| For people considering buying a restaurant | | | | products and so likely profits. There are a |
| franchise there are a wide range of | | | | number of things to consider here including |
| opportunities. The key steps towards owning a | | | | location and amount of competition. It may be |
| food franchise are as follows. | | | | that a franchise’s products will be very |
| Evaluation | | | | popular in some locations but not so popular in |
| Before taking any other steps towards buying a | | | | other places. Also if there is a lot of competition |
| food franchise it will be useful for you to first | | | | in a particular area then it is likely that profits will |
| evaluate your skills and interests. You should ask | | | | be affected. Other factors to consider is |
| yourself what it is that interests you about | | | | demand for the product in the long term and if |
| owning a food franchise and decide what type of | | | | sales are seasonal or if demand will be constant |
| restaurant you would like to manage. It is | | | | throughout the year. |
| beneficial to consider your existing skills and judge | | | | Secure Finance and Invest |
| how they will fit best in the available franchising | | | | Most franchises will require their franchisees to |
| opportunities. While running a restaurant | | | | make quite a substantial initial investment and it is |
| franchise does have many advantages it can | | | | likely that many people buying a franchise will |
| involve a lot of hard work and may not be | | | | need to take out some kind of loan. Fortunately |
| suitable for everybody. At this stage it is also | | | | money lenders tend to view franchises quite |
| useful to look at your financial situation and set a | | | | favourable so obtaining finance may be easier |
| budget for how much you can afford to invest. | | | | than would be the case if starting another type of |
| Investigate Franchise Opportunities | | | | new business. Some franchisors will offer their |
| In the UK there is a huge range of food | | | | own in-house financing. With the finance secured |
| franchises available to buy. Well known examples | | | | you are free to invest in your chosen franchise. |
| of restaurant franchises include wok2go, subway | | | | Attend Training and Set Up Business |
| and perfect pizza. Having assessed your skills, | | | | Having made your investment the final step is to |
| interests and finances it should be possible to | | | | get your restaurant ready for business. Things |
| narrow down this choice into a selection of | | | | you will need to do here include hiring staff, buying |
| franchises that are suitable for you. With the | | | | supplies and setting up your location. Many |
| choice narrowed down you should conduct more | | | | franchises offer training as part of the investment |
| in depth research into each franchise. | | | | and so for many franchisees the first step after |
| Market Research | | | | buying their franchise is to attend a training |
| Having narrowed down the choice of franchises | | | | course. Typically this course will be designed to |
| the next stage is to carry out some research in | | | | teach the franchisee everything they need to |
| to the levels of demand for the franchise’s | | | | know to run the business successfully. |