FRANCHISING Virtual Copies

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Fast-food restaurants. Retail stores. Fitness chains. For most people, those are the images that come to mind when they think of a franchise.

Now, a small but growing number of online companies are tailoring the concept for the Internet. Call it “virtual franchising,” where Web pages substitute for physical storefronts and customers drop by using keyboards.

Though it may be less straightforward than the brick-and-mortar version, online franchising offers distinct advantages, according to some Internet-business owners who have taken the plunge. Chief among them is the elimination of frustrating, time-consuming searches for suitable commercial space. That, in turn, makes it easier to get operations off the ground.

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