Franchise Fever Grips Nation

Courier Mail:

More than ever, Australian business owners are turning to franchising as a way to spread their operations and their brands across borders.

The country now boasts close to 1000 franchise systems, employing about 700,000 people and generating the equivalent of 14% of gross domestic product.

With the economy vibrant and business confidence high, people are seeing potential for their own enterprises to become Australia-wide or global empires, says Franchise Council of Australia chairman John O’Brien.

But prospective franchisors be warned: it’s not a model that suits every growing business, it’s harder than ever to recruit quality franchisees and the failure rate is huge.

Of course, one major attraction of the franchise is the ability to expand on the back of other people’s assets.

Deloitte Brisbane growth solutions partner Lindsay Stanton says a new business can only go so far backed by an owner’s existing security. Read on…