Top 10: Advice and Tips on buying a professional services franchise in Australia.
1. Brand. Look for a brand that is respected and recognized in Australia. Ask people if they know of the brand and get a sense of the impression the brand leaves them with. Will you be proud of assosciating yourself with this name?
2. System. Professional Services Franchises rely on systems and processes. Look for a Franchisor who has and promotes rigidly flexible systems. This is important as you’ll want the flexibility to address the needs of your Australian market.
3. Training. What kind of training will you receive and how is it delivered? Will it be relevant to the areas of starting the business, running the business day to day, and delivering your IP and Professional services to clients?
4. Support. This is arguably more important than the initial training as it should extend over the lifetime of your professional services franchise. Ask plenty of questions on this topic.
5. Content and IP ( Intellectual Property). A professional services franchise will have well defined content for you to deliver to clients and also for you to use as you grow your own business. Often, professional IP is provided by an outside party. Think of Boards of Accountancy, Engineers, Lawyers, etc. Does this franchisor have explicit approval to use the information they are on-selling to you?
6. Target Clients. Who would buy the Professional Services you’ll be offering? Is it a robust, strong market or is it in decline? Is their perfect target client in line with the kind of clients you want?
7. Need. Is there one? You’ll want to think long and hard as to whether there is a real need for this in the market and most importantly, whether people are willing to pay for it. Is this need supported by recognition in the media, or is this an emerging segment?
8. Market Acceptance. What works in the USA or Europe may not work in Australia, and vice-versa. Does this professional service appeal and translate well to your local market?
9. International Synergies. This is quite an advanced question. If a deal for professional services is struck with a multinational company in L.A. for example, will you have the opportunity to deliver services to the local offices? How would that work? Would the L.A. location provide consistent service if YOU were to sell a large deal based out of Australia?
10. A history of new initiatives or stagnation? Professional services goes through trends and changes just like any other industry. How well is this Professional Services Franchise keeping up with changing times? Ask when the last new piece of IP was released and why they chose that one.
11. Bonus Top 10 Tip: Them or You? Consider by asking careful questions who the franchisor has at top of mind when they make a decision that impacts the professional services franchise. Are there proof points you can point to? What is their decision making process for new initiatives, and how would that take you into account?
When we created this list we thought we'd come up with 10 point to consider. As it happens, we have more. Please check back again, we'll post a list of additional considerations as well.
In the meantime, have you found any issues with Australian Business Services Franchises we should discuss? Let us know,
Thank-you
