- More Search Options
- Trading Tools
- Trade Resources
- Shop Affiliates
- Home
- Franchise opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean
Franchise opportunities in Latin America and the Caribbean
What is Franchising?
Franchising is a method of distributing products or services.
The franchisor: lends his trademark or trade name and a business system
The franchisee: pays a royalty and often an initial fee for the right to do business under the franchisor's name and system.
The franchisor will give the franchisee a complete plan for managing and operating the franchise. The plan provides includes:
- Detailed step-by-step procedures for major aspects of the business in order to anticipate most management problems or mistakes
- Complete matrix for management decisions confronted by the franchisees
The most important advantage of buying a franchise is that the concept of distributing goods and or services, has been developed, tested, and associated with the trademark. As a result, expansion of a successful retail concept can occur more quickly than through company-owned expansion.
What type of business can be franchised?
Every types of business can become a franchise from advertising/direct mail to construction to dating services to home inspection to security systems to video sales and rentals. Printing and copying services, maid services, computer services, cleaners, lawn care services, real estate, hotels and motels, and travel agencies are excellent examples of successful franchises.
Things to consider before buying a franchise?
- Experience required
- Understanding of the business
- Time necessary to run the business
- History of the franchisor
- The success of other franchisees in the same system
- The cost of the franchise
- The costs for the continuing rights to operate the franchise
- The products or services that you must buy from the franchisor and how they are supplied
- Terms and conditions for renewal or terminating of the franchise relationship.
- Financial condition of the franchisor and its system.
What are the investments necessary to buy a franchise?
It all depends on the industry and the type of business.
- Total start-up costs can range from $20,000 or less, to over $1,000,000, depending on the franchise selected
- Whether it is necessary to own or lease real estate to operate the business.
What are some of the drawbacks of owning a Franchise?
As a franchise owner, you must comply with the various controls and procedures established by the franchisor.
Content by MercaTrade.com