Ready, Set, Franchise

Azcentral:

In September 2003, Katharine Halpin sat eating breakfast with a business associate at a Phoenix restaurant.

Halpin was in an irritable mood and grumbling. For 10 years, the Phoenix-based coach and leadership strategist for CEOs and corporations had hired personal contractors in order to keep up with high demand. In return, she found herself training her competitors and diluting her brand.

After she put down her fork and finished venting, her friend referred her to a franchise consultant. Halpin’s first 2-hour meeting with the consultant resulted in 3 options: grow company-owned stores with others managing employees, license her product to others or franchise.

‘I was a very successful solo-preneur with a few part-time employees,’ she said. ‘I wasn’t big enough to hire full-time employees to be leadership strategists. If I licensed, I would lose quality control.’

Halpin, 48, came out of the meeting with complete clarity - she needed to franchise. ‘Franchising was the only way I could build a bigger brand and maintain quality control over the services provided,’ she said. ‘I had been burned a few times with my independent contractors when I had not stayed involved. It was an easy decision once I got to that point.’

Like many business owners, Halpin had reached a tipping point where it made personal and economic sense to franchise. ‘I was limited by what every entrepreneur is limited by: what he or she can produce.’ Now I’m reaching further and deeper into the organizations because I have more people to deliver the services.’

She formed the Halpin Cos. Inc. for the sole purpose of selling her non-traditional intellectual property franchise. To date, she has sold seven franchises in 3 states at $25,000 a pop.

Not just fast food… read on.