Starting A Franchise Business In Scotland

[Scottish Business Owner]

How would you like to be your own boss and start a business? If you were thinking of going it alone you may be worried about getting the business up and running and carrying all the risk yourself. This is where franchising comes in. Franchising is a great way to start your own business without having to take on everything yourself. This way you can enjoy the benefits of running your own business with the solid backing of an established brand. In this article we will have a look at a few aspects of starting a franchise in Scotland.

First, we will have a look at some top tips to bear in mind before starting your own franchise business:

- Always check that the franchise is a member of an official franchising body – in this case, the British Franchising Association.

- Look at your skill set and experience and seek a match between these and your chosen franchise. If you are going to succeed as a franchisee you need to be passionate about your choice of business.

- Think long term – is this something that you could really be doing in ten to fifteen years?

Franchise opportunities can be as wide and diverse as you want them to be. You could, for example, start a franchise in: walking dogs, baby yoga, elderly care, web design, a travel agency, domestic cleaning, chocolate gifts, legal and accountancy, French gourmet foods, charity fundraising, magazines, photography or even fashion design.

Financially a franchise can cost you anything from £1,000 to hundreds of thousands of pounds, so there is a lot of scope for people on every end of the financial spectrum. Time and location also are no limits to franchising. You can run a part time franchise if you don’t want to leave your day job or you could run a van or home-based franchise if you don’t want to be based in an office.

So, if you find that any of this appeals to you and you are interested in more information about franchising, please visit us at Franchise Direct (www.franchisedirect.co.uk). Franchise Direct is the UK’s leading franchise directory website. With hundreds of franchises to choose from, you can easily search by industry, price range and location. Read our success stories and find the right franchise for you.

Please post any questions regarding franchising in this thread and we'll ask the guys at Franchise direct to respond

 

[Patricia Lyon]

Hi
I've been a Lighterlife Franchisee for nearly 7 years. The company has shafted the franchisee big time over the last year. It has, without consultation or due notice opened a second business and gone nto competition with its franchise network by selling our product direct online.
The worrying thing about franchising is there is not much protection or law for franchisees; most of it being set up in favour of the franchisor. We as franchisees are now in the position of having to raise thousands of pounds to make a group claim against the franchise. The bottom line is that the franchisor can basically do anything they like until they are challenged in the high court. It is going to be a costly exercise and there is no guarantee that there will be any money for compensation although we do believe we have a good case as they have also moved their goalposts on leaving criteria and have created a restricted covenant.
I'm wondering if you have any further advice for a rather scared and disillusioned franchisee

 

[Scottish Business Owner]

Hi Patricia,

Apologies for the delayed response. Is Lighterlife part of the British Franchise Association? http://www.thebfa.org/ I think it might be worthwhile even just speaking with them to see what their views are.

Have you reviewed your franchise paperwork and it's terms to see if there are any clauses that could be questioned?

Has anyone spoken to the company and got their view on things?