurant operations roll on.

4. Organize your sales strategy: organizing your sales strategy will give your franchise locations an easy plan to work from. 

3. Sort your franchise budget information: your budget information is helpful to give you an idea of what you’ll spend, and what each franchise location will need in their budget.

2. Organize management structure: management structure is something to have squared away so there are no questions about who is in charge and who makes decisions.

1. Create a plan of daily operations: your daily operations plan will make it easy for each franchise location to go through each day without a worry about doing something wrong.

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Restaurant Franchise Design Work

Restaurant franchise design work comes along as some of the more aesthetic but equally important work on your list. It’ll come up in a restaurant business plan for physical descriptions. It’s part of customer service, and even restaurant inventory management. These four aspects of restaurant franchise design work will get you started in the right direction.

4. Create your branding guidelines: your branding guidelines for everything from fonts to brand colors gives a clear view of what can be done in franchise locations.

3. Gather mass-produced design supplies: gathering mass-produced supplies, like flyers and banners, will save you time and money later on.

2. Set up store decor guidelines: setting up store decor guidelines may be a part of your brand guidelines, but we give it a separate spot on this list because of how important it is.

1. Working with unique locations: you may find that some of your franchise locations are more unique in terms of architecture. In these cases, have some wiggle room to make changes as needed.

Why Franchise a Restaurant?

Now you’ve learned how to franchise a restaurant business. The next question is, why should you franchise your restaurant? The answer: to grow your business. The goal of any business is growth. The direction of that growth changes from business to business, but growth is always key. That’s a critical part of understanding restaurant sustainability as a business model.

Franchising is a way to find that growth with an expanded team in a unique direction. You could be a local franchise. You could spread across the country. In some cases, you could even franchise globally. It’s an opportunity for growth beyond the means of a solo restaurant business. The question is, is it the growth path for you? Our FAQs can help you decide.

"Key Takeaway: The future of restaurants lies in growth of all types, and franchising with great restaurant management is one of those options. A hospitality franchise is a way to grow in many interesting directions."

Frequently Asked Questions About Restaurant Franchise Plans

The process of how to franchise a restaurant business takes time and skills you won’t have used in starting a restaurant. There are questions you’ll come up against that are entirely new. These FAQs will get you headed in the right direction of learning the ins and outs of franchising your restaurant business.

Is Franchising a Restaurant Profitable?

Yes, franchising your restaurant can be quite profitable. Keep in mind that it will take time to find people who want to open franchise locations of your restaurant. It can be a similar timeframe to the time it takes to get a singular restaurant to a profitable point. Once you’re there, however, it’s a nice way to bring in profits in a semi-passive way.

Is It Hard to Start a Restaurant Franchise?

Starting a franchise restaurant is a lot of work in terms of legal and physical operations needs, but it’s worth the effort. If it’s the way you want to grow your business, a franchise can be incredibly beneficial in the long run. Like any type of business or business growth, it takes time and effort. The more you put into it, the more it pays off. 

Is Owning a Franchise a Lot of Work?

This question can be directed at owners of the original franchise restaurant, and subsequent owners of franchised locations. Either way, the answer is yes. Owning a franchise takes all the work of running a restaurant, which is to say, a lot of work. Whether you’re franchising your business or buying into a franchise restaurant chain, you can expect a lot of work. 

What Is a Negative of Franchising Your Restaurant?

A potential negative of franchising your restaurant is the way your business name will be out without your constant support and supervision. When you start a business you’re involved in every step of the development. When you franchise that business, some of it will be out of your hands. 

That said, you have a lot of say in the business, and can be as connected as you would like to be. While your franchise locations will be physically away from you, you can take an active role in organization and everyday operations. That will help you stay in touch with your restaurant, no matter the location.

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Restaurant Franchise Plans: How Will You Grow Your Restaurant?

The process of how to franchise a restaurant business can be a lot of work. It pays off in dividends of growing your business beyond your personal scope. When you’re ready to create a franchise from your business, reach out to BinWise, BlueCart, and Revolution Ordering.

The BinWise Pro beverage inventory program gives you software support for perpetual inventory. BlueCart’s order management software simplifies your order management system. The Revolution Order One Enterprise system makes it easier to manage multiple locations.  

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