I have a friend that is considering franchising a concept - how do you do it? What steps should he take?

I think it is real important to bring in a consultant - unfortunately not me because I do not have the experience developing concepts - you need to make sure the idea is sound before you begin to spend major dollars developing the UFOC and other related documents. I would spend a lot of time looking at the competition and reviewing their UFOCs.

I do not think that developing the franchise concept is that much different then developing a business plan I think the big difference is that the process has to be easy and repeatable otherwise it is not a concept that would work in that type of operating model.

I agree but I also think there has to be a reasonable way to earn royalty fees as well for example if a fast food restaurant bought all there hamburger patties from the franchisor.

Besides the "obvious" franchising requirements of having a well documented "system" that has some sort of track record, there is also the need to ensure that your franchise offering complies with all of the necessary regulations etc.

Franchising a concept is an exercise in: discipline, systemisation, "workability" i.e the ability to deliver a good outcome to suitable franchisees, and compliance.

Don't even think of doing this yourself if you don't have substantial experience.

Michael Marcus
The Franchisees Advocate Group

This resource page should help (from the Intl Franchise Assn): Franchise Business Opportunities - IFA is a valuable source for learning how to turn your business into a franchise.