By Iain Martin, co-founder of West Midlands-based business advice experts Mr Franchise

If you’re running a successful business and are considering your options for expansion you should look seriously at taking the franchising route.

While not right for every business, it can be a great route to development and growth and a fantastic way to build your brand.

So what does it entail? Put simply, franchising means licensing another party to run your business in a defined geographical area, for a given number of years, in exchange for initial and on-going fees.

And here’s why it has proved to be such an attractive proposition to a wide range of businesses as they look at ways to drive their growth:

Although some investment is required to put in place the required franchise infrastructure, essentially, your expansion is being paid for by others – you do not need to borrow money to fund your growth.

Typically, franchisees are more motivated than equivalent ‘branch’ managers – after all they are running their own businesses, and want them to be as successful as possible.

Consequently, local performance is much better than for equivalent ‘company-owned’ units, and so your brand image is enhanced, and the value of your company.

The net result is that the business can grow much more quickly than is normally the case with company-funded expansion.

So how do I know if my business is able to become a successful franchise? Ask yourself the following five key questions.

If your answers to them are ‘Yes’, then the likelihood is that you could become a successful franchisor.

1. Is my core business profitable? Franchising is a business system which replicates something that already exists – it will not turn an underperforming business model into a successful national network. A successful corporate operation is the foundation for a successful franchise network.

2. Could my business serve its customers through a network of local branches?

3. Is it possible to document the way my business operates, so that it can be taught easily to others? Your business shouldn’t rely on either the personality or very specific skills of one person.

4. Is it easy to set up local branches? For some retail concepts, which rely on prime-site locations, it can be very difficult to secure suitable premises at a sensible price.

5. How do I feel about equipping others to run my business at a local level?

If the thought of seeing other people become successful by doing what you have already done, makes you excited, then you have the potential to become a good franchisor.

If, on the other hand, your focus is on the income you can enjoy from building a franchise business, then chances are things won’t work so well.

A good franchisor gets a real buzz from seeing his franchisees become successful – the money will follow!