The popular opinion across the globe is that entrepreneurship should be fostered as a key growth enabler in every country’s economic policy. After all, it has been quite ubiquitous in the west where entrepreneurship is more than just about starting one’s own business, it is a lifestyle.
Things have rapidly changed in India too. Ever since the time when the conventional mindset towards starting a business (being a standby option to unemployment) broke and risk taking gradually came into play, entrepreneurship has become the new ‘normal’ way of making a career. Normal, to an extent that today on an average two start-ups come up every day and more than 500 every year.
As glorious as the above statement sounds, there is another fact that might play a spoiler. More than half of them don’t even see the clear light of the day and pack their bags in just two-three years of time. The reason for that mishap ranges from factors as diverse as amateur or untested business idea/plan, unknown market presence, high unforeseen costs, lack of capital, low returns, absence of management assistance and many others. Moreover, all this often disrupts the aspiring entrepreneur’s work-life balance.
Franchising, relatively small in India though answers all of the above factors as a healthy and risk-free way out to give voice to one’s entrepreneurial passion. Franchising is already a global phenomenon especially in the West while it is not that small in India too. Just to give a snapshot of where franchising stands currently in India, the market is worth around $22 billion and is expected to double in size in the coming two-three years, growing 30 per cent annually. Moreover, a report by Franchising Association of India and KPMG India titled – Collaborating for Growth – estimates the industry size to quadruple by 2017 or before with an assumption of contributing around 4 per cent to the Indian GDP by 2017 from the current estimated 1.4 per cent.
By definition, franchising is an agreement between a franchisee (who wants to start a business) and a franchisor (the owner of the brand) wherein the latter grants the former the right to his/her brand’s trademark, products, operational procedures, IT system and marketing processes etc for a portion of franchisee’s gross monthly sales and royalty amount. To put in right perspective following are the areas where franchising can provide an edge to entrepreneurs in order to ideate, start, grow and further expand their businesses.
- Brand recognition: A franchisee gets to kick off its business and ride on the back of the strong brand name and established market presence that the franchisor has. This mitigates the challenges concerning establishing his/her own brand and creating awareness and trust among customers. So a franchisee will have customers right from day one because of the reputation the brand or its products and services command.
- Business model/plan: Though most of the elements of a franchisor business model or plan are standard for all franchisees however they help franchisees to tweak it as per the location of the franchisee unit. A franchisor’s successful business model reduces the risk of failure among franchisees.
- Capital support: A franchisor also helps franchisee raise risk capital from lending institutions becoming the intermediary between lender and franchisee. The lender too extends support confiding in the franchisor’s success.
- Management support: Initial training on different heuristics attached to running the business is offered to the franchisee in order to prevent avoidable mistakes while starting up which often costs lot of unforeseen amount. Location/site selection and management support and training in an ongoing manner in terms of staff training and managing accounting processes helps franchisee to focus only on the business aspect.
- Group buying: A franchisor also enables franchisee to benefit from lower price goods through group buying from franchisor. The collective buying power of the franchisor helps franchisee save money as the franchisor buys goods and supplies in bulk.
Now as relevant these benefits stands through franchising for aspiring entrepreneurs, deciding upon which brand’s franchise should be taken, of which industry and how much investment budget does the franchisee have to invest in taking up the franchise are few areas governing related benefits.
As a bridge or a facilitator, Franchise India helps people looking for franchising to start their own business connect with the right brand understanding their requirements as per the location, budget size etc. Established in 1999, Franchise India boasts of being the first company in India to introduce and develop franchising market in the country. The company has so far serviced more than 1,100 brands across sectors globally and have direct presence in 16 major Indian cities. The company caters to prospective buyers, franchisors, various industry experts through its digital, print and events platforms across India. The online platform www.franchiseindia.com is touted as world’s number one website on franchising with around 4.69 cr hits and 60 lakhs page views monthly and listing over 8,500 brands.
Through its print publication arm, the company publishes four industry leading magazines viz, The Franchising World, Retailer, Small Medium Entrepreneur and Estate World.
On the other hand, the company puts up four major shows round the year. First, Franchise India, Asia’s biggest annual International franchise and retail show comprising of exhibition, awards and conference. The show aims at bringing together 400+ exhibitors and more than 30,000 business buyers from India and abroad. Second, the Master Franchise Show which annually attracts the most successful global brands and service providers. Third, is the series of 15+ Franchise and Retail Opportunity (FRO) shows held every year metros, tier 1, 2 and 3 towns comprising of exhibition, conference and networking. Fourth is BusinessOpportunities Show (BOS), a franchise development focused business platform to enable like-minded prospective franchisees to communicate business concepts with others.
The end-to-end franchise solutions provided by Franchise India in the last 16 years has supported thousands of people looking to start their own business in selecting the right franchise through its team of seasoned experts having an in-depth understanding of the respective markets.
Looking for Franchising Options. Call the Experts - Franchise India @ Tollfree: 1800 102 2007
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