Lupton Fawcett LLP

The British Franchise Association

The BFA (see www.thebfa.org) is a useful source of information on franchising. You should consider whether you would want to become a member of the BFA, by reading their publications.

Pilot operation(s); business plan

The BFA recommends that prospective franchisors should start by running a pilot operation, or perhaps two, for at least a year, before launching into franchising. The pilot operation will usually be a satellite operation, run as if it were a franchise. During the pilot phase, you can test out ideas, develop an operations manual (see below), and decide whether franchising will work for you. You should also write your franchising business plan, which will explain why franchising will work for you.