A range of questions asked by people who would like to know more about whether a franchise business is right for them, We have divided these questions into sections & have created different pages detailing questions that people have about estate agency franchises, about how the Belvoir Group works for franchisees & questions from estate & letting agency owners who are looking to sell their business. We have included a helpful video for each answer.
The dictionary definition is the provision of services by one person to another person under a contracted, franchise agreement with a set of terms therein which suits both parties.
The franchise offers support services for you to run a business. So you have to decide whether what they charge you to do that (it’s usually called a royalty or a management service fee) is worthwhile for what you’re getting.
Providing the person suitable and has the knowledge & attitude, anyone can.
We carefully select people when we a have a mutual understanding as to whether we think you’re going to be suitable or not to meet the standards we require and also to make your business succeed.
We couldn’t knowingly enter somebody into a business if we felt that they didn’t have the proper approach, attitude or finances to make that business work.
But, within those parameters, just about anybody can become a franchisee.
A good franchisee needs to understand the task in hand, take on board, the training that we provide and then use their drive, enthusiasm and knowledge to make that business work.
People have to be prepared to put their time and effort into it and to get involved with the training.
The great thing about a franchise is, if you misunderstand something or forget something, the whole franchise support system is there.
If you adhere to what we say, use your own knowledge, skill and attitude to drive your business forward, that’s maximizing your opportunity.
Take on board what you’ve been trained, understand as much about the sector as you can and the territory that you have, use your drive and enthusiasm to drive the business that you have forward.
And when there are growth opportunities such as acquisitions or buying the next territory or going into another service, look at it carefully and take it.
Providing the person suitable and has the knowledge & aptitude, anyone can.
We carefully select people when we a have a mutual understanding as to whether we think you’re going to be suitable or not to meet the standards we require and also to make your business succeed.
We couldn’t knowingly enter, enter somebody into a business if we felt that they didn’t have the proper approach or attitude or finances to make that business work.
But, within those parameters, just about anybody can become a franchisee.
The reason that we advertise ourselves as franchisors and how we explain what a franchise is, is that we have a set of support services, and brand standards.
Our job is those support services to ensure that the business can meet our standards. To this end, we provide training, legal support, compliance & audits, a business development manager and a team that is dedicated to your brand.
You can find out more about how we support franchisees on our support page.
You will have to adhere to the franchise agreement that you sign up to when you start. This will outline any financial responsibilities and standards that will help you maintain and build the brand. You will also have to undertake training & follow the Belvoir Method, a system of processes designed to keep you compliant & to help you grow your business.
There are always risks with running a business. What the Belvoir Group and any other good franchise seeks to do is to mitigate that risk much as possible so that you can operate your business with a degree of protection.
A Natwest survey from 2018 said that 20% of new independent businesses survived two years and 80% of franchise businesses survived two years. So there are statistics to show that using a good franchise brand support mitigate your risk.
We, when we recruit people into our business, we do not offer ‘cold starts’. That means when you join our business, you join with a going concern, a running, profitable business. This is just part of our method to maximise success & minimise risk but it can never remove all risk.
It can be but restrictions should be positive. By this, we mean that restrictions are there to ensure that everyone benefits.
The restrictions mainly revolve around the brand system & brand standards. Unity of systems and standards sold nationwide is important because, if we can ensure that everyone follows standards that enhance the brand, everyone wins.
Royalty fees is basically the fee that you pay our franchise or for the privilege of giving you their brand and services.
Once we think you understand what’s expected of you and we think you understand what’s expected of us, then I think you should be in a position to make a a balanced decision on whether you should go ahead or not.
If you’re not the kind of person who follows a process, a model, the kind of person who could take on board a proven system don’t go into Franchising, it’s a car crash, not just property and sales.
The basic principle of franchising is that you license, if you like, the tools, wherewithal, and brand of a known franchisor’s system. You pay for that license in one way or another to operate that system, and for that privilege, you get the support of the franchisor and the entire system, the way the systems work.
We have a very intricate and close communication with the the Central Office and the franchise network, and also regionally, the franchise have a good communication with each other.
Yes. What you can’t do is sell it outside of the franchise within the brand auspices and the brand parameters in terms of contracts and so on.
“In terms of our sector, there are fairly well-recognized ways of valuing a business, as I’ve mentioned. These methods are based on the income streams to that business and the profitability of capital value buildup. Therefore, the businesses that people sell have a capital value, which varies depending on the income stream under discussion.”
10 years ago, people thought it was some kind of mystery, and there was some kind of trick to it, and it was heavily biased in favor of the franchise or it probably wasn’t a good area to be. That’s changed because of funding sources and opinions raising capital from funding sources.
Every business needs a plan. You need to understand what your targets are and what you’re trying to achieve. I want to go into a 1000-property lettings business, and I want to sell it in five years for £5 million. I know exactly what I’ve got to do to get there in terms of building up capital value and so on. A business plan is absolutely essential.
You’ve got to pay the franchise all for a start. The support services that you get, the what we call business development managers will sit with you and realistically explain what you can expect to achieve week on month on, year on.
If I were to tell you that you’re going to buy a chip shop, first off, you’d need to have the capability of making chips to a standard that people are willing to pay good money for. Similarly, if you buy a franchise, you need to do your homework to ensure that what you’re expecting to receive and what they will provide is what they claim to be offering.
10 years ago, people thought it was some kind of mystery, and there was some kind of trick to it, and it was heavily biased in favor of the franchise or it probably wasn’t a good area to be. That’s changed because of funding sources and opinions raising capital from funding sources.
Every business needs a plan. You need to understand what your targets are and what you’re trying to achieve. I want to go into a 1000-property lettings business, and I want to sell it in five years for £5 million. I know exactly what I’ve got to do to get there in terms of building up capital value and so on. A business plan is absolutely essential.
You’ve got to pay the franchise all for a start. The support services that you get, the what we call business development managers will sit with you and realistically explain what you can expect to achieve week on month on, year on.
If I were to tell you that you’re going to buy a chip shop, first off, you’d need to have the capability of making chips to a standard that people are willing to pay good money for. Similarly, if you buy a franchise, you need to do your homework to ensure that what you’re expecting to receive and what they will provide is what they claim to be offering.
Obviously, you know, there are a lot of different departments that we run, from BDMS who are out in the field, to auditing, training, and the operations team to help with acquisitions.
Discovery Day really is there to ensure that anybody venturing into owning a franchise with us knows exactly what they’re getting into. You know, they’re not sales pitches as such. They’re for information and knowledge so that somebody knows all of the obligations involved.
Everything and anything, really, because it is the opportunity for somebody to come in and find out as much about our business as possible, as much about what owning a franchise would be like, what the day-to-day role would be. So, as many questions as possible is what I always encourage. Hopefully, the information that we give them on the day will answer a large part of those questions.
There are a few key ones. As a business owner, the main one will be the income that the business is generating. Of course, it’s having those KPIs that are going to grow the business and getting out to see new landlords.
Our discovery meetings are face-to-face at our Central Office. To book a session, please fill out the form below.
