Well, yes, you can. Virtually every business I have come across in over 30 years has had the potential to be franchised.

Having said that, of course, there are exceptions, and I know it is not feasible to create a franchise system for all businesses.

Some businesses are so specialised that there would be no market for additional outlets.

In other cases, the product is so complex it would be very difficult to reproduce an identical business, even with careful systems. Yet, other cases are dependent on the particular skill set of one person and this combination of skills is difficult to replicate.

However, businesses like these are very few and far between. More often, there are two other issues.

The business owner’s business skills 

First, it might be that you, the business owner, do not have the skills (personal, business or management) to grow the business through franchising. Tom Potter (of Eagle Boys Pizza) put the changes in business focus and structure, which occur when converting to a franchise really well when he said, “I have moved from the pizza business to the people business.” If you are looking to franchise your business, it is likely that you are a driven business owner with entrepreneurial characteristics. 

Most of my clients reflect this profile, and their people skills are sadly lacking. Always dealing with the detail needed to systemise and delegate tasks is not easy to take on board. But create a team around you of people who have the skills you lack and then let go. Then you will find you have a beautifully leveraged franchise system.

The business is too complex

A frequent issue where the entrepreneurial personality will try to take everything on board. Niching a business down so that it is simple as it can be is seen to be boring. Entrepreneurial businesses tend to grow and grow. The problem is that most franchisees will not have the skills to cover everything. Neither will they have the desire to work all times of the day and night to try to get the job done.

Secondly, by trying to sell to the whole market and be everything to everyone, you will lose focus. Therefore, the first task a new franchisor and I go through is to simplify their product to meet the market and the skill set of potential franchisees.