One of the toughest challenges an aspiring franchisor may face
is selling its first franchise. Who would take the risk of
buying a franchise from a franchise company that has no
franchisees?
For a few successful business owners, the idea of franchising
may come from one or more customers who love the business concept
and initiate the idea of buying a franchise even before the owner
has taken the first step to prepare a franchise offering. But
this rarely happens.
Here's another suggestion: If the aspiring franchisor
has a successful business unit (a store or a restaurant, for
example) that is operated well by a trusted manager, that manager
might be a good candidate to buy the business at that location and
become the company's first franchisee. The manager will
already know the business inside out, having successfully managed
the business as an employee. The transaction would entail the
sale of the existing business at a single location in which the
buyer
