Do you already own a franchise? If it’s successful, you may be thinking about a franchising strategy to grow your business.

According to Franchising.com, multi-unit operators now make up 50% of all U.S. franchisees. With that said, let’s explore some smart growth strategies to expand your business.

When to Start Expanding

Growing your business is not without risk, and you’ll want to be sure you have all the information you need to make the right choice. Before moving forward with a franchise growth strategy, ask yourself the following questions:

• Am I struggling to meet demand?
• Am I retaining my customer base?
• Am I at full capacity?
• Do I have a positive cash flow?

If your answer to most or all the questions is yes, it’s time to think about expanding.

Best Franchise Growth Strategies

1. Follow a Scalable Business Model

Your franchisor will have perfected their business model over time, giving you a turnkey model that’s proven to work. For many franchisors, including Home Franchise Concepts, part of that development work includes making their business model scalable.

In a nutshell, a business is scalable when its profits can grow faster than its operating costs. You want to be mindful of when you choose to scale your business – in some cases, scaling too quickly can create similar issues to not scaling at all.

A trustworthy franchisor will help you decide when the time has come to scale and guide you through the process.

2. Reach New Customers

Once you’ve developed a loyal customer base, growing it to include new customers will help your business grow in turn. Although your franchisor performed thorough market research prior to your site selection process, your area may have changed over time.

If the market is saturated, it’s harder to grow successfully. On the other hand, there may be an untapped customer base waiting for you if the competition in your area has remained low.

Your current marketing strategy has likely reached most of the people that it’s going to, so now is the time to try new things. Grow your digital footprint into platforms that are new to you. If you aren’t already using video, add that to your toolbox.

3. Never Stop Learning

There’s always time to learn something new, and your business will be better for it. Reputable franchisors like Home Franchise Concepts offer continuing education for franchisees and their staff. From new business systems to innovations within the field you serve, it’s a smart idea to take advantage of these courses.

Another tried-and-true way to learn is by networking. When you join a franchise system, you’ll have access to other franchisees within your brand. Their experiences and advice can be your greatest teacher.

Beyond your franchise system, make it a point to attend trade shows and conferences. Hearing from industry experts will help you stay on top of the latest innovations and advancements in your field.

Other Ways to Grow

While you might be considering making your existing business bigger, you should also consider franchise development strategies that involve adding entirely new units. You can do this in one of two ways.

• Multi-Unit Franchising: By creating multiple streams of revenue and increasing operational efficiencies, multi-unit franchising is a smart way to grow. Home Franchise Concepts provides our multi-unit owners with protected territories, making it even simpler to grow a successful business. If you’re interested in adding units onto your franchise agreement, get in touch with your franchisor to find out what that process entails.
• Diversifying Your Portfolio: Having more than one franchise brand in your portfolio makes it more resilient when economic downturns come along. When you invest in multiple brands, you have even more revenue streams and customer bases. At Home Franchise Concepts, we’re happy to match existing franchisees with another one of the 10 brands under our umbrella of home service franchises.

Home Franchise Concepts: The Best Franchise Strategy

At Home Franchise Concepts, we make creating and growing a successful business as simple as possible. As part of our franchise process, you'll receive all the information you need to help you decide whether franchising in general, and franchising with Home Franchise Concepts, is a good fit for you and your financial goals. We'll be with you every step of the way so that you feel confident in your decision to franchise.

If you’re wondering how to become a franchise owner, reach out today! Submit our online inquiry form to get started.