Buy Into A Conversion Franchise

Entrepreneur.com:

A conversion franchise allows an existing independent business to affiliate with a national brand. The classic conversion program is Century 21 Real Estate Corp., which converts independent real estate brokers and allows them the benefits of a strong brand affiliation while allowing them to continue using their individual identification. Affiliation programs have been launched by a variety of professional service providers, such as handymen, home-repair programs and hotel chains.

Conversion franchise programs offer an attractive balance of brand identification and buying power. If you’re operating an independent business and long for the competitive advantages of being tied in to a national reservations system or receiving local leads generated by a national or regional advertising campaign, you may want to consider joining a franchise affiliation program in your business category.

Can you use your current business name, or do you have to completely identify with the franchisor’s brand? That depends entirely on the system. The real estate affiliation programs often split the identification between the national brand and the name of the broker/franchisee.

Often, the fees paid for an affiliation program are considerably lower than those of traditional franchise systems, reflecting the fact that the franchisee is an experienced business owner and needs less training and less support than someone new to the business.

Franchising doesn’t exist in a single investing dimension; it has developed in ways that allow virtually any level of investor in any business situation to participate.

The lesson is clear: Keep looking until you find an investment that’s well-structured for your interests and needs, and you’ll probably find it in the franchise arena.